GOA's position on 50 Million Round March!

N

nralife

New member
This was posted on my forum...

Gun Owners of America goamail@gunowners.org wrote:

Dear Rick,

More than a few GOA staff members have discussed this "event."
All are unanimous in believing that it is a very bad idea and
potentially quite dangerous to the gun rights cause.
Hopefully, since it was an Internet concoction of one man and
thus far has no organizational clout behind it, it will be
forwarded around until Father's Day passes without incident, and
then be forgotton.

Particularly ill-advised is the "mail two spent shells to
Congress" part. You and I might see fired brass as simply an
inert component that needs to be inspected to see if it's worth
reloading, but I assure you that outside the gun fraternity, the
perception is entirely different.

Non-gun-shooting reporters would headline, "Gun Group Sends
Bullets to Congress as Warning" and some Members of Congress
would decry a "despicable and tasteless threat."
Worse, if there were a single range accident that day--
related to the campaign or not-- the headlines would read
"Teenager Shot At Range During 'Bullets To Congress' Event."
An incredibly ill-considered idea. The number of things that
could go wrong and the number of ways the press could distort
such an event are incalculable.

I just hope that GOA spokesmen don't end up having to field
media questions about it. There's no possibility whatsoever that
GOA will lend even tacit support to the idea, but having to
defend the right to legally fire arms while pointing out that we
have nothing whatsoever to do with the "50 Million Round March"
is not a pleasant task.

We couldn't even rely on the media to accurately report the
attendance at the Million Mom March. We can't stop them from
calling standard range rifles "assault weapons." We can't stop
the erroneous designation of "Cop Killer Bullets." But somehow
we expect them to across the board understand the harmless
nature of a "50 Million Round March"?

Reporters get promoted by writing compelling articles that
generate controversy. They would have a field day with this.
And that shows the main problem with the Internet. Without it,
one guy gets a bad idea, can't get any organizational support
for it, and nobody really hears about it. But with a decent
e-mail list, suddenly one guy's dangerous plan is forwarded all
across the country.

Please DO NOT send any fired brass to Congress. As one GOA
staffer put it, "why don't they deliver the brass in person? I'm
sure the metal detector guards will understand."

In liberty,
Craig Fields
Director of Internet Operations, GOA



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Yeah, I've been thinking about this. The recommendations of the 50 MRM website are probably not a good idea for the reasons mentioned. I got excited about it for the opportunity to maybe open our middle GA range to the public for some weekend shooting. We do that every year for hunters to come sight in their deer rifles. But mailing in some empty brass to your congressman (as much as I personally would like to send him about five pounds of harmless spent brass) is probably not a good idea.
 
While I agree that mailing brass to Congress is a bad idea because it COULD be interpreted as a threat, I still think the overall idea is a good one. 2 or 3 or 5 million letters describing fathers who each took their families to a range for a shooting event is a powerful message, especially when it's a grassroots event not sponsored by a large, well-funded, political machine.

As for GOA's worries about political correctness, well, hell, the press has even distorted the NRA convention. We KNOW they'll distort this. However, not everyone in this country is a sheople without the ability to read between the lines or understand what WASN'T written or said.



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Shoot straight & make big holes, regards, Richard at The Shottist's Center
 
Fear of the press is what is costing us to loose this war. I've heard this same garbage from the NRA for years. You can't do this or you can't do that, because the press will nail you to the wall.... as a result the terms of the debate keep getting changed in the minds of the sheeple. Where once it was not only acceptable to be a gun owner, but where one could be proud of it, we are now told that we are evil for owning a gun.

Think about it... sending in spent shell casings would be considered a threat? What's next, the letter that would accompany the casings if it disagrees with their position?

They are afraid that someone on that day at the range will be shot? Seems like the GOA management does not trust the people with guns? There is always risk at everything we do, but consider the upside.... 5 million casings sent to congress without anyone getting hurt as a result. What kind of message would that send?

No, I'm sorry but the days of bowing down to their political correctness has ended. These people need to be called what they are.

My perceptions are this... if three are in a group and 1 says something and the other two tells him that he is nuts, the 1 will reconsider their position or at least have doubts about themselves. If the two are silent out of political correctness... each of the two will doubt themselves and eventually believe the one after hearing it many times. The time for political correctness must end.... we must voice our opinion in the light that we are proud to be gun owners. We must call that third person on their views. If we have to belittle them in the process to get them to think about it, then we must do so. We must be the ones to get them to be silent.

GOA is flatly wrong... There is absolutely nothing wrong with sending spent shell casings to our reps. If you still don't believe me think about this.... Which is more politically correct.... sending in spent shell casings or burning the flag? We are now loosing our first amendment rights. It is time to exercise them and to tell these bozo's to shove their political correctness.



