On Winning: What Will it Take?
By Nicki Kenyon, April 28th 2014
JPFO writer contributor, © 2014.
Gun control advocates seem to be renewing their efforts to relieve Americans of their constitutional right to keep and bear arms. It's an old battle that appears to rear its ugly head anytime there's a high profile shooting, which displays the gun grabbers' glaring opportunism in harsh relief.
The media has quietly begun to publicize dubious insinuations that America's views on gun control are evolving, with new gun control groups popping up -- well funded, loud, and determined. "Gun-control Democrats in Virginia running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general all won despite poor reviews from the National Rifle Association," claims CNN in a recent piece on the renewed battle over guns. What CNN won't tell you is that Terry McAuliffe's victory in Virginia had nothing to do with guns and everything to do with the dishonest, morally corrupt campaign he ran, in which he and his operatives successfully made the election about the so-called "war on women," compelling thousands of Virginians to run out and vote with their plumbing, rather than with their brains.
While gun grabbers crow about the Democratic sweep in Virginia as a possible turning of the tide, their efforts to create new mega-gun grabber organizations to rival groups such as NRA, JPFO, Second Amendment Foundation and Gun Owners of America are laughable and pathetic. Michael Bloomberg's new group is supposed to serve as an umbrella organization for his other groups: Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and it plans to borrow from the NRA playbook by building strong grassroots support and lobbying effectively.
What Bloomberg's Everytown group is missing is the passion and dedication of freedom-loving Americans, intent on protecting their rights and freedoms. That commitment is not something you can buy, and it's not something you can create with an agenda that seeks to deprive Americans of fundamental freedoms -- freedoms confirmed by the highest court in the land and backed by the vast majority of Americans. And no matter how much the gun grabbers claim that Americans overwhelmingly support new gun control laws, the evidence is not on their side. Bloomberg may have poured $50 million into his latest project, but he has not been able to buy the support of Americans -- other than some Hollywood hypocrites and paranoid mommies.
You will not see Bloomberg and his ilk surrender, however. They will keep pushing. They will keep spending money. They will keep creating new groups, meant to produce the illusion of greater numbers. They will lobby the legislature and hope that their faux grassroots organizations will deceive politicians into believing they have overwhelming support.
They will not win.
Not if freedom-loving Americans continue to bring dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to their rights into the arena.
Bloomberg couldn't hire enough phone monkeys to match the sheer volume of calls to legislators generated by Americans seeking to protect the Constitution during the "assault weapons" ban renewal debate in 2004.
When was the last time you heard about gun control advocates crashing a Senator's phone system in an attempt to make their voices heard about a particular gun control measure?
Bloomberg couldn't find enough astroturfers to commit themselves to march on state capitals to match the throngs of gun rights advocates who stand up in defense of their rights. (insert photo here)
Money cannot buy such dedication!
So, what do supporters of the Second Amendment need to do to win?
Exactly what they are doing.
Do not allow the gun grabbers to frame the message. Do not allow their lies about your rights, their exaggerations about support for their cause, their flawed statistics created specifically to bolster their twisted goals put you on the defensive. Counter their lies. Diffuse their claims. Do not allow their rhetoric to become the truth in the eyes of America.
Hold marches. Purchase firearms. Support your local ranges and gun stores. Do not be afraid to carry your firearm peacefully and openly, and do not hesitate to carry concealed. These are your rights. Exercise them.
Support organizations like JPFO with generous donations to keep the voices of gun owners heard loud and clear on the Internet and in the cities across America.
Know the issues and be informed on the latest developments that could affect your rights. Make your voices heard loudly and proudly. Sign petitions. Create petitions. Make calls. Show your support for your rights.
And finally, keep information flowing. Ensure JPFO alerts, gun rights-related news and attempts to erode your freedoms are continuously publicized through email, in person, through social media and through letters and editorials in the press.
Bloomberg may have millions to spend on his astroturf campaigns, but we have something his millions cannot buy: love for our freedoms and love for our nation's most fundamental law that protects those freedoms.
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Nicki Kenyon has been an avid gun rights advocate since she returned to the United States from an overseas Army tour in Germany. She began writing about Second Amendment issues in 2001 when KeepAndBearArms.com published her first essay, "The Moment.". She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from American Military University. Her area of expertise in those fields is European and Eurasian affairs. When not writing about gun rights or hanging out with her husband and son, she practices dry-firing her M1911 at the zombies of "The Walking Dead."
