Say “Gun Lobby” One More Time…

I DARE you!  I DOUBLE DARE you!  Seems I always hear the same old worn out talking points from the usual gun-control suspects about how our lawmakers are in bed with the so-called “Gun Lobby.”  Every time someone opposes the new gun control legislation, the gun control crowd is all up in arms (pun intended) about how the “Gun Lobby” is controlling everything.  When the NRA or one of the other gun rights groups gives money to support a pro-Second Amendment candidate’s campaign, it is always the corrupt “Gun Lobby” that is the root of all this evil.  The people spewing this nonsense somehow think that the “Gun Lobby” ONLY supports and is beholding to big business and manufacturers.  Or maybe they think the “Gun Lobby” is in the pocket of some cabal with no regard for the fact that actual people just want to protect and enjoy their rights.  Basically, when the people in gun grabber land don’t get their way, it’s resistance to the evil “Gun Lobby” that becomes their battle cry. 

 “OMG!  The ‘Gun Lobby’ just gave $500 thousand dollars to Senator Smith’s campaign.”

“This is outrageous!  The ‘Gun Lobby’ gave $200 thousand dollars to help defeat our latest gun control measure.”

“Congressman Carson is in bed with the ‘Gun Lobby.’  That is so corrupt that he would take money from a special interest!”

“The ‘Gun Lobby’ is raising millions of dollars to oppose ‘common sense’ gun regulations.”

“This is sad!  The ‘Gun Lobby’ is responsible for the mass shooting that just occurred…”

Evidently, these people don’t realize that the Second Amendment is an enumerated individual right in the U.S. Constitution.  Nor do they realize that these gun rights groups are huge and active because of their large citizen memberships.

I apologize that I can’t write this post in crayon so that those who don’t get it can understand.  But this so-called “Gun Lobby” of which the gun control crowd speaks, The National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, National Association for Gun Rights, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, and a whole host of others, is made up of over five million American Citizens!  That’s right!  We The People are members and make up the body of this so-called “Gun Lobby.”  We are members of these organizations because we are up against very rich and powerful people who oppose gun rights, and we know that the only way that we can win is to join together in a unified voice, and leverage the political and legal clout of these gun rights organizations to help preserve our RIGHTS. 

We pay dues and give donations to these organizations with the full expectation that they will use their muscle on our behalf to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, and strongly oppose draconian gun control measures.  So if you are going to claim that the so-called “Gun Lobby” is giving money to these efforts, then my response is: “You’re darn right they are!”  They are doing exactly what We The People, We The Members, and We The CITIZENS are paying them to do.  They are doing their JOB!

Oh, and by the way, the “Gun Lobby” does not cause any of these mass shootings for which the “Gun Lobby” seems to get the blame.  Those are done by sick and broken INDIVIDUALS.  And it’s funny: practically none of these mass murderers are ever NRA members.  Imagine that!

Not that any in the gun control culture will acknowledge these truths, or admit to their own hypocrisy.

Four Sheets of Parchment

The United States Constitution was written on just four sheets of parchment.  Compare that to a single bill today submitted by Congress that exceeds 2,000 pages.  And I’ll bet the Founders read every single word on every single page of that most precious of founding documents.  Not only that, but they understood exactly what they wrote!  Today, we can’t even get our legislators to be willing to make these huge bills available for us to try to read, much less read them themselves. 

Gary DeMar summed it up pretty well in an American Vision article

“The Constitution of the United States was written on four sheets of parchment. If you count the Preamble and all 27 Amendments (remember there were originally only ten), it comes out to 20 typed pages. If you don’t count the signatures and amendments, you’ll have a document of 11 typed pages. No single Amendment is a full page. Many are only a single sentence in length. The First Amendment covers a multitude of freedoms: religion, press, assembly, speech, and the right to petition the government. It does it with only 45 words. Those original four sheets, about 4500 words, were good enough to serve as a document to govern a nation.”

They give the excuse that the bills are too confusing for them to read.  They wrote them, didn’t they?!  And now they don’t want to read their own writing because it’s too confusing?  If that’s the case, then maybe they should take a lesson from the Founding Fathers and learn how to write things that are shorter and easier to read.  If they didn’t write these bills, then who did!?  Our Second Amendment which preserves our right to defend ourselves is only twenty-six words yet speaks volumes.  Come on – how hard is it to write something as simple, yet as explicit as that?

So what does this mean to us as gun owners?  Take one of the latest in gargantuan bills, the recent Affordable Health Care for America Act passed by Congress, and somehow allowed to stand by the Supreme Court.  In this monstrosity of a bill any number of amendments could spell gun control under the guise of “looking out for our health” and ensuring that we live in “safe environments” in our own homes.  Some say there is the possibility of further registration of every single entry of our medical records into national databases.  It takes only a little common sense for one to realize that buried in a bill that is over 2,000 pages long can be hidden any number of liberty killing amendments.  How about the prospect of turning you into a felon if you don’t buy the healthcare prescribed for you by law?  You do remember that felons can’t own guns, right?  At the very least, this represents further control of the American people by a government that is growing out of control.  

Here is what Gun Owners of America has to say about this bill:

“This bill will...most likely result in all of your gun-related health data being dumped into a government database that was created in the stimulus bill. This includes any firearms-related information your doctor has gleaned... or any determination of PTSD, or something similar, that can preclude you from owning firearms."

