We desperately need new messaging on gun control

| 9:09 am EDT May 26, 2022
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We’ve spent a generation pushing the “no one is trying to take away your guns we just want to regulate them” thing and it’s gotten us nowhere. Maybe it’s time we threaten to take away all guns, and see if it scares reasonable gun owners into compromising with us. Just a thought.

It’s not about getting rid of all guns, which won’t happen. It’s about negotiating. We always start off by offering to meet pro gun people in the middle, and they just ignore us because they feel no compulsion to give us an inch. But if they feared losing their guns altogether, maybe it would be a different story.

“But they’ll just start shooting at us!” They’re shooting at us now.

The point is that the “no one is trying to take your guns away” messaging clearly doesn’t work and never will work. It doesn’t make the pro gun people like us more, and it also doesn’t motivate them to give us any kind of gun control.

I often defend the Democrats against unfair accusations of bad messaging. But in this instance, “no one is trying to take your guns away” is just terrible, terrible messaging. How do we know this? Kids keep getting shot in school, and the messaging still has no impact.

I’m not claiming to know precisely what the messaging or solution is here. But I do know that our messaging on this issue is getting us absolutely nowhere, even as kids are dying. That’s not okay. We have to find a smarter messaging approach on this issue. We just have to.

Polls show 90% of Americans support some form of gun control. 90% of voters agree with us on this. Only 10% of voters agree with Republicans on this. But many within that 90% clearly don’t consider it enough of a priority to sway their vote, no matter how many kids get shot.

My guess is most voters in the middle don’t think Democrats will do anything about gun control even if they’re given the seats to do it. This is incorrect. But when our messaging tepidly starts off with “no wants to take away your guns,” can you blame them for thinking that?

90% of Americans want at least some guns taken away, and yet our messaging is “no one is trying to take your guns away.” It’s obvious why that messaging doesn’t resonate. It’s not nearly strong enough. Let’s stop talking about what we won’t do about guns.

There are some Democrats who, based on their passionate speeches from the House or Senate floor, and their emphatic tweet, appear to agree with me that we need more aggressive messaging on gun reform. Let’s throw some weight behind their voices, and see where it gets us.

I’m the one who keeps saying we first have to win the midterms and expand our majority no matter what, so we can then pass what we want to pass. But at this point more aggressive gun control messaging, particularly in left leaning districts, could probably win us more seats. Again, it’s just a thought. Our current approach on guns clearly isn’t working, and it clearly isn’t going to.