Clearly, the coming Biden regime intends on launching its own little jihad on American gun owners’ rights. Even without Congressional lawmaking, slow Joe can do plenty through executive action to make gun ownership expensive and difficult. Worst case, his handlers might even have enough horsepower to push something far more noxious through Congress, depending how the Georgia runoffs go next month.
The People of the Gun don’t have to wait to take our own action. There are things we can do now to help protect ourselves and our fellow gun owners.
Here are some things you can do to help make life difficult for those seeking to strip you of your firearm freedoms. You don’t have to do all of these. Instead, pick and choose which work best for your and your situation.
Buy a firearm prior to January 20, 2021
Half the battle is psychological. Show the anti-Constitution crowd you aren’t going anywhere.
Along those lines, and perhaps more importantly, if you have friends who are not firearm owners, gently help and encourage them to buy their first gun. All the cool kids are doing it. It is amazing how much more a person will support the Second Amendment when they have skin in the game. Obviously, when prudent, buy American. Spending cash, too, instead of leaving an electronic credit card trail.
If you are considering purchasing a semi-automatic rifle or magazines for your rifles or handguns, buy them before inauguration day.
The fastest way to impact firearms ownership is through Presidential executive orders, but the more outlandish those orders are, the more likely they are to be ignored, successfully challenged, and blocked, in court.
The continuum between legal gun ownership and confiscation is wide. First, governments like to ban sales. Then they ban possession and ownership. Finally comes confiscation.
Simply banning sales is easiest to implement and least likely to be blocked by the courts, so get your copy of America’s favorite rifle now, along with plenty of extra magazines for your guns. Magazines that accommodate more 10 rounds…the ones most likely to be banned.
How many mags do you need? That’s an intensely personal question. For those new to shooting, I recommend at least three magazines for each semi-auto rifle and pistol. Ideally each of these gun owners will have three brand new spares too as magazines eventually wear out over time.
Stop telling strangers and social media “friends” about your gun-related gear.
Stop posting, texting or emailing information about what you own. And whatever you do, don’t post a photo on Facebook of your latest acquisition. No need to make it easy for would-be tyrants or burglars to compile a list before they come visit you.
As a side point: don’t post social media photos showing you and your family while you’re four states away on vacation. Don’t give the local criminal community an opportunity to come take your stuff while you’re gone.
Instead of posting it on Facebook, if you’re eager to share the excitement of a new purchase, take a new shooter to the range and give them a chance to shoot your new piece after giving them something mild with which to fire their first shots.
Write your Congressman and Senators.
Yes, you get a pass if you’re unfortunate enough to have Chuck U. Schumer as your Senator or Nancy “Just Eat Ice Cream” Pelosi as your Representative. Writing to them would be a waste of time. Instead, submit your public comment on the new proposed rules for pistol support braces.
If you have a squish representing you who could vote either way, encourage them to support gun rights for law-abiding Americans in a very short, written letter. If they already support gun rights, pat them on the back and thank them for their support. Do it with a real letter on paper, not an email.
Recruit at least one new person to join a national or regional gun rights organization.
Love them or hate them, the NRA still remains the big dog on the block when it comes to “the gun lobby.” In fact, the NRA carries a lot of weight not only in Washington, but in state capitals as well because NRA members vote. Unfortunately, alternative groups like the FPC, GOA and SAF not only lack the same name recognition and respect in Washington, but most have even less pull in state legislatures.
Target (pun intended) a young person, so we as gun owners do not age out and go the way of the dinosaur. Not only that, but ask the young people in your life what it would take for them to recruit their peers to join these gun rights groups as well.
Do not avoid jury duty.
You just may be the deciding vote for acquittal in a self-defense trial of a gun-owner. Or when a police officer is wrongly charged with stopping a violent criminal bent on mayhem.
Jury nullification is a powerful thing and it can be real. But it takes having good people on juries. People like you.
Always vote.
No matter how crooked the system may seem, or how trivial the election, always vote. If you haven’t already, consider making a candidate’s stance on the Second Amendment the primary litmus test for your vote for or against them.
Work cooperatively with trusted friends to secure needed ammunition.
I suspect our current ammo drought will last for at least the next couple of years. Compare what you have on hand to what you think you need, by caliber, with trusted gun friends. Help one another fill your respective gaps. Also, if you see ammo in stores that you know a friend needs, give them a call and pick some up for them. They’ll do the same for you, too.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
There will be a logical progression (which we see as a regression!) concerning ownership of firearms. If it comes to that, semi-autos will be restricted or banned first. Single shot firearms will be last.
If all you have are semi-autos, your last stand could come early. You’ll want to consider acquiring a lever-action rifle and a revolver. A revolver that has two cylinders – such one that comes with both a .357/38 and 9mm cylinders or .45 Colt and .45 ACP – will be worth its weight in gold when ammunition is scarce.
Also, a lever-action rifle in the same caliber as one of your revolvers (for example, .357 Magnum) is a good idea. That allows for maximum flexibility and minimizes the need for odd calibers of ammunition.
Buy a gun safe.
It not only is a safety issue concerning children and grandchildren, but a good gun safe is also a hedge against the casual burglar or thief. Gun safes also provide some fire protection.
If firearms become more scarce, more thefts of guns will probably occur. Thieves love to target easier marks, so make yourself a harder target than the average gun owner. Keep your doors and windows locked, your home well-illuminated, and practice home carry.
Home carry may be as simple as not taking off your concealed carry gun just because you walked in your front door. Alarms, dogs, and nosy neighbors can help, too. Also, cameras for their deterrence value.
Any safe beats no safe. A decent residential security container, mounted in a good location, will make stealing your stuff a lengthy, noisy and difficult affair. You want to make stealing your most valuable possessions (including, in this case, firearms) as difficult as possible, taking more time, tools and/or effort than the casual bad guy is willing to invest.
HINT: Having more than one safe is a big plus. Tackling one big safe is difficult. Tackling two or more? Few thieves are willing to tackle that.
Make sure you’re protected legally.
First, make sure you have a self-defense insurance policy. Lawyers are expensive and unless you have a pile of cash earmarked to fight a criminal prosecution for a righteous self-defense incident, you need this coverage.
Furthermore, get legal advice before you do anything. Now is the time to identify a good lawyer and get their contact info in your phone (and the phone of your significant other in case your phone is impounded for evidence). Love them or hate them, lawyers will almost all tell you never to talk to law authorities if you are under suspicion without an attorney present.
Today we are in a whole new world. What should you say or do if a police officer asks you who in your neighborhood owns a firearm? Or comes to your house asking if you do?
Ask a lawyer before you are in that situation. One of the biggest potential pitfalls is a perjury trap, where you tell police one time about an incident and then later present your recollection of the facts slightly differently and you get charged with obstruction of justice.
Conclusion
An avalanche is made up of lots of little snowflakes. America’s gun owners are not the sort of snowflakes we think of when we use that word today, but you get the idea. America’s gun culture is made up of scores of millions of gun owners. Yes, some gun owners embrace the gun culture and gun rights a lot more aggressively and robustly than others.
I get it, advocacy work is work. But it must be done. Working together to protect and defend our gun rights remains the only way we’ll keep them.
So go out and implement some (or all) of these steps towards protecting and defending your right to keep and bear arms. Your kids and grand kids should thank you. And they very well may some day.
As we know, freedom is not a spectator sport.