In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Election key, gun advocates tell forum
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Election key, gun advocates tell forum
Evening News staff writer July 20, 2002
The election may be key in battling anti-gun forces, firearms enthusiasts are told during a forum in Monroe.
By CHARLES SLAT
Pistol permits issued in Monroe County have nearly quadrupled in the past two years, largely because state law has made it easier for citizens to carry guns. But the law should be even less restrictive, some gun owners and government officials said Saturday.
Indeed, at a town forum held in the Monroe County Courthouse, legislators, sports-shooters and gun enthusiasts said they feared continuing efforts to restrict gun ownership. And they said exercising the right to vote was the best weapon with which to preserve the right to bear arms.
State Rep. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, part of a panel at the forum, said the upcoming turnover in legislators due to term limits alone made it imperative that people vote. "If there was ever a time to go out and fight for what you believe in, it's now," he said. "There are going to be way too many rookies out there making decisions."
The forum, sponsored by the Monroe County Chapter of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO), was attended by U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn; state Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom, R-Temperance; Mr. Richardville; Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield, and Monroe County Prosecutor Michael Weipert.
Mr. Weipert reported that in the year ending July 10, 964 carried-pistol licenses were issued in Monroe County. That compares to 668 in the year before a new state law eased restrictions, and 256 in the year before that. In that time, the county's pistol permit review panel has started meeting twice monthly instead of once a month due to the increased demand for pistol permits.
Statewide, the number of permits has risen from about 30,000 before the law to about 80,000 today, said David K. Felbeck of Ann Arbor, MCRGO president. He said opponents' fears that the new law would lead to increased gun violence haven't been confirmed.
"There has not been a single shot fired illegally by a licensee. There's no blood in the streets," he said. That's because gun owners recognize "it's an awesome responsibility to carry a lethal weapon in your pocket. You consciously avoid confrontation more than you would if you're not carrying," he said.
Gun advocates said they'd like to see the year-old Michigan law fined-tuned so that licensees could carry weapons in places now banned, such as schools, churches or restaurants that serve alcohol. "We're not going to lobby to carry in bars," Mr. Felbeck said, "but if you want to go out to a restaurant in the evening, you're unprotected there."
Mr. Dingell, a former National Rifle Association (NRA) board member, outlined his record in championing firearms rights, which continues his father's record in Congress before him. And he noted that was a big difference between him and U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers, D-Ann Arbor, his opponent in the Democratic primary for the 15th District seat.
"She is actively working with the anti-gun forces of the country to take away the firearms that are all of our right to have under the second amendment," he said.
Mrs. Hammerstrom, who said she grew up in a gun-owning household and learned early to respect guns and use them responsibly, said she believes those who are opposed to guns fear them because they've never been exposed to them.
"It's not about violence," she said. "It's about protection and your rights.
Often, she said, she's asked how she can run on a platform that emphasizes the welfare of children and still favor guns. "My answer is quite simple," she said. "It's because I want to be able to protect my family."
"I was a single parent for most of my children's lives," she continued. "If anyone had broken into my house and gone after those kids, let me tell you, this little gal would have turned into a mama bear and protected those cubs with a gun.
"People today do feel safer because of their ability to carry guns," she said.
Mr. Richardville, who received an "A" rating from the NRA for his voting record, said the drafters of the federal and state constitutions clearly gave citizens the right to keep and bear arms. "If they meant to keep them at home and not on your person, why did they say 'keep and bear?'"
Mr. Weipert said the Monroe County permit board has granted most of the applications it has received, but grants them with care. "We flyspeck these things and look at these people's backgrounds," he said. "We know all it would take is for one person to go out and do something stupid in public and it's going to ruin this privilege for the rest of us."
Sheriff Crutchfield, who was an Army and police sharpshooter and said "I've hunted probably everything that walks at some point in time," indicated that the new state law still might be too restrictive. "There are places you can't take (guns) that you ought to be able to take them," he said.
The panel took questions from a crowd of about 60 that attended the forum and explained some of the nuances of the new law and some misconceptions about it.
Mr. Weipert said it was his opinion that the law does not permit licensees to loan to another person. "Don't be loaning guns out to anybody to go hunting or to any other event," he said.
Wayne Blank, acting chairman of the Monroe County Chapter of MCRGO, who emceed the event, urged the audience to vote to preserve their gun rights. "One vote could mean the difference in these elections," he said. "The longer you sit back, the farther they are ahead of you."
