Think we could reverse the anti gun trend?

[Landgroove]

I know we make ..some strides.. toward that goal.
But just now I am wondering if we are smart about how we gun people are going about it.

The PUBLIC doesn't get our picture and they form their opinions from mostly liberal media sources.

I wonder what would be the result of creating gun competitions for various charities?
Forget the politics of the charity and concentrate only on creating OUR politics and image?

We now have associations that preserve areas for HUNTING.
How easy for the antis to point out that we are only concentrating on something to USE OUR GUNS on.

My question is would shooting competitions that used entry fees to support a charity (which would have to be gun vetted) help to woo the public to our views?

Or am I just shooting blanks here?

 

[The Glockodile]

Cue in the heavy metal bass geeetar.



I suppose it’s kind of like the trend in hunting…

The more we deviated from the “Fred Bear” image to “Bloodlust Outdoors,” the more dicey things became.

”Bloodlust.”

”Bloodsport.”

Jeeeeeezus.

Perhaps we’ve lost what was once a healthy gun culture and did this to ourselves.

Even in the sticks, what do you call them - 4H? 4R clubs? - can’t find sponsorship that would last more than a few seasons.

Perhaps my values are obsolete.

Perhaps responsible gun ownership and its associated culture in general is obsolete.

Who knows.

 

[JDeere]

Parenting and indoctrination at the education level is having a huge effect on the younger crowd these days. If it keeps moving in the anti gun direction we are done. Another thing is that a lot of the younger crowd is no longer interested in Hunting or even shooting sports...

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Yup, competition shooting sports, hunting, and gun safety used to be grade-school activities. Not to mention the understanding that such skills may be needed in the event of general conscription and were actively promoted by the government.

Now the majority populace would rather become communist slaves than serve in defense of (racist/unjust/colonizer) America and starve to death than provide their own food when the grocery store shelves are empty.

It will take a major catastrophe to press the reset button- likely sooner rather than later.

 

[Buzznrose]

Shooting competitions could help, but start with the basics.

Most people who are “anti gun” are also very “firearm ignorant” and their fear of the unknown and assumptions created from misinformation is strong.

But it can be overcome!

Bring a new shooter to the range. Introduce them to shooting in a FUN and TOTALLY POSITIVE experience.

Stay away from anything larger than a .22LR until they ask for the experience. Then, use a small step up like a .223 or a .380. Keep it FUN & POSITIVE.

We win this battle for hearts and minds one person at a time.

 

[Landgroove]

Not sure that is effective.
I think we gunnys need to get a BIT woke.
It would be hard to do but a PR ...change... is what is needed. IMO.
As it is, I find the NRA almost useless.

SATURATION PROPAGANDA FOR GUNS is my idea.
A competition benefitting some disease or women's rights, as radical as that might be would reach more than one at a time..

 

[Landgroove]

I used to belong to a senior meetup group.
I set up and created an ...event... through a local gun store.
It was one of the MOST ATTENDED of any of the group's events.
WOMEN ....flocked to this thing.
They were very happy to get some info that their "hubbys" and relatives wouldn't even mention.
It turned very positive.

The shop and I emphasized it would NOT be in the nature of a hunting class.
We covered self defense and gun safety. Like in ...proper ...storage.

I was pleased with the attendance and the reception by the seniors. IIRC, more women attended than men.

 

[WestKentucky]

The more youngsters that go afield in chase of a squirrel rabbit pheasant or quail then the better our future looks. No im not trying to tie guns to hunting, but that fond memory accompanied by a little education in safe handling will go a long way towards squashing the misinformation fear that is the anti-gun movement.

I can’t help but question myself on this because it demands a little bit of common sense and personal thought on the count of a large number of people though. If they can be convinced that money can just be printed willy-nilly and debts forgiven without repayment by the taxpayers then we may actually be too far gone, but there are a large number of folks who see things with eyes open so maybe we aren’t there yet.

