PA Bill Number: HB829
Title: In preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions;
Description: An Act amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions;
Last Action: Signed in House
Last Action Date: Jul 3, 2024
Defeating the Other Side's Long Game :: 05/01/2019
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Let’s face it, far too often, anti-Second Amendment extremists beat Second Amendment supporters in long-term planning. All too often, Second Amendment supporters are caught up in the short-term – battling each other over the minutiae of this bill or that primary election. Or when a case like Heller or McDonald is won, too many let up a little.
On the other hand, anti-Second Amendment extremists have embedded themselves thoroughly in corporate boardrooms, many mainstream media outlets, our schools, amongst medical associations, and in academia. In essence, the massive stigmatization campaign against the Second Amendment has been in the works for a long time. Remember when Eric Holder called for brainwashing people against guns? That was in 1995.
Look at today’s cultural and social climate, and for all we were angry about that comment, Holder’s strategy has succeeded in large part. Why? Because they had a long-term strategy to take our rights away. Even as they lost elections and legislative fights in the 1990s and 2000s, they were content to work their long game.
What sort of long-term planning did many Second Amendment supporters do to counter Holder’s brainwashing plan? Well, looking back, it seems like there wasn’t much. Far more energy was spent on damning the NRA for compromising here, or for whatever power struggles took place amongst the NRA Board of Directors. Tactical and strategic differences turned into personal feuds, and score-settling, not focusing on the long-term future of defending the Second Amendment.
And just as was the case when passage of the Firearms Owners Protection Act in 1986 masked the problems that the feuds of the 1980s were causing in the early 1990s, the passage of right-to-carry legislation and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, plus the Heller decision, in the 1990s and 2000s, masked the fact that anti-Second Amendment extremists were consolidating their power and were preparing to leverage it.
Now, the likes of Bloomberg can hit Second Amendment supporters from all angles. Hollywood will portray ownership of guns as risking everyone around the gun owner. Corporate policies can deprive gun manufacturers and FFLs of the credit lines and payment processing that they need to survive as businesses. Silicon Valley censors Second Amendment supporters. Andrew Cuomo uses financial regulations to target Second Amendment supporters, and now there are rumblings that New York’s anti-Second Amendment attorney general may launch attacks of her own. If they can take out the NRA, then other pro-Second Amendment groups will be the next target.
Whether you’re a supporter of the Knox faction or the LaPierre faction, it doesn’t matter. Whether you like SAF, or GOA, or NRA also is irrelevant. We all share the blame for this, and we all have the responsibility to put what are relatively petty disagreements aside to deal with this. Continued focusing on them will only help Bloomberg.
So, how do we fix this? For starters, with one notable exception, we must ensure all pro-Second Amendment groups survive. Similarly, we must now look at what other pro-Second Amendment entities can bring to the table now and in the future, and let the past be the past. Perhaps Ackerman-McQueen, doesn’t just do advertising work and PR work for the NRA, maybe it can expand its clientele among the entire Second Amendment community. Forget the complaints about how much NRA money goes to Ackerman-McQueen – this firm is uniquely situated to help firearms manufacturers, instructors, and FFLs get their story out to local media and affect how exercising the Second Amendment is perceived. It could also help get pro-Second Amendment candidates elected.
At the same time, Second Amendment supporters must work their own long game. Take the time to go over the textbooks your schools use. Ask your kids what is being taught. Get involved with the PTA, and also with the local school board. This will take time. Other Second Amendment supporters will need to work their way up in the corporate, media, and creative arenas.
One thing is for sure: If Second Amendment supporters don’t get serious about long-term planning, they will lose, big time.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
https://www.ammoland.com/2019/04/defeating-the-other-sides-long-game/#axzz5mdgf6I4U
