EdifyGuy
Regular Member
imported post
2009 has come. It seems like it was only yesterday we were wondering if Barack Hussein Obama was going to inhabit the White House, and now he's filled the cupboards already....oh, I mean cabinet.
It is very difficult to organize a rally in D.C. when you live in Michigan, due to the distances involved. The logistics and costs are staggering. There may come a time when it is necessary to organize a gun-owners' march on D.C., but as of yet that time has not come. For the present, the most egregious anti-gun regulations come from the states. In 48 of the 50 states, the state "gun-control" laws are stricter than the federal, and Michigan has got some real humdingers. I believe that our efforts would be best spent focusing on our own state, and I believe that, with a concerted effort, we can accomplish much.
The Brady bunch (whatever their real name is) only got their laws passed because they were organized, noisy, and conspicuous. We need to do the same thing, and I feel certain that we can have greater success than they have had if we are organized, reasonable, and (most of all) consistent. Don't forget, we have the facts on our side. All the anti-gun people have is made-up statistics and illogical emotional ploys. If we are consistent in our activism, (did I mention consistent?) I believe we can accomplish much in the restoration of our right to keep and bear arms.
I propose a series of rallies in Lansing at times when legislators are moving in and out of the capitol building. For example, (and I would like to actually do this, but I know it's short notice to plan for) the 14th of this month the legislators will be coming back into session at 12:00. We would be in front of the capitol building at 10:00 or so with generic signs such as "Carrying guns is a right, not a privilege" and "Gun owners keep Michigan safe" or what have you. The signs should be coordinated in advance. As the legislators enter, they will become aware that we are going to be making a concerted effort to get their attention this session.
Subsequently, if we can actually do the 14th, we need to find some legislators willing to sponsor and co-sponsor legislation for us to the ends that we agree upon in this forum, and have them actually write some legislation. Then we need to support it with more rallies with signs to support the specific pieces of legislation (for example, "Support H.B. XXXX—End easy victim zones!" (That would be for H.B. XXXX repealing as many of the absurd "pistol-free" zones as we think we might be able to get passed.) This follow-up will require vigilance, but FEET TALK. When someone is dedicated enough to something to take time off work, drive halfway across the state, and stand in the cold with a sign, people notice. That's how the Bradys get things done, and it's how we're going to have to counteract them. My experience has been (in another state, granted) that we can usually drum up far more people to put feet to our cause than the anti-gun people can. Having the truth on our side helps, I'm sure, but organization and consistency are key.
We should plan to wear something recognizable and CONSISTENT (I'm stuck on that, aren't I) so that they can tell how many of us there are. In Virginia (where I used to live) I was working with a group that had a conspicuous "Guns save lives" button they wore on their shirt for recognisability. We could probably get some of those fairly inexpensively, or something like it. A uniform shirt would be ideal once things warm up a bit, but not practical now, unless it was worn over a coat, which would look a bit silly. We certainly don't want to give the anti-gun media a chance to call us frumpy clowns......
I suggest the following legislative agenda, but feel free to post your own ideas:
REPEAL of the law prohibiting the transportation of loaded firearms in a vehicle without a CPL, perhaps on the condition that they are in plain sight (narrowing the restriction to CONCEALED loaded firearms)
REPEAL of the paper-trail requirement on private sale of hanguns and bringing them in from out-of-state, along with the rest of the registration scheme they just replaced the "safety inspection" with
REPEAL of the requirement to get pistol purchase permits
REPEAL as many as possible of the pistol-free (easy crime) zones
Each proposed change should be presented as a separate piece of legislation so that the failure of one change during this session does not doom another along with it. We take what we can get as we can get it, and not try to make it into an all-or-nothing hard sell package that would almost surely get rejected. Personally, I don't see the problem with making a laundry list of our grievances with the Michigan firearm code and having the sponsor(s) present them all as separate pieces of legislation. We might be surprised by what we can get, and then we just keep working on the rest in future sessions.
Eventually, I'd like to see our gun laws resemble Alaska and Vermont, where gun ownership and carry (even concealed) are recognized as a right, not a privilege, and there are almost no regulations at the state level. While I realize that we may never be able to get there, we can certainly try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Does anyone have any objections to working with other gun-owners' rights groups on this project? If we did, I would keep the reins of the agenda (I started this, for goodness' sake!) and not allow it to veer too much, although I don't see how it would. After all, virtually all gun-owners' rights groups more-or-less agree on the agenda, so let's come together and get it done!
I very much look forward to the discussion we're about to have, and I look forward to seeing you in Lansing!
Jason Bassett
(Why not give you my real name? There....that's it. Not really a secret anyway.....)
2009 has come. It seems like it was only yesterday we were wondering if Barack Hussein Obama was going to inhabit the White House, and now he's filled the cupboards already....oh, I mean cabinet.
It is very difficult to organize a rally in D.C. when you live in Michigan, due to the distances involved. The logistics and costs are staggering. There may come a time when it is necessary to organize a gun-owners' march on D.C., but as of yet that time has not come. For the present, the most egregious anti-gun regulations come from the states. In 48 of the 50 states, the state "gun-control" laws are stricter than the federal, and Michigan has got some real humdingers. I believe that our efforts would be best spent focusing on our own state, and I believe that, with a concerted effort, we can accomplish much.
