Here in Rhode Island, as in several other states (and probably more to come), we are facing a proposed “assault weapons” ban. The legislation is quite similar to the long-sunsetted federal ban as it limits the number of “features” that a semi-automatic firearm with removable magazine can have. Likewise, it contains a provision to limit the capacity of magazines to 10 rounds. Opponents of the legislation recently completed out testimony before the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Senate. Our opposition was well received and our numbers trounced those of disarmament proponents 25 to 1. In the effort to help others in the same situation, here’s our battle plan . . .

1. ORGANIZE.  Pro-gun groups organized supporters through gun stores and gun clubs.  We got in touch with as many people as possible at gun club meetings and provided gun stores with flyers to hand out to their customers.

2. CALL.  We asked everyone to call their elected state representatives. Callers were to ask the Senators and Reps to vote against the gun control bills and advise them that they would support their opponents in the next election if they vote for the gun control bills.  We also asked everyone to tell all of their friends to do the same.

3. SHOW UP AND TESTIFY.  It’s absolutely vital to flood the gun control hearings with people who oppose the bills and for as many of them to testify as possible. While we will not change the minds of those on the committed right or left, truth and facts can influence those in the middle who are undecided or are maybe just over the line. Additionally, we are giving ammunition (pun definitely intended) to our supporters in the legislature to do what’s right and to for them to use to persuade their fellow lawmakers.

4. USE BUTTONS.  We handed out 2-1/2 inch, yellow buttons that read “Gun Control Does Not Work” to all pro-gun attendees. RF was extremely generous and donated 1000 buttons to the cause. This had a dazzling effect when legislators looked out into the audience at the hearings and saw a vast sea of yellow buttons. The message was so powerful that most news coverage of the event included mentions of the buttons in their stories. Even if attendees did not testify, the committee members knew which side they were supporting.

5. SHOW A VIDEO.  The State House would not allow me to bring firearms into the hearings for demonstration purposes, even though they allowed the anti-gun state police to do so. So I did the next best thing and created a video. The Senate allowed me to play it in the hearings, while the House did not. To counter that, I sent a copy on disk all elected officials in both the House and Senate.

Due to the large number of speakers, we anticipated that each would only be allowed 3 minutes, so that’s how long I made the video. It was an attention getter, if I do say so myself. During the many hours of hearings, the attention of the Senators drifted often, but during the video, all eyes were on the screen for the entire run time.

My video testimony was limited to what was in the Rhode Island bills, so I’ve since added to it to make it more universally applicable and am offering it here to anyone who can use it to fight for our Second Amendment rights and to educate others. It covers telescoping stocks, folding stocks, pistol grips, barrel shrouds, forward vertical grips and threaded barrels for flash hiders and compensators. The second portion covers the need for law-abiding citizens to have high-capacity magazines. Please feel free to use the video in your hearings or forward the link to fellow gun owners and friends.

If needed, I’d be happy to supply a file to anyone that contacts me ([email protected]).

Keep fighting!

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

44 COMMENTS

  2. This video is great! The visual comparisons shows clearly the insanity of defining the lethality of a firearm by its cosmetic features. I intend to post links to it at every anti-gun website I can find. Maybe some people on there will have a bit of an open mind or perhaps just trying to learn about the issues. The video has the power to change minds. Congratulations on a well planned and executed effort. I’ll pray for a positive outcome.

  6. The unions (and a few rich families) own Rhode Island, so I have to ask: where do the unions stand on this issue?

    • My union (mental health) is all about taking away freedom, and I live in a mostly free state.

  7. Wow. So much truth in this video it almost hurts to think how long it will take anti-gunners to process it all. Great video. Lots of great facts. Unfortunately, gun grabbers don’t care about facts. I suggest making more videos that focus on the emotional side of the argument. TTAG has done a great job of calling out the need to highlight Defensive Gun Use each time it happens. Each time a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun we need to splash it across the interwebs as best we can.

    • AAA+++

      Particularly about broadcasting the benefit of being prepared for DGU and how often it occurs.

    • I agree. Emotional. With an ending that hints – but does not show – the human cost of reduced magazine size against multiple smarmy assailants.

      You know the drill: the kids at home awaiting their fate because all they had was substandard-capacity magazines: poor Kitty and Kenny – IF ONLY the President and legislature had only deigned to give them a fighting chance.

  8. It’s cute that you think testimonies from the public will do anything. Tyrants do as they please.

    • This. Especially here in CA. We can outnumber the grabbers 5 to 1, and our message still falls on deaf ears. They don’t care, the hearings are only a formality that they get out of the way before voting as they had already planned.

    • Yeah. They’ve made a fatal mistake in thinking that the grabbers give a damn about logic.

