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Greetings,

Spreading the word out further to the general public might not be a bad idea, particularly shining a spot light/highlighting the very worst parts that are buried in the fine print, like HB2241's registration requirement:eek:. Or HB 2519 the BGC on ammo. These are the kinds of hot-button issues that get many law-abiding gun owners' attention, when they realize what's occurring. Yes fellas, this IS going to effect YOU, whether you like it or not. And the 'that's never gonna happen/pass' is far outdated thinking these days.

The more folks that can be reached/educated/informed to help contact legislators, etc. the better. There's just wayyyy too many folks that are 'highly blissful' (nice way to say ignorant:rolleyes:) as to what's going on in Olympia. And while many claim that newspapers are dead, it wouldn't seem likely considering the hundreds of comments many articles get.

In any event, for those so inclined, like them or not, the NRA was a handy tool with contact info for many papers. With cut & paste, many could be reached. Perhaps with a few hundred letters, more of our message might get out there.


Boss
 
For those that are so inclined, below are the contacts and links to many/most of the news publications in WA. The lowest word count was 200, so if you write, probably keep your letter to that length or less (unless the specific site allows more).

Highlighting the worst points (registration buried in the 'fine print', felony charges for not taking your mag out of your gun when you drive home, pre-emption falling, etc) in ways that moderates can appreciate is probably a solid approach. Be polite, be civil, stay on point.

If folks wrote up one letter that they could 'cut & paste' into the links, a lot of letters could be sent in a pretty short period of time with very little effort. Enough go to the editor, hopefully a few get published.

But the more decent, law abiding folks that can be reached, informed, and educated hopefully translates to more 2A supporters.

**Tips for Letters to Editors (per Tacoma News Tribune)**

**Also, make sure that if there's a tab for selecting the type correspondence, make sure you select 'Letter to the Editor' where applicable.**

Emails for Letters to Editors:

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

The first link (Federal Way Mirror) has a drop down selection box to 32 other publications all across Western WA, so one could reach many folks with this link alone:cool::



Spread.The.Word. Git 'er done.
Boss
 
Writing legislators is great, keep it up!

But building our base by informing/educating the public is just as important. Good links to do that are now at your fingertips (see above). Those not paying attention might become more supportive if they actually learn what's being proposed that will effect them directly.

$.02 worth.

Boss
 
I think it's a good idea. They won't always be fair in their coverage but the awareness might be worth it. Flooding the editorial sections with persuasive letters probably wouldn't hurt either.
 
Informing / educating non gun owners , about firearms and gun owners is a good idea.
Whenever I give a demonstration or display of my muzzleloaders , I try to remind folks that guns and gun owners are not the dangerous items or stereotypes shown in much of the media today.

Fear is often caused by ignorance ....the more one knows , the less one fears.
Andy
 
If you are trying to influence the opinions of reporters and editors, remind them that journalists have been harassed, bullied and harmed in the past because they published something that offended powerful people. Powerful people and criminals don't obey those laws that restrict a journalists ability to protect him/herself.
 
^^ Of course, but the real purpose is to try and reach a larger audience and build our base. We want the folks who are NOT paying attention to get the full story. Most, of not all of the MSM media is ignoring or skewing what's going on. They bury/ignore some of the worst of it. Such as 2241...there seems to be absolutely ZERO mention on the MSM that this is GUN REGISTRATION:eek:...instead its simply mentioned as a an 'assault weapon ban.'

The goal is to reach gun owner's who 'can't be bothered' or think this won't effect them, and moderates. This is every bit as important, if not more so, than repeated emails to legislators. Building the bases/allies, so there's MORE folks contacting their legislators is a key. If one person can get a letter/opinion posted that gets 100 more people to contact their legislators, that's a big WIN. And if those 100 more tell friends, well...you get the idea...

So, if you're writing, and hopefully you are, make sure you take some time to write editors as well! Too many folks floating around in 'blissfullyignorantstan.'

FWIW, the above list of contacts/resources took a considerable chunk of time to compile.