The Brady bunch (whatever their real name is) only got their laws passed because they were organized, noisy, and conspicuous. We need to do the same thing, and I feel certain that we can have greater success than they have had if we are organized, reasonable, and (most of all) consistent. Don't forget, we have the facts on our side. All the anti-gun people have is made-up statistics and illogical emotional ploys. If we are consistent in our activism, (did I mention consistent?) I believe we can accomplish much in the restoration of our right to keep and bear arms.
I propose a series of rallies in Lansing at times when legislators are moving in and out of the capitol building. For example, (and I would like to actually do this, but I know it's short notice to plan for) the 14th of this month the legislators will be coming back into session at 12:00. We would be in front of the capitol building at 10:00 or so with generic signs such as "Carrying guns is a right, not a privilege" and "Gun owners keep Michigan safe" or what have you. The signs should be coordinated in advance. As the legislators enter, they will become aware that we are going to be making a concerted effort to get their attention this session.
Subsequently, if we can actually do the 14th, we need to find some legislators willing to sponsor and co-sponsor legislation for us to the ends that we agree upon in this forum, and have them actually write some legislation. Then we need to support it with more rallies with signs to support the specific pieces of legislation (for example, "Support H.B. XXXX—End easy victim zones!" (That would be for H.B. XXXX repealing as many of the absurd "pistol-free" zones as we think we might be able to get passed.) This follow-up will require vigilance, but FEET TALK. When someone is dedicated enough to something to take time off work, drive halfway across the state, and stand in the cold with a sign, people notice. That's how the Bradys get things done, and it's how we're going to have to counteract them. My experience has been (in another state, granted) that we can usually drum up far more people to put feet to our cause than the anti-gun people can. Having the truth on our side helps, I'm sure, but organization and consistency are key.
We should plan to wear something recognizable and CONSISTENT (I'm stuck on that, aren't I) so that they can tell how many of us there are. In Virginia (where I used to live) I was working with a group that had a conspicuous "Guns save lives" button they wore on their shirt for recognisability. We could probably get some of those fairly inexpensively, or something like it. A uniform shirt would be ideal once things warm up a bit, but not practical now, unless it was worn over a coat, which would look a bit silly. We certainly don't want to give the anti-gun media a chance to call us frumpy clowns......
I suggest the following legislative agenda, but feel free to post your own ideas:
REPEAL of the law prohibiting the transportation of loaded firearms in a vehicle without a CPL, perhaps on the condition that they are in plain sight (narrowing the restriction to CONCEALED loaded firearms)
This confused someone when I bounced the idea off them in a PM, so I explained it this way:
My past life in Virginia is speaking here. In Virginia, I could strap on my sidearm with no permit required, as here. BUT, when I got to my car, all I had to do was place it on the seat next to me, dashboard, open console, hang it from the rearview mirror 
, or some other "plain sight" place, and be fully legal. Sometimes I didn't even do that, although I probably should have, what with seatbelts and all. Get where I'm going, just put it back on and go. The absurd law prohibiting the transportation of loaded firearms in MI except by CPL holders makes OC without a CPL in MI so impractical as to be de-facto illegal, unless you walk or bicycle everywhere.
, or some other "plain sight" place, and be fully legal. Sometimes I didn't even do that, although I probably should have, what with seatbelts and all. Get where I'm going, just put it back on and go. The absurd law prohibiting the transportation of loaded firearms in MI except by CPL holders makes OC without a CPL in MI so impractical as to be de-facto illegal, unless you walk or bicycle everywhere.
REPEAL of the paper-trail requirement on private sale of hanguns and bringing them in from out-of-state, along with the rest of the registration scheme they just replaced the "safety inspection" with
REPEAL of the requirement to get pistol purchase permits
REPEAL as many as possible of the pistol-free (easy crime) zones
Each proposed change should be presented as a separate piece of legislation so that the failure of one change during this session does not doom another along with it. We take what we can get as we can get it, and not try to make it into an all-or-nothing hard sell package that would almost surely get rejected. Personally, I don't see the problem with making a laundry list of our grievances with the Michigan firearm code and having the sponsor(s) present them all as separate pieces of legislation. We might be surprised by what we can get, and then we just keep working on the rest in future sessions.
Eventually, I'd like to see our gun laws resemble Alaska and Vermont, where gun ownership and carry (even concealed) are recognized as a right, not a privilege, and there are almost no regulations at the state level. While I realize that we may never be able to get there, we can certainly try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Does anyone have any objections to working with other gun-owners' rights groups on this project? If we did, I would keep the reins of the agenda (I started this, for goodness' sake!) and not allow it to veer too much, although I don't see how it would. After all, virtually all gun-owners' rights groups more-or-less agree on the agenda, so let's come together and get it done!
I very much look forward to the discussion we're about to have, and I look forward to seeing you in Lansing!
Jason Bassett
(Why not give you my real name? There....that's it. Not really a secret anyway.....)
