After the horrific events on October 1 in Las Vegas, the pro-gun community and the 2nd Amendment has come under attack by the media and liberal politicians. They are starting a crusade to take guns and to abolish the 2nd Amendment, as we know it.
The Pro-Gun and 2nd Amendment community, unfortunately, have not been helping the situation. We, as a group, cannot seem to find common ground within our own ranks. You have the National Rifle Association (NRA), who is the biggest of the Pro-Gun Lobby organizations, came out with a statement that many people interpret as being soft on the proposed gun control bills. Among a joint statement on the NRA website, the following is said:
"Despite the fact that the Obama administration approved the sale of bump fire stocks on
at least two occasions, the National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices
comply with federal law. The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic
rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations."
This started an uproar among the 2nd Amendment advocates. Many long-time members and supporters of the NRA have left and renounced their membership because they feel the "voice of the gun community," the NRA, had betrayed them.
On the flip side the Gun Owners of America (GOA) have been in the fore-front of the topic and been a beacon of hope to Pro_Gun advocates. Erich Pratt, Executive Director of the GOA, has been on many news shows defending the 2nd Amendment and demolishing inaccurate and uneducated claims by the media and liberal politicians. Below is a video of him on CNN:
This appearance, plus many others like it, have drawn a lot of support and helped bring more members to the GOA, who many think is the voice that needs to be representing the Pro-Gun Community.
Where does this leave us? No matter who the guiding voice in our fight to protect our 2nd Amendment rights, the challenge has not changed. We are fighting a massive machine led by the liberal swaying media and the liberal politicians that want to take our guns. The sector of people who wish to see gun control in this country need to be educated about the actual statistics and keep the emotions of a tragic shooting out of the discussion. The facts are that as the number of guns increase in this country, the number of gun related crimes goes down.
What can we do? The most important thing that we can do is continue to educate the uneducated about gun statistics. Instead of getting into shouting matches and howling at the moon about our rights, we also need to understand that most people are only given information from one side. We need to be vigilant in making sure that our side of the story is told, as well. Education is the key. Once people know the whole story, it will be very difficult in combating a rationale that is supported by facts instead of emotions.