United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Earlier, I noted that Second Amendment supporters were winning the big arguments surrounding our freedoms. The winning arguments have always been there for Second Amendment supporters, and the landmark Heller and McDonald cases have shifted the terrain. But with these victories have come adjustments from anti-Second Amendment extremists over the last few years.
Unable to refute arguments in support of our Second Amendment rights, anti-Second Amendment extremists have taken to trying to suppress the ability of Second Amendment supporters to make their case to the American people in earnest. Back when McCain-Feingold was being debated, Michael Barnes, then the President of the Brady Campaign (formerly HCI), explained his support for the legislation because it would muzzle the NRA, while giving the Brady Campaign’s supporters in the media free reign.
Lately, though, it has taken on a new intensity. Part of this has been the shift we have seen since the Heller and McDonald rulings. What gave it the impetus was the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Realizing that the admissions of Barney Frank and Dick Gephardt in 1999 after the NRA beat back an effort to destroy gun shows had made Second Amendment supporters seem human to supporters of gun control, not to mention those on the fence, they switched to a smear campaign strategy.
We’ve seen it take place over the years… spurring an effort to stigmatize support for the Second Amendment, and effort to get companies to coerce FFLs and firearms manufacturers into complying with the wish lists of anti-Second Amendment extremists, and more pushes for legislative measures, like HR 1, intended to make the stigmatization easier, and the National Popular Vote Compact.
When the facts are out and people can consider them rationally, Second Amendment supporters can win the debate quite easily. For instance, one look at Justice Department stats blows the arguments for banning modern multi-purpose semi-automatic firearms out of the water. Few Americans realize that rifles of all types were used to kill about a fourth as many people as knives – and if that were to become common knowledge, the push by Feinstein to replicate what was done in New Zealand would be the laughingstock it should be.
So, what do we get? Well, Hollywood stars and other cultural influencers have turned up their efforts. Just to give you a sense of that pull, Ellen Pompeo, star of Grey’s Anatomy on ABC, has about twice as many followers on Twitter as the NRA. She’s just one anti-Second Amendment actress among many. That star power is pushed behind the narrative that support for the Second Amendment is complicity in mass killings.
That jumbo-sized lie has been a lot more effective, especially after the Parkland shooting. Now, it is not unusual to see boycotts leveled at media figures who are supportive of the Second Amendment. Protestors show up at homes. Speaking out in support of the Second Amendment can even cost some professional opportunities Silicon Valley is silencing pro-Second Amendment voices. Andrew Cuomo has started down the road to the thuggish tactics of the Maduro regime in Venezuela and the Erdogan regime in Turkey.
In many ways, Second Amendment supporters have winning arguments and facts. In fact, these days, the biggest fight may be to preserve our ability to make those arguments and present those facts. This fight may be the biggest one of all.
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.