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"So what do you think we should do? Is it hopeless, should we just turn 'em all in?

I'm hearing a lot of what we shouldn't be doing, but no real suggestions for maintaining our rights. Suggestions?"

From an earlier message, it appears that you are relatively new to firearms. Welcome to the shooting fraternity.

As for suggestions, yes, I have some, and they all involve education. We must educate the public about the need for an armed citizenry. I know that sounds like something that has been going on, but it hasn't, really.

In the past few years, we've heard a lot of rhetoric, but that's not education. On one side, we have a bunch of fraidy cats whining about criminals with "assault weapons." On the other, we have a group of folks who keep saying "out of my cold, dead hands."

In the middle, it's been pretty silent. Yes, there are those who would like to disarm the population, but they're a small minority. There are also those who think that they should be able to own any weapons they desire. They are dismissed by most as nutjobs.

The NRA and GOA and other organizations should be leading this educational process. Sadly, however, they are either too badly organized or dominated by the second group I mentioned to be effective in this education process.

Bottom line is that the education process is failing and the anti-firearms folks are winning. Talk of armed insurrection is worthless. It isn't going to happen, and polarizes the issue even further.

People are afraid of firearms, generally. They don't understand them. They see them being used by criminals, and incidents like Columbine get huge media coverage, even though such situations are rare.

Reasonable voices are shouted down by both extremes. So...what we end up with is what the frightened public wants...no guns at all.

It's a difficult job. Personally, I take every opportunity I can to discuss the issue rationally with people who don't own firearms and who are frightened of them. I've introduced dozens to the shooting sports. I try to tell them that we do need to be armed, for our own protection and to defend ourselves from our enemies. It's a fairly easy sell, really, but you have to do it in a way that doesn't scare folks.

What I do with an interested person who has no firearms experience is take them to my backyard range and let them pop bottle caps with a Crosman pump-up .177 pellet rifle. It's purely a skill thing, and it's amazing how quickly they get excited by hitting the target. No noise. No mess. Just fun.

If they want more, I take them to the local range and have them shoot with a .22 rifle. A little more report, but still a lot of fun. After that, I introduce them to shotguns, using a 20-ga. shotgun and hand-thrown clay birds. You get the idea.

If they're interested in pistol shooting, I can introduce them to that as well.

This all gives me an opportunity to talk about our American traditions of firearms ownership and how it created this nation. By starting slowly and in a non-intimidating way, I make converts who will vote against gun grabbing.

That's my idea. It works on a small scale, with the people I've introduced to firearms. It will work on a larger scale as well, but it takes some time.

"That's my idea. It works on a small scale, with the people I've introduced to firearms. It will work on a larger scale as well, but it takes some time."

Each one, teach one, right? Thanks for your nice reply. We do need to work on this as individuals. I also think we need to keep beating back the "no-rights" crowd on a national level.

I'm a total absolutist when it comes to my second amendment rights, but I tone it down when trying to convince others who might not be so sure. It's just that here on FR, we absolutists tend to be a little less tolerant of the compromisers, because we feel we've heard enough of that lib spew on the media, and we just don't feel like being "nice" about the further erosion of our liberties, and those who say, "What's the big deal?" when the latest and greatest gun control edict comes down from on high.

Myself, I'm a little weary of explaining why I need a machine gun/assault weapon/short barreled rifle/scary-looking gun. You'd think we should all be past that by now.