Question for the Wisconsin Carry Inc people

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I have signed up for your emails (haven't received any by the way), and have looked through your site. I see you require a $15.00 membership fee, have read at this forum something about a lifetime membership (neither the $15.00 fee or anything regarding the lifetime deal are mentioned on your web page) and am curious as to what one gets for this membership fee? While I appreciate your organizations efforts with the gfsz, the membership fee seems to be separate from the donations to assist in the expenses of the suit. Your web page seems a little sparse as to the whole information thing.

I dont mean to sound negative about your efforts, but money is tight now a day, and I am not one to just drop money around with out knowing what its for.

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Dear OCDO members:

As it says on the web site:

Wisconsin Carry is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the basic rights critical to a free society. Our organization believes in the founding principles of our country and our constitution: That all are created equal, that governments exist to protect the rights of individuals, and that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed. The Second Amendment of our Federal constitution explicitly affirms one of the limitless number of rights we enjoy as human beings. The right to keep and bear arms. In 1998 79% of the voters in the great state of Wisconsin voted Article 1 Section 25 into our state constitution. "The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose". We believe that "Open-Carry" and "Conceal Carry" are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on what suits their needs best. Our mission is to preserve, advance and expand these basic rights which law-abiding citizens are entitled to have a practical ability to exercise.

To that end, Wisconsin Carry, Inc. filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the Wisconsin GFSZA. ALL membership fees go towards funding these lawsuits.

If you haven't joined Wisconsin Carry, please consider doing so. Annual membership is $15. "Membership" is very important for several reasons. Your membership in Wisconsin Carry will afford you:

-Charter membership in an organization that has demonstrated it will take marked action to support and defend your rights in Wisconsin.

-Access to our semi-annual conference call/web chat where you can gain information directly from the Wisconsin Carry board and also share your thoughts and ideas.

-The opportunity to be a part of Wisconsin Carry as one of our county-level coordinators which will be selected from members who would like to be active in our efforts.

"Membership" is extremely important because in addition to providing critical funding for this and future lawsuits, it allows us to have a vetted network of freedom-minded gun owners in Wisconsin who have demonstrated their support of our cause. With this screened group we can share non-public information with. Something we wouldn't be able to do with a public "anyone can come and go" forum.

Wisconsin Carry does not disparage the efforts of any other gun rights groups in Wisconsin. We have been contacted by other Wisconsin gun-rights groups who have expressed their support of our efforts, but in the end Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is the organization that put forth the effort BEFORE seeking funding.

Membership numbers are assigned sequentially. Join now and your low member number will demonstrate to your children and grandchildren that you became a part of the fight to preserve freedom in Wisconsin when the fight was new.

Yes, we understand money is tight, but with over 2,000 signatures on the petition, if every individual who signed donated just $15, we would have $30,000 to use for this and future lawsuits, for educational materials, etc.

Given the thousands of dollars that were invested by individual OC supporters in 2009 with various OC events, I do not believe $15 is too much to ask.

If you would simply like to be notified where OC and CC stands in Wisconsin from time to time, then sign our petition as that will get your name on the mailing list. However, if you firmly be, as the board does, that "Open-Carry" and "Conceal Carry" are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on what suits their needs best, then a $15 donation will make you an official member.

Membership also becomes important as Wisconsin moves forward with CC legislation which almost everybody here believes WILL HAPPEN sooner rather than latter. Do we approach the legislature with 5,000 members with the ability to influence friends and relatives to the count of 15,000 or 20,000 people (enough to potentially change an election outcome) or do we approach the legislature as just 5 guys.

The decision to join is yours of course, and we do not disparage anyone who chooses not to join, but we do not believe that $15 (1-shirt, 1-pair of pants, 3 - pizzas, 3 -subs, 3-cases of soda) is too much to ask for standing up for your constitutional rights.

As to a "life time" membership, we do not have such a thing at this time. Your Wisconsin Carry, Inc. membership number is just that, your permanent number, but we are set up to have an annual membership/donation of $15 anything one can give in addition is greatly appreciated. Giving in excess of $100 gives you a "founders" membership number under 999.

Please feel free to contact any of the Wisconsin Carry, Inc. Board of Directors with additional questions.

Carry On

Hubert Hoffman, Vice President
Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
http://www.WisconsinCarry.org
Hubert@WisconsinCarry.org

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There was an initial email that went out immediately following the filing of the lawsuit on Jan. 8th. Since then, any new additions to the email list haven't been contacted by email because the way our email service, works, we send to the entire list and we want to be very judicious in our contact through that opt-in email and not annoy people with excess messages. I plan to send another mass email to the list shortly informing them of the new online membership registration form and a few other updates.

There is a separate list being created of members. That separate list because its members only, we can send more sensitive information to because its only members, not the general public.

Membership fee's right now are for the sole purpose of funding the lawsuit. Wisconsin Carry is a non-profit corporation and we are 100% volunteer. No one here makes a penny from their work on behalf of Wisconsin Carry. Federal lawsuits and litigating them do not come cheap. We made a commitment and filed the lawsuit in advance of asking for any money hoping and believing the support of the freedom minded people of Wisconsin would follow.

The board members of Wisconsin Carry have personally contributed thousands of dollars to incorporate and initiate this lawsuit. We cannot however carry the torch alone. Its important for us, practically from a financial standpoint, and also from a participation standpoint that other freedom minded people in Wisconsin step forward with us by joining Wisconsin Carry.

Advancing freedom is not a spectator sport. A true movement will not be successful if only a few individuals have to move the ball forward. Its important that the board members of Wisconsin Carry (or any organization) not do "too much" or the natural tendency of human nature would condition others to sit back and watch others fight the battle.

There will be plenty of people to offer encouragement and pats on the back and "keep up the good work" but how willing will people be to spend the cost of a case of beer to advance freedom? Encouragement and cheer leading are great but that alone has the utility of monopoly money. We need your support. We need individuals to demonstrate with just the simple act of joining Wisconsin Carry for $15 that you are taking a stake in the fight for freedom.

I recognize money is tight for many many people across this state but I can't think of a much better investment than for the cost of a case of beer, joining Wisconsin Carry to fund this lawsuit.

Its very important that we have the resources to fund this lawsuit and appeals. Precedent works both ways. If we are successful, the precedent will be far-felt and long-standing to the benefit of freedom across not just Wisconsin but the country. If the lawsuit/constitutionality challenge fails, the precedent will be damaging in the opposite direction as other states may see that the draconian and onerous "school zones" were upheld in Wisconsin.

We have a very experienced and skilled litigator in our attorney John Monroe, with whom we have crafted a very effective legal strategy. Before filing we discussed our lawsuits strengths and weaknesses, best jurisdictions to file, etc. We have a solid legal strategy.

I recognize that right now we don't have the flashiest website in the world. You can be confident that our money is being used to fund the lawsuit, not pay graphic designers for website work. We felt that a winning lawsuit was worth more credibility than an award winning website.

Are you a spectator or participant in the fight for freedom?

Will you join us?

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Nik and Hubert,

Thanks for your response. Your web page doesn't discuss most of the information you provided here, hence my trepidations. I am notweb-page savvy and don't have the faintest idea of what is involved in the creation or maintenance of a page but I may suggest you have some if not all the information you stated here added to your web-site.


Thataside, yes Ido plan on joining your organization, andwhile I may not be able to donate enough to become a "founder" but I will help.

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We will work to update the site next week (at the Eau Claire show this weekend) to reflect this information.

Hubert Hoffman, Vice President
Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
www.WisconsinCarry.org
Hubert@WisconsinCarry.org