The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutMarches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might OPINION - National Post - 03/26/2018 - National Post - 03/26/20183/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post ePaper NATIONAL*POST NEWS - FULL(OMMENT - SPORTS - (LILTURE -,, LIFE - MORE - DRIVING - CLASSIFIEDS -� JOBS - SUBSCRIBE - FINAKIALPOST Watch out for GPPR Acronis Key GDPR Action Items Build GDPR Cornpliant. Datta Piolechnin with Acronis Acct leirte Your GDPR Compliance. Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might #'notthousayuls,, (?fAnwrican politicians are deeply beholden, to the gun lobby altal won't willin.",dy wn.ounce it 1" hn V i �"'Jk 0 I S 1, n� ffly 1010 Hello brent.i Thailand Escorted Tours Starting at $869, 9 27 1 My Packages with Airfare The coveracie was theatrical storm -the -barricades sort of http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 1/9 Large numbers of young people gathered in locations across the continent Saturday, accompanied by an excited and sympathetic media, to protest U.S. gun laws ICELLY MCPARI-AND and demand changes. March 26, 2018 Nothing seems to galvanize "progressives" like a good 8:56 AM EDT street march, and all the elements were there for this Filed under Full Comment one: chants, signs, celebrities, earnest advocates and emotional exhortations to change the world. Comment Hello brent.i Thailand Escorted Tours Starting at $869, 9 27 1 My Packages with Airfare The coveracie was theatrical storm -the -barricades sort of http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 1/9 3/26/2018 pAHHnnnEmail papf " ��, More lIll//�11 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post In this file photo taken on March 24, 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez(C) gathers with other students on stage during the March for Our Lives Rally in Washington, DC. Imagers Parents and grandparents shook their fists. Whole families attended together. Grade-schoolers joined high school students. Seasoned activists were said to be "awed" by the fervency of the crowd. Hard numbers were difficult to come by, but some 800 -plus sympathy rallies were said to have been held in communities around the world (not that U.S. legislators care a hoot what anyone outside their district thinks). "Vote them out," they cried in Washington. Delaney Tarr, a student at the Florida school where the latest massacre EATEST COMMENT items Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might led to the surge of rage, vowed: "If they continue to ignore us, to only pretend to listen, then we will take George F. Will: John Bolton will soon be the action where it counts. We will take action every day in second -most dangerous American alive every way until they simply cannot ignore us any more." http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 2/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post GUIIUICIC CVIUCIII;G Moll. LIICII GdIUVIZ> dIH III UdIIIJ.CI UUIUI(-- they risk the wrath of the National Rifle Association, to which so many have sold their souls. And that will take far more than a single weekend of speeches and rallies. The future of this latest effort to cure America of its gun obsession will need gobs of money, time, commitment and political skill. Whether the students have the resolve to see it through will determine whether they have any more success than previous anti -gun uprisings. The lack of that persistence has been the NRA's greatest friend to date. People take part in the March For Our Lives rally against gun violence in Washington, DC on March 24, 2018. ANDREuoiCA13AL ERR dv°y'l'IVC)L k/APT/ 'citylrai qp, ,s That the students have found a cause worth fighting for is encouraging. It takes a peculiar sort of mind to argue that the slaughter of schoolchildren is an acceptable price to pay for defence of a constitutional principle put in place almost 250 years ago in a different world with different realities. The gun lobby's argument that America has plenty of laws — all that's needed is enforcement — fails in the face of so much evidence that it's not true and doesn't work. Gun laws vary radically from state to state; strict enforcement in one state does nothing when a disturbed person can easily slip across a few borders to a more TORONTO WEATHER 3 °C Af ia, clouds Feels like -2 °c Tuesday 3 Wednesday 9 Thursday 12 Friday 6 coo1111)lete Fureccest http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 3/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post diiyuiuiy vvnn uciLdH 1LY dUUUL v.0. yun dunuues, ns uidL the self-evident doesn't necessarily apply. Seeking sense from legislators won't succeed on its own, and it would be the height of naivete to think Democrats would be any more willing than Republicans to risk their careers by upsetting the NRA and its many apostles. Democrats have had eons of opportunities to push through remedies that might lessen the bloodbath, but haven't done so. A few feints, maybe, a proclamation of good intentions, but no measurable progress. Democrats held both houses of Congress during Barack Obama's early presidency, and managed to find other priorities to occupy themselves. They will do so again if they manage to regain control this fall. A protester holds an anti -NRA sign during the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, United States. luc av TmraulGMYPnraye's The only hope Saturday's demonstrators have is by building their movement to the point it represents a real threat to the careers of those in power. That means defeating the influence of the NRA, which has succeeded by pouring untold millions into the campaigns of presidents, senators, representatives, governors and state legislators, who need the steady flow of money to maintain the campaigns that keep them in their jobs. Hundreds, if not thousands, of American politicians are http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 4/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post the ruthless use of the legal system. It can be done: the environmental movement has shown itself to be deeply sophisticated in all the areas required to manipulate public