Best Ways to Protect 2nd Amendment Rights

[Lee6113]

Hello all,

I was wondering what a young 23 year old guy like me can do to help protect our 2nd amendment rights. I believe we have several laws attempting to be passed at the moment which would restrict "assault rifles" and regulate round count for pistols, etc. (I live in Washington state).

Apart from voting against silly things life that, what can the masses do?

Lee

[Reloader54]

Originally Posted by Lee6113

Hello all,

I was wondering what a young 23 year old guy like me can do to help protect our 2nd amendment rights. I believe we have several laws attempting to be passed at the moment which would restrict "assault rifles" and regulate round count for pistols, etc. (I live in Washington state).

Apart from voting against silly things life that, what can the masses do?

Lee

What you can do is to start calling, writing, posting on their Facebook and twitter pages all of not only your local state Representative's but also your ones in DC. And let them know how you feel about the laws they are wanting to pass. And tell them how you want them to vote on them. Also get your family and friends to start doing the same thing. That way they will know how the people that they are suppose to represent feel about it. And might also remind them that they are suppose to be doing what the people that they represent want them to do. I do it all of the time to mine. And some time they even respond to me. Also join Gun groups as well. I belong to a number of national Gun groups and that way you can keep informed on things that are going on all over the country. Some great groups are 2AF, NAGR, NRA, and GOA. I belong to all of them.

[turkeestalker]

Number one is to exercise your right to vote.... and then everything just mentioned by Reloader54. So it sounds like you're already on the right track.

[kilimanjaro]

Get a CCW permit, and carry.

Vote.

Join the NRA and any other RKBA group you wish. It's going to cost $100 a year for memberships, budget for it.

Send emails to your state and federal legislators every week or two. Takes 5 minutes. They do listen, and will consider the political ramifications of a vote.

[Lee6113]

Thanks for the responses guys! I do vote, have a Concealed Pistol License (and carry), but haven't joined the NRA or contaced my legislators. I will look into who's who and send them an email.

Is the NRA the best organization to join?

Thanks again! Any other suggestions are welcome.

[Reloader54]

The NRA is just one group that is a good 2A group. Others that are maybe as good if not better are NAGR, Gun OWNER'S of America, The Second Amendment Foundation are all great groups that are very pro Gun. You might also look into the USCCA. You said that you had a Concealed Carry Permit. And their group has memberships that helps provide legal services if you ever have to use your Gun in self defense. They can get you in touch with a lawyer in your area and help with legal fees. And it's up to $1.1 million dollars coverage. With 24 hour service. All are great groups to belong to. And I do belong to all that I've mentioned.

[HiBC]

Realize that every day you are a representative of gun owners.

I n no way suggest you are lacking in what I am about to suggest,
But when you have a discussion about the 2A,leave folks with the impression you are rational,well informed, respectful and under emotional control.

Think about all the things that are bad PR.
Shot up roadsigns,Left behind targets,from cans to TV's,anything with bullet holes.Poaching.Starting wildfires.

Not only for yourself,but among your peers and those you influence,be an ambassador.

Live in a way that causes most folks to feel safer knowing you are a gun owner.

And the more folks,especially the young,who can be safe and responsible shooters having fun,the more friends we have.

So,if you get the chance,you might be the guy who shares the .22 and a few rounds with some young folks.

And you might be the guy who says "No" to some of the asinine and dangerous stuff that shows up in youtube vids.

And,all the stuff others have suggested about being politically active

[Koda94]

Originally Posted by HiBC

Realize that every day you are a representative of gun owners.

I n no way suggest you are lacking in what I am about to suggest,
But when you have a discussion about the 2A,leave folks with the impression you are rational,well informed, respectful and under emotional control.

HiBC's note above is worth repeating. Well said.

------------------------

Keep an eye on the local gun forum for your region there is a strong active local group that works to fight gun control that are members of the northwestfirearms.com forum. Some of the new legislation proposed for Wa. is outrageous. There is some good information (even if a day late...) in this thread about the current events to fight against the upcoming legislation: https://www.northwestfirearms.com/th.../#post-1385772

Im not certain what "the best" national gun rights organization is but I would also consider finding out what is the local gun rights organization for your state. Maybe start with http://wagunrights.org/

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by Lee6113

Apart from voting against silly things life that, what can the masses do?

