2nd Amendment Response #2
My friend Sean Bonner who I have known for 13 or so years just wrote me a note sharing his thoughts on the 2nd Amendment. Sean and I have similar political leanings and we both love punk/ hardcore music, and good art. We don’t agree on gun control. Check out Sean’s reasoning for supporting hand gun ownership. I don’t agree with all of his points, but they are well argued and I think civil debate is a very healthy and necessary part of democracy. I have monopolized this debate so far, so I will comment on a few of Sean’s points at the end.
-Shepard
_______________
Hey Shepard,
After following that little back and forth on your site about your
recent 2nd Amendment poster I thought I’d drop you a quick note, you
know, just to throw another crazy idea or two into the mix. You know
that I, like yourself, am a vocal proponent of the 1st amendment. I
also firmly believe the 2nd amendment was put in there to protect the
1st. Now, since I actually read what you wrote, I know you aren’t
against the 2nd amendment, rather you feel handguns should be
restricted to law enforcement use only. I have to disagree with you on
this for a few reasons.
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Jonesy’s Jukebox x Guest Shepard Fairey
If you missed it you can check out Shepard’s guest appearance on Jonesy’s Jukebox from a couple of Sundays ago. Don’t forget to stay tuned to KROQ every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM for the latest and greatest of Jonesy’s Jukebox.
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Congratulations BANKSY!
“Exit Through The Gift Shop” has been nominated for an Oscar. Congratulations BANKSY!
-Shepard Fairey
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TEA PARTY/ 2nd Amendment Response
Sir,
I never said the Tucson shooting was the Tea Party’s fault… I said that angry rhetoric can’t help deter violence or help a civil political climate. I don’t make my art to sell as many t-shirts as possible, so you won’t make a big impression on me with the financial boycott strategy. However, I applaud you for using economic pressure as a part of your arsenal to participate in democracy. Far few Americans understand that their spending habits wield great influence. By the way, I’m not trying to overturn the 2nd Amendment. I’m not opposed to gun ownership, I only oppose handguns for anyone other than law enforcement. If I “don’t get it”, I’m very open to being enlightened. Seriously, maybe you have a justification for handguns I have not considered. If so, I’d like to hear it. Take care.
-Shepard
_________________________
Date: January 21, 2011 9:06:50 PM PST
Subject: [Obey Giant Contact Form] General Inquiries
Stumbled across your website after buying an Obey t-shirt.
Just read your blog on your misperceptions of the Tucson shooting, Tea Party tie-in and 2nd Amendment RIGHTS.
My determination is: You are one misinformed, misguided dude with not one original thought in your head. You just don’t get it.
Conclusion:
The t-shirt goes back. No more Obey for me.
No more Obey for friends or family.
Ciao, SF/Obey
– “Sender”
2nd Amendment Solutions
There were a few alternative tag lines for this poster including:
WHY DO I NEED A GUN?… TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE MY GUNS AWAY!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN AMERICANS WON’T ADOPT THE METRIC SYSTEM?… WE USE 9MM’S ALL THE TIME!
I began this print before the recent shootings in Arizona inspired by Nevada Tea Party nut job Sharron Angle’s comment that “if congress keeps going this way, people are looking for 2nd Amendment remedies”
The 2nd Amendment reads:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
It was adopted in 1791 shortly after the revolutionary war in which the colonies had freed themselves from an English monarchy that gave the colonies no representation. The wisdom of the 2nd Amendment was to ensure that a state militia could combat dictatorial oppression. I would assert that putting easily concealed handguns in the hands of a large portion of the civilian population was probably not what the founding fathers had in mind.
My concern over violent rhetoric in politics and the very easy access to guns seems reasonably well founded. I’m not blaming violent rhetoric for the shootings committed by a mentally ill man, but it can’t help. Inciting hostility is just uncivilized and irresponsible. I’m perplexed by America’s love of hand guns. I grew up in South Carolina hunting with my dad and we always had shotguns in the house. My dad put a framed piece in my room that said “A wise hunter once said: all the Pheasants ever bred won’t repay for one man dead”. I was taught to honor and value human life. Whatever your feelings are about hunting, you can’t easily conceal a shotgun, but you can use it to defend your home. Hand guns are too easy to misuse. A lot of people claim to own hand guns for self-defense, but check out the statistics below. Hand guns lead to intentional or unintentional misuse far more often than they are used for justifiable, self-defense related homicides. Even southern boys Lynyrd Skynyrd seem to get it!
Check out these lyrics from Saturday Night Special:
Big Jim’s been drinkin’ whiskey
And playing poker on a losin’ night
And pretty soon, Big Jim starts a thinkin’
Somebody been cheatin’ and lyin’
So Big Jim commences to fightin’
I wouldn’t tell you no lie
And Big Jim done pull his pistol
Shot his friend right between the eyes
Mr.Saturday night special
Got a barrel that’s blue and cold
Ain’t no good for nothin’
But put a man six feet in a hole
Self Defense
For every time a gun in the home is used in a self-defense homicide, a gun will be used in:
• 1.3 unintentional deaths
• 4.6 criminal homicides
• 37 suicides
In 1997 there were 15,690 homicides.
