Larry Pratt article on school shootings in a white supremacist neo-Confederate publication. Should his group be known as the Gun Owners of America, or the Gun Owners of the Confederacy.

Larry Pratt is the head of an organization called the Gun Owners of America (GOA), but really with his involvements in neo-Confederate organizations and their extremist publications shouldn't his organization be titled Gun Owners of the Confederacy?

His involvement goes way back.

In the May-June 1995, Vol. 2 No. 3 issue of the Southern Patriot, official publication of the League of the South (LoS), on page 24, is a section titled "Noteworthy Publications," in which it recommends a book put out by the GOA noting that the publication is "edited by GOA chairman and SL member, Larry Pratt." The LoS used to have the name Southern League hence the abbreviation SL.

It is not known whether or if Pratt resigned from the LoS or if he is still a member. Someone should ask him.

In a white supremacist publication, Southern Mercury, published by the Sons of Confederate Veterans education PAC, Pratt has in the Vol. 1 No. 2 Sept.-Oct. 2003 issue on pages 5-6, an article, "Judge Roy Moore is Right," concerning the case where Alabama Supreme Court Justice Judge Moore decided to erect a monument to the Ten Commandments and keep it in defiance of a court order to remove it.

In the Vol. 6 No. 5 issue, on page 18, Pratt has an article "Of Schools and Bodies," written in response to the Virginia Tech massacre. He argues that gun free zones at universities are the cause of school massacres and argues that having persons in schools armed is the solution and cites two cases where someone who was armed was able to shoot a homicidal intruder, one case at a church in the U.S., and another case in Israel. Pratt argues that both teachers and students should be allowed to carry guns to schools concluding his article with the statement.

We are told that having students or faculty (with concealed handgun permits) carrying guns scares many students and teachers. Maybe so. Which is worse -- being scared or being dead? 

What is also interesting is that Pratt's GOA regularly ran a full page advertisements in this white supremacist publication in each and every issue and thus was giving it significant support. The Southern Mercury ceased publication for lack of funding, so the GOA ads helped keep this publication going since without the advertising it might have run out of funds sooner.

This is a publication that defended slavery and endorsed books defending slavery.

Again, should the GOA be called the Gun Owners of the Confederacy instead?

For an example of the white supremacist writings in this publication go to this blog:

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2006/06/white-supremacy-promoted-by-sons-of.html

(Interesting note, the other major advertiser was www.atlanticbullionandcoin.com whose owner has been tried and convicted for a ponzi scheme which defrauded thousands of right wingers of tens of millions of dollars.)