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We've all seen it: Every time there's a mass shooting, the radical left uses it as political ammunition to further their gun control agenda. And there seems to be an ever-increasing percentage of our voting population that gets duped by these anti-gun arguments. Their desire to "feel like they've done something" to make the world safer somehow lets them abandon logic and support radical ideas that only serve to infringe on the 2nd Amendment, and do nothing to make society any safer.
People forget the fact that you're more likely to be struck dead by lightning or die in an automobile accident than get shot by a bullet, and yet the mere (ever decreasing) threat of mass violence is the thing that drives policy. It's obvious that these liberal policymakers do not care about statistics. What is it that DO they care about?
A common answer is "disarming the population". Yes, there's those out there that are going for that. But in many cases, I think it's a lot more nuanced than that. I think there's a pretty large segment of those that are questioning ownership of "black scary rifles" that are doing so out of fear and a lack of perspective. It's those people that, I would assert, are people that are not beyond reach entirely. It's those people that need their perspective changed, and their fears diminished.
The reason I feel they actually are reachable is that I witnessed a friend of mine go from the "Why does anyone need an AR-15?" mindset to being an owner of one just a few short years later. How did he get there? It was a process. It was the combination of having friends who were into exotic and interesting firearms (like myself) that he's known for years, and that he eventually moved to a house in the boonies and realizing police response in his district is about 30 minutes. He chose to take personal responsibility for the protection of his family, and upon making that choice, it eroded his irrational fears about "black scary rifles" when he realized it would be the best tool for his situation. I, of course, made the point to him that police are the mop-up crew regardless of city or rural location; they rarely intervene and change the outcome of a home invasion, and that his new mindset was just as valid when he was living in his former densely-populated neighborhood... But anyway, the details of his conversion don't matter all that much. The point is that he wasn't beyond reason. And I'd like to believe he's not alone.
What we have is left-wing brainwashing. But brain washing can be reversed. We've seen brain-washing reversal happen when members of a cult have been rescued. Yes, it takes time and effort, but it can happen. And I've seen left-wing brainwashing be reversed in my friend.
Fifty years ago, if a heinous crime was committed with someone with a weapon, did everyone focus on the weapon used? Nope. Somewhere along the way the narrative changed. Well, somehow, it is time to change that narrative again. Changing the narrative should be part of the mission of gun-rights organizations, in my opinion. Yes we can and should appreciate the battles our favorite gun rights organizations fight in Washington DC, but we shouldn't be satisfied with that alone. Responsible gun ownership needs to be showcased in the public eye and the culture of "crazy gun owners" needs to be destroyed.
So, is it too late to change the narrative? Is it too late to convince the people that it isn't the "black scary rifle" that the problem? Is it too late to convince those fearful of firearms that their fear is unwarranted, and is actually the result of a left-wing propaganda machine that has been programming them through the mainstream media for years?
I think a lot of us have friends that don't own a gun. Every one of us should be inviting our non-gun-owning friends out to the range to show them what it's all about. Maybe even that an AR-15 (or similar) isn't actually a scary weapon at all! Every one of us should be doing whatever we can to reinforce that we are all responsible firearm owners, and that the actions of a crazy lunatics should never be allowed to force policy changes that affect us all.
What else can we do?
People forget the fact that you're more likely to be struck dead by lightning or die in an automobile accident than get shot by a bullet, and yet the mere (ever decreasing) threat of mass violence is the thing that drives policy. It's obvious that these liberal policymakers do not care about statistics. What is it that DO they care about?
A common answer is "disarming the population". Yes, there's those out there that are going for that. But in many cases, I think it's a lot more nuanced than that. I think there's a pretty large segment of those that are questioning ownership of "black scary rifles" that are doing so out of fear and a lack of perspective. It's those people that, I would assert, are people that are not beyond reach entirely. It's those people that need their perspective changed, and their fears diminished.
The reason I feel they actually are reachable is that I witnessed a friend of mine go from the "Why does anyone need an AR-15?" mindset to being an owner of one just a few short years later. How did he get there? It was a process. It was the combination of having friends who were into exotic and interesting firearms (like myself) that he's known for years, and that he eventually moved to a house in the boonies and realizing police response in his district is about 30 minutes. He chose to take personal responsibility for the protection of his family, and upon making that choice, it eroded his irrational fears about "black scary rifles" when he realized it would be the best tool for his situation. I, of course, made the point to him that police are the mop-up crew regardless of city or rural location; they rarely intervene and change the outcome of a home invasion, and that his new mindset was just as valid when he was living in his former densely-populated neighborhood... But anyway, the details of his conversion don't matter all that much. The point is that he wasn't beyond reason. And I'd like to believe he's not alone.
What we have is left-wing brainwashing. But brain washing can be reversed. We've seen brain-washing reversal happen when members of a cult have been rescued. Yes, it takes time and effort, but it can happen. And I've seen left-wing brainwashing be reversed in my friend.
Fifty years ago, if a heinous crime was committed with someone with a weapon, did everyone focus on the weapon used? Nope. Somewhere along the way the narrative changed. Well, somehow, it is time to change that narrative again. Changing the narrative should be part of the mission of gun-rights organizations, in my opinion. Yes we can and should appreciate the battles our favorite gun rights organizations fight in Washington DC, but we shouldn't be satisfied with that alone. Responsible gun ownership needs to be showcased in the public eye and the culture of "crazy gun owners" needs to be destroyed.
So, is it too late to change the narrative? Is it too late to convince the people that it isn't the "black scary rifle" that the problem? Is it too late to convince those fearful of firearms that their fear is unwarranted, and is actually the result of a left-wing propaganda machine that has been programming them through the mainstream media for years?
I think a lot of us have friends that don't own a gun. Every one of us should be inviting our non-gun-owning friends out to the range to show them what it's all about. Maybe even that an AR-15 (or similar) isn't actually a scary weapon at all! Every one of us should be doing whatever we can to reinforce that we are all responsible firearm owners, and that the actions of a crazy lunatics should never be allowed to force policy changes that affect us all.
What else can we do?