By Cliff M.
Data over the last several months showing record breaking increases in gun sales has built a false sense of security for many 2nd Amendment supporters. Folks are looking at these numbers believing the writing is on the wall for gun control advocates, and that public opinion is favorably shifting.
I believe that couldn’t be further from the truth. While the gun rights movement may see a net gain in support, we are still currently on the losing side of this fight.
The reason for my pessimism is that despite recent gun sale trends, Joe Biden is also shattering historical records with unprecedented support in public polls. Divisiveness during the pandemic, civil unrest from police brutality, and an economic downturn all work favorably for Biden’s campaign.
Piling onto to these detractors for Trump are the countless former officials from his own administration, such as popular military figureheads like John Kelly and James Mattis, that have been criticizing Trump publicly. There’s also the fact that many 2nd Amendment advocates are not fans of Trump either. His “take the guns first, go through due process later” comment and bump stock ban have rightfully cost him some support among gun rights supporters.
As a result, the probability of having a President who has campaigned on taking our guns is increasing as time goes on. In addition, these same issues appear to be taking a toll on the Republican majority in the Senate. As it stands right now, Democrats are poised to take four seats (Colorado, Maine, Arizona and North Carolina), flipping the only chance we have at stopping bad legislation.
My point here is that now is not the time to relax, but rather a time to get involved. If we use Virginia as a recent example of what happens when Democrats control every step of the legislative process, it means gun control won’t just be an issue – it will be the issue. They’ll waste no time passing every piece of legislation they’ve been wanting, regardless of how many constituents write, call, or show up to protest.
We need to re-double our efforts in helping Republicans maintain control of the Senate and win seats in the House. This will only happen if everyone stops doing victory laps over gun sales, and acknowledges the very real risk we’re up against. Learn from past defeats and mobilize at the ballot box. For those of you who live in the four states at risk of being flipped, everyone is counting on you.