So as I've said in other threads, it's time we stop being quiet. We need to fight and fight hard. We have to become vocal and do everything to remove people who don't respect the Constitution and our basic rights.
Ultimately, we'll have to increase the number of gun owners, and, more importantly, the number of
activist gun owners. We know that most gun owners in this country are not members of the NRA, and their gun "ownership" consists of maybe a shotgun and a .22 in a corner of the closet. Such people are not helpful to us; at best, they are neutral on the gun issue. When somebody has a handgun (or even better, an "evil black rifle"), we can be pretty sure he's going to be on our side.
No matter how loud and shrill a minority is, it's still a minority. Because of demographic changes (growing cities, depopulating rural areas), gun owners are a
shrinking minority. Hunting is on a decline. To make up for the loss of hunters, city people have to become more interested in self defense. The gun community has to reach out to the law-abiding segment of inner-city racial/ethnic groups. (After all, they are the main victims of the thugs.) If the gun community is identified with the Far Right (as is the case increasingly under the leadership of Wayne LaPierre and others), that works at cross purposes with this outreach strategy to city people. If the gun community becomes exclusively rural and conservative, it's doomed. Even in so-called "red states," the cities are increasingly holding the balance of power.
We need to see younger, black, Hispanic, and/or female leadership in the NRA. And
not identified with the Far Right or shills for the Republican Party.
Maybe I'm missing something but our country is a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. It's not a majority rule, and it's not a "democracy". Laws are made to benefit all of us, not just the majority. And sometimes we have to make changes to ensure that this stays as the far left thinks they can use "democracy" and "majority rule" to benefit them when it's for their agenda, and then flip flop when it's not.
The arc of American history has always been towards more democracy. That's not going to be reversed. Counting on a "republic" to suppress the will of the majority is a forlorn hope. Our republican institutions (and all that "republic" really means is that it's not a monarchy) are simply a means to implement our democratic ideals.