As the People of the Gun emerge from the winter of our discontent, it’s time to take a look at the big picture. Only six months ago, I foolishly thought the gun rights war had nearly been won except for a few mopping up actions. Our movement had been on a twenty-year roll. The anti-gun lobby was virtually given up for dead by pundits who lamented the apparent triumph of those crazy Second Amendment supporters. But what a difference one election can make. Emboldened by the re-election of Mr. Obama and the fact that they had two years to work before the 2014 mid-terms, on the heels of Newtown the anti-gun forces launched an attack that can be compared to the Ardennes counter-offensive of December, 1944 . . .
The Old Media, the Democratic Party and the not-quite-dead gun control orgs knew there might never be a better opportunity to strike back, punish their hated enemies and perhaps turn the tide of the war. Like the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge, they threw everything they had into the fight. The issue was in doubt for a while, but for the most part, the forces of freedom have blunted the attack and I believe the long term trend toward freedom will reassert itself.
The snarling media lynch mob that attempted to bully America’s gun owners into extinction within minutes of the Sandy Hook shooting has, for the most part, turned its focus back to the usual celebrity scandals and baby bumps. The gun laws that were rushed through the New York State Assembly in the dark of night have being exposed to daylight and are facing court challenges. Congressional hearings are revealing the ignorance and self-righteous pandering behind proposed federal gun laws. With the fog of war lifting, it’s now possible to see the three big losers of this battle.
Loser number one is the mainstream media. Close observers knew that most journalists lean to the left side of the political spectrum, but the hate-spewing, anti-NRA rants and ignorant, truth-twisting screeds came as a shock to many low-information Americans. Demonization of the enemy was taken to levels not seen since the anti-German and –Japanese propaganda films of WW2. Hatred became an acceptable emotion for lefty anti-gunners to spew at every opportunity. The last shreds of dignity and legitimacy once claimed by the broadcast networks and the remaining major newspapers were cast aside . This will hasten the demise of the old media and push us even faster into the age of distributed Internet news sources.
Loser number two is the anti-gun movement which was on a long, slow decline after gun control became a losing issue at the polls. Life support was provided by handouts from the billionaire nannies, Bloomberg and Soros, who love their armed guards, but hate the idea of guns in the hands of the unwashed masses.
So caught up in the mob frenzy, some gun control advocates actually let some of their true motives slip from their lips and keyboards. Their desire for complete gun bans, mass confiscation and other extremist plans have been made public, much of it caught on video, in tweets or posted on their blogs. Sheer hatred for gun owners was on full public display. Although they will still try to portray themselves as presenting reasonable and sensible policies, too many people now know what they’re really working toward.
As New York Governor Cuomo can attest, anti-gun laws can only be passed in an emotional rush, before people have had time to think. This battle has now gone on too long and too much thinking has occurred. Those thoughts won’t quickly be forgotten and the movement will soon find that the concept of gun control has taken a big public opinion hit.
Loser number three is, most importantly, the Democratic Party. Several years ago, the party conciously decided to downplay gun control in order to attract voters in swing states and districts. This strategy, which worked very well, has now been completely abandoned demolished.
The President leapfrogged around the country in an unprecedented effort to tack left and create support for all manner of unenforceable, feel-good gun control schemes. Democrats in Congress floated gun control proposals that only a true gun hater could love. State governments are working through a tidal wave of Democrat-proposed, counterproductive, anti-gun bills – most of which have no hope of being enacted. In states with Democrat-controlled legislatures, some laws have passed and more will probably do so.
Americans remember the promises made before the presidential election. Obama will never come for your guns, we were told. Democrats respect the Second Amendment, they assured. After the election, they virtually slapped us in the face saying, we lied, suckers, what are you going to do about it? The Democratic Party is now irrevocably branded as the party of gun control and the hapless Republicans probably can’t believe their own good fortune. This will provide a clear angle of attack in the 2014 elections and that’s when we must launch our own all out offensive against gun-grabbing legislators.
The culture war over gun rights will not end in our lifetimes, so we need to plan for the long term. Demographic changes mean pro-RKBAers must reach out to groups who don’t have a tradition of gun ownership. The US Supreme Court will be the most critical battleground and we know that Democratic presidents always appoint anti-gun justices. Like it our not, our fortunes are tied to the Republican party. Will they get their act together by 2016 and take control of the White House before any more justices retire or die? We can’t count on it.
