Ways you can get involved in gun rights..

[Barbara]

There really isn't a trick to doing this and there are tons of ways you can get involved, but I think a lot of people are intimidated by the process and dont' know what to do or where to begin. We also have some darned good activists here and I thought it would be great to get some of their thoughts on making changes.

For me, most importantly, I think, is getting involved in the political process yourself. I hate the whole thing but its a necessary evil. Run as a precinct delegate, get on a first name basis with your congresscritters. They nearly all hold open houses in your area. Go to these..don't be rude, even if they're snakes, just shake their hand, and tell them why you're there. If its someone who has helped us, offer to help them. An hour or so of your time doing something constructive is going to give you a whole lot more influence than writing an email to someone.

Ok, more later..gotta go do some of this stuff myself.

Let's hear from the rest of you..how else can people get involved? Training programs for new shooters or hunters (yep, this isn't what the 2nd Amendment is about..but it is the place many, many people start when it comes to shooting..better we teach them ourselves than have them learn from John Kerry types, eh?)

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

I'm a member of the NRA, but I'm in the process of taking many anti-gun friends to the range. I've converted quite a few, but still have more to go. I offer and take anyone else who is curious, anti, impartial about guns to the range regardless if they are friends.

I commend your effort to become an activist. We need more people like you. However, some of us are not cut out for activism. Some of us are better off calling, writing and voting..as well as contributing to the cause financially.

Personally, taking 1 anti-gunner and making them sympathetic to the RKBA is one of the best things a person can do when they are not a pro-gun personality, lobbyist, or local activist leader. Once a person "sees the light", they no longer advocate or perpetuate anti-gun ideas, myths and rhetoric to others or their friends and circles. That has a huge impact. It helps silence the "buzz" that supports such anti-liberty causes. Most folks, once taken to a range and shown how safe and fun it is, seek a firearm for their own personal defense (once they are made aware of the ugly realities of our world). Once someone owns something they can lose - that's when it hits them. That's when the lightbulb really goes off. That's when they get personally offended to hear their political leaders claim that they cannot be trusted to use firearms, or that they have no legitimate use.

Each of us needs to do what is in their power to do. Everyone has unique talents. Some more than others. No matter what, everyone can contribute on some level. Every little bit counts. Just think, there are some 60+ million gun owners, yet there are only 4 million NRA members. If a person has personal objections to the NRA, that is fine too, but given how many of us there are, and how hard our battle are - that is an indication that many of us are not doing much at all. There are more ways to help that joining a pro-RKBA organization. Anything at all, no matter how small, helps.

All it takes is for everyone to do a little, and that adds up to a lot.

 

[Barbara]

But writing letters, etc is exactly the kinds of things we need!

As far as shmoozing, they only let me out of my case occasionally up here..they figure I can behave for short periods of times and keep my more controversial opinions to myself, and I guess I clean up well, so as long as its only once or twice a year, I don't mind.

For the most part, I cheer em on from the background.

Today, however, I once again probably bit off more than I can chew.

But I did get to have a private luncheon with Michigan's next governor..which was pretty cool..I'm never very impressed but I was by this. We have such great people. And my impression of Devos was very much that he was a straight shooter (in the political sense, not the firearms sense,) even though not a gunnie, which made me feel much better about him.

 

[SomeKid]

Actually get involved. Get with local groups and help good candidates campaign. Then, when you write those letters, they will have a lot more impact when the officeholder can put a face to it.