opinion. Politicians who don't know any more about climate change than they do about Kurdistani wedding customs appreciate that mouthing bromides about the dangers of global warming is as much a part of the job as kissing babies. Decades of environmental activism has made it so. SEE ALSO The story behind 11 -year-old Naomi Wadler and her March for Our Lives speech Over a dozen Canadian cities hold March for our Lives events in wake of Parkland shooting That is the bar the weekend's demonstrators will have to reach if they hope for any success in the goal they've set for themselves. It's a good cause, light years better than the asinine obsession with identity politics that has turned university campuses into playgrounds for the silly and frightened, with their trigger warnings, safe spaces and terrified faculties. But U.S. gun violence has been a scourge for decades and no other group has managed to muster the combination of will, energy and resources to combat it. If this generation is finally different, it will have something to be proud of. Comments Share your thoughts FEATURED STORIES Man's Canadian citizenship in danger after his past as a killer in Serbia is revealed 5/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post FULL COMMENT George F. Will: John Bolton will soon be the second -most dangerous American alive Chris Selley: Listening to senators debate marijuana bill convinced me we need to abolish the Senate ,, Conrad Black: Our legal system is failing us every bit as badly as journalism is �;�rroiserm�arri TOP STORIES Andrew Coyne: The pessimists might be right, social media may have plunged us into a new dark age Rex Murphy: Tacebook made me do it' is no excuse for bad decisions NP View: How do you mess up good Canadian gun laws? Ask the Liberals Who funds Canada's politicians? Search six million records of political donations to see Postmedia has gathered more than six million records to create Canada's first central, searchable database of political donations The covenant and the courts: Inside a Christian university's law school crusade fth http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 6/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post —1---.uiiNiy yui uicu --. — uic r --- iia..— cn. N"vy— — nivic cnvw incuiuu uvn a. iauivavdidc �c vnw un wi cola uN. anu �Qui«u �cuc�. % Mitch Artificial wombs intended to save premature babies - for now. Next step could be'immaculate gestation' 6 Q For some, the prospect of artificial wombs raises concerns about uncoupling reproduction from human bodies. For others, it would be the ultimate gender equalizer THIS NEED IN FLYERS HOVER FOR FLYER A -0 I r r��s1yro A � I HOVER FOR FLYER HOVER FOR FLYER r'n1 "� it l o i fa s f,, o I i "tet, teat I�,, 9 Comments Add a comment... Maureen Matthew Of course Kelly makes the assumption that the 2nd amendment is wrong (yet its FIT, `"`�� opponents will not actually lobby for revoking the 2nd admendment, but rather like all good leftists see to burden law abiding citizens with more and more rules, because revoking the 2nd amendment would actually be hard work). But the progressive left will overplay their hand (like they always do) and turn off moderates who might support reasonable gun control. Let's remember that in the case of the Parkland shooting, the government officials failed at every turn so I'm not real sure handing more control over t... See More Like - Reply - 2 - 57m fel Hugh Whiittiington • Works at Self -Employed 10 1 didn't read an assumotion that thr Second Amendment is wrong, but that the authords did not intend the citizens to use thse arms on themselves. suggrest their motives were to ensurethat future invaders woukd be repelled my an armed citizenry. Like - Reply - 1 m t IBruce Stairnlley • Mohawk College HOVEI xa http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 7/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post Like - Reply - 1 - 48m - Edited Il Gil I tend to think that Canada has many of its own problems without adding to them by pretending that we have concerns for America's well being; but, to put things into context, on a percentage population based comparison we in Canada kill far more with guns than do the Yanks yet we have our wonderful gun laws. Hypocrisy anyone? Like - Reply - 48m Brenda Joyce Mignardi Where are the facts that support your claim that Canadians kill more than Americans? Like - Reply - 21 m - Edited Jolll ll When a significant portion of the population says enough is enough, change will happen. If it doesn't, politicans will pay the price despite the rich financial support they get from the gun lobby. Eventually there will be enough folks disgusted with the gun carnage in their country to get the US Constitution amended to remove the "right to bear arms" section. It made sense in 1776 when the US was a frontier society but makes no sense now. These young people out demonstrating for gun control are the voters of the future and they will eventually prevail. Like - Reply - 1 - 36m IRoirn Balkeir • Lester B. Pearson High School If gun control is so popular than propose legislation. Propose a constitutional ammendment that changes the second ammendment. That is not how the left operates. Emotion, belittle, bully! The only people effected by gun laws are the legal gun owner. Unless you think that Canada's proposal to require handgun owners to notify the rcmp when we take our guns for maintenance will magically reduce shooting. Like - Reply - 1 - 6m 4 rn,,,71' c!irffni i f.r (]ass"Ifieds Ad u°�'Iis wwliIh Is Ilw 11111redolly My Acco.11°mI ws I, T I I I I b e iii 1;a arfass ,11i1.a<'; i°u,ilal lis S1 I bsa-!L�er SHlll 'fal,vo C olfI b ratiiSohl,„iiaiIs eII'ala.�r CClassilleech "Marl,.A tplla-ace yOsoulces elyde w,sllelt ars, C ,aronr< Cx;airiu na ”, url�s ''llyOi'C ,Ii:y lost: a'a 4 II a sslfle ry a ,;ad I call Dict r:loly Slay I, 0 http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 8/9 3/26/2018 Kelly McParland: Marches won't beat the NRA. Decades of work, and many millions of dollars, might I National Post http://nationalpost.com/opinion/kelly-mcparland-marches-wont-beat-the-nra-decades-of-work-and-many-millions-of-dollars-might 9/9