Dr. Michael S. Brown has commented on gun issues for two decades and is a member of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership
Hopefully people make the Dems pay for this when 2014 rolls around. I live in Mass so my state is practically hopeless, but those people in states where elections matter need to get rid of these people. Even if the bill was squashed, they still must be voted out.
> Even After All This, We’re Still Winning
Um, no.
Even if the anti-gun movement is stopped right now, we’ve lost a lot.
Living in the Colorado Socialist Republic (CSR), I don’t see things getting any better.
It’s like telling the people of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and East Germany in 1945 that they’ve been liberated from the Nazis, while overlooking the Soviet troops occupying their countries.
Same situation here, in occupied Kalifornia.
You forgot Colorado, we have lost big time.
Although, I think if we can turn the state over to the republicans in 2014 it will serve as a future warning to any more idiotic gun grabbing ideas. If the Dems win in 214 in CO they will chalk up a victory for incremental control, if they get a bloody nose in the elections they may learn.
> I think if we can turn the state over to the republicans in 2014
> it will serve as a future warning to any more idiotic
> gun grabbing ideas.
But even if the Republicans win control of the Colorado governorship and legislature in 2014 — something I’m not willing to bet on — I don’t believe they will repeal the gun-control laws.
My prediction: Governor Hickenlooper does not run for re-election in 2014, so he can’t lose, and instead is appointed to a position in the Obama administration.
Bolder prediction: Biden resigns, because nobody wants him to run as the Donkeyrat incumbent in 2016, and Bloomberglicker is appointed VP to be 0bama’s heir as a reward for giving the anti-gunners Colorado.
All repealed, Agreed, partially repealed/modified I hope so. Just getting some of the more odious restrictions lifted (eg my wife not been able to use my mags) will be an improvement.
I fear the CO republicans will offer up such a dumb candidate they will scare off the libertarian vote, the CO Dems will calk up another victory, and learn that 2a infringement has no real side-effects.
And a electoral bloody nose may stop further stupidity. A thrashing makes repeal more likely. I will be politically active come 2014.
Nice predictions! There are rumors that Michelle Obama may try to run in 2016. Can you imagine another 4 or 8 years of the Obama’s? Our country wouldn’t exist anymore.
It shall be ‘earth mother’ Hillary in 16′.
Michael, great article right up until you mention Republicans.
Lindsey Graham and John McCain support “reasonable” gun control laws. There are others, those two are just the most prominent that I can think of. There are also Republicans in the House that support “reasonable” gun control measures. My own representative, Kevin McCarthy, is one of them.
The GOP is not to be trusted with anything right now, as they’ve gone “Not quite as Statist as the other guy.”
Losing more slowly is still losing.
No disagreement that our allies are unreliable, but the Republicans stand more for gun rights than against. Time to primary out some folks. McCain has demonstrated he is more interested in the status quo than liberty. Sad, I remembered when he was a hell of a politician, but that was well over a decade ago.
I guarantee you every single establishment Republican will sell out the Second Amendment, as long as they can retain their seat in the Senate or House.
Kevin McCarthy has billed himself as reliably conservative. McCarthy isn’t conservative any more, if he ever was, he’s a beltway insider.
So yes, every single establishment GOP type needs to be primaried out.
We proved in Texas that “the establishment’s” candidate can be beaten in the primaries.
+100. No such thing as Democrats and Republicans. One coin, two sides. REPUBLICRATS. WE NEED A NEW PARTY.
I have been saying this for YEARS now…. But I called the “Demublicans”. Well, Tomato, Tamato…
@William Burke Third party? Not likely. BUT, with what’s happening in the Republican party as of late…there may be liberty on the horizon.
Then go ahead and support candidates that can’t win. Your choice.
And we’ve won what the last few years with the GOP?
Seems to me voting for wishy washy GOP candidates has been a losing strategy the last few years.
A losing candidate is a losing candidate. Romney was supposed to be “electable.” How did that work out again?
Like I said, your choice. Vote for who u want. I do not live in a blue or a purple state, so I will not be surrendering my rights. You know what, whatever pal.
