Second Amendment purist vs. me. Who's right?

[gunsmith]

Are We Sitting in the Back of the Bus?

I agree with oldfart. We need to march on Washington with our guns and clog up the jails with thousands of us.
surround the white house and the supreme ct.
I am sick of having to sit in the back of the bus.
Civil Rights marches worked for African Americans
Gun Owners represent all races and we are an economic
force as well.
As some smart guy said "we shall all hang together or we shall
certainly hang seperately"

 

[Jim March]

That won't work. We don't have the media on our side.

Look, during the US Revolution, the side of freedom had control over the local press. Ben Franklin, fr'instance, was primarily a reporter/news editor, and numerous other writers had access to the public.

We don't have that. OK? Without it, it hardly matters how many of us get arrested, we'll be reported on the same way Stanley is being reported on in Denver...the media is talking about the stupid stuff he's done (which is admittedly quite a list!) without talking about the stupid, wrong-headed crap the courts and police have done.

There have been mistakes on both sides, and the initial mistakes were on the gov't's part. Which the public will hear not one WORD of.

This is the single biggest problem we face.

 

[geekWithA.45]

We don't have the media on our side.

Quite right. That's gonna be our achille's heel.

There's gotta be a way to fix that.

 

[Baba Louie]

While it would be great to have unfettered concealed carry rights (any time, any place, by anyone, as a practical matter, that just isn't going to happen.

And the reason for that is that the government does not, will not and can not trust the people with (some of) their inalienable rights, with the obvious exception of Vermont and now Alaska as far as CCW goes. Several western states have no problem with open carry as a concept, but once you enter certain Counties or Towns that "right" ends at that border as well.

As Virgil Earp said in the movie Tombstone...."We're not saying you can't own a gun or carry a gun, we're just saying you can't carry one in Town." Ner-do-wells ALWAYS obey the law, right?

Keeps the riff-raff in check.

Its a good thing the American Revolution happened when it did, cause it'd never fly today. Too many of the King's laws would have to be broken.

Adios

 

[AJ Dual]

quote:
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We don't have the media on our side.
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Quite right. That's gonna be our achille's heel.

There's gotta be a way to fix that.

It's being fixed. You're where it's being fixed right now.

I am cautiously optimistic that we are entering a period where the liberal/collectivist/anti-gun mentality will never have a majority again.

We entered a time after WWII, especially from the 60's to the early 90's where liberal/anti (I know there's exceptions, but in broad terms) had a complete monopoly on electronic and paper media in this country. And either wilfuly or sub-conciously, they were bending the public's attitudes in a collectivist manner. An important secondary effect was even those pro-gun/conservative/libertarian/individualists who were not swayed were demoralized, and constantly made to feel like they were the minority opinion.

With the rapid and ongoing fragmentation of the media into cable and satellite TV, the Internet, and news-talk radio, the massive propaganda machines have begun to loose their audience. This will affect the levels of activisim and voting patterns.

I know that if if my contact with the rest of the gun/RKBA community was through Guns 'n Ammo, NRA letters, and the occasional range conversation, I'd probably not have bothered to donate time or money to Monkeyleg or the WCCA. All I would have heard about it would be an NRA legislative post card, and the subtely anti news coverage in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Internet lets me be constantly reinforced that "I am not alone" and can read and share ideas with pro-gunners and those with CCW all over the U.S.

 

[Jim March]

Exactly right. The Internet is a BIG part of the solution.

But it doesn't have enough penetration yet. It's still terra incognito to most Americans.

That'll change.

 

[grampster]

My .02 cents:
I am a purist with respect to the 2A, the Constitution and other BOR. But I am also pragmatic. My feeling is that over time, as more and more states are pressured to come over to "Shall Issue" and hand out the "license" and crime rates drop and violent confrontations by wacko pistol packers do not occur and the American people become more comfortable (again) with arms, the left wing oppositon will dry up, for the most part. Shoot, it might take 20 years to overcome the irrationality that has festered against firearms. It started in the 30's with sawed offs and machine guns for land sake, and erupted big time after Jack Kennedy was assasinated. That trend, especially with the state of mind "The Sheeple" are in will not be quickly overcome. We need to continue to educate and support those organizations that have an impact. We need to work to get shooting sports introduced into "Government Education" or in "Charter Schools" Gun safety ought to be taught in upper elementary schools as a required subject. That will never happen unless there is a grass roots movement to do so. That is up to us.

As for the media, the internet, talk radio and TV like Fox News are having a positive impact.

grampster

 

[corncob]

I think we are starting to put the antis on the defensive. These are people who are terrified of guns and even more terrified of people carrying guns. The best thing we can do is jump through whatever hoops are necessary to own and carry guns. I really believe that the best way to keep what's left of our right to bear arms (as well as to reclaim some ground) is to bear arms! The antis will never come around, but as more and more of those dazed apathetic folks on neither side of the issue are faced with the truth about law-abiding citizens and thier guns being all around them, keeping them safe, things will turn around. I am a purist and I do not accept a half-measure of my God-given rights. But my serving time for breaking an unconstitutional law won't get us nearly as far as my unceasing efforts to convince the people I interact with in everyday life of the way things ought to be.

The massive civil dissobediance idea is great, but the USA is not known for producing great numbers of martyrs. It makes me sad to say it, but the civil rights movement was the exception--not the rule.

 

[Jim March]

The growth of alternative media is the upside to this fight.

The demographics are the downside. I've seen local NRA meetings where the amount fo gray hair was just...shocking. Gun shows are slightly better but the "younger" crowd there isn't as politically aware.

So we've got between 10 and 20 years max to get way out in front or we're screwed as most of our "political army" will die of plain old age.

It's an..."interesting" race .