Patriotic Rock Band Stands With Starbucks Amidst Attack From Anti-Gun Lobby Group
The NRA and other Second Amendment groups may have just found the best friend they could have ever hoped for – a new rock roll band based out of New York named Madison Rising.
According to the band’s website, “Madison Rising (www.madisonrising.com) promotes the principles of liberty, independence, smaller government and personal responsibility.”
The band’s latest cause is to help bring awareness to the relentless attacks on one of the most cherished rights granted in the Constitution: The right to keep and bear arms. On January 30th, the band released a video for their single “Right To Bear.”
The song and video had already generated considerable controversy regarding the Second Amendment and the ongoing issues of open and concealed carry gun laws around the country. But the issue really came to the forefront last week when the band learned that a group called The National Gun Victim’s Action Council (NGAC) plans to lead a national boycott of Starbucks Coffee on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14th, to try to force a change in the company’s “open carry” gun policy at hundreds of its retail locations.
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Apparently, Starbucks having the audacity to follow the law by allowing guns to be carried by patrons in the states where it is legal to do so doesn’t sit well with everyone. According to Elliot Fineman, CEO of the NGAC, “Starbucks allowing guns to be carried in thousands of their stores significantly increases everyone’s risk of being a victim of gun violence.” Fineman further claims, “Open and conceal-and-carry are among the reasons there are 12,000 gun homicides each year in theU.S.”
However, Christopher Schreiner, Madison Rising’s guitarist vehemently disagrees. “Mr. Fineman needs to realize that his position on this issue is flawed, and affected by his obvious naiveté,” said Schreiner who, along with his band mates openly showed their support for Starbucks by posing in front of a mural from their recent video with Starbucks coffees held proudly in hand.
Notably however, Schreiner’s passion and interest in the gun-rights issue extend far beyond his membership in the NRA and the band’s recent music video. Last year, Schreiner’s 31-year-old cousin was shot and killed on his way home from work by a 16 year old with an illegal handgun. Yet Schreiner clearly understands the difference between rights and responsibilities: “Certain people blame guns, but the perpetrator wasn’t a responsible gun owner or an NRA member. He was a delinquent. Madison Rising is fighting for the rights of law abiding citizens, and those rights should not be infringed upon, compromised or lost as a result of the egregious actions of criminals.”
“There’s a reason it’s the second amendment,” continued Dave Bray, the band’s lead singer. “It’s not the ninth, it’s not the fourth; it’s the second. And at the end of the day, it’s the only thing protecting the first. We’re talking last line of defense. The authors of the constitution knew exactly what they were doing and these rights are just as important now as they were two centuries ago. It doesn’t matter how technologically advanced a society may become. Human nature never changes.”
The band’s Right To Bear video prominently features several high profile anti-gun politicians such as Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, John Kerry, and Nancy Pelosi, as well as key pro-gun advocates like NRA president David Keene. The band openly endorses national right to carry laws.
