# Bloomberg



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I have a good friend that sent this to me tonight, and I thought I would share. But before you read on, I want you to consider that the person who wrote this is not a hunter or a gun owner but still sees that Mr Bloomberg is not the kind of person we would ever want as a leader



Friend said:


> This article ticked me off: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/bloomberg-report-takes-aim-at-mormon-church-for-on
> 
> I did a little digging and found that it makes sense that ksl.com has the "third-most active gun listings of any site on the web during a 100-day period last year" because UT, ID, and WY are 3 of the top 10 states in gun sales nationwide (according to this article http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/lifestyle/most-trigger-happy-states.) At the same time, UT, ID and WY are among the 10 states with the lowest gun-related homicide rates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States_by_state.) Furthermore, New York has more than double the rate of gun-homicide than ID (2.67 vs 1.22 per 100,000 residents) while ID has the highest rate out of the three referenced above.
> 
> Stick to your own business, Bloomberg. Obviously the Mormons have figured out something about the right to bear arms peacefully that still eludes the residents of your home state.


Please note that I am NOT posting this as anything religious so please refrain from any comments that bring religion into play (however, I acknowledge the fact that Mr Bloomberg brings religion into play here).

This is more of a food for thought thread in my eyes


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## magpie (Aug 15, 2011)

The article makes it look like KSL is making money off the gun sales, very misleading.

As I was reading the article a few lines from the Josh Thompson song were running in my head…. “Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun and you might meet them both if you show up here not welcome son”.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

I was about to point that out as I was reading the article. I don't see how KSL makes any money from those classifieds. Goes to show how things can be spun in any direction in the face of the uninformed. And just put things in perspective I see a lot listings specifying they will only sell to a CCP holder.

UP yours Mr. Bloomberg!


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## Last Man Standing (Dec 7, 2011)

> *MadHunter wrote:*
> I was about to point that out as I was reading the article. I don't see how KSL makes any money from those classifieds.


Although KSL doesn't make money directly from the transactions that take place because of their site, they do make pretty a substantial amount from 3rd party advertisements in the margins, "Featured seller accounts", etc. Without being able to turn a profit those classifieds wouldn't exist. Now on the other hand, blasting the Mormon church is ridiculous. Even if KSL was irresponsibly selling firearms, which I personally believe they're not, the blame should be placed on the parent company which is owned by the LDS church. To think that the presidency, or any other body of the church has a hand in the firearm section of some classifieds is pretty unrealistic. The executives that run KSL would need to take that blame. But, speaking out of personal experience, I knew a kid that had just enlisted in the army and was determined to get a handgun. Problem was, he had a few years until he was 21. He went around trying to convince people to buy him one and didn't have any luck. So he said he'd get one of KSL. I told him it was illegal and he said no it's not. Well he contacted about 20 different sellers. Do you know what happened? They all said either I won't sell without I.D. proving your age and a background check, or you have to have a CCP. I think KSL offers a great service and doesn't come near to breaking any law.


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## jbb0903 (Feb 3, 2012)

There have been undercover cops calling people on ksl with assult rifles and saying hey, I can't pass a background check and if the guy says that's ok, he goes to jail. If the police wanna screw someone over that, why don't they just make background checks a law, not if you have reason to believe the person couldn't pass a background check.


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## Frisco Pete (Sep 22, 2007)

The Anti-Rights Anti-Freedom people never give up. Anti-gun Mayor Bloomberg is not just content with making his city dangerous by not allowing its citizens to fully exercise their 2nd Amendment rights, but he is the Leader that can save the rest of benighted America from itself. Now he takes a shot at the "Mormon" Church to push his agenda?

(_I also find in interesting that he doesn't dare take a shot at the Jewish religion - the Jews For The Preservation of Firearm Ownership is a strong and effective pro-gun group that he has to hate, but considering the strong Jewish vote in NYC, one he doesn't dare attack frontally._) 

Last year I did a survey that was linked to from this forum on KSL.com on the gun classified section.
I pointed out that private transactions are completely legal in both Utah and the U.S. as per the BATF and that like all private sales, it is up to the buyer to make sure of the legality of the sale or face the penalties. It is not the job of the media vendor to do that. We have had gun sections of various classified ads as long as I can remember and the internet-based .com ones are no different and no more liable - whether the transaction or ad is for land, houses, cars, baseball bats, dogs or guns. They are just a forum.

The reason that we have low crime and a lot of guns with very little problems is that not only do we have a lot of gun ownership, but those owners are overwhelmingly responsible citizens.

Like Bax said, without getting too much into specific religious doctrine, there are a couple of things that affect the attitude and deportment of local gun owners that _theoretically_ could be traced back to the LDS church - but these teachings merely illustrate things we all know - a moral compass and individual responsibility are more effective than any laws we can pass to prevent crime. And our crime statistics as pointed out in the first post bear this out. _Superior_ to New York (New Jersey and California as well.)

Obviously the LDS church is not alone in this. Indeed most churches and many organizations attempt to teach members the same basic doctrine. LDS doctrine and scripture, like most Christian faiths, condones choosing the right and obeying the laws of the land but teaches that individual responsibility is the overriding factor in a crime-free population. Certainly the government in its PC and omnipotent state is NOT going to be the source of teaching such ideas. But .gov seems to get nervous when some organizations do - and fails to correlate that people with a moral compass don't need much governing. Bloomberg not only fails to grasp this but is trying to solve a problem where none exists.

The deportment of Utah's citizens and their responsibility on KSL.com is not so much "Mormon" as it is "Responsible" just other low crime areas in the country. Nevertheless, as mentioned, _any_ organization that teaches morality and the 10 Commandments will have a positive effect on reducing crime, and any organization that seems bent on reducing free citizens to vassals of the state - relying on the State for protection - like Bloomberg's _Mayors Against Illegal Guns_ would have us do, has no real effect on crime. In fact seeing as how everything about KSL.com is completely legal as per the State of Utah and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, one wonders where the "illegal" problem lies mentioned in his attack?

To quote the article: "One would think that a church would feel a special obligation to make sure that they weren't fueling a black market for a particularly deadly form of commerce," Apparently, according to the statistics, there is no deadly form of commerce or "black market" going on here. _Black_ markets exist where a _free_ market doesn't - places like New York City.

I hope you allow me to quote one Mormon scripture that sums up Bloomberg and his anti-rights cronies quite succinctly: 
D&C 98 8. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
9. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
10. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

Now I don't know much about Mayor Bloomberg and the other mayors of the _Mayors Against Illegal Guns_ organization as far as their spiritual status goes when it comes to being wicked, but it seems to me that if they had their way we would truly understand the verse that says: "_when the wicked rule the people mourn._" And it is just as obvious that even though when a place like Utah demonstrably achieves their stated goal of reducing crime and illegal gun use - that that is not the _real_ issue here. Control by the select few in power in order to consolidate power _is_. And they will attack any organization that stands in their way - even a religious one that facilitates the very low-crime society that Bloomberg claims is his organizational and personal goal.
Tyranny fears an armed citizenry.


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Great post Pete. Couldn't agree more.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

There's only one thing wrong with your post Pete. And that is that the dirt bag, substitute for toilet paper who should read it, won't. Of course, even if he did, he wouldn't change his views (notice, I didn't say his mind, he doesn't have one).

o-||


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