If Dead People Can Vote, What Is Stopping Gun Owners? by Tom Reynolds
19.4 million people live in NY State.
12.4 million New Yorkers are registered and active voters.
6.8 million New Yorkers voted in the 2020 election.
3.8 million New Yorkers voted for Biden in 2020.
3.6 million New Yorkers voted for Cuomo in 2018.
5.0 million New Yorkers own guns!
6 votes are the difference in a congressional race in Iowa, after a recount of 394,000 votes.
13 votes are the difference in the Tenney vs Brindisi race for the 22nd Congressional District in Upstate NY and a judge is currently reviewing ballots, including those of 3 dead people. (If dead people can vote, what is stopping gun owners?)
4.9 million people voted in Georgia and David Perdue led by 90 thousand votes but he lacked the 13 thousand more needed to reach 50% and avoid a January runoff election. (If he got 1 more vote for every 200 that he got, he would not have a runoff election on January.)
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest union in the entire USA with approximately 3 million members nationwide of which 431 thousand are in New York State. If 60% of the gun owners in New York would vote, we would be as large as the NEA is in the entire country and be the most powerful lobby, by far, in New York State. (Politicians would sell their 1st born for 3 million votes!)
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have promised to do away with 2nd Amendment rights. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already been trying that for years. Andrew Cuomo never met a gun control bill he didn’t like. These are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for 2nd Amendment rights; what further motivation do gun owners need?
Based on membership application responses, most SCOPE members are registered to vote. Do they actually vote…? Since they care enough to join SCOPE and probably joined other 2A organizations such as the NRA and NYSRPA, we’re “preaching to the choir” about voting. But those who are missing are the millions of gun owners who don’t vote. We need to focus on reaching those non-voters and getting them to register and vote. We’ve got two years until the next major election and now is the time to start.
At this point, most SCOPE members are saying “Yeah”… and delegating up to state SCOPE to do the work. It won’t work. To be successful in reaching the non-voting gun owner, this needs to be a combined effort of the SCOPE State Board, the chapters and individual members of SCOPE acting on their own or with the chapters and the state.
First, we need information. Information on proposed laws, information about the laws already enacted and information on the voting records of politicians. The more we know, the more we can arm ourselves and act (not react, we need to be on the offensive.) You don’t have to be a chapter officer or state board member to do this. All you need is a little time and a computer to research this on-line. It’s not complicated. And it gives meaning and a worthwhile cause to pursue.
But first you have to volunteer.
There is a lot more to do if we are going to reach the non-voting gun owner and we will be explaining this in the future, but this is the start - the foundation. When congressional elections are being decided by a handful of votes, it’s worth the effort.
