By the time you read this there’s a high chance the federal election will be all over. There are any number of people who make predictions about elections and I won’t try to join their ranks but, at the risk of telling you how to suck eggs, I’ll make a few observations about politics and firearms.
Firstly, just because you leave politics alone doesn’t mean politics will leave you alone. Politicians will take action if they think it’s in their interests to do so and there are no consequences for them politically. One of our goals is to make them understand there are electoral consequences when they attack law-abiding firearm owners.
Secondly, almost all regulation regarding firearms takes place at state level and are made by state ministers and parliaments, so it’s super important to pay attention to and be involved in state elections. That doesn’t mean we ignore federal elections but it does mean most of our focus will be at state level.
Thirdly, the SSAA can’t have a political effect if you, the members, don’t become involved. I’ll address the issue of how to be politically effective in future editions, but the bottom line is numbers count. And that’s not just the SSAA saying we have numbers, it’s about members writing emails, signing petitions, having conversations with friends and families and other shooters. From time to time we’ll ask you to take action and the more members who do, the more effective we’ll be.
Tom Kenyon, CEO