Technically, if your “guy” didn’t win. You threw away your vote.
I’m voting my conscience for now. I’ve registered libertarian, and I will vote that way for the foreseeable future.
The only thing that will force both Republicans and Democrats to defend the constitution and listen to their constituents is to have a viable 3rd party.
Hell, we don’t need 3 parties, we need 30 parties. We have to few, easily corruptible parties, and that needs to change.
Um, its ALL on the democrats, anti-gun wise.
Ironically, the Mainstream Media would not be among your losers if they had not become so accustomed to not being held to any standards. They were so unhinged and blatantly biased that it worked against them. Proof they live in a bubble or they may have bothered to moderate their comments somewhat so as not to alienate the part of the country that was up for grabs.
You can see the defeat. I read an article today that still supported magazine capacity limits, but the argument was weak and glossed over. Instead the focus was on background checks and straw purchases. I chuckled a little to myself. I remember when this started. It is amazing how much ground has been given.
Gun grabbers fight on, hoping to catch us complacent. The time for vigilance has not passed but I am looking forward to not having to wonder everyday whether or not our rights will be taken away. Sadly, we took some losses in New York, Colorado, and other areas. It will take some time to undo the damage of the opportunistic anti-gun lobby.
the “doctors for responsible gun ownership” link at the bottom does not work.
Here you go: http://www.drgo.us/
Declaration of victory is impossible, but we can make gains and prevent losses and push the darkness away until the next generation or the next incident. What we have learned, though, is that compromise is never possible. Gun control freaks will not budge in their desires, nor will they employ reason.
Writing to our elected representatives is one thing we have to do. Another, and even more important, is spreading the word about guns to those who haven’t heard or have heard the wrong message.
^^^This!
I’m uncomfortable with the notion that gun control is dead and over. CONGRESS HAS NOT VOTED YET! Just because the MSM says its a loss is no reason to go back to sleep!
Does anyone remember the election last November??? The media said it was over right before that too.
Write your elected officials and leave them phone messages. Never underestimate the potential for politicians to be sneaky
“The price of liberty, is eternal vigilance.”
The leftists/liberals/progressives will most likely win in the longrun, because they control the education system from K-college. In the meantime, the love, the importance of God, country, and family will continue to be reduced. Also their increasing control of he legal/judicial system and the interpretation of, ruling on laws and cases placed before them. “Gun Control” is merely one facet of their long term plan to change the US.
Right. Except for a thing called HOME SCHOOLING. It’s FAR OUT, baby!!
A brilliant article — but maybe just a bit premature. Yes, the Democrats and the other forces of darkness didn’t get everything done that they wanted to, even after America’s Dunblane. Yes, the man behind the curtain in the WH came out for all to see. Yes, the weak-kneed politicians are getting the message.
But George Soros is still here. The Joyce Foundation is still here. And MAIG, backed by Bloomberg’s almost unlimited funds, it’s still here, too, and just bought Colorado.
The enemy is alive and well and in total control of the Executive branch of the Federal government, with all it’s power. That just can’t be good.
Meanwhile, events, not intentions, will dictate the future of gun rights in America. Which will occur sooner — another Newtown to energize the anti-gun extremists, or another Ruby Ridge to remind people of one of the reasons that we hold tightly to our guns?
We have better hope to win on the local level , hold anyone running for election to state their views on 2A, and support those people ,, also the public still needs much more education on all the issues,,,, also get the pro-2A literature and put it out far and wide, more on the literature later , put out by the Liberty people (RON PAUL) is still fighting for LIBERTY….
Bingo. It all starts at home. Ron Paul, while having the best vision for america (in my opinion), is a little too much for the average american to digest all at once; Rand is looking like the next big step forward in our liberties being restored and reinforced.
+1, Dr. Brown.
I’m an RN (and have taken care of gunshot wounds on ICU, which is rather fun when an anti tries to play that card!) I’m friends with an ENT with fine hands for delicate surgery, and you should see him tear up at a bowling pin match with a .357 Magnum wheelgun.
+1 William Burke.
An alternative to home schooling is free (well, paid by my property taxes!) online public charter schooling. On our 1+ mile stretch of road out here in the boondocks, 3 out of 4 families with school-age children home-school, or school-at-home via the charter schools available. Oh, all 4 families shoot regularly too. And, get this, 3 out of 4 are Mennonite. 😉 hehe
I’m actually OK with settling for a GOP controlled legislature with a DNC white house.
