Shownotes
Jared from Guns & Gadgets joins John and Kaylee on State of the Second to trace how a part-time YouTube hobby became one of the first full-time Second Amendment news channels. He grew up poor in a housing project, spent 24 years in law enforcement including a stint as a cop in New Orleans, and started filming holster reviews on an iPhone 4S while recovering from shoulder surgery. When Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey reinterpreted the state's assault weapons ban in 2016, his law and political videos drew ten times the views of anything else he had made. That demand, plus a network of contacts in government who feed him information, turned the channel into a near-daily operation built on getting people accurate news whether it's good, bad, ugly, or indifferent.
Most of the conversation is a practical guide to activism. Jared and Kaylee make the case that public comment periods actually work, pointing to the Green Tip ammo ban and the Congressional Review Act vote on pistol braces as wins driven by individual gun owners. They explain why a personal, one or two line comment carries far more weight than a mass-submitted form letter, and why showing up to office hours, lobby days, and local events beats sending an email alone. The throughline is responsibility: a gun rights activist takes personal responsibility not only in the use of their firearms but in the defense of their right to own them, and the people, not the lobby, are the ones who fix things.
They cover the broader fight too: state-level red flag pushes, ATF redefinitions, social media pages getting taken down with no explanation, and the slow pace of a system the founders deliberately built to move slowly. Kaylee argues the deepest battle is over language itself, with the anti-gun side redefining rights as government-granted privileges, which is why education at the dinner table and on college campuses matters. The episode closes on GOALS, the Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit coming to the Knoxville area in August, where Jared will speak on the main stage and on panels, and a plug for Blackout Coffee's No Compromise blend, which donates two dollars per product to GOA.
Questions this episode answers
How did Guns & Gadgets grow from holster reviews into a full-time Second Amendment news channel?
Jared started filming holster reviews on an iPhone 4S while recovering from shoulder surgery. When Massachusetts reinterpreted its assault weapons ban in 2016, his law and political videos drew ten times the views of anything else, and that demand turned the channel into a near-daily news operation.
Do public comments to the ATF actually change anything?
Yes. Jared points to the Green Tip ammo ban and the Congressional Review Act vote on pistol braces as wins driven by individual gun owners submitting comments during the public comment periods.
What is the most effective way for an individual to influence their elected representatives?
Show up in person. Jared argues that attending office hours, lobby days, and local events carries more weight than sending an email alone, since representatives are employees the people can hold accountable directly.
Why does a personal comment carry more weight than a mass-submitted form letter?
A short, personal comment of one or two lines reads as a real individual voice, while hundreds of thousands of copies of the identical form letter mostly signal that people are upset rather than adding distinct weight to the record.
What was the real point of the Congressional Review Act vote on pistol braces?
Jared cites it as evidence that public pressure works. He credits the Congressional Review Act vote on the pistol brace rule as a win driven by individual gun owners engaging the process rather than leaving the fight to a lobby.
Why does the activist's case rest on personal responsibility?
As Kaylee frames it, a gun rights activist takes personal responsibility not only in the use of their firearms but in the defense of their right to own them, which is why the people, not the lobby, are the ones who fix things.
Why does Kaylee say the deepest fight is over language itself?
She argues the anti-gun side is redefining rights as government-granted privileges, trying to turn citizens into subjects, which is why education at the dinner table and on college campuses matters.
What is the Gun Owners Action Leadership Summit and what can attendees expect in Knoxville?
GOALS is the Gun Owners Action Leadership Summit, a Gun Owners of America event coming to the Knoxville area in August where Jared will speak on the main stage and on panels.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome from the mountains of Tennessee
- 00:38 — Jared's origin story and 24 years as a cop
- 01:43 — Starting the channel and the 2016 Massachusetts turning point
- 03:29 — How he sources and prioritizes the news
- 05:02 — How police culture has changed
- 06:56 — Communities policing their own and the COVID gun ownership surge
- 09:32 — Picking a candidate by their voting record
- 11:35 — Tough conversations to grow the movement
- 20:50 — Why ATF comments matter and the form-letter problem
- 26:59 — Combating overreach at the state level
- 30:51 — A slow system, court wins, and supporting the groups
- 38:19 — Bruin, constitutional carry, and crime data
- 42:48 — Educating children and the fight over language
- 51:04 — GOALS in Knoxville and Blackout Coffee
About the guest
Jared runs Guns & Gadgets, where he covers Second Amendment news and tries to educate people on their rights whether it's good, bad, ugly, or indifferent. He grew up poor in a housing project, which drove him into law enforcement, and worked as a police officer for 24 years, starting in 1997, including time as a cop in New Orleans. He started his channel while recovering from shoulder surgery, filming an early holster review on an iPhone 4S held by his oldest son. He previously lived in Massachusetts and now lives in Tennessee, having moved about a year before this recording. He is also one of the owners of Blackout Coffee, which sells a No Compromise blend that donates two dollars per product to Gun Owners of America. He tries to publish two videos a day. [VERIFY guest full name]
Key quotes
"I think whatever happens in state X will move to state Y if we don't pay attention and fight." — Jared
"They're just our employees, you know, they're nobody, they put their pants on just like us." — Jared
"If it's 300,000 of the exact same comment, it really doesn't have a lot of value other than there's a lot of people that are up, you know, in a tizzy about it." — Jared
"A gun rights activist is someone who takes personal responsibility, not only in the use of their firearms, but in the defense of their right to own them." — Kaylee
"designed this system to be slow so that you didn't lose your rights fast with an administration change." — Jared
"They want us to be subjects and not citizens." — Kaylee
"When this country started, it was we the people and in order to get this country where we want it, it's still we the people." — Jared
Transcripts
Welcome to Gun Owners of America State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kaylee.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're joined with Jared from Guns and Gadgets.
Speaker B:Jared, how are you today?
Speaker C:Good.
Speaker C:How are you guys doing?
Speaker B:Doing fantastic.
Speaker B:We are in beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee.
Speaker B:Well, we're in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, but it's beautiful Tennessee, and we're just happy to have you on with us.
Speaker C:Yeah, man, it's cool the way out here.
Speaker C:We almost fell off a mountain twice.
Speaker C:And we're waiting for the bears that you say come by every day.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, it's just an interest in trying to get up this mountain every day.
Speaker B:It's been fun.
Speaker C:Narrow, very narrow.
Speaker B:So let's start off with.
Speaker B:Tell people a little bit about who you are, your origin story, your background, all that other fun stuff.
Speaker C:All right, so my name is Jared.
Speaker C:I run Guns and Gadgets, as you all know.
Speaker C:And what I try to do is to try to educate folks on our Second Amendment.
Speaker C:I like to say, whether it's good, bad, ugly, or indifferent, I try to get people the information because I think whatever happens in state X will move to state Y if we don't pay attention and fight.
Speaker C:How did I get here?
Speaker C:I never thought I would be.
Speaker C:I started out, I grew up in a project, grew up pretty poor, and got to see a lot of things kids should never see at a young age.
Speaker C:And when I was young, experiencing that, it kind of drove me into law enforcement because I wanted to be that person that would make sure that nobody else had to deal with things that I had to.
Speaker C:So did everything I had to do to become a cop, and did that for 24 long years.
Speaker C:And towards the last third of my career, I started to get more involved about telling people about firearms.
Speaker C:And I lived in Massachusetts at the time, which is behind the communist wall in New England.
Speaker C:And there's a lot of gun laws, unconstitutional gun laws.
Speaker C:So I would be the guy that people would say, hey, you know, is this legal?
Speaker C:Can I own this?
Speaker C:Is this magazine cool?
Speaker C:Or whatever.
Speaker C:And I started a channel during I was recovering from a shoulder surgery.
Speaker C:And at the time, YouTube was all cat videos or holster reviews.
