To gun advocates, fight vs. tyranny never ends
Greg Campbell
GCampbell@times-call.com
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT - "So much tyranny, so little time," sighs Bob Glass, with only a half-joking smile touching his lips.He lounges in a 1970s-style easy chair, wearing olive green military pants and a lumberjack's shirt.A holstered revolver lies on the edge of a nearby desk next to an employee's Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol that he warns is "hot."On the walls are more weapons of every variety: Romanian versions of the AK-47, shotguns, Tec-9 automatic pistols, AR-15s, a World War II vintage Browning BAR.
From this Main Street headquarters, deep inside Glass' Paladin Arms gun store,members of the Tyranny Response Team ponder their strategies, revel in their successes and stoke a righteous anger about infringements either real or perceived upon their civil liberties.
The Tyranny Response Team - or TRT, as it's called - was born in January out of the concerns of gun owners who see attempts to create new gun laws as the first step toward gun regis-tration and, eventually, tyranny of the state.Glass expected little to come of the initial meeting, which was initiated by like-minded listeners and guests of KHNC radio station in Johnstown.
But what he thought would be an airing of frustrations and a passing of business cards has turned into a legitimate movement of freedom advocates, with chapters in 13 states and a loose membership that makes it difficult to count active members.The one thing they all have in common is their desire to protect their constitutional right to bear arms and to rally against any law that they believe will infringe on that right.
"Everyone felt adamant that our freedoms were being eroded," Glass said. "We said, 'Let's try and do something to deal with this situation.' We essentially took to the streets."In an atmosphere that has grown frantic about gun-related violence since the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999, the TRT's presence has generated headlines, outrage, fear and anger from people who believe that gun laws should be stricter.
TRT members have been assaulted by gun-control advocates, videotaped by police and threatened with arrest for exercising their First Amendment rights. Glass claims he was even shoved and threatened by a state legislator at the GOP convention earlier
this year.It's all because of his belief in and defense of the Bill of Rights, he said.
Defending the Bill of Rights, however, can be frustrating work since the April 20, 1999, shootings at Columbine. Two students, armed with semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, massacred 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Prior to the shooting, they wired the school with explosives in an unsuccessful bid to level the whole building.
The tragedy unleashed a torrent of outrage.
A slew of activist groups, law proposals, petitions and education programs were created to lobby for stricter gun laws.Amendment 22, put on November ballots by gun-control advocates, seeks to require unlicensed firearms dealers to perform criminal background checks on their customers at gun shows before selling them weapons.The amendment is another version of a package of gun-control bills supported by SAFE Colorado, an organization formed in the wake of the Columbine shootings, that failed to pass the Legislature earlier.
Glass and the Tyranny Response Team are adamantly opposed to the measure and angry at Gov. Bill Owens for supporting it. Hundreds of people regularly respond to their calls to protest pro-gun-con-trol gatherings.What the amendment does is "make it a criminal act for two people to conduct business without the permission of the state," Glass said.The first TRT rally, a march on Owens' mansion to protest what Glass calls a reversal of his campaign pledge to oppose new gun laws, mustered about 400 people. "We really didn't know what to expect. I would have been happy if 50 people showed up. I was elated. It was successful beyond my wildest fantasy," Glass said.But Glass' group also draws another kind of attention: from law enforcement.If allowed to ramble, Glass can fill an afternoon with tales of runins he's had with the police while protesting.
There was the time, he said, when SAFE representatives unsuccessfully tried to have a Uni-versity of Denver student arrested for carrying a "No on 22" sign to a SAFE gathering to which the pub-lic had been invited.He said he was threatened with arrest by a governor's bodyguard for showing up to watch Owens at another SAFE function held on the steps of the state Capitol building,
another public event.
He said he was threatened with arrest at a gathering of the Million Mom March because he was wearing a TRT shirt. He said officers told him that there was a specific area for protesters to gather and show their opposition to the rally: a fenced-off spot ironically adorned with a sign reading "First Amendment Area.""This is real, real typical stuff," Glass said. "The tyranny we encounter when we get there is far greater in some cases than the tyranny we're going to protest in the first place. They're denying our First Amendment rights to defend our Second Amendment
rights."
Sometimes, the TRT's right to free speech is pushed close to its limits.
For example, when SAFE media representative Cynthia Stone re-fused to speak with Glass about scheduling a public debate with Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter and SAFE director of public affairs Tom Mauser, Glass sat on the hood of her car so she couldn't drive away.Glass relented when Stone called police on her cell phone.Stone confirmed the incident but declined to comment further.
In another situation, TRT member Duncan Philp cq confronted Ritter, who he believed ordered police to arrest TRT members for felony inciting of a riot if anyone disrupted a Million Mom March gatheringRitter denied it, and Philp called him a liar and "a stinking puke.Ritter did not return two phone calls seeking comment.
In Longmont, Glass responded to being videotaped at an anti-Owens protest by Longmont SWAT by going on KHNC and broadcasting SWAT Cmdr. Paul Zuber's unlisted home telephone number and address.Police Cmdr. Craig Earhart said that counter to the TRT's suspicions, the group is not under surveillance or investigation by the police department.
