The Firearms Coalition

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Your Duty to Vote

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, April 29, 2010) I propose that the “firearms fraternity” begin placing as much emphasis on voting and voter education as we do on safety and safety education.

Unintentional firearms injuries and fatalities have dropped by some 60% over the past 20 years while the number of firearms in circulation has more than doubled.  These amazing results are not due to government programs, laws, or regulations.  They are a result of education and an almost universal acceptance of and insistence on adherence to the basic rules of firearms safety.  Gun owners not only practice firearms safety, they advocate for it and expect it from others, and they shun anyone who fails to abide by the rules.  The improving firearms safety record is a stellar example of positive peer pressure.  We in the firearms fraternity need to extend that success into the realm of voting.

Gun owners should see voting in every election, and having a general understanding of the candidates’ positions regarding rights, as a core obligation for themselves, their friends, and their family.  Those who do not vote – regardless of their excuse or rationalization – should be seen as letting down their brothers and sisters in arms.  They are failing in their obligation as citizens, and empowering the enemies of liberty.  In short, GunVoters need to look at gun owners who don’t vote with the same incredulity that they would look at a person who recklessly waves a gun around with a finger on the trigger.  Excuses like “My vote doesn’t matter” should be received with the same disdain shown when someone says “Hey, it isn’t loaded.”