Gun Club closure megathread

The Board of the Lowell Sportsmen's Club voted Tuesday night to close the club to any activity (except law enforcement training) effective April 11th. No one is thrilled with the decision, but under the circumstances, the Board felt it best to err on the side of member health and safety.
They should be strung up and pelted with rocks for allowing LE training to continue while shut down to their members!
 
The Board of the Lowell Sportsmen's Club voted Tuesday night to close the club to any activity (except law enforcement training) effective April 11th. No one is thrilled with the decision, but under the circumstances, the Board felt it best to err on the side of member health and safety.

That's BS... if it's shut down, then LE shouldn't be allowed to use it. Plus, didn't our leaders say that training (in person and on line) is prohibited.
 
In case people miss it on the Forum. If you're club was closed down by authorities, GOAL wants to know about it.

 
That's BS... if it's shut down, then LE shouldn't be allowed to use it. Plus, didn't our leaders say that training (in person and on line) is prohibited.
Unfortunately, there are ass kissers on every BODs. I've been a member of HSC for about 45 years and hate to see it going this way. Jack.
 
The Board of the Lowell Sportsmen's Club voted Tuesday night to close the club to any activity (except law enforcement training) effective April 11th. No one is thrilled with the decision, but under the circumstances, the Board felt it best to err on the side of member health and safety.

Then why did they leave it open for law enforcement training?

ETA: I clearly need to type faster.
 
Londonderry F&G received a cease & desist order from the town. They're fighting it.

From the Club's FB Post:

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Londonderry Fish & Game has been contacted by the Town of Londonderry informing us that a Cease & Desist order is forth coming - ordering us to shut down and deny all club members the use of the club facilities due to COVID-19 Concerns. We have consulted a lawyer and believe that this is an unlawful order. We plan on taking swift legal action in the best interest of the Club and it's Membership.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Londonderry town council. Email is best, but phone calls are also good. Please be respectful. Ask why this UNLAWFUL action is being planned.

Londonderry Town website:
https://www.londonderrynh.org/town-council
Email the town council at [email protected]
Kirby Brown / Executive Assistant (603) 432-1100 x 120
Joe Green / Vice-Chairman (603) 432-1100 x 168
Tom Dolan / Councilor (603) 432-1100 x 165
John Farrell / Chairman (603) 432-1100 x 164
Jim Butler / Councilor (603) 432-1100 x 167
Deb Paul Councilor (603) 432-1100 x 166
LONDONDERRY FISH & GAME CLUB, INC.
Sincerely,
Ed Bouche Jr
Club President

Nice to see a club leadership with some balls.
 
From the Club's FB Post:

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Londonderry Fish & Game has been contacted by the Town of Londonderry informing us that a Cease & Desist order is forth coming - ordering us to shut down and deny all club members the use of the club facilities due to COVID-19 Concerns. We have consulted a lawyer and believe that this is an unlawful order. We plan on taking swift legal action in the best interest of the Club and it's Membership.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Londonderry town council. Email is best, but phone calls are also good. Please be respectful. Ask why this UNLAWFUL action is being planned.

Londonderry Town website:
https://www.londonderrynh.org/town-council
Email the town council at [email protected]
Kirby Brown / Executive Assistant (603) 432-1100 x 120
Joe Green / Vice-Chairman (603) 432-1100 x 168
Tom Dolan / Councilor (603) 432-1100 x 165
John Farrell / Chairman (603) 432-1100 x 164
Jim Butler / Councilor (603) 432-1100 x 167
Deb Paul Councilor (603) 432-1100 x 166
LONDONDERRY FISH & GAME CLUB, INC.
Sincerely,
Ed Bouche Jr
Club President

Nice to see a club leadership with some balls.

I hate town governments...
 
Gentlemen. I've been reviewing the bylaws.

My anger has changed to resolve. My resolve is to forever prohibit police training on HSC grounds.

We can do this. Bylaws can be changed at either the annual meeting in February or at a special meeting.

The bylaws say this about calling a special meeting.


