Once upon a time, gun owners were a powerful voice in politics. It wasn't that there were so many of us but that so many of us voted and voted based on our gun ownership. Candidates' views on the Second Amendment were regarded as something of a litmus test. If they were good on guns,  they were probably good on other stuff.

Somewhere along the way, that seemed to change.

How else does Brandon Herrera lose to Tony Gonzales in Texas?

So as we near the 2024 election, it's troubling to see how low guns are on the table for voters most likely to support the right to keep and bear arms, especially in the face of a candidate who has supported two different gun bans during her time in public office.

And I'm not the only one concerned.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), along with groups like the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and private efforts such as Shoot the Vote, are urging gun owners, hunters, recreational shooters and Second Amendment supporters to make their voices heard this election season. With Election Day, November 5th, rapidly approaching and just over a month away, these organizations are emphasizing the importance of registering to vote and staying informed about where candidates stand on gun rights. (The presidential election is an easy one on this matter: Kamala bad, Trump, at least much better.)

The NSSF, the firearm industry’s trade association, has launched its #GUNVOTE campaign, which seeks to ensure gun owners are registered and ready to vote.

“For millions of Americans who cherish their Second Amendment rights, this truly is the most critical election in history,” said Larry Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Vice President Kamala Harris has clearly laid out her anti-gun agenda, and it’s clear she will continue the Biden-Harris attack on the Second Amendment.”

NSSF’s #GUNVOTE initiative directs gun owners to visit GunVote.org to register and find polling locations. Keane stressed the narrow margins in previous elections, citing the 2020 presidential election, which swung in key states by just a few thousand votes.

“More than 10 million hunters and Second Amendment supporters remain unregistered to vote ahead of the 2024 election,” Keane said, urging voters to not only register themselves but also ensure their fellow gun owners and shooting buddies are ready to vote.

Those folks need to register and then need to turn out and defend the right to keep and bear arms.

"But the election is just going to be stolen," some might say, but I'll point out that even if that's completely true, staying home just means they don't have to bother. You're just handing them the victory without a fight. Yes, voter fraud happens and it happens more than some people want to think, though it remains to be seen how much of it will happen this time around, but by not bothering at all, you're making it so they don't have to steal anything. You're making their lives easy.

Plus, you sound like the anti-gunners with their whole "you can't defeat the United States military anyway, so why keep your guns to try?" schtick.

That's loser talk and everyone knows it.

So get out and vote. Get your gun-owning friends to register and vote.

If we don't make our voices heard, we can't complain when no one listens to us. Voting is one of the ways we make sure our voice have to be listened to. Protests are fine, but if you don't turn out in November, it's a lot easier for lawmakers to blow us off.

Don't let them.