One of the blogs that is against firearm owner’s civil right’s discusses a quote made by Hubert Humphrey that was published in a gun magazine, in fact it was in “Guns” Magazine, Feb 1960. With the permission of the current publisher I have posted here the Cover, Masthead and page with the actual quote. Now this blogger is saying that this quote cannot be verified because she cannot find it anywhere in the “national Library of Congress.”
Well why would it be in the Library of Congress? Most likely it was a phone call, an interview or private correspondence between the writer and the Senator. The fact that the quote was never denied by HHH might just mean that he actually said it, you know?.
I hear there are lots of boxes of HHH’s papers stored Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota maybe the proof is there; maybe the proof is lost to history.
I’m nearly certain HHH said this in the PBS documentary “Hubert H Humphrey: The Art of the Possible.” Sorry if I’m wrong, ol’timers is really gettin’ to me anymore. I’d check, but the local library copy of the DVD is “missing!” Does anyone have access to a copy?
Oops. I see you already have a link to a PDF of that issue. Oh, well. The JFK quote is also interesting. Don’t suppose you have a link to a scan of that issue?
Sorry but I don’t think I have that one, at least not where I can access it right now. That is a great quote too.
http://www.nodc.us/2008NevadaDemocraticPresidentialCaucus.htm
Will scans of photocopies do? Scroll to the bottom of that page. It’s right above one from J.F.K.
I believe that the quotes in this magazine feature were provided by legislators IN DIRECT RESPONSE to the magazine’s invitation to them tol offer their opinion. This is exceedingly clear from reading this magazine column over several months.
Perhaps the publishers still have the original letter from Humphrey in their files — but after a half-century, maybe not.
In any case, the quote has never been disputed by Humphrey, his family or associates, or any scholar or historian. Morleover, there is no record of ANY legislator who was a part of this magazine feature (which went on for months) having EVER complained about being quoted inaccurately.
To be fair to Japete, the quote in question, while undoubtedly published in GUNS magazine, is NOT part of a direct interview ‘article’. It is one of an aggregation of statements made by several politicians, none of which contain any attribution as to when or where the quotes were spoken.
Now, this does not in and of itself negate the veracity of the quote or it’s attribution to HH, but Japete’s complaint does on it’s face have *some* validity. At the same time, however, the argument that said quote has never been disavowed in over 50 years has just as much validity to support the claim of authenticity.
I couldn’t agree more and that’s the point.