Word - spread it. Git 'er done.

Boss
 
If you can connect to a particular reporter, you can offer to teach him/her to shoot. Your car, your gun(s) and ammo, a safety lesson and a shooting lesson. Offer to pay for lunch. You can say honestly that your motivation is that members of the press have a clearer understanding of how guns work and what makes gun owners tick. Be guarded and don't bash Democrats, because most reporters got lots of leftist indoctrination in college, and needed to believe it to pass the classes. Your job is for them to like you and respect your hobby.
 
Having been interviewed before regarding firearms...

I can say that one also needs to be prepared to have the interview edited and perhaps only bits and pieces shown or quoted.
When this is done , much of the interview can be lost and many of the things that are shown or stated , can be taken out of context or shown in a certain light.

This may or may not be done with a anti gun bias in mind.
Stories get edited all the time for many reasons

Please note that I am not saying to not contact the media...
Just understand that what is the end result , may not actually reflect what actually happened.
Andy
 
I can't see this working to be honest. They will twist it to fit what they want and it would make everything worse. If they don't and you do win them over then someone along the line would shut it down because someone above them doesn't want it on air.
 
I'm not going to say this will be in vain, but what coverage have we received after a local or National gun rally? Also, who is the audience of these paper's? Are the youth reading these?

Point is, faith in journalists has never been lower...Our battle is for the youth and it seems taking our children and grandchildren and their friend's shooting might be a more "worthwhile" endeavor.
 
This idea works under the belief, they are unaware. If only they knew the facts their behavior would change. Possibly. Maybe that might work on independent media. A small operation may not know anything about the 2A or only what they've been shown through mainstream entertainment. But major media has had decades of research and still dissinform the public, I can only rationalize, on purpose.

CNN's Don Lemon claims he has or had an Arrrrr15, while in a discussion with a pro 2A person. Then he goes on to say the difference between semi & full auto is semantics. Another CNN host literally cried tears while talking with a CNN "gun expert" that said she wouldn't be against AR15s if they shot more like a Glock does. She grew up around hunters and she shot a Glock. The "gun expert" never corrected her to say, AR15s shoot semi auto exactly like a Glock does.

One of my fears is we are better off in their ignorance. The more they know the more they want to take away. Helping them hurts us. They want more background checks and to close more loopholes while never knowing what the current process is.
 
After reading about the shooting in Seattle, and afterward hearing of the arms length criminal records of the perps, I was deeply affected emotionally. On one hand the so-called public servants, up and down the entire West coast, have a bunch of new laws to get on the books that severely restrict a right guaranteed by the Constitution of The United States to honest law abiding citizens. And on the other hand have NO laws in the works to keep animals like these three behind bars. WTF? Why can't we get some coverage from the media on that failure by law makers to the front??? I haven't really read much on that Seattle shooting because it's so depressing, but in this article 1 suspect arrested, 2 at large after Seattle's deadly 3rd Avenue shootout It says they set bail at only $50,000.00 for the one shooter! That's all?!?!? Some bleeding heart family member could come up with $5,000.00 and a violent, would be killer, could be walking the street with his buddies again!!!

That's the kind of thing we need to be asking law makers about. Telling law makers, the people's representatives, that their new laws wouldn't have stopped these shooters is ineffective. It's been done, and done again. NO, the message that some SERIOUS new laws affecting the CRIMINALS need to be enacted! Laws that will affect the real criminals, like the shooters in Seattle, need to be passed NOW!
 
If you are to find a reporter that actually was interested in range trip, and they agree to make it a fair story, by all means. As we all know, shooting sports can be an extremely fun and enjoyable activity. But just as Andy advised above, don't be surprised if it gets scrubbed/sanitized. There was a very popular Big Name MSM channel 'reporter' that 'embedded' with a local 'militia'...one of the conditions was she had to shoot guns while there. At one point, as one of the fellows pointed out, she was smiling ear-to-ear shooting an AR and/or Glock IIRC. Good luck finding that footage any more...which making disappear is no small feat...

