The Bearing Arms team is taking today to spend with family and friends, but I would be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to tell all of our readers how grateful and thankful we are for your support; not only for the work we do here but for all that you do to keep our Second Amendment rights safe and secure.

With the grassroots army of Second Amendment advocates around the country we’re not only winning victories in courtrooms and statehouses, but we’re also winning in the court of public opinion. Whether it’s the new NBC poll this week that found 52 percent of households have a gun owner living there or the recent Marquette Law poll that found 66 percent support among the public for the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, there’s plenty of evidence that the gun prohibition movement is losing ground even as they become more strident and extreme in their demands. Over the past few years millions of Americans have embraced their Second Amendment rights for the first time in their lives, and I’m thankful that more of us are recognizing the importance of being able to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

We still have plenty of work to do and tough fights ahead of us, but as I look back on nearly 20 years of reporting on 2A issues I’m struck by the ground we’ve gained over that time. When Cam & Company first launched on NRA News back in 2004, for instance, there were still four states that refused to recognize the right to carry at all, while nine other states were “may issue” regimes that rarely granted permission for lawful citizens to bear arms. Now every state in the Union is at least a “shall issue” state, and more than half of the country has adopted permitless carry. That alone is a remarkable achievement, and one that’s allowed tens of millions of Americans access to their right to bear arms.

Our success has come in the face of adversity; a media hostile to gun ownership, politicians and judges who refuse to recognize the plain language of the Second Amendment, and billionaires willing to spend a fortune to deprive us of our rights, to name just a few of the challenges we face on a daily basis. 2A advocates have persevered all the same, and our movement is only getting stronger.

On a personal note, I’m also incredibly thankful for the friendships I have that are a direct result of my involvement in the Second Amendment community. One of the biggest lies told by the gun control crowd is that 2A activists are selfish folks who care more about their guns than human beings. I know better. Some of the most challenging moments in my life have come in just the past few years, and the outpouring of love and support that I’ve received from my fellow advocates during this time has been absolutely incredible. I have a lot to be thankful for this year, starting with the fact that my wife is still here to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family, and I firmly believe that the prayers and support we’ve received from so many of you have helped to make that possible. We won’t be sitting down for our family dinner until Saturday this year, but today I’m giving thanks from the bottom of my heart for all that you’ve done for me and my family.