For those that wanted an intro/position statement.
Well the 'official' bio is coming out with the ballots but that may not be for some weeks so here's the NES version.
My real life name is Bob Pepi. I'm 49 years old MA born and bred. I've a professional job that I'm stupidly happy at and a family that I love. Politically I'm a 'small L' libertarian. Frankly I don't care who sleeps with whom, who marries whom and who does or doesn't have an abortion. I DO have some very strong personal beliefs in that area but I believe just as strongly that NO ONE has the right to impose their own personal beliefs on others. I don't want you imposing yours on me so by that I have no business imposing mine on you. I believe in self-sufficiency and charity. Charity mandated by law isn't charity, it's wealth redistribution.
But the above really doesn't matter as GOAL is a gun rights organization so what's important is how I stand on 2A issues in MA and in the other 49 states.
My personal beliefs on gun control: The best gun control is keeping your finger off the trigger and the muzzle pointed in a safe direction until you're ready to shoot.
Sadly we live in MA. MA is strong with the Dark Side, the anti-crowd has a firm hold on the minds of the public. This means that we a) have our work cut out for us and b) need to recognize that we're going to have to do this a step at a time and chip away at the structure the anti-crowd has built until it falls down. It isn't going to happen over night. I believe in a 3 pronged approach:
1) Encourage more people in MA to become gun owners. GOAL can help this by education, example and by working to reduce some of the hoops (financial and regulatory) that prospective gun owners have to jump through.
2) Support pro-gun candidates in local elections. Note I say 'pro gun' not conservative. This is MA. Conservatives are thin on the ground and politics makes for strange bedfellows. We need to embrace pro-gun democrats. GOAL's focus is on gun rights - not other issues.
3) Lobby to overturn anti-gun laws. I would love to use a wrecking ball approach to take down the anti-gun castle here but that's unrealistic. We need to dismantle the structure a brick at a time.
This is all going to take time and it's going to take work. GOAL needs people who aren't afraid of getting some dirt under their nails and who can stay focused when things get tough or ugly. I think I've proved over the last year and a half that I can do both.
I strongly support GOALs new management, direction and mission. They're a really good bunch of people and I look forward to the opportunity to work with them.