Statistically though I think we are winning in a large chunk of the populace. Every major racist/sexist/religious group/other “ist” movement that comes about does nothing but feed fear to the victimized population. Recent anti LGBTQ, anti Islamic, and anti Jewish movement have driven those populations much higher with respect to per capita gun ownership. They see the need to defend themselves and their families. Couple that with the modern defund movement which minimizes the ability for emergency personnel to effectively respond to certain situations, and the threat becomes very real for these populations. It seems as though the greater social movement is somewhat cannibalistic and is pushing its own people further towards being gun-owners than in recent history.

 

[The Glockodile]

No im not trying to tie guns to hunting…

I would.

Even though that tradition‘s endangered in itself (see above), it’s still part of our supposed traditional “culture” - a weak crutch as it is - and would be less vulnerable to getting puked on compared to contemporary tacticaliousness.

 

[AlexanderA]

1. Forget hunting. Fewer and fewer people are involved in hunting these days, and those that are, are in rural areas that are already pro-gun. The new gun owners are in cities, and are focused in protecting themselves from crime. That's where the growth in guns is.

2. The more people own guns, the less people want see their ownership jeopardized, by things such as bans. In general, more gun ownership benefits us.

3. We have to do everything we can to prevent mass shootings. That means taking a leading role in weeding out the crazies among us. This may mean restricting the right of some people to own guns. Every mass shooting spurs more calls for gun control.

(It's understood that #3 may conflict with #2. That's the crux of the gun owners' dilemma. But if there's a choice, it would be better to ban troublesome owners than troublesome guns.)

 

[N555]

The Summer of mostly peaceful but firey roits and "defund the police" reversed gun control. At least for another year or 2...

 

[Landgroove]

The more youngsters that go afield in chase of a squirrel rabbit pheasant or quail then the better our future looks. No im not trying to tie guns to hunting, but that fond memory accompanied by a little education in safe handling will go a long way towards squashing the misinformation fear that is the anti-gun movement.

I can’t help but question myself on this because it demands a little bit of common sense and personal thought on the count of a large number of people though. If they can be convinced that money can just be printed willy-nilly and debts forgiven without repayment by the taxpayers then we may actually be too far gone, but there are a large number of folks who see things with eyes open so maybe we aren’t there yet.

Statistically though I think we are winning in a large chunk of the populace. Every major racist/sexist/religious group/other “ist” movement that comes about does nothing but feed fear to the victimized population. Recent anti LGBTQ, anti Islamic, and anti Jewish movement have driven those populations much higher with respect to per capita gun ownership. They see the need to defend themselves and their families. Couple that with the modern defund movement which minimizes the ability for emergency personnel to effectively respond to certain situations, and the threat becomes very real for these populations. It seems as though the greater social movement is somewhat cannibalistic and is pushing its own people further towards being gun-owners than in recent history.

I will agree that a lot of folks see "the need to defend themselves and their families" but my view is that they place FEAR of prosecution or backlash or simple cowardice to DO it!
I know this is a gun forum and not all of us will admit to cowardice but as I said, we need to talk to NON gun people.

So long as we keep our efforts confined to those who are ....ALREADY GUN SAVVY...., so long will we continue to lose our rights.

 

[nettlle]

I kind of think that in a "Saturation for guns propaganda" battle CNN and MSN would give a us a good spanking. Thinking that I can convince more people than the media? Probably not. Let the gun orgs fight the battles we have paid them for. Say what you want about the NRA but the major battles being fought right now are by the NRA. GOA is a good org also but they simply don't have the clout the NRA has (yet). Now before this spins off on yet another Wayne LaPierre/NRA hate session it needs to be remembered that we need all the help we can get. Divided we fall.

 

[AlexanderA]

Thinking that I can convince more people than the media? Probably not.

It's not about "convincing" people who don't have a stake in guns. It's about increasing the number of people who do have a stake in guns.

The rising unrest, anxiety, and criminality in this country are doing our work for us. People want to arm themselves. Ironically, even mass shootings make people want to arm themselves --- for protection against mass shooters.

