An Open Letter From an NRA Member to Anti-Gun Activists

By Don McDougall

Don McDougall
Don McDougall

United States -(AmmoLand.com)- I believe we need to come together as a country, we are as divided as I can remember. To be blunt anti-gun activism is a serious part of the problem. Also to be blunt most gun owners just was to be left alone.

If you were to stop using gun control as a political wedge, gun owners would be at the range, and out not fighting you to preserve our right. Over the past 20 years, the number of times guns have been used in crimes has dropped by 67%.

There IS NO EPIDEMIC OF GUN VIOLENCE! I mean honestly, why do you keep saying that there is when you know that gun related crimes are down? Why do you propose laws and changes in laws that would not have any effect on crime or gun deaths?

If you look at the last highly televised mass shooting, NOT ONE of your proposed changes would have stopped any of it. If all your new rules were enacted, not one life would have been saved! Not one.

So why push for changes that would make no difference?

There are already laws on the books banning gun running and illegal gun sales. What we see historically is that administrations’ that call for new laws, are also the same administrations that reduce the prosecution of the existing laws. From 2004 to 2013 the number of ATF cases prosecuted DROPPED 42%. So all you’ve done is let criminals keep committing gun crimes, and then blame the average gun owner for the problem.

Why don’t you enforce the laws we have? If you do that, and they fail, THEN come back to us to ask to diminish our rights. We might listen. Yes, we all believe in background checks, what you don’t get is that it Is YOU we don’t trust. You’ve so clearly stated “Background checks are a good start!”. Where do you plan on planting your flag for the finish?

The existing laws IF enforced would meet all of your needs. But you choose not to enforce the current laws. The new laws you propose would not save a single life. Your actions would only serve to degrade our rights. NRA members are not the people doing the shooting. We are however the people you blame. 54% of all gun-related deaths are committed by black men under 30. That’s 4% of the population doing more than ½ of the killing. We don’t have a gun problem in America – we have trapped an entire generation in poverty due to liberal failed social programs. The solution to half or more of all gun deaths is to create jobs in the inner cities, fight gangs and drugs, and enforce the laws that are on the books. You blame us, law abiding gun owners for the carnage of Baltimore and Chicago and other cities.

The carnage that YOU created. Before you get too defensive here, Chicago has a murder rate 7X that of the rest of the country. This is an example of the future for America if you succeed.

You’re in for a surprise come election day. In the past seven years, the number of guns in the country are up 50%. While you claim that there has been a decrease in the number of people owning guns. (Seriously!) Some States count the number of people who have a guns. Those states are showing an annual INCREASE in gun ownership of 7% over the past few years. What this means is that the number of gun owners is a minimum of 30% HIGHER than you think. The fasting growing demographics are women and minorities. So while in 2008 there were 120 million gun owners, a rate once declining, there are now 160 million plus gun owners AND GROWING! Oh and I believe they will all be voting to preserve their right to own a gun come November.

Why? Because you force the hand of honest law abiding gun owners to get active in politics, you sell out our rights for no benefit except to use us as a get out the vote program. Warning ,,, new gun owners tend to be a bit more passionate about preserving their new found rights.

There ARE solutions we could work together on, gun safety, working to prevent gun run running. But none of that seems to matter when the goal of the anti-gun groups always leads to confiscation.

Hillary Clinton’s promise to overturn Heller and McDonald and eliminate the 2nd amendment seems a lot more plausible after the loss of Anthony Scalia. So I’ll close with an open question to the gun grabbing left.

If Stare Decisis does not exist for the 2nd Amendment does it also not exist for Roe V Wade? You may yet be hoisted on your own petard. (I know you’re going to have to look that up.)

About Don McDougall:

Don McDougall is an NRA instructor and member of the Los Padres “Friends of the NRA” committee. If he’s not at the range you will find him setting the record straight with on gun issues and gun safety on AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

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Stan

I believe everyone who are sure of their second amendment rights, should get a free education on the Constitution and the bill of rights at Hillsdale College on line. There will be no question about what the founding fathers truly meant.

Eric_CA

When the UK banned guns, “hot” burglaries defined as burglaries committed while residents are home, increased form 13% to 50% and are climbing. Gun bans and Gun Free Zones just don’t work.

Dan Griffin

Can you tell me where the number 160 million gun owners comes from? Possibly the NSSF? You didn’t cite a source. I wanted to email you but you don’t list your contact information in any of your articles.

