By P.A. Deacon
If you are a regular reader of TTAG you will have seen the reports about the record-breaking NICS background checks performed by the FBI. Every month seems to show more FBI NICS checks than the month before.
This past August, the NICS check system totaled 2,073,296 checks making it the “highest number for August since NICS was established in 1998.” Not all of those were new sales to new gun owners of course, and many were probably transfers from one current gun owner to another. At the same time, the report doesn’t say how many guns were purchased since only one NICS check is performed per person, no matter how many guns are purchased. But clearly, Americans want to buy firearms.
This may be due in part to more people getting their news and associating via new media, which allow us to discuss firearms and the gun culture without relying on the legacy media. More Americans who otherwise might never get exposed to firearms are learning and becoming interested in owning their own gun.
We also can’t discount the possibility of fear buying. While my experiences are mine alone and anecdotal, the conversations I’ve had with my friends and like-minded enthusiasts always seems to come back the possibility that there is a gun-ban just over the horizon.
But, is that fear misplaced? Do gun owners really need to worry about losing the legal right to purchase firearms or are some of us falling victim to momentary passions?
In the days immediately after Donald Trump was elected, a political commentator for a major news network went on the radio and said that she was “worried about, like, a real attack on the press.” The press, she said, may “crumble” under Trump’s sustained attacks.
On another outlet she griped that the media, under a Trump presidency will have, “a different fight for your life than you thought you were going to have [under a Clinton presidency].” So, according to this person, the media will have to fight for its very survival or be destroyed by President Trump.
Of course there was no evidence that Trump had any of these authoritarian tendencies. It’s clear that he’s no fan of the media, but he hasn’t done a single thing to end their existence. At the same time, the media have done more to make themselves irrelevant than Trump has ever done.
But many Americans do have a rational fear of losing their legal right to keep and bear arms. Gun owners and Americans who respect gun ownership live with the knowledge that after every mass shooting we will once again be fighting for our rights. There is serious talk of gun bans three of four times a year. In some respects the fight for our gun rights is a daily battle being fought in states all across the country.
Yet despite all the continued hysteria, there isn’t a single piece of legislation at the federal or state level that I am aware of that would restrict the media’s ability to perform their necessary function. The very mention of government control over the New York Times or Washington Post is simply unthinkable. No one is proposing anything of the kind.
At the same time, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of proposed state and federal bills that would restrict gun rights if signed into law. We should also remember the scores of laws already on the books that restrict or prevent firearm ownership.
We recognize two fundamental truths about gun control. First, bad guys don’t follow gun control laws. Second, gun laws don’t stop otherwise law-abiding citizens from lapsing into an evil act. The 1.1 million defensive gun uses every year are proof that good guys with guns really do stop bad guys, period. But, like clockwork, it only takes a few hours minutes for the gun control crowd and their subservient Renfields in politics and the media to cry out for more gun control after a prominent crime.
There isn’t a single group of any seriousness or import that’s working to restrict or destroy the media. Other than exposing and ending media bias, critics’ only interest is in more voices and more outlets doing more good journalism. Not less of it.
On the other hand, there are enough well-funded and well-organized gun control groups to fill the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria. Every single one of these groups was created to make legal gun ownership more difficult or outright impossible. And now they’ve outsourced some of that work to a slew of corporate partners as well.
If anyone in America should be worried about losing their rights and freedoms, it’s America’s gun owners. We hate the mass shooters who prey on the helpless in gun-free zones and know that in many cases, someone could have done something to reduce or prevent the carnage if legal carry had been permitted.
Every singe day we live with the possibility of having to justify our lives, our right to defend our families and neighbors and communities. There isn’t a single legislative proposal at the state or federal level to incarcerate someone for being black brown, gay, young, old, a religious minority, or — heaven forbid — a member of the media. But there are daily, well-funded, and very loud groups that want, most of all, to unravel our civil liberties and end civilian gun ownership.
With all that in mind, who is it really that’s in the fight of their lives?
When someone declares they want to kill you, believe them.
When someone declares thay want to repeal any one of your human, natural and civil rights, believe them.
“Fear” is a wrong word to describe the reaction of POTG to the ceaseless assault on gun ownership by citizens. “Acceptance of the threat” is more accurate. When threatened, protect your tools, and work to end the threat.
“Honor the threat” is a very old military axiom that is still, and forever will be, practiced.
Excellent article. Supported, documented, and…….correct.
