***CALL TO ACTION*** YOUR CHANCE TO GET INVOLVED.

Just saw GOAL posted a link to this on their facebook page
June 16th - Ambassadors Mobilization Meeting

I think you guys really need to update your postings of this to include the location. The first step for people considering whether they can attend something is to decide if they can reasonably make the trip.

Ya we did that so people wouldn't just show up without responding first. If no one responded and we had one person show it would have been a bit disappointing
 
one more bump for those who are still interested. Please PM or email to let me know if you're coming

9:30am tomorrow at Harvard Sportsman
 
one more bump for those who are still interested. Please PM or email to let me know if you're coming

9:30am tomorrow at Harvard Sportsman

I told you elsewhere, but it could use repeating here, I'll be there and I hope lots of other folks can make it. The "ItsTime2A Team" is just a handful of us right now trying to keep something important moving forward. The real strength of any grassroots group comes from the membership and this is an important first step. It's from this meeting and more like it that we'll be able to build an organized response to the endless assault on our rights. A rally or two on the statehouse steps is a good start, but change comes from keeping up the pressure with letters to the editor, written and oral public testimony on legislation, challenging ignorance in public hearings, and simply educating our neighbors and coworkers who mistakenly think only bad people own guns. This is a marathon, not a sprint and meetings like this are the equivalent of the carb-loading dinner the night before.

Looking forward to seeing lots of people tomorrow.
 
Ok folks see you all tomorrow! Coyotee got your message, try signing up again, and check your email filters, could be getting bounced to spam
 
Thanks to HKDrummer, Cekim, PennyPincher, and the other folks who hosted the meeting today, and to all the folks who came out on a beautiful Sunday morning(and Father's Day.)

My new approach to all this is to try and be a Happy Warrior: We'll see if I can maintain that attitude given my inability to tolerate BS.

Cekim in particular offered a lot of good information on dealing with legislators and made it clear that they are not all against us - they are uninformed, and take a cold hard calculus in approaching legislation. So start calling and writing again.

Check out the It's Time and/or GOAL web sites. They have new material regarding the upcoming hearings.

The most interesting thing I learned today is that some people consider GOAL to be 'extreme'. I always thought they were sort of mainstream, perhaps a bit too conciliatory. Go figure.

Thanks again.
 
As regards the "meeting " at Assumption College...it might be a good question to ask ( to get through the "filters") about what the plan is to increase Mental health Services in Ma. Assumption College , by the way , has a big Psychology program. Prehaps an increase in psychological /vocational/ drug treatment availabilty would actually have an effect on reducing violent crime. Do they even HAVE a plan to address this? I would really like to hear thier respnse to this.
 
As regards the "meeting " at Assumption College...it might be a good question to ask ( to get through the "filters") about what the plan is to increase Mental health Services in Ma. Assumption College , by the way , has a big Psychology program. Prehaps an increase in psychological /vocational/ drug treatment availabilty would actually have an effect on reducing violent crime. Do they even HAVE a plan to address this? I would really like to hear thier respnse to this.

Its not a meeting. Its a public hearing. Big difference. Main one being that this is the committee where the bills are. And, we get to hand in written testimony and/or speak for or against the bills. This isn't a linksy run puppet show. This is the actual hearings on the bills.

sent via carrier pigeon from a secret squirrel camp
 
Its not a meeting. Its a public hearing. Big difference. Main one being that this is the committee where the bills are. And, we get to hand in written testimony and/or speak for or against the bills. This isn't a linksy run puppet show. This is the actual hearings on the bills.

sent via carrier pigeon from a secret squirrel camp

Correct. And GOAL has some excellent pdf's on their site they created to help you either write your testimony or speak or both. Read the tip sheet!
 
I don't normally speak for the rest of the ItsTime folks, but I think I'm on safe ground here expressing a big THANK YOU to the room full of people who took time out of a beautiful Sunday morning to come get involved in this important effort. I for one was very impressed at the commitment and energy in the room.

