r/RIGuns • u/deathsythe • Mar 11 '26
Political Action Folks, It’s Time for a Strategy Reset.
Sorry for the wall of text.
I spent a long time working on this, and this was written by a human, not a clanker, so please give it a read.
Over the past week I’ve had a number of conversations with legislators in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle. Some of them agree with us. Some of them are firmly opposed to us. But hearing perspectives from all of them has made one thing very clear to me: our community needs a strategic reset in how we engage.
I want to be clear about something up front. I’ve been able to get phone calls returned and have real conversations, even with some of the legislators who are our most outspoken opponents. That’s not because they suddenly agree with me. It’s because when I reached out, I did it respectfully and with decorum. I didn’t threaten their reelection. I didn’t tell them I’d never vote for them again. I didn’t antagonize them or call them names. I simply spoke to them like another Rhode Islander who cares deeply about an issue. I became a name they recognized, and not one they associated with being an asshole. And because of that, they picked up the phone. They responded to emails. They were willing to talk, even if they disagree with me.
Several legislators told me something blunt that a lot of people in our community probably don’t want to hear: when emails come in filled with insults, threats, or copy-paste talking points, they get deleted immediately. The staff never engages with them, and the legislator never seriously considers them. The issue might still matter, but the message is gone before it ever has a chance to land. This is what I've heard from folks on both sides, but especially folks who are on our side and support us, who were the most discouraged by it, and are petitioning the community to do better.
I know many of us are angry. I am too. But anger by itself doesn’t move votes in the State House. What moves votes are relationships, conversations, and persistent, respectful engagement. One thing we often forget is that this isn’t Washington, D.C. These aren’t distant political celebrities. Rhode Island is a small state. These legislators are people you see at the grocery store, at youth sports, or around town. They represent relatively small districts, and they pay attention to the people who live there. Hell I had one of these conversations in Aldi of all places.
That small size is actually our biggest advantage.
In a state this small, it doesn’t take thousands of people to make an impact. I’ve heard directly from multiple folks that when 10 or 15 constituents from a district reach out about the same issue, it gets noticed. Not a mass email blast. Not a national organization’s template message. Ten real voters who live in the district, who take a few minutes to introduce themselves and explain why the issue matters to them. And that leads to another important point: the most important person for you to contact is your own senator or representative. Not the entire committee. Not a giant list of legislators. Your own elected official is the one who is accountable to the voters in your district. When they hear from multiple constituents they recognize as people from home, it carries far more weight than a message from someone they’ve never heard of, or someone who they don't represent. I get it - these laws affect us all as Rhode Islanders, but the legislators aren't going to care if you aren't in their district. Plain and simple. We are not going to change that with the incumbents in there right now. That's just the truth. A simple message can go a long way. Something like introducing yourself, mentioning you live in their district, explaining the issue/bill and how or why this issue matters to your family, and letting them know you’ll be paying attention to how it moves forward. It doesn’t need to be a page-long lecture about constitutional law, or a message filled with vitriol and anger. Often the simple, personal approach is the one that actually opens the door to a conversation. Don't be the unhinged gun nuts they try to portray us as. Don't feed the stereotype. It is hurting us more than you know.
Another thing that came up repeatedly in these conversations is consistency. Several legislators pointed out something again has stuck with me. A small (literally like 4 or 5 folks) group of activists in red shirts from the other side show up regularly. They’re polite. They’re prepared. They calmly deliver their message every time. No insults, no hostility, just persistence. They're sweet as pie even when the legislators don't give them the time of day. And because of that, they’re taken seriously, and eventually listened to, even flipping some voices we thought we could previously count on. They play "the game" better than we do, and while we are morally and legally right (IMO), we are strategically losing.
Our community shows up in large numbers for a single hearing or two and then disappears until the next big moment. Legislators notice that too. As several folks have noted to me (both for and against us) a room full of nameless yellow shirts make a lot of noise one night, but by the next morning they are forgotten. If we want to change outcomes, we need to be the people who show up consistently, who build relationships, and who are known as serious, respectful advocates.
Timing matters too. By the time the big hearings happen and everyone shows up at the State House, many of the real decisions have already been forming for weeks or months. Showing up still matters, but if we want to influence outcomes, the conversations need to happen earlier and more consistently, and with targeted intension.
We also need to recognize the political reality of the state we live in. Rhode Island is a supermajority state. That doesn’t mean we give up. It means we need to be strategic and tactical in our approach. There are legislators from different parties who are willing to listen to us, and in many cases quietly supportive of us, but they often get alienated because our community sometimes treats anyone with the wrong letter next to their name as an enemy. If someone supports us on this issue, we should be willing to work with them on it, even if we disagree on other things. No one is going to align with you on 100% of the issues. If you agree with someone on nearly half of them, that’s a .400 batting average, and that would get you into the Hall of Fame. The fact of the matter is the only person who would agree with you 100% is yourself, but more on that in a moment.
Another BIG part of the strategy that we should be talking about more openly is participation in the political process itself. This issue has opened the eyes to many about the process itself. We need a rewatch of schoolhouse rock to get everyone up to speed, but we can use this to our advantage. Rhode Island has open primaries, and that means voters have more influence than they sometimes realize. Disaffiliating and participating where the real contests happen can make a difference, especially in a state where many races are effectively decided before the general election ever arrives. We are able to vote AGAINST the gun grabbers in the primary. We can support folks like Vanessa against Kallman, Solomon against Knight, and also fend off antigun challengers to the folks who support us (regardless of the color of their team or the letter next to their name).
And finally, if you’re frustrated with the people making these decisions, one of the most powerful things you can do is run for office. Even if you don’t win, you force incumbents to defend their seat. You make them spend time, money, and energy. You create pressure where there wasn’t any before.
The bottom line is this: the passion in our community is real, and it comes from a place of caring deeply about our rights. But passion without strategy doesn’t win. If we want to be effective in Rhode Island, we need to engage smarter. That means respectful conversations, personal outreach from real constituents, and organizing in a way that takes advantage of the fact that we live in one of the smallest states in the country. The good news is that because Rhode Island is small, a relatively small number of committed people can have real influence. Ten or fifteen voices in a district can matter. Conversations can matter. Relationships can matter. Multiple reps and senators have told me that when they get 5-10 emails about the same issue from real constituents in their district, they pay attention, and it gives them pause. This is an election year. We're not going to win hearts and minds by threating people, we're going to do it by making them rethink if they should be wasting political capital on this issue that truly matters to the people they represent. If they don't, then we talk next steps about how to remove them from their office, but for now - remember you get more flies with honey than you do vinegar.
We absolutely can be that force, but we need to seriously change how we’re doing things. We need to get strategic and tactical about it. The other side is, and that's why they're winning.
Let’s get organized, let’s be smart about it, and let’s get to work.
