I have a confession to make.  Maybe even some of you are with me on this.

I'm a gun owner.  Some of my friends might even go as far as to (affectionatley.. at least I think) call me a gun nut.  I believe in the protections the constitution gives us, and I beleve those protections are extremely threatened right now.  However..

Am I the only one that gets overwhelmed by all the bad news?  I mean, I find myself skipping over all the warning posts about what bad things are happening to our rights in parts of the US, just because it's too much for me to take most of the time.  I'm so much more comfortable just being happy that I live in GA where since I qualify for a CCW I can legally keep my loaded 92FS in my center console.  Every time I hear about things like NJ.. law abiding gun owners getting banned from their homes and businesses, the UN trying to disarm us...  It makes me ill.  I feel like I'm powerless to do anything about it and I just want to avoid it.

I'd like to say that I'm at least one of those SHTF guys, but I'm not.  I know it will never happen that way.  Evil doesn't come about by brute force any more, it's all subterfuge, and whittling away at our freedom.  And mostly by people who are just trying to be concerned citizens.. I mean, it's not really their fault they have their heads up their asses.  They've simply been lead to believe that nothing good can come of owning a firearm.


I could just go on and on about this, but I think I've pretty much summed it up.  Does anyone else feel the same way?

i know how you feel. its a lot to take and i hate to think about where wemight be by the time i can buy handguns. it really makes me sick. as far a SHTF preperations go, i do belive in them, but i thinkl its an outlet for all of us who feel powerless. it allows us to say(and mean it) " if it goes this far, i can fight back." but still i know it most likley wont happen like most SHTF theorys. it will more likley be a slow decline over a long time, leaving us with nothing to do, but i will be ready for SHTF just cause right now thats all i can do.

I used to. Then I killed my television and started getting all my news off the 'net.

Wonders haven't ceased yet, folks.

Want the best news to come out in a long time? Read this thread, it came out today!
[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=18430#lastPost[/url]

I'll agree with you on your SHTF theory.

The FED's wont knock on your door and grab your AR from your hands.  Rather, you'll wake up every few months and a piece of it will be gone until it slowly becomes empty space where a gun was years down the road.

Like you said, "whittled away" by anti-gun egalatarians to the point we all become defenseless, unarmed sheep.

Jewbroni~

I feel the same. In the meantime, I began stockpiling on ammo and buying all the guns I can. I know it will make no difference at the end, but at least it  gives me hope. I also vote accordingly to my Second Amendment. Let hope the Bush Admo. will  side with us (or at the very least not against us)

Somebody posted the following quote on AR-15.com a while ago and I felt it was so appropriate that I now put it on all of my email as a "signature".

I think the quote is very germane to your discussion about a slow whittling away of freedoms.

"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."
                                            -Daniel Webster


Just my 0.012365 (after taxes) worth.

Michigander in Maryland

(edited for formatting)

It is a lost cause. The socialists are winning the war through attrition. Too many are willing to "compromise" (in other words rationalized appeasement) and these ranks grow larger every year. For one form of government to last 225 years is admirable, but like all things is coming to an end.

I've said it once and I'll say it again.  Our "rights" will be won or lost in a courtroom.
I do hope I'm wrong.  IMO

No one can predict with any degree of confidence how the 'end' of our gun rights will occur, or whether it will even occur at all.

It might come with a 'bang' or with a 'whimper'.

Our duty, nevertheless, is eternal vigilance to guard against [b]any[/b] loss of freedom.

So buy whatever your heart desires in whatever quantity you think advisable.  To paraphrase Polonius from [i]Hamlet[/i] '...as costly thy arsenal as thy purse can afford.'

If you're wrong, you'll have a nice collection.
If you're right, you'll have all you need.

Eric The(Well-armed)Hun

Imbrog|io, I hate to single you out, and really did not mean to personally offend. However, apathy and concession of the point are not options. Furthermore, and IMO - each and everyone of us needs to be involved politically at this point. For the persons that are not - you are part of the problem. Membership in the NRA is not enough - call, write, email or better yet - visit with you representatives. Take a signed statement by the members of your gun club - let them know that you are informed, organized, and vote.

We are going to get the legislation that we work for. I hope that we are all willing to do our part.

I know how you feel....*sigh*

Being relatively new to guns, but a quick study, I've gone from 0 to 13 in the span of 3 years.  In that time, I have slowly become more aware of the problems around us, including the rights that we have already lost.  

Personally, I can say that 3 years ago, I had no idea that the ARs up on the shelf were not full auto.  I didn't know the whole deal behind limits on mag capacity.  I found that there were a number of things that I didn't know.  I thought we had more freedoms than we actually do.  But I have changed, and I hope to change others before it's too late.  I was raised not to talk religion or politics in public, but I have had to change that personal belief and tell those around me about these atrocities.

I personally have called up on SOME of the items, but not all.  The reason for this is that I live in the PRK, and getting DiFi or Boxer to change their votes will be impossible.  But I've worked on the education of those around me, those who know me to be a friendly nice man, to show them that guns are not to be feared any more than a pencil.

