Sometimes everyone needs a good rant, and after the last few weeks I need a good one. After hearing Biden’s speech in New York and the recent antics of the ATF, it is clear that the administration is ready to double down on stupid. With plummeting poll numbers Biden and his ilk cannot seem to understand it is their own policies that cause the problem. Rather, they continue to push the same laws, the same talking points, and the same false rhetoric. Raiding companies, seizing records, targeting the Amish, along with announcing the soon to be published rulings on the two ATF proposals concerning new definitions, receivers, and braces indicates that the Federal Government is once again ignoring the will of the people and the Constitution.
We all knew that gun control stalled in the Senate. There won’t be a legislative way for the Left to do what it wants, so now the ATF and the DOJ are the tools to advance the Left’s desire to infringe on our gun rights. I am sick of it all! When I started working with my husband over a decade ago in his gunsmithing business, I knew the type of business we are in was under a lot of pressure and scrutiny. Running and managing any business is hard no matter what line of work you are in, but little did I know that my life and welfare were going to constantly be under threat from the elected officials who supposedly are there to serve me.
First, the constant push to ban certain items means that planning inventory is a crap shoot. Stability is not a word used in the gun business. Americans in general have not really suffered with supply chain issues until 2020, but those of us in the gun business understand it is a way of life. Price fluctuations, product availability, and shipping fulfillment are a constant challenge. Some evil idiot shoots up a school, the politicians open their mouths, and next thing you know .22lr is a dollar a round. Businesses are crying about supply chain issues now, but this is a way of the life for us in the ‘gun world.’
Along with the uncertainty of product and price, most companies do not have to worry about who will do business with them. Credit card processing, banking, social media, website hosting, and more will not do business with a company that sells, promotes, discusses, or sells anything gun related. The number of companies who will not work with you or who will limit your reach or what you can do, show, or discuss surprises many people, or worse they do not see it as a problem at all. This increases the cost of doing business as choices are limited. An example of this is Operation Choke Point under Obama which truly worsened the crush on small gun businesses. Bank of America, PayPal, Square, Facebook, Go Daddy, Ebay, and others are off the table. Even many elected officials did not know about the program at the time. It was a program that pressured financial institutions to end doing business that dealt in any way with firearms. A number of years ago, Dave Bratt was first elected to Congress. He actually came to small businesses in his district to ask what our concerns and needs were. I asked him about Operation Choke Point. I asked him why it was not okay for a bakery to refuse to bake a cake, but it was perfectly fine for legal gun businesses to be discriminated against with the sanction and encouragement of the Federal Government? He had no idea this was happening, and when he tried to stand up for the people, he was redistricted and later defeated by Abigail Spamberger with Bloomberg money and no help from RNC who did not like someone who stood for the people and not just the party. Now Biden openly encourages big tech companies to shut down gun businesses from using the internet to promote their legal and constitutionally protected activities.
While dealing with instability, limited financial choices, and few advertising options we also must contend with an agency that acts without legal authority deciding what we can and can’t sell, even if the products that were purchased legally can now be forcefully seized by government agents. Our choice is to comply and loose our rights and our livelihood or refuse and go to jail or have violence used as a threat of enforcement.
I am tired of it. I am tired of fighting years long battles in courts that even when we win the decision is ignored and the same parties continue to violate the Constitution with impunity. I am sick of the constant threat to my customers and my way of life. I am sick of having to keep myself from being demoralized while having to defend my God given rights to ignorant citizens and public servants who live by a different set of rules than the rest of us. I am sick of not knowing what the next autocrat is going to try to do, and if the ATF is coming after me or my family. I am sick of explaining stupid regulations and laws to customers that do nothing to stop crime. I am sick of the myriad of laws that vary from locality to locality and state to state which are onerous and confusing to the average gun owner, especially due to how convoluted and extensive, and different across the country. I am sick of waiting to see if the ATF will declare law abiding citizens as criminals with the stroke of a keyboard. I am sick of explaining why there is an ammo shortage, and how prices are going to remain high. I am sick of the lies. Citizens cannot live like this. The overreach of government is beyond what so many people even realize. When I asked Bratt how bad it was in D.C. he said it was worse than any of us could imagine.
So how does any of this change? Again, I asked Former Congressman Bratt, what will take out the corruption? His response was term limits, but that it would be a ‘cold day in hell’ before Congress would ever vote themselves term limits. Money is a means to power. That is why these Billionaire Leftists have so much control. It is why Republicans seem to do nothing when they have the opportunity, and the only way to get the money and influence out of Congress by getting rid of career politicians who like the ‘status quo’ and are willing to allow an unelected bureaucracy to run the show. So even after my rant, my frustration, and my exhaustion with the BS coming out of the ATF and the government, once again I have a glimmer of hope. This past week Nebraska voted for a Convention of the States. We are now halfway there to making this a reality. I firmly believe that this is our true hope at repairing the Republic; term limits, States rights, Balanced Budget, and a reaffirmation of our rights is what the Convention proposes. It is the only way to truly stop what has been happening to this nation. While elections matter, until we commit as a people to returning to the core values of the Republic no matter who we elect our fate will be in the hands of those people, companies, and countries who have the most to gain by dismantling our fundamental rights. The Second Amendment will only be protected when we put the power back to where it must be and that is with us. So, I will take a deep breath and remember that even though every day seems to be a new challenge in the gun business, there is still no place I would rather be, on the front lines continuing the fight no matter how long it takes.
Everyone Needs a Good Rant