Fighting Back for our gun rights

M

Michael Marks

New member
I for one am getting pretty tired of watching anti-gun liberalism spread without resistance. I am tired of watching commercial entities happily take my money yet use it to destroy my way of life, and sneer at me while they do it. So I have begun to fight back, and I encourage everybody to jump in. This is not a call to heinous acts, but simply a measurable economic program that has proven effective; when you have them by the wallet their hearts and minds will follow.

A "boycott" in and of itself in ineffective. Revenues drop, but there is no causal link between a specific issue and a drop in sales. When Time-Warner came out with the "Cop Killer" CD (advocating stalking and murdering cops); a lot of people boycotted Time products. Time didn't blink, didn't budge. So we came up with a different plan - one that could be measured and attributed to us. It worked.

You know the business reply cards in magazines? "Subscribe now to...", etc. If YOU don't have to pay the postage, the publisher does - something like 38cents. So if you write a message that says "I cannot consider your product because of your support of X" and drop it in the mail, THEY have to pay the bill. I checked with the Post Office and it is completely legal as long as you make sure your reply addresses the offer on the card.

So we ran out some peel-n-stick labels with our reply and sent them all over America, and guess what, Time got about a zillion replies from Americans who said "we don't want this trash on our stores", and Time had to pay 38cents every time we spoke. In just 2 months the estimated postage cost to Time exceeded one million dollars, and they reversed their position entirely, dropping the CD AND the singer entirely. (One family ran a neighborhood contest and as a group they sent out something like 14,000 of the cards, which are free if you just shake them out of the magazines!!)

This is just one idea. I would bet that a tidal wave of emails from disgruntled consumers would have a similar if not lesser effect. The bottom line is that we MUST speak with our wallets and our voices and hang tough with our position. This whole thing with EBAY saying "guns are immoral" when they deal in child pornography is DISGUSTING. I will not deal with EBAY, and I will avoid dealing with anyone who does.

Guns are a part of our heritage, they serve to keep us safe from criminal attack and preserve our freedom as a nation. I am willing to put my money and my time where my heart is, and I encourage every one who reads this to do the same. Think of a way to get your message across, and take the time to do it - again, and again, and again if necessary. If you think the fight is bothersome NOW, imagine how hard it will be to "fight back" at ANY level if we allow our inalienable rights to be illegally legislated away!

Michael Marks
 
That's a great thing, Micheal. I had never heard the explanation that it was legal as long as you address the offer at hand.
Excellent Ammo for us.
 
Lets make this a centerpoint for exchange of info on getting this program going. We should compile a list at a couple of levels:

1) Publications that are outright anti-gun

2) Publications that are owned by parent companies that are anti-gun

3) Reply cards from manufacturers who support anti-gun legislation with revenues from their product sales. (Hechingers Hardware chain in VA is a good example)

Lets tell them in no uncertain terms that we will NOT TOLERATE these ongoing attacks on our rights, and that we will go OUT OF OUR WAY to deny them our money and patronage.

A local Bell Atlantic store sells pagers; I needed 2 and was walking in the door to pay cash for pagers and service - having joined a local volunteer fire dept, I needed one quick. On the window was a sign advising that guns were not allowed inside. As a Virginia CCW holder, I wheeled a 180 and took my business elsewhere. But this was only PART of the move - they never knew I existed at that point. So I dropped a letter to the manager informing them that they lost two immediate sales, and that I would at every opportunity convey my position to as wide an audience as possible. Others may have followed suit (some I told said they would) and now the sign is GONE! I guess me and my Beretta ARE welcome as long as we bring my VISA card along!

And yes, I have read a smattering of Hayduke, altho much of his material tends towards less legal alternatives. This is 100% by-the-book. I have several other ideas on this topic, if it is of interest to members here I will post and we can push this into an active campaign.
 
Michael,

A list would be most helpful, especially for those of us who don't watch TV. Regarding Hayduke, I agree and some of his antics would surely invite litigation and none of the members of The Firing Line should ever resort to anything illegal or litigious.

Gary
 
Nor would I ever attempt to suggest anything on TFL that was not on the up-and-up. I checked with a senior USPO official who actually ran it by their legal counsel. He came back with a thumbs-up. It turns out he was a pretty avid deer hunter and told me on a personal side he thought the idea was wonderfully clever and wished us all the best in our efforts.

We have MORE than enough tools at our disposal to put wage a very convincing war; peacefully, legally and yet a definitive battle that is fought with bucks instead of bullets. Conservatives are typically hard-working wage-earners; it is time we decided what we do with our money and use it to preserve the lifestyle we cherish.
 
Micheal,

I think you will find the TFL membership base to be a remarkably mature and serious gun rights group. I look forward to working on this project.
 
