To China and Back

David Codrea’s post attacking the NRA and individual staffers is one of the most over the top pieces of defamtory bullshit I’ve ever seen on the internet and if I was the NRA or said staffer (who really is good guy), I’d sue his ass to china and back.

The long knives are out for David Olofson, and people who generally dismiss guys like me as "divisive" are using words like "moron" and "idiot" and other "reasoned discourse" techniques to throw him under the bus.

I stand by what I've written to date, and I'll let David and Len Savage deal with correcting misconceptions if they feel it necessary. What I'd like to do here is give Countertop a chance to make his case. If a self-described "fairly well-connected lobbyist [and] former trial attorney" weighs in not only on the merits of Olofson's case, but also on my committing apparent libel, I owe it to myself--and to anyone my opinions may have influenced--to see how credible his opinions are.

This is evidently the post he was referring to. It was an email exchange I'd received from Len Savage, copied to a distribution list that included two national gun rights organizations, a major cable network reporter, a magazine publisher, an author, some others I don't recognize....

As WoG regulars know, and as the Olofson link above demonstrates, I've been one of the few following this case with any regularity, because I believe the matters at hand can profoundly affect all gun owners. As Len Savage is not only a nationally-recognized firearms designer but also the expert witness in this case, what he says is of interest to my readers and I'm going to give his opinions an airing--especially since none of the other "gun bloggers" do.

So let's look at my "attack on NRA and individual staffers" or at least my part in this.

I posted a title quoting said staffer, followed with a question mark. That means I'm asking. And I then posted the following inflammatory words:

Here's an exchange you may find interesting. Let's hope it's discussed in detail at the Annual Meeting.

That's it. In short:
There's an important case.
There's a controversy involving NRA.
Here's what I have from both sides.
Let's hope people talk about it.

And that's what Sebastian has done by the way. I don't agree with some of his conclusions or interpretations, but he brought back info from the meeting that we didn't have before. I'll not fault him for the post--we need to know everything, even stuff we might prefer not to hear. Nobody ever gained an advantage by covering their ears.

But if this is Countertop's professional opinion of actionable defamation, I must say I'm not convinced. Make of it what you will, but I think my "ass" is safe and I won't be going to China any time soon.

He's free, of course, to weigh in here if he likes, and speak for himself. I'll listen. Or, he could just continue doing what he's doing, enjoying all the benefits anonymity gives him. For what it's worth, I'm sure more people on the sites he frequents agree with him and probably always will.