• Of these, 8,503 were committed with handguns.
• Among handgun homicides, only 193 (2.3 percent) were classified as justifiable homicides by civilians.
For every time in 1997 that a civilian used a handgun to kill in self-defense, 43 people lost their lives in handgun homicides alone.
For more handgun statistics check out www.vpc.org/fact_sht/hgbanfs.htm
Thanks for caring.
-Shepard
18 x 24″ Screen Print, Signed and Numbered Edition of 450. $45.
For release on 1/21/2011 at a random time. SOLD OUT
Shipping Delays
An unavoidable construction project in our building has caused the shipping department to close temporarily. All orders placed between Thursday January 13 and Monday January 17, 2011 will be shipped after Tuesday January 18th as construction permits. All orders placed before January 13th have already been shipped. If you have any questions or concerns please contact us. We’d love to hear from you.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
The Associated Press Case Update
The Associated Press, Shepard Fairey, and Mr. Fairey’s companies Obey Giant Art, Inc., Obey Giant LLC, and Studio Number One, Inc., have agreed in principle to settle their pending copyright infringement lawsuit over rights in the Obama Hope poster and related merchandise.
Mr. Fairey used an AP portrait photograph of Mr. Obama in making the Hope poster. Mr. Fairey did not license the photograph from the AP before using it. The AP contended that Mr. Fairey copied all of the original, creative expression in the AP’s photograph without crediting or compensating the AP, and that Mr. Fairey’s unlicensed use of the photograph was not a fair use.. Mr. Fairey claimed that he did not appropriate any copyrightable material from the AP’s photo, and that, in any event, his use of the photograph constituted a fair use under copyright law.
In settling the lawsuit, the AP and Mr. Fairey have agreed that neither side surrenders its view of the law. Mr. Fairey has agreed that he will not use another AP photo in his work without obtaining a license from the AP. The two sides have also agreed to work together going forward with the Hope image and share the rights to make the posters and merchandise bearing the Hope image and to collaborate on a series of images that Fairey will create based on AP photographs. The parties have agreed to additional financial terms that will remain confidential.
“The Associated Press is pleased to have reached resolution of its lawsuit with Mr. Fairey,” said Tom Curley, president and CEO. “AP will continue to celebrate the outstanding work of its award-winning photographers and use revenue from the licensing of those photos to support its mission as the essential provider of news and photography from around the world. The AP will continue to vigilantly protect its copyrighted photographs against wholesale copying and commercialization where there is no legitimate basis for asserting fair use.”
“I am pleased to have resolved the dispute with the Associated Press,” said Mr. Fairey. “I respect the work of photographers, as well as recognize the need to preserve opportunities for other artists to make fair use of photographic images. I often collaborate with photographers in my work, and I look forward to working with photos provided by the AP’s talented photographers.”
The AP’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Obey Clothing, the marketer of apparel with the Hope image, remains ongoing.
Subliminal Projects x The Big Picture
Subliminal Projects and The Art of Elysium’s Elysium Project are pleased to present a two-person show featuring work by artist, pop culture icon, and DEVO frontman Mark Mothersbaugh and artist Shepard Fairey. Entitled The Big Picture, this exhibition focuses on their work as artists and philanthropists.
“I am so thrilled that Shepard has opened his gallery for this extremely special collaboration. This is the first collaboration between two of our VISIONARIES. It is our hope that the people that have been asked to join our VISIONARY CIRCLE share in creative collaborations not only to benefit The Art of Elysium and all of its various programs but that their joint endeavors inspire change in the world at large. That is the BIG PICTURE that we are hoping for.”
— Jennifer Howell, founder of The Art of Elysium
Opening Reception:
Saturday, January 22, 2011 / 8-11PM
Exhibition Dates:
January 22 – February 19, 2011
www.SUBLIMINALPROJECTS.com
www.THEARTOFELYSIUM.org
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9th anniversary of Guantanamo
We’re coming up on the 9th anniversary of Guantanamo being open, and Witness Against Torture (WAT) is again going to be in DC to protest and hold a vigil to mark the occasion. To raise money to help to pay for food, shelter, and legal fees for the hundreds of people we expect to join us in DC on January 11, WAT is selling some Shepard Fairey designed POW USA posters. Please show your support and purchase a poster today! To get your poster CLICK HERE!
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Wall Street Fat-Cats Flip Public Service Workers the Bird
Brave New Foundation is always on point in their efforts to expose corporate and political corruption and greed. Check it out.
-Shepard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTcSOygSBBM
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