United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- With anti-Second Amendment extremists pursuing their agenda outside the legislative and political arenas, Second Amendment supporters need to be ready to do battle just about anywhere. When they push corporate gun control, this means that where you work could be where you will find yourself defending the Second Amendment.
However, the tactics useful in legislative and political fights are not going to be directly applicable to the workplace. Some don’t belong at all. Others, though, will become more important. The personal stakes when it comes to debating Second Amendment issues in the workplace are extremely high: They include your future livelihood.
One of the most important things to keep in mind will be the landscape. Know your employer’s policies on not just Second Amendment issues, but on what is and is not acceptable conduct at work. That knowledge will be vital for you to have, and for a very good reason: Most employers do not want to have constant debates on hot-button political issues in the workplace, especially if they disrupt the profitability of the business.
You need to think carefully about your position. Are you just starting your career? Are you near retirement? Single? Married? Divorced? Do you have kids? The answers to those questions should be taken into account when you consider how to defend the Second Amendment in the workplace.
As is the case when it comes to defending the Second Amendment in school, you will need to know how those who have power over your future have handled Second Amendment issues in the past. Do they apply rules neutrally, or have they shown a bias? If they have shown a bias, is it anti-Second Amendment? In those incidents, what sort of punishments were levied?
In the workplace, though, it goes beyond formal punishments. There can be informal ways to “punish” Second Amendment supporters. One of them is ostracizing them – in essence, nobody will want you on the team for various projects. Other forms of retaliation could include negative performance reports, being passed over for promotions, or even facing harassment. You need to plan ahead – and be ready to beat that blacklist.
Given the constant efforts to socially stigmatize the defense of the Second Amendment, you will need to be very mindful of how your defense of our rights comes across. Doing so is not a sign that you are a “Fudd,” appeasing anti-Second Amendment extremists, or capitulating on gun issues. Anyone who says it is any of those things has neither your best interests nor the effective defense of the Second Amendment in mind. Your first and best line of defense will be the esteem of your co-workers. That reputation, combined with one as a Second Amendment supporter that is credible, knowledgeable, and respectful of others, is crucial. Just be very careful – in the workplace, a misstep can not only wreck your life, it can also make defending the Second Amendment harder for others.
The next thing to do is to document interactions when discussing Second Amendment issues or even when they come up at work, especially if the interactions are contentious or if you feel harassed and/or threatened. Note potential witnesses, give a date and time of when you had the talk. It stinks to have to cover your butt when educating fellow Americans about our freedoms but given past efforts by anti-Second Amendment extremists to boycott Second Amendment supporters – whether media personalities like Laura Ingraham or companies like Wells Fargo – this is essential for your own protection. Anti-Second Amendment extremists have lied about Second Amendment supporters before. Don’t think they will make an exception for you.
While defending the Second Amendment in the workplace comes with a lot of challenges, in these times, it may very well become necessary. You don’t have to become a martyr for the cause of freedom. You can be an effective defender of the Second Amendment without sacrificing your livelihood. It just will take a lot of planning and preparation.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
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