National Poll: Poll: What Argument Do You Use To Persuade Middle 20% Of Legislators To Support Gun Rights?

[Andy54Hawken]

It can be disheartening , when , just about all one hears and sees on various media , is the extreme view of either side.
Often as well , the way folks present themselves can be off putting or destroy the message before its even sent out there.

Those folks who wore vaginas hats , may have been in the minority , but were , almost all that were seen at various protests and such...
The same goes for a 2nd Amendment Rally...the people the media will focus on , will be those that fit the media stereotype.

Yes I know that I wear silly clothes , when attending a rendezvous and putting on a firearm display...I have even been in newspapers and on TV wearing the same...But at other times and places , when giving a talk or display , its a clean flannel shirt and slightly faded jeans.

How we present ourselves can radically affect , how or even if our message is received.
Also how we present ourselves , can be seen as how all gun owners act and think.

Just finding someone from the other side of the fence , who is actually willing to listen and discuss ideas is tough enough...
No sense wrecking it , with a bad approach , before anything even begins.

As for myself and "Compromise" ...The last time I checked , compromise is when both sides of an issue give up something to meet in the middle.
Not one side being asked or told to give up everything , one piece at a time.
Not to forget to mention the millions of law abiding gun owners that are lumped into numbers and "facts" , that include criminals and lies.

Its difficult to persuade someone from the middle , when the other side stacks the deck , so high in their favor...
What's even more difficult is when the approach used by you to get your ideas across is the wrong one.
Don't limit yourself with how you communicate your ideas.
Andy

 

[DB is Here]

I've only met a few Politicians and of those fewer had "no opinion"

 

[dancinghippos]

Politicians care most about their re-election. You need to flood their inboxes, letterboxes and phone lines with enough to convince them they have awakened a "sleeping giant". But you must be polite, not an angry lunatic. Make a crowd.
It is best if you can destroy the "popular" arguments FOR gun control. Those arguments are what the other side are using. If you can make the argument look silly, middle of the road types will likely no longer use or believe it.

For example, they point to the Parkland shooting as "proof" we need gun bans. You can remind them that Niklaus Cruz was known to everybody as a violent crazy, and the cops had been called on him over 40 times. The county sheriff implemented a policy to NOT arrest kids like that, instead sent him to "counseling". Even after he posted on social media that he wants to grow up to be a school shooter. Thus, with no arrests, Cruz passed his background check to buy the murder weapon.

You can remind them that the cops outside with guns stayed outside while people were being murdered. The deputy who took heat for failing to enter even knew he was there and had been warned he was trouble. Yet he remained outside. Why should citizens not be armed again?

Remind them that the first thing the county Sheriff did was run to the CNN cameras to blame the NRA and divert attention from his own inept management of his department. The Party wants us to give up our own means of protection and rely on people like that for our protection? Why?

Where the mass-shooting stories make headlines, the Washington Post (a favorite of the left) says there have been 1135 mass-shooting homicide victims in the US since 1966. To compare, that is less than 2 years of homicides in any major city like Chicago.

Speaking of big cities: Street cops have their own national organizations, who poll their members on hot topics. Almost all the street cops say gun and big-magazine bans have zero effect on crime. Here are three links you can go to that report on what street cops IN LARGE NUMBERS (not 30) think about gun control. Read them and quote from them. You can even encourage the legislator you are writing/calling to speak with street cops, not agency chiefs, STREET COPS.

https://www.quora.com/What-do-polic...ement-professionals-think-of-gun-control-laws

What do police officers think about gun control: National survey by PoliceOne tells all (Joe's Outdoor Office)

Police Gun Control Survey: Are legally-armed citizens the best solution to gun violence?

 

[dancinghippos]

When seconds count, the police we are told to depend on are 10-20 minutes away. They can be there in time to write a report.

 

[No_Regerts]

We had that idea at LGC and asked.Word is some legislators would maybe go for it. It would have to be very well supervised and without potential political blowback. Low key and fun, ideally.
Not overtly political, just "guns are fun...and safe"

You doing something like that with your muskets would be even better!

But do it from high rate of fire on down to muskets. This way they can somewhat realize how difficult things get as you're forced to slow down.

 

[No_Regerts]

Democrats claim to be for protecting minorities. Explain to them how gun control hurts minorities in every era. Are you Jewish? "I am afraid for my children because there is so much anti-Semitism". African American? Same. LGBT? Same.

