Million Gun March Update
People seemed to take issue with my dismissive attitude toward such an event. A few reasons why:
1 – The first one was to be in 2001. Never happened.
2 – Gun activists tend to be real activists. That is, they give money to candidates; write letters to their reps; donate to political funds; and communicate with politicos. Ineffective, feel good marches that do nothing but lead to unflattering photos in the paper are what hippies do.
3 – Gun owners will likely be harassed by DC police. Unlike hippies, gun owners probably are not the sort to just lay there and take it. And one act of violence is detrimental for us.
4 – Press coverage: Given how the media loves to portray gun owners as dumb, cousin-humping rednecks, how do you think that’s going to go? They’re going to find the one stupid protester and talk to that guy.
Now, if they want to hold the event, hats off to them. But you’ll have to excuse me for not being too excited about it.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:44 am
#2 is wrong. Gunnies will spend money they don’t have on all sorts of gun-related crap, but not on political donations.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I have to agree with you re negative or nonexistent press coverage. Here is another example: Every year there is a very substantial march in DC against abortion, with a rally on the mall involving (Republican) presidential addresses by large screen TV. Every year the press has ignored, or at least, minimized coverage of it. It has been going on for decades. Have you even heard about this? I would not know except for having worked in DC for a few years.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:33 am
5) If there was a Million Gun March, it’s likely it wouldn’t stop on the mall, and would probably just keep marching right into the Capital.
6) You want a million gun march. Simple. Every attendee is put in a free raffle for a thousand guns, cabin on a 50 acre ranch, gun vault, and private shooting range.
1,000 each of Glocks, 1911, and AR’s will also be raffled off.
This would probably bring just about every gunnie out.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
“Ineffective, feel good marches that do nothing but lead to unflattering photos in the paper are what hippies do.”
Bingo. If politicians aren’t kept honest by the very concept of Threepers (thousands of people who at least SAY they’re not against violent resistance to gun confiscation), a few dozen goobers with stupid signs won’t do the trick either.
Marches are only the first part of the “4-box” process, and I would suggest that they’re the least effective. The direct approach — letters and votes — are far more effective means to get a politician’s attention.
A Million Gun Owners March sounds good, but it’s not gonna happen. And, as Uncle points out, there’s always a chance for mischief and bad P.R.
Here’s one example of stupidity. We hosted an informal shoot at a gun range a couple years back. The courses were excellent: tactical stuff, house-clearing, IDPA and so on. The only reasonable rule (and it was a range rule, not mine) was that if not actually in one of the shooting areas, folks had to keep their guns unloaded while walking around. (Take a wild guess why that rule exists.)
When I reminded everyone of the rule, one moron turned to his buddy and said, “I ain’t doin’ that!” So: despite the rule, and my request to follow it, the obvious threat of an al-Qa’eda, MS-13 or U.N. attack on well over a hundred well-armed gun owners in Texas was still scary enough for some goobers to flout the rules.
The old rule of thumb is that at least 5% of any gathering will be outright assholes.
5% of a million is…
February 6th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Why can’t we get a few hundred thousand people to march for a lower capital gains tax? Or for fewer onerous restrictions on small business owners?
A maxim of the protest march it that if your cause is not popular amongst at least one (preferably more than one) of the following groups:
Housewives
Students
The unemployed
People who work nights or evenings
…then you can expect a dismal turnout.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I’m not going to say #3 is wrong, but it does not match my experience. In 2004 the Second Amendment Sisters held a rally in DC. My wife, daughter and I attended and, while the turn out was not huge, the only harassment that we experienced was from the Million Mommies. The DC police did not harass or interfere with us in any way.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
“And one act of violence is detrimental for us.”
We’re better off with politicians who laugh at us because we’re “harmless”? New Jersey politicians know they’ll never wake up with horse heads in their beds because they voted against the NRA. Look at Jersey’s gun laws. A BB gun is now a firearm is now a three year felony. American gun owners are a bunch of damned Boy Scouts. They need to grow up. Wayne LaPierre may make a good Scoutmaster, but we need more aggressive leadership.