Take a newbie shooting should get more traction if we want to preserve RKBA
BINGO!!
More gun owners. All the other issues get solved by that one improvement.
Every person involved in recreational shooting, from existing gun owners, to gun shops, to ranges, to manufacturers must promote positive experiences to non- and new gun owners. Lose the ideological RKBA, 2A and personal defense angles, that may not strike a nerve with apprehensive prospects.
It’s not even hard. Guns are fun. Guns are cool. They’re so cool, there’s hardly anything cooler. They practically sell themselves. Everybody who has at least one gun, wants another one. Everybody who doesn’t own a gun wants one.
Yes. This.
Ditch the conservative vs. liberal politics and just help other people enjoy their Second Amendment rights. In the long term, that’s what we really need to do.
Politicians can’t be trusted with our rights (which is why the Bill of Rights exists). They’d sell any given piece of the Bill of Rights for a mess of pottage if they could, so it’s up to us to properly appreciate our rights and make sure our representatives know that we — all Americans, not just a few gun nuts — won’t tolerate infringement.
Voice of reason. Thank you.
Ed says;
“I fear the CO republicans will offer up such a dumb candidate they will scare off the libertarian vote, the CO Dems will chalk up another victory, and learn that 2a infringement has no real side-effects.
What we all must remember, not only the people in Colorado, is that if we simply vote for the Republican in order to oust the Democrat, then we will end up with a regime that will give us another rights destroying “Patriot Act” or yet another President that thinks he has the right to start “preemptive wars.” Brothers, we don’t need to throw the baby out with the bath water here. While we should be fervent in our opposition to ANY encroachment on the 2nd Amendment, we should, at the same time, be guarding our other rights guaranteed in the Constitution just as jealously! Let’s not forget the 1st Amendment, 4th Amendment, 5th Amendment, 9th and 10 Amendment abuses we’ve suffered just in the last 12 years alone!
Could not agree more. Watching the legislators in CO it was apparent they respect my 2A rights way more then the CO dems. But the Republicans performed poorly in elections because often their candidates were against other rights. Colorado has a lot of independent voters who just want the gov to leave them alone!
Get rid of the f^cking Democrats first. Once our 2A rights are secure, get rid of the f^cking Republicans who think other rights are fair game. Sounds like a plan?
I hope you don’t think this is over…Schumer’s very nasty bill is still in the wings and I think that thing may have been the real objective all along. There is a real danger that it will pass and in many ways, it’s worse than the AWB.
Well, the Democratic party deserves to lose. I’m an independent-minded voter who leans toward the liberal side, so I’ve voted for Democrats over Republicans by about 3 to 1 over the years, but after the last 3 months, I am NEVER voting for a Democrat again. Ever.
Only problem is, what with corporate cronyism, mandatory climate change denial, a terrible environmental record, and social policies that are stuck in the 1980s, the Republicans have made themselves pretty dang hard to vote for. Plus, as someone else said above, I have no doubt that they’d sell every one of us down (or is it up) the river in a heartbeat if they thought it would bring them enough political gain.
So I either throw my vote away on a third-party candidate who can’t win or hold my nose and vote for whoever is most likely to defeat They Who Must Not Be Named. We really need a viable third party.
Better option. Get involved, get people who share your views to run for office. Or, maybe even run yourself. I got involved in my local Republican party about 5 years ago to help Ron Paul, and one of the biggest problem’s I’ve noticed is that there are very, very few people willing to run for office, and even fewer who are any good.
Threats mean nothing unless they are followed through. The people of the gun need to vote these people out so the next time, and there will be a next time, they will know the threats are true. Not all of them need to be voted out, some cannot given the democratic havens they live in, but if a few go, the others will think twice
If CO proves that out of state money can influence, even win issues, we have a tough fight all around. The financial resources Bloomberg and his friends have, and are proven to use are enormous, not that it takes all that much money to influence a politician. We have foreign money influencing our Federal Government and out of State money influencing State and Local issues. How long can we let this go on?
