HBecwithFn7

I just hope it doesn't have the opposite effect - i.e. galvanizing the gun grabbers to grab harder... being, thus, "butthurt" from that loss. Having seen how butthurt they can get from Pres. Trump's 2016 victory, that can get a little scary. Remember, SCOTUS is not the most powerful branch of Govt. That belongs to the legislature... and they're elected by "We the People." No matter what SCOTUS decides, the people can decide to elect legislators that will implement whatever they choose... (well... hopefully.... in reality, it's probably that they'll implement whatever keeps them in power... )... We definitely have to get our numbers up....

And Essex, Union, Middlesex, Camden, Mercer (Trenton), etc. etc.

My only point in starting the thread was this... There are a number of different theories as to how many of "us" there are (i.e how many conservative, pro-constitution, pro-2A folks). Even more theories as to how many of "us" are defending our rights & values actively. Likewise, there are the same for those who are anti-gun, anti-constitutional. Point being, I see the numbers of "anti" folks rising... well beyond "our" numbers, it seems. I'm only suggesting that we need to increase our numbers accordingly, or we will be lost. Yes, there are many ways to increase our numbers. Converting people on the fence, inviting people to the range, fighting for changes to the education system, etc. etc. But also to instill those conservative/pro-constitutional values onto our own children... It's important to teach our children as we pro-2A folks are getting older, and that's one reason why the numbers are dwindling. I had been watching some suggested YouTube videos on International Adoptions (primarily China), and I had wondered if "adoption in general" is something that folks like "us" might do, for whatever reason. While I would never advocate "adoption" for any primary purpose other than what you stated (i.e. the sheer desire to provide a better life for a child who might not have one otherwise), one positive of "us" doing so is that we'd have more people (and, specifically, young people) to which we can pass our values of freedom, liberty and the US Constitution. I was just wondering what the feeling was about adoption among us "pro-2a/const" folks are, keeping in mind that one remote benefit is that we have the potential to raise those children with our values... That's all.

Mods, feel free to delete the thread.

That's true... There may be many more gun owners than we know of. But how many of them are active and voted for candidates that support 2A? If there are so many more of us gun owners than we think, why then did HRC win the popular vote? And why did we here in FL just squeak in getting the republican Gov. DeSantis elected as well as Republican Rick Scott for FL Sen? And why did a democrat (Nikki Fried) win over a republican for the DOACS commissioner office? Because not all of those who own guns participated in the elections or they voted for other candidates. This is why I feel we need to increase our numbers.... number of "active" participants in the strugle to support 2A. It does us no good to have all those gun owners if they don't vote to support candidates that will help us.... The dems come out in full force and vote as one... We need to do the same.

Perhaps you sent them to the wrong college? Seriously, I realize we are limited in our choices for conservative oriented higher education but, hopefully, we can teach or own kids, otherwise.

Any effort made would require a solid commitment from the parents - without that we are toast no matter what we do (as far as kids go). I'd be willing to put in that effort.... I just wish more parents would be as well.

I do that every chance I get. But I'm finding that once kids become adults and have been flushed through the education system we have today, they're going to be set in their anti/progressive ways. I was hoping that by increasing the very young, we could do a little molding and getting them to think for themselves, before they get all that other "indoctrination." That, and it will also help us with the aging in our ranks as well. A true Herculean effort when these folks have already been brainwashed by the education system and the MSM. A much harder thing to do I think than changing mindsets on LGBTQ rights. I agree. And we have several members on my Florida forum that are quite liberal and espouse that to the hilt, but are also pro-2A. And I don't dismiss their veracity on either point. They liven up the discussions! My own niece and nephew probably fit that category. I'll take them for 2A's sake for sure. But I will be cautious.

Unfortunately, i think you'll find Texas has changed a bit.... especially near Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, etc. And Florida certainly has changed a lot. The progressives are coming here and bringing their ways with them. We barely squeaked by this past 2018 election, and we lost the DOACS chair to a democrat (DOACS is the Dept. that overseas CC licenses in FL). It won't be long before "the rest of America" will look just like NJ does, now. Unless we do something about it.

All - I have been sobered, being reminded of the costs of adoption, these days... often running into the $50-100K range.... What a Freakin' reality check. I wonder why people would even bother now, unless they're millionaires. The "costs" are something you don't see (or aren't otherwise referred to) in those YouTube videos. And no wonder.... they would turn people off in a hurry. Just to clarify, for those who cautioned not to adopt solely for adding more potential pro-2A candidates, I do agree with you and should have worded that a bit more carefully. It is truly an all encompassing decision... one must be truly ready for the responsibility of raising a child (either by natural birth or adoption), and want to take that responsibility on. One must be emotionally and financially prepared for it as well. I would never take that on solely for the purpose of adding 2A Ranks to our side. I'm simply trying to find a way to counter all the additional people being added to the "anti" side by "procreation" & "adoption," etc. Their numbers are rising. We need to make our numbers rise as well. And not just for 2A reasons. We need people who are going to become responsible adults that are "Freedom & Liberty" oriented, unlike those who just simply want all that "free stuff" and expect others to pay for it. The other concern (and why I was trying to focus on bringing in more "youth,") is that our side does seem to be more heavy on the ""senior" end of the spectrum. We need more youth in our base to counteract that. We also need more minority and other bases as well. The more our numbers grow, and the more we engage the existing numbers we have, the more able we are to fight this and win.

