"Things that are at the Forbidden stage: interstate sale of handguns, noncompliance with the NFA"
I find this to be a curious thing recently. Whenever there's talk of some new restriction, it is perfectly acceptable in gun spaces (especially online), to beat one's chest and talk openly of non-compliance and what is effectively stating an intention to break the law.
However, there seems to be a certain amount of reverence for existing law. Past the well-worn argument of "enforce existing laws" as a bulwark against further gun control, many of these spaces (again, especially online), can get very touchy about even talk of disobeying the law. This is especially acute with the NFA. "Concealed is concealed," a tacit encouragement to break concealed carry laws is pretty commonly tolerated, but oh boy, if someone posts a photo of some NFA-looking goody and there's any hint that it may not have proper paperwork, the responses go from "hide your dog" to content deletion. One of the fastest ways to get kicked from a gun board is openly posting how-to information on full-auto conversion.
I see the need for a pivot in gun rights. For a while the acceptance push, as seen by open carry protests, appeared to be modeled on the LGBT movement's use of "Pride" and the "we're here, we're queer, get used to it" strategy. "Yeah, I got this gun here and I don't care if it disgusts or scares the crap out of you, in fact I relish it." Didn't really have the same effect. So now the pivot needs to be towards the path of marijuana. Before legalization became a thing, just about everyone at least knew someone who was about as open about smoking weed as the circumstances allowed. There was an entire industry of wink-wink, nudge-nudge related to it, from clothing that screamed "I smoke dope!" to stores that sold paraphernalia euphemistically. Only the real stuffy types (and government employees) gave a damn about it.
That's where I think this needs to go: Complete and utter contempt for gun laws. Not just "I won't comply" but allowance, and even celebration at noncompliance instances. The world needs more JStarks and Philip Lutys, and they should not be silenced or dissuaded, especially by their ostensible allies.
"Things that are at the Forbidden stage: interstate sale of handguns, noncompliance with the NFA"
I find this to be a curious thing recently. Whenever there's talk of some new restriction, it is perfectly acceptable in gun spaces (especially online), to beat one's chest and talk openly of non-compliance and what is effectively stating an intention to break the law.
However, there seems to be a certain amount of reverence for existing law. Past the well-worn argument of "enforce existing laws" as a bulwark against further gun control, many of these spaces (again, especially online), can get very touchy about even talk of disobeying the law. This is especially acute with the NFA. "Concealed is concealed," a tacit encouragement to break concealed carry laws is pretty commonly tolerated, but oh boy, if someone posts a photo of some NFA-looking goody and there's any hint that it may not have proper paperwork, the responses go from "hide your dog" to content deletion. One of the fastest ways to get kicked from a gun board is openly posting how-to information on full-auto conversion.
I see the need for a pivot in gun rights. For a while the acceptance push, as seen by open carry protests, appeared to be modeled on the LGBT movement's use of "Pride" and the "we're here, we're queer, get used to it" strategy. "Yeah, I got this gun here and I don't care if it disgusts or scares the crap out of you, in fact I relish it." Didn't really have the same effect. So now the pivot needs to be towards the path of marijuana. Before legalization became a thing, just about everyone at least knew someone who was about as open about smoking weed as the circumstances allowed. There was an entire industry of wink-wink, nudge-nudge related to it, from clothing that screamed "I smoke dope!" to stores that sold paraphernalia euphemistically. Only the real stuffy types (and government employees) gave a damn about it.
That's where I think this needs to go: Complete and utter contempt for gun laws. Not just "I won't comply" but allowance, and even celebration at noncompliance instances. The world needs more JStarks and Philip Lutys, and they should not be silenced or dissuaded, especially by their ostensible allies.