USA – -(Ammoland.com)- It’s the time of year when many Americans are inclined to make resolutions. Some will opt to try and lose weight. Others may want to quit smoking, cut back on drinking, start an exercise program, go back to school, or find more rewarding employment. Those can all be worthy goals for gun owners to aspire to, but don’t forget the preservation and restoration of the right to keep and bear arms. That’s surely a major concern of all who are not oblivious to the efforts of those working to undermine and eviscerate it.
Over the years I’ve come up with resolutions designed to highlight and further some aspect of RKBA advocacy. Suggestions include:
- Know who your federal, state and local representatives are and know how to contact them. When appropriate, do so. Make sure any promoting themselves with words of support for the Second Amendment are consistent in their actions.
- Write letters to the editor to promote the right to keep and bear arms, or to correct the record when needed. Keep in mind many impose guidelines, word limits, etc., so following them will better your chances of being published.
- Join a “gun rights” group. There is strength in numbers. Don’t neglect your state group(s). If one doesn’t seem a good fit for you, try an alternative. And along those lines, if they’re not actively alerting members and warning politicians about the single greatest threat gun owners currently face – a “pathway to citizenship” that by all objective measures will ensure an overwhelmingly anti-gun national electorate — demand some answers.
- Learn more, about the Constitution, about bills being proposed and advanced, and about how to see through what the media is saying to what is really going down.
- Take a new person shooting. Who knows where that could lead? You never will unless you do.
- Support legal efforts to defend the Second Amendment.
- If a worthy project comes along, help with the funding and spreading the word.
- Contact companies that promote anti-gun policies to let them know why you are dissatisfied. Where practical patronize a competitor and make that known.
- Teach your children about guns with development-appropriate lessons and experiences.
- Make it a point not to spread unverified internet rumors that get everyone stirred up and wasting energy over nothing. Be cautious if something you’re urged to “share with everyone you know!!!” doesn’t come with a link to a credible source.
- Attend peaceable public demonstrations in support of the Second Amendment. Don’t forget that doing so puts you in the position of being a representative for others in the eyes of observers — whether you intend that or not.
- Be a force multiplier. The mass media reaches and influences millions daily. Bloggers and liberty writers don’t get anywhere near those numbers, so without you sharing links, most of the public will never know there are truths being distorted or withheld from them. Along those lines, don’t automatically turn your nose up at “social media” – just don‘t share private information with the world and focus on what’s important to share.
- All this theoretical stuff is one thing. If capable, don’t forget the physical. Train to improve performance and endurance.
- Make sure firearms and ammunition are in good working order.
- If you’re not already doing it, learn the fundamentals and do some basic prepping.
- Know your area and assess likely allies.
Pick a resolution from the above list. There’s actually no reason why most of them can’t be fulfilled over the course of a year. Or you may have ideas of your own you can share with the rest of us in “comments.”
The important thing is to do something.
Every day.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Good list, except for the first item. In my experience they don’t listen to anything but BIG money . . . VERY big money. If the GOA membership was as numerous and wealthy as the NRA, it might make sense to throw all support behind them. As it is most can only afford the American Rifleman subscription level, and I’d rather get that from the free rack at the library, so my money goes to the “little guys” in hopes they’ll some day become the big guys. Faxing a Congresscritter with an autodialer might irritate his/her staff enough to draw… Read more »
Good article and a sensible list of to do items. I know that I do not attend to all of them the way I should.
@Tcat, it has to be a hobby. One must take delight in annoying one’s employees in government.
Fire at least one round, from every gun you own, over the course of 2018! In a safe manner of course;-)