 

[nettlle]

And I agree. Who better to convince better or to be stronger than our gun Orgs? Not me or you. Maybe combined we could do a few dozen. MSN and CNN will crush us. We need an 800 gorilla in the forest and that is our gun control Orgs. Seems folks think our gun right Orgs can't cut the mustard. You better hope they can. And stop bashing gun right orgs for heaven sakes. No value added. This isn't new stuff. For us that remember the fight we made along with the NRA against the 1968 gun laws was as bad if not worse.

 

[westernrover]

It's not about "convincing" people who don't have a stake in guns. It's about increasing the number of people who do have a stake in guns.

The rising unrest, anxiety, and criminality in this country are doing our work for us. People want to arm themselves. Ironically, even mass shootings make people want to arm themselves --- for protection against mass shooters.

That presents a problem. Basically, you're claiming that crime, violence and mass shootings are the things that can drive growth in gun ownership and increase the stakeholders in gun rights. Are you claiming that if crime, violence and episodes of suicidal mass homicide increase, it's better for the gun culture? Would that mean that more violence serves the cause of gun rights? Or would it mean that declining crime, reduction in violence, and effective prevention of massacres would harm the interest of gun rights? Would an expansion of gun rights itself serve as a deterrent to violent crime and ultimately damage the cause of gun rights?

Are second amendment rights tied to either violent crime or hunting? Is the principle behind the second amendment the right cause for limiting government infringement on civil firearms liberties, or do we need hunting or violent crime to be popular?

 

[The Glockodile]

I know this is a gun forum and not all of us will admit to cowardice…

I do.

My situational cowardice is exceptionally trained and heightened, and has kept my “family, friends, and lived ones” safe for decades.

 

[Old Dog]

The Summer of mostly peaceful but firey roits and "defund the police" reversed gun control. At least for another year or 2...

Not in the Pacific Northwest. Our governor, state legislature and AG (presumably our next governor) have already pre-filed several bills which will probably become law and render our state worse than 48 others not named New York.

And we had riots here (I know; I was there).

I know this is a gun forum and not all of us will admit to cowardice but as I said, we need to talk to NON gun people.

That's not been working out too well for us.

I think our main goal should be to get "gun people" to actually vote. We have strictly mail-in ballots in Washington; in our last two general elections (one with an initiative on the ballot to severely restrict gun rights), only 13 - 17% of eligible voters in some of the rural counties with the highest percentage of gun owners in the state actually bothered to fill out and send in their freakin' ballots.

Y'all know the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing the same way you always done it, but expecting a different outcome?

Aside from getting "our own" to bother to cast their ballots, we need to focus on our public-school curriculum, take back the school boards and PTAs/PTOs, then start on our institutions of "higher learning" (colleges and universities). Education in the U.S. has been coopted by the progressive agenda and caters almost exclusively to minority factions and a socialist, woke constituency.

The mainstream media is a lost cause, we're not gonna change its agenda, but if we can start taking back our public education systems (which, by the way, mostly do not teach U.S. history, Social Studies, Civics, Government or the Bill of Rights), perhaps in another twenty to fifty years we can make progress in halting the tide of gun control.

Hunting is a lost cause. People are having fewer children, and most families are leaving rural areas and migrating to cities and suburban areas. Far fewer fathers, uncles, older brothers and granddads passing down the traditions to the younger folk.

Look at the new anti-hunting laws Hochul just signed in New York state, nary a whimper from anyone there.

 

[DoubleMag]

Most people who are “anti gun” are also very “firearm ignorant” and their fear of the unknown and assumptions created from misinformation is strong.

But it can be overcome!

The fine art of finding some way to let that person know their ideas were wrong, in some fashion that they think THEY figured it out themselves.

Translation: some embarrassment mitigation.

Another note, I thought gun sales are at record high levels? Certainly all the record months of sales in the last few years are NOT repeat sales to us older codgers. Rather, new shooters.

I think our main goal should be to get "gun people" to actually vote. We have

HERE^^ THREAD WINNER imho

 

[jmorris]

The PUBLIC doesn't get our picture and they form their opinions from mostly liberal media sources.

For the “we” part, you would need to own and alter the information you distribute.

