The Wounded Warrior Project is Anti-Gun?

select-fire

http://hueysgunsight.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-wounded-warrior-project-is-anti-gun.html




Wednesday, November 14, 2012











Seems like it from the following email exchange posted on a FaceBook page....





Wounded Warrior Project Email Exchange


by Gun Talk on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 11:56am ?




After Sunday's show, we've gotten many emails about Tom's remarks after WWP declined an interview request on Gun Talk Radio because it's a firearms-related show. We've also seen the forums that are suggesting many things that are not true. So, I'm going to lay it all out right here.

We thought it would be great to book the WWP on the Veteran's Day show to promote the organization, so I contacted them. I was flabbergasted when their PR contact, Leslie, sent me an email saying they could not participate because our show dealt with firearms. Knowing that WWP has had a booth at trade shows and various gun shows across the US, takes wounded warriors on hunts and range days, raffles guns and accessories as fundraisers, etc., their policy didn't make much sense. I forwarded the email on to Tom to get his take.

-Sarah




The following is the complete email exchange:

====================

Hello, Leslie:

Sarah forwarded me your email after I asked her to invite the Wounded Warriors Project to join me on "Tom Gresham's Gun Talk" radio show.




I'm stunned at your email saying that the WWP doesn't participate in an interview or activity related to firearms. Inasmuch as there are 90 million gun owners and most of them support wounded veterans, I think they would be shocked to hear that they are, by way of their hobbies, somehow not worthy of helping with the Wounded Warriors Project.




Does your policy apply also to police agencies and the military, since they are "related to firearms?"




I'm hoping that we have misunderstood your email. Can you confirm that it is, in fact, an official policy of the Wounded Warriors Project to not do interviews with or participate in any activity related to firearms?




Thank you.

Tom Gresham




============




Good afternoon --




While we appreciate your interest in Wounded Warrior Projectr (WWP) you are correct that we decline the media opportunity.




Please note the following notice that appears on our website which also applies to WWP public awareness policy and inquiries from media outlets:

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/additional-opportunities.aspx




WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or firearms companies.




Thank you for your inquiry.




LESLIE A. COLEMAN

public relations director




O: 904.405.1433

M: 904.654.8138

F: 904.296.7347




Wounded Warrior Project

4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300

Jacksonville, Florida 32256




====================

Thanks for confirming that, Leslie. It was a simple opportunity to promote the WWP on a national program in an effort to send donations your way.

I'll pass along the info that you don't want or need the help of America's gun owners.




Best regards,

Tom Gresham




=====================




Good morning --

This policy is not a judgment on those who own and use firearms - clearly every member of our armed forces has been trained in the use of firearms and then called on to use them in the course of their service to this country.




Our position regarding firearms and alcohol is in response to the struggles that many injured service members face with substance abuse and suicide and the roles those items often play in those issues.




Thank you.

LESLIE A. COLEMAN

public relations director




=============================




Hello, Leslie:




Thank you for that explanation.




I do think -- and I'm being as kind as possible -- that it's the nuttiest thing I've heard in years. Suicides are not linked to firearms. Japan has a much higher rate of suicide than does the U.S., and they have essentially no firearms. Suicide is a serious issue irrespective of the methodology used.




This explanation doesn't pass even the most simple "does this make sense" test.




Your policy does, in fact, brand firearms and the companies which make them as undesirables, and by association, you are saying that those who own and use firearms for recreation, hunting, self protection, and other safe and legal uses are to be avoided.




It's certainly your option to ostracize the firearms industry, the 90 million gun owners in America, and the media which support firearms safety training.




At this point, I feel an obligation to make sure the millions who listen to my radio show and watch my two national television series know about your policy.




I cannot fully express how much I feel you are doing a disservice to our wounded veterans, and how disappointed I am to discover this bias at the Wounded Warriors Project.




Sincerely,

Tom Gresham

buffalobo

Sad to hear. I will have to reconsider future participation in WWP activities.

