MAIG and MDA joined forces a bit ago. In the official sense. While this leads to some fun trying to combine names (Moms Demand Illegal Guns, Mayors Demand Illegal Moms, Moms Demand Action Against Illegal Mayors), it really isn't all that shocking. MDA didn't have yearly dues for membership and Bloomberg is free with anti-2A cash.
I kinda went off track there for a second. Where was I? Oh yeah...
The Confrontational Gun Control Strategy That Just Might Work
Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a DKos group of second amendment supporters who have progressive and liberal values. We don't think that being a liberal means one has to be anti-gun. Some of us are extreme in our second amendment views (no licensing, no restrictions on small arms) and some of us are more moderate (licensing, restrictions on small arms.) Moderate or extreme or somewhere in between, we hold one common belief: more gun control equals lost elections. We don't want a repeat of 1994. We are an inclusive group: if you see the Second Amendment as safeguarding our right to keep and bear arms individually, then come join us in our conversation. If you are against the right to keep and bear arms, come join our conversation. We look forward to seeing you, as long as you engage in a civil discussion.
So what does the author (Mike the Gun Guy, longtime owner of a gun shop and lifetime member of the NRA) have to say?
Advocacy organizations can play an important role in any public debate regardless of their size. But the trick is to figure out who you're really talking to and whether or not they will listen to what you have to say. If Moms wants to have a real impact on the argument over guns, why don't they talk to gun owners and stop wasting their energy on convincing people who don't need to be convinced? And you don't talk to gun people by throwing up a website or a Facebook page and 'invite' them to post a comment or engage in a chat. Maybe that strategy works when you're selling a product, but it's rank arrogance to confuse marketing a product with marketing an idea.
This is something I've proposed for those of us on the pro-RKBA side of things. I donate my time to teach people proper firearm safety, go out of my way to talk with antis in person, and even went to NN11 specifically to talk about this issue and do some networking. Do those who propose more gun control think that they're going to put up a Facebook page, ban those who are pro-RKBA from it, and then claim victory a bit later when no new federal legislation is passed?
Every weekend there are dozens of gun shows all over the United States. Each of these shows, on average, counts 10,000 admissions. So do the math: if you went to one gun show every weekend, set up a booth, gave out a flyer and shot your mouth off, by the end of the year you would have talked to 500,000 gun guys (and gals). And don't think for one second that nobody would talk to you. Gun folks love to talk -- that's why they go to those shows.
I'd personally love to see this. I'd be right there, arguing for
the items I think will help considerably more than AWBs, mag limits, and other legislation recently proposed.
I'd love to walk into a gun show or some other gun-friendly place and see the Moms promoting their point of view. Would they get an argument from gun folks? Sure. Would the argument sometimes get nasty or offensive? It might. But if Moms believes they will make a difference by not going out and talking to the other side, they're barking up the wrong tree.
Yeah, basically this.
I expect the comments below to get very interesting.