------------------
Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!
 
I'm not sure about the brass either. Why not send real brass, a copy of the Constitution complete with a highlighted "the right of the people to bare arms shall not be.......Then a short letter asking them to listen to the growing thunder! Thankfully I live in an area that is not zoned yet so I can go out on the north 40 and fire away. I plan on this being a family of 5 event so we will make some noise. Course we already do. My next door LEO asked me Friday if that was us! He will be joining us on that day. Most of America is still asleep, we need to wake them up!
Liberty requires vigilance!
 
I've stayed away from this topic because I had the same reservations as that GOA staffer. Our aim is to convince the public that we are just as mainstream as anyone, that it's criminals and not guns that kill, and that everyone has the right to self-defense and defense of country. The SAS march was effective because it encapsulated those aims. A symbolic gesture that doesn't send those messages but rather gives Sam Donaldson something to cluck about won't help. There has to be a better way to get our message out.

Just my .02.

Dick
 
I liked the tea bag idea. Maybe one, signed, for each person at the shoot? Or one copy of the 2nd Amendment for each person involved. Or even the text of the Declaration of Independance, signed by all. Even if YOU personally feel comfortable with sending in brass, there may be others who would participate but wouldn't be willing to send spent brass. Just thinking here.
 
This event would have been better framed by making it a national day of protest letters; copies of the constitution, bill of rights, even tea bags. By calling it a 50 million round march, and suggeting sending in spent cartridge casings it suffers from the same hyperbole that infected the MMM; and worse, alienates many shooters who might otherwise be supportive. I don't think those of us who have reservations are necessarily suffering from 'fear of the press'. Perhaps it's instead that we don't want to burn bridges. The rather deafening silence from the vast majority of Americans following the MMM suggests that there are many Americans who don't avidly buy into the anti-gun rhetoric. They also won't buy into in-your-face pro-gun rhetoric.

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"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is power. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearsome master." George Washington
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Attention Real American Men:

Like Millions of gun owners and second amendment activists around the country, a man from Idaho was as outraged as the rest us of watching 40,000 people parade themselves around a mall in
Washington. The irony of it all, was to watch (on global television) while these "americans" were cheering and jeering, praising people (who hypocritically hire armed bodyguards,) and being told why
everyone else should be disarmed. A march of mothers so mis-informed, that I doubt few of them even know what a gun show "loophole" is, or have ever been to a gun show in the first place.

This letter, this Call to Action - is for those of us who have.

What made matters worse was when these mothers, and their lying cohorts decided to continue their demagoguery in hopes of making sure our children have no way to defend themselves, and we have
no means to protect our families from harm.

Men, we have a job to do.

We have taken a continual assault on this precious liberty - the right of self defense with almost nothing standing in their way. Yet we are told that we must always be humble; above reproach, and never
do something that would make us look too "radical."

Yet, nobody has ever defined what being "radical" is. Just another meaningless term used to demonize us all. So, we watch as those who claim to defend our right to keep and bear arms remain on the
defensive, trying to deny the false claims made against them and us. Those that wish to ignore the second amendment claim repeatedly, "we're doing it for the children."

Mothers: It takes two to tango. Those are our children, too.

And as husbands, fathers, brothers, gun owners, and yes - Real Americans, it is our duty to make sure that our families remain safe from criminal behavior, no matter how much "authority" that criminal
has been given - even by other criminals.

You see, we will do this for OUR children.

The right of each of us to be secure in our persons, houses, our papers, and our effects, is not something that is to be negotiated away for mere political expedience or a false sense of security. Nor shall
the right to defend these principles against aggressors be tolerated. Recently, ranchers in Southern Arizona have demonstrated the true purpose of the Second Amendment - to repel invasion, to suppress
insurrection, and to uphold the laws of the land. Our hats are off to them. Men, if we do not stand together, recent history has shown that we most certainly will hang separately.

No more tolerance, no more compromises, and no surrender.

Jeff Head has begun a campaign to respond to the May 14 debacle in Washington DC by showing those who wish to usher in a Fourth Reich what Real Americans can and will do to the meet their
challenge. His proposal: Send no less than 50 million, high-speed projectiles down firearm ranges across this nation. This is where the challenge begins.

He asks not for us to travel to Washington, but to stay home. Not to cower under the pressure of "political correctness," but to stand and be counted. We here at the Sierra Times stand in proud support
of his efforts, as well as of those who will join him in this - the ultimate statement to Washington by the Real Men of America.

Men, the time has come to stand up and fight back.