Blackguns

Looks like Wounded Warrior is going to clear up the issue on Gun Talk.

http://www.examiner.com/article/wounded-warrior-flap-a-misunderstanding-blown-out-of-proportion-says-official

The on-going flap over whether the Wounded Warriors Project (WWP) is anti-gun was described to Examiner Friday morning as "a misunderstanding" that has been "blown out of proportion" by a top official with the organization.

Ayla Hay, WWP executive vice president for communications at the organization's headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., told this column that WWP has conducted more than a hundred hunting or shooting activities for disabled veterans. She assured Examiner that WWP is not anti-gun.

The controversy erupted earlier this week when veteran Gun Talk host Tom Gresham revealed that his invitation to a WWP representative to appear on his program had been turned down. Things have changed, as this column reported yesterday, and this Sunday, Wounded Warriors CEO Steven Nardizzi will be a guest on Gresham's program, which airs from 2 to 5 p.m. (Eastern)

"We don't get involved in gun issues," Hay said in an exclusive telephone interview. "That's not our platform."

Gresham's loyal followers obviously have a different perspective. One can safely conclude that henceforth, WWP is going to be ultra-sensitive to anything that may remotely appear like an affront to the firearms community, which includes a lot of veterans, sons and daughters of veterans and mothers and fathers of veterans.and families of those who never made it home.

This year, according to Hay, total cash contributions hit $144 million with expenditures of about $90 million, and the budget for 2013 projects $185 million in revenue, of which $163 million will be spent.

As for the alleged misunderstanding, it began with an exchange of e-mails between Gresham and Leslie A. Coleman, WWP public relations director, who explained, "WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or firearms companies."

Hay told this column that Coleman made a mistake and blamed part of the misunderstanding on the fact that she is apparently new to the job. Hay added that Coleman is the mother of a wounded warrior.

Further, Hay said that when WWP makes a mistake, they acknowledge it. This was a mistake and a misunderstanding, she reiterated.

"That's why Steve is going on the show," Hay noted.

WWP was founded in 2003, so next year they celebrate the organization's 10th anniversary. Friends of returning injured veterans realized that the Veterans' Administration was being overwhelmed by the number of wounded coming back from two wars so they began by putting together backpacks with various comfort items. The effort grew over time and today WWP is widely recognized for its work supporting the servicemen and women who have put it all on the line for the rest of us.

So far, Hay said, some 50,000 wounded warriors have been assisted to various degrees. Part of the reason the VA has not been able to fully assist these men and women, Hay explained, is that "these conflicts have lasted longer and affected more warriors and their families."

Today's conflicts, she added, have also produced different kinds of trauma, with lots of brain injuries. There are also mental health issues that require immediate assistance, and WWP, according to Hay, has been providing support on that front.

The aftershocks of Gresham's disclosure this week have brought vows from some gun owners to never contribute another penny to WWP. In the final analysis, who does that help? Certainly not the injured veterans or their families; they're heroes and victims at the same time.

If WWP was drifting into political correctness, the past 72 hours and this Sunday's Gun Talk appearance by Nardizzi should put it back on course. Now and then a wake-up call is in order, or make that a bugle call to "Boots and Saddles."

It's far better than sounding "Taps."

select-fire

When they fire director Coleman I will continue to support them. Not until. They aren't back peddling for me.. misunderstanding my *** !!!

Marc1301

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12842

spasmcreek

FIRE HER....if not she will only do lip service to contributors and continue her agenda...also what is the real income to expenditures ratio with what % being spent on administration..that is a major factor in my contribution decision

Mr. Perfect

Keeping in mind, of course, that anti-gun and anti-second amendment are two different things.

gitano

This is precisely how BAD PEOPLE have learned to deal with "mistakes" that COST THEM MONEY.

WWP gets NOTHING from me except criticism until they fire ALL of the offenders, INCLUDING those that spun this "misunderstanding" LIE.

Paul