I do not want to go back

Yesterday, Sebastian had an excellent post on the importance of “getting active” in this election cycle; and he’s absolutely right.  I know he uses the old saw of “this is the most important election ever”, but this time I actually agree with him.  He’s absolutely correct about the damage it would do to NRA’s power in Washington if we can’t defeat the most anti-gun candidate in history.  Compared to Barack Obama, Bill Clinton looks like a life-long IDPA shooter and a conservative.

That is primarily the “back” to which I do not want to go – you all know I’m a younger guy, and because of that, I grew up during the Clinton Gun Ban.  I’ve never bought a firearm without undergoing a NICS check, and until the AWB sunset I had never bought a factory new semi-auto with anything other than a 10 round magazine.  Since the AWB lapsed, I’ve bought brand new guns with high capacity magazines, I’ve seen the market for “evil black rifles” flourish to the point where the most popular rifle in the United States is the AR-15, and I’ve seen the shooting sports grow at a pace I never would have thought was imaginable during the Clinton administration.  Never mind the expansion of right to carry laws, castle doctrine, and a favorable Heller decision – the last eight years have been pretty successful for gun owners; and I don’t want to go back.

Obama promises to be much, much worse than Clinton on guns.  No matter what he’s saying right now, his record speaks volumes of his anti-gun stance, as does the company he keeps.  With friends like Ray Schoenke, Barack Obama has all the anti-gun street cred he needs.

The problem that we’re having is that some gun owners think that their guns are “safe” from Obama.  The truth of the matter is that your guns, your Constitutional right to bear arms, will not be safe under an Obama presidency.

  • Your IPSC race gun: banned for accepting high capacity magazines and having a ported barrel – because you would need a ported barrel if you want to shoot a lot of people.
  • Your custom 1911 that you used for IDPA: banned.  You can’t hunt with the .45 ACP cartridge, why would you need a gun that shoots that accurately anyway?
  • Your T/C Contender in .270 Winchester: Really banned, why would you need a pistol that fires armor piercing ammunition?

My point here is that you’re not safe, and your guns aren’t safe.  If it’s not hard for me to the mental gymnastics necessary to turn all your guns into something that can be played up by Obama’s pets in the media as scary and dangerous, then it certainly won’t be difficult for them to do those same calculations.

The first Presidential election I remember was 1992, Bush Senior against Clinton.  Since then I’ve seen Clinton/Dole, Bush/Gore, and Bush/Kerry.  While each election has been important, I do agree with Sebastian – this is the most important election I’ve ever seen or been a part of.  It’s imperative as gun owners that we get out and do more than just blog, that we educate our friends and families, talk to our fellow hunters and shooters.  I remember growing up during an onerous gun ban, and I have no desire whatsoever to return to those days.