Acting with one voice

If you’re not angry about what happened in Virginia earlier this year, you ought to be.

Only about 40 percent of Old Dominion voters bothered to cast ballots and as a result, anti-gun Democrats took over the General Assembly and immediately started talking gun control. As a result, more than 100 counties, cities and smaller municipalities declared themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuaries.” While it may have no force of law, it makes a powerful statement.

Welcome To The New Order

On the very first day of their session this past January, Virginia’s majority Democrats pushed four gun control bills through the Senate Judiciary Committee, wasting no time following through on their threats of more gun control.

This November, you’ve got a chance to make sure it doesn’t happen in your state. Get mad and stay mad. Channel your frustration into political action, and get your friends and voting family members energized. And then, get behind pro-2A candidates, even if they’re not your first choice.

Remember this: Virginia was just a warm-up for gun grabbers but their entire agenda is now out there for everyone to see.

Democrats gather for their national convention in mid-July while Republicans will meet Aug. 24-27 in Charlotte, N.C. In the aftermath of both, one thing should be foremost on the minds of anybody who considers himself or herself a Second Amendment activist — Set aside any squabbles you might have and unite with a single voice!

Millions working together are a formidable force. By now you’ve got a pretty good idea about which party is on your side and which party wants to place a boot on your neck.

Next Steps:

• Contact gun shows in your area and ask about doing a voter registration drive at the shows in September and October. Some readers might be shocked at the number of gun owners who are not registered to vote. To save the Second Amendment, you must do your part. Remember, we’re talking about a fundamental individual right so each individual is responsible for protecting it.

• Volunteer to help a candidate and make sure the candidate knows you’re a gun owner who supports his/her stated position on the Second Amendment. If a candidate asks you to be his/her “policy advisor” on gun issues, jump at the opportunity.

• If a candidate holds a “Town Hall” gathering in your town, be there. Question their position on your Second Amendment rights, and don’t be shy about it. You can be polite, but firm. Better still, if there is a debate between two candidates, insist moderators allow questions about gun rights versus gun control.

Find out via your state’s election office or public disclosure commission which candidate receives contributions from gun control groups or gun rights organizations. It’s public information and we’ve discussed this previously. If you have the opportunity to ask a candidate face-to-face about this, don’t hesitate. If they try to dance around the subject, just say this: “That’s very interesting, but you didn’t answer my question.”

Take Action Now!

Want to confront anti-gun candidates with facts? At the Second Amendment Foundation’s website (saf.org) under the heading “Protect Your Rights,” you will find each state’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms provision and the states without such a provision.
Using your favorite search engine, call up “FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2018,” the most recent year for which data is available. Late next month, the FBI will release the 2019 data, which still gives activists plenty of time to find out the murder and weapons data nationally, and in your state.

On the main page, go to the box headlined “Offenses Known to Law Enforcement.” Under the subhead “Expanded Offense Data,” click on “Weapons.” When the page opens, go to Expanded Homicide Data Tables and you will find the following:

“Weapons: Expanded Homicide Data Tables 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15 and 20.” Under Table 8 you will find five years’ worth of data on total homicides and a breakdown of weapons and how many were used in what sort of crime. Under Table 20 you will find the state-by-state breakdown of homicides, so find your state. Memorize this information so you can debate with anti-gunners as an informed activist.
Keep this figure always in mind. According to a report by Summit News earlier this year, there are now more than 422.9 million privately owned firearms in the U.S., including an estimated 17.7 million modern sporting rifles (aka “Semiautomatic assault weapons”).

This would make the 10,000–12,000 guns used annually in homicides a tiny fraction of all the guns in private possession, which begs the question: Why should we ban any firearm, especially the semi-auto modern sporting rifle which is used in a fraction of all murders?

Know And Act

Study this data. It is very good debate fodder and can be used to leave anti-gunners tongue-tied. It looks good, when used in context, in a letter to the editor. And, you didn’t make it up!

Go to a candidate’s forum and ask them to discuss their position on gun control versus gun rights and how it squares with your state constitution and the FBI crime data. If they can’t provide a straight answer, they flunk the test.

Be sure to vote in the primaries in your state, then make sure you vote in the general election. These people can be defeated, but it’s up to you to make it happen!

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