From The Truth About Guns:  http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/07/robert-farago/trace-nras-campaign-cultural-warfare-working/

Robert Farago
July 20, 2017

Michael Bloomberg’s civilian disarmament propagandists at The Trace can’t help but tell the truth about guns — on occasion. Guns Are Driving American Voters Further Apart cites new research from Social Sciences Quarterly that concludes . . .

Since the 1970s, possessing a firearm increases the likelihood of voting for Republican candidates . . . we find that the impact of gun ownership on the likelihood of voting for a Republican candidate increased across elections, reaching a level in 2012 nearly 50 percent higher than in 1972.

For once, The Trace gets the analysis right.

As the authors note, guns carry an enormous amount of symbolism for Americans of all stripes. To those who own them, firearms can stand for freedom, security, vigor, and masculinity. To those who don’t, they can signify violence, hierarchy, brute force, and indifference to society.

“We contend that the gun debate reflects a far broader conflict concerning competing conceptions of ideology and culture,” the paper reads.

My takeaway: gun ownership is an inherently political act. In fact, it’s a transformative political act. The more Americans who own guns, the safer our Constitutional republic will be. Without a shot fired.

Needless to say, The Trace’s Alex Yablon isn’t paid to doesn’t see it that way. He sees the study’s results as proof that the NRA’s flag-waving sh*t-stirring is effective.

It’s a conflict that the National Rifle Association, the self-appointed leader of gun culture, goes to great lengths to foment. The group’s political messaging is rife with appeals to cultural solidarity, values, and antipathy to those deemed enemies of freedom — the mainstream media, academics, Women’s Marchers — even if those targets have little to do with firearms. In this framework, Democratic candidates aren’t just gun-grabbers; they’re existential threats.

The problem being? “Right wing” gun owners block “common sense gun control.”

Complete article at:  http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/07/robert-farago/trace-nras-campaign-cultural-warfare-working/