This is not a rant, although I suppose a rant would be just as effective.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America held their "No More Silence - End Gun Violence" rally at the Carillon in Richmond this morning. We knew it was going to happen, where it was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and why there was a need to provide a dissenting voice.
I have reason to believe that the VCDL leadership (not just the VCDL president) was notified of the several events being scheduled across Virginia. Unless I completely missed it, there was not a peep out of VCDL about this - not even a hurried mini-VA-ALERT merely announcing the when & where information. I know that this "rally" was discussed on gun boards/gun rights boards besides OCDO, yet again unless I missed something there was no real motivational effort to get folks to go out and present a dissenting viewpoint.
I am admitting, here in public, that I suggested that the folks who showed up at the Richmond rally at the Carillon not wear GSL stickers. There were only 5 of us there. Well, 6 if you count a 4 1/2 year old kid who ended up holding one of their signs because he was just copying what almost everybody else was doing.
We all pretty much know why MDAFGSIA's demand for universal background checks will not keep the crazy people and the evil people and the criminals from getting guns to use in carrying out their craziness or evilness or criminal-ness. Other than that, it is pretty much a given that both we (the gun rights folks) and MDAFGSIA have the same objective in mind - preventing crazy/evil/criminal people from committing violence by the use of a gun. Some of us even extend that desire to preventing those folks from committing violence by pretty much any means more lethal than harsh words.
But how are we doing in getting the message across that while we agree with the goal we disagree with the method(s) proposed to achieve that goal?
Can you say "abysmal", boys and girls?
I'm wondering if we (because I am part of this) can. And even if we could, do we understand just what that means for our side of the discussion.
We do not need people to show up in force just on Lobby Day - but you are going to be there, aren't you?
We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family that showing up to voice the dissenting opinion is even more important than taking the kiddies to see Santa at the mall before the crowsds show up at lunchtime. We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family that grocery shopping can wait until later in the day. We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family that if agreement cannot be reached that the kiddies come along then someone has to stay home with them while the other one shows up to voice the dissenting opinion. And for the concrete thinkers out there: We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family this is important enough that showing up is more important than just about anything else that life throws at you.
Four and a half people cannot carry the weight for everybody else.
stay safe.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America held their "No More Silence - End Gun Violence" rally at the Carillon in Richmond this morning. We knew it was going to happen, where it was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and why there was a need to provide a dissenting voice.
I have reason to believe that the VCDL leadership (not just the VCDL president) was notified of the several events being scheduled across Virginia. Unless I completely missed it, there was not a peep out of VCDL about this - not even a hurried mini-VA-ALERT merely announcing the when & where information. I know that this "rally" was discussed on gun boards/gun rights boards besides OCDO, yet again unless I missed something there was no real motivational effort to get folks to go out and present a dissenting viewpoint.
I am admitting, here in public, that I suggested that the folks who showed up at the Richmond rally at the Carillon not wear GSL stickers. There were only 5 of us there. Well, 6 if you count a 4 1/2 year old kid who ended up holding one of their signs because he was just copying what almost everybody else was doing.
We all pretty much know why MDAFGSIA's demand for universal background checks will not keep the crazy people and the evil people and the criminals from getting guns to use in carrying out their craziness or evilness or criminal-ness. Other than that, it is pretty much a given that both we (the gun rights folks) and MDAFGSIA have the same objective in mind - preventing crazy/evil/criminal people from committing violence by the use of a gun. Some of us even extend that desire to preventing those folks from committing violence by pretty much any means more lethal than harsh words.
But how are we doing in getting the message across that while we agree with the goal we disagree with the method(s) proposed to achieve that goal?
Can you say "abysmal", boys and girls?
I'm wondering if we (because I am part of this) can. And even if we could, do we understand just what that means for our side of the discussion.
We do not need people to show up in force just on Lobby Day - but you are going to be there, aren't you?
We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family that showing up to voice the dissenting opinion is even more important than taking the kiddies to see Santa at the mall before the crowsds show up at lunchtime. We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family that grocery shopping can wait until later in the day. We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family that if agreement cannot be reached that the kiddies come along then someone has to stay home with them while the other one shows up to voice the dissenting opinion. And for the concrete thinkers out there: We need people to make the personal commitment that this matter is important enough to them that they will tell their family this is important enough that showing up is more important than just about anything else that life throws at you.
Four and a half people cannot carry the weight for everybody else.
stay safe.