Our Biggest Problem: Anti-gun Gun Owners

By Gerard Valentino

The District of Columbia v. Heller case was argued before the United States Supreme Court just a few days ago. If the arguments were indicative of the final ruling, gun owners are in for the victory of our lifetime – or any lifetime. It will take months for the ruling to come down and as usual, different factions of gun owners are hoping for different outcomes.

Self-defense advocates and those who believe the 2nd Amendment affirms the right to carry a gun at all times for protection are hoping for a broad ruling that strikes down all restrictive gun bans.

There is another large faction of gun owners, however, who don’t really care whether the D.C gun ban is upheld. They are the type who live with their head in the sand and refuse to acknowledge they are part of the problem. Instead, they are either only interested in owning a gun for hunting, or only want a gun for home defense and don’t see a need to go through life armed.

While gun owners who believe in the right to bear arms for self-defense accept the right of hunters and other factions of gun owners to hold their beliefs, the opposite isn’t always the case. A visit to a recent hunting trade show exposed many of the hunting gun owners for being as agreeable to the confiscation of handguns, or ban on their ownership, as anyone from the anti-gun Brady gang.

Surely there are more hunters who are absolutists on the Second Amendment than there are those who don’t see government bans on handguns as an infringement on the right to bear arms. However, the latter group does damage to the pro-gun movement out of all proportion to their population.

It was the anti-gun hunting coalition who John Kerry tried to appeal to by scheduling his fake goose hunting trip in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election. Unfortunately, there are plenty of gun owners who fell for Kerry’s grandstanding and they gladly cast their vote in full knowledge of his past schemes to ban certain guns.

When the anti-gun establishment media can find one of the anti-gun gun owners it gives credence to the argument that there is such a thing as reasonable gun control. While most pro-gun advocates, which include the vast majority of hunters, know that gun control schemers won’t be happy until all guns are confiscated, the gullible among us who are willing to sacrifice someone else’s guns to protect there own are deluded into thinking their sports are safe.

Nothing can be further from the truth, however, since the anti-gunners want all our guns. But, much like there are traitors in every group and those willing to throw their brethren under the bus to protect their own interests, such is the case with gun owners as well.

It is unfortunate that the anti-gun establishment media can use our own disagreements against us but they will stop at nothing to see their ultimate goal of total gun confiscation through to the bitter end. That means eventually they will come for the simple hunting shotgun and hunting rifle just as sure as they will come for the supposedly more evil assault rifle or handgun.

Even the establishment media’s decision on what to call certain types of guns plays into their plan to divide gun owners and then conqueror us. Guns labeled Saturday night specials, assault weapons, or guns banned by their inexpensive cost are all spun as reasonable gun control and accepted by many gun owners.

In a move devoid of integrity or honesty, the anti-gun schemers decided to hide their gun confiscation plans behind the name of a pro-gun organization. The American Hunter’s and Shooter’s Association was created by a misguided cast of anti-gunners who knew if they hid their true intentions , and claimed to be a pro-gun group that favored reasonable gun control, they could help trick the establishment media.

The AHSA, however, failed in one critical area, they didn’t hide their true intent well enough and were caught by the pro-gun movement. Establishment media reporters were the first to fall for the AHSA con, and it was successful for the anti-gun movement since they were able to sell their group as pro-gun. Organizations like Buckeye Firearms Association weren’t fooled and called the AHSA exactly what it is, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Due to their willingness to use deception to fool gun owners into thinking the AHSA was a pro-gun organization, the anti-gunners were able to make headway. What was also disturbing is that there were a fair number of gun owners who believed AHSA’s rhetoric about reasonable gun control. The fact is, reasonable gun control is a myth and only used to get the camel’s nose under the tent.
It is a sad state of affairs that some gun owners, whether hunters, collectors or self-defense advocates are willing to allow restriction on the ownership of guns that aren’t used in their particular sport or hobby. To turn on each other when the going gets tough is what the anti-gun con men want gun owners to do since when unified, pro-gun advocates are an unstoppable political force. The power of our vote is the second greatest asset the gun movement possesses.

The first is often overlooked but is vitally important to our interests – the integrity shown by gun owners in fighting for our rights. Unlike the hysterical ravings of our anti-gun opponents, we stand on principle, have the knowledge that we’re right and can’t be shaken from our purpose.

Now it’s time to unify completely as we stand on the cusp of what will hopefully be the beginning of our golden age. When (if) the Heller decision reaffirms the Second Amendment as an individual right and strikes down the Washington D.C. gun ban, we can hopefully build on that and find ways to defeat a similar ban in my hometown of Chicago, get the San Francisco bans repealed and return the right of self-defense to millions of Americans.
We must do so together; otherwise, the anti-gun forces will exploit the breach.

Gerard Valentino is the Buckeye Firearms Association Central Ohio Chair, writes for the ValentinoChronicle.com and teaches the Ohio Concealed Carry class through Center Mass LTD.