NFATCA Report: “The New Normal?”

Jeff Folloder

“It is almost as if many of us are just waiting for somebody else to do the heavy lifting. And hoping that it will turn out well.”

Welcome to the new normal. How many times have you heard that? How about, how many times have you heard that just this week? It would seem as though “the new normal” is the moniker that is hung out as a response to dealing with things having changed. The intent, one would assume, is to convey the thought that things have changed on a somewhat permanent basis and may not have changed for the better. Let’s have a look at some of those new normal.

Gun shows. There are fewer of them, now, and many of the familiar ones are no longer a regular part of our community. When you do go to one of those shows, there are all kinds of new rules and mandates, depending on locale, that guide and inform expected behavior at the shows. Much of the firearms safety guidance is not new (hopefully!). But pandemic guidance is another thing. Wear a mask, maintain social distancing, wash your hands, etc. It has been my observation that most of the pandemic guidance is… casually ignored.

And that brings up the trip home from the gun show. Got the sniffles? Perhaps a sore throat, feeling a little achy, congestion? Now you go through your post-crowd punch list. Check yourself for fever, perhaps an in-home or drive-through Covid test? Each glance that the evening news has you doing an internal review of recent activities to see if your own, personal threat gauge needs to be adjusted. The new normal. We’ve done this for the annual two-step with influenza. It’s reasonable to believe that we will be doing the same with Covid and its evolution for the foreseeable future. The new normal.

Sadly, it would appear as though politics has garnered its own version of the new normal. What used to be partisan politics, with rational discourse as way to engage debate, has become significantly more polarized and perilous. What’s worse, political engagement has become so bothersome that most do not even bother to vote. That is setting up the mother of all harmonic feedback loops: those of us who are capable of effecting change are deliberately removing ourselves from the ability to do so. The new normal? It is almost as if many of us are just waiting for somebody else to do the heavy lifting. And hoping that it will turn out well.

The NFATCA is all too aware of the shortcomings of polarization and absolutism. We regularly hear from potential members and the community about their own ardent stance that falls nothing short of advocating the complete repeal of the National Firearms Act. To be sure, the NFA should be abolished! But there is absolutely no indication that any Congress in recent memory (or anyone contemplated in the near future) would even consider such a premise. When asked if the ardent patriot would like to financially support action aimed at repealing the NFA, the wallet never comes out. Just a pointing finger. We go on to explain what the NFATCA is doing to help make things better for all of the NFA community in light of the regulation. We do not apologize for the progress that we have made. Progress that has made more NFA opportunities available, more often, for more people, on a fair and equitable basis. Spending resources against that goal is productive. It’s our new normal. We are patient in working towards results that benefit the entire NFA community. If you would like to join us and support us, we would be honored! nfatca.org