Speaker C:And being a firearms instruct, figured I could do a holster review better than most of the people who were doing it.
Speaker C:So my son, my oldest son Jacob challenged me.
Speaker C:He held up an iPhone 4S in the basement.
Speaker C:I think the video's still up.
Speaker C:It's horrible.
Speaker C:I didn't know anything about lighting audio or removing cobwebs before you started shooting.
Speaker C:But I did a holster review and that kind of just started the channel.
Speaker C:And back then I would do a video a month just because I was working a lot.
Speaker C: And then: Speaker C:At the time they had Massachusetts compliant rifles for 20 years.
Speaker C:But she decided overnight that she didn't want that anymore.
Speaker C:And I started to cover that.
Speaker C:And those law videos and the political videos were viewed 10x more than anything else I ever did.
Speaker C:So I would sprinkle a few more in as that that saga continued.
Speaker C:And then I would do a couple things about California or New York and those videos popped.
Speaker C:They they people wanted that information and at the time there were no channels that were solely Second Amendment news on YouTube because it's a lot, it's a lot of work.
Speaker C:There are a couple channels that, that would do, you know, a couple things here or there.
Speaker C:But nothing was a full time.
Speaker C:So it was obvious what people wanted.
Speaker C:And I was lucky that I went to three different police academies in a couple different states where I can digest old English writing and regurgitate it for the average person.
Speaker C:And that just took off from there and the rest is history.
Speaker C:So yeah, that's me, man.
Speaker B:Well, these laws and things change so quickly or bills get put in.
Speaker B:I mean I've seen you do videos from inside your car.
Speaker B:I mean, what, what is it?
Speaker B:How do you get first off, get the information?
Speaker B:When do you go, okay, this is stuff that needs to get pushed out and when it doesn't need to get pushed out.
Speaker C:Well, I'm blessed that I made a lot of friends throughout my career that now work for the government in high places.
Speaker C:So they will give me information.
Speaker C:I also have and I'll never name them.
Speaker C:I have high ranking officials in different states and state government that'll call and or email all the time with information.
Speaker C:And I have some people that are on in Washington that watch the channel regularly and will give me information.
Speaker C:So it's just been a long, I've been doing over a decade now.
Speaker C:So it's a channel that I hope that people realize that, you know, I put out true stuff and they can depend on it and then they help get me information because they know people want it.
Speaker C:How do I decide what needs to go out right away?
Speaker C:I mean, if it's something that's huge, like the day that we got the injunction for the pistol brace ban, I know that there are tens of Millions of people that affects immediately.
Speaker C:So that's something that I will do everything I can to get it out immediately.
Speaker C:If it's something that, you know, it's a Massachusetts bill that's been pending for six, eight months and it's finally getting voted on, well, that can wait a day or two.
Speaker C:Although the people in Massachusetts right now, their ears are burning because everybody thinks that what's facing them is the most important in the country.
Speaker C:But there are some things that are obviously pressing for millions and millions of people.
Speaker C:So those are the issues.
Speaker C:I like to get out first because we need to take it.
Speaker C:You know, with goa, you guys jump on stuff immediately and start suing right away because it's a pressing issue.
Speaker C:So I try to run the channel the same way.
Speaker A:So you leave the police department and you're making videos.
Speaker A:Has the culture changed from what you see from where you started in the police department to where the police culture is today?
Speaker C:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:There used to be people would try to do the right thing, and they had the backing, both in the department and politically, to get the right thing done.
Speaker C:It's not the same anymore.
Speaker C:It really, really changed the day that Barack Obama did the beer summit with the cops in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Speaker C:And ever since then, it's been a lot different.
Speaker C:And, you know, for.
Speaker C:For a lot of factors with people who you wanted, when you called nine one, the people you wanted to call to show up, they're leaving the job left and right for a lot of reasons.
Speaker C:And, you know, it's unfortunate, but it's happening across every.
Speaker C:Every platform that employs anybody, whether it's fire, police, you know, hospitals, there's nursing shortages.
Speaker C:There's.
Speaker C:You name it.
Speaker C:Go downtown here in Gatlinburg, and there's places with help wanted signs out.
Speaker C:So it's, it's, it's definitely different.
Speaker C:It's very politicized now.
Speaker C: know, when I first started in: Speaker C:You were there to fight crime.
Speaker C:You know, you just were trying to help people.
Speaker C:Now it's.
Speaker C:You gotta always make sure what you do is 100% right, because there's a million cameras there.
Speaker C:And if you do one thing wrong, you're.
Speaker C:No matter what you say, you're wrong.
Speaker C:So it's a different, different world.
Speaker C:It's a tougher environment now.
Speaker A:Do you think that that's what's leading to things like in Hartford, Connecticut, where they had the pastor put together groups of people to help clean up the streets and deter crime and make their communities better?
Speaker A:Do you think we're starting to see the trend where it's more community member driven versus municipality police driven for that kind of cleanup.
Speaker C:I hope so, because that's what needs to happen.
Speaker C:I mean, Hartford, I lived in Massachusetts, in Worcester, and Hartford's been like that for a long time.
Speaker C:They've had decades where drugs and gangs have been tough for the city and no matter what the mayor's name is, it's always followed by a D Democrat.
Speaker C:And all the policies, they've all failed to stop the crime.
Speaker C:I was a cop in New Orleans and we were part of the biggest crime reduction in the country for three years.
Speaker C:It's pretty easy to do.
Speaker C:You take the criminals off the street and you put them in jail and you leave them there.
Speaker C:You don't put them back out to reoffend and go soft on crime and hard on law abiding.
Speaker C:They don't do that in Hartford.
Speaker C:So a couple people decided they were to take it up in their own and police their own neighborhoods.
Speaker C:And it's working.
Speaker C:And the cops aren't getting the backing from the mayor or even from the state.
Speaker C:So something's got to give.
Speaker C:If law enforcement's not going to do their job, then ultimately we control our own freight.
Speaker C:So I think you're going to see more of that going forward.
Speaker B:We've talked about kind of how the, this movement for defunding the police and everything like that, how more citizens are taking in.
Speaker B:Do you think a lot of them are seeing that they're not charging criminals for what would normally be petty crime or misdemeanors and they're taking those away.
Speaker B:Do you think we're going to see another trend as more cities surpassing that, that we're going to see more gun ownerships in some of these inner city type things where historically there was not a lot of gun ownership?
Speaker C:Oh, we're already seeing it.
Speaker C:Look what happened during COVID when people realized that, you know, they were their own first responder.
Speaker C:Crime skyrocketed.
Speaker C:Police weren't really doing as much as they could because they were afraid to contact people.
Speaker C:And gun ownership skyrocketed during COVID During, during that time.
Speaker C:What's really scared people is because of the demographics that became gun owners, you know, minorities and mainly black females, they were the fastest growing gun owners in the country.
Speaker C:And that scared the Democrats because as their base learns, you know what, this isn't a bad thing.
Speaker C:Being a gun owner is actually empowering.
Speaker C:I, I can, it's an equalizer.
Speaker C:I can take care of myself because by the time they dial 911 when a cop comes, that's 15 to 20 minutes in some areas of this country.
Speaker C:And what can happen in 15 and 20 minutes when somebody's kicking your door down, you know, so people are, are starting to wake up and it's our job to foster that, to make sure that people realize that there's groups like Gun Owners of America that are fighting for people and educating them on, on what the anti gunners are actually trying to do and to make them realize that what they've been believing for decades is actually a bunch of lies just to scare people into continuing to vote Democrat and keep those policies in place.
Speaker A:So obviously goa, we're a political nonprofit, we're nonpartisan, we just want the protection and restoration of the Second Amendment.
Speaker A: It's so hard, it's: Speaker A:It's so hard to decipher the campaign slogans, to decipher the win loss record of politicians.