Like the Highway Patrol Officer, who asked the lady with the CCW permit that he had stopped, “you have three guns, what are you afraid of?…Her response… priceless…”not a damn thing.” If that’s good enough for her, then it’s good enough for me. 30
delusional people might live in fear, whether armed or not.
the rest is just valid concern.
and needs.
maybe clowns, snakes and velcro.
Snake clowns.
Fear? No. Defiance.
Word.
+1 for the Renfield reference.
I live in California. So of course I “fear” about the loss of my gun rights and access to firearms and ammunition since the state Legislature is so intent on restricting these them in any way they can conceive of. Until the FUDDs realize what is happening (most are entirely clueless) there aren’t enough votes to stop the streaming pile from sliding down hill. With the next governor (assuming as it likely that it will be Gavin Noisome), it will only get worse.
When people in power start actively trying to strip rights from people it is certainly a motivating force. I guess you could call that fear.
I wouldn’t call it “fear” as much as it is apathy. When they finally come knocking on our doors “fear” might be too late.
Any vote for a democrat is a vote to end the 2nd Amendment……remember in November that Trump needs the Republicans to control the Senate if he is going to get his judicial nominees confirmed, including a possible 2-3 new Supreme Court Justices…..if the democrats take the house, the Senate democrats will pressure Never Trump republicans and squish Republicans to refuse to confirm Trump nominees while he is under impeachment investigations…and too many never Trumpers and squish republicans will fall in line with that idea in the Senate….we have a historic opportunity to have a 6-3, and even a 7-2 pro 2nd Amendment Supreme Court and a whole bunch of 2nd Amendment judges at the lower levels of the Federal court system where most of the work is done….all of that disappears if the democrats take the House, and even worse if they take the Senate…..I can’t stand Republicans, but I am going to vote for every Republican I can vote for because to do otherwise is to surrender the 2nd Amendment….that is a fact.
I don’t fear losing my 2A rights. I fear the aftermath of when those rights are usurped.
Exactly. Fundamental human rights like the right to keep and bear arms are not given, but they can be infringed.
Very good article. Wrong premise.
I’m not in fear of anyone or of my government state or federal. I will not give up or allow any of my presently owned guns to be taken. But 1 way. Forcibly. I promise I would do my best to take some of the others with me if they try.
@ Jay: You can play “whack-a-mole” with rogue LEO’s and military and antifa useful idiots; (but) Unless and until you cut the strings of the puppet masters and get to and stop the “Elite un-touchables” you’re pissing in the wind.
Ive been pissing in the wind it seems all my life. Im from the school of whats mine is mine and you cant take it from me once I have it. Whats right is right and no piece of paper can change it.
JAY IN FLORIDA , you sound just like me. What is legally mine , bought & paid for , with my hard earned money , is fucking mine !! Our founding fathers wrote the #2nd amendment to ensure such. No freaking snowflake , leftard , COMMIE , mothers against they don’t know what , or any one else is going to STEAL FROM ME. And what’s mine ain’t for sale. Maybe trade up for a better gun , still that’s my business.
I can think of a “piece of paper that can change it”, a condemnation for eminent domain or seizure warrant for starters. Those two things along with court orders following a “judicial procedure” can quickly strip you of property (real and tangible) and your other rights (firearms) very quickly if the government has a desire to. Don’t pay your property tax (rent/tribute to the government) for a year or two then you’ll quickly find out who really owns your property. As I understand it now in some states a “concerned family member or neighbor” can get the ball rolling for the government to secure your firearms for your “well being”. So don’t think a piece of paper can’t effect you, pieces of paper have killed more people and deprived them of more rights than any bullet or sword.
It’s not fear. It’s exercising my right to own guns. Fearlessly. Yes, I buy ammo, and more ammo, to be ready just in case. In case of civil breakdown, etc. It seems we’re ever on the edge of some new cataclysm that will send our country into chaos. Maybe it will happen. Maybe it never will.
But just like I keep extra food / water etc., ‘just in case,’ I keep guns and ammo. And if / when the SHTF, those guns and ammo will be worth more than whatever cash someone might have. I call it insurance. An investment. In protecting me and the ones I love.
Gun ownership is insurance, too, against the tyrannical government that, presumably, we enables us to overthrow a government gone bad. Gee, sounds like not such distant history at all. Unfortunately, our right to own guns — firearms; weapons — has been seriously infringed, and we are no match in firepower with this government. We do have them outnumbered … lol … not sure that would / will be enough against the traitors we have in government. And as I see it, they’re virtually all traitors to America, beholden to interests that have nothing to do with America and her people.
It’s not fear. It’s called being prudent, wise, responsible. Responsible to self, family, community, country.
