GOAL Response To AG Healey’s Actions - Rally Sat 7/23 @ 10:00 AM

[CatSnoutSoup]

So both my house Representative and Senator signed the letter which is cool, however the letter itself is weak, weak, weak!

Nonetheless they deserved a combination pat on the head and kick in the backside -- below is the email I sent them both, feel free to steal any part for your pol if you like.


><><><><><><><

Dear Insert Politician,

Both my wife and I wish to express our sincere appreciation for your signature appearing on the letter to Attorney General Healey dated July 23, 2016. I wanted to let you know that the letter is being exposed to a large number of gun owners in our area via social media -- all of whom I can assure you vote and appreciate your support as well.

My wife and I are certain that the AG’s actions addressed a problem that does not now exist, has not existed for the 18 years history of the statue, and has been brought up by Ms. Healey in a cynical attention seeking event in advance of the Democratic national convention. This crass act of grandstanding has been perpetrated on the backs of law abiding citizens such as my wife and myself. I should also point out that the AG’s apparent disregard for the relevance of the occupants of the State House is being perceived by the public as a slap in the face to the offices held by you and your colleagues.

We feel very strongly that the AG must be unequivocally condemned for her hubris, and that legislation must be enacted immediately that would nullify her actions. I am a Marine Corps veteran, my wife and I both hold advanced degrees, and work in professional capacities – please do not let Ms. Healy make felons out of us!

We thank you once again for signing the letter it was a great start, but there must be follow through on the house floor. We are willing to spend time, effort, and money to support politicians who support us, however like thousands of other Massachusetts gun owners, we are also willing to expend those same commodities to push out any politician who does not support us during this critical time – a thing perhaps worth mentioning to colleagues who did not sign or do not plan to follow up.


Thank you,

Insert Name

 

[gamma19]

Another dumpster-fire of a thread. You know, in case you had low blood pressure this afternoon or had no particular need to preserve your sanity. http://www.universalhub.com/2016/gun-supporters-protest-new-weapons-restrictions

Lots of triggered, safe-space moonbats on that forum!

 

[Da_lucche]

Another dumpster-fire of a thread. You know, in case you had low blood pressure this afternoon or had no particular need to preserve your sanity. http://www.universalhub.com/2016/gun-supporters-protest-new-weapons-restrictions

The same group of people who scream outrage when law enforcement impede on the civil rights on a minority group now congratulating the senior most level LEO in the state for impeding on the civil rights of a minority group. Gotta love it.

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[rivet_42]

BTW, if you saw a guy in a dark blue pinstriped suit, with a Red Sox cap, and a purple backpack, looking kinda lost, that was me. I considered wearing my Pink Pistols or my #ShootBack t-shirt but I thought it was best to dress up so as best to present a good image, hot weather be damned. I think I was the only person not on the podium dressed like that. :-/

 

[rivet_42]

The same group of people who scream outrage when law enforcement impede on the civil rights on a minority group now congratulating the senior most level LEO in the state for impeding on the civil rights of a minority group. Gotta love it.

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These people are so busy applauding an outcome that they agree with, that they don't understand that this can happen to them and to rights that they hold dear as well. Maybe not in Massachusetts, but somewhere.

 

[economist]

This goes both ways. People at the rally cheered "blue lives matter" when those very guys in blue are the ones who will enforce Healey's directives. Everyone needs to understand that the ultimate threat here is government authority.

 

[rhombus]

The same group of people who scream outrage when law enforcement impede on the civil rights on a minority group now congratulating the senior most level LEO in the state for impeding on the civil rights of a minority group. Gotta love it.

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They want everyone to be equal... but some to be more equal than others.

 

[rhombus]

This goes both ways. People at the rally cheered "blue live matter" when those very guys in blue are the ones who will enforce Healey's directives. Everyone needs to understand that the ultimate threat here is government authority.

The LEOs I know that I have spoken to are all outraged by this. That being said, they would probably not risk their status as a protected class to go against an order to round up the newly (or apparently long time) illegal weapons.

 

[jasons]

You've made a big jump from "minor traffic violation" to "quick search." Just say no.

