Last November, we voted for politicians who said they were solid supporters of the Second Amendment and the civil liberties of American citizens.
It’s already going to be an uphill battle to get real gun control reform to President Trump’s desk. There are a couple of RINO Senators and certain Senators from North Carolina and Texas who sold us down the river in the last session.
We are already seeing some hesitation. Some House Republicans are blocking the movement of two bills to remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act. They are trying to do this by delaying the bills in committee, hoping to fly under the radar.
Citizens now own close to five million legally registered suppressors.
The favorite legal dodge in cases involving challenges to suppressor laws is holding that they are not firearms. This ignores the fact that Congress said they were firearms in 1934 and hasn’t yet changed its mind. It’s amazing how many courts ignore the very laws they are supposed to uphold.
Anyone who has looked into the driving forces behind the National Firearms Act knows the real target was handguns. That was a non-starter. Gangsters rarely purchased machine guns, and private citizens likely bought even fewer. A Thompson cost the equivalent of about $4,800 in today’s money, so outlaws mostly equipped themselves from National Guard and police armories.
Deprived of their real goal, Congress put together a laundry list of what they considered ‘gangster weapons’ and tossed them into the mix along with suppressors, though suppressors didn’t have a history of criminal use.
Hearing loss is not a political issue; suppressors can alleviate the damage caused when guns are fired without hearing protection. But we’re still being penalized for the false narrative and the Hollywood mythology about them.
We know from years of experience that a phone call from a constituent has more influence than an email and much more impact than those click-to-sign form letters and petitions. It also takes less time than writing and mailing a letter. Put another way, the effectiveness of your statements is proportional to the effort you put into them.
It’s easy: Think about what you want to say and make the call. Encourage others to do the same, especially other people you know in your district.
Be polite; you’ll be talking to a staffer.
If you do know your Representative or Senator, you can go to the House or Senate web pages and get all the contacts for their Washington and district offices.
Remember, your congresspersons work for you and, from time ot time, it’s important to remind them you’re watching.
About Bill Cawthon
Bill Cawthon first became a gun owner 55 years ago and has been an active advocate for Americans’ civil liberties for more than a decade. He is the information director for the Second Amendment Society of Texas.