We don't usually get to vote on such things. They are usually enacted by legislatures. The best way to influence legislation is to vote for legislators who support your views, and to write concise, direct, intelligent letters to whatever legislators represent you to state your position clearly and succinctly.

A number of years ago I read an article on how to best influence your elected representatives. This was before the advent of e-mail, so the choices were written letters, fax, and telephone calls. IIRC, the author (who had worked as a congressional staffer) said real, USPS letters were the most effective, followed by fax, with telephone coming in last.

I don't know how that plays out now that most legislators even at the state level have web sites and "Contact Me" apps that allow you to send them your comments. My view is, they put those links on their sites for a reason, so I use them. Make yourself heard. And if your elected representatives don't vote the way you like, become active in getting them UNelected.

[Tom Servo]

Find out who your legislators are. Keep in touch with them on 2A issues. Popvox makes this very easy.

[Aguila Blanca]

One thing I overlooked in my previous post is to write letters to the editor of major newspapers in your state. (Or even minor newspapers, if they publish letters to the editor). Letters to the editor should be grammatically correct, concise, and to the point. Explain why a proposed (or recently-enacted) law is bad, what the negative consequences may be, and how the [proposed] law will negatively affect law-abiding citizens.

Not all newspapers publish letters that don't fit their agenda. Some do -- once in awhile. If your first letter doesn't get published, don't let that stop you from writing again when another issue comes up. Even if your letter doesn't get published, someone at the paper will read it. If a newspaper receives enough letters protesting a bad law or a bad proposal, it may eventually cause them to rethink their position.

I'm a member of a 2A advocacy group in my state. At monthly meetings I have often heard people advise the membership not to bother writing to [newspaper] because "they don't like us." The fact is, of four or five major newspapers in the state, [newspaper] happens to be the only one that is consistently conservative in editorial outlook, and favorable to the 2A. In the past couple of years I have written three pro-gun or pro-2A letters to the editor of [newspaper], and all three were published. I suspect the reason other people's letters weren't published (if they really wrote at all) is that their letters were poorly written and/or incoherent in making a point. A newspaper typically devotes half or a third of a page (or less) to letters to the editor, and they try to print at least three letters, on different topics, every day. You're probably not submitting a full op-ed column, you're writing a letter to the editor. It has to be short and make the point clearly, or it won't be printed. That's just the way it works.

[Tom Servo]

Letters to the editor should be grammatically correct, concise, and to the point.

I can't agree with that enough. Write a rambling, poorly-written, or confrontational letter, and they may print it just to show that we're a bunch of knuckle draggers.

It needs to be a quick read. One narrow subject ("I oppose Prop. 19") and two paragraphs should be plenty.

[JimPage]

all good suggestions above. I also think your appearance matters. Clean clothes, a shower, and a shave also make a good impression. They may not affect the perception of the one who does that, but not doing that certainly affects the perception.. Avoiding foul language is definitely a plus!

[adamBomb]

Also, when you talk to people that are against gun rights or on the fence, have facts/information for them. Most of them are just uneducated about guns. Even invite them to come out and shoot with you. Some things they generally do not know...

- all gun death stats include suicide, which makes up 60% of the numbers.
- ar15 is a great hunting rifle. its just a newer model. its like having the latest cell phone.
- gun deaths have been decreasing for the last 20+ years as the number of legal gun owners has increased.
- gun control will work as well as drug control to stop criminals from getting guns
- most crimes, like the san bernandino recent mass shooting had those guns illegally. they were purchased by someone else legally and given to someone illegally who then modified them illegally. laws dont work on bad guys. bad guys always find a way. no law would have prevented them from getting those guns.
- the largest mass killing in the US was due to a bomb in the 1920s.
- mass killings would still happen if there were no guns. ie boston marathon bombing. bombs can be made at home. bombs are illegal yet are still made. laws do not prevent bad guys.
- dont say things like 'its my right'. they dont care about that.
- listen to their side of things
- become well informed.
- remember you cant argue with stupid. if they cant listen to reason then dont bother arguing. but you need facts to do this. smart people will be open to your facts if they are really facts.

