United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- In the wake of a horrific shooting like the one in Uvalde, the emotions and demand for action runs high. The good news is that our system of government makes it extremely hard to ram horrible legislation through in the heat of the moment absent massive majorities in Congress and control of the White House.
The fact is, while Charles Schumer may be Senate Majority Leader (a post he hopefully vacates due to massive mid-term losses in November), he doesn’t have a majority that can ram things through quickly. That said, after something like what happened in Uvalde, the tactics used to defend our Second Amendment rights need to reflect the situation as it is, not how we want it to be.
Anti-Second Amendment extremists on Twitter love to talk about how quickly Australia, New Zealand, and England moved to enact sweeping gun bans that inflicted injustice upon hundreds of thousands (if not millions) for horrific crimes and acts of madness they did not commit. So, the first move has to be to buy time and let the facts come out and let emotions cool.
The failures in the response and the security lapses are getting more attention. Second Amendment supporters need to be at the forefront in demanding accountability for the poor decisions and changes in policies and procedures.
Mitch McConnell is making the right call to have Senators negotiate right now. The more the negotiations go on, the more the emotions cool and the facts come out. In addition, there is a chance to replicate the NRA’s post-Columbine strategy. Re-read that history and learn from it.
At this point, there is good school security legislation that can be pushed as an alternative to gun bans. It also has the benefit of not even touching on gun laws at all – it actually addresses the problems we’ve seen with securing the schools children attend, and not just against mass shootings. This should be pushed hard – and the opposition of anti-Second Amendment extremists to those measures should be emphasized.
What is also essential is to not get caught in a bubble. A mass shooting at a school like those in Uvalde, Newtown, or Parkland are traumatic events. The loss of children is a deep shock. People want something done to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and in the heightened state of shock and when emotions run high, anti-Second Amendment extremists try to stampede them into acting.
The fact is, the wrong approach at this time could turn Second Amendment support into a dealbreaker for the same suburban parents who were once willing to put the Second Amendment debate aside due to concerns about school curricula. It is hard to have to tolerate the lies and to be the bigger person, but sometimes, that is what it takes to defend the Second Amendment.
Finally, Second Amendment supporters need to work to ensure that anti-Second Amendment extremists are defeated via the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
the anti’s have much more money behind them so we must fight smart, to wade in blindly will not end well.
More finger wagging nonsense. You don’t feel the least bit odd about yourself when talking down to people and issuing imperatives to them on what to think and how to act? No to mention how you’re wrong. The right to keep and bear arms is not up for grabs, and we’re not going to act like it could be to gain brownie points.
Go away, Harold. The right to keep and bear arms will be better off without you.
“Tactics” resulted in NRA support of the Hughes Amendment.
There we go again, Harold the big head talking down to the plebs of Ammoland. Wake up!! These tyrants don’t give a damn about the Constitution, the Courts, or most particularly, public safety. But don’t take my word for it, HAIROLD, Let’s hear what Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) recently said the following about this latest push: “You will not stop us from passing [gun control]. If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand. We will not rest until we’ve taken weapons of war out of our communities.” So all your ‘strategery’… Read more »
To be the bigger person? HA! That’s what’s gotten gun owners/enthusiasts/2A supporters in the mess we’re already in. I’m pretty tired of getting dumped on and losing rights due to the actions of a few maniacs. No more should be the battle cry. Enough with the compromises that aren’t really compromises.
In this instance, as Harold suggests, if Republican leadership agrees to negotiate about school security, it’s a good thing. But how will they stave off the Dens drive to include gun restrictions, remains to be seen. In my view, if Biden and the Dems make guns an issue, in the coming election season (of course, to distract from inflation, immigration, failure in Afghanistan etc.), it will be a strategic mistake for them. How do I know? Because history shows it always is. The wide American people do indeed support the Second Amendment, elites and Dems, notwithstanding. The spread of constitutional… Read more »