Been saying some time we need to get more inclusive, particularly the ranges. How about a 'media range day'? Anybody have any pull with a range and could make that happen? Invite someone from all the local MSM stations and show them a positive experience? Maybe legislators as well? It could be done.

But back on immediate track, the purpose is not to change the MSM/reporter/editor's mind...its to get a message out to the readers, using the paper as a vehicle. Many folks still read Letters to the Editor/Opinion/OP Ed sections. My local paper often has a fair amount of space devoted to them.

In the end, it's another resource that shouldn't be completely dismissed/ignored.

If you don't want to write the media, keep writing your legislators. But keep at it.

$.02 worth.

Boss
 
For those that think 'Letters to the Editor' or similar to be pointless:

2 of the 8 (25%) of the submittals printed today in our local paper were firearms/2A related, one specifically addressing currently legislative efforts going on in Olympia.Our 'little' newspaper has a Sunday circulation of 16,000. So say maybe 10% of those folks read that reader submittals section. That could be 1,600 more informed people might who start paying more attention. Maybe they tell a friend or two...you get the idea...

So use some of the links at your finger tips above, cut & paste, etc.

$.02 worth. Git 'er done.

Boss
 
If you can connect to a particular reporter, you can offer to teach him/her to shoot. Your car, your gun(s) and ammo, a safety lesson and a shooting lesson. Offer to pay for lunch. You can say honestly that your motivation is that members of the press have a clearer understanding of how guns work and what makes gun owners tick. Be guarded and don't bash Democrats, because most reporters got lots of leftist indoctrination in college, and needed to believe it to pass the classes. Your job is for them to like you and respect your hobby.

I've been watching this series and it provides some pretty sophisticated advice on how to effectively discuss this issue:

 
...
One of my fears is we are better off in their ignorance. The more they know the more they want to take away. Helping them hurts us. They want more background checks and to close more loopholes while never knowing what the current process is.

There's an old video comparing an AR and Mini14 in response to an AWB, which showed that the AWB was functionally meaningless by banning the AR but the Mini14. I always did think that was counterproductive because instead of the Anti thinking "oh, the AWB is stupid and does nothing real" the Anti thinks "oh, we didn't go far enough." WA state sure took that lesson with the Semi-automatic "Assault" Weapon BS.

We can't be totally silent but you are correct I believe -- it is probably better to deal in general principles though and avoid technical information.
 
Valid perspectives - Never interrupt your enemy when they're making a mistake.

Probably focus less on mechanical specifics and more on the fact that all the proposed legislation will do virtually nothing to stop actual criminals who are already violating multiple laws when they rob, steal, assault, etc. Violating a few more laws doesn't matter much to them. And making law-abiding citizens more vulnerable is going to only provide more advantage to violent criminals.

Folks need to be informed/educated that yes, this will effect them, directly, as well. Legislators could easily tailor the legislation to effect violent criminals...example - mag restrictions, all that would be required would be insert '...while committing the following crimes...rape, mugging, robbery, home invasion...' etc. That way folks driving home from the range after a match don't have to worry if they forgot to put their standard capacity mag(s) in a different bag. But nope.:rolleyes:

So if you have time to write, try and get a few words out to Editors, etc.

$.02 worth.

Boss
 
Last Edited:
Point is, faith in journalists has never been lower...Our battle is for the youth and it seems taking our children and grandchildren and their friend's shooting might be a more "worthwhile" endeavor.

Just an idea: Would it help for pro 2A folks to take the anti-gun legislators shooting? Maybe the Liberal Gun Club could talk them into it?
 
Just an idea: Would it help for pro 2A folks to take the anti-gun legislators shooting? Maybe the Liberal Gun Club could talk them into it?


See posts 8 & 9 above.

If you could find one who give you at least some semblance of a fair review, yes.

Been saying for awhile free community-based 'range/safety' days should be worth considering, including MSM invites.

Boss
 

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