OK, here is what we need to do: for any program to be effective we have to have some focus. If we go off willy-nilly after everything even vaguely anti-gun at once (and there's quite a few out there) we will dilute our effort and diminish our returns.

So as a group we need to first select our target. As disgusted as I am with this ebay thing, they are really insignificant - who the hell cares. I would simply make sure that nobody from our crowd uses their service, and I would spread the word that they are simply to be avoided.

The bigger fish are the ones that are funding the HCIs of the world, or pressing their own anti-gun agenda. Anyone who has any data regarding largely anti-gun pubs should post the names here - from that we will begin to shape a list and decide the specific language of our protest. I'll work on my list and reply shortly, everyone else should do the same.

The second tier to me would be anti-gun legislators like Schumer and Feinstein. We can use mail and communication to defeat them by finding out who is running against them and helping to promote them. Words alone are powerful; can you imagine a real solid grass-roots campaign to promote conservative candidates based on internet resources? If WE don't drive it, our enemies will.
 
Micheal,

I agree that there should be some form of organization, but we need to not take out the sincerity aspect. You mentioned that you had some labels printed up in the past. WEll, if we were to get 500 cards sent to the same magazine, 85% of them having the same phrasing or label on them.. they are very likely to be ignored. It would be seen as the effort of a few motivated people...
They would get tossed like so much junk mail.

I think what we need is 500 cards with 500 different expressions of concern/disgust over their policies.
 
That is certainly true, but when we looked at logistics, it is difficult enough to motivate our own people to just slap a sticker - much less put enough thought into composing a message time and again and still saying something in a cogent manner. It just isn't going to happen. Apathy is a cruel thing.

In the case of the TIME fight, we did not really care if they DID throw them away after awhile, they still had to pay the freight! Even if they earmarked a trashcan just for "Anti-Cop Killer" messages, the turnstile clicked every time one came floating in. THAT was the real message, not the specific words on the card. We came to them with 100,000+ names on a petition and they tossed THAT in the trash without a care - it did not COST them anything. In contrast, 100,000 reply cards = $38,000 and that starts to represent a whole lot of magazines... Get a MILLION cards sent in and... well, you see where this is going.
 
Okay, sorry, I had forgot the point of the campaign. You are correct, for a minute I dozed off and thought that we might really be able to change their policy! ;)
 
Michael,

I love your idea. I'm going to start tommorow. I work in a very pro RKBA environment and am going to organize my co-workers to do the same.

I'm also going to start purchasing and wearing clothing that advertises the different gun manufacturers. I've refrained from that in the past in order to be the "invisible" man, but the time has come to be seen. In light of the recent legal assaults on the gun mfg's I think it is time to show some support.

An added bonus is that the Glock clothing just plain looks cool.

Time to fight the forces of darkness.

------------------
Dan

Check me out at:
www.mindspring.com/~susdan/interest.htm
www.mindspring.com/~susdan/GlocksnGoodies.htm
 
I find this whole idea to be a sneaky, underhanded, low blow type of thing. Count me in! I love it! It's about time someone found a useful purpose for those irritating cards.
 
Michael et al, count me in as well. Very clever. I don't mind a little nonviolent, civil disobedience, but it is especially sweet when it is entirely legal and without arrest-risk. ;)

One question on my mind is who the major contributors are to HCI, Physicians for Social Responsibility, etc. Since they are likely 501(c)(3) organizations, that data may be a matter of public record. Anyone ever heard about exactly who provides their money?

And Michael, I checked your profile to confirm, and I want to thank you for 2 things Rob has made me / us aware of - your exceptional SafetyOn software (I have an order winging its way to me now) and your work with LEAA. Both activities have greatly advanced the cause of the RKBA. Good show!
 
While I get uncomfortable when considering voting for a conservative and would probably get nauseous considering a liberal-I have recently decided to become largely a one issue voter...the Second Amendment.

Let me know how I can help with this initiative of yours.
 
Michael-
I've been gone most of the day and only just came upon this. I want in! :)

If The Firing Line can be of any assistance, please let me know. I've said we have no intention of offering advertising banners. But this gives me a hairbrained idea.

What if we were to post banners of the companies and publications that need to be *boycotted*? Might even consider some "clickable" links to express your dissatisfaction via email?
Rich Lucibella
 
Michael isn't saying make a public statement to try and convince the masses to our side...this is guerrilla attack. I like it! Don't really care if TIME/Warner comes out for guns, just want them to shut the hell up.

The beancounters ALWAYS have final say...if a public anti-gun stance costs them money, then they will shut the hell up
 
Hell Yes count me in!
Where can we get some of the stickers from?
How about the following on the sticker's:

Since your company does NOT support my 2nd ammendment rights I as a consumer will not support you company by purchaseing your product(s)

Anyone else got any ideas?

------------------
Justice for one,Justice for all.
 
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