By Nick Massal S.C.O.P.E. President

What can we/I do? This is a question I have asked myself quite a few times – the immediate answer is nothing. First, we didn’t get to this point overnight – it has been a work in progress by those who wish to take away our rights and establish control. I could go into the biblical explanation that you should have known this was coming, the Bible explains it, and we cannot stop it. That doesn’t mean we roll over and play dead and let them win. It may be happening, but it doesn’t mean we have to let it happen – the exact timetable is not given and we are told to resist evil.

As I said, we didn’t get this way over night and we are not going to get things back to the way they should be over night. They knew “we” would not stand for a mass change and a big grab all at once – too obvious and massive resistance immediately – revolt. As it was explained to me years ago, if you have a large chub of bologna and someone steals a large chunk of it, you will notice it right away and go after the thief to try to recover your loss. BUT – if the thief comes and takes a very thin slice now, a thin slice later and another later on, you will not notice until much later and by then there may not be much you can do except preserve what you have left – this is our present predicament.

Can we get all of our rights back? Possibly, but it IS highly unlikely. We can get most of them back. It is possible that we get all of them. We need to work at it and we will have to do it incrementally. The (UN) SAFE Act was one of those big chunks they took in the dark of the night (literally) and having activist judges in place helped them ensure the law stayed on the books. Now we need to continue to chip away at the statute. It will be a slow process. The best way is through the ‘E’ in S.C.O.P.E. We must educate politicians, the public, and the news media.

We have all heard about taking a liberal shooting to educate him or her on firearms and the fun of shooting. My advice: Do It. Also take your local politicians and judges shooting – some chapters have already done so with great success. Some of us have politicians and judges that are already pro-gun. Take them anyways and have some good conversation about the possible solutions you each might have. You never know where this may take us!

Know any reporters? Invite them to go shooting. Like anyone else you would take out shooting, teach them safety in shooting, proper techniques, and good shooting etiquette. Answer their questions and be honest.

Even if you don’t know (but know of) a reporter, contact your local newspaper, radio station or TV station and see if you can contact one of them. It doesn’t necessarily have to be for an article, but it may lead to one. If you can get several to come at one time and need assistance in teaching them the basics, get a qualified instructor to assist you and make a day of it at your local shooting range.

Above all, be courteous and exercise great care, especially on the range with live ammunition. The last thing we need is some sort of accident on the range while trying to show liberals the fun and quality of the shooting sports. We are trying to inform and educate – win them over if possible. If nothing else, they will see we are the responsible citizens that we have always been, fighting for our rights including gun rights and due process.