Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2001 14:17:03 -0700
From: rsrchsoc@ionet.net ("John Wilde")
Subject: [lpaz-announce] Re: the question of open carry (time to put your money and time where your mouth is)
To: AZRKBA@asu.edu ("Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Arizona")
Clyde,
You are absolutely right. That is why I have started the initiative to
amend Arizona's Constitution that will insure that "NO LAW" can be made. If we
can get the initiative gets on the ballot and passes, here is what Article II,
Section 26 will say.
" No law ordinance, or other enactment shall ever be made, prohibiting or
regulating the of the individual citize to own or to bear arms in defense of
himself or the state, but nothing in this section shall be construed as
authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an
armed body of men."
Although I know most of you are familiar with the current language of
Article II, 26 of the Constitution, I include it below to illustrate what
will happen with just a little work.
"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or
the state shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed
as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an
armed body of men."
We all know that the problem started in Dano when the Court of Appeals
ignored the plain language of "shall not be impaired" and instead applied the
"compelling governmental interest" test when dealing with carrying concaled.
Then the State Supremes, the chicken sh*ts, sang to the tune of the
anti-gunners and our terrorist police chiefs (not the rank and file street
officers) and dismissed the already granted Petition for Review, leaving stand
the "compelling governmental interest" application of the concealed carry law.
The initiative eliminates any ability to apply the "compelling governmental
interest" test, by simply saying "NO LAW" and eliminating any confusion that
the courts seem to be having with "shall not be impaired."
So all of you are you prepared to now put your money where your mouth is.
Particularly the firearms dealers in this town. I know that do to "hassel
factor" that the dealers are reluctant to put the petitions in their shops.
That is fine. But your financial support will be of great benefit, without the
hassels.
We have the mechanism to gather all of the signatures needed and to raise
the first 20 or 30 thousand in seed money. It is now time to put up the
money. With all of the dealers and over 60,000 CCW holders we can take that
seed money and easily raise 2 million plus.
Derrick Lee is managing the signature gathering and the fund raising. He
has already put signature gathers at this weekend's Crossroads gun show at the
Arizona State Fair Grounds.
For raising some of the initial funds, he guarantees he can raise the seed
money through yard sales. Apparently he and his father used to do these things
for at least part of their living. In order to do it he needs at least twenty
(20) people who will commit to 2 weekends to holding the yard sale at their
place. There will be at least 5 locations each weekend. He will help you
organize the gathering of the goods for the sale. But those who agree to help
will only have to do 2 of them. He will rotate you on a schedule so that you
might do 1 in August and another in September.
That is just a start. He also wants to raffle off a firearm or two, plus
organize one or two gun shows (this will take some doing, but it is workale).
So if you are ready to put your money and your time where your mouth is,
the time is now. In particular I am looking to Ken Rineer, Rick DeStephens,
Tim Weaver and those who have lead the fight for self-defense, to get on board
with public support on this list as well as bringing GOA, GOAz, JPFO and the
NRA on board. If you want personal contact from me before doing so, then
please give me a phone number so that I can contact you and we can make
arrangements to either talk or meet. I will be at the next TUG meeting if it
occurs this month.
Otherwise send your checks and money orders made out to Freedom Iniatives,
LLC to:
Freedom Initiatives, LLC
4208 West State Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85051
Note on the comment line of your check "AFOPA", which stands for Arizona
Firearm Owner's Protection Alliance. That is the political organization that
was formed to run the initiative and campaign. Also, under Arizona Law if you
give more than $25.00 you must provide your name, address your occupation and
the name of your employer.
One thing to also note there are persistant rumors, to the point that they
can no longer be discounted, that the Anti-gunners are getting ready to put out
an initiative of their own. If that happens and both ours and the anti's makes
it to the ballot and both pass, then the one with the most votes in favor
prevails.
You have the opportunity to "get involved" instead of wondering what the
next action of the Anti's will do. We also won't have to worry about whether
the legislature will be our friend next spring. We will bypass them and speak
directly to the nearly 2 million people in this state who will probably be
voting in November 2002.
There is one thing to consider. The Arizona Firearm Owners Protection
Alliance will not have to make its first general financial disclosure until
January 2002, which is right after the legislature goes into session. What do
you think might happen if that financial report showed that somewhere around a
million or so had been raised. You think that just maybe we might be able to
bring some pressure to bear on the legislature to change some of the foolish
and invalid laws that are on the books. They will try to do that in order to
blunt the effect of the initiative. All of the sudden some of the fence
sitters in both houses just might "get religion" and realize they are on the
losing side.
So folks, the time is now to put your money and time where your mouth is or
forever stop your complaining the next time the anti's take their next step.
This initiative, even if it passess, may not stop the anti's, but for the first
time, it will put the biggest hurdle they have ever had to face, right smack
dab in the middle of their path.
So don't simply post back and say you're in. Show me you are in with time
and lots of money. I now leave you to consider your position.
g'day
John Wilde
P.S. Send me names, addresses and phone numbers of firearms dealers so that I
can hit them up directly.
Clyde wrote:
> For the list:
> IMHO . . .
> We must fight for and protect BOTH "open carry" and Arizona's CCW program
> in its present form. If either our Constitutional right to self-defense or
> our statutory right to CCW is jaw-boned away, the other right will fade
> away quickly.
> .
> Case in point: During the floor debate in the AZ House on a generally
> pro-gun bill, a last minute amendment deleted the word "weapon" from ARS
> 13-3112 and substituted the word "handgun." This amendment passed! If
> the Senate had been hearing House bills at the time, Arizona's CCW program
> would have become a CCH program -- our right to carry concealed
> "weapons" (tactical knives, for example) would have died. And, IMHO, the
> lingering right to carry a concealed "handgun" would have followed the
> trend in other States: one pistol only, identified on the permit form,
> mandatory "safety" features (loaded chamber indicator, magazine
> disconnector, high-melting point frame, etc.) and, finally, "smart guns",
> only! Needless to say -- but I am going to say it anyway -- if our CCW
> program had been sacrificed in an effort to strengthen "open carry," it
> would not be long before we could carry only "smart guns" and the slope
> would be slippery, indeed.
> .
> It almost happened . . . so far as I know, this amendment was offered by a
> pro-gun representative and some of "us" supported it.
> .
> Preserve "open carry" but defend CCW, as well!
> .
> Clyde.
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