The bill will also create special "wellness" programs in section 112 which would allow the government to offer lower premiums to employers who bribe their employees to live healthier lifestyles -- and nothing within the bill would prohibit rabidly anti-gun HHS Secretary Sebelius from decreeing that "no guns" is somehow healthier.”

Hurt yourself reloading?  Need special glasses for shooting?  Have an accident at the range?  My suggestion is to find another explanation for those things to your doctor.  The health care bill above is but one example. There have been several pieces of legislation considered in the past few years alone that have been so huge as to be unreadable and un-comprehended by the average citizen.  Next thing you know, it will be determined that firing a gun produces too much carbon dioxide, and you will face more taxes when buying guns and ammunition if cap and trade is ever passed.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial that gun owners (and all citizens) get involved and educate themselves on every single bill that our law makers try to push through.  ANY bill can have the potential of containing anti-gun content and or amendments.  We must be paying attention every step of the way if we are to have a say in how these laws are passed. 

I know – this represents time out from lives, families and friends.  But our future as a country depends on our willingness to sacrifice a little in order to help secure our future as a nation.  With the voluminous amounts of text in these bills, and the hundreds of amendments being slipped in, an innocent looking and sounding bill can turn into a gun owner’s (or everyone’s for that matter) worst nightmare in a single moment.  We must take an active role in our own governance and make sure our elected officials hear our needs and demands.  In this very important election year - Please – get off the bench and get into the game.

Principles versus Tactics

In order to know what you want to do (or are willing to do) in a given situation, you need to know which aspects of your strategy for doing it are absolutely non-negotiable, and which aspects are subject to flexibility.  Which aspects are you not willing to compromise?  And which aspects will you have to adapt to your abilities, resources, and practicality?  Ask any "sheepdog" about their willingness to step up and help others, and he or she will tell you that there are just certain things in our lives that are non-negotiable. 

One of the important things I have learned in my recent tactical firearms skills training at Makhaira Group is the concept of principles versus tactics.  A principle, as our instructor drilled into us over and over, is something that you are absolutely not willing to negotiate.  It is the “what” of your belief system. Tactics, on the other hand, are the “how” of your strategy to adhere to that belief system, the specifics of which may vary from time to time, but they still enable you to adhere to your principles.  These are the “enabling objectives,” if you will.  

The fact that I must eat to survive is an example of a principle.  But when I go to the cafeteria to eat, I am free to pick and choose what specific items I want to eat at that particular time.  But there is no more appropriate a place to discuss principles and tactics, in my opinion, than in the realm of self-defense and the defense of your family and others.

prin·ci·ple

  /ˈprɪnsəpəl/ [prin-suh-puhl]

noun

an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct: a person of good moral principles.
 

a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived.

a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion.

principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management: to adhere to one's principles.

guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.

tac·tic

   /ˈtæktɪk/ [tak-tik]

noun

a plan, procedure, or expedient for promoting a desired end or result.

Here’s an example of a self-defense principle and its accompanying tactics:

Principle:  I will provide multiple layers of protection for my home and family against criminal invasions.

Tactics: An alarm system, a big dog, strong door locking hardware, and firearms in the hands of a proficient home owner, are all things that I might employ to provide my home protection.

Explanation:  The fact that I will protect my home and my family from criminal invasion or attack is not open for discussion.  It is non-negotiable.  And I don’t care what any one else's opinion is about whether or not I should be doing this.  But how I do it is a matter of which tools I wish to employ, and may be based on my personal preferences and/or the opinions and experiences of others.  

Let’s take the above tactics one at a time:  

The alarm system:  What if I don’t want, or can’t afford the alarm hardware and the monthly fees?  What if I am renting and the home owner will not allow me to install an alarm system on the premises? I can get simple alarm-like devices that make a loud noise when a door or window is opened, and mimics an alarm system.  I can post alarm signs in my yard that warn potential intruders that I have an alarm system installed.  The criminals don’t know the difference.  Criminals will select the easiest targets.  If your home offers even a hint of being more difficult to break into, they will move on to an easier target.  That psychological effect in and of itself is yet another tactic that I can employ.

The dog: What if I am allergic to dogs or just don’t want the responsibility?  What if my present dog is a small dog and I don’t want a larger one?  I can still put large dog bowls in plain view.  Anyone who looks in my windows sees a set of large dog bowls, but has no idea whether or not I have a dog, or what kind it is.  I can also get a motion detecting device that lets out a loud dog bark if anyone approaches the house. Again: criminals will select the easiest targets.  If your home offers even a hint of being more difficult to break into, they will move on to an easier target.

Door hardware: Do I use a deadbolt that requires a key on both sides, or one with a key-less knob on the inside? Do I also augment that with a hidden chain lock?  I didn’t say how many or what brand.  You can put 15 deadbolts on each side of your doors if you want.  But honestly, this is one place not to skimp.  Get good locks, install longer screws in the hinges and strike plates, and keep the doors locked at all times.  This is a simple tactic to employ.

Firearms: I may choose to use a shotgun for home defense today, but decide to use an AR-15 tomorrow.  Someone else may choose a handgun for their home defense.  I choose to keep my home defense firearms loaded all the time, but the state you live in may not allow that.  Your tactics for deploying will then be different.  But in choosing that a firearm is part of my tactics, I also know that the choices are virtually unlimited.

There are still other tactics not mentioned here that I can choose, or I may choose not to employ some of the above. But the important thing here is that you know what principles you are not willing to negotiate, and what tactics you select to meet those principles.  Principles helped found our country, and tactics helped win the wars.  Stick to your principles and don’t allow others to force you to compromise.