As for cops at gun rights rallies, the ones I’ve seen looked embarrassed, ashamed and bored. I suppose that’s because when conservative, middle-aged, white people get together, nothing can happen and maybe that’s the problem.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Sorry, I can’t make it. I’m busy with a real job that I’m working very hard at every day, and it’ll be July before I can quit putting away money for my tax burden and start putting money toward my mortgage, household expenses, food, and other lesser necessities. In the meantime, I’m busy enough here in my hometown writing, calling, emailing and faxing my excellent (Republican) Senators and Congressman letting them know- every week- exactly what is on my mind.
If I did make a journey to D.C., I would be trailering a guillotine, because by that time things would be at a state where we’d be in need of corrective action. We could set it up on the Capitol steps and form a line, starting on the left side of the House.
Regards,
Rabbit.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
We’re better off with politicians who laugh at us because we’re “harmless”? New Jersey politicians know they’ll never wake up with horse heads in their beds because they voted against the NRA. Look at Jersey’s gun laws. A BB gun is now a firearm is now a three year felony. American gun owners are a bunch of damned Boy Scouts. They need to grow up. Wayne LaPierre may make a good Scoutmaster, but we need more aggressive leadership.
New Jersey lost their gun rights, for the most part, gun owners in New Jersey aren’t willing to lift a finger to do anything to get rid of anti-gun politicians and elect pro-gun politicians. That’s not to say there aren’t some people fighting hard over there, but there aren’t nearly enough of them, and plenty who are more interested in complaining rather than doing something.
Violence isn’t going to solve the problem. They have more guns than you do, and if you’re not going to get gun owners to do something as simple as volunteer for a pro-gun candidate, you’re definitely not going to get them to shoot it out with the fuzz.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Unlike hippies, most of us have to work for a living.
Time off is devoted to “shooting stuff”.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
“2 – Gun activists tend to be real activists. That is, they give money to candidates; write letters to their reps; donate to political funds; and communicate with politicos.”
Why not a million gun owners writing letters, emails, and making phone calls on the same day? Skip the caravan and wasted vacation time just to be ignored or ridiculed.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Why not a million gun owners sending the cost of a box of ammo to NRA-PVF?
February 6th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Adam is on to something. Why doesn’t some gun rights organization set something up where people can write letters to the House and Senate, as a whole, or use a form provided for them, send it in and when it reaches the (ten, hundred thousand, million, whatever) mark, forward the whole lot of ’em to every single congressrat? It’d certainly raise awareness.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Because mass e-mails can easily be blocked or deleted. Snail mail must be physically handled, even if it’s just moved around by the mailroom. Phone calls piss off the staff the most.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Jacob,
That may be true, but it certainly is effective. From my perspective here in DC, the most successful anything I have seen in years is when every member of congress started receiving tons of bricks to help build a wall. It send a real message.
I’d urge them to think more along the lines of a day of action via phone calls (or better yet, a couple of days of action spread throughout the legislative session). Maybe target the house one day. Then the Senate another day. And the White House on a few other occasions. Shutting down the White House lines for a day would be a fantastic display of our message.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
It’s not that effective because it goes on all the time. Somebody is always sending crap to Congress and most of it goes nowhere. The reps. themselves never even see it.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
It’s plenty effective if you can create enough volume to make more than a mere blip on the radar screen. It certainly seems to have been pretty effective at scuttling the stimulus package, and last Congress immigration reform.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
That’s the exception, not the rule. Look at Drudge for the latest headlines on the Obama slush fund package.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:56 am
I have organized a number of local functions and I know that the powers to be fear them. My experience with the idiots that think we can’t peacefully assemble are the same ones that go to these websites and complain because they are to freaken lazy to get off their fat butts and do anything but complain when someone does something that they wish they had the balls to do. We took out some long term antis in my area, they thought they could get away with denying are rights because they thought that we would be to lazy to do something and they were wrong. Get off your fat lazy butts and do something or is all you know how to do is go to a computer so you’re inconspicuous and complain?
February 12th, 2009 at 12:36 am
I love the idea of the Million Gun March. Seems to me that the only reason not to march with arms in hand is fear.
We either have the right to bear arms and are willing to risk life and liberty to secure that right or we aren’t willing to risk life and liberty.
That my friends is the shift in thinking. Want to take back your country? It requires risk to do so.
If the guns aren’t there – proudly, one may as well hang up the idea.
Recommendation, BB Guns would do the trick. I doubt the cops would want a million BBs zinging by all at once.
Wyatt Earp is rolling in his grave. Grow a pair and stand tall.