While there really aren't hard and fast partisan lines regarding the Second Amendment, there are generalities that most people are pretty comfortable with. Republicans support the Second Amendment, more or less, and Democrats oppose it.
But a recent event in Montana might be important in changing part of that by reaching out to a group that Democrats count on in order to get elected.
The event was called "Gays N' Guns."
The sweet scent of charcoal smoke, tinged with sulphur, drifted through the brisk fall air as a gunshot echoed off the nearby hillside, carrying across the rushing current of the Madison River.
For a brief moment, the patch of private land, transformed into a makeshift gun range for the day, fell silent. Then another shot cracked through the stillness, followed by another and another, as many first-time shooters began to find their rhythm, gaining confidence with each pull of the trigger.
The budding empowerment was exactly what organizers hoped the event would inspire. On Sunday afternoon, the Gallatin Community Gun Club partnered with Big Sky Out and Queer Bozeman to host its second Gays ‘N Guns event, after the first, in August, sold out within hours of launching.
The event aimed to help participants, regardless of background, gender, sexuality or gun experience, feel more comfortable around firearms and learn best practices for safety in a state where gun ownership is the highest in the nation, at 66.3%, according to ammo.com.
“Firearms, hunting, self-defense. This is part of culture in Montana and in the United States,” said Maris Fessenden, the vice-chair of Queer Bozeman. “I think it’s pretty intimidating if you don’t have an in and I think a lot of queer folks don’t necessarily have the in.
“So I think that if anybody’s interested in learning about firearm safety, it’s really helpful to have a space where you are safe and you are welcome in.”
Now, let's understand that not only is it good to just see more people familiarize themselves with firearms, but there's a layer to this that goes beyond any of that.
The LGBT community is a big part of the Democratic Party's base. It's important to them, and while that community isn't monolithically progressive, they're overwhelmingly so.
If more and more of that community embraces firearm ownership, they're more likely to vote in a manner that makes it clear they support the right to keep and bear arms. Sooner or later, Democrats might just get the hint.
Should that happen, then attacks on our rights will come to a halt, especially as gun ownership increases among other groups Democrats depend on.
Don't tell me you wouldn't want to see that. Yeah, I might be out of a job over it, but at least it'll be because we won and there's no more threat to the Second Amendment. I can deal with a job hunt knowing that we succeeded.
So yeah, I'm glad to see this. I want to see more of it. I want to see more outreach to communities that might typically be anti-gun. I want us to reach out to them, bring them into the fold, and work with them to embrace their God-given right to keep and bear arms.
And then I want to see them stand up to the anti-gun lawmakers and demand they back the hell off.
That will be absolutely glorious to behold, should I happen to live long enough to see it and, you know, it actually happens. Until then, it's just good to see people learn about firearms and hopefully be in a position to defend themselves should the worst happen. That's the worst-case scenario, and if you ask me, that's pretty damn good.
