United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Lately, there has been a push to make passing gun control an essential element of “defending” democracy. The notion that opponents of gun control are a danger to democracy is something that Second Amendment supporters need to take down – without any mercy whatsoever.
Second Amendment supporters have been using the tools of democracy to protect our rights for decades. We discuss Second Amendment issues with our friends, family, and neighbors. We write letters to the editor, op-eds, and even publish books. We have our own outlets (Ammoland, Bearing Arms, The Reload). We join pro-Second Amendment organizations. We write our elected officials. We also VOTE.
In other words, Second Amendment supporters are arguably the foremost practitioners of democracy.
We’ve used these tools for decades, and with a great deal of success. In some ways, anti-Second Amendment extremists miss the mark by demonizing the National Rifle Association. The NRA does a lot, don’t get me wrong, but Second Amendment supporters who make the defense of our rights a make-or-break voting issue give pro-Second Amendment groups the strength they wield.
So, why is this lie being spread? The fact of the matter is that anti-Second Amendment extremists are losing the argument. People know that when police are being defunded, when crime is increasing, and that even if they get there, cops can botch things, they need to be ready to protect themselves. Furthermore, once they have the means to protect themselves, they won’t want to give them up.
That puts anti-Second Amendment extremists in a huge bind. When they are caught with something like this, they fall back on their usual approach: They fear-monger. They fear-mongered about modern multi-purpose semi-automatic long longs. They fearmonger about concealed carry.
Now, the focus is shifting. They’re going away from the guns and to fear-mongering about Second Amendment supporters. This prejudice-fueled propaganda could get very ugly for Second Amendment supporters. Think of the social stigmatization that already takes place. Now, some anti-Second Amendment extremists want to make gun ownership akin to tobacco use.
And, of course, we will see more censorship from Silicon Valley – again, in the name of “protecting” democracy by suppressing “misinformation.” Financial deplatforming could also follow from this new wave of fear-mongering. Corporate gun control could become a way for a business to improve its ESG score.
This isn’t a fight that can just be won by defeating anti-Second Amendment extremists via the ballot bot at the federal, state, and local levels. It will also require winning over the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans.
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.
First point: we live in a Constitutional Republic. Federalism is our structure, not direct democracy (thank God). The best defenses against federal over reach are to strictly enforce limitations on federal power. NFA down the tubes. With very few exceptions our founders envisioned criminal and property law to be reserved to the many states with only very limited and carefully defined federal intrusion. Things like treason and piracy fell to the feds. All else to the many states to deal with as they best see fit. Progressives and the progressive movement clouded this issue by attempting to circumvent the limitations… Read more »
Isn’t it interesting how EVIL is always trying to take away or change the freedom of expression in the 1st, 2nd, amendments since it was God who provided the Constitution to mankind to live by…EVIL is on mission to destroy what God has created for good…
The bane of civilian gun rights advocacy is how the antis are wedded to gun control narratives despite patent truths about crime, guns and the social order. Only by strenuously taking the offensive, ie. lobbying for harsher penalties for criminal misuse of firearms, stiff punishment for irresponsible gun handling as well as negligent storage of firearms, in presence if immature youth and end “gun free zones”,can we turn the tables on the idiots who blame us for the horrors wrought by criminals. Arguments in our defense seldom reach far, since antis refuse to debate. but taking the rhetorical war to… Read more »
Politics is not a victimless crime those elected should be held accountable for their undertakings while abusing their elected office. I truly would like those writers here and in the media to stop using or paraphrasing the term gun control. Nothing could be farther from the truth in that description or the elected politicians intent. The intent is to castrate the constitution by those elected using the lower courts while fear mongering through their marriage with a corrupt media extends their reach to the public. The true intent of the elected elite is to disarm the American public they fear… Read more »
Whether a democratic government or not, its power must have limits.
All bloviation, all the time, no effective (or any) action info.
STRIKE GROUP OBVIOUS!