As was stated above, what's coming up is a series of public hearings. These are part of the formal democratic process whereby citizens get to have their comments and opinions on specific proposed legislation entered into the official record. This is the stack of comments that really count, so we have to get out there and be laser focused on topic and continually present. Use the resources at the GOAL web site (and soon some at ItsTime2A.org) to prepare your written and oral testimony and get out there. Speaking is best, written comments are next best, telephone calls and letters to representatives and committee members are next best, and e-mails and petitions will be useful too.

BUT, above all, spread the word. Talk to your fellow gun owners and neighbors who are on the fence. Get them involved. Get them signed up at ItsTime2A so they can stay informed. And everyone get out in force to show the committee that we don't want these new regulations so they can be squashed before they ever get out of committee.
 
As regards the "meeting " at Assumption College...it might be a good question to ask ( to get through the "filters") about what the plan is to increase Mental health Services in Ma. Assumption College , by the way , has a big Psychology program. Prehaps an increase in psychological /vocational/ drug treatment availabilty would actually have an effect on reducing violent crime. Do they even HAVE a plan to address this? I would really like to hear thier respnse to this.

This is a great topic. I'd hate to see it get intertwined with a conversation about out inalienable rights however.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
I don't normally speak for the rest of the ItsTime folks, but I think I'm on safe ground here expressing a big THANK YOU to the room full of people who took time out of a beautiful Sunday morning to come get involved in this important effort. I for one was very impressed at the commitment and energy in the room.

I'd also like to thank the guys from SADA Home - SADA Massachusetts who were there and gave me a stack of good tri-fold brochures about gun rights and current legislation. (Produced by Western Massachusetts Republicans Make Political News, MASSGOP according to the brochure)
 
How about a summary for those who weren't able to attend on account of a poorly chosen meeting day intersecting with Father's Day?
As a father I can tell you that we don't and won't aren't going to have any easy choices about getting involved to stop this nonsense including when we meet to organize that involvement.

That is something we will all have to get used to until we make some pretty fundamental changes in the way this state does business.

It'sTime spoke about their efforts and how people can help, I will let them elaborate on that for my part we also discussed the information from GOAL that you can find here:

Public Hearings Prep Page

Please click on that and go through the provided materials and information there. It should be helpful as you try to figure out how you can get involved in these hearings.

That is what we need most of all right now: people to get involved.

Whether it is showing up to public hearings which will be at equally if not even more inconvenient times as well as getting the word out to people who are not on these or other forums. There are ~300K licensed gun owners in this state and likely more than that with expired licenses. Many do not realize there is an all out assault going on in the statehouse (or federally) on our civil rights.

The short version is:
- Show up
- Testify (in writing or better yet verbally AND in writing)
- Get the word out
- Call, don't bother emailing
- Make it personal, avoid form letters and 3rd party email submissions
- Keep it calm and rational, let them do the yelling and worse.
- Don't assume "someone else" is doing it.
- Don't assume that everyone reads these forums and knows what is going on - most do not.

They either have no idea this is going on, or they wrongly assume "my guns are safe".

No one's guns are safe.

They are moving the bar far enough that whether you hunt, shoot trap, shoot pistol, shoot semi-auto rifles, or just like to collect, they are coming for your guns without any exaggeration or hyperbole.
 
- Don't assume that everyone reads these forums and knows what is going on - most do not.

They either have no idea this is going on, or they wrongly assume "my guns are safe".

No one's guns are safe.

They are moving the bar far enough that whether you hunt, shoot trap, shoot pistol, shoot semi-auto rifles, or just like to collect, they are coming for your guns without any exaggeration or hyperbole.

