As a collective firearms community the DTOM/Shall Not be Infringed/hunting/fudd/LARPers/etc groups are far too eager to eat their own. Each group has their baby that is dear to them and only when their baby is called ugly does their neck hair bristle.
"I thought bumpstocks were stupid anyway"
"Well they were asking for for it by skirting the law with those braces, they should just pay the $200 for an SBR"
"No body needs a lightning link anyway"
"Who the hell needs 30 rds to hit anything anyway"
and my favorite when any gun control measure was introduced "You knew that was coming". So very helpful.
Comments like these only serve to fracture and divide the firearms community. Trying to stop infringements such as the NFA and GCA are in vain because the each group is too busy saying, "at least it's not MY baby!" or other such nonsense.
If we don't align that every infringement is actually an infringement, then as a community, there will seldom if ever be enough support to:
- elect officials that support a collective 2A positive stance
- fund and support lawsuits and political actions to repeal the NFA and get case precedents against the current and past ATF shenanigans
Remember that huge spike in crime that has happened every since pistol braces were introduced? Neither do I. Getting looped into an argument about whether a firearm fits a certain definition is at the very core an infringement. Why should anyone have to pay $200 so that their disabled family member can possess a firearm which he can handle with confidence and precision or that a woman who can have a lighter centerfire firearm to defender herself with? The NFA has long passed it's usefulness and the ATF is making it their business to reinterpret the laws, which is NOT the purview of the executive branch of government.
Posting "do not comply" and other such battle yells on the interwebs while a rallying cry, will do nothing. Write your congress critters and reps to support and/or propose bills which will move the needle back in the direction of pro-2A. FPC and GOA both have draft letters which you can edit and send to your reps. Do not use profanity or name calling, simply use that opportunity, please. This fight doesn't end here and if we don't support each other, it won't be long until they call your baby ugly.