Then the cop pulls your transfer report from the eopss database, sees that you bought an illegal assault weapon back in 1999, and bingo instant PC. "Step out of the vehicle please."


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[rhombus]

Then the cop pulls your transfer report from the eopss database, sees that you bought an illegal assault weapon back in 1999, and bingo instant PC. "Step out of the vehicle please."

I don't think they can access the gun registry database from the cruiser...

 

[rlee]

These people are so busy applauding an outcome that they agree with, that they don't understand that this can happen to them and to rights that they hold dear as well. Maybe not in Massachusetts, but somewhere.

[snail]mailed this morning:

July 24, 2016
The Honorable Joan Lovely
State House, Room 215
Boston, MA 02133

Dear Senator Lovely,

I am a voter in your district.

I was disappointed to see that you were not a signer of the bipartisan letter to Attorney General Healey sent on July 23, 2016. She has effectively rewritten the Assault Weapons Ban, which has been essentially unchanged through 18 years of case law in Massachusetts.

Although you have never been vocal on the subject of gun control, I would have hoped that you would see the danger in allowing the Attorney General’s actions to go unchallenged. If this precedent is allowed to stand, you can be sure that eventually a cause more to your liking will be placed in jeopardy.

I urge you to take a stand against this usurpation of the authority of the General Court.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely

rlee

 

[esamjj]

What is needed is a statement by the LE unions that they will overlook the issue unless it is in connection to a criminal active (not civil). They need to indicate they wiill not become the AGs gestapo.

 

[42!]

I'm seriously pissed off about the size estimates some of the news outlets are showing. I was there from 10 to almost 2 (it had lthinned quite a bit by then) and from the first I new it was in the 1000s. But that was just my opinion. So being a details kind of guy I decided to put together a more scientific estimate.

I started with what MSNBC uses for crowd estimates based on area. This is 4.5sqft per person unless you're super friendly, I was working in inches so this would be 648sqin per person. http://www.poynter.org/2009/how-to-calculate-crowd-size-at-big-events-like-the-inauguration/93627/

I took a Google satellite image of the area with a know distance, brought that into Visio and set a scale so the measurements would match. There is some margin for error but its minimal.

I then cut it up into 9 rectangles representing the crowd that I observed, I'm willing to accept some correction here as I was toward the center. If those on the edges of the crowd want to offer corrections I'd be glad to adjust.

This is the results
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxcFmdlep_ieaVlHUjBZTmtNTXc&usp=sharing

crowd estimate 4312.276463

Even with some margin for error, the idea that it was only 600 is ludicrous.

This will be a part of my letters to the media and politicians on Monday.


A little constructive feedback for GOAL, which I think did a great job in organizing this;
I think specifying an start and end time would help (getting started early is great), this would prevent the media from showing up late (12:30, I was still there but most had left) and showing only a small group, and attendees could plan better and make sure the crowd was large. If the press release and all the communication said it was from 10-1 for example, we could make sure the crowd stayed big and then dispersed cleanly. If the media tries to twist the turnout the worst they could say was we came and left in an orderly manner.

I'd also suggest another LARGE rally in a couple weeks if we don't get good results. I'd suggest a Sat. again regardless of whether they are in session. They will still hear about it and even if its a minor mention in the media it will still send the message that this is not just going away. And it helps the turn-out.

If we could turn out in the 4K numbers every 2 weeks until we get favorable action they will have to notice. If we can get just half of gun owners to show it would be game changing. I even think at some point the national media will have to take notice. Think of it as a symbolic occupy approach. We're just leaving out being a bunch of smelly, unemployed, jackasses.

 

[pastera]

BTW, if you saw a guy in a dark blue pinstriped suit, with a Red Sox cap, and a purple backpack, looking kinda lost, that was me. I considered wearing my Pink Pistols or my #ShootBack t-shirt but I thought it was best to dress up so as best to present a good image, hot weather be damned. I think I was the only person not on the podium dressed like that. :-/

Should have worn your Pinks Pistols gear - there were two gentlemen I was speak to (one had the armed gays don't get bashed shirt) who were discussing why there was no visible LGBT attendance.

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[Individualist]

GOAL has limited manpower. The next rally requires professional PR and campaign management. We need national level assistance with this problem.

