This is my fourth diary on Daily Kos. A big thanks to all who have made me feel very comfortable in the community. When I told people I, as a gun owner, was going to start a diary on a progressive blog, they were skeptical. But I knew from reading this blog that there were like-minded readers who didn’t take knee-jerk reactions to guns – on either side of the spectrum.
Since I founded the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), I’ve been asked repeatedly why I wanted to start a group that would compete with the National Rifle Association. A lot has to do with the NRA leaders, with their extreme positions, claiming to represent all gun owners. They feel that everyone should have unfettered access to guns -- which goes against the majority of all gun owners. But no one from the gun rights community has been willing to take them on. As a lifelong hunter and as someone who cares deeply about the environment, I’ve long felt that the NRA leadership has chosen the power of lobbying and politics over the needs of the hunting and shooting community.
I have a profound and deep respect for the Second Amendment. And, as I wrote last week, AHSA is filing an amicus brief based on our belief that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms. This stems from the challenge to the DC gun ban – the first Second Amendment case to reach the Supreme Court in almost 70 years.
I’ll put my hunting credentials up against those of NRA Executive VP Wayne LaPierre any day. I got my first gun (a .22 rifle) at age 10 and my first shotgun at 11. I still have both of them today. In addition to owning a 300-acre hunting preserve on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, I’ve hunted throughout the United States.
Now, I am on a quest to improve policies and programs for gun owners, especially of those of us who hunt and shoot and love the outdoors. I’ve had a long involvement with firearm policies. I was appointed by the Secretary of Army to assist in the transition of The Civilian Marksmanship Program to civilian control through a new private non-profit corporation. During the 90s, I served on Maryland Governor Parris Glendening’s committee on gun violence. I do think gun owners can have an important role in reducing gun violence. However, there are limits. I didn’t win any fans from the gun control advocates on that panel when I voted against their handgun licensing plan.
My wife doesn’t hunt. She doesn’t even like guns. In fact, she’s served on the board of various gun control groups, which has resulted in interesting conversations in our home. My two daughters do hunt and I know there are many female hunters and shooters. However, over the years, I’ve also learned that my family’s marital division on guns is not uncommon.
But again, I think that’s due to the negative image of guns that has been generated over the past several decades. The intransigence of the NRA leadership to engage in a discussion about making communities safer has had a detrimental effect on the hunting and shooting tradition.
It’s time to begin rebuilding respect for our hunting and shooting heritage, so I started AHSA. Over the last thirty years, our reputation has been tarnished by gun rights extremists. That negativity has to end so that our traditions don’t end. And that’s what I’ll be working on.
Thanks again for reading the posts.