darrinlobo
I'm going to regroup a bit.I still adamantly believe the demonstrations of opencarry long guns is ill advised
But I support efforts to oppose universal background checks,etc.
FWIW,I live in Colorado.We have been there already.Our Gov Hickenlooper is now backpedalling from his signature on the bills.Elections are coming,and Colorado got rid of two State Senators over this already.
Our Sheriff's united to oppose these laws.They had message.
I suggest you study Colorado and how things went here.
You may come up with some message.
Something to consider,we had a successful recall of a State Senator who supported the Co gun laws,and another resigned to avoid recall.
I believe if the general public of Denver,Boulder,etc had seen a lot of AK47/AR-15's in the Little League Parks and restaurants before the recall elections,enough votes may have swung to cause the recalls to fail.
The laws would have been vindicated,and the momentum would have been in favor of anti-gun laws.
Fortunarely,that did not happen.We won.I think there is a good chance that Bloomberg backed Hickenlooper will be defeated.
Of course,I cannot prove my own speculation,but just a little bad PR ,like the picture in this thread,and we may not have regained the political strength we now have.
Remember,your battle is not for approval from like minded individuals.
The battle is to persuade everyday,non gun people that the Freedom defined by the 2ND Ammendment does not represent a threat to them or their families.
There is enough real data to make a case that concealed carry permit holders make the world a safer place.We have gained great ground there.
I have no problem with modern long guns,AR's,etc.
But you have to realize many folks associate them with events like Sandy Hook.
That was an incredibly horrific event.I raised a daughter .I have grandchildren.I have spent some years working in a school.Many of us have tried to imagine the horrible helplessness of having 6,7,8 year old kids being butchered by a nut with a long gun in the very environment where we work.Brave adults did the only thing they could do...they used their own bodies to stop the bullets they could.
Those images do not just disappear with the next pop star scandal in the news.
If I,a gun guy,see you,out of place,out of context,walking among unarmed people with an AR or an AK,my mind will begin filling in the blanks ,and I will err on the side of vigilance.
When General Public sees you open carry an AK,they think of Sandy Hook,they grab the kids,they look for cover.I'm a gun guy,and I might do those things.
You stress people to the flight or fight zone.
Here,on this forum,gun folks are telling you "Bad Idea!"
By what stretch of imagination can you come up with any shred of positive influence for the RTKBA?Explain to me how a non gun person would be converted to support the 2nd Ammendment by your actions?Can you perhaps see some being turned off?Calling their congressman?
What we need is to act in a way that gains supporters.When you are armed,and having a controversial discussion with someone who is unarmed,fear enters into the equation.And you lost.The moment someone fears you,they do not support you.
The friendly wave is to show the hand is unarmed.
Tell you what,to try to help you understand,nothing wrong with wearing a backpack,right?And it might be perfectly within your rights to take it off,set it down,and rest.No problem.You might even walk over to get a drink before you put it back on,right?
You might draw negative attention to yourself if you did that at the Boston Marathon.
Now,how would it work out to have "Backpack Freedom Day" where you and 28 buddies decided to go to the Boston Marathon open carrying backpacks.
If you really want to do it right,have a pressure cooker in the backpack.Pressure cookers are legal,and you have a right to carry a pressure cooker anywhere you want.Right?
That is what you are doing.
Sometimes,just use your head,please?