There has been much controversy over how to send a message to Washington this Father's Day and beyond, but no controversy should weaken our resolve. No disagreement shall compromise our
determination. No quarrel shall remove us from our mission to stop the madness from the Potomac. We must be prepared to carry this battle even into the next generation and beyond.

Therefore, SierraTimes.com proposes a manner in which to send a clear message to Washington, D.C on June 18th, 2000. We propose saving the empty brass for a rainy day, and delivering an
additional message - something that they will not forget, and cannot ignore...

We submit that Father's day, June 18th, 2000 be dedicated as "Take Junior to the range day." That's right, Mothers. We're taking the day off. Not only are we taking the guns, but we're taking the
cameras, too. And since the federal government insists on cataloging each one of us, we're going to give them what they want.

Sierra Times, in an effort to support the 50 Million Round March, will have e-mail addresses and a mailbox dedicated to photos of fathers with their sons and daughters - at the gun range. We want
Junior learning how to handle this arsenal of liberty safely and effectively (see rules below).

Of course, you Second Amendment Sisters are cordially invited.

Sierra Times calls on every pro-gun news site and other web site willing to participate in establishing a 50 Million Round Gallery - photos of Real Men from around the country with their lawful
weaponry and their progeny who will keep and bear them - regardless of any act passed from this point forward.

After all, Mothers: You said you wanted the children to be safe. We're giving you what you asked for.

The goal of Sierra Times in support of the 50 million round March: 100,000 fathers and their children together on Father's day at the gun range. An Internet Gallery of Armed Americans - and their
children. A message Washington will never forget - and can't ignore.

Photography Rules:

1) Gallery Submissions begin June 19, 2000.

2) All photos must be in .jpg format or mailed (standard photo size) to the addresses specified.

3) One photo per family, please.

4) Names are NOT required - only name of range and state unless on private property.

5) Photos of illegal, abusive or immoral scenes or activity will be discarded without notice. Yeah, we're going to be picky.

6) Use your best judgement in the kinds of firearms you display. To put it simply, folks: If you don't want the world to know you own it, don't send us a photo of it - for your own good. And we don't
need to see your entire arsenal.

7) Remember: if you made it through an FBI background check, or filled out that yellow form, they've already got your name and number. But don't send anything you're not comfortable with.

8) Wanna hint? You and your children don't have to get photographed with your OWN guns.

9) Photos of Junior's muzzle flash gets first dibbs.

10) A good example is shown below. Safety first, Brothers. Happy Father's day!

J.J. Johnson[/quote]http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a392e820904a1.htm
 
posted on FR by Jeff Head:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The author of that email, Craig Fields, called me at my home today to discuss the 50 Million Round March. This was after I was a guest on a talk show in Las Vegas last night and another Las Vegas
talk show host called in and announced on the air that they were holding a "50 Million Round" event at Desert Sportsman's Rifle Club on June 18th and that she (Jill) had talked to Larry Pratt and he
was going to give away five GOA memberships to the first five who attended.

I emailed Larry Pratt (whom I do not know, but respect) this morning after having read this email from another GOA member here on FR and asked him what the situation was. I was called by Craig
within 90 minutes or so of that email. His call came soon after I had appeared on the Mark Davis show on WBAP out of Dallas.

Craig and I had a good discussion wherein he apologized for sending the email out without first talking to me, and for the tone of the email, stating it was not his intent to put down grassroots efforts. He
also indicated that this email would not be going out in the future (we talked about noon or so MDT today, 5/24). Since that discussion, to my knowledge, no more of those emails have gone out. I
accepted his apology. We then talked about the concerns that the GOA has, which boil down principally to the issue of sending brass or other mementos through the mail to elected representatives which
any of them might construe as threatening. I believe that the letter that those mementos would accompany and which is on our site at www.50mrmarch.com makes it clear that they are not threatening, but
simply token mementos from the activity. We are now discussing this issue and seeing if we cannot come to some terms that they can support without giving up the spirit and imagination that we are
capturing.

That spirit and imagination are simply this ... there are something on the order of 80 million gun owners in this nation. If any appreciable number of them became forthrightly and consistantly involved
in the debate, directly with there representatives regarding a cessation of laws infringing on their rights ... the debate would end and this portion of the war would be won. This effort is geared towards
just that. Energizing the gun owners themselves and allowing them to take what they already do, that is, shooting fairly regularly on weekends, and make a political statement out of it that gives no
opportunity for the media or the liberal left to intervene and spin the message.

