How Kanye Discussing Guns Can Boost The Defense Of The Second Amendment

Opinion

#Kanye couldn’t have said it better: Illegal guns are the problem, and we have the right to bear arms. The #NRA’s nearly six million members are glad to see a celebrity who gets it, and who is willing to stand with the #2A. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/RJffxucAM5

— NRA (@NRA) October 11, 2018

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Superstar rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West recently came out in support of the Second Amendment while in the Oval Office visiting President Trump, saying, “We have the right to bear arms.”

The National Rifle Association gleefully praised his remarks, noting in a tweet “The #NRA’s nearly six million members are glad to see a celebrity who gets it, and who is willing to stand with the #2A.”

West, naturally, took a lot of hits from others in Hollywood. But there is a big reason why he matters. West has undeniable star power, not only in his own right, but also by being married to Kim Kardashian. This has not been an asset the NRA has had in a long time – and Kanye is a particularly potent threat to those who seek to abridge our Second Amendment rights [as well as the entire Democrat leftist agenda].

One of the things that has hurt Second Amendment defenders in the past is the perception that it is widely a rural issue. This media distortion comes about as many in the media ignore one of our most basic rights: Self-defense. In that sense, the Second Amendment matters – and nowhere is the need for the right to self-defense more apparent than in some of America’s urban areas.

Chicago and Baltimore are two such urban areas with huge crime rates. They are also in states with very restrictive gun laws. Defenders of the Second Amendment have long noted how the latter has failed to address the former. Yet both cities help send plenty of anti-Second Amendment lawmakers to the state legislature and Congress. Both cities also tilt statewide races in favor of anti-Second Amendment candidates.

The harsh reality is that as effective as pro-Second Amendment leaders like Wayne LaPierre, Chris Cox, Charlton Heston, and others have been, they do not have the reach or cultural connections Kanye would in a place like Chicago or Baltimore. Furthermore, Kanye’s star power also reaches to younger voters, the target of anti-Second Amendment groups like March for Our Lives. If Kanye can reach those voters, and convince some of them to support pro-Second Amendment candidates and policies, it helps defend the Second Amendment for everyone.

These are areas that the NRA has not been entirely effective in getting its message out. Kanye may not be 100 percent down the line, but he is on the side of Second Amendment supporters far more often than he sides with Chuck Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, and others who seek to ban guns. He has opened the door for the pro-Second Amendment argument to be made.

The fact is, most Americans who hear both sides of the argument tend to support our Second Amendment rights when the facts are laid out logically. That is the good news. The bad news is that getting Americans to hear our side of the argument can be a challenge when the media and celebrities are overwhelmingly supporting those who seek gun bans. Worse, the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting, when emotions run high, is when the anti-Second Amendment politicians try to strike, and the power of the media and celebrities are targeted squarely on us, and people are not as receptive to facts and logic – they are feeling emotionally driven to “do something” about whatever tragedy struck.

While Kanye West’s recent emergence as a defender of the right to keep and bear arms is not a guarantee – it is an opportunity. If this chance is seized on, there is a chance to deal a crippling blow to the coalition that the likes of Schumer and Bloomberg rely on.

About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

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