Special Meetings may be called at any time by the President or a majority of the Board of Directors.
The President, on written request of fifteen (15) voting members, shall be required to call a Special Meeting.
Any Special Meeting shall require at least thirty (30) days written notice

This means that if for any reason, Dan or the BOD won't call a meeting, we can force a special meeting with nothing more than the written request of 15 members.
I don't think that should be hard to get.

Once a special meeting is on the books, Article X defines the process for getting a bylaw change on the agenda as:

These bylaws may be amended by the members at any Annual or Special Meeting called for the purpose, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and entitled to vote provided that intention to amend has been announced at a previous Directors meeting and that a copy of the proposed amendment, together with a notice of the
meeting using the forum, email, and signs posted at the club at least thirty (30) days prior to said meeting


So there it is. 15 requests gets the ball rolling. I have drafted a quick write up of the changes I'd like to see.

While we are at it, my thought was to change the date of the annual meeting. If you have kids youknow why. It always falls during February school break and many members can't attend because they are traveling with their families. Even Dan Hurley has had trouble attending the annual meeting.

This is what I've got so far.


Dear Sirs,

I would like to respectfully request that a special meeting be called to consider the following two changes to the Harvard Sportsmen’s Club Inc.’s bylaws. Referred to from this point forward as the “Club”.

1) Annual Meeting Date
The Annual Meeting falls on the 3rd Thursday in February per the bylaws. This coincides every year with February Break in all Massachusetts public schools.
Because people often travel with their children during this week, participation is substantially less at this meting than it could or should be.

In fact the Club President has had to miss the annual meeting because this date has conflicted with planned family travel. It would strengthen the club if more of its members could participate in the annual meeting. I have been a member for 8 years and have only been to 2 annual meetings because of this conflict.

My proposal is as follows. Change Article VI text, which currently reads

“The Annual Meeting of the club shall be held on the third Thursday of February of each year. “

To:
“The Annual Meeting of the club shall be held on the first Thursday of February each year. “. The actual date of the new meeting is less important than that it not fall on a date when MA schools are on vacation.


2) Police department use of Club property

Because of the lack of support from local police departments during the Covid-19 crisis, I would like to add a new bylaw that reads.


“ No organized training of any public safety group to include Police Departments, SWAT organizations, or officers Officers organizations may be conducted on Club property. This applies only to organized departmental activities and does not affect individual officers who are members of the Club”.


Thoughts??

In
 
Comm2A, @2AFDN, @FPC and @GOALupdate just filed a lawsuit against the Baker admin over these gun closures. More to come but the gist is they overstepped on the blanket closure and need to allow gun and ammo sales.
This would be regarding the clearly ordered closure (shops and commercial ranges); not the creative interpretation closures of outdoor private ranges.
 
Absolutely. I didn’t know cops were immune to catching or spreading it.

In the case of the Lowell Sportsmen's Club, the Middlesex Sheriffs qualify their officers there, which they need to do to maintain their licenses and keep doing their jobs. Local police requested to use the range to qualify recent graduates from the academy so they can likewise get on the job quickly. In both cases, they have extensive disinfection protocols, with one officer staying about an hour afterward wiping down every surface they touched (including the brass cleanup rakes), bagging up every bit of trash they produced, and taking it all away with them. They also provide all of their own wipes, sprays, gloves, and masks. This same procedure would not happen with all of our members, so the board was okay with making a distinction in this case because the risk of infection is minimized and the community benefits during this crisis. No, it's not an ideal situation by any means, but it's the situation we've got. If anyone can make COVID-19 go away, please do.
 
In the case of the Lowell Sportsmen's Club, the Middlesex Sheriffs qualify their officers there, which they need to do to maintain their licenses and keep doing their jobs. Local police requested to use the range to qualify recent graduates from the academy so they can likewise get on the job quickly. In both cases, they have extensive disinfection protocols, with one officer staying about an hour afterward wiping down every surface they touched (including the brass cleanup rakes), bagging up every bit of trash they produced, and taking it all away with them. They also provide all of their own wipes, sprays, gloves, and masks. This same procedure would not happen with all of our members, so the board was okay with making a distinction in this case because the risk of infection is minimized and the community benefits during this crisis. No, it's not an ideal situation by any means, but it's the situation we've got. If anyone can make COVID-19 go away, please do.
Tell the Middlesex Sheriffs to F$$K off. Jack.
 
