I have seen a lot of defeatist attitudes in the aftermath of the VA Tech shooting.
Many feel that the tide of public opinion will push for draconian gun control legislation. Furthermore, they believe that there is nothing we can do about it—and that attempting to fight more legislation would be an exercise in futility.
If we have that attitude, we are already defeated. Moreover, we have failed our country by allowing our legislators to govern emotionally, reactionary, and from a lack of long-term perspective. We allow “feel-good” legislation to overcome reasonable thought.
How do we combat this?
There are many things we can do—things that we are not effectively doing now.
1. We MUST define the issue.
Whoever defines an issue owns it. Currently, we are allowing the anti-gun persons to define this issue. They are blaming guns and gun owners for this tragedy. We MUST make a vocal statement that restrictive legislation of self-defense, ineffective safety protocols, etc. contributed more to this event than any gun ownership.
2. We MUST develop canned, to-the-point, statements to answer anti-gun arguments.
“When law-abiding people are unable to take measures to insure their safety, tragedies happen.”
“No gun zones are calling cards for those that wish to do violence against helpless victims.”
“In perspective, FAR more people are SAVED through firearms ownership than died in this tragedy ever year.”
“Terrible tragedies happen, but they are not frequent enough to justify making everyone helpless based on a mentally and emotionally unstable person.”
“How can you justify draconian penalization of MILLIONS of Americans based on the actions of few?”
“Automobiles, drugs, alcohol, accidents, STILL kill more persons than a firearm ever did. They are under attack due to media sensationalism and fear-mongering”
“The media only tells the negative stories. They tell you that ratings rise when there is blood in the streets. Do you really think they will spend the same time reporting the positives of gun ownership?”
3. We MUST point to the Second Amendment and defend it.
An act of Congress would be necessary to alter it, and it would still require ratification by two-thirds of the states. An amendment would be next to impossible—and that is our strength.
4. We MUST write to the major news outlets to insure they give the fair story.
Those that I would target are Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC. We must post on various forums any outrageous statements. When you DO post, please take the time to put in a web link, a response link, and the e-mail of the person who stated it (if possible), and his boss (if possible)
5. We MUST coordinate pro-gun forums.
I would like to see the Legislative Action sections of the top gun forums link to a gun-legislation site.
We need to see Thehighroad.org, AR-15.com, AK-files.com, Gunsnet, Glocktalk, etc. link over to a Legislation and Activism site. Only through our numbers and unity can we prevent the emotional reactions from happening.
6. We must ALL write to our Representative, Both our Senators, Your state Governor, and President Bush.
7. We MUST highlight the nature of the shooter.
Blame the shooter, not the tool.
8. We MUST go on the offensive.
While the Anti-gun persons are screaming for legislation, we must scream louder. We MUST NOT operate from a reactionary position. We MUST be affirmative. Whenever someone makes a statement, and it is countered, people tend to remember the STATEMENT, but not the COUNTER-STATEMENT. We must have an affirmative course of action where the anti-gun groups are required to counter US.
Our statement should be one of personal empowerment, and the individual’s need to be able to prevent such tragedies from reoccurring. We must state that this occurred BECAUSE of gun control, not in spite of it.
I will add to this as I can.
John
Many feel that the tide of public opinion will push for draconian gun control legislation. Furthermore, they believe that there is nothing we can do about it—and that attempting to fight more legislation would be an exercise in futility.
If we have that attitude, we are already defeated. Moreover, we have failed our country by allowing our legislators to govern emotionally, reactionary, and from a lack of long-term perspective. We allow “feel-good” legislation to overcome reasonable thought.
How do we combat this?
There are many things we can do—things that we are not effectively doing now.
1. We MUST define the issue.
Whoever defines an issue owns it. Currently, we are allowing the anti-gun persons to define this issue. They are blaming guns and gun owners for this tragedy. We MUST make a vocal statement that restrictive legislation of self-defense, ineffective safety protocols, etc. contributed more to this event than any gun ownership.
2. We MUST develop canned, to-the-point, statements to answer anti-gun arguments.
“When law-abiding people are unable to take measures to insure their safety, tragedies happen.”
“No gun zones are calling cards for those that wish to do violence against helpless victims.”
“In perspective, FAR more people are SAVED through firearms ownership than died in this tragedy ever year.”
“Terrible tragedies happen, but they are not frequent enough to justify making everyone helpless based on a mentally and emotionally unstable person.”
“How can you justify draconian penalization of MILLIONS of Americans based on the actions of few?”
“Automobiles, drugs, alcohol, accidents, STILL kill more persons than a firearm ever did. They are under attack due to media sensationalism and fear-mongering”
“The media only tells the negative stories. They tell you that ratings rise when there is blood in the streets. Do you really think they will spend the same time reporting the positives of gun ownership?”
3. We MUST point to the Second Amendment and defend it.
An act of Congress would be necessary to alter it, and it would still require ratification by two-thirds of the states. An amendment would be next to impossible—and that is our strength.
4. We MUST write to the major news outlets to insure they give the fair story.
Those that I would target are Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC. We must post on various forums any outrageous statements. When you DO post, please take the time to put in a web link, a response link, and the e-mail of the person who stated it (if possible), and his boss (if possible)
5. We MUST coordinate pro-gun forums.
I would like to see the Legislative Action sections of the top gun forums link to a gun-legislation site.
We need to see Thehighroad.org, AR-15.com, AK-files.com, Gunsnet, Glocktalk, etc. link over to a Legislation and Activism site. Only through our numbers and unity can we prevent the emotional reactions from happening.
6. We must ALL write to our Representative, Both our Senators, Your state Governor, and President Bush.
7. We MUST highlight the nature of the shooter.
Blame the shooter, not the tool.
8. We MUST go on the offensive.
While the Anti-gun persons are screaming for legislation, we must scream louder. We MUST NOT operate from a reactionary position. We MUST be affirmative. Whenever someone makes a statement, and it is countered, people tend to remember the STATEMENT, but not the COUNTER-STATEMENT. We must have an affirmative course of action where the anti-gun groups are required to counter US.
Our statement should be one of personal empowerment, and the individual’s need to be able to prevent such tragedies from reoccurring. We must state that this occurred BECAUSE of gun control, not in spite of it.
I will add to this as I can.
John
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