Sunday at the gun show:
I arrived at the gun show about noon and began to put out my materials for the day. Before I even finished organizing everything, a man working a neighboring table came up to engage in conversation. The first words out of his mouth,"What is a Republican?"
I admit this caught me off guard. I hadn't even settled in yet and this guy was setting me up with a question that regardless of how I answered could be wrong. I knew too that we would be working within feet of each other all day long and he could make my day pleasant or miserable. Now, I know what makes a Republican but in answering his question - where do you start? (personal accountabilty, small government, pro-life, pro-family, pro-2A, individual freedoms, etc.) I was slow to speak until he threw me a life line by saying he has been a life long Republican.
Just about this point, I put a Mike Huckabee yard sign on my table. His response, "Mike Huckabee is your man?"
I replied, "sure is, we endorsed him last month".
"But Huckabee's a big government tax and spender," he responded.
At this point I am thinking "who is this guy and what have I done to him?" I'd almost lost my patience when I said, "no he's not - that's what Romney's attack ads want you to think - he cut taxes 90+ times in AR". I think at this point he realized he wasn't making a good first impression.
He said, "I know, I am just playing devil's advocate." Next he asked why I didn't like Romney. Things got really interesting from this point on... remember we're at a gun show.
I said, "he hasn't been real consistent on a lot of the issues but if I have to pick one thing; Romney supports an assault weapons ban."
His response, "Yeah, but you know as well as I do that those type guns don't belong in the hands of every day people." (This guys philosophy is SO dangerous for gun owners.)
That's when it started - remember this guy had been trying to "mess with me" since I got there. As politely as I could I asked him what he thought the second amendment was about.
His response, "It's the right to keep and bare arms".
I finished his sentence by saying, "...that's what it says, but why did our fore fathers give it to us?"
He said, "it's about defending ourselves."
I asked "...from who?"
He responded, "from anyone intending to do harm.."
I said, "Yes, does that include our own Government?"
He said, "well... I suppose... but do you really think in this day and age it really makes sense we'd fight against our own government?"
I responded, "I sure hope not - but that's not the point - personal protection and defense from tyranny is the right our fore fathers gave us - they had a reason for giving doing it. Let's not be so quick to give it up."
At this point - he knew he'd lost the argument. When I hammered home the point of what is a "suitable" gun. Romney's measure of which guns are "suitable" comes down to "leathality". (see youtube.com for videos of his interviews in Iowa and NH) Even this Romney supporter understood the danger in measuring "leathality" he admitted all guns can be leathal.
I was happy because we had this friendly exchange and I hadn't made him mad. He was the only Romney supporter I remember talking with all day. I figure I talked with more Huckabee supporters by a margin of two to one over any other candidate.
I don't share this to embarrass this guy or show how smart I am. He's a nice guy and I'm not so smart. We talked about a lot of things through the day, we agreed on most. (His view on immigration was really interesting) The point is this; gun owners need to stand strong against those that would ban ANY guns. Today it's an "assault weapon", tomorrow it's a semi-auto shotgun and the day after that it's a Remington 870 pump. Before long we are defenseless as individuals and as a people. Taking the lethal guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens leaves us with no guns. If gun owners can't understand and defend our positions how do we expect non-gun owners to understand these nuances?
I sure we never have to fight off tyranny. But I sure want to be properly equipped if a gang of thugs wants to break down my front door in a home invasion. (a method that gangs are increasingly using) I can think of no better firearm in this situation than an AR type carbine with the proper ammo.