I've tried to mention what is going on to a few people at work that I know are gun owners. Pretty much as soon as I start the first thing out of their mouth is "they're not going to take all the guns away [rolleyes]"

Well, with that attitude - yes, they sure as hell will

Most gun owners likely have no damn clue about what is going on. They do not understand what is in the proposals, they do not understand the seriousness of it, they are lulled by the talking heads reassuring them that nobody is coming after their guns. The apathy, ignorance, and normalcy bias is very strong.

As an analogy, I ride a motorcycle but I don't read any motorcycle forums, don't go to bike shows or rallies, don't belong to a club....its just a different/fun mode of transportation to me, to some people its a lifestyle. I would have no idea if there were being any laws proposed in the state related to motorcycles unless it shows up here or on the local news. That is similar to the position I think most gun owners are in.
 
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How about a summary for those who weren't able to attend on account of a poorly chosen meeting day intersecting with Father's Day?

This may sound harsh, and I should probably apologize ahead of time, however, if we were trying to accommodate everyone, and pick a "perfect" day, it wouldn't happen. Fact of the matter is, we had 31 people in the room sunday, not an empty seat, and it went off without a hitch. If you can't be willing to sacrifice a few hours on fathers day, then when will you be willing to stand your ground? When they are knocking at your door to collect your arms? Doubtful. Will it be when they have a committee hearing and the only way to make it would be to bug out of work an hour early? Probably not. Part of the reason It's Time came to life was because I had to look hard and long in the mirror and really ask, "what have you done?" And even still, I feel I haven't done nearly enough. For everyone it's different, I understand that, but now is the time to stand your ground and fight in the figurative sense, before we literally have to.

Now, with all that said. We basically covered what the ambassador program is all about and what we "expect" or hope for people to do as ambassadors to either their favorite shop, or a club they belong to. Many folks signed up to take on several shops and a club, which was far more than I expected. Honestly, I'd love to start doing these "classes" all over the place, and educate folks on the best ways to spread the word. Cekim covered some fantastic material on how to participate and act with regards to committee hearings, and there was some awesome information in his presentation.

If you would like to be an ambassador I could get you some materials and let you know what you need to do, and we can go from there. Again, dont take my comments as dickish, although I can be abrasive, I don't intend to, however the months on our horizon are very serious here, and we really need to start holding peoples feet to the fire and take long looks in the mirror. [wink]
 
If you can't be willing to sacrifice a few hours on fathers day, then when will you be willing to stand your ground? When they are knocking at your door to collect your arms? Doubtful. Will it be when they have a committee hearing and the only way to make it would be to bug out of work an hour early? Probably not.

I carry to protect my family and my family comes first above all else ergo I'm not going to abandon them on Father's day.

Are you really going to bitch and moan and play the blame and shame game because people aren't going to sacrifice their one-day-a-year family time and support your cause? Or are you going to find ways to accommodate different schedules, make the materials easily accessible, and show everyone how it is in their best interest to participate?

There are three primary ways to motivate someone to take action: fear, money, or rational self-interest. You personally don't have a big enough stick to rule by fear. You probably don't have enough money. You'll get a lot further in your goal of engaging the audience by appealing to people's rational self interest, and you'll get far more dedicated followers by making them feel welcome, excited to be part of a cause, interested in protecting their rights, and confident in knowing how to do so.

I applaud your efforts to take action and would like to support it. Did you record the meeting? Or can it be recreated and presented via WebEx? I have a WebEx account I'd be happy to make available to you if you'd like.
 
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Front page editorial in Cape Cod Times today :Cape Cod Times- Gun Violence in America- LEGAL STANDOFF

This is what we are up against. Please come to the Cape hearing tomorrow if you can! Let's make a strong showing for the first of these 5 hearings.
What a bunch of vile trash, I wish I had not clicked on that and supported that paper...

Yes, they have gone over the edge. They are coming for our rights and our guns - all of them.
 
I carry to protect my family and my family comes first above all else ergo I'm not going to abandon them on Father's day.

