Watch the World Go Insane

Since the shooting in Connecticut it appears that the world has gone insane. Instead of rationally waiting until all the facts are in and proper analysis has been performed on what played out during the shooting anybody and everybody seems to be scurrying away from guns as fast as possible. Effective immediately Dick’s Sporting Goods is ceasing sales of certain semi-automatic rifles:

Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the world, says it has removed all guns from its store nearest to Newtown, Connecticut, and is suspending the sale of certain kinds of semi-automatic rifles from its chains nationwide.

Whatever. I purchased one firearm from Dick’s, a Remington .22 to be exact, and the experience was horrible. The individual working the gun counter had to call up a manager, which took 20 minutes, before I could even begin filling out the 4473 form. During the entire process the manager was staring me down and constantly saying, “You have to fill that form out correctly or you can’t buy the gun.” Beyond implying I was too incompetent to fill out a 4473 she was also treating me like a suspect in a crime. Needless to say I’ve never purchased anything from them since and plan to continue my boycott with the announcement of this news.

Dick’s aren’t the only ones being dicks. Cheaper Than Dirt! announced via Twitter that they will cease online firearm sales:

Cheaper Than Dirt! is suspending online sales of firearms effective immediately.We are reviewing our policy internally, and will continue…

Cheaper Than Dirt! has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with gun owners for a long time now, it’s sad to see that they’ve decided to terminate it. Who else has decided to terminate their relationship with gun owners? Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus has announced that they will begin selling off Freedom Group immediately:

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management said on Tuesday it will immediately begin selling its investment in gunmaker Freedom Group in light of last week’s school shooting in Connecticut.

Cerberus acquired Bushmaster in 2006 and later merged it with other gun companies to create Freedom Group, which reported net sales of $677.3 million for the nine months ending September 2012, up from $564.6 million in the same period a year ago.

Apparently even evil capitalist profits aren’t a good enough reason to stand in support of gun owners. Never let it be said that corporations will do anything for money. Either way this news may lead to the breakup of Freedom Group, which is a good thing in my opinion. Too many major manufacturers are owned by Freedom Group and I would prefer to see the firearms industry decentralize a little.

Who else is moving as fast as they can to distance themselves from the firearms industry? Televisions networks. First the Discovery Channel announced that it’s canceling American Guns:

A Discovery rep told FOX411 that “American Guns” – which is out of production and not currently broadcasting new episodes – has been canceled and will not return for a third season. This comes as something of a surprise given its growing popularity. The show had a 50 percent ratings increase for its second season premiere, and one of its stars, Renee Wyatt, recently said she would “definitely” be interested in returning for season three. The rep, however, would not link the show’s cancelation to the Connecticut school massacre.

The best part about that story though has to be the following statement:

“I know you all have to make money but would Discovery Channel PLEASE consider ceasing to broadcast the show in the U.K.? Sadly your program makes buying/owning guns seem fun, glamorous, even normal,” wrote one.

Oh my gods, the show makes owning firearms seem fun and even normal? Perhaps that’s because owning firearms is fun and perfectly normal. Sure, it’s not considered normal in the United Kingdom but it should be.

In the end I’ve never watched an episode of American Guns so I can’t really comment on how good or bad it is. What I do know is that the Discovery Channel isn’t the only network running away from the firearms industry as fast as it can, NBC has announced the cancellation of 3Gun Nation:

Citing the recent tragedy in Newton, CT the NBC Sports Network, broadcast home of popular shows such as 3Gun Nation has placed an indefinite moratorium on the broadcast of any firearms related outdoor shows.

Once again I never watched 3Gun Nation so I’m rather indifferent about this announcement.

It seems everybody is in panic mode right now. As I mentioned yesterday, this nation is now run by individuals who prefer to react irrationally before all of the facts are in. Instead of developing policies based on proper analysis of factual data people rush to the television networks to get some face time in order to make an announcement that they hope will advance their political careers. Politicians aren’t the only individuals who do this, major corporations also do this.