Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings told an audience yesterday that:

“anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”

Earlier in this campaign we heard of Barack Obama describing rural Pennsylvanians as bitter, clinging to guns and religion, showing antipathy toward those not like them. What a huge disappointment.

Now this coming from Rep. Hastings speaking at a conference of Jews and African-American Democrats. Of course this was his demented and perverse way of dissing Gov. Sarah Palin. Why do we have to stand for this? Is this not a double standard? What have we become?

We wonder about our Second Amendment rights and when our own leaders, making the laws and sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution, view people who own guns and hunt as uncaring toward Jews and blacks, it is ignorant and stereotyping at its worst.

Is this what we have really been facing all these years in our fight for Second Amendment rights? Have I been so naive to think that it was more about interpretation, fear and dealing with control freaks that I couldn’t see that it’s based on hatred, misunderstanding and stereotyping? Do too many Americans think of gun owners and hunters this way?

Maybe Mr. Hastings should take a page out of Obama’s campaign book, seeings as he is supporting him for president, and realize that he is showing his antipathy and dislike toward those not like him.

It’s all quite disgusting actually and Rep. Hastings gets a free ride!

Tom Remington

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