A week ago I had the privilege of attending the last rally in Connecticut where we would be able to *legally* open carry our firearms. First, I want to take a second to thank the CCDL for planning and hosting the rally, as well as for the tremendous effort they consistently put in on behalf of CT gun owners. We would be much worse off without you.
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Last month we posted a video of New Mexico citizens showing up to protest their Governor's overreach and received a mixed bag of responses - some mentioning how they had no interest going to an event with Conservatives in attendance, and others commending those who showed up. We're big on the idea of being the change you want to see, but also recognize that for some people, the thought of showing up to something like this alone may be intimidating. At this CT rally, it was hard to tell where everyone fell politically, but there was a single Trump flag, an American flag, and one that just read "Shall Not Comply". The person with the Trump flag obviously failed to see the irony in waiving it at a gun rights event. There was a bible verse read at the beginning. I wore a shirt that read, "It was never about hunting" in pride colors and got a handful of compliments on it. Overall, it was a great time listening to the speakers and meeting some people for the first time.
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Even thought CT is a "blue" state, a RAND Corporation study found that almost 25% of households here have a gun in them. Still, for everyone who loves to say "from my cold dead hands" on the internet or amongst friends in this state, there were just about 100 people in attendance at this rally. If you live in a place where your right to protect yourself is up for debate, you do not have the luxury of choosing to remain on the sidelines while saying you want things to be different. If you make jokes and post memes about "watering the tree of liberty" but won't show up on a Saturday with partly cloudy skies, you can't be surprised when things don't go your way. Apathy is a cancer, and even worse is succumbing to political propaganda designed specifically to keep us from working together. Groups like CCDL know all too well the result of people thinking "someone else will fix the problem", and our anti-gun politicians celebrate when they see us fighting instead of coming together for something that benefits us all.
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Things aren't perfect, and in some places they aren't even good, but refusing to act and work together (when we can) is only going to ensure things never get better.