In the case of the Lowell Sportsmen's Club, the Middlesex Sheriffs qualify their officers there, which they need to do to maintain their licenses and keep doing their jobs. Local police requested to use the range to qualify recent graduates from the academy so they can likewise get on the job quickly. In both cases, they have extensive disinfection protocols, with one officer staying about an hour afterward wiping down every surface they touched (including the brass cleanup rakes), bagging up every bit of trash they produced, and taking it all away with them. They also provide all of their own wipes, sprays, gloves, and masks. This same procedure would not happen with all of our members, so the board was okay with making a distinction in this case because the risk of infection is minimized and the community benefits during this crisis. No, it's not an ideal situation by any means, but it's the situation we've got. If anyone can make COVID-19 go away, please do.
Explain this then.
MCSO has that tractor trailer parked in the Billerica yard the last time I drove by 2 (I think) days ago. They sure like to drag that around to all the local departments to play with. It’s the real deal with live fire and state of the art air filtration.
MSP has suspended the current academy classes.

I’m not a cop hater but these same people shut down OUR ranges. THEY should be sleeping in the same bed WE are forced to.

Groton PD has there very own private range I’m sure they would be able to borrow. Let us also not forget the range at Devens for the Sheriffs if it’s that f***ing important.

I’m sure I as well as many others will be waiting for your reply.
 
I’m sure I as well as many others will be waiting for your reply.

I'm not sure what kind of reply you're expecting - I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying how it is at one club. The difference in this case between law enforcement and regular members is that those guys have someone cleaning up after them, but the club can't clean up after every member (nor rely on every member being able to do a thorough job so as not to put anyone else at risk) - so the chance of infection is different. It wasn't law enforcement (or an order from the Governor) that shut our range down, it was a highly infectious virus. So I don't see this as a double-standard - it's two different scenarios, with one better able to keep people safe than the other.
 
I'm not sure what kind of reply you're expecting - I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying how it is at one club. The difference in this case between law enforcement and regular members is that those guys have someone cleaning up after them, but the club can't clean up after every member (nor rely on every member being able to do a thorough job so as not to put anyone else at risk) - so the chance of infection is different. It wasn't law enforcement (or an order from the Governor) that shut our range down, it was a highly infectious virus. So I don't see this as a double-standard - it's two different scenarios, with one better able to keep people safe than the other.
So a liability issue. OK. I'm certain that every law enforcement person using the range signed a liability waiver absolving the club of any culpability should they become infected?
 
I'm not sure what kind of reply you're expecting - I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying how it is at one club. The difference in this case between law enforcement and regular members is that those guys have someone cleaning up after them, but the club can't clean up after every member (nor rely on every member being able to do a thorough job so as not to put anyone else at risk) - so the chance of infection is different. It wasn't law enforcement (or an order from the Governor) that shut our range down, it was a highly infectious virus. So I don't see this as a double-standard - it's two different scenarios, with one better able to keep people safe than the other.
So, much easier to prevent the risk by just telling LE to keep their sorry asses off the property. Jack.
 
From Londonderry:

*****UPDATE*****
Your emails worked!! This issue has been resolved. Thank you all for your response to this issue. There will be an email with more explanation forthcoming

Nice, I was wondering about LF&G, have marked it appropriately.

-Mike
 
I'm not sure what kind of reply you're expecting - I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying how it is at one club. The difference in this case between law enforcement and regular members is that those guys have someone cleaning up after them, but the club can't clean up after every member (nor rely on every member being able to do a thorough job so as not to put anyone else at risk) - so the chance of infection is different. It wasn't law enforcement (or an order from the Governor) that shut our range down, it was a highly infectious virus. So I don't see this as a double-standard - it's two different scenarios, with one better able to keep people safe than the other.
Closed is closed. Did the club close because of a virus or as mandated by the state or should I say Maura??? Why is LEO given a pass?? Because they said they will clean up after themselves? That’s just rich right there.
 
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