Being Part of the Gun Community or Culture Does NOT Make You a Gun Activist ~ VIDEO

America Debate War Democrat vs Republican Left vs Right Stock-586087852
Being Part of the Gun Community or Culture Does NOT Make You a Gun Activist!  iStock-586087852

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- It’s been three solid months since the election and most of us in the “gun-rights community” or “gun-rights activist community” have moved on to prepping for the fight ahead as a result of the outcome of said election.

Trust me when I tell you, that fight is coming.

How do I know? I know because I take them at their word when the Democrats and Joe Biden tell us what they want to do. I know the Democrat party is the party of gun control. It always has been and always will be. Don’t want to believe me? Here’s a taste of that gun-grabber wish list in their 2020 platform from page 47 and 48 as a reminder to those who think Biden is “no more of a threat than Trump was”:

“Democrats will enact universal background checks, end online sales of guns and ammunition, close dangerous loopholes…..Page 47, 2020 Democrat Party Platform

“Democrats will ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines. We will incentivize states to enact licensing requirements for owning firearms and extreme risk protection order laws that allow courts to temporarily remove guns from the possession of those who are a danger to themselves or others.” Page 48, 2020 Democrat Party Platform

Not enough for you? How about this from the Biden campaign website? Maybe this will convince you:

  • “It’s within our grasp to end our gun violence epidemic and respect the second amendment, which is limited.” (emphasis added)
  • “Hold gun manufacturers accountable.” (This means repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act which he says he “will prioritize repealing this action.”)
  • “Get Weapons of War off our streets.”
  • “Ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines.”
  • “Regulate possession of existing assault weapons under the existing national firearms act.”
  • “Buy-back the assault weapons and high capacity magazines already in our communities.”

There’s much more where that came from in the Biden plan but this gives you an idea and a reminder that yes, it’s the Democrat Party that is the party of gun control.

My vote in 2016 and 2020 as the host of Armed American Radio and AAR Daily Defense national radio broadcasts was a vote against the Democrat hatred of my gun rights and I will never apologize for that vote. That holds true for every previous election.

Politics, and voting, in particular, is a choice between candidates and I was given a choice. (I will not get caught up in the tommyrot suggesting that Donald Trump wasn’t pro-gun enough. To even suggest Donald Trump posed a similar threat to the future of our gun rights as this current group of Swallwell, Biden, O’Rourke, Harris, Schumer, Durbin, et.al. now in control of the government, is a twisted joke, and frankly makes those who argue such appear foolish and disingenuous). Here’s a 2024 teaser, I will vote for the same choice in the next election. My guns!

Hint. I won’t be voting for a Democrat, because, (wash, rinse and repeat), it’s the Democrat Party that hates my guns. Got it? A vote for Democrats is a vote against gun rights, period. There is no gray area and frankly, I’m getting sick of the psycho-babble suggesting otherwise. This is about ideas, platforms, and agendas, not individuals. There are two major political parties in this nation and that isn’t going to change for the foreseeable future. Deal with it.

One runs on a pro-gun platform, the other an anti-gun platform. I don’t have time for, nor do I care to engage in some nonsense pseudo-intellectual blather about ending the two party system, changing the “duopoly” gibberish, etc. I’ll leave that up to the internet basement dwellers with too much time on their hands and a Unicorn in their bedroom closet. In the meantime in Realtyville, I’ll continue fighting, in my own way, on my own platforms, for gun rights, and today that means fighting the Democrats and their anti-gun agenda.

You ignore them at your own risk. I won’t. Here’s how it is, not the way I want to see it, but here’s the way it is: Biden is your president whether you like it or not and along with that fact comes page 47 and 48 of that Democrat Platform and the “Biden Plan to End Gun Violence” as outlined on his campaign website and his own words (see above). I choose to take them at their word. They want our guns, we’ve known it for decades, they’re playing the long game, they have control of the federal government, they are more well-funded than ever before, the legacy, establishment media is in their hip-pocket and we have one hell of a fight on our hands. Like it or not.

The question becomes, how do we deal with this all-hands-on-deck effort to gut the Second Amendment?

To answer that requires us to define who we are or at least get a somewhat clearer picture. I hear a lot of talk about “gun culture,” the “gun community,” and the words I used above, the “gun-rights community,” or “gun-rights-activist.” I also hear a lot of chatter about how we as a “community” need to “open our arms” to the millions of new gun owners. New gun owners in large part created from the threat a Biden administration poses to our gun rights and the violent and ongoing rioting that left a wake of destruction in many Democrat-controlled cities over the summer of 2020. (The riots that the legacy establishment media seems to have forgotten. Yeah, those riots.)

