I must admit, I have been rather nonplussed at some of the comments that I have seen in blogs and comments to blogs from "gun rights advocates" concerning the President and his Attorney General (notice that I keep them in quotation marks because I feel they are anything but). There are several out there (not all) who are chanting the mantra of "there getting 'em one bullet at a time" or "from my cold dead hands" or other similar phrases. This at a time when certain people are trying to demonize gunowners only helps to feed the fear that we are in some ways fanatics looking to "cap someone." If we want to maintain our rights to keep and bear arms at this time then this language has to stop. The more it is promulgated then the more we will be ostracized.
So you know where I stand let me make something clear. I believe the 2nd Amendment declares the individual American's right to own and use firearms and that the government cannot take that right away (it is kind of hard to say it any more succinctly than the Founding Fathers did). The purpose was not for hunting or collecting or even just plinking around. Those are all ancillary to the purpose envisioned by the Founders. They understood that an armed citizenry would be able to keep the formation of tyranny in check (whether by a king or an elected representative) and thus be prepared to fight for their rights if they were ever abrogated by the new government. These people new what rebellion was because they had just lived it.
Now is not a time for armed rebellion against the government of the United States. To do so just because we don't like who was elected would make us the same as any tin-pot dicatorship that has a coup once every 2 years. However we must continue to be vigilant in speaking out in favor of our rights and opposing those through all legal means that which to quash those rights.
In order to do this we must educate people and bring a knowledge of firearms to them. This cannot be done through the written word. No amount of blogs or letters to the editor are going to convince people that "assault weapons" are no more dangerous than any other gun. The only way to convince people is one on one instruction. Jay G (of MArooned) and the Armed Canadian as well as many others have a standing offer to take any new (or even long forgotten) shooter out to the range to teach them the basics and let them throw some lead at paper. This is something we all need to do.
There are thousands of different firearms and multiple ways that people use them (see another post of mine). There is bound to be a combination for everyone that they can enjoy. If is up to us to help them find that combination. Guns have become "mysterious," "evil" objects because of the way they are incorrectly portrayed in the popular media. We have to counter this.
It is estimated that there are 300 million guns in the United States and about 40-60 million households own them. I would be pleased to see that every law abiding American own a firearm. In order to make this happen we cannot hide our love of guns from other people. We need to talk about it like we talk about our car (no one gets offended when the car nuts go off on hemis and cubic inches). Here is a list of things we should all be doing to help people understand our rights:
1) Invite others to go shooting with you (especially those who don't own guns). This is the reason God gave us military surplus ammunition and the .22LR. No one should have to pay for anything on their first trip to the shooting range. Additionally, you should take enough of a variety of firearms that the new shooter can figure out what they like and what they don't. You shouldn't take so many that they feel overwhelmed. Probably 4-7 is enough. During this time you should bring an "assault weapon" so that they can understand what the political mumbo jumbo is. This shouldn't be a preaching session, just a learning session. Most important, let them shoot off as much ammo as they want. Your rights are worth it.
2) Take your spouse and children (if they are old enough) shooting with you. This is a great date, and kids like to see watermelons and other fruit exploding. I'll make a standing offer to President Obama. Contact me and I will take your wife and daughters shooting on a family outing to Iowa (afterwards if your daughters want to play Barbies with mine, they are more than welcome). During the family outing we can fire any combination of handguns, rifles, or shotguns. I have "evil" assualt weapons that you will find aren't that scary, and I have real military rifles that were used in wars (OK, so maybe they just sat in a storage box for decades, but you can thank the Communists managed economy for producing too darn many such that us capitalists had to buy all of the surplus for our enjoyment). I don't know what experience you or your wife have with firearms, but I'll wager that I can have your wife shooting circles around you with a .22 at 50 yards in one lesson. Moreover, if your family (including daughters) do not have a good time, I will take you out to eat. Otherwise, I would appreciate you taking my family out to eat as gratitude for the experience.
3) Follow up with the people that you took shooting. Maybe they are interested in buying a firearm for themselves. Maybe they would like to go shooting with you more regularly (they can buy the ammo). Maybe they know someone else who would like to have a range experience.
4) Keep your eyes open at the shooting range. Make sure everyone there is having a good time. There is nothing worse to a new shooter than having a clod of a boyfriend take her with only a 45. Kindly show her that there are a lot more calibers that she may like better. My favorite is the .22LR because it is so dang cheap, I can literally shoot 1000 rounds at the range for less than $25. Have I mentioned the the .22LR is God's gift to gun owners. I took my wife handgun shooting for her first time and I made sure I had her start on the Browning Buckmark .22LR. I was using a 9mm Beretta myself and having a blast. After about a box of ammo, I let her try the 9mm. She didn't like it. That's ok. I let her have the .22LR and she was happy with it. Another time I went to the range and a dad brought his two sons. They had a makeshift target that wasn't working so I let them borrow my extra stand. Then they couldn't get their airgun to work so I let them borrow my Marlin Model 60. What could have been a disaster for the kids turned out to be a fun outing.
5) Teach your kids about guns. They are never too young to learn. Like teaching about drugs or sex, you need to make sure it is age appropriate. Right now, mine are all too young to go shooting, so they only get to see me clean them and get them ready to go to the range. When I buy a new one, I show it to them and let them hold it (always making sure they follow the 4 Safety Rules - which God probably intended to be put with the 10 Commandments but figured that 14 commandments just doesn't have the same ring to it).
6) Be welcoming of all gun owners. While some snobs believe that their firearms won't be targeted and other wackos believe the ATF is going to knock on their door tomorrow, they are still a part of our group. Every group has people who live on the fringe. We are no different. We do need their support as much as anyone else.
7) Take a Boy Scout troop on a shooting outing. While the Boy Scouts are supportive of firearm education and safety, their merit badges and scout camps are restricted to a narrow range (for rifle it is a .22 at 50 ft). Let them shoot lever action, a miltary surplus rifle, and an "assault weapon." Sure it may not qualify them for a merit badge, but they will have fun doing it. After you have done that, take a Girl Scout troop to do the same thing (I don't know if they have any shooting badges). Girls should know how to handle firearms just the same as boys.
If we are to maintain our rights, we must be vigilant in teaching people and sharing with them about those rights. Not by threatening the violent overthrow of the government, but by getting people to understand and enjoy the tools which our Founding Fathers knew were necessary for that purpose. That way, if (God forbid it should happen) the need does arise for armed rebellion again, we will not have to deal with 1/3 of the country supporting us, 1/3 against us, and 1/3 indifferent. If we have 2/3+ always on our side (and electing representatives who believe likewise) then there will be no need to use these instruments for their intended purpose.
Have fun at the shooting range!
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