Human history is clear: Any member of any group has at one time or another in the last century been persecuted. Tell them how guns even the odds between bigots and their intended victims. Nobody is as motivated to protect YOU as you are. There are plenty of stories. Find and use them. Make sure they are true.

Find any reason to oppose gun control. Then hammer them. IT IS THE FLOOD OF MAIL THAT MAKES THEM VOTE YOUR WAY. It is the quality of the mail that gives them an excuse to vote your way. The noise you make wins, the facts let them accept your arguments.

Get everyone you know to participate. Help your 90-year old grandmother.

The Rapper/Actor Ice-T did a documentary of the importance if the 2A and how gun control disproportionately effects minorities. It was on Amazon Prime.

 

[bbbass]

I would use this:

 

[dancinghippos]

The Rapper/Actor Ice-T did a documentary of the importance if the 2A and how gun control disproportionately effects minorities. It was on Amazon Prime.

Never heard that. Thanks for telling us. This is a link. Anyone who pays for Amazon Prime can get it free:

Amazon.com: Watch Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire | Prime Video

 

[Diamondback]

Regarding post # 5
It is rational , the trouble is people's varied definitions of :
Arms...
Militia...
Regulated...
Infringed...
And that pesky comma ...
Andy

You forgot "varied definition of 'the word IS,'" amigo... lol

 

[CHLChris]

You're all wrong. Rational arguments based on facts dont reach lefties. Facts and reason only speak to constitutionalists. You must use emotional arguments because that is the language of the left, of liberals. There is no hope for progressives, but liberals can be swayed.

Only with emotion, though. Start using facts and ration and their eyes will glaze over.

 

[SIG34]

Couch was tempting
"Shall NOT be Infringed"
Clearest Amendment... for a Reason!

 

[Zathras]

Facts do not work, because 'facts' are not universal. Look at Fake News, Alternative Facts, etc. The various sides on virtually any issue these days cannot agree on what the 'facts' are. You can cite whatever study you want, but the left will counter it with their own 'facts' from another 'study'. "Science" has been hijacked. Academia is in the left's pocket. All the funding for 'research' leans left.

The approach I've used, even with college-educated 'smart people' is:

"You march for adding entitlements (which you call rights, but are not) for people that aren't even American. You seek to find a potential victim status label for an ever-growing number of people. You seek to add more and more 'protected classes'. You protest the evil government, evil police, evil institutions, evil system keeping people down, etc.

Yet you want to at the same time march to have the same government, the same police force, the same institutions and the same evil system to assume full control over us all. You want them to bestow upon them the power to no longer honor the rights documented in the Constitution and exact control over law-abiding Americans. You want to march to suppress rights.

How do you resolve that conflict?"

Does it work? If they don't shout you down with 'every right is regulated... fire in a building... blah blah', as is the typical knee-jerk reaction they've been trained to say, then you have a chance. If they want to know more, in an easily-digestible powerpoint-style slide, I've given them this as a starting point and offer to answer questions they might have.

The Truth About Assault Weapons

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

The left doesn't deal in "facts." So I stopped trying to use them when writing letters. You've got to come down to their level or your argument will fly right over their heads. How can you use facts when they come in with the "if it only saves one life" drivel?

Usually I say something along the lines of:
How can you justify taking a person's ability to defend themselves? Think of the women that have used a firearm to defend from an abusive man. Think of the the children!!!!

Not sure how well that works.....

 

[nwslopoke]

I came into firearms just as things started to heat up and took note. Believing that history unfortunately repeats itself I invested in everything I wanted to the point of, slow down Turbo. Now I believe I only lack more training, ammo and activism.

So my style is to remind people they actually have a right to something not every one agrees with just as I have to respect other's rights which I don't agree with. But I am willing to let people experience for free what they don't understand. It gets expensive sometimes.

 

[alv7722]

In today's climate you need both arguments. I typically will mix legal/philosophical arguments with appeals to emotion and the listener's (hopefully) innate sense of justice and fairness. A close reading of the Constitution and statistics are well and good and should make up a good part of the package.

Then I follow with appeal to emotion, such as:
"I'm gay so I know what it's like to be a target of hate but now I conceal carry every day and I never feel like a potential victim. Armed queers don't get bashed! Now some people are trying to turn me into a helpless victim again and I'm fighting them every step of the way."

The second part usually resonates more with fair-minded & open minded people than just abstract arguments alone. Seeing a "nice" non-threatening gun guy argue the point in person in a friendly, reasonable, and personal way goes much farther than either eye-glazing statistics or in-your-face angry protests, I think.