So what or who exactly is the “gun community” and is every gun owner in America a part of the “gun community?” I believe, for the most part, when folks hear the term “gun community,” they believe it to be encompassing the three terms mentioned above, community, culture, and activists. I disagree. They are, in my estimation, mutually exclusive of one another.

For example, I live in a nice community. A neighborhood if you will made up of diverse families of every color, creed, religion, similar economic backgrounds, but all with different beliefs and lifestyles, tied together by the fact that we share the same community. Some are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, some gun owners, others not, yet we’re all part of the same “community.” I would argue that the word community in this sense is very broad and may be all-encompassing. I could easily argue that any gun owner is a part of, or at the very least could be considered part of the gun community in that respect just as any neighbor that lives in my neighborhood is a part of my community.

Being a part of the gun “culture,” on the other hand is more focused. To be a part of the gun “culture”, one would have to be, in my estimation, not only a gun owner but someone more active in the gun “community.” The family that shoots clays on weekends, hunts, trains regularly (when ammo is available), carries a CCW, and more or less actually lives what I refer to as an armed lifestyle. Like those in the “gun community,” this is also a very diverse group made up of all walks of life, economic backgrounds, political beliefs, lifestyles, religions, etc.

Now we get to gun “Activists.” This is laser-focused. Drilled down to the core. This group of gun owners is the ones on the front-lines. Me. More than likely if you’re reading this, you. Not everyone is a part of this group. Many might like to believe they are activists simply because they own guns and believe in the right to bear arms but this group goes a step further. This group not only attends the rallies but helps plan them. This group attends lobby days, writes letters to the editors when they see their rights being attacked by gun prohibitionists, engages the “community” on behalf of the right to bear arms, donates hard-earned money to the groups that fight the gun-grabbers, and essentially becomes a part of the movement that fights against gun-grabbers and the political party that wants to deny us our rights. (Democrats)

This group is not made up of everyone who simply owns a gun and likes their guns. No way. This group has earned the right to call themselves activists by putting it on the line, every day. This group would never, and I mean never consider pulling the lever for any candidate representing any party that mentions the platforms quoted in this column. Never!

Warning: Bunched Panties Ahead

Crybabys College Snowflakes
Warning: Bunched Panties Ahead

Now comes the part where panties get wadded. Hear me loud and clear. I’ve stated this on-air for years. There are many members of the gun “community” or gun “culture” who vote for gun-grabbing politicians. These gun owners are NOT and never will be “activists” and do not deserve to wear the label. They haven’t earned it. In my estimation, if you run your mouth about your gun rights being just as important to you as they are to me, for example, then pull the lever for the party that has stated intentions of infringing on those rights, you’re nothing more than a Democrat that likes guns. And that’s OK, just own it. You may (or may not) be fixable but you certainly haven’t arrived yet. You have other issues that are more important to you than our gun rights. When the chips come down, you’ll likely be willing to accept infringements that all of us will fight against.

The activist, on the other hand, is hardcore, single-issue and works their ass off to fight for their rights. That does NOT include voting for avowed gun-grabbers. Ever.

You gun owners that pull the lever for the folks we fight against at great monetary expense, time, and effort every single day, year after year, have not earned entrance into the club. I’m glad you’re a gun owner, yay for you. Now enjoy your guns, be responsible, get training and enjoy your freedoms, we’ll help you because that’s who we are, enjoy being American and I’m glad you have other issues that are more important to you than your guns. That’s your right as an American, but know this: While you enjoy your right to bear arms and protecting your family with the guns of your choice, a great many of us out here will be ferociously fighting against those gun-grabbers you voted for and not just on our behalf, but yours also.

Must be nice being that gun owner that gets the free pass of gun ownership while bearing none of the burden or responsibility of fighting for the right to do so. Spare me your excuse of working to “change your party from within.” As long as you’re voting for the enemies of our right to keep and bear arms at the booth, we’re not friends simply because we’re both gun owners. You may as well ride that Unicorn to your next range session.

No worries, we’ll have your back. We always do. And a reminder: When the Biden/Harris gun control agenda begins moving through the halls of congress or flowing from the ink pen of “sniffy” Joe Biden, or AG’s or cabinet members, or health officials, I will be here and on-air ready to remind you loud and clear who is responsible.

Yes, the truth is a harsh mistress.

