Dear Gun Control Democrats: 6 Ways to Make a Better Argument | Kontradictions

Link: http://kontradictions.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dear-democratic-gun-control-lobby-how-to-get-better/ (via shareaholic.com)

1. Stop Sending Mixed Messages

Allow me this humble suggestion: The best way to convince the American public that you're not interested in taking guns away is to stop talking about taking guns away.

2. You Have To Understand What You're Regulating

New rule: If you don't know how guns work, you don't get to craft legislation about them. There is nothing so embarrassing as watching a Democratic politician who has never held a gun in their life attempt to talk about why and how they should be regulated.

3. Stop Using Children

Most Americans know when they're being emotionally played for political gain, and so do the senators who voted against the barrage of legislation that went down in flames this week. Until you can stop marching children around as your cause celeb for no apparent logical reason, and until you propose legislation that at least has something to do with protecting them, no one is going to listen.

4. Stop Pretending Background Checks Don't Already Exist.

The "gun show loophole" you've heard so much about simply means that private individuals can sell a gun to each other without asking the federal government for permission. Which is to say that I don't have to pay $150 (the cost for a check in D.C.) to ask the FBI whether a family member or friend to whom I would like to lend my shotgun for a hunting trip is a convicted felon.

5. Treat the NRA As What They Are: Other American Citizens

What you're missing is that the vast portion of the NRA's funds come not through corporate donors, but through contributions from average Americans. It was not a coincidence that between December 2012 and January 2013 the NRA grew 10,000 members every day, adding a full quarter-million new contributors to their roster since gun control reappeared in the national discussion last year. That's just what happens when a populace that cares a lot about something gets mobilized. But the NRA – by which the Democratic party should mean "the American citizens who comprise the NRA because they believe in gun rights" – has consistently been characterized as the heartless, monolithic boogeyman.

6. Don't Forget About Us!

Gun policy is not really as partisan a debate as mainstream media would suggest. There are plenty of left-leaning citizens and Democratic voters who love our guns. Some of us are in the south, some of us are out in Colorado, and some of us are right in the middle of New York City. Some of us not only like the process of shooting guns, but actually think that it's important to know how. Some of us hunt to supplement food/income. Some of us believe that the safety of our selves, families, communities and yes, even our nation are our own responsibility as citizens. It's not such a radical thought.