I’m not sure we can convince misinformed people to go search out the truth. Even if we formed institutions to educate people they would soon be just a corrupted as they are today.

No one today can even do something as simple as calling a lie, a lie... If that is the starting point, there is a log way to go and it would be much more helpful if we were not already going the wrong direction.

 

[Buzznrose]

The fine art of finding some way to let that person know their ideas were wrong, in some fashion that they think THEY figured it out themselves.

Translation: some embarrassment mitigation.

Another note, I thought gun sales are at record high levels? Certainly all the record months of sales in the last few years are NOT repeat sales to us older codgers. Rather, new shooters.


HERE^^ THREAD WINNER imho

I don’t see these two things…winning hearts and minds to responsible firearms ownership, and getting current gun owners to vote as mutually exclusive.

Whichever effort one works on would surely contribute to the end goal.

 

[AlexanderA]

Are you claiming that if crime, violence and episodes of suicidal mass homicide increase, it's better for the gun culture? Would that mean that more violence serves the cause of gun rights?

Sadly, yes. These are the things that are driving the increase in gun ownership. Not hunting, target shooting, or collecting. If we had to rely on hunters, target shooters, or collectors, gun ownership would decline over time, and with it, the political clout of the gun owners.

Are second amendment rights tied to either violent crime or hunting? Is the principle behind the second amendment the right cause for limiting government infringement on civil firearms liberties, or do we need hunting or violent crime to be popular?

The theory behind the 2nd Amendment is that an armed populace is a check on either tyrannical government or foreign invaders. This, frankly speaking, has nothing to do with the actual uses of guns today (including self-protection). 2nd Amendment theories are useful in academic legal arguments -- which are persuasive to judges -- but they're not something we should rely on long-term. Long-term, the real basis of gun rights is a large number of gun owners wanting desperately to keep their guns, and voting accordingly.

 

[Landgroove]

I kind of think that in a "Saturation for guns propaganda" battle CNN and MSN would give a us a good spanking. Thinking that I can convince more people than the media? Probably not. Let the gun orgs fight the battles we have paid them for. Say what you want about the NRA but the major battles being fought right now are by the NRA. GOA is a good org also but they simply don't have the clout the NRA has (yet). Now before this spins off on yet another Wayne LaPierre/NRA hate session it needs to be remembered that we need all the help we can get. Divided we fall.

Which of the "gun orgs" aren't dependent on FIREARMS company advertising?
We've thought "gun orgs" would suffice for 60 some years now and we still can't own the guns or accessories that we want.

If the firearms companies would switch their ...advertising.... to BRIBES, (politicians, actors, etc.) there's a possiblity that THOSE kind could influence the public more than all the "orgs" that are collecting dues and getting too little of the results WE need.

Tough nut? Yep!
Probably too late too.

 

[entropy]

Yup, competition shooting sports, hunting, and gun safety used to be grade-school activities. Not to mention the understanding that such skills may be needed in the event of general conscription and were actively promoted by the government.

Now the majority populace would rather become communist slaves than serve in defense of (racist/unjust/colonizer) America and starve to death than provide their own food when the grocery store shelves are empty.

It will take a major catastrophe to press the reset button- likely sooner rather than later.

How many posting to this thread wringing their hands and complaining have actively done something to combat this? In MN and WI, Trap Shooting is the fastest growing High School sport. COVID and higher shell costs have put a dent in it, but it's still growing. I coached Trap for 4-H and High School, as well as having been a 4-H Shooting Sports Leader for Rifle.
A friend of mine was the President of a gun club around here (his wife is the current Pres.) and he put up a sign that says, "Before you complain, have you volunteered lately?"
Not that the complaints are not warranted, but if not backed up by action, it's like not voting then complaining about the government you didn't participate in.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

Peeps, we have increasingly more left-of-center gun owners emerging, and most are as rapidly pro-gun as we are. Class III stuff, the whole works.

They are trying to change things from within through education. Frankly, we can't do this as Conservatives. We'd be rejected.

We need these liberal gun owners as allies in this if we're going to come out on top.