What do you actually do for TRTKBA?

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

fantacmet

Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
237
Location
Portland Oregon.
Ok alot of people here spout off. Which is good in and of itself, but if thats all you do then you are hardly doing anything to change it. At the very least register to vote and then actually vote. If you can't even be bothered to do this simple task every couple of years, let alone more, then you don't really have room to complain. If you don't like the way things are going, do something to change it.

The question is what do you actually do to uphold our 2nd amendment rights? The rights of firearm owners? The rights of law abiding citizens to hunt, to target shoot, or to protect themselves against criminals?

Here is a list of things you can do, and I am wondering what if any of them do you do? Each of these I either currently do or plan to begin within the next 2 months.


*Register to vote and then actually vote.
*Joined the NRA and or any local firearms rights group.
*Write your elected officials via either e-mail or regular mail or both.
*Attend town hall meetings and voice your opinion.
*Write to or call the local print or broadcast media to voice you dissent about an anto-gun story they have reported on.
*Get involved on a local level by contacting local businesses and fellow citizens and informing them of the issues at stake.

If anyone has any more to add PLEASE do so. Sitting around and bitching does very little. It takes action to induce change, and to keep what we already have. Remember our rights are not seen as rights they are seen as priveledge.

Rev. Michael
 
What I do...

Lets see.....

1) Member of the NRA

2) Annually donate to the NRA-ILA

3) Member of GOAL, which is the state affilliate of the NRA in Mass.

4) Routinely contact State rep regarding propsed laws.

How's that? :)
 
I'm a member of the Michigan coalition of responsible gun owners, but I will have nothing to do with the NRA due to their almost giving away full auto rights. The main things I do are call up and chew out my reps, write letters to the editor, write to different media organizations when they give ficticious or biased information, and lastly, I am a member of several other non-gun forums where I regularly bring the issue up in the political section.
 
All excellent responses. The only thing that disturbs me are how few people have responded. Perhaps more then one person looked at their shoes and moved on after reading it? My primary reason for joining the NRA is so I can shoot more often. The only decent range within 50 miles of me you have to be an NRA member. It's nice to be able to shoot the ammo you actually carry instead of being forced to buy a certain brand and type of ammo from the range. Other then that I don't really care if NRA supports some of the anti-gun laws or compromises, as a member I will NOT compromise on it. The NRA needs to get off it's ass and start protecting our freedoms in a noncompromising way once again like they did once upon a time. That will never happen unless people not willing to compromise jump on the bandwagon, get involved, and tell them hey I'm not willing to compromise, you are suppost to support the fact that they have no right to legislate away our constitutional rights, instead of validating their right to legislate it all away. I'm using the NRA as a means not an end. The NRA is fairly well respected among alot of places of business and their name opens more doors then it closes. I plan to use that to OUR advantage, OUR meaning gun owners.

Rev. Michael
 
As a former Anti, I've got a lot of insight into how the Anti's mind works.
I figure if I can convert 10 people, get them to see "the light" it will have made up for past sins, which include supporting the 1994 assault weapon ban legislation. If I can convince one of my parents, i'll make up for all past AND future sins. :cuss:

I've taken friends' wives and daughters to the range to expose them to firearms, and teach them teh basic safety rules. (Unfortunately, this usually happens after something bad happens to them)

I'm a member of the JPFO.
 
I joined the NRA. I promote responsible gun ownership. I try to induce 2nd Amendment discussions in my classes (I am a college student). I also take new shooters to the range as well.
 
The pity is...

... that we have to do anything to keep the right that is guaranteed by the founders in the BoR.

All gov'ts are always working to destroy individual rights. Some start out with no rights. Ours had a beautiful system of individual rights and the erosion started before the ink was dry on the BoR. It's only in the last 75 years or so that the common folks have started to notice.

This last SCOTUS confirmation orgy centered on days of talk about abortion "rights" and not one word on the horrific McCain-Finegold 1st amendment abortion or the 5th amendment's property rights protection abortion--to name just two items, besides the abortion of the 2A, that are killing us.

The Great American Suicide Plan [GASP] is on schedule.

rr
 
Well, personally I've written a number of letters to senators, representatives and the president. I've also called & emailed local reps.

