Write ... those ... letters. Everyone.
Don't let others do this for you. Don't assume that one more letter won't make a difference.
And after you send that letter, call your Conservative MP's office (or your local constituency office if you only have a Conservative seeking election) and ask for a 10 minute meeting to discuss your concerns. If they don't book an appointment for you, call again -- and this time remind them that your vote cannot be assumed or taken for granted. They will book that meeting, believe me, they will.
And if you still think others will do this for you and that you just don't have the time ... well, YOU can be the one explaining to your kids and grandkids why they can't own firearms. It will be because of YOU.
This is so important ... so many times people just assume someone else will make the noise, then it never happens and issues just move on to something else.
Many people who are not interested in, don't own or are against firearms altogether are not making decisions on data or evidence, but on their emotional reaction to something they find scary (guns, pit bulls, tarantulas, fast motorcycles ... pick one). Governments can clearly use those fears to pursue an agenda. The government does not seem to have any data to scientifically establish that banning these guns will actually reduce crime (probably because there is no such data) yet people still believe it.
The firearms community needs to find ways to get across to people that public safety and firearms ownership (regardless of type, within certain limits) are not contradictory. No one seems able to point to data to prove the banned guns are actually a problem, yet many people still believe no one needs a weapon of war or whatever exaggerated wording gets used to describe guns.
If you showed a picture of an AR or X95 to someone outside the firearms community, many would say why the hell would any civilian need that? We need to be able to convince people that responsible ownership (which can be based on interest, not need) of just about anything is not an issue and not contradictory to public safety.
So, while political action as noted here is crucial, we also need a way to get a bigger groundswell of popular support, which can be a hard sell. In Canada a lot of people react negatively to any suggestion of guns as a right etc. So way more awareness is needed, in a way that doesn't make us look unreasonable.
Every time I go to my local club/range (at least twice a week), there are a lot of young people there doing a shooting experience etc. Many are new Canadians. Unsure how many will go on to get their PAL, but surely it is important to get as many people involved in order to build popular support for shooting as a sport. Again, can be a hard sell in Canada, but worth the effort. Many people only hear about or think about guns when there is a bad incident.
An example that comes up is, if someone is killed by a drunk driver, there is never any serious effort to say Ban Alcohol, probably because almost everyone uses it. Much easier to support getting rid of something if it doesn't affect you directly. So getting more people onboard with gun ownership, sport shooting and the industry in general is crucial. Even the worst politicians eventually have to consider what the people think.
OK, maybe I'm dreaming on that last point. Still, worth a try...
I know for my part I will be trying every legal and logical avenue I can find to try and reverse the anti-gun narrative. Possibly we are too late but not giving up.