What do you think you accomplish by denying me an important 'Civil Right'??? It is certainly not for safety. I have owned firearms for 65+ years, and none of my firearms has ever harmed anyone!!!

 

[alv7722]

Democrats claim to be for protecting minorities. Explain to them how gun control hurts minorities in every era. Are you Jewish? "I am afraid for my children because there is so much anti-Semitism". African American? Same. LGBT? Same.

Human history is clear: Any member of any group has at one time or another in the last century been persecuted. Tell them how guns even the odds between bigots and their intended victims. Nobody is as motivated to protect YOU as you are. There are plenty of stories. Find and use them. Make sure they are true.

Find any reason to oppose gun control. Then hammer them. IT IS THE FLOOD OF MAIL THAT MAKES THEM VOTE YOUR WAY. It is the quality of the mail that gives them an excuse to vote your way. The noise you make wins, the facts let them accept your arguments.

Get everyone you know to participate. Help your 90-year old grandmother.

The 'Democrat Party' has been taken over by Communists/Socialists. They want to get rid of the Bill of Rights in its entirety. The 2nd is the low hanging fruit, and is in the way of eliminating the rest of our rights.

 

[arakboss]

The 'Democrat Party' has been taken over by Communists/Socialists. They want to get rid of the Bill of Rights in its entirety. The 2nd is the low hanging fruit, and is in the way of eliminating the rest of our rights.

They have already gone after religion, cake baker case, kids wanting to pray before school, etc. Free speech, yep they have gone after that too. And on and on it goes.

Will owning firearms go against my social credit score? China's Orwellian Social Credit Score Isn't Real

How was this not a threat cruel and unusual punishment (8th A) where this Marine could have spent years in federal prison for having a cheek rest some arbitrary rule claims was a 1/4 inch too long? ATF Suffers Rare Court Loss in Ohio Unregistered 'Short Barrel Rifle' Prosecution - The Truth About Guns

Erpo laws would seem to violate 4th Amendment and likely the 15th A.

 

[po18guy]

"Which of the amendments is most important, more important than the others?" "Can you name an amendment which guarantees your favorite amendment?" "With the sheer amount of hate speech, authorized political lies and fake news, is it not more important to license and regulate the first amendment first?"

 

[dancinghippos]

Use all of the arguments. Make one per day. They have caller ID, so don't make the aide angry.
Emotional arguments look best coming out of victims. If you or someone close to you was victimized because she did not have a weapon, that makes a good argument. Factual provable logic look good any time. BE RIGHT and able to prove it. Take the time to compose a good argument, not a long ramble. Get everyone you know to do this too. You can provide the research and argument if you write well. Here is a sample:

Police on the street overwhelmingly support gun rights for citizens without police records. Police officers are considerably more likely than the general public to say it is more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns than it is to control gun ownership (74% of officers vs. 53% of the public). (Pew Social Trends, January 2017)

National Association of Chiefs of Police Survey polled 20,000 sheriffs and police officers. 76% say that armed citizens help law enforcement reduce violent crime. They are more pro-gun than the general public. I am not just citing some opinion I read somewhere. This links to the NACP results.
https://crimeresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/NACOP-surveyresults-2016.pdf

Rank-and file-police show even stronger support for private gun ownership. PoliceOne, an organization of about 380,000 active and 70,000 retired officers, surveyed 16,000 members on the gun control in 2013. 71% say a ban on so-called "assault weapons" would have no effect on violent crime. 20.5% say it would have a negative (worse) effect. Again, I am not quoting some hot air opinion. This is a link to their survey results. Read and see for yourself.
http://ddq74coujkv1i.cloudfront.net/p1_gunsurveysummary_2013.pdf

This links to a Quora topic on police and gun control

https://www.quora.com/What-do-polic...ement-professionals-think-of-gun-control-laws

 

[dancinghippos]

Dear legislator: Rank and file police officers across the country overwhelmingly believe that magazine bans and gun bans do not affect violent crime. The PoliceOne poll of 16000 officers shows that 71% say a ban does no good. 20.5% say it makes violent crime worse. This is a link to their survey results. It is an easy read.
http://ddq74coujkv1i.cloudfront.net/p1_gunsurveysummary_2013.pdf

If you still feel a restriction on magazine sizes and types of gun is effective, please add these words to your bill: The restrictions in this bill apply to all security personnel and sworn officers while they are on duty protecting any Oregon elected official. In other words, this must affect you too.