Are you ready for #GunVote 2016?
Every election is, of course, important and we hear the “most important election ever” rhetoric in just about every election cycle. This one, however, is quite important for gun owners. Not only because we are electing the next commander in chief and we want the POTUS to be a solid supporter of gun rights as proscribed in our country’s founding documents, but because – provided that Mitch McConnell isn’t completely full of it – the next President is guaranteed to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice.
Being a well informed voter and being active in helping others to be the same is paramount and, for gun owners, there is a great resource to help with that: the NSSF #GunVote voter education initiative.
The crowded GOP field is still narrowing itself down and there are some solid (and not so solid) pro-gun candidates. The democrat presidential candidate for the general election will almost certainly be Hillary Clinton.
Despite making a lot of noise about enacting gun control measures, the current president has proven himself to be an inexperienced, politically impotent empty suit who achieved nothing more than stirring up a few uninformed rabble rousers who complained enough to get their coffee shop posted as a gun-free criminal protection zone. The running joke among… pretty much everyone… is that he is the Gun Salesman of the Century thanks to the ensuing panic buying every time he picks up his pen and his phone. Clinton, on the other hand, has been engaged in politics for more than five decades, including being part of the administration that enacted the 1994 so-called “Assault Weapon” Ban, which outlawed many of the most popular firearms based on cosmetic features.
The Clinton campaign website goes on (and on) with more of the same feel-good/do-nothing gun control rhetoric that has has proven to be a failure for so long (closing “loop holes”, suing firearm dealers and manufacturers, etc.) and, speaking of her anti-gun crusade, TIME magazine says “Clinton has shown no signs of slowing her charge.“
While the 2016 presidential race might be considered by many to be the main event this November, there are many other political contests which are equally important. In addition to being an election year for the US House of Representatives, 34 senate seats – including 24 Republican seats and 10 Democrat seats – are up for grabs, with only a 5-seat swing needed for the majority to change hands.
Beyond that, there are myriad state and local elections for everything from governors to state reps to district councilmen, which can impact gun laws in the narrower scope of your state or hometown. Think New York. Think California. Think it can’t happen in your gun-loving area? Think again – think Colorado.
The NSSF GunVote website has a number of resources to help you be an informed voter in many of those races. Further, Second Amendment supporters are encouraged to use the #GunVote hashtag on social media. The time of the anti-gunners dominating social media with their astroturf shenanigans is over (ladies and gentlemen – exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C, exhibit D, exhibit E, and so on). Check out #GunVote on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and any place else you find yourself tossing out hashtags. Found a good pro-RKBA candidate? Give them a shout out. An anti-gun wolf in sheep’s clothes? Call them out. Local law that helps CCW-ers? Call for support. A hidden gun control provision in an otherwise good bill? Point it out. Spread the word far and wide and lets make the 2016 election cycle a successful one for gun rights!