I hope you’re right that we’re winning, but it’s not all that clear to me. Reid will make a stab at background checks for private purchases and magazine capacity limits, and Feinstein will try to get the ban going again.
Think tactical retreat.
Meanwhile, you’re right that the mask has slipped and the ugly, fascist face of the American hard left is showing. Scarey as this is, you’re right that we need the Republican party. But they need us too. If they cave on this, they’re done as a party.
If they cave on this, they’re done as a party.
And they know it.
Pardon my cynicism, but where exactly is this victory? Those of us trapped behind the lines in the People’s Democratic Republic of Colorado have been colonized by the so-called Progressives. It wasn’t very long ago that Colorado was a red state. The Progressives have remade the Democratic Party by a combination of superior organization, funding, and campaigning. They have been very clever in finding legal ways around campaign finance reform by setting up various media and watchdog organizations, which exports their ideology and attacks opposition candidates. Even other Democrats that question the program are subject to attack. This takeover has been called the Colorado Model or Colorado Blueprint, and is being exported to other states. Their ideology is based on a statist government which does not leave much room for personal freedoms, especially guns. This battle for gun rights is far from over, and is in danger of being lost. At no point can we ever rest. The opposition is motivated, patient, and intelligent. If I’m wrong, please let me know. Anyway, I will be donating a portion of my meager salary to both the NRA, and the Independence Institute that will be litigating against the new Colorado gun laws. 🙁
A number of States are still working on anti-gun bills. CA, CT, DE, NJ, MA, MD, and RI seem likely, perhaps in somewhat varying degrees, to pass gun control legislation this year.
2016… Fair election Impossible…dollar worthless. Our country on life support, Jeb gets “elected”, then stabs us all in the back with NWO. Swing low-
Lads, I was one of the ones who thought that Obama wouldn’t touch gun control. I said so here, in this forum, many times. I never said he didn’t want to ban guns, but I thought he was too smart a politician to try. I was wrong. You can take the mea culpa for what it is worth.
We have been banged up a bit at the state level, and my sincerest condolences to the denizens of Colorado and NY. But I do think the broad point of the OP is right, though we have a long and vicious political fight ahead. We have stalled the advance, at least. We need to engage fully. We can turn this back, nullify some of the bad laws in court, and push the law even further toward fuller 2A rights. It’s going to take time, and money, and a lot of bullshit.
For my penance, I’ll not vote D ever again. I may not be able to vote for a Republican in some fights, but the Dems have come down decisively against gun rights. I, like many others, thought they were drifting away from that shit, but they were just hiding it. We need to make them pay, where it counts, at the ballots.
One big benefit to come out of this fight is that the enemies of freedom turned the spotlight onto themselves. We now know who they are and where they are. The other big one is that these folk now realize how strong we are when we get together and fight back,
Our strongest weapons are our wallets and our votes, in that order. De-funded states and politicians wither on the vine, and do so quickly.
I guess the author has forgotten the UNArms treaty and the background check issues on the horizon. Both of those are registration of all guns.
The bottom line in all of this is to count on yourselves and on your brothers here in the community. That means:
-Anytime legislation comes up, you call or email your representatives. Period. If everyone that supports our 2nd amendment right did this, none of these bills would reach the floor.
-While the media has moved on to other worthless items, we don’t. That means donating a bit of cash regularly to organizations that stand up for us. That means never giving up on persuading someone you know that’s a gun grabber. Yes, it’s miserable talking with an idiot but we don’t win in the long run unless we persuade more to agree with our cause.
-Take someone shooting that’s never shot before. My goal for the past five years is has been to take three people a year to the range that’s never shot a gun before. Every year I’ve hit that goal and every single one of them went on to buy their own firearm. We have to become evangelists and show people that guns are not what the media makes them out to be; rather they are simply tools that demand a high degree of respect.
Being right isn’t enough. We have to work.
Glad I live in Mississippi,our Governor signed into law,that our ccw licenses are not to be considered public records that can be accessed by the liberal media,we also have some of the most conservative gun laws in the nation.Also glad to hear about some Sheriff’s nation wide that will not enforce any new gun laws from D.C.The left just wants all the guns,then they have all the power.We are living through a bleak time in our history,the President is taking us down the leftist socialist path and hopefully we can find our way back!Keep your powder dry.