Speaker A:When you have a job, when you have a family to take care of, when you have all of these outside pressures.
Speaker A:If you are encouraging a group of people who are voting for the first.
Speaker B:Time,.
Speaker A:What would be your keys to success as far as picking a candidate to support?
Speaker C:Well, that's a good question.
Speaker C:I try to tell people, look at the voting record of the incumbents because every time there's an election, everybody supports the second amendment but, dot, dot, dot.
Speaker C:And the but comes after they get reelected or they're in, you know, in office for the first time.
Speaker C:So I like, personally, I look at their voting record, I look at their history, I look at their social media, I do a little bit of, bit of a background investigation on them to see, you know, what they're, what they're all about.
Speaker C:Because I can say whatever I want, but if my actions show the opposite, then I'm just, you know, pandering for votes.
Speaker C:And folks get, they get intimidated when it comes to dealing with politicians.
Speaker C:They're just our employees, you know, they're nobody, they put their pants on just like us.
Speaker C:They're nobody special.
Speaker C:And when I first started doing this, I was intimidated every now and then dealing with some of them.
Speaker C:But they're just like you and I, you know, they're nobody special.
Speaker C:They just want a really cool job, you know, where they can beat the stock market sometimes.
Speaker C:But people just have to, I mean, there's a couple of different ways G O A puts out the scorecard.
Speaker C:You know, you guys will do the stuff on the federal level, but when it comes to the State level people need to dig down and maybe deal with their state level branches of 2A groups because they'll have a more intimate knowledge of the people who are either incumbents or trying to run.
Speaker C:But the information's out there.
Speaker C:There are people helping you with that.
Speaker C:You just have to seek it out.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, as, as people in the gun community, we tend to be in our own little echo chamber when it comes to stuff.
Speaker B:How do we branch out to help teach all these millions of new gun owners to get them to go on board with organizations like ours to get them to be educated, to learn?
Speaker B:I mean, a lot of them may, let's take the pistol bracelet for example.
Speaker B:A lot of them bought a pistol brace and that things been sitting in their closet since they bought it and don't know that at one point it was illegal.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:So how do we educate?
Speaker B:How do we branch out to kind of get outside of our echo chamber and bring more people in?
Speaker C:For me, it's tough conversations.
Speaker C:You have to be willing to have conversations with people you might not agree with.
Speaker C:And that's the good thing about being American is we don't have to agree on everything.
Speaker C:We can have differences, but ultimately we're all American.
Speaker C:You know, we need to get over this divide that they're trying to push harder and harder each and every year.
Speaker C:You know, like the blue, no matter, you know, blue no matter who, or red no matter what, that stuff has to, has to die.
Speaker C:It's tough conversations.
Speaker C:Back in Massachusetts, I would have conversations with my neighbors who weren't necessarily pro gun, they weren't anti gun, but they just never dealt with it.
Speaker C:So they thought it was this evil, scary thing in ar.
Speaker C:So I started showing them one and offered to take them shooting and stuff like that.
Speaker C:Those are the things that helps bridge the gap because we know shooting's fun, shooting's cool, you know, and some people who for 30, 40 years have been fed that, it's scary.
Speaker C:You know, guns kill people.
Speaker C:I've had guns next to my bed for decades and they've never done anything on their own.
Speaker C:They're not going to jump up and go run after people.
Speaker C:It's the evil person who does something bad with a gun.
Speaker C:And one thing we can't do is legislate hearts and minds.
Speaker C:So you have to go and talk to people, have to kind of bridge that gap and, and be willing to give a little.
Speaker C:You can't force stuff on them because you'll shut them down.
Speaker C:But if we learn how to talk to each other, Again, in this country, we can do a lot of fixing.
Speaker B:Quick while running a channel like yours, where it's mostly news and things like that.
Speaker B:How many people do you think come in that are just new to this?
Speaker B:How many comments do you get?
Speaker B:How many?
Speaker B:Like, what is the.
Speaker B:The biggest question that you get from.
Speaker B:You may see somebody who pops up for the first time, you know, they're new to this or they're asking questions.
Speaker B:What are the kind of the big three questions that people ask when they're new to this?
Speaker C:The big one of the questions I get all the time is, what group should I join?
Speaker C:I only have $25.
Speaker C:Who do I join?
Speaker C:So that's a tough one.
Speaker C:And I try to give them an idea of what each group does and how it can benefit them for their scenario.
Speaker C:Another question is that I always get is like, is this legal to own in my area?
Speaker C:I don't know all the laws in all the states, so I'll try to refer them to the local group so they can get the answer immediately.
Speaker C:And then, like the third one, that.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:That's when you do something like you do a channel for 10, 12 years, you think everybody knows about it, right?
Speaker C:But there are people who still log on every day, watch a video, and like, hey, man, I never knew you would.
Speaker C:I never knew you did this.
Speaker C:You know, I'm glad you do.
Speaker C:You get a new viewer.
Speaker C:So that's.
Speaker C:It's good to see that there are people looking.
Speaker C:Even though we deal with algorithms that hate us for what we do, there are people that still are desiring that information.
Speaker C:So the more we can do to go outside of our.
Speaker C:I try to do things that make me uncomfortable and, you know, go do public speaking and some things to try to show people that there are groups out there that care about them, want to educate them.
Speaker C:So that's.
Speaker C:That's the top three, typically.
Speaker C:And then there are some people who will never comment, you know, so it's.
Speaker C:It's tough.
Speaker C:And I have to do videos where I.
Speaker C:When I try to do a video, I try to do it where the people watching don't know anything I'm talking about so that they get a good grasp for what I'm talking about.
Speaker C:Whatever the bill is, X, Y, or Z, or the lawsuit.
Speaker C:And then I can refer them to previous videos I did if they want further detail.
Speaker A:So you mentioned that you have been traveling a lot.
Speaker A:And, you know, GWA was there at the Arizona event.
Speaker A:We just saw each other at the Tennessee lobby day.
Speaker A:How many people come up to you at those events, shocked to see you there actually advocating in your state or physically on the ground in theirs a lot.
Speaker C:It's humbling.
Speaker C:It really is, because we're just looking at cameras in a spare room.
Speaker C:You don't realize the world that exists past that.
Speaker C:So it's always humbling for me when people come up and thank me for being there or whatever.
Speaker C:Especially when it's a state.
Speaker C:Arizona, it's a long way away.
Speaker C:It's a long walk.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It's cool.
Speaker C:It's very humbling and, and people are glad that you did it.
Speaker C:You know yourselves, you got, you know, when you guys go to events, it's the same deal and it's good to see.
Speaker C:And we just got to keep doing it because that's the way we reach people, is to actually be where they need us and show them that we actually care about it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, it was funny at the, I was at the Arizona event, you and I tried to have a conversation.
Speaker B:I think like 12 or 15 times we had to pause our conversation.
Speaker B:It was great though.
Speaker B:The people were great there.
Speaker B:I, I'm proud of the state I live in and all the people who came to support.
Speaker B:We did get flown over by a couple drones.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it was, it was fun though.
Speaker C:I'm just GLAD it wasn't 150 degrees.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, it was a beautiful day.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was nice.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You guys were outside Tennessee's lovey days.
Speaker A:Inside, we're, we're, we were out.
Speaker B:Yeah, we were outside, but it was a nice 60, 70 degree day.
Speaker B:Chilling.
Speaker A:That's good because Art was pouring rain and a threat of tornadoes, so it was a little bit different atmosphere.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But no, it's exciting.
Speaker A:I love seeing people on their individual activism journeys because so much of what GOA does is try to get you to take action on your phone by email to contact your representative.
Speaker A:But there is nothing more valuable than seeing eye to eye and having that conversation in person.
Speaker A:Because what we're trying to do, especially in some of our purple states or our blue states, is we are trying to educate the political class that they are supposed to represent us.
