But I've been a registered Democrat since 1972. I had been a registered Independent before that, but found it difficult to vote for anyone important in the primary election. Florida has a closed primary.
By the way I voted in the recent Florida Democratic primary for a Presidential candidate and I'm upset that my vote probably will not count. My daughter, who normally votes in every election, choose not to vote for her choice of a Democratic candidate since she believed her vote would be useless She did vote on other issues that were on the ballot. Many other Floridians also decided not to vote. In reality we should have held another primary. Many of us feel Florida and Michigan voters were disenfranchised.
It's only in the last week that I discovered the Amendment II Democrats. I can thank DU for that. I plan to join in the near future, probably this week. Life sometimes interferes with internet activity. I've bookmarked their home page and so far I find that I agree with their viewpoint. For any pro-gunners who read this post their homepage is
http://www.a2dems.net/index.htm Check it out.
I'll admit that I have voted for a Republican in the General Election before. My vote was driven by the Democratic Parties position on gun control. Of course I used the NRA ratings of candidates in the state and national primaries and general elections to help form my decisions. If a Democrat had a high NRA rating, he got my vote.
I believe many gun owners voted for candidates who supported the rights of honest citizens to own guns. This fact may well have decided close elections.
But the bottom line is that the Democratic Party favors the average citizen over the big corporations. As my father pointed out to me in 1962, the Republicans are for big business. (He was a lifelong Democrat who voted the straight ticket.) He's long gone and I miss his wisdom and advice.
I'm for universal health insurance, better education for the future generations, well regulated fair trade that's good for the country, equal rights for all citizens despite their race or gender, a woman's right to make decisions about abortion and better jobs for Americans and less outsourcing to foreign countries. I feel the Democrats have the viewpoint that most agrees with my own.
But I value the Second Amendment and the right of honest citizens to own and use guns, not only for hunting and sport, but for self defense.
I definitely hope to never be unable to protect myself against some bad guy with a firearm because the Democratic Party took away my rights and left me defenseless.
So I believe the Amendment II Democrats are on the right track. If they can become an important force in the Democratic Party, then gun owners rights will be safe. We can elect officials who concentrate on solving the problems the United States faces today. We can take back control from the big corporations and restore the middle class to it's important role in this country. We can improve the lives of every citizen. We can regain the respect we once had among other nations and serve as a inspiration to the world. At the very minimum we can do better than we are today.
I can understand that many anti-gun advocates resent and distrust gun owners who want to change the direction the Democratic Party has taken over the years. Maybe you could try to work with the pro-gun Democrats and pass reasonable gun laws. Maybe we could work together to solve the root causes of violence.
I hope so.
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