My “fear” of government intrusion on my right to keep and bear arms is founded on the statements of gun-grabber voters and gun-grabber politicians — statements which express their desire to remove most if not all firearms from private ownership.
Oh, and my fear is founded on LAWS THAT GOVERNMENTS HAVE ACTUALLY PASSED which infringe on our right to keep and bear arms.
NICS check numbers are more confusing and unreliable for tracking gun sales than that. Here in Michigan one gun = one check. If you buy 3 guns at once(as I did back in June) you get 3 NICS checks done at the same time. However, my last NICS check was in August for my CPL( In Michigan a carry permit is actually a Concealed Pistol License). Now with that in my wallet, I can purchase as many guns as my budget will allow and it will not affect the NICS #’s because it will remove the need for any further background checks up to my birthday in 5 years on any firearm purchases.
And, yes, I blame Obama for prompting me into the creating current state of my of gun safe(mostly content with what is there, but still a few missing items). Prior to his threats, I was basically a fud and blissfully unaware of the true threat to firearm ownership in this country. The more I realize the true extent of the dirty tactics use by the gun grabbers the more vocal I get to discredit them and the more determined to fortify my reserves.
It’s a war of sorts…the more that realize our rights are under attack…and respond accordingly..the better of we’ll be…
Please understand the ploy that gun-grabbers are using. Gun-grabbers are exploiting our innate human desire to be an integral part of our community, which includes the notion that our community will shut us out if we are stupid, crazy, and/or corrupt.
Thus, gun-grabbers are claiming that:
(1) Government will never eliminate private ownership of firearms.
(2) Anyone who thinks otherwise is cuckoo.
(3) Our community will disavow us if we are cuckoo.
(4) No one wants to be shut out.
(5) Therefore it is best if gun-rights advocates keep their mouths shut.
Let that sink in for a moment. Gun grabbers reject our right to effective self-defense. Gun grabbers reject our other rights. And gun grabbers are quite happy/comfortable trying to manipulate us psychologically to achieve THEIR goal. If those three traits do not make it crystal clear that gun-grabbers are our mortal enemies, I don’t know what will.
With the new laws being passed, all someone has to do is say you are ‘cuckoo’ and you lose your guns. Happened to a neighbor of mine. Crazy girlfriend called the police, said HE was crazy and had a gun. There were at least 6 cruisers on scene, all with officers sporting AR-15 rifles. You’d have thought Osama bin Laden was in the house. He was walked out, put on the ground, handcuffed and stuffed in the back of a cruiser. So for all the folks who say the LEO community wouldn’t enforce laws that violated the 2A think again.
trust me!…it can happen to you…..
The new “Red Flag” laws allow SWATing without penalty for making a false statement. Not just family members but anyone who doesn’t like your looks can go to the po-po who are SUPPOSED to go to a judge who no doubt trusts the po-po & will issue a confiscation warrant and the po-po are at your door with no due process.
So far these laws are found only in blue states but stay informed. Confiscation one citizen at a time is now the goal.
Fear? No. Intelligent risk assessment and an understanding of the threat.
The only time a President has physically harmed the US media was Obama when he unleashed the DoJ to spy on Fox News after secretly labeling one of their reporters (James Rosen) a ‘possible co-conspirator’ in a media leak.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_articles_about_the_Department_of_Justice_investigations_of_reporters
A multitude of news sources have stated that the Obama regime was the least transparent and the hardest to work with that they have ever seen. If a media outlet dared print anything even remotely critical of the Obama regime, they would be contacted and told to remove it.
Of course, 99% of the media were only to happy to metaphorically suck Obama’s c*ck so problems only ever occurred for more right-wing leaning news sources.
President Trump calls out the media a lot, but surely no one believes that he will actually use the power of the federal government them!
Cause liberal/democrats/socialists/communists/tyrants are doing everything in their power to take everything we own away? The only difference between them and a robber is they’re not pointing a gun at us. Yet.
I’m well armed. I fear nothing.
I am not afraid. I am old. However, There are 100 million of us. I only have to take out one of them and we win. I know it’s a debunked line but, “Behind every blade of grass!”
Matt( Tx) …. I am not afraid either, just cautious. I live in Texas and am 68 yrs old but can still defend myself.
all stupid, naive responses…you need to get politically active…or they’ll pick you off one at a time….
Am I worried about losing the right to own guns? No.
I’m worried because, contrary to how the prog-statists characterize us, I would very, very much prefer to not have to shoot someone sent by someone else who has decided that their right to feel safe is more important than my constitutional rights and right to life.
Ask the idiots: Do you wear a seatbelt? Why? Do you live in fear? Do you have a smoke detector in your house? Why? Do you live in fear? Do you lock your doors? Why? Do you live in fear?