On almost any good weekend, the gun owners of this nation expend tens of ,millions of rounds at ranges. It happens week in and week out with an almost miraculous safety record as people hone their
skills and remain prepared to safely and responsibly utilize their firearms. If these people catch the vision (and the more who hear about this, the more who do catch the vision of it) and then utilize their
exercising of their rights as a political statement to their representative, and do it consistantly ... then the pressure will mount for those elected officials to come to their senses, or face those same voters at
each election cycle.

We intend to have a press release either Saturday or Monday where we will have strong quotes from some of those who have endorsed this effort. People like L. Neil Smith, people like an executive
Director of the Sport Shooters Association of Australia and several other fairly well known individuals and groups. Watch for it.[/quote]
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a392bf0430c14.htm
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>OFFICIAL 50 MILLION ROUND MARCH POSITION ON MEMENTOS http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a393531bf52e4.htm
There has been much discussion about the 50 Million Round March. and the sending of "mementos" to our elected representatives from the
shooting events (target practice). The number of people expressing a concern in this regard, in relation to the number of those who do not, is
relatively small. However. the 50 Million Round March respects the views and sentiments of people who have these concerns and has made
every effort to address them, without compromising or deflecting the direct message of the event. As a result, this document states the
"official" position of the 50 Million Round March regarding this issue.

The 50 Million Round March does not advocate making any direct, physical threat to any elected representative or their person. The 50
Million Round March does advocate writing letters to our representatives regarding the seriousness of the 2nd amendment. We do not
discourage people including (if they so desire) tasteful and commemorative mementos with those letters. If we cannot write a letter to our
elected representatives and say to them,

"we had the entire family at the shooting range on Father's Day (or any of the other holidays when these events will be
held). We had a GREAT time and take our 2nd amendment rights seriously. We invite you to attend with us at the next
event and enjoy htis tradition with your constituents. In the hopes that you will do that, we have included a memento of the
event with this letter."

... without being afraid that such a memento will be viewed as a personal threat, or being cowed by the fear that the adversaries of our 2nd
amendment rights will enhance their position, then we are more under the control of those adversaries than we can imagine, and have already
lost the fight because our fear has frozen us and compelled us to fight on our adversaries ground in a manner of their choosing.

The whole point of this event is to ignore those pundits and spin-meisters and RALLY the people who take these rights seriously before we
lose them. In order to do this, we must break out of the carefully scripted plot that has been crafted for us by those who would destroy our
rights. This effort is about doing that, and revitalizing the process the way it was meant to work ... individuals communicating directly with
their elected representatives with no liberal or media spin intervening to try and twist and wrest that message.

The fact is, the 2nd amendment was MEANT to be a latent threat to politicians. That's its purpose ... to keep them in line. The
manner proposed of reminding them of that fact is about as benign and congenial as can be imagined, and is decidely not a "personal" threat
to any of them.

Having said this, sending in a memento is not a "fast" requirement for participation in the events. It never has been. Sending of "mementos" is
an individual decision. Anyone who is uncomfortable with sending in a memento should not send one in. For those who would like to, we
have provided a wonderful target for this purpose, and we do not discourage it. We do tell people not to send in any silhouettes or likenesses
of any individual. The main point here is for people to go to the range, shoot responsibly, write their representatives regarding the seriousness
with which they view their 2nd amendment rights, and take pictures of their families while doing so.

We will go forward in this manner and invite and encourage everyone who so desires to join with us on Father's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving,
New Year's and Presidents' Day each year to keep up the pressure on the politicians and to pass on this rich and critical tradition to the rising
generation.

Sincerely,

Jeff Head
The 50 Million Round March[/quote]
 
Whatever happened to sending in shot targets? I thought that was the original plan.

the press will NOT make the distinction between shells and bullets, and neither will Boxer, Feinstein, Kennedy, etc.
 
Having said this, sending in a memento is not a "fast" requirement for
participation in the events. It never has been. Sending of "mementos" is
an individual decision. Anyone who is uncomfortable with sending in a
memento should not send one in. For those who would like to, we
have provided a wonderful target for this purpose, and we do not discourage
it.
here is the "sample target": http://www.myplanet.net/jeffhead/50MRMarch/target.htm
 
If we're gonna upload photos to the website, why not just snail mail a copy to your congresscritter at the same time? Don't send brass or anything like that, just a million pictures of dads with kids at the range.

Hawk
 
I'm sorry, but the MRM is a bad idea. Sending in targets and/or spent casings is a REALLY bad idea.

Not because there is anything wrong with going to the range, but because of the way it will be portrayed. The PR spin is soooo much easier for the antis on this one. So what? The idea is to change people's minds, right? To reach out to the mainstream, try acting more like the mainstream. Just a thought.
 
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