The open carry Texas group has broken almost every single law of etiquette, as well as some very real laws about weapon brandishing, in their efforts to prove a cause. We sane people shouldn't stoop to their level, but should indeed, through civil disobedience make sure that our side doesn't just cower on the sidelines, but counters the Gun Nuts every move.
In the 1960's African Americans sitting down at lunch counters was illegal, but many brave souls held sit ins, which were technically against the law, to fight for the law of equality and justice. Now the time has come to hold our own version of the sit ins: calling the police.
I know that a previous diarist suggested this idea, to call 911 whenever some open carry nut brandished his full auto machine gun in our face. But that idea doesn't go far enough. That's like holding a sit in just to protest lynching, while ignoring voting rights or segregation.
My pipe dream is a nation without guns. Its the same pipe dream the abolitionists had in 1800, when slaves were owned by millions of Americans, just as guns are today. Through peaceful, but determined campaigns, those brave men and women drove slavery out of America. Here's how we do it:
If our neighbor owns a gun, we first try to talk to them, explaining the statistical probability of being killed or killing with that same gun. If he refuses to give up his genetalia compensator, call the police. Tell the police that his owning of a gun threatens his wife and children ( which it absolutely does,) and makes you feel uncomfortable as well, in case the gun gets used in some crime. Same with gun stores. Report it to the police the same way you would report a suspected drug deal. Tell the police that people are selling deadly killing equipment, to be used to slaughter children or innocent college girls, and you know that the guns being sold will most likely be used in a crime ( according to Mother Jones, 75 percent of all guns used in mass shootings are legally bought.) Spare no neighbor, gun store, NRA member, or even friend, if that's the case, the honor of being reported to the authorities.
I know that this may lead to a bunch of trouble for us. Especially in states like Texas or Wyoming, the 911 dispatchers may be belligerent and will probably hang up the first time. Don;t give up. Keep on persisting until they hear you reasonable concern for the family, acquaintances, and coworkers of a gun owner, as well as for society as a whole. Also, by calling, you make clear your belief that gun ownership is a crime, a bane on society which must be dealt with the same as robbery or drunk driving. The average American citizen doesn't think that gun ownership is wrong, but we do, and we are right, and will fight until society knows that gun ownership is a crime, in the same way it figured out that slavery was a crime.
I know fully well that we may be arrested for "misusing 911." But Martin Luther King was arrested too, multiple times, as were many of his lieutenants. We need to remain strong and persistent in the face of rising gun violence and an increasing number of gun nuts, and not be afraid of those who would rather let six innocent college students get shot than give up their dick extenders. We follow in the footsteps of King and the abolitionists of old, and their road was long, hard, and narrow. Fear not. We shall overcome.
How to make the call, do's and dont's
DO report all gun owners, even if they seem friendly or reasonably sane. Nobody saw Elliot Rodger's manifesto until it was too late, even the person selling him the guns thought he was acting normally.
DO be firm: if the dispatcher says that gun ownership is not a crime, say that being part of a fine society or mass murderers and domestic terrorists is indeed a crime, and that gun ownership is a danger to everybody around the owner
DON'T be rude: politely and firmly give the statistics that owning a gun will increase the chance of death by gun three times, and politely suggest that it is the police's job to protect the citizenry. Don't scream or lose your calm.
DON'T be afraid to go to jail. You will join the ranks of Thoreau and King, who both were imprisoned for fighting injustice.
I am lucky to not know any gun owners or know any gun stores myself. But if one moves in next to me, guess whose ass will instantly get reported as soon I find out he has a gun.