Speaker A:They're not supposed to carry their own agenda.
Speaker A:And they can't represent you if they don't know where you stand.
Speaker A:It's impossible for them to be able to go and say, my constituents believe in X, Y and Z if they've never heard from you.
Speaker A:And so I love more than anything when we can go and meet with politicians face to face, making those Phone calls, you know, it's so easy to send it an email and those emails are valuable.
Speaker A:But if you take that extra 30 seconds to make a phone call and to leave a message, it humanizes you and it humanizes the cause.
Speaker A:And in a, in a world that is driven by algorithms, it's that human factor that shows that, you know, hey, we want to see a restoration in the second Amendment because we want to see less crime.
Speaker A:We want to see a restoration in the second Amendment because our lives have intrinsic value.
Speaker A:When we want to see a restoration in the second Amendment because we're law abiding citizens that have the right to protect ourselves and our family and our property.
Speaker A:And like, we can go hunt with these firearms.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:But we can also defend our families with them and we can also use them for recreation.
Speaker A:Those are all wrapped up in what the second Amendment is.
Speaker A:But if you let the algorithms control the narrative, you know, there is no, there is no benefit because the algorithms are against us.
Speaker A:The big tech conglomerates don't want the second amendment to survive.
Speaker A:They don't believe in the, even the idea of constitutionally protected rights.
Speaker A:They want us to be subjects and not citizens.
Speaker A:And so if we know that going into it, then we know how to apply the pressure in the right way so that we get the results that we need for the next generation.
Speaker A:Sorry, I'll get off my stomach.
Speaker C:That's fine.
Speaker C:And that's part of the tough conversation part I was talking about earlier.
Speaker C:I'm a big fan of when you're even your US Reps or senators, when they have office hours, go see them.
Speaker C:Because now you have a captive audience.
Speaker C:You're there in front of them.
Speaker C:They can't squirm around, they can't say, oh, I have a vote to go do.
Speaker C:Those are very valuable.
Speaker C:And that's one thing that I try to force people to do.
Speaker C:If they're getting into this and they're serious about talking to their legislators, you have to take every opportunity you can possibly get to get their attention.
Speaker C:If they have millions of people and then they're getting pulled at in every direction, you might only have 15 seconds.
Speaker C:So don't go with a soliloquy.
Speaker C:Go with what you want to say, why you want to say it, and do it respectfully.
Speaker C:And you, you can build relationships with them pretty easily.
Speaker A:And they're all around right now.
Speaker A:You know, in an election year, it's amazing how available your elected representatives are.
Speaker A:And so like, if you are listening to this and you're like, well, I'VE actually never been to a lobby day or I've never actually met my representatives.
Speaker A:I'm sure there are 500,000 Facebook events that will pop up between now and the election for you to rectify that fairly quickly.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Vote for Brandon Herrera, Texas 23.
Speaker B:Well, I mean, you talked about, you know, meta and all them going down.
Speaker B:I mean, we just saw a lot of people's pages get taken down.
Speaker B:Mike Pluth, Mr.
Speaker B:Guns Gears, just got taken down his Facebook 53rd time.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, it's every other week with him, but.
Speaker B:But you saw somebody as small and as great as Ursula who just got taken down too.
Speaker B:I mean, there's a lot of people who daily company pages get taken down left and right.
Speaker B:It's just crazy to think that, you know, even though it is a regulated item, as they deem it, but it's a legal item to own that they have to go in and go, nope, we're going to get rid of this.
Speaker B:You can't do it, or you're doing something illegal or whatever.
Speaker C:But then they never tell you what.
Speaker B:You did wrong, right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, then you're also in a state of constant redefinition by the atf, which is great.
Speaker A:So that's another thing that's important in your activism journey.
Speaker A:It's not always about the elected representatives.
Speaker A:Those comments to the ATF are important, letting you know it's difficult because anytime you're dealing with a bureaucracy, you're dealing with an agenda that is hardwired.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But making your voice be heard gives so much legal precedent and allows for like, things like the Congressional Review act when it came to pistol braces.
Speaker A:Those sort of things happened because of an overwhelming influx of individuals that said, you know what, I'm making my comment known to the atf.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And it might sound insane to some people to even try to go up against the bureaucratic machines in Washington.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker A:But it's still important and it's still valuable.
Speaker A:And yes, it's fun.
Speaker C:It's fun.
Speaker C:I want to talk about that real quick.
Speaker C:When you talk about, about the comments to the atf, a lot of people don't do it for whatever reason.
Speaker C:I, I don't have the exact numbers, but with this most recent, you know, engaged in the business stuff that just came out, 300,000 comments were submitted.
Speaker C:Of that 2/3 were by the, the enemies, the, the mom's demand and all that stuff.
Speaker C:And like 98% of that two thirds was a form letter.
Speaker C:Just the same email.
Speaker C:Everybody just keeps submitting and on our side of that one third, there was like 19,000 people who took the time to write their own comment.
Speaker C:And those have so much more value than just throw your name and hit send.
Speaker C:Although that's easy.
Speaker C:It takes seconds.
Speaker C:You know, take the five minutes, write something where you actually say why you're against whatever they're trying to do, because that's what they want in these comments.
Speaker C:If it's 300,000 of the exact same comment, it really doesn't have a lot of value other than there's a lot of people that are up, you know, in a tizzy about it.
Speaker C:But if there's 300,000 individual people who put their individual stories on there, that holds a lot more weight when it comes to these fights.
Speaker A:And you can add on to the form comments.
Speaker A:So maybe, you know, we do.
Speaker A:We had GOA out of what was submitted on the pro gun side.
Speaker A:Our members again knocked it out of the park.
Speaker A:We made up the vast majority absolutely.
Speaker A:Of that.
Speaker A:And so thank you if that was you.
Speaker A:But adding just one or two lines, that is your own comment.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:It makes a huge difference.
Speaker A:Makes a huge difference.
Speaker A:It makes it more visible.
Speaker A:But you can still have all of the great legalese, all of the great things that, that break down the individual aspects in that form letter and then just simply adding, you know, this, this is wrong.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:You know, I disagree with this strongly.
Speaker A:Like, whatever it is, it doesn't even have to be.
Speaker A:Maybe you don't fully see how it might apply to you.
Speaker A:And so you're like, I just think that this is immoral.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker A:Say that and hit send.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like the Constitution.
Speaker C:Read it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Copy and paste the Second Amendment in there too.
Speaker A:You know, like, it's so, like, it's.
Speaker A:You don't have to commit, you know, 12 hours and feel like you're writing like a dissertation.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:It can be quick and simple and still increase the impact.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And it shows the human aspect and that you're not a robot just sending in information.
Speaker A:It's showing that you're a real person who is taking this incredibly seriously.
Speaker C:And it does work.
Speaker C:I mean, I keep telling everybody every time we have a comment period, people are, yeah, it doesn't work.
Speaker C:I'm not going to do this.
Speaker C:That we stopped the Green Tip ammo ban on using this process.
Speaker C:So it absolutely does work.
Speaker C:People need to take advantage of it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it was also one of the things that got us to the Congressional Review act on the pistol braces.
Speaker A:You can, you know, we all hear the comments of, well, you know, it didn't pass the Senate.
Speaker A:And, you know, even if it had to pass the Senate, Biden would have never signed it.
Speaker A:That wasn't the point of the Congressional Review Act.
Speaker A:The point of the Congressional Review act was one, to get your politicians on record so they can't hide behind the fact that they've abdicated their role as your representatives to a bureaucracy.
Speaker A:That's an important win.
Speaker A:Two, it shows that the ATF didn't have the congressional support behind it, didn't have the authority that they claim they did from Congress.
Speaker A:And so the fact that it passed in a bipartisan manner in the House allows for us to take away the ATF's arguments when it came to suing.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And so again, your voice matters.
