The term "gun lobby," at least here in the US, tends to be thrown around more as a pejorative than anything else. It's nothing but a way to pretend that the only people who really care about our gun rights are the people who stand to profit from guns.
Never mind that guns don't just magically appear in people's homes with a non-voluntary deduction from their bank accounts. People make the choice to buy them, and those people are often folks who value their right to keep and bear arms.
In Australia, it looks as if the term is used in a similar manner. Either way, though, the "gun lobby" there isn't just rolling over for the government to destroy them.
It was an email from a suburban Sydney gun shop that Tracey said made her "furious".
"As you are no doubt aware, we are facing an unprecedented challenge in relation to firearms legislation in New South Wales," the email from Magnum Sports, a hunting shop in Sydney's Upper North Shore, read.
"This is a deeply concerning time for our way of life, our values and our country."
Tracey lives on the south coast of New South Wales, and asked the ABC not to use her last name because of personal safety concerns.
She is not anti-guns — her husband is a shooter — but says they have been inundated with emails and messages from gun shops and shooting associations over proposed law reforms.
"They're using really emotive language, saying things like, 'Oh, we're going to lose our way of life,'" she said.
"But as an individual citizen, it's not a way of life. It is a privilege to have a firearm; it is not a right."
No, it's a right. Australia may not recognize it as a right, but it most definitely is. You can't claim it's a privilege and then say they're not anti-gun.
Tracey, my dear? You most definitely are anti-gun.
The problem is that they don't have a Second Amendment that protects the right. Too many people believe that rights are granted by the government, and that's the thinking in Australia, apparently, but also in Canada, the UK, and pretty much everywhere else on the planet.
The email from Magnum Sports asks people to "please ensure that you BCC" the Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA), which is also promoting the campaign.
"We're both furious at these gun lobbyists and furious at the gun shop owners for choosing a business and profit over innocent people's lives," Tracey said.
She said her husband was happy to support gun law reform to improve public safety.
So, see? "Gun lobby" is a pejorative there, too, all because they're looking out for their customers and their interests, as any industry naturally would. It's not like there aren't extensive gun control laws on the books already, and where they're talking about going with the new laws will put people out of business.
It seems they're just supposed to take it.
The SIFA and others are circulating a petition that already has tens of thousands of signatures, and the industry is united in its message that the majority of gun owners are safety-conscious, law-abiding people.
The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA) said it would continue to "actively participate in our democratic processes".
"We will also encourage our members to be active participants in political campaigns," chief executive Tom Kenyon said.
He said firearm use had a long history in Australia.
"These reforms will significantly damage that cultural heritage by restricting access to hunting and target shooting and they will not make NSW or Australia safer," Mr Kenyon said.
First, good for them for not going down without a fight.
The problem, though, is that the fight should have happened decades ago. It should have started long enough ago that Australia would have gotten something akin to the Second Amendment; something that says the right to own firearms is, in fact, a right and that the government couldn't curtail that right.
They didn't.
It's unfortunate, but when you don't accept natural rights as a given, this is what will eventually happen.
Australia is an interesting place, full of creatures that can and will kill you. Even some of the cute ones, like kangaroos, are dangerous enough if you're not careful. The idea that people who live in such a dangerous place shouldn't have guns is idiotic. Of course it's part of their cultural heritage. It had to be. Sure, it was a penal colony, but not everyone who ended up there was a criminal, and guns had to be part of people's kit when settling in such an untamed place.
Now, though, Australians are just supposed to ignore that because...why? They're civilized now?
Two uncivilized monsters committed the massacre on Bondi Beach. They represent a growing number of people who view civilization, as your average Australian understands it, as weakness, and the answer seems to be to make it weaker.
The "gun lobby" is right to fight back. This idea that they should just roll over and take whatever is handed to them is abhorrent and disgusting. The idea that they should just take seeing their entire livelihoods and culture destroyed for political points is assinine.
Good for them for standing firm.
I'm not sure it'll be enough, but I pray that it is.
Editor's Note: Christmas is coming a little early here at Bearing Arms!
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