David E. Young

The answer to every one of the author’s numerous questions on why committed pro-controllers do what they do in support of gun control can be found in what they are supporting. Remove “gun” from “gun control” and you end up with “control”, and that’s what they’re after. They seek a country where those in charge of government have unlimited control over the population – no messy Constitution, individual rights, or armed population blocking their way. This is the exact opposite of what the Founders established. The controllers underlying purpose is not to prevent crime, about which they do virtually nothing,… Read more »

Don

The 54% number comes from the FBI Unified Crime Report.

Alan

Don: If I may, you appear to be missing the basic point. The movers and shakers of “Anti Gun-ism”, I disregard the “lumpen” those who are, and or who permit themselves to be led around by the nose, are concerned with one thing and one thing only, CONTROL, the ability to order others around, preferably with no responsibility for the results, most often very poor, of the idiocy that they peddle. Your presentation is thoughtful and perfectly reasonable. Problem is that you are essentially talking to a brick wall. By the way, the anti gun cabal aside, some gun owners… Read more »

Sue

I can’t find any source for either the quote from Hilliary or the statistic of 54% of the gun deaths are committed by black men under the age of 30. What are your sources for this?
I agree that Ms Clinton is anti gun as they come but your quotes are false and therefore don’t help your cause.

F Riehl, Editor in Chief

We could not back it up either, so we deleted it.

Author OP

Lou, Jim,

It is not the policy to here to respond to every comment. But you two had something worthwhile to say.

Please remember that the audience in more than gun owners, and that it is the goal of the anti-gun left to define the NRA and to define the state of gun ownership and gun violence in America. We cannot let them define us or present their untrue version of the world.

This article is educational, and it speaks the truth as best possible. Not every article is written for your eyes.

Author OP

BGB – I have two sources but they are both weak. The comment was apparently made to the reporter after the formal interview but it was not part of the article. . I’d brought your concerns to the attention of the editor. I also read the Snopes site that said it was unconfirmed.

hlang1941@yahoo.com

Here is the normal crap from organizations such as the National Education Association (NEA). Their daily paper tries to sensationalize a shooting, then in the second paragraph try to report truth hoping no one will read it was a murder/suicide. Two Students Killed In Shooting At Arizona High School. ABC World News (2/12, story 8, 0:30, Muir) reported that on Friday, the bodies of two teenage girls were found in a remote area of the Independence High School campus in Glendale, Arizona with single gunshot wounds and in the presence of a firearm. NBC Nightly News (2/12, story 6, 0:20,… Read more »

Nancy - California Patriot

It’s not ALL about the guns – it’s about the CONTROL! Before a people can be subjected to tyranny, they MUST be disarmed! After that, a “government” can do whatever they want to whomever they want – just look at the JPFO genocide Chart: “https://jpfo.org/pdf02/genocide-chart.pdf”. And it is a crucial part of their “agenda”. Don’t be fooled or persuaded that if the anti-gun crowd backs off of us, that is going to change everything – because it WON’T! There will just be other ways for them to ensure we all submit. Do NOT expect ANY kind of logic to work… Read more »

BGB

Can you source the Clinton quote from the Des Moines Register? I could not find a listing in that media outlet for that quote and Snopes labels that as false. Using inaccurate or falsely attributed quotes does not help a pro 2A stance.

F Riehl, Editor in Chief

We could not back it up either, so we deleted it.

Jorge Norberto Pedace

DEBE TENERSE EN CUENTA,QUE NO BIEN DESCIENDA LA TASA DE TENENCIA DE ARMAS POR PROPIETARIOS DEBIDAMENTE REGISTRADOS Y AJUSTADOS A DERECHO,CRECERÁ EN FORMA EXPONENCIAL LA TASA DE DELITOS COMO ASALTO Y ROBO SEGUIDO DE MUERTE,VIOLACIONES ASALTO A COMERCIOS A TODA HORA,ESTA ES UNA CONSTANTE QUE SE VE EN OTROS PAÍSES COMO ARGENTINA POR EJEMPLO,DONDE LAS MUERTES SE SUCEDEN A DIARIO,PARA ROBAR EN ENTRADERAS A DOMICILIOS,PARA ROBAR LOS VEHÍCULOS A SUS PROPIETARIOS,Y OTRAS TANTAS FORMAS DE DELITOS,DE LOS CUALES LA ADMINISTRACIÓN ANTERIOR,JAMÁS SE HA HECHO CARGO.GRACIAS A DIOS HOY ESTAMOS EN EL CAMINO DE ENDEREZAR ESTE DESTINO LUCHEN PARA QUE NADA… Read more »

NC-VC

Nothing against Spanish, but to increase the understanding potential of your post would you supply a translation?