 


About Mark Walters

Mark Walters is the host of two nationally syndicated radio broadcasts, Armed American Radio and Armed American Radio’s Daily Defense with Mark Walters. He is the Second Amendment Foundations 2015 Gun Rights Defender of the Year award recipient and co-author of several books, Grilling While Armed, Lessons from Armed America with Kathy Jackson and Lessons from Unarmed America . Mark is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Follow Mark and support pro-gun media.

Mark Walters

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nrringlee

Here is a challenge for you all. Volunteer to spend a few hours working an event or a gun show for any gun rights organization. Talk with people about joining and supporting your organization and its efforts. Show them the results. Then prepare yourself for the excuses as to why they can’t part with 30 bucks or spend a few hours a month or write a letter or join anything for fear of being on a list. Friends, it is shocking. But then again, look at what a tiny percentage of our population think it is a good thing to… Read more »

USMC0351Grunt

Semper Fi Mac! Veterans! Is your gear in order?

JSNMGC

Oh, their gear is in order.

For the military veterans who went into other government jobs, what orders do you think they will not follow?

Dave in Fairfax

MM44M,

I totally agree about the article as well as the single issue voting.
It’s funny, it used to be that immigrants and 1st generation kids were the most rabidly pro-American people you could find because they knew what the alternative was. It seems like most of the new immigrants and 1st generation (DACA or not) kids want to turn the US into the shit holes they escaped from. We are in a fight for the very existence of this country. Speaking as an old 1st generation kid.

Last edited 3 years ago by Dave in Fairfax
Dubi Loo

AMEN to both of you. Your words echo my thoughts.

Finnky

Well said Dave. MM44M was spot on. As first gen of parents who came from a relatively “gun free” country, and who ignored firearms, plus growing up in a rather liberal part of California – I had some serious catching up to do once coming to Texas. Since then have been slowly evolving: first gun owner, eventually took classes and became an enthusiast. Still there, thou forward movement is occurring. Robert O’Rourke slugged me in the face, waking me from a stupor. For me, his campaign took gun rights from at best a minor consideration to first and often only… Read more »

Cruiser

The Democrats are counting on Illegals to vote for them(open borders). Hopefully this will backfire on the Dems when they realize Democrats are really taking taking freedoms away.

Last edited 3 years ago by Cruiser
JSNMGC

Well, the ones from Venezuela understand that taking away freedom by implementing government-imposed price controls is one of the elements of totalitarianism.

Stag

I’ve said for years there is a huge difference between being pro-gun and pro-2A. Most people are pro-gun. Unfortunately, few are pro-2A.

Ansel Hazen

Spot on Mark.

JSNMGC

Mark Walters,

No mention of “what orders will you not follow?”

At this stage, don’t you think that is an important part of activism?

USMC0351Grunt

For all intents and purposes, it does not appear that Mark Walters is a member of the armed forces and thereby is not committed to follow or not follow ANY orders as prescribed under the articles of the UCMJ?

JSNMGC

USMC0351Grunt, Mark wrote a lengthy article about activism. He wrote about voting and about the importance of getting involved. I agree with all of that and it is disappointing that so many firearm owners did not get involved in grassroots efforts over the years. At this stage (with more gun control laws almost a certainty at the federal level), I believe activism includes asking LEOs: “what orders will you not follow?” LEOs, as you know, are not subject to the UCMJ, but they do receive orders. In 2020, the average American saw the extent to which many LEOs would follow… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by JSNMGC
USMC0351Grunt

Understood. I was just in a different zone when I was writing that… In this matter, (Asking LEO’s which order would the NOT follow?) I would suggest people go to Oathkeepers.org and review the primary “10 Orders We Will NOT Obey”, either purchase Push Cards from Oathkeepers’ and hand them to the LEO’s, and others… Or make up their own cards with the same exact verbiage. (Yes SR, I suggested they plagiarize your cards.) Then hand them to LEO’s and wait for their response. I have handed those to Federal, State, County and City LEO’s, Agents, etc., and if their… Read more »

JSNMGC

We are in agreement.

I looked-up the 10 orders the Oathkeepers will not obey.

If LEOs follow those promises, they have my 100% support.

RoyD

Dare I say that a slight smile crossed my face after having read your piece and found no mention of that other group whose time has not yet come, but will.

nrringlee

I guess I view it a bit differently. I am a child of the Cold War, had family in occupied Europe during WW II and was raised by men and women who fought the Great Crusade. My Great Crusade was not against Fascism but against Communism. My political consciousness came alive early and the choice was clear. Fight communism. So defending liberty as a whole became my mantra early. The most obvious aspect of our liberty under attack was our gun rights. Coming from a shooting and military family it was clear that gun rights was the forward edge of… Read more »

TEEBONE

It isn’t just Democrats. Rubio has introduced an ‘enhancement’ to the Patriot Act that tosses due process out the window. For details go to:

https://national-justice.com/senator-marco-rubio-introduces-bill-suspend-gun-rights-anyone-who-has-ever-been-investigated

JSNMGC

Rubio is one of the worst.