Are you really going to bitch and moan and play the blame and shame game because people aren't going to sacrifice their one-day-a-year family time and support your cause?
Rutilate, none of us gains anything by bickering and finger pointing, what HK was trying to explain to you is that we worked with what we had in terms of schedule and availability. We did not and are not going to be able to pick and choose, we need to respond first and get ahead of this second.

Both of those things will require looking past holidays and personal desires to the bigger picture of what you as a father leave for your kids when you are gone.

I didn't have anything printed when PennyPincher asked me to come and present, so I carried a printer (or two, just in case) to the meeting and ran off copies during the meeting. I had obligations in the days leading up to the meeting, so I made time at 1am the day/evening/morning prior to go over what I should say and bring.

Improvise, overcome, adapt... Lead, follow or get out of the way... [insert your motivational catchphrase here]

We all need to change the way we think about politics in the state or leave. If we don't it won't be safe for us to live here (if it isn't already).
 
I applaud your efforts to take action and would like to support it. Did you record the meeting? Or can it be recreated and presented via WebEx? I have a WebEx account I'd be happy to make available to you if you'd like.

I don't think there could have been a day or time that would have been good for almost anyone. The gist of it is that people need to get up from their computers and get involved. Even if you attended on Sunday, this only works if you then go out into the community and talk to people, call and write your legislators, and talk to people.

All the information is available at ItsTime and goal.org. The only way we win this fight is by getting as many people as possible involved. The antis have a monopoly on the press coverage and vocal political representation, but the politicians don't necessarily have the desire to pass this. We have to convince them that the political cost isn't worth it.

I'm still stunned by the number of people I know who refuse to get involved because they are afraid of what might happen if the come out as gun owners.

The ItsTime folks are frustrated, justifiably, that people seem to think that sending $50 to GOAL or signing up for a newsletter will win this fight. It won't. We spend so much time on here talking about what we won't take and typing Molon Labe in bold, italized fonts. Well, now is the time to go tell the people who will come and take them. The whole reason why ItsTime was formed was to encourage gun owners to get vocal and get involved in something of vital interest to them.
 
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I carry to protect my family and my family comes first above all else ergo I'm not going to abandon them on Father's day.

Are you really going to bitch and moan and play the blame and shame game because people aren't going to sacrifice their one-day-a-year family time and support your cause? Or are you going to find ways to accommodate different schedules, make the materials easily accessible, and show everyone how it is in their best interest to participate?

There are three primary ways to motivate someone to take action: fear, money, or rational self-interest. You personally don't have a big enough stick to rule by fear. You probably don't have enough money. You'll get a lot further in your goal of engaging the audience by appealing to people's rational self interest, and you'll get far more dedicated followers by making them feel welcome, excited to be part of a cause, interested in protecting their rights, and confident in knowing how to do so.

I applaud your efforts to take action and would like to support it. Did you record the meeting? Or can it be recreated and presented via WebEx? I have a WebEx account I'd be happy to make available to you if you'd like.

Again, I think you took what I was saying as an attack and that wasn't the intent. We have three choices to make here. Stand now and try to push back and fight, which at this point isn't just about you or me or cekim, it's about the generations behind us who deserve the same right to self protection and liberty, quietly wait for a full scale "reset", or do nothing and only complain when it's too late.

There were people there who were dads, hell, one guy brought his children. We are at a point where if you can't be willing to say "honey, this is important and I need to take a few hours Sunday morning to do this" than you should really ask yourself how important it is to you. We were done by noon and those who couldn't stay till the end still got what they needed and departed. This entire movement and the push from the legislators is not going to be convenient whatsoever, so if you are looking for this to all take place after work or on weekends, I've got news for you......it won't.

This fight is not going to be easy, not even for a second. It's going to take a lot of personal time and commitment to try and resist. I hope you can understand that, again I'm not trying to shame anyone, just present them with the reality of how it is and how it's going to be.
 
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