Ken

The difference between Chicago and Indiana is one one lets criminals have guns.

This_isn't_Australia

I am a 2nd Amendment supporter and carry concealed (legally) everyday. Please show me the link to the Des Moines Registry where Killary makes the statement in that Meme. On 25 October 2015, a Tumblr page dedicated to fake Hillary Clinton quotes posted a meme of the Democratic presidential candidate that included a quote supposedly uttered by her during an interview with the Des Moines Register on 8 August 2015: I can’t find a story on the paper that supports this. I personally think that Clinton, Reid, Pelosi, Obama, Sheila Watters, Cummings and about a dozen others need to be… Read more »

Lou

Great job of venting. I can’t imagine that the writer is so naïve to not understand that none of what Hillary is saying about gun control is about the arguable merits of lack there of, of her saying that she will try to ban the private ownership of guns. What this is, pure and simple, is a calculated political ploy, to grab the attention of the media. It’s no more than the same tactic that Trump is using to grab the News Cycle from others running against him, by saying seemingly outrageous things. This is not to say that she,… Read more »

Author

RKBA. The FBI unified crime report.

Bruce Danley

Why not ban hammers,Axes,why not just go ahead and band all Tool,and all modern equipment because they can KILL,because it is the person behind the tool that kills NOT The TOOL OR THE CAR.

Michael

If you banned all guns in the US, you would still have criminals with guns. Do these idiots not know that these same cartels in Mexico that bring in drugs, illegals, terrorists, prostitutes, and anything else they can make money off of would bring guns to criminals. The American people need to wake up and institute term-limits through the voting. Let’s ALL get together and elect people that support our values, not a regions self-interest. When a politician has been in DC more than 2 terms he then thinks he’s entitled. Vote them OUT!

Chuck

It is useless to try to talk sense into gun grabbers. They have a closed mind and don’t want to hear any reasons why guns are good for America. Our only answer is the ballot box and voting for candidates who have always been pro-gun. If they were ever anti-gun, even if it were 40 yrs. ago, don’t believe they have changed. It is just a back door scheme of anti-gunners to win elections. Never fall for it!!! Remember Obama in 2008???!!!

Terry-NC

Great article!

RKBA-DHT

Can you cite a source for the 54% number? I’d like to use it, but I don’t want to be accused of racism.

JohnC

Mr. McDougall, thank you for a well written, informative letter. Information disseminated to the public in a level educated voice is much more likely to influence someone positively than shrill, crude declarations.

Jim

This comment piece like so many others is too complicated. It (and even the NRA) talks guns and NOT why we have the Bill of Rights and WHY it was written to specifically protect the rights of INDIVIDUAL citizens from the government the founders had just formed and the Bill of Rights NOTHING to do with protecting the government or giving the government of then and now any power over the citizens rights in the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment was put in to specifically protect (arm) citizens from enemy’s both foreign and domestic and to jive exactly with… Read more »

freewill

we know their lieing about indiana, the crime rate in the State of Indiana in nowhere near the rate of Chicago..if brain dead liberals would open their eyes, they would see what prevents crime, i’d rather have Indianas laws instead of Chicago

durabo

Remember that most crime occurs in so-called “gun-free zones,” such as Chicago, the People’s Republic of New jersey, NYC, Washington, DC. etc. On the other hand, CCW states like FL, AZ, TX, UT, etc. are blessed with an ever-decreasing crime rate. I wish the opinions expressed by John Lott were better disseminated, but it will not happen as long as the Obama-worshipping LameStream EneMedia remain in charge of molding public opinion.

hippybiker

Yesterday, I watched that idiot Steve Harvey’s dog and pony show on national TV from Chicago. They had that creepy creature Valerie Jarrett on Video feed from DC explaining that the problem in Chicago is because of lax gun laws in Indiana. She parroted Obama’s lie that criminal from Chicago drive to Indiana and fill there trunks with guns to peddle in Chicago. Father Flaky and the useless eaters in the audience nodded their heads like the good little lap dogs that they are. I can not believe that so called intelligent people are falling for this tripe. It positively… Read more »