I asked Phillip Journey about Rubio’s press release earlier today:

https://www.ammoland.com/2021/01/constitutional-carry-coming-to-utah-the-outlook-is-positive/#axzz6lvoWCK2k

No answer yet as to whether the NRA will do a press release and revoke Rubio’s A+ rating.

Wass

Mark, you’re not exaggerating. I knew a guy, who twenty years ago, as a gun club member in NY, won a Glock 17 in a raffle, then not only proceeded to vote for Al Gore in the 2020 election, but did it in NY and Florida. We hate to think that the gun owning community has some of these types, but it’s a fact.

Last edited 3 years ago by Wass
JSNMGC

He voted for Al Gore for president in the 2020 election in both NY and Florida?

There are a lot (40%?) of gun owners who have historically – going back to the 1930s – voted for more gun control. It’s nothing new.

Within the last 24 hours, there was a person who posted on this site something about FDR being good and AOC being bad. FDR did far more damage to the US than AOC has done (so far).

Last edited 3 years ago by JSNMGC
Wass

While I didn’t ask him whom he voted for, in the 2000 election, knowing him, I assume he voted for Gore.

JSNMGC

I see – I think you had a typo in your first post (you wrote 2020 instead of 2000).

Wass

You’re right. Sorry. The year 2000 was such a long time ago.

Last edited 3 years ago by Wass
Considerthis

Infinite up votes for Mark !!!!
I would like to point out the downside of pursuing true activism. The gnawing haunting feeling that you have never done enough,you have never convinced enough people, and you have never given enough, never leaves you.

Chuck

I agree, for the most part, with the authors premise. I have slightly different opinions as to causes and means, but for the most part he’s right. Activism implies both Activity and Actively. You can’t have real Activism without both. This means you must practice what you preach, and promoting and defending what you preach. Does this mean we must participate in protests and counter protests? Yes and No. It’s a part of activism, but I question its value, as it at times has had a detrimental effect overall for the public perception. It’s an activity that we should question… Read more »

gregs

democrats/leftists, which ever tag you use for them, hate freedom(s). they want to put parameters or even eliminate free speech, religious activities, 2A, 4A, and any other Amendments of the Bill of Rights. hell, they even took God off their platform several election cycles ago. these oligarchs are only concerned about accumulating and wielding power over us, the uneducated peasants who are not able to care for ourselves. moral relativism is their religion, pitting groups against groups.

Ryben Flynn

“It’s within our grasp to end our gun violence epidemic and respect the second amendment, which is limited.
Seems Democrats have a poor understanding of the English language.
I passed HS English with an “A” and as I understand it, “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED” means NO LIMITS.
Denying a person of their Constitutional Rights (ANY of them) requires good cause and not just some insane new anti-gun law that only affects those who do not commit crimes.

USMC0351Grunt

Many people often openly complain in public about the way things don’t go the way they like. I listen to their issues then I ask them if they are registered to vote? “CRICKETS”. Then I ask them, “Ok, what is the SOLUTION you are going to provide after complaining? Again, “CRICKETS”. I stood downtown Dallas, Texas, (Across from the Transit Bus Hub) holding a $50 bill, asking the people around me simple questions pointing to most that were complaining, telling them I would give them the $50 if they could answer whatever question I pointed to them with; “Who is… Read more »

USMC0351Grunt

GREAT JOB MARK! KEEP IT UP!

Brian

There’re valid criticisms here for gun owners who talk about 2A rights but then voted for HRC and Biden. However, you’ve a “No True Scotsman” logic fallacy in your condescending remarks on others regarding Trump, gun rights, duopoly, etc. The path to winning big and successfully defending our freedoms isn’t going to be denigrating or disavowing folks who call an authoritarian an authoritarian regardless of party affiliation. Sure, it’s nice red meat for your ego, but if all you’ve got is the psychological masturbation of “you’re not as good as me”, it’s pretty pathetic.

JSNMGC

Go on . . .

USMC0351Grunt

And you have performed what tasks in defending and protecting the rights of American citizens’ Second Amendment Rights?

Last edited 3 years ago by USMC0351Grunt