Right now I'm bugging Attorney generals and such trying to get ND's permit recognized in as many places as Florida's.

I figure that the more universal the permits tend to be, the more likely it is that the feds will force the permits to be recognized across state lines like driver's licenses.
 
I think the accusatory tone of the thread turns people off. Why are you assuming that if people don't post they aren't doing anything? Personally, I'd rather see a thread that asks for or gives suggestions on things that can be done, instead of a "I do all this great stuff and you suck because you don't" thread.

But to answer the question, right this minute, I'm folding paper for RKBA. Earlier this week, I chopped onions for RKBA.

So I stay kind of busy. Heh.

:)
 
I've done all of it.


And one thing that I would add that's been very useful for me is to make personal visits to your representatives. Emails and snail mails are good, but it takes a lot more dedication to an issue to actually take a day off and meet face to face with legislators.

And the legislators know that.

In the past three years I've burned 8 vacation days visiting my reps, lobbying others and testifying at legislative hearings. I think it makes a difference.:banghead:
 
It wasn't so much an accusation as to see if people are actually doing anything and how many and what. You can make suggestions on things that actually work until you are blue in the face, they could all be easy to do for everyone, and that doesn't mean anyone will do anything. I have a personal friend who refuses to do anything, he thinks our rights are completely safe because Texas citizens will take care of the gun rights for all of us so we shouldn't even bother. Very misguided I know, but hey that is reality. My second post also was to make curious of all the views and a possible reason why so many people could have viewed but so few have replied. It happens all the time on this forum and nobody ever bitches. Only a certain couple of people get bitches at for doing the same thing others do. Not all the time and not by everyone mind you, but it happens frequently. Another possibility exist the views were all done to see what other people were doing so peopl ewho do nothing can see if there are things they can do. I put up my list of things to show what I have done. Other people do more and other people do less. As long as you do something other then sit on your ass, then there is no quarrel. If you sit on your ass and bitch you aren't accomplishing anything. If you take the time to at least vote, it shows you are at least doing something, which is better then nothing. Those who do less don't suck, or are less valuable to the RTKBA. Those who do absolutely nothing, are doing just that nothing to contribute to RTKBA. Even buying a gun during every election time is doing something. Even increasing your firearm or related purchases during election times is going to send a message. The point is do SOMETHING, no matter how small it is. If you don't do ANYTHING, then don't bitch, is the basic premise. I made that abundantly clear in the beginning of this thread. It was buried under some other stuff so I just said it again in case anyone missed it.

DO SOMETHING FOR RTKBA OR DON'T BITCH.

Rev. Michael

P.S.
Elected officals aren't generally going to listen or give a damn about anything you say if you are not a voter. So at least register to vote before you try writing to them. At least that is my take on it. Politicians are afterall mostly concerned with the vote because without it they have no office.
 
Tomorrow I'm having lunch with the man who will most likely be our next governor to explain to him why gun owners are an important constituency for him (which obviously he knows, because I don't think he invited me for my pleasant demeanor!) and what issues we want to see resolved in the next 4 years. He's not a gunnie, so this is a great chance to get an hour of undivided attention to explain our goals.

That count?

I vote, too! :)
 
Not only does that count, but I think it just about beats all the **** I do combined. KUDO'S to you. Wish I could manage to pull off something like that, but none of them here would ever dream of doing lunch with someone who isn't loaded(pun not intended).

Rev. Michael
 
"If I can convince one of my parents, i'll make up for all past AND future sins."


If you can do that, will you tak to mine?

I inform others about guns & invite them to shoot.
 
Nothing. Joined NRA under pressure from my ex. He wanted the free hat.

I am beginning to believe I should be working against the RKBA, in fact, and I really hate thinking that.

But gunnies generally have way too much contempt for outsiders for me to be comfortable with them being armed. It may be worth the risk of an oppressive government becoming even more so -- it's not like our privately-owned guns are ever going to slow that process very much anyway. Might as well go along with it and try to expand human rights a little, for at least a little while, before things get really bad.

I'd certainly like to hear any well-reasoned arguement that might nudge me back to the pro-RKBA side.

