The Incredible Disappearing Gun Owner

Well, the election hangover have cleared up, the pundits moved on to other issues and, once again, gunowners have simply disappeared from the media and public radar.

We disappeared quicker than usual this election cycle, because the media pundits were focused on Red State voters focused on gay marriage, moral issues, religion, etc. The fact that we gunowners and sportsmen turned out in unprecedented numbers and had a profound effect on the election, especially in swing states like Ohio and Florida, went largely unnoticed and unremarked upon, except in our own media and from a few sports columnists.

Well, you say, so what? We won. Big time. That is true, and I am certainly glad not to be strategizing about how to survive four years of a Kerry Presidency!

However, our quadrannaul disappearing act has some serious effects on what we're actually trying to accomplish. Because the election buzz was all around evangelicals, the morality vote, etc., politicians being politicians and all, I suspect they'll be a bit less beholden to us gun voters. I wonder if we can arrange to have Bubba Clinton do another interview in USA Today and claim Kerry lost Ohio, and the Presidency, because of us pesky gunowners? That'd help.

More importantly our lack of visibility in the media hurts us on numerous levels. Our sports receive no coverage, because, to the media, we don't exist. The Big Bad Gun Lobby exists, and its number is NRA. But what about the shooting sports, which are among the fastest growing sports in the country? What about the successful defensive use of guns? I could go on and on.

From a gunowner's standpoint, invisibility is a good thing. You still get invited to parties; your kids friends' parents don't turn you in to the local constabulary; everything is back the way it was.

That's too bad. The first time I talked to the media spinners from the Pink Pistols, the largest gay self-defense group, they made an interesting comment.

"If we had as many people as you guys, as large a percentage of the population, we'd be untouchable. Here's a free piece of advice: Out of the closets and into the streets!"

Invisibility = having to fight the same battles over and over again!