Deluded Again: Heather Martens’ Press Release Habit

Since Michael Bloomberg sent her and her rage-addled partner Jane Kay to the bench during the 2014 session, I feel like I’ve neglected one of my key jobs in blogging about Second Amendment human rights in Minnesota.

For those of you new to my blog, and to my coverage of the ongoing battle over that civil right, let me recap:

Heather Martens has never, not once, issued a substantially true original statement.  Ever. 

Not one. 

Her entire body of work – every last word – is demonstrably false.  The reason I say it’s demonstrably false is that I (and many better, smarter writers) have debunked, point by point, assertion by assertion, for well over a decade now, every single substantial thing she’s said.

And since Bloomberg has left town (’til the next session, anyway), she’s back at it.  On Monday she put out a press release regarding the GOP’s push to allow Minnesota National Guardsmen to carry their sidearms while on duty, in case someone tries to shoot up their office.

And the press release is, in its entirety, a stunning display of dozey, fact-averse, intellectually-lazy bilge.  Put more briefly, it’s a “Heather”.

The release is included below the jump – or, since it’s a “Heather”, I guess we should say “…below the trip and fall”.

Now, the mainstream media still gives Martens credibility – one of those rare cases when the “credible” media gives reliable time and space to people whose voices are utterly non-credible.   In this case, it’s the Pioneer Press, who quoted Martens at some length (I’m adding emphasis):

Pro-gun control group Protect Minnesota Executive Director Heather Martens said the idea of allow military members concealed weapons without going through the permit process would mean they would not have gone through the standard background checks needed for permit holders.

Just a hunch, here:  the military runs a background check or two on its people.

But this was the part that caught my attention:

Our permitting system protects the public,” Martens said. ‘That’s a threat to public safety.”

So Martens is endorsing the carry permit process?

Ring the bells!

Martens’ press release, with commentary indicating the falsity of every single substantive claim, is included below:


 

ST. PAUL – A proposal announced to today to force the military [False.  Not “the military”, over which the Minnesota legislature has no jurisdiction.  It’s the Minnesota National Guard and Air National Guard – Ed] to allow all personnel to carry guns is misguided, said Heather Martens, executive director of Protect Minnesota, the state gun safety and gun violence prevention organization [False; “Protect” Minnesota is an “organization” in the same way that Shot In The Dark is a news organization.  It’s a woman running lefty non-profit with a few of her cronies – Ed] . 

“This looks like an attempt to second-guess the U.S. military on matters of security,” Martens said. “It’s hare-brained.” [Not “false” so much as “stupid”; the state of Minnesota needn’t “second-guess” anyone; administration of its armories and facilities is a state thing – Ed] The proposal, made in the wake of the shooting at a military recruitment center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, would do nothing to address the epidemic of gun violence in this country, Martens said. [That’s correct, as far as it goes, in that it’s not intended to address the problem for the whole country; just Minnesota guard facilities.  In other words, Martens is wrong again – Ed] “The investigation of the Chattanooga incident found that two service members did fire at the shooter. But that doesn’t solve the problem. [We don’t know that’s false yet – but as I noted earlier, I’m betting that the Marines and Navy people shooting back did, in fact,  lead directly to the end of the attack.  I could be proven wrong.  But I doubt it. – Ed] The single most effective measure to prevent tragedies like this is the make sure dangerous people can’t get guns in the first place. [Something the Second Amendment movement has accomplished, in spite of Heather Martens’ efforts – Ed] But our legislature refuses to do anything about that. [Well, no – Minnesota’s carry permit law has ensured carry permittees are pretty absolutely safe – Ed] Any person buying a gun should have to pass a background check. [And they do – Ed] But this shooter, who should have been unable to buy a gun, was able to do so because of our weak gun laws,” Martens said.  [Martens apparently looks forward to a day when human justice can predict the future  – Ed] 

The gun lobby often proposes putting more guns in more places as a solution to gun violence. [Well, that’s sorta correct; more guns in the hands of the law-abiding citizen.  They do it for good reason; it works – Ed]  However, the facts do not support the idea that more guns make us safer or that gun violence happens more in places were guns are not permitted. [False:  yes, they do – Ed]

A recent analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety showed that of 110 mass shootings in which four or more people died since 2009, only 15 occurred entirely in places where guns were not permitted. In 57 percent of the shootings, there was a domestic violence factor involved. [This is complete BS.  “Everytown” arrived at that number by counting mass-shootings in private homes – where guns are allowed, because institutional restrictions are irrelevant.  If you leave out private residences, and “Everytown’s” many, many errors regarding local laws’ definition of “gun free zones”, then the real numbers are 92% of mass shootings occur in gun-free zones.  Martens herself isn’t lying; she’s merely parroting shoddy research – Ed] 

The Chattanooga shooter was able to buy a gun because of a loophole in current law that allows a gun sale to proceed if the background check takes longer than three days to complete. [Experience has shown that the law needs to give law enforcement a standard to follow, to prevent venial, unjustified denials of permits – Ed]   In Minnesota and many other states, gun sales by unlicensed sellers at gun shows or that are arranged on-line require no background check at all.  [Like, at bars? In back alleys?  Among packs of criminals? – Ed]  

Armed citizens showing up at military recruitment centers across the country, allegedly to guard them, already are causing a security headache, Martens added. “Let the military handle its own security,” she said.   [They did – in Chattanooga, Fort Hood, Times Square, Little Rock, the Washington Navy Yard… – Ed]  

So Heather Martens’ record – never making a substantially true statement, ever – remains pristine.

5 thoughts on “Deluded Again: Heather Martens’ Press Release Habit

  1. A recent analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety showed that of 110 mass shootings in which four or more people died since 2009, only 15 occurred entirely in places where guns were not permitted. In 57 percent of the shootings, there was a domestic violence factor involved. [Note – Ed]

    I have a hard time believing that stat. Did you leave something off that “Note” comment? It sounds rather abrupt.

  2. “The Chattanooga shooter . . . three days.” No, that was the Charleston shooter, that Roof kid. And the problem wasn’t that the check couldn’t be completed in three days, it was that the government records were wrong and the FBI didn’t figure it out until after the shooting. He passed the check based on the records they had. Blaming the 3-day rule for inaccurate records is silly.

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/politics/dylann-roof-fbi-gun-south-carolina/

  3. Pingback: Keep Guns Out Of The Hands Of Straw Men | Shot in the Dark

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