Hey Gang,

Things are really escalating on gun control initiatives.

We all need to do everything in our collective power to stop this potential gun grabbing.
Besides joining, renewing current membership, or donating to groups like the NRA, GOA, or NAGR in order to help them fight for us, we need to do what we can on our own.

One of the easiest ways we can do so is to write our representatives in the U.S. House and Senate, as well as our state legislators.
It only takes a few minutes to write a letter and send the same one to each of them.  Direct contact from their constituents speaks volumes.

Those I have daily email contact with are probably sick of my being a pain in the butt and reminding them how important this is.  However, if my persistence results in just one more letter written it'll be worth it.

If any of you are interested in doing so and don't know how to reach them, please PM me or email me at elkaholic@centurytel.net and I'll help you out.  Several friends have already taken me up on the offer.  I've sent them links to their representatives' sites, and all they had to concentrate on was writing their letters.
We have six important representatives to contact - three in the U.S. Congress and three in our state legislature.  After all, that's what copying and pasting is for...

If any of you are even remotely considering it, there's no time like the present. According to the reply I received from Maria Cantwell, they'll be debating Diane Feinstein's extreme gun control bill soon.

The amazing thing to me is that those calling for strict gun control have no idea how much damage they're doing to their own way of life by doing so. 

Thanks for your time,
Steve

I have contacted all of them. Even though the info seems to fall on deaf ears, I still keep putting them out. We solicit all the members in the WWA and other groups to contact their Reps. I think the unbelieveable rise in permit apps and instant checks will say more than anything. The anti gun senators just keep getting voted in so more letters MUST go out. Jesse jackson put out that chicago needs more "homeland security patrols" to curb gun violence. I cannot believe that anyone still listens to that creep.

Keep writing folks, but don't stop there. Get everyone you know to send them out. A family of four should be putting out four letters. Age and residence does not matter! Don't forget all the social media that can be used for commenting.

Thanks to all that have gotten involved. You are not wasting your time!

Kurt

Thanks, guys.  Nice to see others doing what they can for the cause.

I've received replies from Senator Cantwell and Representative Kilmer (my rep. in the House).  They both spoke of Obama's "balanced" approach, but never told me how they felt about gun control.
The funny part is that Obama talks about 5% on mental health and the media, and 95% on gun grabbing.  Not very balanced if you ask me.

I talk to tons of people who gripe about it, but won't take the time to write or donate to a gun rights organization to help them fight for us.  When I talked to one close friend about writing her representatives today, she told me "ain't gonna happen - it won't do any good, anyway".

My reply to her was "it certainly can't hurt" and then some.

Keep up the good work, guys.  And I hope the others here follow suit.
Friends have asked me to share my letters with them to give them ideas & starting points with theirs.  I happily shared them, and will do so with anyone here if they're interested.

And ditto to what Kurt said - we are not wasting our time.  If they're going to try pushing an agenda like this on us, then we all need to push back even harder.

Thanks again,
Steve

I usually say in my letter "no need to reply". The whole idea is to not let them forget that we are here and can be formitable. In your letters be polite. Stay on one subject and feel free to give an opinion. Your Reps are not going to read it unless it is special. I always strive to make the letter special without being accusing and negative. DON"T sound threatening! Your letter will represent many depending on how many write in your district. Please don't hammer me for this but you must sound politically correct but also sound like your subject is from the heart. Spelling does NOT count but spell check will help a lot. If you have more than one subject to write about do it in separate letters. Depending on who I'm writing to I will ask to be a part of the solution and to be put on any notice list for meetings and such. Childrens letters are a good example and are almost always read by the recipiant as they are true to the subject and direct! I will dig up a few of my letters and post them today after my chores are done.

Thank You

Kurt

All great points, Kurt.  I strive to stay within the same guidelines, myself.

I also resist the temptation to take jabs at those or their parties who I don't support (which is just about everyone here in WA state and the Obama administration).
Even though you couldn't pay me enough to vote for my current representatives, alienating them by taking those all too tempting subtle shots would just result in them blowing me off.  Then my letter would totally be for naught.

And while often painful to do, I usually thank them for their service as my representative. 

Please write the Senate Law and Justice Committee, and your state Senator asking them to oppose SB5737 – AN ACT Relating to Banning the Sale of Assault Weapons. I have provided a fast and easy copy and paste message for you to use, or you can compose your own. The important action is that you write. Please urge your family, friends, and colleagues to do the same.
   

This is important if you enjoy your freedoms!
 

