Firearms Hypocrisy Straight from the Denver Broncos' Head Office

by JOHN DENDAHL February 8, 2013

Like a lot of other people with big names, John Elway got out of his element and made a fool of himself. Right there on CNN with Piers Morgan.

Elway had some magnificent years as the Denver Broncos' quarterback. Now he's that organization's Executive Vice President of Football Operations, their chief football executive.

Fine. He recruited Peyton Manning, and in a few short months the Broncos became favorites to win the Super Bowl. Oops. The guys who took home the Lombardi Trophy, the Baltimore Ravens, were supposed to be little more than a bump in the road when they showed up in icy Denver and won their playoff game on January 12.

Twelve days following that Denver debacle, anti-gun zealot Morgan conducted a meandering interview in which, among other things, Elway provided enormous support for the latest crusade to undermine the Second Amendment. The Associated Press reported, AJohn Elway says he doesn't see why a civilian would need a military‑style rifle like the ones used in recent mass shootings but he wants to hear more about the issue.@

Did Elway simply prepare poorly for the interview and get blind-sided? To gave him an opportunity to "hear more about the issue," and possibly improve his position, I mailed the letter below to Elway at the Broncos' business address. More than a week has passed since the letter was received and receipted. There has been no response.

Dear Mr. Elway,

An Associated Press report appearing yesterday in The Gazette (Colorado Springs daily) said, AJohn Elway says he doesn't see why a civilian would need a military‑style rifle like the ones used in recent mass shootings but he wants to hear more about the issue.@ The article can be found here: http://www.gazette.com/articles/questions-150198-rifles-denver.html.

One hopes the last part of that sentence is fair. I made the same mistake when running for office in 1994, though in a private conversation with the sheriff of Los Alamos County, New Mexico rather than an interview on CNN. It didn't take the sheriff more than five minutes to straighten me out: every restriction is a step down the slippery slope, and neither you nor I should put ourselves in judgment of someone else=s enjoyment that doesn't interfere with another=s right(s).

I periodically have my [Chevrolet] TrailBlazer serviced at John Elway Chevrolet in Englewood. Corvettes are sold there. One item I found on the Internet quoted Chevrolet claiming for the 427 convertible that it will Ahit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, run a quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 190 mph.@ I believe neither the second nor third can be accomplished legally on any public road in the United States. Please apply to your own business the logic of your statement to Piers Morgan on CNN about military-style rifles, tell me who needs an automobile like that and why Chevrolet should be permitted to manufacture it and you to sell it.

Clue: many more people are killed by automobiles than by guns each year in the United States, and more than half of those killed by guns are suicides. One can argue that you are in a much more lethal business than is any gun seller. You should rethink your position with keen recognition that we live in a free country where one hopes individuals can continue to pursue whatever interests them so long as they don=t interfere with others= rights to do the same.

Sincerely,

s/ John H. Dendahl

I can't say with certainty that Elway or the Broncos organization hasn't said something subsequently to take the sting out of this Manna from Heaven for gun-grabbers led by President Obama. However, I did conduct an Internet search hoping to stumble onto something along that line but found nothing.

Now the Senate President in Colorado's legislature has introduced a bill that would make gun owners, sellers and manufacturers strictly liable for the death and destruction caused by military-style assault rifles. He needs to talk to Elway about, say, those ridiculously dangerous Corvettes Elway sells to people required to furnish evidence of nothing more than their signatures on big checks.