United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Second Amendment supporters will have a lot of work to do in the 2022 midterms. All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives are up for grabs, along with 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate. Lots of gubernatorial races, not to mention state legislative races, will also be up for grabs.
All of those races are important, but there will also be a lot of local races as well, and Second Amendment supporters need to make the right calls there. They may not make laws, but the decisions they make can have a massive impact on the political landscape and climate Second Amendment supporters face in their area.
For instance, take your local prosecutor. The position may have the title of district attorney, state’s attorney, or commonwealth’s attorney, depending on your locale, but this is the person who often sets the tone for how prosecutors handle crime – or a self-defense shooting.
The county sheriff is another key player, they will often set the tone for law enforcement in most counties in the country. If you are in a city, then your local mayor and city council will probably be the ones who appoint a police chief.
So, what should you ask a local candidate? It depends on which office they are running for. Let’s start with the top prosecutor:
- Do you believe the Second Amendment protects our right to keep and bear arms?
- Do you believe that self-defense is a right?
- Will you use sentencing enhancements for the misuse of firearms in violent crimes?
- Will you apply pressure to United States Attorneys to enforce provisions of 18 USC 922 and 18 USC 924 against violent criminals?
The last two questions may generate some controversy, but high rates of violent crime have been used to justify unjust infringements in the past. Second Amendment supporters can either present their fellow Americans with ways to deal with the misuse of firearms, or they can let Bloomberg stooges have that field.
Here are some for candidates for sheriff:
- Do you believe the Second Amendment protects our right to keep and bear arms?
- Do you believe self-defense is a right?
- Are those who exercise their Second Amendment rights to blame for violent crime?
- How do you plan to prevent and/mitigate shootings at schools in this county?
- Would you train teachers who wish to carry firearms to protect their students?
- Will you apply pressure to United States Attorneys to enforce provisions of 18 USC 922 and 18 USC 924 against violent criminals?
And this list is for your mayor and/or city/county council and other local offices:
- Do you believe the Second Amendment protects our right to keep and bear arms?
- Do you believe self-defense is a right?
- Are those who exercise their Second Amendment rights to blame for violent crime?
- Will you make respect for Second Amendment rights a requirement for hiring police chiefs and senior officials?
- Will you repeal local ordinances that infringe on Second Amendment rights?
- Will you insist that any police chief embrace programs like Project Exile?
- Will you apply pressure to United States Attorneys to enforce provisions of 18 USC 922 and 18 USC 924 against violent criminals?
Now, these questions are not all-inclusive – there may be local conditions that warrant different questions. But when Second Amendment supporters ask the right questions, they have a very good chance of defending our Second Amendment rights, and defeating anti-Second Amendment extremists via the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.