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.”

The Iowa Controversy

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, January 15) The Iowa Legislature started their brief 2010 election year session last Monday and fortunately, as of Friday, January 15th, NRA had still not filed their concealed carry reform bill.  The NRA proposal first surfaced last November as a revolting collection of sloppily worded amendments to Iowa’s atrocious weapons laws. Thanks to the efforts of rights groups, including The Firearms Coalition and GunVoter.org, NRA made several revisions, improving their first proposal, yet still falling far short of a good bill.  NRA’s current offering could be a barely tolerable fallback, assuming a good bill wasn’t possible, but the current political situation argues for stronger demands.  While the latest version has a number of very good provisions, it also contains things that simply shouldn’t be there.  It boils down to something simple: how much poo should Iowa GunVoters eat?