United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- If we were still in an America where norms and standards had not been destroyed by certain people in this country, this piece would not be necessary. But recent events highlight a long-term trend that Second Amendment supporters cannot ignore, especially in an age where blacklisting in the name of so-called “social justice” has made a comeback.
In some ways, the fact the situation got this far represents a collective failure by the leadership of pro-Second Amendment groups. The warning signs existed as far back as 2008, in the Prop 8 aftermath, and things have gotten so bad that one venerable conservative outlet is now giving survival tips for conservatives in corporate America (those tips will also work for Second Amendment supporters in similar circumstances).
As much as we want people to heroically defend our rights, often such heroism comes with a price tag that is presented after one’s 15 minutes of fame are up. Many others, when faced with demands from those in power, will go along. The demands won’t necessarily come directly from the officeholders, but from a representative who can be understood to speak for them.
That being said, there are some things Second Amendment supporters can do to minimize their risks when defending our rights. Some of this is just plain common sense, and prudence is not a sign of being a “Fudd” or a sellout. When Antifa can show up on the doorstep of a U.S. Senator, the hard truth is that there is now risk coming with our advocacy.
First of all, to minimize the risk of ending up like former Norfolk PD officer William K. Kelly, DO NOT use your work email address for any fundraisers or political activities. Employers are very risk-averse, they ideally do not want any sort of bad publicity. If you have the proof you were on personal time and personal assets when you made a donation, you may be able to avoid the worst possible consequences, especially if you have been mindful of how you come across to your coworkers and supervisors.
Second, if you feel you need to be anonymous, have a throwaway email that doesn’t connect to your social media accounts like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram to your donations. Hopefully, sites like GiveSendGo will be strengthening their anti-hacking defenses in the future – but determined hackers will make breaches. Many free email options are out there, so you can build an extra layer of protection when you make that anonymous donation.
Third, build and maintain a reputation as a professional colleague who everyone can rely on and as the person anyone can turn to for help with anything that comes up. The more indispensable you make yourself to your company, the better your chances of surviving when a digital mob comes for you. While there are no guarantees, if you put in the work today, the lies of the anti-Second Amendment extremists will be obvious to just about everyone.
Fourth, remember that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. There are over five million members of the National Rifle Association. There are hundreds of thousands of people who read Ammoland every day. Get involved outside work with local gun clubs and other pro-Second Amendment activism. If nothing else, it can be a means of networking.
Finally, work to strengthen protections for the exercise of your First Amendment rights.
These days, the biggest threats to our ability to get our argument out don’t come from the government (although the For The People Act is a massive danger), it comes from Big Tech censorship, the social stigmatization of the Second Amendment, and financial blacklisting or de-platforming.
We really should not have to be discussing how to minimize risk when it comes to defending our rights. But we are at this point, and we need to work to ensure our enemies do not have the power to bring those risks to bear. One way to do that is to join the NRA and to support the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action and Political Victory Fund to ensure that pro-Second Amendment officials are elected 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.