I'm in agreement as well concerning more being done to clarify law concerning OC, as well as repealing restrictive and unconstitutional laws that damper a person's right to openly carry.
What some are trying to imply here, though, is that it's not always so easy to do it, that's all.
There's several approaches that can be used. One way is to pound your fists on politician's desks and demand that they adopt your positions regardless of any other influences. Another is to work them as hard as you can within the myriad of opposition in a system that dances on the line between sanity and complete idiocy. Which one do you think has a greater chance for success?
I'm glad there are groups out there that are able to get even a little morsel of freedom for us when they can. I sure don't have the time at this point in life to devote the number of hours dealing with some of these idiots in Raleigh. Nor do I have an unlimited amount of cash to spend on lawsuits to try and challenge some of these laws. Without some of these groups doing the work for us we'd be toast in regards to further restrictions.
I have issues with a CHP becoming the standard for which gun legislation is built on. But, it seems that's also our foot in the door in Raleigh at this point, too. After the last election, we finally have a few politicians who actually care enough to spend their time pushing these bills for us, but if anyone thinks they are doing it alone, they need to get up there and see how this stuff works. Simply put, the fact that these bills that we have been watching all year were not left in the dust is a direct result of GRNC's persistence.
How many here can honestly say that they knew half as much as they did about these bills this past year without the alerts, emails, and posts by GRNC members here or elsewhere?
Remember, I said honestly...
Think about it. It's sad, but it's also the reality right now. We simply cannot get as much done in Raleigh as we would all like. I'd love nothing more than to wake up one day and see that all of the idiotic restrictive laws concerning gun ownership were suddenly repealed. But, that is nothing more than fantasy. In reality, getting any kind of exiting laws amended or changed up there is a long, drawn out process. Consider the sheer number of hours that are needed to draft legislation, meet with the politicians, influence them enough to have them introduce the bills, and then follow their every move through both houses and onto the Governor's desk.
Consider now that the original drafts are almost never accepted. That means going back and making the changes, bringing them back to the Rep's offices, and starting the process over and over again.
Even if you were the only one trying to grab the politician's attention, all of this takes an incredible amount of time. Now add in the concerns of the pork industry, the tobacco industry, the highway projects, the local library foundation, the auto dealers association, the local unions, the education issues and unions, and every other possible concern people can think of, all of whom are trying to get "just a minute of your time, sir".
Given that, you can start to see why only certain things make their way into the bills that are introduced, and I haven't even brought up the amount of opposition that a politician gets when considering these bills. That adds a whole new element to the fight. Certain things are simply not going to be considered right now and a lot of that is based on the amount of opposition that will come. They take into account that some things just won't pass right now due to the political climate. They are simply not going to waste the time to do it at this point because they know the issue would be dead and buried before it even hit's the GA floor for consideration.
Anyway, yeah, I'd love to see more movement in the area of OC, but I also understand that it's not going to happen anytime in the next few months. I'm happy for the CC'ers and their victory today, though. By getting even these few things passed, it now opens the door for further victories- and that's what it's all about.
One more note and I'm done:
I wasn't going to go into it but I saw that cricketdad did a few posts ago. One thing that GRNC won't do is openly announce what they are intending to do on open forums. At first one would think that the secrecy is somewhat snobby, but the reality is that there are definitely people and groups that watch every move they make for various reasons. After hearing a few stories, it's easy to see why they have adopted this position. This is the main reason why I encourage others to contact the leadership directly through email or phone calls, instead of trying to get information on an open forum.
Once again, I highly encourage people to contact GRNC with any concerns, issues, suggestions, or simple notes saying hello and thanks. These guys listen. I can state for a fact that they will get back with you in short order, no matter your concern. Talk with them, folks. Let them know what you'd like to see introduced. Let them know your concerns, and let them know you appreciate what they are doing.