As a teacher, i always paint this scenario. there is a mass shooter in your school and you are in the room with kids, door locked, lights off, and the shooter is outside the room trying to get in. would you rather have a gun or not if that shooter came in? If they dont want me to have a gun then get bullet proof glass/doors, metal detectors, and armed security for the school. But dont take away my right to protect myself if you cant protect me. We do all kinds of stuff in schools to prevent fires but nothing to prevent mass shootings.

[Aguila Blanca]

I agree that using facts is the best approach. But don't confuse facts with opinions. And don't cite facts that won't change the other person's opinion.

Originally Posted by adamBomb

Also, when you talk to people that are against gun rights or on the fence, have facts/information for them. Most of them are just uneducated about guns. Even invite them to come out and shoot with you. Some things they generally do not know...

- all gun death stats include suicide, which makes up 60% of the numbers. Anti-gunners don't care. Their view is that suicides would be prevented if guns were banned.
- ar15 is a great hunting rifle. its just a newer model. its like having the latest cell phone. To someone who does not understand how guns work, this is a meaningless statement. Especially when you consider that most AR-15s are chambered for .223/5.56, and many states don't allow that caliber for hunting.
- gun deaths have been decreasing for the last 20+ years as the number of legal gun owners has increased. Definitely worth citing.
- gun control will work as well as drug control to stop criminals from getting guns This is a slogan, not a fact.
- most crimes, like the san bernandino recent mass shooting had those guns illegally. they were purchased by someone else legally and given to someone illegally who then modified them illegally. laws dont work on bad guys. bad guys always find a way. no law would have prevented them from getting those guns. Actually, I did some research into mass shooting in the U.S. going all the way back to Charles Whitman and the Texas Tower incident. In almost all of them, the firearms were obtained legally. In several others, the illegality involved the shooter stealing the firearm(s) from a family member, which means that stricter background checks would not have prevented the incident anyway. That's NOT a good fact to cite, because if background checks won't stop the "gun violence," then they'll just revert to banning guns completely. In VERY few of the incidents were the firearms modified in any way, let alone illegally.
- the largest mass killing in the US was due to a bomb in the 1920s. Correct. Bath Township, Michigan. It's also a verifiable fact that the intnded weapon at Columbine H.S. was bombs, but they didn't go off. The guns were the backup plan.
- mass killings would still happen if there were no guns. ie boston marathon bombing. bombs can be made at home. bombs are illegal yet are still made. laws do not prevent bad guys.
- dont say things like 'its my right'. they dont care about that.
- listen to their side of things
- become well informed.
- remember you cant argue with stupid. if they cant listen to reason then dont bother arguing. but you need facts to do this. smart people will be open to your facts if they are really facts. See above.

[OldMarksman]

Good input.

[MarkCO]

Join the NRA, vote, argue with anti-gunners. That has all been done, and will continue to be done. The impact is minimal.

Target shooting is another part of the solution. Take your friends, neighbors and family members to the range. Teach them the safe and proper use of firearms. Then get them into a shooting match of some sort. Until people enjoy firearms, they won't care about other people taking yours away. That is one reason I have been involved with NSSF, Rimfire Challenge, First Shots and now American Marksman.

ALL target shooting, from paper to steel to hunting, timer based or not is good. Promote it all to your non-shooting friends. This is THE best way to convert and or remove apathy among those who do not care.

[Koda94]

- gun control will work as well as drug control to stop criminals from getting guns This is a slogan, not a fact.

I think there is something factual to this analogy regardless if it can be proven or not. Its well known criminals acquire guns illegally and there is even a black market for it and its well known drug prohibition doesn’t work.


I agree with the advice to use facts instead of opinions but would like find out the factual parts of the drug control analogy.