State of the Second hosts Kaylee and John bring on Trey from Ghost Tactical, a Marine Corps veteran and 2A content creator, for a wide-ranging conversation about what it actually means to be a gun rights activist. Trey resists the activist label, arguing it belongs to people doing the political work at the highest level, while Kaylee pushes back with GOA's definition: an activist is anyone who takes personal responsibility in both the use of their firearms and the defense of their right to own them. The disagreement becomes the heart of the episode. They land on a shared idea, that the movement needs generals fighting the political fight and soldiers in the trenches living it out day to day, and that everyone's activist journey looks different.
From there the conversation turns to gun culture, training, and how to talk with people who disagree with you. Trey makes the case that true gun owners are among the safest people to be around and that it isn't his job to force anyone to change their mind. His approach is to plant seeds and let people reach their own conclusions, since the 10% on each side won't move but the 80% in the middle are open. On training, both agree it should never be mandated. Trey argues mandates invite low-quality instructors to feed on new gun owners, while the free market pushes the bad ones out. He stresses that training doesn't have to cost much: dry fire at home, stop the bleed and first aid courses, and tools like Mantis all count.
The back half digs into policy. They break down the proposed 1,000% excise tax as a bargaining tool designed to make a 10% tax look reasonable, and Kaylee explains why holding the line matters when the Second Amendment already has the high ground. She walks through GOA wins, including comments that stopped the green tip ammo ban, the lead ammo fight where over 90% of comments came from GOA members, and the six coalition letters tied to the House pistol brace resolution. The pistol brace rule, Trey says, is really a story about the federal government being willing to turn 30 million citizens into felons overnight. Trey closes by pointing listeners to Ghost Tactical and his podcasts, and John reminds viewers that GOA membership is $25 for the year.
Links
ghosttactical.us
Questions this episode answers
What is the difference between being a gun rights activist and being an advocate?
Trey from Ghost Tactical sees the activist label as reserved for people doing political work at the highest level, and calls himself an advocate instead. Host Kaylee pushes back, and they settle on a model where the movement needs generals fighting the political fight and soldiers living it out day to day.
How does Gun Owners of America define a gun rights activist?
By the GOA definition Kaylee offers, an activist is anyone who takes personal responsibility both in the use of their firearms and in the defense of their right to own them. That framing makes the label far broader than just full-time political operatives.
Why does Trey believe firearms training should not be state mandated?
Trey argues that training mandates invite low-quality instructors to feed on new gun owners, while a free market pushes the bad ones out. He believes everyone should train, but that it should never be required by the state.
How can someone train and practice without spending a lot of money?
Trey and Kaylee stress that training does not have to be cost prohibitive. Dry fire at home, stop the bleed and first aid courses, and tools like Mantis all count as real practice.
What is the strategy behind a proposed 1,000% excise tax on firearms?
They describe the proposed 1,000% excise tax as a bargaining tool designed to make a smaller 10% tax look reasonable by comparison. Kaylee argues for holding the line, since the Second Amendment already holds the high ground and any concession gives up that position of strength.
How did public comments and coalition letters affect the pistol brace rule and other ATF actions?
Kaylee points to Gun Owners of America wins driven by member action, including comments that stopped the green tip ammo ban and a lead ammo fight where over 90% of comments came from GOA members. On pistol braces, six coalition letters were tied to the House resolution against the rule.
Why is the pistol brace redefinition a bigger story than the brace itself?
For Trey, the real story is that the federal government was willing to turn roughly 30 million citizens into felons overnight, after a decade of telling them they were not. The brace is secondary to that reversal of the rules people relied on.
How should gun owners talk with people who disagree with them about firearms?
Trey's approach is to plant seeds and let people reach their own conclusions rather than force anyone to change their mind. He notes the roughly 10% on each side will not move, but the 80% in the middle are open to the conversation.
Chapters
00:00 — Welcome and meet Trey from Ghost Tactical00:32 — From Plano to the Marine Corps: Trey's origin story02:01 — How the Ghost Tactical YouTube channel started03:31 — Activist vs advocate: defining the terms07:57 — Generals and soldiers: every voice matters10:56 — Is there really a gun culture?13:35 — Talking to people who disagree, planting seeds16:01 — Be your own first responder and carry ready19:09 — The narrative that gun owners want to be heroes21:04 — Why training should not be mandated25:50 — Low cost training, dry fire and Mantis29:32 — The 1,000% excise tax as a bargaining tool38:28 — GOA wins: green tip, lead ammo, pistol brace letters42:06 — Pistol braces and 30 million citizens43:42 — Where to find Trey and closing
About the guest
Trey is the creator behind Ghost Tactical, a 2A-focused YouTube channel and podcast. He grew up in Plano, Texas, a suburb outside Dallas, where guns were not part of his life, and first learned to shoot the M16A2 after joining the Marine Corps when he was almost 19. Two days after boot camp he went to Walmart and bought his first gun, a Winchester 30-30. He got into competitive shooting about 10 years ago, starting with steel targets and then IDPA, and began making YouTube videos around 2017 after a stranger at the range suggested he film himself. He now lives in rural Arkansas and hosts several shows, including the Armed Citizen podcast (live on YouTube every Tuesday at 7 Central), the Jarhead podcast about veterans transitioning to civilian life, and the Ghost and Clover podcast with Clover Tack. He describes himself as an advocate rather than an activist.
Key quotes
"And it's someone who takes personal responsibility not only in the use of their firearms, but in the defense of their right to own them." — Kaylee
"You're never going to change 10% on the left. You're never going to change 10% on the right. The 80% in the middle are up for discussion. Plant some seeds, let them find out the information on their own." — Trey
"I think training is something that everyone should do, but it shouldn't be mandated." — Trey
"And a key point there is training doesn't have to be cost prohibitive." — Kaylee
"The federal government was okay saying 30 million of our citizens were okay making them felons overnight after we've been telling them they're not felons for 10 years." — Trey
"Anytime that we allow that to get whittled down, we're losing that position of strength that's so vital." — Kaylee