Speaker A:And it might not be an instantaneous win, but it's a step in that right direction to get the goal achieved.
Speaker C:And that CRA is going to be big when it gets to the Supreme Court because you're going to have a chunk of Congress that doesn't back this.
Speaker C:So it's going to help out too when it gets to that level.
Speaker B:So we've talked about comment periods, we talked about kind of the, the ATF's redefining of stuff.
Speaker B:We've seen some of the state level attacks lately a lot so that they could circumvent some of the rulings of the Supreme Court.
Speaker B:I mean, how do we combat on a state level some of these overreaching laws to get, you know, just pure attacks on everybody's Second Amendment rights?
Speaker C:Well, a big part of it is having a base that's educated and informed.
Speaker C:And that's why I started my, my channel, because what would happen in Massachusetts would make its way to your state.
Speaker C:What happened in California would make its way to Massachusetts.
Speaker C:So we need to know what's going on.
Speaker C:A lot of people don't care.
Speaker C:Like, I get comments on every video I put.
Speaker C:You're like, oh, well, that's what they voted for.
Speaker C:That's what they get.
Speaker C:Did they though?
Speaker C:You know, the, the gun owners didn't vote for that and they're our brothers and sisters too.
Speaker C:So there's a big movement going on right now where they know they can't pass things federally a la the Red Flag, which is the bipartisan Safer Communities act, where they're trying to bribe states into enacting red flag.
Speaker C:And luckily states haven't really jumped on that right now.
Speaker C:But like Tennessee, there's eight bills that were in this past session, four in each chamber looking to have a Red Flag law.
Speaker C:And coming from a red flag state.
Speaker C:Nothing good happens with red flag.
Speaker C:We've already seen it murder people.
Speaker C:It's, it's, it's a tough thing because they know that they can get away with stuff in a state faster than they can federally.
Speaker C:And by the time it's fought in the state and they lose, like New York's about to get their teeth kicked in for all of their, you know, post brewing stuff, it'll be already in the books for two, three years.
Speaker C:They've already had their impact.
Speaker C:So it's tough.
Speaker C:It really is tough.
Speaker C:And that's why we need to elect better people.
Speaker C:And we're not going to fix this with an election.
Speaker C:It's going to take a lot more than just an election, but we need good people to run.
Speaker C:If you think you can do better than people who are running in your district or making decisions, then run.
Speaker C:You're probably better than them.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I want to point out one thing that you said about Tennessee.
Speaker A:Just because you elect somebody who is more pro gun than maybe the previous guy and maybe they even do pro gun things, doesn't mean that they can't turn and change.
Speaker A:You know, the same governor in Tennessee that signed the permitless carry bill, albeit there's still a lot of work to do on that permitless carry bill, but that was a big win for the state is the same one who called an emergency session to try to pass red flag laws.
Speaker A:And so it's important to know that just because you elect someone doesn't mean that you get to just like tune out of the conversation because they, the, the political machine is powerful and it's important who you surround yourself with.
Speaker A:And sometimes they don't make those great calls.
Speaker C:No, no.
Speaker C:And they need people like us to hold them accountable, checking in on them, making sure they're voting the right way.
Speaker C:I'll give you a quick story.
Speaker C:In Massachusetts, I won't leave names on the table, but my state senator and my state rep, I had talked to them regularly, we texted each other regularly.
Speaker C:And when Massachusetts passed the bump stock ban, I called my state rep while they were still in chamber and asked what was going on.
Speaker C:Long story short, only a handful of people had the guts to vote against it, him not being one of them.
Speaker C:And that's how you hold him accountable.
Speaker C:There was a lot of hard conversations we had after that and I told him that I was going to replace him and ultimately left the state.
Speaker C:But you need to get, need to stay on them.
Speaker C:Just putting him in office doesn't do anything like you said, because there's a lot of things that influence them.
Speaker C:Titles, committees, dollars that, that'll all make.
Speaker C:They're just humans like greed is.
Speaker C:It exists in shiny white marble buildings too.
Speaker C:So you got to stay on them.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, we've seen some wins.
Speaker B:We've seen some crazy overreach.
Speaker B:I mean, let's.
Speaker B:First, you know, the city of Columbus went on a major overreach, banning 30 round magazines in the city, which is against the Ohio Constitution.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And that did not last long.
Speaker B:And then we had recently, Washington had the mag restriction lifted for what, two hours, and then it went right to stay 88 minutes.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And it's just crazy.
Speaker B:You know, we've had those wins, but they, the, the people who have gotten us the winds are smart enough to put the stays on them so we have the precedent for later on down the road.
Speaker C:And that's one thing people need to understand when they get into this field of politics.
Speaker C:Like our, our founding fathers designed this system to be slow so that you didn't lose your rights fast with an administration change.
Speaker C:There's a reason it takes forever and, and that time angers folks, rightfully so, like myself, I get frustrated all the time.
Speaker C:And why does it take three years to get to the Supreme Court when they know it's unconstitutional?
Speaker C:But it's, it's a, it's a marathon.
Speaker C:It's not a sprint.
Speaker C:And we need people to.
Speaker C:To understand that as well and also understand that the groups that are fighting like Goa, it costs a lot of money for these lawsuits just to get to the Supreme Court.
Speaker C:Could be a million, a million and a half.
Speaker C:And then the Supreme Court fight itself could be another million, million and a half.
Speaker C:So that's why I always say support those who support you and, you know, skip a pizza and send 25 to $30 to the groups that you follow.
Speaker C:And you need support because they need it and it goes a long way.
Speaker B:Well, I know we've come under attack from some people for, you know, some states, but everybody has to understand different states have different lobbying laws, and we have to follow within the letter of the law.
Speaker B:So that happens.
Speaker B:And it's not like we're not trying to fight, it's just, you know, well,.
Speaker A:It's incumbent upon our members.
Speaker A:So like whenever, whatever the, the state that you're in, you know, we have regional directors in some states, we're able to have state directors, but we're a grassroots army because we understand fundamentally what is going to impact politicians and what is going to impact change.
Speaker A:And that is you as the individual, the person who can vote for, for them because you are, are their meal ticket.
Speaker A:You are the thing that they have to have in order to stay in power.
Speaker A:And so it's amazing what happens when you're able to turn up the heat, because when you turn up the heat, they see the light.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And so, you know, it's important.
Speaker A:If you don't see what you want to see in your state or in your community and you are going to stay there, that is the perfect time for you to go find five friends and hey, let's, let's take a drive to the capitol and talk to some people.
Speaker A:Hey, you know, have you made a call this week about this?
Speaker A:You know, take five minutes and let's do that.
Speaker A:You have a party, have people over to your house and just say, hey, you know, we're going to have, we're going to grill some steaks, we're going to eat some burgers, we're going to hang out, we're going to have fun, play some games.
Speaker A:And then guess what?
Speaker A:We're also going to send a couple emails to our representatives because we're not going to let this stand because we all care about not just what's happening right now in our country, but what it's going to look like for our children and our children's children.
Speaker C:Right, right.
Speaker A:And so you are the best advocate for your rights.
Speaker A:We have a definition.
Speaker A:You've probably heard it 500,000 times.
Speaker A:But a gun rights activist is someone who takes personal responsibility, not only in the use of their firearms, but in the defense of their right to own them.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Period.
Speaker A:And once we understand that and, and once we embody that, that's when change happens.
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:People have to get involved.
Speaker C:You can't hope GOA is going to fix the world because Geo.
Speaker C:I mean, I've been running with y' all since they were like five employees.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:You guys are doing a lot more with the manpower you all have than corporations and companies that are 10 times the size and with, with personnel.
Speaker C:Like, you can't do it all.
Speaker C:Like, I, I just, like people will hammer me because I.
