Gun nuts will literally attack anyone - parents of those killed by gun violence, siblings, children and now even Priests. Yes, you read that right. The ammosexuals have now come for a man of the cloth.
This story is an interesting one, in that the Rev. Jeremy Lucas didn't actually do anything wrong. He wasn't coming out against guns at all. He saw that an AR-15 was being raffled off by a girls’ all-star softball team in an effort to raise money for a trip to a regional playoff in Lancaster, California. Rev. Lucas announced that he planned to purchase tickets in the hopes of winning the gun to keep it off the streets.
What was the response of the crazy gun nuts? Threats and demands for his arrest.
LA Times reports that Rev Lucas actually grew up around guns but that after seeing the damage AR-15's cause, he decided he wanted to take one off the street and destroy it and make a piece of art or something symbolic with it.
He contacted the team and offered church funds to pay for the entire trip if they would cancel the raffle, but they declined as some tickets were already sold. So, he decided he needed to start buying tickets. He diverted $3,000 from the church's "discretionary fund" to buy 150 tickets of the 500 total for purchase.
When word got out, he discovered what many of us in the media and activism already know: Gun nuts are crazy.
Rev.Lucas said, “I’ve come to learn a lot about the nature of social media. The rabid gun activists come out swinging, trying to close down any meaningful conversation and attempting to intimidate people into silence.”
In the end, Rev.Lucas actually did win the gun. Score one for the good guys. News spread about his plan to destroy the gun, which led to some positive feedback from a variety of people, including relatives of the Sandy Hook victims. Anonymous donors replenished the $3,000 the church has spent for the raffle tickets.
It would have been great if the story had ended here, but alas, rabid gun nuts won't let the thought of one of their precious weapons of death being...killed. This is where the story gets weird.
Some angry gun nuts pointed out that the Reverend had violated Oregon's gun law by not having a background check done on the person who was holding the gun for him. Ironic, since gun nuts don't seem to mind when they pass guns around to friends and family, on Facebook and Craigslist sales or those pesky gun shows...and never do a background check. But a man of the cloth? They nailed him.
Kevin Starrett, executive director of the Oregon Firearms Federation. actually called the Oregon State Police to report this background check violation. Based on that tip, the OSP have opened an investigation into the case and the Reverend faces up a year in jail and a fine that could reach more than $6,000.
Starrett stands by his decision to report the Reverend. He said “If the pastor is prosecuted it will demonstrate the idiocy of the law and the people who passed it. If the pastor is not prosecuted, it will demonstrate that anti-gun liberals are above the law and it was only intended to hurt the average gun owner, against whom it could be selectively enforced.”
Background check laws are idiotic? Really? Or are you just angry that someone was going to destroy one of your weapons of death in a silent protest of peace? Your revenge is to have a man of the cloth investigated for this gesture of good will?
My guess is Starrett knew he wasn't looking at a spot in the pearly gates anyways. Enjoy the fiery pits of Hell, sir. Even Lucifer himself wouldn't turn in a priest for keeping a gun off the streets.