Find your legislator:

http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/"> http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/

You can also find your Representatives and write them using the NRA-ILA write-your-reps tool:

http://www.nraila.org/get-involved-locally/grassroots/write-your-reps.aspx

Link to SB5737 Bill Summary:

http://dlr.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/default.aspx?Bill=5737&year=2013

Link to original Bill:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5737.pdf

Copy and paste email addresses of Senate Law and Justice Committee members:

mike.padden@leg.wa.gov ; michael.carrell@leg.wa.gov; adam.kline@leg.wa.gov; j.darneille@leg.wa.gov; jeanne.kohl-welles@leg.wa.gov; kirk.pearson@leg.wa.gov; pam.roach@leg.wa.gov

Copy and paste subject:

Oppose SB5737 – AN ACT Relating to Banning the Sale of Assault Weapons

Copy and paste message:

Dear Senate Law and Justice Committee:

I am writing today to ask that you oppose SB5737 – AN ACT Relating to banning the sale of assault weapons. This bill demonizes cosmetic and common firearm features of some guns that have nothing to with actual “assault” weapons. The term “Assault Weapon” is propaganda perpetuated by anti-gun factions in the media, anti-gun organizations, and anti-gun Representatives. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich summed it up very well on CBS’s Face the Nation: “Any true military weapon is illegal, has been illegal since 1934. Somebody’s using an AK-47, they are using an illegal weapon because it is an automatic weapon. We do not allow people to buy automatic weapons unless they have a very strict collector’s license.” Please stop allowing this propaganda to continue and actually be considered being made into law.

It has become very obvious that there are many anti-gun Representatives and others that are taking advantage of the irrational and emotional tidal wave that resulted from the tragedy in Connecticut. None of the recently proposed gun-related legislation, including SB5737, addresses the root causes of the type of tragedy that occurred in Connecticut. This nation has cultural, metal health, gang, organized crime, and drug issues that contribute far more to outbreaks of violence. In my opinion, our Representatives should be focusing on these issues, not burdening law-abiding citizens with more unneeded regulations that serve only to satisfy anti-gun agendas.

It saddens my heart that so many of our Representatives are so willing to trash the rights and freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution and Bill of Rights; the oath of office they took obviously meant nothing to them.

Please put a stop to these unprecedented attacks on guns and law-abiding gun owners which do nothing to curb violence or prevent criminals from carrying out their malevolent deeds. Imposing a barrage of useless gun-control regulations and laws onto law-abiding citizens will do nothing but whittle away at our liberty, rights, and freedoms we have fought so hard to obtain and keep.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Your contact information]

Thanks for the heads up, Kurt.  I'll draft up a letter and send it out to my representatives tonight.

I'll be putting the word out to every gun owner/potential gun owner I know here in WA, and will ask them to do the same with everyone they know.
I'll also post it on several firearms forums I'm registered on.

Listening to the John Carlson show this morning, I heard the tail end of what I believe to be an interview with someone who attended a meeting on some sort of proposed gun control here in WA state.  This must've been what it was on.
While he said he didn't believe this had a chance of passing, we all need to do our part to ensure it doesn't.

By the way, you're 100% right on this.  I hope the rest of you are on-board and will do whatever you can to help stop this madness.

Steve

Here is a reply from Senator Pam Roach on the Wa State bills in the J.C.

Hi Mike

Thanks for writing about SB 5737, introduced yesterday. I appreciate your prompt diligence for contacting me about this bill.

The only good thing about SB 5737 is that it has no chance to become law. This bill has been referred to the Senate Law & Justice Committee on which I serve. The majority makeup of that committee and the disposition of the chair, I expect this bill will remain bottled up in committee and die quietly, same as other gun control measures that must pass this committee.

By the same token, any House bills on gun control that pass out of the House would proceed to the Senate and be heard in Law & Justice. I would expect them to be dead on arrival.

MORE ACTION>>> But I do recommend that you contact the office of Senator Mike Padden, chair of the Law and Justice Committee to echo your remarks. Chairman Padden directs which bills are heard in his committee and which do not get a hearing - thus rendering them dead. Email: mike.padden@leg.wa.gov, office phone: (360) 786-7606. Sen. Padden is probably the single most influential person in this legislature for stopping any gun control measures.

You can always count on my support to oppose any measures that would limit the 2^nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens – every single time!

Thank you for your outreach.

Pam Roach

State Senator

Well, that's encouraging.  While this one may go nowhere, we still need to keep the pressure on and make our voices heard in every way we can.
It may just prevent future legislation from being proposed, and it'll help to stay one step ahead of it.