Speaker C:You didn't cover this, this ordinance in my, my town.
Speaker C:Well, a, I probably didn't know about it and B, there's only so many things I can cover at once.
Speaker C:So, you know, give me the information and I'll work with it.
Speaker C:People, you people are the answer.
Speaker C:You know, when this country started, it was we the people and in order to get this country where we want it, it's still we the people.
Speaker C:It's not we the, the gun lobby.
Speaker C:It's not, you know, we the anti gunners.
Speaker C:It's we the people.
Speaker C:The only way we fix this is, is us.
Speaker C:And the faster people realize that and, and get involved, the, the faster we're going to rectify this ship.
Speaker B:Well, and you brought up a good point.
Speaker B:I, I get questions all the time about bills and stuff in different state houses and different cities and stuff.
Speaker B:And I want to applaud our state and local team because I can text or message Chris Stone, who's our director of state and local, and he will go, hey, it's on our radar.
Speaker B:Hey, you know, this is what we're doing right now.
Speaker B:And they are on top of everything.
Speaker B:But as an individual, like people have to understand these things happen so fast in so many different ways that it's sometimes really hard to keep up on everything.
Speaker A:And so we are not Google.
Speaker A:Yeah, we do not know everything.
Speaker B:That's why I have, I have our state local guys that just go, hey, or even, you know, Ben on our Fed team, like, if there's something federal that I've got a question on, they're always great.
Speaker B:They're very knowledgeable.
Speaker B:And that's a thing with our organization.
Speaker B:Like you said, we were small.
Speaker B:Our team has grown drastically over the last couple of years.
Speaker B:You know, if you do have a question, email in, you know, there we have a team that can help answer it, or if we don't have the answer, there's somebody on our team who does have the answer.
Speaker C:So y' all have come a long, long way, man.
Speaker C:It's impressive to see.
Speaker A:Yes, well, it's all thanks to our members.
Speaker A:And it's not only thanks to our members, but it's our members being actively engaged.
Speaker A:And that is the thing that makes me so proud to go to work every day, you know, even on something that might sound trivial, like the lead ammo band, you know, over 90% of the comments came from Goa members.
Speaker A:Like, those are big wins.
Speaker A:And it shows that the philosophy set by our founder, you know, we're over 47 years old.
Speaker A: math that we were founded in: Speaker A:1976.
Speaker C:76.
Speaker A:GSE was 75.
Speaker A:But yeah, but our founder like, set those, those things in motion for us.
Speaker A:And we've never lost sight of that core philosophy.
Speaker A:We are not trading what is set as the working principle, something that has worked time and time again.
Speaker A:We're not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Speaker A:Instead, we are fortifying that mission and we're able to do more on state and local.
Speaker A:We're able to do more with the firearms industry and with content creators like you who are able to amplify the membership base and able to grow.
Speaker A:So this way we're meaner the next fight than we are the current one.
Speaker A:And if that's the way that we're progressing, I think that the future of the Second Amendment is really bright.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker C:Definitely.
Speaker C:If you look at the last three years with this current Supreme Court setup we have, we've won more now than we ever have.
Speaker C:This is, people are going to want to hear this, but this is the most pro2a court we've ever had and we're winning Bruin.
Speaker C:That's a huge, huge decision.
Speaker C:And because of Bruin, a lot of state infringements have fallen.
Speaker C:You know, we all want to see it happen immediately, but we're winning at a, at a pace that we probably have never seen before.
Speaker C:So it's, it's a good time to.
Speaker A:Be alive right now, especially on, like looking at the state side, a constitutional carry.
Speaker A:You know, for a long time it wasn't even called constitutional carry, it was Vermont.
Speaker A:Vermont carry, yes, Vermont style carry.
Speaker A:And so, you know, to see that go, you know, from Vermont and then Alaska and then there was this huge lull of no states really jumping on board.
Speaker A:And then you look what's happened and now over 50% of the country has some sort of permitless carry.
Speaker A:That's a huge win.
Speaker A:And talk about a signal to the Supreme Court on where America stands on the Second Amendment and the restoration.
Speaker A:We want to see.
Speaker A:There's something very powerful about the nomenclature constitutional carry because it's a constitutionally protected.
Speaker C:Right and it causes the moms and the Brady's and the Giffords and, you know, and the left that want us disarmed at every turn.
Speaker C:It causes them great stress.
Speaker C:Let me see.
Speaker C:You know, 29 states now have said we don't care about you.
Speaker C:You know, and it's just growing every year.
Speaker C:We had two more that came on board this year.
Speaker C:It's, it's good to see.
Speaker C:Hopefully we can keep this train going in the right direction.
Speaker B:Well, let's, now that we're talking about constitutional carry, let's look at the numbers that Ohio put out.
Speaker B:I mean, Ohio saw a drastic reduction in crime since it turns into the wild, Wild West.
Speaker B:No, it didn't.
Speaker C:Shootouts downtown.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:I mean, maybe in Cleveland.
Speaker B:But let's just.
Speaker C:That was happening anyway.
Speaker B:But we've seen a drastic reduction in crime in Ohio.
Speaker B:And everybody was like, well, constitutional carry was.
Speaker B:Is going to cause all these issues.
Speaker B:It doesn't.
Speaker B:It does what it's supposed to do.
Speaker B:An armed society is a polite society.
Speaker C:Well, there's something to the, there's something to the thought, like if I'm a bad guy looking to go in and rob a store.
Speaker C:And now I think, well, if there's 20 people in there, 15 of them might have a gun pointing back at me.
Speaker C:It kind of does a lot to change the way that that criminal's thinking.
Speaker C:And that's been similar to every, just about every state that's.
Speaker C:That's passed constitutional carry.
Speaker C:They've seen that violent crime drop, which is good because the only person who is.
Speaker C:We're on first responder.
Speaker C:The only person who's responsible for my safety is me, not somebody in a cruiser sitting downtown Gatlinburg.
Speaker C:It's up to me because when seconds count, cops are 15, 20 minutes away.
Speaker C:And I'm not giving them that, that.
Speaker A:Buffer, especially on these roads.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:Well, I'm glad that you said we saw a violent crime drop.
Speaker B:Now.
Speaker B:We've seen other cities go, okay, well, our crime has dropped.
Speaker B:Well, how much of that is that you're not charging people anymore?
Speaker C:A lot of that's part of the game.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's part of the game.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:This, what you're seeing now since this current administration has taken office, is something that, it's cyclical.
Speaker C:When you, you have Democrat policies that are put in place, go soft on crime.
Speaker C:You know, we saw that in the 90s.
Speaker C:And what happens is crime increases.
Speaker C:What comes from that.
Speaker C:People ask for government to take action because we need your help.
Speaker C:What happens there, Bigger government, It's all part of the plan.
Speaker C:And the more people see through the fog, the better they can be on this stuff, because all they want is bigger government.
Speaker C:They want to take more of your rights away.
Speaker C:And throughout history, no matter where you are on the globe, they don't give rights back.
Speaker C:You have to take them back by force.
Speaker C:So we're in the game of not losing anything.
Speaker C:But, you know, this is America and we have our Constitution, so we can take our rights back.
Speaker B:Well, I mean, we've seen everybody sees the video every day of people going in the stores with lock cases, breaking the, walking out with handfuls of stuff.
Speaker B:I mean, there was a community, I want to say it was Washington that the Walmart pulled out.
Speaker B:If it's that bad that Walmart has to pull out.
Speaker B:And now, now you're looking at Walmart's also making you want to pay for self checkout because the theft rate is so high.
Speaker B:But they're not charging anybody for theft.
Speaker C:Yeah, there's pieces, there's pizza delivery places that won't go into certain parts of cities now.
Speaker C:And it's getting bad.
Speaker C:And the only way to fix it is if people take control of their own environment.