 

[rhombus]

(one had the armed gays don't get bashed shirt)

EPIC

 

[jasons]

GOAL Response To AG Healey’s Actions - Rally Sat 7/23 @ 10:00 AM

I don't think they can access the gun registry database from the cruiser...

At least some can. Maybe all if they know how to look for it.


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[pastera]

GOAL has limited manpower. The next rally requires professional PR and campaign management. We need national level assistance with this problem.

NRA won't do anything unless it is to waltz in at the last minute to claim victory.


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[Boris]

GOAL has limited manpower. The next rally requires professional PR and campaign management. We need national level assistance with this problem.

Another idea, I know that I'm not the only one who is fed up with NRA who doesn't seem to do much on our local level, well then, may be we should redirect funds to go to local level organizations. If they don't do shit, all MA residents should flat out boycott NRA donations, not a ****ing cent until we see substantial involvement. I see shitload of people donating to NRA and I see total shit of what NRA does to combat MA laws.

I get it, and there are ways around it, deputize volunteers, find representatives from each gun club to post fliers. Did they ****ing do that? Some gun clubs took time to send emails out. If you can't ****ing manage it, ask for ****ing volunteers.

Is there a volunteer section at GOAL ... is ****ing there? No there is not, apparently no volunteers needed. Are there ****ing interns? Do they have aggressive goals to expand membership?

Under GOAL support page ... donate ... well, I don't see how much use that will do, they need more people, more ****ing programs, more ****ing action.

Next Wednesday when Moar will outlaw ammo, I am not going to count on GOAL to organize their party, I will work with my gun club to get message out asap and that's not the way it should be. They need to keep ****ing hand on the pulse, all this shit show started early Wed morning, by 11am it went full retard, so you had 2.5 days to get message out, a big message, and all we ****ing raised are less than 1% of all gun owners in this state.

 

[EddieCoyle]

You realize we had two days to set this up, right? I can also guarantee you a LOT more than 1% of gun owners knew about the rally.

 

[Boris]

You realize we had two days to set this up, right?

I do, it's a short time, still, did you emailed every club pres in the state to be ready for something just in case? Do you need people to help with that? Ask for volunteers, get more people involved. I am a member of two club, I can always go post something at the range and our pres is very responsive. This was an emergency, not trivial.

GOAL needs more people, so ask for more people, tell us what you need. I don't expect you to do everything, but just post something like we need two volunteers from every club to print 20 fliers and post everywhere at your range ... Don't do it all, let other people in to help. Admit that you are short staff and ask for help when you need it.

There was news that GOAL is planning a protest and nothing like, may be post fliers at your clubs, talk to people, call people, organize car pools etc.

This thing is the biggest event that happened to MA gun rights since AWB, we need like batman sign, Moar is coming.

 

[babygorilla]

Great points all, we do need another rally in a couple weeks, with better planning, better viewing and better turnout. More notice will help get more to the rally. Advanced notification to the media will get them there in time.

 

[exojam]

I will not change the way I deal with my rifle. If I want to go to the range and shoot, I will do so knowing that their are Westford cops (and cops from other towns) that are in our club. Sorry but I am just at a point where if something happens (not talking physical or shooting, it does.
And we also allow them the use of the club "as a courtesy".

 

[jasons]

I can also guarantee you a LOT more than 1% of gun owners knew about the rally.

They sure did. I saw 4 people (other than me) from one of my clubs and 1 from my other club. Both clubs sent out some kind of notification to the membership (electronic due to the short notice, but most people these days are on the internet.) Obviously I don't know every person from both clubs by sight and I didn't see everyone in the crowd but there were still a lot of faces missing.

The turnout overall was still pretty good considering but it could have been a lot better. It wasn't because people didn't know it was happening.

With that said it probably wouldn't hurt for GOAL or whoever to come up with some sort of quick reaction communication plan for the next time some grabber decides to spring something like this on us. Email, social media, phone bank staffed by volunteers or maybe an automated notification call like when schools have a snow day, etc.

 

[pastera]

If hkdrummer still has the email list collected from the last effort with itstime2a, that would be a great start.


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[Matt_SERE]

I see that response have been added and edited in the time I took to type slowly.