Intelligence gathering is reserved to those suspected of criminal activities, Earhart said, and TRT members were videotaped at the Raintree Hotel during a demonstration as a course of normal crowd-control response.He seemed more concerned, however, about Glass's decision to reveal Zuber's personal information on the radio.
"I don't know if we considered it threatening, but we thought it was distasteful," Earhart said. "It didn't serve any legitimate purpose. It made us wonder if that group has any other personal in-formation about our officers. "That concerns us in the interests of the safety of our personnel."
Zuber said he was concerned about the incident, but not because he was afraid Glass or other TRT members would do anything harmful. He was worried about other listeners who might decide to do "something to the detriment of me and my family." "What bothers me is that I can't control, nor can they, who listens to that program," Zuber said.
In yet another example, Glass and state Rep. Mark Larson from Cortez nearly came to blows at the state Republican convention. The men disagree on the particulars of the encounter - with each charging that the other started the confrontation - but the 6-foot-4-inch Larson admits that he stood up "with authority" to block Glass, who was heckling Owens during his speech, and the two made physical contact. An argument ensued, and Larson admitted that he told the 5-foot-6-inch Glass that he would "slam-dunk him" if he didn't back off from the confrontation.
These type of in-your-face tactics adopted by Glass and his asso-ciates is what distinguishes the Tyranny Response Team from other organizations like the National Rifle Association, another organization that draws bitter comments from TRT members.In their view, the NRA is a toothless political hack of an organization, especially since it backs Project Exile, a national effort to fund a crackdown on existing gun laws.
The NRA's efforts are in political lobbying, while the TRT relies on vociferous street demonstra-tions, Glass said "What we're doing is very directly empowering individuals to take matters into their own hands," Glass said. "That's precisely what the NRA doesn't want
you to do. They want you to send them your money because they're inexplicably linked to the political process. Larson, for one, doesn't think the TRT's tactics work.
"I think they're totally out of control," he said. "I understand their issues with the governor, but that's not how you resolve "I think that they are their own worst enemy. People just do not like that approach to protesting."Glass obviously disagrees, seeing the issue in civil rights terms. Placing any restrictions on the rights embodied in the Second Amendment, he said, is as non-negotiable as reinstating slavery.
"It's not the Bill of Privileges, it's the Bill of Rights," he said. "And the Second Amendment is the teeth. The only safeguards against the tyranny of the state is
an armed populace."
http://www.trteam.com
Greg Campbell
GCampbell@times-call.com
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT - "So much tyranny, so little time," sighs Bob Glass, with only a half-joking smile touching his lips.He lounges in a 1970s-style easy chair, wearing olive green military pants and a lumberjack's shirt.A holstered revolver lies on the edge of a nearby desk next to an employee's Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol that he warns is "hot."On the walls are more weapons of every variety: Romanian versions of the AK-47, shotguns, Tec-9 automatic pistols, AR-15s, a World War II vintage Browning BAR.
From this Main Street headquarters, deep inside Glass' Paladin Arms gun store,members of the Tyranny Response Team ponder their strategies, revel in their successes and stoke a righteous anger about infringements either real or perceived upon their civil liberties.
The Tyranny Response Team - or TRT, as it's called - was born in January out of the concerns of gun owners who see attempts to create new gun laws as the first step toward gun regis-tration and, eventually, tyranny of the state.Glass expected little to come of the initial meeting, which was initiated by like-minded listeners and guests of KHNC radio station in Johnstown.
But what he thought would be an airing of frustrations and a passing of business cards has turned into a legitimate movement of freedom advocates, with chapters in 13 states and a loose membership that makes it difficult to count active members.The one thing they all have in common is their desire to protect their constitutional right to bear arms and to rally against any law that they believe will infringe on that right.
"Everyone felt adamant that our freedoms were being eroded," Glass said. "We said, 'Let's try and do something to deal with this situation.' We essentially took to the streets."In an atmosphere that has grown frantic about gun-related violence since the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999, the TRT's presence has generated headlines, outrage, fear and anger from people who believe that gun laws should be stricter.
TRT members have been assaulted by gun-control advocates, videotaped by police and threatened with arrest for exercising their First Amendment rights. Glass claims he was even shoved and threatened by a state legislator at the GOP convention earlier
this year.It's all because of his belief in and defense of the Bill of Rights, he said.
Defending the Bill of Rights, however, can be frustrating work since the April 20, 1999, shootings at Columbine. Two students, armed with semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, massacred 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Prior to the shooting, they wired the school with explosives in an unsuccessful bid to level the whole building.
The tragedy unleashed a torrent of outrage.
A slew of activist groups, law proposals, petitions and education programs were created to lobby for stricter gun laws.Amendment 22, put on November ballots by gun-control advocates, seeks to require unlicensed firearms dealers to perform criminal background checks on their customers at gun shows before selling them weapons.The amendment is another version of a package of gun-control bills supported by SAFE Colorado, an organization formed in the wake of the Columbine shootings, that failed to pass the Legislature earlier.