No, the title is not a typo! It's something I've been thinking about for some time, especially in re: a Pro-2A context. Bear with me here, and I'll explain. It seems to me that we pro-2A folks are (and have been) in a population "numbers battle" with the antis and progressives. And, right now, it appears we aren't doing all that well. It looks like there are a lot more of them than there are of us... at least on the surface. The antis/progressives just keep on "procreating" and "procreating" and leaving us in the dust. Populations are moving into *our* states and turning them purple, and then eventually blue. And by having control of both the education system and the MSM, the numbers of antis/progressives just keep multiplying. But I'm also wondering if we can't fight fire with a little fire of our own, here. Can we not increase our own numbers the same way the anti's are, and teach our kids to think for themselves while, at the same time, instilling our values of freedom and liberty (the very values on which this country was founded)? And, of course, a good healthy like and respect for 2A! But how to increase our numbers so quickly? In my recent YouTube travels, I had stumbled upon some videos (suggested by YouTube... why I don't know...) depicting both the struggles but, more so, the triumphs of couples adopting young children (mostly females) from (mostly) China. This, I guess, to ease the overpopulation in China (which led to things like the "one child" policy). Apparently, these parents are so proud of the efforts they made to adopt a child from China that they documented the whole process and posted it on YouTube. Some even post update videos of the kid at as late as 9-10 years of age. Don't know if I'd ever do that (the YouTube part, that is)... I'm much more of a "privacy" freak, I guess. I might film it, but I'd never post it. Still, it was interesting to see a couple of trends from the videos I watched. Many of them had a religious undertone, implying that the family's decision to adopt was a "divine" one... one inspired by God. You can see evidence of that not only in their choices of background music or the narrative captions in the videos (many being bible verses), but even in how they interact with the kids (i.e. singing religious songs to them and teaching them to sing them in return). And, although most of this activity seemed of the Christian persuasion, I don't doubt there are other equivalent efforts in other faiths. But I digress, here. Point being, could this (adoption) be a way for us pro-2A folks to increase our numbers a bit more, and help us even the numbers out, if not increase them? Would you be willing to adopt a child or two to help make our numbers larger? Sadly, I don't think I'd be able to as I doubt I'd qualify as an adoptive parent by China standards (I'm an older single male.... I understand that China changed their policy and no longer allow single parent adoptions). I also understand that they've relaxed the one child policy as well, so the international adoption process is more competitive. I know it's a bit of a hassle, but it seemed to bring those parents who stuck it out and were successful so much joy. And we'd have more new folks on *our* side... Thus, if not an international adoption, perhaps a domestic one? Thoughts?

Yes, it will..... If you aren't on the road by 06:00am in the morning, fugheddaboutit!

I'm not sure it's "just the battery." After all, the battery (or whatever's left of it) still maintains a full charge. It could be a different component. But whatever it is, it's caused the case to be "bent out of shape. The case and, especially the screen, is no longer flat. It's "distorted/inflated" around the 9 o'clock position as you're facing it, vertically. And the distortion can be felt on both the front and the back. Still, it works. And as long as it does, I can use it. I just hope it stays usable until the 5G phones come out, and 5G is available in my area. Or, perhaps, as suggested elsewhere, I can upgrade a GS9.

I'd be in the IT bracket, trust me. And I agree, I don't want to "beta test" either. But if I go with the 4G LTE phone, I'm committed to it for a long time. I won't upgrade again for maybe 5+ years. And by then, they're probably up to 6G. We'll have to see.

As it so happens, my old 4G LTE smart phone (a GS5) is showing its age. It still works, and it seems to keep a full charge, but it appears to have "puffed out..." (i.e. an inflated battery.. maybe it corroded or not, I don't know). You can definitely see the expansion, even inside its Otter box casing. Still, it is 100% functional and, as stated, keeps a full charge. But, for how long, I'm not sure. Thus, the dilemma of buying a new smart phone. But the greater dilemma being, do I stay with 4G LTE or do I wait for 5G to emerge, it being very close to release. My experience in IT and general technology tells me to "stick with 4G LTE" and not be on the "bleeding edge" of new technologies. I know what the new 5G technologies are supposed to do in re: capacity, speed, etc., but I also know that it's dependent on getting newer and more local towers installed (the tower range is shorter), and I'm not sure of the costs for data service on a 5G network. Frankly, I don't use the Internet that much on my 4G LTE phone (or tablet) due to the costs. But if that's where the future technology is going...... So, are any of you keen to move to 5G or are you likely to keep status quo for a while? Should I wait for the 5G phones to come out (I think Samsung's first model would be the GS10+), or should I just go for a GS9 or something like that?