Editor's Note: Occasionally, we allow readers to speak out on issues of importance to them. The controversy over the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show's ban on AR-style rifles has caused one of our Shooting and Tactical Wire contributors to address the question of compromise. We think you'll find Paul Markel's comments thought-provoking and -if you're neutral on the idea of restricting "assault weapons" - his viewpoint may offer you an insight into why gun owners are so staunchly opposed to any ban.

Penning this piece on January 21, 2013, I find it befuddling that there are still people in the outdoor and shooting sports community who are attempting to remain apolitical. They shy away from definitive terms like "liberal" or "conservative". These folks still believe that, if you only try hard enough, you can win a logical argument with people whose decisions are driven by emotion.

I've been scolded and advised not to "provoke" the anti-gun crowd, those who wish to disarm lawful American citizens. We need to be reasonable and willing to compromise I've been told. I will admit that I understand the origins of what I call the "reasonableness disease"; it stems from Mirror Thinking.

Humans at their base level believe that everyone else in the world thinks and behaves as they do. If they consider themselves a reasonable, rational person, they expect all other people to act the same. While this type of thinking is childish and naïve, it is nonetheless very prevalent, particularly among those who would rather not deal with problems head on but prefer sidestepping them.

If you are a person who is actively lobbying a government agency, be it Local, State, or Federal to restrict the ownership of firearms by lawful citizens of the United States you are endangering me as an individual, my family, my community, and, by extension, my country. In 2013 the tool most readily used to protect the individual from violence, oppression and tyranny is the firearm. Hundreds of years ago, governments worldwide outlawed the possession of swords by the peasant to ensure they paid their taxes and obeyed whichever ruler sat in power. The issue is the same; disarm the peasants so they can be ruled.

When you actively seek to disarm me you are deliberately attempting to subjugate me and put my family in mortal jeopardy. That fact makes you my enemy.

The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States did not create the rights of man; it simply enumerated and affirmed them. When you seek to nullify or circumvent the Constitution of the United States as well as the Constitutions of each individual State, you are my enemy.

Pretending that your enemy does not exist does not make it so. Ignoring your enemy only provides them time and opportunities to strengthen their position and deliver a final blow. Attempting to argue logic with a man ruled by emotion is no more productive than attempting to teach Latin to a hog. It wastes your time and annoys the hog.

I'm reminded of an apt analogy of compromise.

A burglar breaks into a home and demands the homeowner give him all of his money. The homeowner stubbornly refuses. The burglar then demands ninety percent of the owner's money. The homeowner again will not comply. Now the burglar demands half of the owner's money. Again he refuses to hand over a penny. "You just won't compromise on anything will you?" the frustrated burglar says accusingly.

How do you bargain with someone whose goal will endanger your family?

How do you compromise with a person who seeks to subjugate you and to nullify your God-given right to protect your life?

In what manner should you negotiate with a group of people who seek to circumvent and make irrelevant the foundational document that has made the United States of America the greatest and most prosperous nation ever to grace this world?

The answer is; you don't.

No bargaining, no negotiation, and no compromise.

The enemy is the enemy. The sooner you accept that fact, the better equipped you will be to defeat them.

-- Paul Markel © 2013

About the Author
Paul Markel has been a firearms industry writer for twenty years and is the author of the new book "Student of the Gun; A beginner once, a student for life." Paul hosts and produces "Student of the Gun" a show dedicated to education, experience, and enjoyment of firearms. Episodes of SOTG can be viewed by simply going t www.studentofthegun.com and clicking the "play" icon.