Speaker A:And part of taking control of your, your own environment is educating your children 100%.
Speaker A:And I know that we've, we've had other people on that, that, you know, advocate for homeschooling or private schooling.
Speaker A:Even if you have your children in a public school, this is not a shaming the type of schooling you choose for your family.
Speaker A:But as a parent, as someone who is responsible for the, the shaping of someone, you are also responsible in the education of their rights.
Speaker A:100 And so it's also important that in addition to the gun safety that you teach in your home, that you also talk about the second Amendment, that you have those conversations at the dinner table because again, you know, Ronald Reagan said it at best, you know, ban.
Speaker C:The, ban machine guns.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Oh, listen, he wasn't perfect, but this line is cheap.
Speaker B:He's not wrong.
Speaker A:I mean, yes, he did actually say that he regretted that though.
Speaker A:So like, at least he learned that's more than most politicians are willing to do.
Speaker C:Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Speaker A:No, you're good.
Speaker A:I'm not into the Reagan worship, but I really do love the quote of, you know, your freedom is, is no greater than one generation away from extinction.
Speaker A:And I think people hear that and they go, oh, that's not true.
Speaker A:Like, you know, this is, this is the American dream.
Speaker A:You know, this is something, this is our heritage.
Speaker A:This is what we inherit.
Speaker A:Only if we learn about it, only if we're willing to defend it, only if we're willing to take responsibility for it.
Speaker A:And in a culture that doesn't like that idea, it doesn't go well with the current philosophies of our time.
Speaker A:It's very important that we educate our children.
Speaker A:It's very important that we educate our communities and that we become the purveyors of truth so that we are able to objectively say, you know, your rights are constitutionally protected, they are not government granted, and therefore they cannot be infringed upon.
Speaker A:And so it's, it's important to, to explain that, to nurture that and to allow for that to continue.
Speaker C:And to that point, one of the Reasons we have the fight we have now and there's so many crybabies out there when it comes to the second amendment is we have done a terrible job on that on our side.
Speaker C:But the anti gunners have been phenomenal at it for about 30 years.
Speaker C:Where are they spending all their dollar bills in schools?
Speaker C:Because if they can raise kids hating guns like you see everywhere you show them a gun, they break down and cry like something happened.
Speaker C:It all started by teaching them when they're young.
Speaker C:And that's where we need to start focusing on as the young folks.
Speaker C:We've taken guns out of schools.
Speaker C:They used to have education programs, they used to have shooting clubs that rarely exists anywhere, even in pro gun states.
Speaker C:Now they've been doing phenomenal at that.
Speaker C:And we're just trying to play catch up, but we have to do something.
Speaker A:And even if you homeschool your kids and then you send them to college, so oftentimes the, the administrations there are so wildly anti gun.
Speaker A:And that's why, you know, we, we spend a lot of effort on Gunners foundation, the educational side of the kind of gun owner's umbrella.
Speaker A:We have an organization called 2A Defenders that is on college campuses talking about why they are a soft target, what it means to be a soft target, and then how to advocate for yourself and, and how to educate yourself.
Speaker A:Because it's not an education that many of them have ever had.
Speaker A:It's something that is completely foreign to administration to many of the people that are professors, not all of them, but some of them.
Speaker B:And so we're talking about education system.
Speaker B:This is, this was scary.
Speaker B:I found out the other day from a friend that some school districts, I'm not going to say names on, on where, but some school districts are so teachers starved that if a high school student going to college says I want to be a teacher, they put them right into a classroom.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker C:That's part of the problem.
Speaker B:Yeah, that, that blew my mind.
Speaker B:Because these, they're not educated.
Speaker B:They're not, they're taking their college classes while teaching.
Speaker B:But if they have an agenda, they can push their agenda with no, you know, no ethics taken yet.
Speaker B:No nothing taken yet.
Speaker A:Well, I don't think that there are very often even in the educated.
Speaker A:I think that it comes down to, I think it comes down to who owns the universities, who owns the schools, who owns this huge push in the culture.
Speaker A:Because to give it to the anti gun left, you know, they look at an area and maybe it's super conservative, maybe it's super pro gun and they'll say, in 20 years, we, we will have the majority in this area.
Speaker A:And everyone goes, oh, you're crazy.
Speaker A:We'll always have this.
Speaker A:Like this is, this is our bastion of hope.
Speaker A:And then they're shocked when 20 years later, they're looking around, they're like, well, I don't what, when did this happen?
Speaker A:And it's like it was a concerted effort.
Speaker A:And they've done that in the schools, they've done it in the universities, and, and we shouldn't be surprised when it happens in any place.
Speaker C:They're doing it now with everybody moving from COVID People fled from California and moving in to all over the country, but they're still voting the same way they did.
Speaker C:So they're going to ruin your state too, where we still haven't even seen that play out.
Speaker C:So that's still something that'll take, you know, five, 10, 15 years before we realize the impact of what we just had with the Balkanization of the country.
Speaker B:I mean, look at Austin.
Speaker B:I would hate to say look at Nashville.
Speaker B:I mean, Memphis, Memphis, very red cities mostly now turning very, very dark blue.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's scary to think that you could, that Texas, you could take a city in Texas and turn it dark blue.
Speaker C:Look what happened in Massachusetts.
Speaker C:Liberty began there.
Speaker C:I mean, tonight is the anniversary of Paul Revere's ride.
Speaker C:It all started tonight.
Speaker C:And you can't find anything pro Constitution in Massachusetts anymore.
Speaker C:You know, the place that started it all is the place that's, you know, heading towards the ruin.
Speaker A:But they don't see it that way.
Speaker A:No, they, they have so changed the language, so changed the narrative that if you have a conversation with them, they would believe that they are on the side of liberty.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And they don't teach stuff anymore.
Speaker C:They don't teach the Constitution.
Speaker C:Like the revolution started tomorrow.
Speaker C:That's the anniversary of it.
Speaker C:But most people don't even know that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so I, I agree with you.
Speaker A:It's important that we, you know, educate ourselves because if they keep changing the meaning, if they keep redefining, it's so hard to fight because it's not an even playing field.
Speaker A:Because they believe that they are upholding the Constitution and, and they find ways.
Speaker A:You know, you can hear the, the anti gunners remarks in court cases and you can read and you're like, how did you arrive at this conclusion?
Speaker A:Like, if we're looking at the text, history and tradition of the second Amendment, we have a very clear, clear path here.
Speaker A:And they don't see it that way because they, they view everything under the.
Speaker A:That public safety, everything is the government.
Speaker A:And, and they can grant you certain privileges, but that's how they view it.
Speaker A:They don't view rights as rights anymore.
Speaker A:They view rights as privileges.
Speaker A:And they've just changed the definition of.
Speaker C:The word, which is why we need to be voices out there, because the Constitution's not giving power to the government.
Speaker C:It's actually limiting the power of government.
Speaker C:And nothing, if it's not in there, they don't have that power.
Speaker C:It's relegated to the states or the people.
Speaker C:And people have forgotten that, which is why the government's growing at a rate like it never has before.
Speaker B:Well, let's.
Speaker B:Let's change gears a little bit.
Speaker B:Knoxville, we're sitting here in Tennessee right now.
Speaker B:Kaylee, why are we sitting here in Tennessee right now?
Speaker A:We are sitting here in beautiful East Tennessee, right.
Speaker A:Right outside of Knoxville because we have a very exciting event happening in August.
Speaker A:Goals, the Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit.
Speaker A:Jared will be on our main stage and on several panels throughout the weekend.
Speaker A:But it's going to be an exciting time to learn and educate yourself on the Second Amendment, pick up some new tricks and tools in your.
Speaker A:Your tool belt for being a better advocate.
Speaker A:Have fun with the Second Amendment community.