This was an unfortunate surprise of an action taken by the AOG; with malice.

As a GOAL Member I absolutely agree that GOAL needs more people. Please realize that the BOD's for GOAL is all volunteer and there are emails that go out when the office needs hands for stuffing envelopes other office duties.

Action plans were developed that can and will continue to be improved upon. Many people offered up services and time publicly and by PM here on NES, phone calls and emails to GOAL and networking personally.

As you stated possibly we could develop a planned call list for vendors and volunteers. GOAL does maintain these already but perhaps not for such an unplanned attack of this magnitude and swiftness.

The fact that signs, sound system, water, emails, FB/Twitter posts and updates to all of these were all performed while getting our .gov officials to come to work for an emergency session, meet multiple times with GOAL and have the rally be the success it was should be lauded. Something we may be able to do is be aware that not all gun clubs in MA, and certainly outside of MA, are affiliated with GOAL or the NRA. Possibly those clubs would be convinced to share a contact email to GOAL for future attacks that are sure to come.

My thanks to all of NES, GOAL and all the other organizations/people that forwarded emails and posts to other gun owners who saw this attack on our civil rights and the willingness to sidestep the law making process!

 

[42!]

GOAL needs more people, so ask for more people, tell us what you need. I don't expect you to do everything, but just post something like we need two volunteers from every club to print 20 fliers and post everywhere at your range ... Don't do it all, let other people in to help. Admit that you are short staff and ask for help when you need it.

I'd be glad to volunteer to help GOAL. Right now I have way more time than money. I'll start with a commitment to 16 hours a WEEK, probably end up doing more if allowed. When my situation changes I'll swap SOME of that time for $$.

Will GOAL accept my help?

Will others step up?

 

[namedpipes]

GOAL has limited manpower. The next rally requires professional PR and campaign management. We need national level assistance with this problem.

GOAL did an amazing job getting 4k-5k people to show on short notice. Kudos.

Yet it pales in comparison to the thousands that regularly show up for the FSA style rallys. Never mind the political support rallys for the likes of Cankles or Chump.

GOAL/Comm2A should explore professional PR services and engage with pros in getting the message out to the hundreds of thousands, not the thousands.

A thank you BBQ and challenge coins are nice but they aren't reaching the numbers they need.

If the frigging dems can manage it then why can't we?

I want to see the next rally count at 10k. And the rally just before the next gubernatorial election better be 25k plus.

Would Willie Nelson sing a song for us? THAT might get some bodys to show up. Half serious. Does anybody know him or a similar big name draw? Six degrees of separation...

 

[fencer]

I do, it's a short time, still, did you emailed every club pres in the state to be ready for something just in case? Do you need people to help with that? Ask for volunteers, get more people involved. I am a member of two club, I can always go post something at the range and our pres is very responsive. This was an emergency, not trivial.

GOAL needs more people, so ask for more people, tell us what you need.....

This thing is the biggest event that happened to MA gun rights since AWB, we need like batman sign, Moar is coming.

It was nice to meet you at the rally Boris, but I gotta ask... why do you need GOAL to help you with this? I sent an email to every gun owner in my address book and called or texted those I am closest to. I wish more were able to attend but like Eddie Coyle pointed out, there was only two days notice. I sit in judgement of no one. Most people do what they can when it is important to them.

I also heard people bitching, saying that people wouldn't attend unless it was a Saturday and there was less traffic. Well let me tell you, traffic sucked, and I work on Saturdays and still took the day off. Traffic was so bad, I was sitting at a light on Kneeland and a detail Boston cop said right to me " They have traffic in this city totally ****ed up today !!" I handed him an ice cold water and said " Hope your shift ends soon"

My point is, why do I need GOAL to tell me what I should do ? I am a big boy. I really appreciate all those folks do which is why the first thing I did when I made it to the rally was walk up to the GOAL booth and made a cash donation.

Loved your sign by the way.

 

[Individualist]

I'd be glad to volunteer to help GOAL. Right now I have way more time than money. I'll start with a commitment to 16 hours a WEEK, probably end up doing more if allowed. When my situation changes I'll swap SOME of that time for $$.

Will GOAL accept my help?

Will others step up?

Nice !!!