"I believe in the Second Amendment...BUT....."

[AKDoug]

You cannot negotiate or reason with the Leftist Mind. They already know their point of view is superior to yours, and when you provide facts and statistics, they just deny or criticize what you're doing and resort to an emotional stance. You could show them that with 2016 FBI statistics, out of @ 38,000 gun deaths, only 11,004 were murders. The rest were suicides. You could show them that in 2016, 374 murders were done with rifles, while 1604 murders were done with knives and sharp objects. They don't care. They're agenda is on auto-pilot and nothing will stop it.

While I agree with your sentiment, I have found that there are relatively few super leftist, leaving a whole bunch of folks in the middle that we can reach. One of the key points we teach in hunter education is that roughly 10% of the population consider themselves hunters and about 10% of the country is vehemently anti-hunting. What is left is 80% of Americans that could go either way. I think that firearms are the same way. All we need to do is convince 60% of the 80% that guns are o.k. and we have the votes.

I employ three people that openly identify with more liberal politics. They are hard working, honest, and treat me with the utmost respect. All three of them are also pro-gun and are slowly being brought over to the fiscal conservative side. In fact, some of them are (in my opinion) more vocally pro-gun than some members I have debated here in General. They are sickened by the feeling that their party (the Dems) have abandoned them much the way some of us feel abandoned by the Republicans. People like them are ripe for the picking if you can identify them and treat them with respect.

[Alex V]

This is a fight that will never end. Regardless of the laws passed or SCOTUS decisions handed down. We will always try to keep our guns and the Left will always try to take them. The only way this ends is if one group eliminates the other by force.

[HeruMew]

Honestly, we need to protest longer, harder, and be more visible doing so. We're terrible at it. Look at the protests in Tallahassee. Where are we at? What have we been doing? Just the normal pissing and moaning on the interwebz like we always do. They look like they're organized, and sadly we do not. A lot of life is perception, and right now they're the ones out there looking like they have everyone behind them.

Then we have half of our numbers wanting to cave in even more because they think it's "not worth the fight, no one should own one, it's a FUDD device, or standing for this will not help our cause in the long run".

I'm sick of saying it, and I guess it's never going to sink in. This is about freedom. Nothing more, and nothing less. We either have it, or we don't.

Personally, I could care less, and pretty damn sick and tired of the half that just wants to roll over and cave in. I'm getting damn sick of our disorganization. Hell, even the Gun Owners of America is pretty much clammed up right now, and the NRA is looking like a bunch of friggin' chumps right now. We're being out grass rooted, and it's showing, BADLY!!!

It's easy when their "Grass Roots" are 18-25 somethings that are let out of universities for the "interest of public political action", unemployed/part time employed, and/or work as something like a "librarian" or "in a band". when most average joes working day in and out don't get to attend a rally at 10AM on a Monday because: we effin work.

In the town I live in, the most politically active person I know (that's from my graduating class, whom didn't graduate with us) works 5-20 hours a week, lives at the random shelters/couch hops with her supportees, and claims to be more "woke" than a hungry-needing-to-be-changed newborn at 3am. But, I guess if I spent more time on Facebook spamming anti-next-righteous-topic memes, organizing these 20 person anti-trump rallies (in a town of nearly 100k) in our protesting square, I might feel that way too.

So, if I could afford to give up what I have earned to not care about having a roof over my head, I might try being a "career activist".

[RetroRevolver77]

Attachment 50678

[Dist. Expert 26]

This is a fight that will never end. Regardless of the laws passed or SCOTUS decisions handed down. We will always try to keep our guns and the Left will always try to take them. The only way this ends is if one group eliminates the other by force.

Every time the left bans something people want or hold dear we take another step in that direction. I've said it before, but if I'm going to be a felon for one thing I might as well be a felon for everything.

I think in terms of fighting we need a new organization to represent our interests. The NRA is too soft, too concerned with hunting and too greedy. We need people with PR and legal experience going toe to toe each and every time even incremental rights are threatened. Like the ACLU but for guns.

[OH58D]

While I agree with your sentiment, I have found that there are relatively few super leftist, leaving a whole bunch of folks in the middle that we can reach. One of the key points we teach in hunter education is that roughly 10% of the population consider themselves hunters and about 10% of the country is vehemently anti-hunting. What is left is 80% of Americans that could go either way. I think that firearms are the same way. All we need to do is convince 60% of the 80% that guns are o.k. and we have the votes.

I employ three people that openly identify with more liberal politics. They are hard working, honest, and treat me with the utmost respect. All three of them are also pro-gun and are slowly being brought over to the fiscal conservative side. In fact, some of them are (in my opinion) more vocally pro-gun than some members I have debated here in General. They are sickened by the feeling that their party (the Dems) have abandoned them much the way some of us feel abandoned by the Republicans. People like them are ripe for the picking if you can identify them and treat them with respect.

I live in a part of the US where everyone is either pro-gun, or anti-gun. No in between. I have some kind of weapon on me at all times, mainly for predator control, or when I go to Albuquerque and have to deal with two-legged predators. Your urban areas, which mostly went for Bill Clinton's wife, are large voting blocks, and lots of anti-gun people. You may win a few over, but most are mindless drones listening to what CNN's Anderson Cooper has to say and his hand-picked panel of experts. Change the channel to Lester Dolt on NBC and you'll see more tear-jerking optics.

We are losing the argument because we don't have the Big Megaphone, and our champions in Congress are spineless. You can't hold up your Colt 6920 during an interview and say it's your right to own it, when you've got sobbing children on TV mourning their murdered peers. It's all about optics, not substance. Fluff and well edited video on TV always win the day.

It's been a matter of time for all of this to hit the fan, and I think it's the beginning of a new AWB; probably at State level but perhaps some form at the Federal level. These State level bans could even include banning possession.

[Dist. Expert 26]

We also need a new political party. The Republicans are going to get utterly destroyed at the polls if this goes through, immigration fails and Hillary isn't in prison. Might be the perfect time to push libertarian candidates really hard.

[OH58D]

We also need a new political party. The Republicans are going to get utterly destroyed at the polls if this goes through, immigration fails and Hillary isn't in prison. Might be the perfect time to push libertarian candidates really hard.

But have you noticed that some of the Libertarians are many times Democrat-Lite? Rand Paul is not the last word when it comes to Libertarian platforms.

[glocktogo]

First you have to identify whether the person you're dealing with is a propagandist, or a consumer of propaganda. Just because someone is parroting the propaganda, doesn't mean they're not a victim of it. If they're a victim, try to deprogram them and help them understand the lies they've been told. If they're a propagandist, you can't do anything with them except make them look like the fools they are.

[Dist. Expert 26]

But have you noticed that some of the Libertarians are many times Democrat-Lite? Rand Paul is not the last word when it comes to Libertarian platforms.

I have, what I mean by libertarians are true libertarians. Small government, less regulations, lower taxes. Most people, particularly in my age group, identify more with those principles than either of the current parties.