5 Hopes And Wishes For 2018

It’s a brand new year, one full of hope and possibilities. While many people are working on new resolutions, I’m going to focus on our hopes and dreams for this new year.

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That’s not to say I won’t be working on them myself. I will. Failing to put forth effort is why so many dreams fall apart, and if these don’t happen, I don’t want it to be because I refused to step up and do my part to make them happen.

1. National Reciprocity Becomes A Reality

Top of my list is national reciprocity. I want to see it become the law of the land and make it impossible for anti-gun states to continue to keep their citizens disarmed.

With the passage of the law, people who are barred in California or New Jersey from getting a carry permit simply because some official has a burr up their butt and thinks you need to justify a reason to exercise your right to keep and bear arms can get a non-resident permit from a state that offers them. Then they can do an end around and bypass such people.

We have a right to keep and bear arms, and while we can argue regarding permits all we want, the fact is that some of our brothers and sisters don’t even get those.

2. Continued Spread Of Constitutional Carry

This is the holy grail of gun rights, at least in my opinion. Constitutional carry means no permit required to exercise your Second Amendment rights, and while I want national reciprocity, what I really want is national constitutional carry. That’s years down the road, though.

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However, many states may well embrace constitutional carry well before then, especially several pro-gun states.

My hope is that constitutional carry will spread and that we’ll start to see a significant reduction in crime to go along with it, proving that it doesn’t make us less safe.

3. Anti-Gun Bills Die In Congress

Between the new Assault Weapon Ban and the bump stock ban, we have more than enough going on at the moment. What I want to see in 2018 is both of these bills die.

While I have no particular love for bump stocks, I’m not a fan of restricting them either. And while I’d give them up for national reciprocity, I wouldn’t do it with the bill that’s not the table right now. It’s far too restrictive and will impact aftermarket triggers that simply lightened the pull. Further, since it wouldn’t grandfather in existing items, it would make tons of firearms illegal simply because they’ve been tuned up for fast shooting.

Assault weapon bans are stupid on the surface, and I don’t think anyone needs a reason why this one should die. As per usual with anything from Feinstein, it’s a grab for power that will have no impact on crime or mass shootings. Period.

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Both of these need to be declared dead.

4. Improvement In The Firearm Industry

Gun companies were geared up for a Hillary Clinton victory. They saw it coming, just like everyone else. Then, when it didn’t happen, they were left with all the inventory they expected to move quickly as Hillary looked to restrict gun ownership.

Since all Hillary can do is write a book about what happened that never actually says she screwed up, warehouses are overflowing with guns. That’s driving down prices, which is good, but it’s also making it difficult for companies to stay afloat. That’s bad.

My hope is that the industry will get past the backlog and catch up to customer demand. While I may not be thrilled about higher prices–and I don’t want demand to outpace supply either–I will be glad to know my favorite companies will still be around.

Having the right to keep and bear arms doesn’t mean nearly as much if we don’t have any way to actually get arms, after all.

5. A Year Without Senseless Firearm-Related Tragedies

I’m asking for too much here, I know, but I’m sure I’m not alone in my hope that 2018 will lack a mass shooting like the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016 or the Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs massacres in recent months.

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Contrary to what anti-gun activists will tell you, there’s little we can do that will prevent these horrific events. Not without an unconstitutional ban on firearms mixed with door-to-door gun confiscation. Even then, only a fool would think these crimes would just end. They wouldn’t. At best, such tyrannical acts might minimize mass shootings.

Or, they might step up since now the maniacs would know that no one has a gun to stop them. After all, firearms can be built in one’s backyard.

However, we can all hope and pray for a peaceful 2018 free from tragedy. It may not happen that way, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold out hope.


So there we have it, five new hopes for 2018.

What are yours?

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