Will the marches result in anything? YES!

[grumpyduck]

I don't believe for a millisecond that the GOP will do anything as a result of these marches. They're too stuck in their own world, too stubborn, too [fill in the blank]. Maybe they're even too afraid of [fill in the blank]. If anything, they'll just stick their heads deeper into the sand.

However, I do believe that some things will happen:

One, the marches will create some discussion among a lot of people who haven't given the matter any serious thought so far. They'll argue pro and con, but there will be more discussions.

Two (going along with the above), every kid on those marches has parents. Nobody will ever convince me -- without solid proof -- that all those parents are Democrats. Given the numbers, I have to believe some are Republicans, some are NRA members, and some are die-hard gun owners. I can just imagine some of these kids having arguments with their parents about going on the marches. But a lot of these parents are suddenly going to go, "shit, that could be my kid in the body bag." It's going to make them think, now and at the coming elections.

Three, a lot of those kids are going to become eligible to vote in the next year or two. And I think they're going to, whether or not they ever thought they would. In the long run, that has nothing to do with guns; it just has to do with voting.

Four, and regardless of the NRA's rantings (and going back to item one above), there are solutions to these shootings besides "taking away our guns." The problem isn't the guns: the problem is the shootings. I'll probably get flamed roundly for this, but we have to accept that there are three separate issues here: the shootings and their causes; the fact that an AR-15 seems to be the weapon of choice; and the Second Amendment. There need to be three separate conversations, and I think these marches will get people to talk and hopefully to have three separate conversations.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. GOTV register EVERY 18 yr old, show them which side supports them and 80% of them

will vote for DEMOCRACY not DICTATOR

[Arkansas Granny]

2. I just got home from our march. I'm not good at estimating crowd size,

but I would guess at least 300 people were there. Most of the speakers were high school students and a lot of emphasis was placed on registering to vote and electing more gun control advocates. There weren't any counter protestor and several cars honked horns as they drove by.

I'm curious to see if it will get any news coverage. I didn't see any local TV stations there.

[doodsaq]

3. I'm feeling good about the young ones voting this November

Hoping they don't let us down!

[3Hotdogs]

4. What was it ---- half a million people marching in N.Y.C. before the build-up to the Iraq War?

It didn't accomplish its goal.

It shows potential but as Bukowski said, "Potential don't mean shit. Ya gotta do something."

After the march, if there is no meaningful follow-up, nothing happens. In late August, the Parkland kids will be in college. They can't be expected to continue on tv tours.

More marches will end up in fewer marchers.

If people don't see meaningful legislative change, pressure will diminish and it will be back to business (and gun profits) as usual.

I don't know what to do.

Do you have suggestions to turn the anger into results?

[grumpyduck]

5. Yes I do, but it's only my opinion

I said in another post a day or two ago that I believe Americans are becoming more and more gullible. So here goes.

The NRA is behind a lot of this anger about guns. But we are not seeing the NRA for what it really is: a lobby for gun manufacturers. IOW, an organization that's promoting profit-making businesses. So bear with me...

Gun manufacturing from 1986 thru 2009 was at about the same level: an average of four million units a year: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/08/huge-increase-in-u-s-gun-production-in-recent-years/ Other sources provide pretty much the same numbers.

From 2001 thru 2005 the numbers started to dip; in '01 they were actually lower than in '86. Not good for profit-making businesses, right? They went up slightly in '06 thru '08, but not enough to get out of the old pattern. "So what can we do?"

So I have to believe that somewhere, someone turned to the NRA (or vice versa) with an idea: Hey, here's a new president, a Democrat, who's African-American. He's already made some noise abut guns. Let's do an advertising campaign (read that again: an advertising campaign) saying he's going to take our guns away. Bingo. The campaign worked: people who were afraid of this new guy, and who liked guns, started to buy guns. The numbers went up from just under six million in '09 to over ten million today.

We already know some of that. It's not news. But I think we fail to realize that this is all an advertising campaign which feeds on the government to create fear and get people to think they have to buy more guns. Is there a Russia connection? I don't know, but that's a separate issue from the advertising campaign; if anything, Russia is helping that advertising campaign.

I can imagine a few things, but then again I have a good imagination: I can imagine people sitting around a conference table saying, okay, that campaign works; what other products can we offer while the going is hot? Ahh-ha! bump stocks. Sure. We know there's going to be a response to this, so let's produce as many as we can before they're outlawed. I can also imagine reps from gun manufacturers congratulating NRA and its ad agencies for the increase in sales. And I can even imagine -- get this one -- people at NRA sitting around that same table agreeing that Trump and the GOP are just idiots who are falling for an ad campaign. They would probably toss the whole gang under the bus if a better idea came along. Maybe not, but I can imagine it.

So what can we do? See the light. This is business. Stop falling for an ad campaign that's just using the government and the media to feed it. Spread the word. All the killings? They're just helping sales.

I've been in and around business my whole life, and this makes total sense to me.

Now, if somebody would like to offer a rebuttal in an adult, civilized manner, explaining why they don't agree with my points, I'd love to hear it.