I do this because I feel that the day I stop, is the day we all lose.  We are not powerless, as we can spread the information as much as the socialists spread the disinformation.  Tell your friends, and take them to the range.  They might enjoy it, and take their friends, and so forth.  Somewhere down the line, you may have taken someone who took the future senator of New Jersey shooting, AND THEY LIKED IT!  

First off ive been feeling the same way and have asked people lately how i can help in my state(mi) and have received very little in the way of a specific response.(again from people locally) Dont lose hope and dont take the easy way out.Being a chairborn ranger wont help!Go to the gun shows and find out who your reps are and talk to them, find a shooting club you like and go for more than just shooting. Take a women, minority, child, or anti to the range!Invite discussions in public and with those you love.
Second (and heres when i get all emotional), Irvine, Hats off to you and your take on things!!!

If your rights arent worth fighting for, than you dont deserve them and you ARE going to lose them.And im not just talking about your gun rights!!!!!!!THATS A FACT JACK!!!!

I've been doing things like writting letters and trying to get people informed for close to 14 years now. The thing is PEOPLE DON'T GIVE A DAMN UNLESS IT WILL PERSONALLY AFFECT THEM. I remember all of the the crap of being called "crazy", "a kook", etc. (basically the same thing as the "tin foil hat" crap now) when I was trying to warn people that there WOULD be gun bans, the UN subverting U.S. sovereignty, and an increasing police state. Now people who only could find time to call me names are all of a sudden concerned about losing their guns and other rights. Well now you people are a day late and $10,000 short. I am just damned tired and frustrated and I don't ever see this cycle of ridicule then apathy then sudden concern ever ending. In the mean time the socialists just continue push forward.

Each one of us can do more for our rights if we introduce just one person to guns each month then we can any other way. Talking to representatives will work for a while but it will eventually fail. The politicians want to do whatever the general public wants them to do because that is how they stay in office. If we let Hollywood and HCI continue to blind people to the truth our support will diminish. If we do not actively convert people to our side we will one day wake up and find that there are only a few hundred thousand of us left. At this point it does not matter whether we fight till the death or not because there won't be enough of us to win the war.
I think a lot of people like to have a SHTF mentality because it allows them to say that one day they are going to stand up for their rights and fight to the death without ever actually making the commitment. It allows you to justify your inaction on things like the Brady Bill by saying that "one day I will fight for my rights". It allows you to pretend that you won't give an inch when you really give a mile every day. It allows you to blame your lack of guts to stand up and tell everyone why guns are good on the idea that there is some vast communist plot to take away your guns It also allows you to believe that the average person is a part of the plot instead of just an ignorant person that believes Feinstein because you don't have the guts to convince them otherwise. This is not a flame on people that believe this and it may not even be true. But this is often why I use the SHTF mentality, and is what I use to compensate for my lack of guts.

MIerinMD that is a nice quote.

Wow, a lot of good words here.  Everyone has a good point, even on the opposing sides.  As I said I don't think it's ever going to come down to SHTF but that doesn't mean I think it's a bad idea to prepare for it.  (Same reason why my 92 comes with me.. better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.)

I didn't think about it when I was originally posting, but I guess I have made a contribution by bringing several of my friends and aquaintances to the range.  Most really liked it.  Especially the MP5 they've got for rent. [heavy]

I also make it no secret at work what my opinions are.  (Sometimes that takes some bravery since technically I work for AOL Time Warner now.) I even have spent brass in several calibers sitting beneath my monitor.  (.444 Marlin, .50AE, .454 Casull) It helps that I'm not alone up there.

Still I don't feel like I'm doing enough.  Other than these things, which we should ALL be doing anyway, I really am the classic chairborn ranger.  If it's online and I can make it automatically send a letter to my reps, no problem.  Otherwise...  I just find myself either too busy or not knowing how to make a political difference.

I share your frustration. I truly believe it is only a matter of time before private gun ownership will become a thing of the past. How long until that happens? We are already headed there. The NRA has and is doing a good job of delaying this, but ultimately is fighting a losing battle. I have said this before, we are surrounded by idiots. Most of these idiots think that only the police and the military should have guns and it is a right they do not care about. They actually think that the second amendment is obsolete and the constitution should be revised. We are outnumbered and our youth are being dumbed down more with each passing generation. You are right, people only care about the things that affect them directly. Our country I hate to say is a majority of morons that are indifferent to our cause. Get all you can while you can. Get your cosmoline and water tight containers ready. When it comes, don't think your neighbor won't turn you in like a "good citizen" should. Governments love ignorant stupid people, we are a country of "love".

Wow, I didn't mean to pull anyone down into the pit of depression where I sometimes am.  My whole point in writing this was to vent some of my feelings and get some ideas of what more I can do, since I [b]don't[/b] think hope is lost.

As much as members here quarrel, I think once united under a [b]specific[/b] cause we band together like no other.  If you've written a letter to your reps about a specific issue, [b]post it here[/b] for lazy (or sometimes just really busy) bastards like me to copy pase edit and send.  Hope is NOT lost.  There IS good legislation happening out there.