Speaker A:We know it's been a super hard fight to get to this point, and we're going to celebrate our.
Speaker A:Our Constitution, celebrate the Second Amendment, and have fun all doing it.
Speaker B:Well, you two being native to this area, what does it mean to you guys?
Speaker C:Well, I've only been here for a year.
Speaker B:You've been here for a year.
Speaker B:Native.
Speaker B:You live here.
Speaker B:Okay, you guys being local to the area, I'll tell you what a year.
Speaker C:Here, it's worth, you know, 40 years of pain in Massachusetts.
Speaker A:You earned it.
Speaker A:You earned this.
Speaker B:So what does it mean for you guys for a Pro2A convention to come to the city of Knoxville?
Speaker C:I think it's huge because I think that what you all are doing with goals has the potential to be something ginormous.
Speaker C:It could.
Speaker C:Has the potential to be the biggest event to educate folks in the country and to have it happen in Tennessee, which is, you know, one of the free states in the country.
Speaker C:It's pretty cool.
Speaker C:Plus, I don't have to really travel.
Speaker C:I can just drive down there.
Speaker C:Knoxville's only two hours from the House, so it's not that bad.
Speaker C:But I'm glad that GOA has chosen to come to Tennessee.
Speaker C:I did a lot of lobbying behind the scenes, as you guys know, to tell them how great this area is.
Speaker C:And you all knew it anyway.
Speaker C:But I'd rather it be here, because I really think that what's going on here in Tennessee should be going on in every other state.
Speaker C:And we're not perfect, but what has happened here in the last 15 years can happen in your state no matter where.
Speaker C:You're listening.
Speaker C:If you're frustrated with your politicians, we were frustrated here.
Speaker C:This used to be a blue state, too, so things can happen.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I think you're right when you say that this is going to be one of the best events to get educated at.
Speaker B:But not only is it going to be the best event to get educated at, but you're also going to be able to meet companies, you're going to get to shake hands.
Speaker B:It's in a very great location.
Speaker B:The city of Knoxville is fantastic.
Speaker B:I think this is going to be something that is going to be talked about for years and months and time after, you know, I was at the first GOA convention, and as it goes.
Speaker C:On, plus, I mean, the mayor of Knox county is Kane from the wwe.
Speaker B:Listen, I'm going to say this right now.
Speaker B:If Kane and Undertaker go on stage together, I might faint.
Speaker B:I might just have, like, my little kid brain go, oh, my God, my heroes are talking again.
Speaker B:That's all I want.
Speaker B:So if there's anybody out there who can make this happen, please make this happen.
Speaker C:Mayor Jacobs, he's talking to you.
Speaker B:Actually, when I landed in Knoxville, he was in the airport when I.
Speaker B:He was on my flight.
Speaker B:And I didn't realize until I got.
Speaker C:I'm like, he's a large human.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's Glenn Jacob.
Speaker B:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:Yeah, I. I was right.
Speaker A:I lived right outside of Knox county when he started his campaign for mayor, and I went to several of his events.
Speaker A:And, like, I'm already a small human.
Speaker A:Like, I'm five foot tall.
Speaker A:I felt microscopic.
Speaker A:I was like, I don't exist in, like, his orbit.
Speaker A:Like, he's just like a massive human.
Speaker A:But he's a fantastic mayor, and I'm hoping one day he will continue his political career, because I think he.
Speaker A:He is great for taking a very, very blue county and making some major moves there in the right direction to be more gun friendly.
Speaker A:And for those that may have the question, yes, you can conceal carry at the convention.
Speaker A:So that is just not a high point.
Speaker C:No caring high points.
Speaker C:Unless it's the one that's dollar bills on it.
Speaker C:$100 Bills.
Speaker C:That's all right.
Speaker B:High point's gonna be there.
Speaker B:So I don't know if we should.
Speaker C:Say that, that's why I said it, because I want them to bring that.
Speaker C:That money one.
Speaker B:All right, Josh, if you're listening to this, which I don't know if you are, but please bring the money one.
Speaker B:I'll send you an email later.
Speaker B:No, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm super excited.
Speaker B:You know, like we said, High Point's going to be there.
Speaker B:Smith Smith and Wesson's going to be there.
Speaker B:Iwi a lot of our partners are going to be there.
Speaker B:It's going to be cool.
Speaker B:Canik Sentry.
Speaker A:And I hear there's a coffee company coming.
Speaker A:Do you know anything about a coffee company?
Speaker C:I might know something.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's.
Speaker C:Is it blackout coffee?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker C:It's a pretty cool company if you ask me as one of the owners.
Speaker C:I think we're pretty cool.
Speaker C:It's a way we can help goa.
Speaker C:We donate every money, every month money to you all.
Speaker C:We, as you guys know, but the people listening.
Speaker C:We have our own coffee line for Gun Owners of America.
Speaker C:The no Compromise blend.
Speaker C:And anytime you buy any, any product, whether it's 15 or 1, we give $2 for each one of those products, whether it's K cup, whole bean or ground, right back to Goa every single month.
Speaker C:And it's our honor to help fight for the Second Amendment.
Speaker C:And it's cool to have y' all in the back.
Speaker C:Well, we're in Florida, but I'm here, so it's still my backyard.
Speaker A:We appreciate that and thank you for keeping us caffeinated.
Speaker A:That is probably great for the office staff to not kill each other.
Speaker B:This podcast is brought to you by Blackout Coffee.
Speaker B:We got a little plug there.
Speaker B:No, I think it's good.
Speaker B:I'm really excited about this convention.
Speaker B:We really sat down, Kayleigh and I, and went through Kaylee more than I when she went through all the comments from other conventions and listening to the industry and listening to content creators and people like that to see what the pain points were and really trying to make this a fun convention for everybody to enjoy.
Speaker B:Kaylee's super excited because she's got kids area set up.
Speaker B:There's going to be a coloring contest we're gonna have just for the kids.
Speaker A:Just for the kids.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know what we'll make?
Speaker A:We'll make an exception.
Speaker C:What if we had some black and white cane masks and have a coloring contest for the adults?
Speaker C:Ooh, but have him the judge.
Speaker B:Ooh, I'm in for that.
Speaker B:She can't sign off.
Speaker B:That's not signed off on.
Speaker B:I'm just in for that.
Speaker B:It's not gonna.
Speaker A:Don't come asking.
Speaker B:Well, I'm, I'm really excited that, you know, a lot of companies have already said they're going to launch new products.
Speaker B:There's going to be time on the stage for them to talk about it.
Speaker B:You're gonna see talks from a ton of cool people.
Speaker B:There's going to be a content creator panel to talk to some of your favorite YouTubers.
Speaker B:There's going to be a ton of cool things that are different than other events and bring us together as a community and give people the opportunity to ask questions and talk to people and learn and get educated, which is a big thing for us.
Speaker B:And not only that, but then you get to go see all the cool guns.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm just saying education and guns in the same place.
Speaker B:It's a win.
Speaker B:Win.
Speaker C:Definitely a win.
Speaker C:I can't wait.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:So please plug your socials.
Speaker A:Anything else that you want to say about where they can find you, how to find you, how to subscribe?
Speaker C:All the fun things, guns and gadgets on YouTube is the main one.
Speaker C:It's the same on all the socials.
Speaker C:If you're into the second amendment, you want to stay up to date on a daily basis.
Speaker C:I do try to do two videos a day, so there's always something going on.
Speaker C:And if you want to learn about it, subscribe to the channel and stay in the know.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, thank you for watching this episode of Goa State of the Second.
Speaker A:We hope that you enjoyed it.
Speaker A:If you are not subscribed, please subscribe.
Speaker A:Leave a five star review on podcasting platforms and if you have not signed up to attend goals, registration is now open.
Speaker A:Go to go Goals Gun owners.
Speaker A:Org and we'll see you next week.
