Letters to editors seems archaic to me. I haven't subscribed to a newspaper in some 20 years, and I rarely follow them online.
It seems to me that in order to address this issue we need to first identify where it came from and where we can have the most significant impact.
Just my opinion, but I think the anti-gun and and the non-gun cultures came from us now getting into second and third generations of Americans who grew up in urban centers and were not exposed to guns as commonplace tools of existence and survival.
People bred to see no need for firearms, because they've been conditioned to believe that the government will provide them with protection and Whole Foods will provide them with food.
Their naive trust in the government comes from them being selectively taught history lessons narrowed and altered by that government.
So the only real chance we have in this fight, in the long term, is to try to educate and win over the non-gunners - the people who aren't necessarily against guns, but who also have no experience or exposure to them.
Let's face it. We're not going to change Beto and his ilk.
We need more involvement and more engagement and interaction with the middle grounders at base levels in our towns, counties, and then let it leach into the cities. That means that like other groups with agendas, we need to make ourselves known in positive ways as gun owners and shooters. So whatever you do within your own neighborhoods make sure that you are labeled as a Good Guy With Guns. Not in a forceful and overbearing way. Not in a confrontational way. Quietly, subtly, and controlled.
If an anti-gun group is protesting in your city, don't be aggressive towards them. Let them do the shouting.
Instead, create another event on the other side of town or let's unify and hit that city with a positive event and message on gun ownership and use.
A hosted educational event or a charitable effort or both.
Many here say stuff like "Fuck Facebook and Twitter".
But like it or not, that's the battleground. That's where the people we can reach and win over are.
They're not reading letters to editors.
Most of them don't even know what that even means.
It's like saying "rolling down the window" or "carbon copy".
Bringing intelligent debate, positive messaging, and facts to those platforms can win hearts and minds, or at least foster a curiosity within them to learn more and understand what gun ownership means, what the shooting sports are about, and why guns are essential to freedom.
On a very basic level, we need to have gun owners and 2A supporters work their ways into the base levels of the media giants like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Google, etc.
I'm not talking about using their platforms, which we should also do as much as we can, because not doing so concedes the major battlefields.
I'm talking about going into the lion's den and having 2A oriented people working in those organizations at levels that matter.
It's a daunting task. We've given way more inches than we ever should have, and they've turned into miles.
But arguing with those whose minds we cannot change is pointless.
We need to take it back through the same ways we've lost it. From the ground up. Not from the top down.
The reason we started Good Guys With Guns here are in line with doing things the right way to win over the middle grounders.
The bigger we can make it the larger our impact can be.
As I said last night, we can make small noises until someone thinks they heard something. Then when we get some attention we can say what needs saying - that we are your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers, and we're not a threat to you. We are a threat to those who would threaten you.