I think the thesis of the article is whether gun owners should be in fear of elimination of supply of guns, ammo and accessories, demonstrated by “panic buying”? Should gun owners be on a constant yo-yo of stampeding each time a new horror story appears in the media? Should gun owners rest comfortably that the anti-gun mob cannot ever eliminate the gun industry, and just ignore the panic-inducing events?
Fear? Nope…I’ve been a gun owner some 7 years. I’m 64+. Before that I’ve been in some of the worst hoods in Chicago completely unarmed.Now I’m getting old and not so big and tough. It’s a natural progression. ‘Murica!
It’s because we are always on defense. We have a right, it’s on paper, and the other side is trying to erase it. Once it’s gone it’s never coming back. Ever. Again.
We can win several times. They only need to win big once.
That witch from Arkansas was supposed to win and stuff the SCOTUS with people who would strip the second away from everyone except people in uniform under their control.
Leaving us to the tender mercies of people who don’t play well with others. That’s where the fear comes from.
Don’t panic buy. Buy a little at a time, and choose wisely. If you do not have a .22 rifle get one. Save the big bullets for not food items. I like 30-06 and 9mm. But I have a LOT of .22 for food. A .22 is like the old liberator .45. You can get a bigger gun if you need it, but a rabbit hit with 30-06 is a bit of a waste.
Government is the largest mass murderer in history. Any step it takes that the governed have not explicitly consented to is one of tyranny. Remember the same PoTUS that instituted the 1934 NFA deliberately created a famine, purged the military of undesirables, and put his own citizens in concentration camps.
Also restricted the ownership of precious metals.
….and closed the banks…
This article gives me an itch to go to Cabela’s. Or maybe that’s just the herpes.
Either way, Cabela’s this weekend!
buy as many as you can…any way you can…and hide them everywhere you can…short of locking you up… it’s a strategy they can’t defeat….
I’m old and well armed, so the only thing that I really fear is having to shoot some of those corksoakers when they try to take my stuff.
quit kidding yourself…you’re more vulnerable than you think…
I’m not concerned about the KKK group 17 miles from my house. While living with my wife of a different race. I open carry all the time here. I have no fear of them. All kinds of people open carry here.
But there is great fear of socialist progressive democrat homosexuals and non homosexual tyrannical gun grabbing law makers from the west coast.
because feinstein couldnt keep her stupid mouth shut we know the goal is total disarmament
because hillary called us deplorables and irredeemables we know they fucking hate us
because half of republicans in dc will turn on us in a hearbeat in less than a second if it means their political survival
this is the beauty of trump
he doesnt give a fuck what his detractors think or say about him
hes proven that beyond a doubt
that alone makes me trust him way more than anybody else in dc
if he was one of them he wouldnt be almost universally reviled and regarded with the utmost contempt by almost everybody there
hes our lifeline right now
one man
and he goes bye bye if the democrats take back control of the us house
and dont believe all this crap about the senate wont vote to convict
they will
bet your last dollar on it
for weeks every republican us senator will have 1000 assholes on his front lawn with torches and pitchforks and signs saying we know where you live vote to impeach trump or we do your wife and kids
and they will do it
wisdom says treating the 2018 midterms like the 2020 presidential election is the smart move
buy any guns you havent bought yet
buy all the ammo you havent bought yet
and pray
because no matter if the republicans maintain control of the congress or not
the left has completely lost their mind and in so doing have guaranteed that going forward from here things are going to get…interesting
trust no one…get a good lawyer…and keep a low profile…
Gun owners live in fear for the same reason as anyone who wants to preserve the individual liberties this country was founded on….they are under attack 24/7 for their belief and conviction of individual liberties.
You forget, Donald Trump was once a gun grabber. You can see that instinct come out even now sometimes. As for the GOP, they would sell gunowners down the river if they thought it would get them reelected. Rights? They don’t care for our rights. Politicians’ promises aren’t worth the toilet paper they are written on.
keep your votes valuable to them…it’s the only language they understand….
Why would anyone live in fear? Afterall, #1 What are the chances the Feds will ever come and get your guns when the can’t even perfect delivering the mail etc The Federal government can’t do anything right, why would you think they could disarm potentally 150 million gun owners. #2. You’re armed and protected by the 2nd amendment, or did you forget that fact? Who are they going to use to accomplish such a feat, it won’t be your local law enforcement. They are bound by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Who are they going to send? Not the military, you are covered with Posse Comatatus. So who are they going to send. They don’t have the manpower.
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