mpguy -
Thanks for the entuusiasm, but I'm afaid that in this situation you do not count.
peter nap is saying that duck hunters need to form coalitions with dog hunters, bullseye shooters need to form coalitions with The Association for Retarted Citizens, and gun rights organizations (yes, I do mean VCDL here) need to not only understand that anything to do with firearms is vitally important but that they would do better being the second-, third-, or even fourth-string in these coalitions.
We are seeing that the aqnti-gun rights/stop "gun violence" folks are doing very little that focuses directly on firearms. Heck, they are even some of the movers and supporters behind the legislation that may get some people (with the "right" training and the "right" permits) carrying concealed in K-12 schools. Right now the gun rights groups seem to be thinking that the proposed legislation is not all that bad, and that it could be tweaked later to fix some of the problems, instead of seeing how the anti-gun rights/stop "gun violence" folks are pouring Super Lube on the slope.
Why second-fiddle, you ask? Because instead of attacking gun rights in a full frontal attack, this upcoming round in the battle is shaping up as a bunch of end-runs and "enhancements" of already existing practices - some of which I call the "misdemeanorization" of civil rights. The definition of "violence" is being expanded, and the numbers of crimes that are up for being branded as "crimes of violence" are increasing. Who really cares if civil rights are denied to criminals? Have you bever been in an automobile accident? Or driven past the scene of one where there were still ambulances or fire trucks there? You must be suffering from PTSD from that, and that makes you a mentally ill (read: unstable) person who should be considered too dangerous to be allowed to posses firearms. Did you ever have a "senior moment"? Ever hesitate is speaking because the word you wanted to say was on the toip of your tongue but just not coming out? Those are signs of dementia, and people with dementia should not posses firearms. Have you ever been just the tiniest bit "bummed out" about/because of somethging? Then you are clinically depressed and too dangerous to be allowed to posses firearms. Ad infinitum.
And those are just a few of the things we are going to be facing. And while are are facing them because of the firearms possession issue, the people who are already included/considred included (to use ADA-speak) in those groups will have additional restrictions beyond not being allowed to posses firearms heaped on their head in order to heap those consequences on the gun rights group's heads.
It's not going to be enouigh to give lip service by saying we support the rights of the ___. We are going to have to start working with them as a means of protecting ourselves as well as them.
stay safe.