"I'm _____, and I'm a Gun Owner" Commercials

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

holdencm9

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Messages
1,369
Okay maybe this is a dumb idea, but is there an organization besides the NRA that has the resources to produce some commercials that could be used to show the general public that when they discuss the "gun lobby" and the "crazy right-wing survivalist gun nuts" that they assume we all are, they are talking about moms, dads, regular people from all over the country?

Those "I'm a Mormon" commercials got me thinking about this. The whole idea is to show that, yes, even Mormons are regular people too. Why not the same thing for gun owners? The antis assume we are all dressing in camo and running around in the woods preparing for the zombie apocalypse, which couldn't be further from the truth! Aside from a handful of good websites (THR included) how else will people on the fence see us for how we really are?

In all the message boards I have seen, one common theme seems to be people who call for more gun control don't know ANYBODY who is a responsible gun owner. There has got to be a way to change that.

I know we all try to do our best to portray the image of responsible gun ownership to everyone we know, but it only goes so far. Thoughts?
 
I like the idea.

Show a schoolteacher or dad (or both!) going about their daily business, happily helping out their kids with homework or something, saying "I'm _____, and I'm a dad/schoolteacher/husband/etc."

Cut to shot of them running a 3-gun course or something, ending with them saying "I'm ______, and I'm a gun owner."
 
BeyseRvrRat, maybe Fox would. Not that they're much of a major network nowadays, I think CBS has prime time pretty well locked down.
 
If everyone started posting safe gun handling videos of range trips on social media, people would see a heck of a lot more guns, being used safely.

Competitive shoots, whatever.

We just need to be MORE visible than we are.
 
Why can't the NRA do it? Why isn't the NRA already doing it? They are, after all, supposed to be the "big dog" in this fight.

The networks won't air them? Dollar bills will solve that. The NRA most definately has the money to pay for all the spots they could ever want to run.

You think we can get an answer from the NRA on why they aren't already on a PR blitz? We're going to lose this AWB battle if our voice does not get heard.


.
 
If you want your voice heard, why don't you make it heard, instead of waiting for the NRA to do it for you?

Sure, they have the resources to reach a much wider audience, but we shouldn't think that we're powerless as individuals.

Camera, windows movie maker, youtube account?
 
According to my kids, television news and commercials are so ... "yesterday". (Say in a teenagers voice, it makes more sense.. or so they tell me).

Embrace social media.

Let people see guns handled safely on a daily basis.

At the very least we'll counter some of the "HEY YALL LOOK WHAT I CAN DO" crap that's out there giving us a bad rep. Like shooting beer kegs. Blowing up trailers with oxyacetaline/tracers. Blowing up cars with Tannerite. And so on.
 
At the very least we'll counter some of the "HEY YALL LOOK WHAT I CAN DO" crap that's out there giving us a bad rep. Like shooting beer kegs. Blowing up trailers with oxyacetaline/tracers. Blowing up cars with Tannerite. And so on.
Click to expand...

Trent - are you referring to "Sons of Guns" (aka Red Jacket Firearms)?
 
Sounds like what I proposed after Aurora earlier this year:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=8299565&postcount=12

Hacker15E said:
I do desperately wish that there was a movement amongst firearms owners similar to the "I am a Mormon" tv ads that were on a couple years ago.

The Mormon ads showed all sorts of different types of people living all kinds of different lifestyles, in an attempt to de-mystify what type of people are Mormon.

There is this belief amongst non-firearm owners that owning "assault weapons", multiple firearms (any more than two seems to be called an 'arsenal'), or lots of ammo, is the earmark of sociopaths or otherwise total weirdos. We all know that's not true -- that firearm owners come in all shapes, sizes, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, races, and political leanings. That owning an AR or AK isn't deviant behavior. That having several firearms doesn't mean you are a doomsday prepper. That having lots of ammo doesn't mean that you're just preparing to shoot up a school. It's actually surprisingly mainstream American behavior (outside of urban areas, that is) to do any or all of those.

I'd like to see all different kinds of "normal" Americans publicly showing that they own multiple firearms, especially the "evil" types, and stocks of ammunition. There needs to be an antidote to the narrative that antis are spinning right now that says the NRA is solely responsible for the ability to own AKs and ARs and normal-capacity mags, and that "normal" Americans don't own, need, or want any of this stuff "that is only designed to kill a lot of people".
Click to expand...

Whole thread here:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=8299565

It remains a good idea...wish someone with $$ would pick up on it.
 
OK, here's the problem with this idea, as I see it: When you show gun owners as "next-door neighbor" type people, engaging in "normal" gun activities (such as hunting, skeet shooting, etc.), you're almost by necessity going to be emphasizing the "Fudd" aspect of the gun culture. This gives the antis the opening to come back and say, "Our plans would not affect such wholesome activities. We're only after weapons that belong on a battlefield rather than on city streets." The minute you show an AR-15 being used, even in a lawful activity, you're going to alienate most of your intended audience. These are fence-sitters, and people whose knowledge about guns is limited.

Remember, the antis, this time, are very cleverly using a divide-and-conquer strategy. Notice that all of them, from Obama on down, stress their "strong support" of the Second Amendment as the first thing that comes out of their mouths. Then they go on to say that we must have "reasonable" controls. As a matter of fact, Justice Scalia (knowingly or unknowingly) laid out this plan of attack right in the Heller decision. I always thought that gun owners prematurely celebrated when that decision came down.
 
AlexanderA said:
The minute you show an AR-15 being used, even in a lawful activity, you're going to alienate most of your intended audience.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the whole point -- to show normal Americans with the demonized sporting rifles and help knock the edges off that alienation.
 
I feel like I'm repeating myself here, but, you don't need to spend millions of dollars to put ads on national TV to make a difference here.

If you can afford a camera, or an iPhone or any one of all those cell phones with video cameras, you can make your own 'I am a gun owner' video, and put it on the net.
 
To keep from immediately alienating the folks who can't relate to ARs and the like, show multiple people doing their things and at the end have several screen shots where they all say "My name is ____" My name is _______" "My name is ____" "And I'm a responsible gun owner" "I'm a gun owner" "I'm a gun owner", switching to each person as they say it, the first few holding a shogun, pistol, rifle, and one with an AR mixed in. This would help to dilute the fear of the black gun and show that it is used recreationally and responsibly as well. I can imagine at the beginning when they say "My name is _____", it would show them doing some action that immediately identifies them, like a man on a shrimping boat dumping a net full of shrimp, a doctor with his mask on operating on a patient, A construction worker framing a roof, A pilot flying a jumbo-jet, etc..., then showing each of them at the range, with their family, outdoors shooting skeet, etc... wearing normal clothes (no tactical soldier gear) as they say they are a gun owner.
 
This is brilliant. I'm sure it would work out great on Youtube. It would actually make me really happy to see this. If someone tries this, best of luck and God bless.
 
Another suggestion:

If you guys put individual videos of yourselves following the general outline suggested by the OP, I have a tool to download the actual files from youtube, and I can (with your permission) edit them together into a single video like cheeze is suggesting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Gun Commercials?
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
1911JMB
1
I
  • Locked
Mormons and guns
2 3
Replies
58
Views
5K
matis
M
J
  • Locked
I'm a bitter gun owner and I vote
2
Replies
40
Views
3K
SCKimberFan
S
H
  • Locked
Any Mormons here? How do explain yourselves?
2
Replies
44
Views
2K
Correia
C
M
  • Locked
I'm worried, what's going on?
Replies
1
Views
440
Sam1911
S
Back
Top