Evolve Together

This video has been making the rounds lately, and I think it’s hilarious.

It was conceived by Evolve Together. Founder Rebecca Bond came out briefly and vaguely on the general issue of violence after Sandy Hook, but she doesn’t appear to be aligned with any of the usual gun-control groups. Of course, the anti-gunners have learned to be sneaky with their affiliations and finances, and it’s suspicious that they haven’t reached out to any of the mainstream gun groups for support.

The video itself was produced by Saatchi & Saatchi, who have done some gun-control work in the past, but I don’t know if that was relevant in this case.

Despite the out-of-period weapon (repeaters weren’t around until 80 years after ratification), it contains a message gun folks really need to take it to heart.

We have a public-relations crisis brewing. For years, the anti-gun movement has claimed that concealed-carry permits confer a license to be a vigilante. Until recently, we’ve been able to counter that such behavior almost never occurs.

Until recently.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen ill-advised, vengeful, and lethal behavior from people with carry permits. Michael Dunn was convicted this week in Florida for a rage shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. A few weeks ago, Curtis Reeves shot a man over popcorn in a movie theater, also in Florida. A disgruntled man in Michigan recently opened fire on a snowplow in Michigan.

Efforts to repeal various states’ “stand your ground” laws are underway. Every time an incident like this happens, the gun-control folks spin around in their office chairs, fist-bump each other, and yell “jackpot!” We’re giving them all the ammunition they need to portray gun owners, especially those who carry, as roiling crockpots of terminal angst.

We all know someone with a morbid outlook on lethal force. Somebody needs to talk to that guy. We all know someone with cavalier safety habits. Somebody needs to talk to him.

If we don’t police our own, we’ll soon find others doing it for us.