Refusal To Comply Will Not Work On Its Own

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Refusal To Comply Will Not Work On Its OwnUnited States – -(AmmoLand.com)- One of the refrains that comes from some Second Amendment supporters is “We will not comply” when it comes to anti-Second Amendment legislation. If we want to look at a classic case of strategic incompetence, this ranks very high up there. It helps Bloomberg in so many ways. One of the worst is that it feeds right into the Everytown strategy. This organization is working hard to demonize Second Amendment supporters – and looking for any hook to do so. So, Second Amendment supporters cannot just fight hard, they must fight smart against the efforts of Bloomberg and others to punish them for crimes and acts of madness they did not commit. They have to keep in mind how the techniques and approach they use come across. Frustrating to hear, but before you vent, consider this: Michael Bloomberg is dropping $34 million for the first round of advertising. He spent $102 million to win a third term as mayor of New York City. He also, at one point, vowed to spend $500 million to ensure Donald Trump doesn’t win re-election. So, given the pattern described, what do you think Bloomberg will do if some Second Amendment supporter is a little too hot-headed? You can bet there will be an eight-figure ad campaign making that person the not-so-flattering face of Second Amendment support – and it will be to our detriment, not just on  the political and legislative fronts, but in the areas of fighting social stigmatization and financial blacklisting. More importantly, should the time come for civil disobedience, the belligerence of the most hot-headed among us will be used against all of us. Ideally, we avoid having to engage in civil disobedience. We’re not at the point where it is necessary for laws on the federal level. At this time, we still have a chance to make the case to the American people. We have the facts on our side. We have the historical record on our side. We won’t convince a Shannon Watts or Josh Sugarmann – but then again, the story of Dan Gross, formerly of the Brady Campaign, cannot be discounted. Gross was not swayed by angry refusals to comply with anti-Second Amendment laws, or other, similar rhetoric that some self-appointed Second Amendment commissars demand of people so as to be deemed sufficiently pro-Second Amendment. What persuaded him instead was the fact that his purported allies – like Everytown – seemed more interested in demonizing gun owners than in saving lives. This is where it helps for Second Amendment supporters to find Second Amendment-compliant solutions to prevent mass shootings and crimes that they can present. It won’t hurt to point out how prominent anti-Second Amendment extremists like Andrew Cuomo are releasing those accused of violent crimes wholesale. This approach has worked before – in the wake of the 1999 Columbine shooting, the National Rifle Association used a similar approach to not only beat back gun control, but it ensured the election of a pro-Second Amendment president who put two of the justices that were in the 5-4 majority of D.C. v. Heller on the court. There may be a time when massive, nationwide, civil disobedience becomes necessary. That said, Second Amendment supporters have the ability and the obligation to do everything possible to avoid the necessity of civil disobedience, or should that need arise, to make it clear that Second Amendment supporters were driven to it by the irrationality and abuses of anti-Second Amendment extremists. 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.