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4805186&BRD=2092&PAG=461&dept_id=344939&rfi=6
cMonroe Evening News 2002
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Evening News staff writer July 20, 2002
The election may be key in battling anti-gun forces, firearms enthusiasts are told during a forum in Monroe.
By CHARLES SLAT
Pistol permits issued in Monroe County have nearly quadrupled in the past two years, largely because state law has made it easier for citizens to carry guns. But the law should be even less restrictive, some gun owners and government officials said Saturday.
Indeed, at a town forum held in the Monroe County Courthouse, legislators, sports-shooters and gun enthusiasts said they feared continuing efforts to restrict gun ownership. And they said exercising the right to vote was the best weapon with which to preserve the right to bear arms.
State Rep. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, part of a panel at the forum, said the upcoming turnover in legislators due to term limits alone made it imperative that people vote. "If there was ever a time to go out and fight for what you believe in, it's now," he said. "There are going to be way too many rookies out there making decisions."
The forum, sponsored by the Monroe County Chapter of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO), was attended by U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn; state Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom, R-Temperance; Mr. Richardville; Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield, and Monroe County Prosecutor Michael Weipert.
Mr. Weipert reported that in the year ending July 10, 964 carried-pistol licenses were issued in Monroe County. That compares to 668 in the year before a new state law eased restrictions, and 256 in the year before that. In that time, the county's pistol permit review panel has started meeting twice monthly instead of once a month due to the increased demand for pistol permits.
Statewide, the number of permits has risen from about 30,000 before the law to about 80,000 today, said David K. Felbeck of Ann Arbor, MCRGO president. He said opponents' fears that the new law would lead to increased gun violence haven't been confirmed.
"There has not been a single shot fired illegally by a licensee. There's no blood in the streets," he said. That's because gun owners recognize "it's an awesome responsibility to carry a lethal weapon in your pocket. You consciously avoid confrontation more than you would if you're not carrying," he said.
Gun advocates said they'd like to see the year-old Michigan law fined-tuned so that licensees could carry weapons in places now banned, such as schools, churches or restaurants that serve alcohol. "We're not going to lobby to carry in bars," Mr. Felbeck said, "but if you want to go out to a restaurant in the evening, you're unprotected there."
Mr. Dingell, a former National Rifle Association (NRA) board member, outlined his record in championing firearms rights, which continues his father's record in Congress before him. And he noted that was a big difference between him and U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers, D-Ann Arbor, his opponent in the Democratic primary for the 15th District seat.
"She is actively working with the anti-gun forces of the country to take away the firearms that are all of our right to have under the second amendment," he said.
Mrs. Hammerstrom, who said she grew up in a gun-owning household and learned early to respect guns and use them responsibly, said she believes those who are opposed to guns fear them because they've never been exposed to them.
"It's not about violence," she said. "It's about protection and your rights.
Often, she said, she's asked how she can run on a platform that emphasizes the welfare of children and still favor guns. "My answer is quite simple," she said. "It's because I want to be able to protect my family."
"I was a single parent for most of my children's lives," she continued. "If anyone had broken into my house and gone after those kids, let me tell you, this little gal would have turned into a mama bear and protected those cubs with a gun.
"People today do feel safer because of their ability to carry guns," she said.
Mr. Richardville, who received an "A" rating from the NRA for his voting record, said the drafters of the federal and state constitutions clearly gave citizens the right to keep and bear arms. "If they meant to keep them at home and not on your person, why did they say 'keep and bear?'"
Mr. Weipert said the Monroe County permit board has granted most of the applications it has received, but grants them with care. "We flyspeck these things and look at these people's backgrounds," he said. "We know all it would take is for one person to go out and do something stupid in public and it's going to ruin this privilege for the rest of us."
Sheriff Crutchfield, who was an Army and police sharpshooter and said "I've hunted probably everything that walks at some point in time," indicated that the new state law still might be too restrictive. "There are places you can't take (guns) that you ought to be able to take them," he said.
The panel took questions from a crowd of about 60 that attended the forum and explained some of the nuances of the new law and some misconceptions about it.
Mr. Weipert said it was his opinion that the law does not permit licensees to loan to another person. "Don't be loaning guns out to anybody to go hunting or to any other event," he said.
Wayne Blank, acting chairman of the Monroe County Chapter of MCRGO, who emceed the event, urged the audience to vote to preserve their gun rights. "One vote could mean the difference in these elections," he said. "The longer you sit back, the farther they are ahead of you."
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4805186&BRD=2092&PAG=461&dept_id=344939&rfi=6
cMonroe Evening News 2002
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878