Quote of the Day
@Emma_S_Brown @GabbyGiffords you need a new comms guy. We’ve broke this one and need a new plaything.
BadGunControlTakes @guncontroltakes
Posted on X August 20, 2026
It is entertaining to see them squirm and indirectly admit they don’t just want “common sense gun laws”, but total bans. All the while seeing their legal framework, their life’s work in some cases, collapsing like a house of cards.
I am thinking there are probably more productive things to do. Sure, entertainment and a high moral are important. But don’t get stuck on it. Certainly, a case can be made to take people to the range and to get friendly legislators and executive branch politicians into office.
Other areas of potential value include getting good media coverage of the shooting sports. Kid’s programs, Boy/Girl Scout shooting events, local shooter participating in regional, national and international events, etc.
And, my pet peeve: Not enough community outreach by gun clubs.
The one I used to be affiliated with (I moved three states away and joined another one, but still went back annually to instruct at the event) used to do an annual “Ladies’ Day at the Gun Range” event; frequently, over 400 women participated (the peak, IIRC, was 482). COVID killed it, and there’s been strange reluctance to restarting it. Guests attended a 30 minute safety class before going to the ranges, each of the competition disciplines were represented, scaled down for beginners, and we added a “Basic Handgun” section to introduce the guests to handgun skills, and a “Legal Handgun Defense” section run by the club’s lawyer. It, admittedly, was a huge effort, requiring about 130 volunteers each year and a LOT of planning (I spent months recruiting volunteer handgun instructors from the surrounding clubs; you’ve even posted a QOTD from one of them).
Club members and instructors volunteered their own guns for the guests to use, the club purchased quite a lot of ammunition and offered on-site advertising to local gun shops who donated ammo.
The (much smaller) club I belong to now did a much smaller, more limited community event last spring, got over 150 attendees.
I’ve suggested clubs do a quarterly event, rotating through the shooting disciplines and sizing it to be manageable with a smaller number of volunteers, and not monopolizing all of the club’s resources. Making it a regular event allows potential guests to track it on a calendar, and there’s an opportunity for a club with the right “PR skilled” members to – carefully – engage the media.
There’s more interest in guns and shooting among the public than many realize, and bringing more of the general public into the fold does more than just introduce them to shooting – it provides an opportunity for them to learn how guns really work, how they actually fit in our society, and they’re always quite surprised to learn about the myriad government restrictions on purchase, ownership, and use of guns.