Jesse Jackson vows attacks on most successful part of economy :: 06/07/2012

Townhall's Katie Pavlich noted yesterday that Jesse Jackson, speaking in Racine, Wisconsin Sunday night, announced his intention to march on gun shops (which he has long blamed for "gun violence"), and also his intention to demand more jobs:

Last night in Racine, Wisconsin, while demanding jobs for the unemployed, Jesse Jackson decided to slam job creating gun dealers and called for a march on gun shops all over the country.

"Guns out; jobs in," he chanted, his audience faithfully parroting him.

As Ms. Pavlich points out, though, protesting against both the gun industry and the weak job market seems to ignore the reality that the gun industry is one of the very few bright spots in today's economy, providing both good jobs and desperately sought tax dollars to both federal and state governments. From the National Shooting Sports Foundation :

Companies in the United States that manufacture, distribute and sell firearms, ammunition and hunting equipment employ as many as 98,752 people in the country and generate an additional 110,998 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries. These include jobs in companies supplying goods and services to manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as those that depend on sales to workers in the firearms and ammunition industry.

A separate NSSF report provides some additional impressive figures:

Firearms industry members on Capitol Hill were briefed on such remarkable statistics as the 30.6 percent increase in jobs between 2008 and 2011, a 66.5 percent increase in economic impact and a 66.5 percent increase in federal taxes paid by industry companies.

And yet Jackson wants "guns out."

Meanwhile, TV personality Bill Maher, who has made no secret of his disdain for those who value the Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms, has recently weighed in with some speculation about what should be done about people who actively interfere with economic recovery:

Is it treason to purposefully block any help for the economy so voters blame the president and turn to the other party? Just asking.