--Herself
 
I am personally responsible for converting 7 people to gunowners and CCW holders since 2003. By taking them shooting, and spouting off about the laws (reality) VS. myth and that how important it is that we all take responsibility for our own security. I have been a gunowner and CCW holder since 2003 and I am currently working on several others to convert them as well.

This is as grassroots as it gets, the more people are gunowners and understand the rights and responsibilities involved, the fewer people we will have to fight when legislation comes down the pipe.

I also Write my reps frequently, am active in the improvement of my local gun club, Am a member of the NRA and send them extra donations when I can afford it, Am registered to vote and do so to in accordance with my beliefs about the RKBA.
 
I am beginning to believe I should be working against the RKBA, in fact, and I really hate thinking that.

But gunnies generally have way too much contempt for outsiders for me to be comfortable with them being armed. It may be worth the risk of an oppressive government becoming even more so -- it's not like our privately-owned guns are ever going to slow that process very much anyway. Might as well go along with it and try to expand human rights a little, for at least a little while, before things get really bad.

I'd certainly like to hear any well-reasoned argument that might nudge me back to the pro-RKBA side.
Click to expand...

Herself,

I agree that there is a lot of contempt shown toward anti-gun "outsiders", but I think a lot of that comes from the constant wearisome battle to stave off the complete loss of our right to self-defense, as has taken place in Great Britain and elsewhere. It's just so incomprehensible that people are so naive as to think that if they can keep ordinary citizens from owning guns, all the criminals will suddenly lay down their arms and play nice. It's downright maddening that some people and political groups are so dead-set on depriving us of the one tool that empowers the weakest among us to fend off the most vicious of predators. Just reading the daily news should be enough to convince anyone that the government is not capable of protecting us from the evil in society. We can either meekly lie down and surrender to the lawless among us, or we can decide to (as the NRA is fond of saying) "Refuse to be a victim".

Your logic escapes me in saying that perhaps we should allow an oppressive government to become more so in hopes of securing more human rights. Governments do not grant rights- they only try to take them away. The founders of our country saw the wisdom of limiting the power of government, but too many people today are willing to surrender their precious rights in exchange for a few cheap trinkets from the government.

I think there is a lot of blowing off of steam on THR, but when push comes to shove, I don't think most gun owners are quite as macho or quick to pull the trigger as they may sound in this forum. (I don't think anyone can really predict what they will do in a life-or-death situation until it actually happens to them.) An awesome responsibility comes with the decision to carry a gun. I have certainly given endless thought to what I might do if called upon to use deadly force in defense of my own life or the lives of my family; the consequences are too great to do otherwise. I really don't feel threatened by those who lawfully possess firearms and have found the great majority of them to be genuinely nice people. It's the criminals who have no regard for human life that worry me.
 
It's not anti-gun outsiders alone who get short shrift; it's anyone who doesn't hew to a fairly narrow set of belief and actions, many of which seem to me to indicate a clear acceptance of the "evilness" of guns or of shooting a bad guy in your own defense. That's what bothers me. It reminds me of what the G/L folks call "internalized homophobia," in which some of 'em have come to accept all the bad opinions society in general holds of them, and to live down to those behaviors; or to live in fear and shame because people think those things, even when they aren't true of the individial feeling shame over them.

And in the The Gun Culture, what I am wondering is if it might not indeed be better to disarm such authority-worshippers, and bend efforts towards limiting government in other ways. Our guns won't stop government oppression, Waco showed that.

Little incoherent right now, big storm coming and it is time to get offline.

--Herself
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
After-Action Debrief - How Do We Improve For Next Time
2
Replies
36
Views
1K
hillbilly
H
C
  • Locked
NRA Board of Directors Election Ballots Are Out. How Will You Vote?
Replies
11
Views
802
Art Eatman
A
H
  • Locked
MY $.02 ON VOTING
Replies
1
Views
350
Handyman
H
J
  • Locked
what to do???
Replies
0
Views
348
jke456
J
B
  • Locked
What to do if your Senator or Rep. is Anti-gun
Replies
3
Views
372
bfieldburt
B
Back
Top