Take The Offensive
The Best Defense Is A Good … Well, You Know
A month after Republicans held their national convention, Democrats meet this month in Chicago not just to pick their nominees but also hammer out the party platform. You can rest assured where guns and the Second Amendment are mentioned, it will be a “full 180-degrees” from where the Republican party came down.
No surprise there, but now is the time for gun owners to set any differences aside and put their independent labors to work in a very big way. Someone already gave you a starting point.
Tulsi Turned
Months ago, former Democrat-turned-Independent Tulsi Gabbard revealed what amounts to a personal epiphany about guns, gun owners and the Second Amendment. This was on Donald Trump, Jr.’s podcast called “Triggered.”
As might be expected, a number of skeptics accused her of ulterior motives without considering the explosive content of her remarks. What former Congresswoman Gabbard said has the makings of political dynamite. All it needs is a detonator and this is where you come in.
Gabbard explained she grew up in Hawaii, “Probably one of the most restrictive states for gun ownership in the country,” and entered the military, where firearms and ammunition are strictly accounted for and maintained. But then came her short-lived presidential run in 2020, during which she encountered people like you and me whose beliefs, practices and lifestyles around guns were far different. For her it was an eye-opener. For us, it was political ammunition because her observations are now on the record.
“I’ve got to tell you,” she told Trump, Jr., “as time went on and I spent a lot of time, especially over my campaign for president and the year since, with a lot of folks in New Hampshire and Iowa and different parts of the country, who had a very different experience than I did growing up.
“They raised a lot of concerns about, around some of the things that throughout my time in Congress had all been coined as ‘well these are common-sense gun safety laws.’ This is well-intentioned, in order to try to make sure that our communities are safe.”
“That’s a pretty compelling argument. But as with many things in Washington, as you know well, once you start peeling back the surface, you can understand that for a lot of folks who are using those words, they don’t have good intentions at all.”
“Their real objective is to try to get rid of the Second Amendment and take away our right to own firearms,” Gabbard observed, “and our rights to defend ourselves, and even more pointedly, especially where we are now and where the Biden-Harris administration has taken us, our Founders intended the Second Amendment to be a check on the abuse of power by a tyrannical government.
“When you look at what the Biden-Harris administration has done,” she concluded, “where they’re using the power of our law enforcement at county, state and federal level in different ways, using the power of the Department of Justice, the power of the National Security state, against American citizens … where they have no issue of using the secret FISA court to surveil Americans, illegally without a warrant, they have no issues siccing the FBI or other law enforcement agencies against American citizens who’ve done nothing wrong other than exercise their right to free speech, so over time my increased understanding, my being able to have some great and honest conversations with Americans who cherish our freedoms, who cherish the Second Amendment, helped me better understand what it really meant.”
These aren’t just words. It’s the script for a powerful campaign commercial — GOP are you paying attention? — and even more, it’s how you attack the other side at candidate forums, picnics and other public gatherings where simply asking “What about that?” can have some very interesting results
Spread The News
Quote Gabbard in Op-Ed submissions, in letters to the editor, at community gatherings and remember this caveat: “Hey, those aren’t my words, they’re the observations of a former member of Congress, a courageous woman who didn’t leave the party, the party left her.”
The real political fireworks begin with the Labor Day weekend. Your local politicians and political office seekers will be making plenty of appearances. Because you are a taxpayer and voter, you have the absolute right — and responsibility — to question their platforms and motives. Also their voting records if they are incumbents.
Be polite, be attentive to their responses, do not behave in a boorish manner and know when to walk away, allowing someone else to talk. You will have made your point; don’t become the lead story on the 5 o’clock news!
If some candidate advocates for restrictions on gun owners, you fire right back: “Well, what about locking up criminals? What about requiring high cash bail?” Expect a word salad answer.
“Guns should be safely stored”
“Yeah, they’re in my locked house. And Joe Dirtbag doesn’t have permission to be in there.” Be prepared for “They should always be under lock and key,” at which point you remind them such a requirement might be unconstitutional under the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Heller.
“Gun owners should be held liable if their stolen guns are used in a crime.”
“Right, same as you should be held liable if your stolen car is used in a crime, especially if someone is killed.” Wait for it: “Cars are different than guns.” Then you reply, “Right, again. Cars are not protected by the Constitution, but my firearms are, and the victims of car-related violence are just as dead.”
I repeat ad nauseum: Politics is a contact sport and none of us are spectators. As this column explained last month, be flexible enough to cut your allies some slack — they can be educated and could change their minds, as Ms. Gabbard did. Their presence in office helps achieve the political majority, which controls and sets the agenda.
On the other hand, you should always play hardball with your opponents.
Gabbard acknowledged her misunderstanding of what we call the “firearms culture” or more appropriately, the “Second Amendment community.” It is a welcome transformation and should be referenced at every opportunity to represent how an intelligent, patriotic U.S. citizen was able to realize her error and correct it.
If you cite her remarks anywhere, stress she is a “former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, a decorated military veteran and one-time presidential candidate.” It’s impressive information and it might just sway enough voters to make it worthwhile in November.
