One of our regular readers sent me a note that got me going and I would like to share it with all of you.
He was referencing a recent column in which I did some prognosticating about what might happen in the future if gun rights advocates fail to hold the line and keep a close eye on NRA to make sure they do the same. Some have accused me of NRA bashing with that piece (which can be read in its entirity by clicking here ) but I was merely pointing out how gun control has come about in the past and how it might get passed in the future if we're not very careful and vigilant.
Here is my response to that letter. I hope you'll find it worthwhile.
Russ,
Anything is possible, but a revolution over firearms restrictions – especially incremental, one sub-group at a time restrictions – is highly unlikely. It didn't happen in 1994 with the Clinton AW Ban or in 1986 with the LaPierre MG Ban, or in 1976 with the DC Gun Ban…
What did happen in 1994 was a revolution at the polls resulting in a huge shift in Congress. Unfortunately, the lesson learned in that revolution was only learned by the losing side. The Democrats backed away from gun control rhetoric and have given lip-service to the Second Amendment ever since, while the Republicans failed to take any action to restore rights lost or distinguish themselves from the mealy-mouthed Democrats. Too many Republicans who supported the ban were allowed to retain their seats and NRA was not nearly demanding enough when Republicans held control. Please be careful about statements which might seem to suggest or encourage violent action. We are not kooks or terrorists and we do not advocate violence against the government or any politicians. Keep in mind that it was the assassination of political figures that convinced Americans that gun control was needed. Any suggestion of such a thing marginalizes our movement and makes our job more difficult.
We also tend to think in the short term rather than looking at the long term picture. We have had some pretty terrible Presidents and some pretty terrible Congresses, but our nation has survived and flourished. There have been some tough times, but the pendulum has always swung back and our nation has moved forward. Momentum has been with the "bigger government – less liberty" crowd for a long time and factors have been conspiring to reverse that trend. We need to be ready to take advantage of such shifts to push our agenda as far as possible before the tide turns again. We have missed the opportunities of the past several years and are likely to face tougher times before such opportunities arise again.
My forward-looking article was a warning to our guys to not become complacent just because the Supreme Court has admitted that the Constitution really means something akin to what it says. We need to be working harder than ever to move our cause forward – at the ballot box and in state and federal legislatures – in order to solidify our gains and progress further. The past doesn't prove the future, but it can be an indication. What I describe in the article – a tragedy, public outcry, political threatening, and NRA capitulation to less onerous restrictions – is how things have happened in the past. This is not like trying to drive down a winding mountain road by watching the rear view mirror; more like driving around a race track. The left turns have come regularly and predictably in the past and we can expect them to come regularly and predictably in the future – unless we straighten out the track. That can only be accomplished at the ballot box.
As I have said before; sometimes it takes a Pearl Harbor or an Alamo to wake the giant and win the war. Sometimes it takes a Jimmy Carter to wake voters up and give a Ronald Reagan a chance to lead. And sometimes it takes an Assault Weapons ban to get our guys off their butts and into the voting booth.
I'd rather by-pass the devastation of a lost battle and skip right to the victory, but we can't always get what we want. The important thing is that we don't concede, and compromise, and settle for a little more restriction for fear of a lot more restriction. That is the great danger. When they come and take something from us, we have a righteous, moral imperative to rise up and take it back. When we compromise and give something away, we surrender that righteous moral imperative and have only whining as our rallying cry. That is why there is no such thing as a "reasonable" gun control law. No such thing as "reasonable" restrictions on our fundamental right to arms. No such thing as "reasonable" compromise to avoid "something worse shoved down our throats." If they want to shove something down our throats, we must stand firm and not give an inch. If we succeed in beating them back, we are battle hardened and better prepared for the next fight. If we lose, we are energized and reinforced by our brothers, finally awakened from their complacent slumber.
We, the individual gun rights activist and lover of liberty, must keep one eye on the politicians and one eye on our own leaders, such as LaPierre and company, to keep them on the straight and narrow – or at least within shouting distance of the proper path. Hard core gun rights advocates walking away from NRA is like soldiers abandoning tanks and battleships in the middle of a war because they are cumbersome and difficult to maneuver. Sure there is something to be said for being nimble and quick and light infantry is important, but there is simply no replacement for armor and great big guns.
Just like the government, NRA must be lobbied and guided by "the people." Those who don't get involved in politics; don't vote or petition their elected officials, have little room to complain about the direction of our nation. Similarly, those who drop out of NRA rather than working to push the organization in the right direction, are ensuring that their prophecy of appeasement and concessions will be fulfilled because they are leaving the biggest guns in the hands of the "moderates" who are unwilling to use them.
The fact is, the good old days of liberty and freedom are a fiction. Liberty is a struggle not a state. It is something we strive for, but which we can never achieve to perfection because we are human and humans have different views and ideas of what liberty and freedom actually are – and who should have them. The fight for liberty has always been a fight and always will be a fight and the best we can hope for is to hand the fight over to our children and grandchildren in a context where they can continue to fight in the open, with words and ballots rather than bloodshed and violence. We want to leave them a nation and world where education is the great liberator, and freedom and liberty are ideals that they can enjoy even as they continue the fight.
We cannot win the war for liberty by sitting on the sidelines complaining or just using small-unit guerrilla tactics. We must be involved in the fight at the local, state, and federal level as well as the fight to make NRA more effective. If the rights community could focus and come together for even just a short time, we would be an overwhelming force that could dramatically change the face of politics in this nation. Until that happens, we all have to do what we can to educate and push toward liberty, all of our "leaders" at all levels; local, state, federal, and organizational.
Yours for the Second Amendment,
Jeff
Jeff Knox
Director, The Firearms Coalition