By Tom Reynolds, S.C.O.P.E. Treasurer and Board Member

     SCOPE’s (and all 2A organizations’) biggest challenge is getting gun owners to vote. Like most people, gun owners won’t react until a crisis hits them like a 2 by 4 over the head. Unfortunately, that crisis is easily predictable based on the previous actions of far-left liberals; once they gain control of the government, they become the government, and they never stop going for more. There is no such thing as “Common sense gun control” to the left, short of total gun confiscation.

     At one time, the “Numbers Racket” was illegal in New York. Never letting a chance to make more money pass them by, politicians drove the “Numbers Racket” out of business by replacing it with LOTTO. At that time, there was a heated debate against the government encouraging gambling. But once their toe-was-in-the-door, gambling became perfectly fine–as long as the government profits. They then moved to licensing casinos. Sports betting followed.

     Whether you are pro- or anti -abortion, the toe-in-the-door syndrome should be evident. When the Supreme Court made abortion legal, they limited it to the time before viability of the unborn baby. Thanks to technological advances, viability is moving closer to conception. But abortion proponents, on the left, are pushing abortion well beyond viability and even proposing murdering the baby after it is born.

     Some on the left are now questioning the value of providing medical care to the aged, something that was unspeakable only ten years ago. Remember the debate over “Death Panels” under Obamacare? It was the toe-in-the-door moment for bureaucrats to eventually decide if you live or die. Will we soon be seeing an organization called “Planned Aging”?

     Anyone want to bet against prostitution becoming legal, as long as the far left can tax it to fund their “free stuff”?

     The important point in all of these is how quickly the left has taken these issues from never publicly spoken of to actual legislative proposals.

     The SAFE Act of 2013 was the toe-in-the-door moment for gun control. It’s been the proverbial slippery slop ever since and the slippery slope just got worse after the 2018 elections.

     Many hunters who only own a shotgun or a rifle have sat quietly on the sideline before and after the SAFE Act was passed. Now that the leftist New York City liberals completely control the New York Government, they are passing multiple additions to the SAFE Act. Will these provoke hunters to some action?

     Thought you were safe from the government by only owning a shotgun? Now the left wants you to get a $1 million liability insurance policy. You will also need to safe store it instead of hanging it on the wall. Failure to do so will result in gun confiscation, fines and imprisonment. How is that for a 2 by 4?

     Want to take someone out hunting for the first time but they don’t have a shotgun? If you let them borrow one of yours, you will need to be next to them at all times. If you should split up, you just broke the law!

     Do you keep a gun for protection? You’ll have to have it “safely stored”. So, if someone is threatening you or your family, simply ask for a time out while you search for your key, unlock the gun, find your bullets and load the gun.

     New York State Assembly Members, based primarily in New York City, are trying to make it unlawful for anyone to hold contests or competitions involving hunting or fishing wildlife. No firearms raffles either.

     On the federal level, the left wants to add semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to the to the national Firearms Act of 1986. These would all have to be registered or else possessing them would be a federal violation.

     Unless gun owners begin to exert themselves - by voting - gun owners will have to be added to the Endangered Species List in order to survive.

     We must get gun owners off their butts and into the voting booth. SCOPE chapters and individual members must not only continue to be active but increase their activity in politics at the local level and like-minded organizations. The left is the enemy of gun owners and, quite frankly, Republicans have been less than pro-active in defending us and many of them need to be replaced.