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It's been too long and too irrational a fight waged by the anti-gunners for me to placate them any longer. I just don't have the patience to argue with them or try and convince them their beliefs are incorrect.
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But how many hard-core anti-gunners are left at this point, and how much influence do they really have? Trust me, folks have been quietly defecting from their camp for quite some time.
This was the point of my earlier posts in this thread. Fifteen years ago, I was terrified of the Brady Campaign. When that guy ran his plane into the IRS building a few weeks back, I immediately had flashbacks to Oklahoma city, and I was on pins and needles expecting the the media to blame us somehow (they did back then).
And yet, nothing. Same with the Seattle Jewish center shooting and the one in Birmingham.
Nobody shows pictures of Klan rallies and neo-Nazi militia drills when they talk of guns on the evening news anymore. I haven't seen or heard of Henigan, Brady or Sugarmann on any major outlet in years.
Public opinion has changed in our favor drastically over the last decade. The stakes aren't as high as they were back then, and our mission has become more subtle. We need to be changing the hearts and minds of those
in the middle.
Don't bother with the moonbats; they won't be convinced by any means. The folks we need to win over are the ones who aren't involved in the issue but don't oppose it, either. That leaves (at a guess) 80% of this country.
Those are people who may not have had a problem with the Assault Weapons Ban as it was advertised, but who would have definitely opposed it had they known the truth. These are the folks you
don't see protesting Starbucks (for either side) in front of the news cameras. These are the folks who never get involved one way or another.
But they spend money, and the vote.
The good news is that they're somewhat sympathetic towards the 2nd Amendment. The bad news? That can change if we spook them by screaming confrontational slogans our acting like we're on some kind of holy crusade.
I know there are some folks, especially in the newest generation, who have a "what part of shall not be infringed" take-no-prisoners approach to the cause. It would be charming if it wasn't counterproductive. We can print all the catchy t-shirts and crow for the approval of each other all we want. It changes nothing.
Neither does picking fights with the anti-gunners who are left. They won't be convinced, and if those representing us can't show a little temperance, they might be able to turn a few folks away from us.
We have the facts. We are in the right. Calm voices win the day on this one.