Yeah, the annual inspections really stood out to me too.  I definitely had to re-read that one to be sure of what it said.

In my correspondence to my reps, one of the things I covered was how many otherwise upstanding and law abiding citizens will refuse to limit their ability to defend themselves and ignore these laws.  In the case of limiting the number of rounds in a chamber like the NY bill, these people could serve prison time for having one extra round in  the chamber.
Is this something these gun grabbing politicians want on their hands?  And no, I don't word it that way... 

I've also told them that having the gov't start disarming us will be seen by many as an attempt to render us defenseless against said government.  And this would result in dissention within this country the likes of which have never been seen in our lifetimes.  I honestly don't think they realize the scope and consequences of what they're attempting to do here.

I'm finding out that many people who share our feelings don't feel comfortable drafting letters and don't know where to start, as Kurt eluded to by posting his examples.  For those of us who are comfortable doing it, we need to help the others if possible.
I have a close older friend who admitted in an email that she doesn't write well, and doesn't want to embarrass herself with something not well written.  We agreed that I'll draft a letter(s) for her, and after she approves them I'll help her send them to the appropriate people.  They'll just have to be a different format than mine in order to be genuine.

Yes, it's work (I can certainly think of more fun things to do on a three day weekend).  But it's work that we all need to do if we can, as we're all in  this together.  I certainly plan to take my destiny into my own hands and go down swinging.

Anyway, for those of you planning to attend our GT in June, this will obviously be a topic for us to chew on around the campfire.  It'll be interesting to see what's transpired between now and then.  Hopefully, with our efforts - little to nothing.

Our American form of government. A MUST see video that may change the way you see our GREAT Country!!

http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment/

Great points all.

The important thing is for us all to get involved and fight this fight together.  I don't know if they realize what they're taking on here, as this will likely create more turmoil than anything we've seen politically in our lifetimes.

I ran into a really nice couple at Wholesale Sports in Lacey on Saturday night (I was killing time there before meeting friends for dinner).  They're really involved in keeping up with the latest state and federal firearms legislation proposals, and keep constant contact with any and all of their respective representatives. 

I spoke mostly with her, and she said she posts updates regularly on Facebook.
While I'm registered there, I don't have much use for it and log in on rare occasion - mostly to accept friend requests.  I gave her my email address and once I hear from her we'll keep in contact.  She should be a good source of information.

She wrote down two proposed bills I hadn't heard of - HB1588 & SB5739.  I haven't looked into them yet, but these are likely others we need to write letters on.
While our tasks just keep growing, we need to be persistent.

FYI - I started a thread on the N.Y. forum to show them a little out-of-state support for what they're dealing with.  If you guys have a few minutes, you might want to chime in there.

Steve

A member from Tennessee I've known on this board for years sent me a link to a Seattle Times article about SB5737.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localn...7xml.htmlv

It appears that lack of support for this bill may not be because of our representatives' support on gun rights, but because they know it's going too far with the home inspection clause.
All the more reason to keep hammering on them.  We may not be able to pound any sense into some of them, but they need to know there are enough of us to vote them out.

I find it interesting in the article how one author of the bill and the author of the article admit the proposed legislation validates our position on the government disarming us.

While I've still got a ton of letters to write for myself and others who need help, I'll likely write the author of the article and let him know how I feel about his views on "common sense gun control".  Basically that there isn't any such thing.  
 

Sorry rice201, I didn't mean to re-post your link.  I missed it the first time through.

Looks like they've taken down the link for some reason.

Some of you may have already seen this. You guys are doing a great job of spreading the word and writing opposition letters.

I doesn't matter the content of these bills. WE ALL know the intent. Small bites of our freedom. Think about this; If we were to go after the media including hollywood, and blame them for crime and gun violence they would be whining like the dogs they are about FIRST amendment rights. They the media are shooting themselves in the collective foot by going after our SECOND amendment right and vertually promoting violence of all and any kind. The details are unimportant. What is, is that we don't back down at all, no consessments. If it were not for apathy we would have already won the fight for our freedom. The couple of people that we get to write and call is not enough. I will get down now and post the latest.
Thanks

Kurt

EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT from the NRA-ILA


The phone calls work. Please take a stand to protect our rights (your rights) and call these Senators. Spread your calls over several days if you need to. The important action is that you make those calls.

Many gun owners may not receive these alerts, so please take action and pass this on to other gun owners you believe will take a stand to fight for our rights.

Thank you.

From: Chris W. Cox [mailto:admin@nramedia.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 4:00 AM
Subject: These 20 will decide your fate