Glass and the Tyranny Response Team are adamantly opposed to the measure and angry at Gov. Bill Owens for supporting it. Hundreds of people regularly respond to their calls to protest pro-gun-con-trol gatherings.What the amendment does is "make it a criminal act for two people to conduct business without the permission of the state," Glass said.The first TRT rally, a march on Owens' mansion to protest what Glass calls a reversal of his campaign pledge to oppose new gun laws, mustered about 400 people. "We really didn't know what to expect. I would have been happy if 50 people showed up. I was elated. It was successful beyond my wildest fantasy," Glass said.But Glass' group also draws another kind of attention: from law enforcement.If allowed to ramble, Glass can fill an afternoon with tales of runins he's had with the police while protesting.
There was the time, he said, when SAFE representatives unsuccessfully tried to have a Uni-versity of Denver student arrested for carrying a "No on 22" sign to a SAFE gathering to which the pub-lic had been invited.He said he was threatened with arrest by a governor's bodyguard for showing up to watch Owens at another SAFE function held on the steps of the state Capitol building,
another public event.
He said he was threatened with arrest at a gathering of the Million Mom March because he was wearing a TRT shirt. He said officers told him that there was a specific area for protesters to gather and show their opposition to the rally: a fenced-off spot ironically adorned with a sign reading "First Amendment Area.""This is real, real typical stuff," Glass said. "The tyranny we encounter when we get there is far greater in some cases than the tyranny we're going to protest in the first place. They're denying our First Amendment rights to defend our Second Amendment
rights."
Sometimes, the TRT's right to free speech is pushed close to its limits.
For example, when SAFE media representative Cynthia Stone re-fused to speak with Glass about scheduling a public debate with Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter and SAFE director of public affairs Tom Mauser, Glass sat on the hood of her car so she couldn't drive away.Glass relented when Stone called police on her cell phone.Stone confirmed the incident but declined to comment further.
In another situation, TRT member Duncan Philp cq confronted Ritter, who he believed ordered police to arrest TRT members for felony inciting of a riot if anyone disrupted a Million Mom March gatheringRitter denied it, and Philp called him a liar and "a stinking puke.Ritter did not return two phone calls seeking comment.
In Longmont, Glass responded to being videotaped at an anti-Owens protest by Longmont SWAT by going on KHNC and broadcasting SWAT Cmdr. Paul Zuber's unlisted home telephone number and address.Police Cmdr. Craig Earhart said that counter to the TRT's suspicions, the group is not under surveillance or investigation by the police department.
Intelligence gathering is reserved to those suspected of criminal activities, Earhart said, and TRT members were videotaped at the Raintree Hotel during a demonstration as a course of normal crowd-control response.He seemed more concerned, however, about Glass's decision to reveal Zuber's personal information on the radio.
"I don't know if we considered it threatening, but we thought it was distasteful," Earhart said. "It didn't serve any legitimate purpose. It made us wonder if that group has any other personal in-formation about our officers. "That concerns us in the interests of the safety of our personnel."
Zuber said he was concerned about the incident, but not because he was afraid Glass or other TRT members would do anything harmful. He was worried about other listeners who might decide to do "something to the detriment of me and my family." "What bothers me is that I can't control, nor can they, who listens to that program," Zuber said.
In yet another example, Glass and state Rep. Mark Larson from Cortez nearly came to blows at the state Republican convention. The men disagree on the particulars of the encounter - with each charging that the other started the confrontation - but the 6-foot-4-inch Larson admits that he stood up "with authority" to block Glass, who was heckling Owens during his speech, and the two made physical contact. An argument ensued, and Larson admitted that he told the 5-foot-6-inch Glass that he would "slam-dunk him" if he didn't back off from the confrontation.
These type of in-your-face tactics adopted by Glass and his asso-ciates is what distinguishes the Tyranny Response Team from other organizations like the National Rifle Association, another organization that draws bitter comments from TRT members.In their view, the NRA is a toothless political hack of an organization, especially since it backs Project Exile, a national effort to fund a crackdown on existing gun laws.
The NRA's efforts are in political lobbying, while the TRT relies on vociferous street demonstra-tions, Glass said "What we're doing is very directly empowering individuals to take matters into their own hands," Glass said. "That's precisely what the NRA doesn't want
you to do. They want you to send them your money because they're inexplicably linked to the political process. Larson, for one, doesn't think the TRT's tactics work.
"I think they're totally out of control," he said. "I understand their issues with the governor, but that's not how you resolve "I think that they are their own worst enemy. People just do not like that approach to protesting."Glass obviously disagrees, seeing the issue in civil rights terms. Placing any restrictions on the rights embodied in the Second Amendment, he said, is as non-negotiable as reinstating slavery.
"It's not the Bill of Privileges, it's the Bill of Rights," he said. "And the Second Amendment is the teeth. The only safeguards against the tyranny of the state is
an armed populace."
http://www.trteam.com