The Second Amendment Big Tent

Inauguration Day came and went. On January 20th, 2021, Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior was installed as the 46th President of these United States. Surrounded a cadre of administrative state types, a few token celebrities, his family (yes, even Hoover) security, and 25,000 National Guard troops under arms, he swore an oath on a Bible and assumed the hot seat. We the people weren’t invited because of the Rona, apparently. While President Trump really didn’t do much for the Second Amendment outside of a litany of court appointments, President Biden has been openly hostile towards our rights.

Let’s not take it lightly. We have to get everyone on this train of freedom and fun - a big tent approach to the Second Amendment. It’s a pathway to recruiting more Second Amendment Radicals.

2020 saw a lot of new gun owners join our ranks. Spurred on by rona, civil unrest, and the spectre of an even-more-hostile government - people lined up and emptied the shelves of firearms, ammunition, and accessories. 9mm pistols were and are still scarce. And good luck finding an AR-15.

Lurid images of food shortages, burning buildings, and loudmouth weirdos from Texas spurred people to line up for guns like never before. By general estimates, nearly 21 million firearms were added to the citizen inventory during 2020.

And despite the narrative, it wasn’t all a bunch of Republicans and crazed Libertarian loons beefing up their existing stockpiles. The majority were purchased by new gun owners, including those who identify as liberal, and even a good helping of (gasp!) registered Democrats.

There’s no gun control supporters in a riot, apparently.

Strange days make strange bedfellows - and we should welcome these new folk on board our train of freedom, liberty, and fun.

A ‘Big Tent’ Approach To The Second Amendment

Even with the ranks of existing Second Amendment supporters and practicioners, there’s a lot of ideological and dogmatic diversity, even to the point where certain other beliefs may counteract the actual bedrock foundations of the Second Amendment, i.e. the spirit of self-reliance and minimal governance. There’s supporters out there who think universal healthcare is a good idea. There’s supporters out there who are avowed leftists and socialists.

Outside of the political sphere, gun owners encompass the entire spectrum of cultural, religious, and practical beliefs. We’ve been down this road before on this blog, of course. But at this point in our history, we can’t afford to be picky. There’s a lot on the line - in so much that we can’t let a nickel hold up a dollar, per se.

The “test” should be simple:

Do you believe in the right to keep and bear arms? Yes/No?

If yes, come on in.

We can argue about the other stuff later. Our right to keep and bear arms is critical and paramount - especially in 2021. It’s a litmus test for freedom, after all.

But What About Those Who Are ‘Non-Typical’?

As I stated above, a lot of the new guys and gals coming in definitely don’t fit the political mold. Plenty of people picking up their first GLOCK pistol or AR-pattern rifle may not have voted for Donald Trump. They may have voted third party, or even for Biden. With the latter, it’s a huge gamble, but people are free to vote for whomever they wish.

So, what can those who ostensibly ‘vote against their rights’ do? One of my favorite 2A social media personalities, Rob Pincus, put it best on the gram a few days ago…

Encouraging those who voted for the controlling party to speak up is going to get us a lot more than calling them names or suggesting they’ve forfeited their gun rights because they had other priorities in the 2020 Election.

@pincusrob

Rob’s great. He takes a hard 2A approach, but welcomes all whom are interested. And, he’s got a point.

Sure, it’s a whole lot of fun to go out there and bait the progressives and get them irritated. It’s a nifty little dopamine rush and lord knows we all need some laughs these days - but outside of rattling the cages of the core cadre of gun control supporters, we should put such things aside. We have to rope in the ‘normies’, the kind of people who still turn on the evening news. The kind of people who maybe were actually turned off by the over-the-top showmanship of Donald Trump. The kind of people who encompass the largest voting bloc in the land, the “independents”.

Again, if they’re thinking about picking up their first gun, or made the quantum leap and swung by their local or online firearms outlet and plunked down currency for that basic black AR-pattern rifle, that 9mm pistol, or that scattergun, we should let them in.

Again, the other issues will just have to wait til later. If you’re armed, you have a seat at the table at any debate. If we can all agree that the Second Amendment is inviolate and set in stone, it actually gives us a lot of breathing room so we can discuss these other issues.

The key here is to encourage those people to hold those they voted for accountable. Truth be told, we all need to do that, but in this case, those gun owners who voted for Democratic and other left-leaning candidates need to speak up. They need to encourage those politicians to drop gun control as an issue, lest they lose votes. The gun issue needs to be placed back into ‘third rail’ status, pronto. Touch it the wrong way, and get zapped.

Dealing With the “Butters”

“Butters?” you may ask, “What the hell are those?”

Oh, the butters…

Simply put, it’s those who say, “I support the Second Amendment, but…”

Where “but” is followed up by some support of a gun control law or proposal. Most of the time, it’s pretty mundane, like support of background checks. Other times it’s nefarious, with someone supporting magazine capacity limits and the like.

Being a Butter or a Fudd is usually the result of not being educated on the issue. Again, if they’re willing to pick up a pistol or a black rifle of some sort, it’s a huge step, a tacit acknowledgement of the government not being able to, and generally not really wanting to be there to help out. They bought that gun knowing the police are many excruciatingly-long minutes away. They purchased that AR-15 knowing that appeasing the mob only ensures you get eaten last. They scooped up that shotgun knowing you can’t talk to a rioter.

They’re in the “lobby” of the tent - let’s give those people as well a warm welcome, and a friendly and gentle introduction into the follies, failures, and foibles of gun control. Turn them from being merely pro-gun, into pro-2A. Radicalize them, as it were.

Make Gun Control Toxic And Revolting

To borrow from another great 2A personality, Tony Simon - we have to make the idea of gun control toxic and revolting. It should be right up there with Nickelback, Mick Hucknall, and Florida-Georgia Line. Unbelievably disgusting and toxic.

The key here is to foster a welcoming and inviting atmosphere. Encourage conversations, find out about their history and where their preconceived notions come from. Don’t attack, but prepare to defend. Defending oneself by whatever means one chooses shouldn’t be a political issue - it should just be a given.

And once you’re in the tent? Welcome aboard - we’re glad to have you.

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