    • YOU (were one of many things that) RUINED SONIC 2006!

      (sorry, it’s late, I’m tired and when I’m tired I get rather silly. Kudos to whoever gets the reference)

  9. Thanks for the video Rabi. We have such insanity hereit isn’t even funny!

  10. I would have liked to see you debate the State Trooper who tried his best to make the AR look like an evil weapon that no normal person would ever own. He had plenty of time to speak and you were only allowed 90 seconds. Keep up the great work, but Fox and his crew are going to stick it to us real good this time. They had their decision make months ago and they won’t stop until we lose all our guns. The sad part is the welfare crowd keeps these fools in office so they can keep their freebies from the state.

  14. Each person in RI should already be on a first name basis with their reps……but if not, it’s way past the time to introduce yourself. Now is not the time to give up though……Go down to the capitol and seek out and try to catch them in their office, if not try to meet with them in the district. If possible invite them to lunch…yes you pay… and explain your position.

    • Don’t underestimate this.

      There is no substitute for putting a warm body in front of the legislators.

  15. I hope your opposition doesn’t read this blog 😐

    one of the reasons that IL Carry no longer broadcasts info like this.

    • Everything we did was well known. All the members of the legislature got the call, saw the buttons and will see the video. Its no secret.

  16. It is likely that some people on the fence or only just over the line will jump the right way.

    Some of them likely will face an assailant down the line, and prevail thanks to choices made this very month.

    “If it saves just one life… in 2027.”

  17. “Here in Rhode Island,…”

    Jesus Christ, dude, when are you going to stop *saying* that?!?

    • “HERE IN RHODE ISLAND” should be changed to “HERE IN ROGUES ISLAND’ because of all the corruption and back room deals.

  18. The buttons are a cool idea for showing the number of people on the gun rights side. How much do they cost?

      • I live in a currently free state so no need for the buttons here. However I have often wondered how to help people in other states who are fighting these battles. Personally I think it is flat out wrong to attend a hearing in another state to speak for or against the issue (Mark Kelly). States need to hear from their citizens. I am ok with expert witnesses at times. Mark Kelly doesn’t qualify.

        If others are fighting such battles and need help, I am sure there are people here, including me, who would help financially. Continue to speak up, point out your cause and don’t be shy if you are needing some help.

  19. I am awed the the awesomeness in this video, but …. I have one general suggestion.

    Aside from wanting to be self-deluded, most gun grabbers worry that flash hiders, pistol grips, vertical grips, adjustable stocks, and so on make rifles easier to use, easier to shoot fast and accurately. There is some logic to this, because aside from decorations and bling, gun accessories are intended to improve the utility of rifles. They see all these features as equivalent to hot rodding a car by removing the mufflers or catalytic converters or adding nitrous. They don’t want to comprehend that these features are generally *alternatives*, not hot rodding addons.

    Not being competent enough to even think up an awesome video like this, I can only mumble that it might help to emphasize that the utility of the features is not primarily about shooting better, as you did with the adjustable stock making up for different shooters and different clothing. Emphasize that flash hiders don’t hide the shooter, they contribute to safety by not blinding either the shooter or others nearby, much as ear protection is a safety issue. Emphasize that pistol grips and thumbhole stocks are merely a different kind of stock, that regular stocks have exactly the same functionality, that the differences are more like where the wiper controls are in a car, or the shape of the gear shift lever or seatbelt release button.

    • That was a great video – I’m doing alot of sharing on Facebook, Twitter and G+ today! 🙂

  21. Well down and good for you! This is the stuff I’ve been advocating all along.
    I can only add the importance of outdoor demonstrations with lots of banners and identifiable tee-shirts or such which always have an powerful visual impact.
    I can also suggest a slogan I heard awhile ago “Guns Save Lives” which makes a good point.
    The triade of Lobbying, Court Cases and Public Education is the well-proven way to go. The grabbers know and use this all the time.

    The cynical and defeatist attitude of the fix being in and nothing being doable will result in nothing being done and watching your firearms turn into pictorial mementos at best or you being hauled away in either cuffs or a body bag at worst.
    Why some of us take satisfaction in this is curious indeed.

  24. With all due respect, you’re screwing up. You’re trying to inform and educate people who would ban all guns if they could. Gun=bad in their mind. Look at other states like Maryland and Colorado to see where the approach you’re currently taking leads.

    This is war. To stop this assault on your rights, you have to make this painful for legislators that support it. Flood them with emails that aren’t easily keyword filtered. Don’t spend time carefully crafting them, they won’t be read. The point is filling up their inbox. Even better is calling. Coordinate your group to call 3-4 specific people per day. You want that phone line to be unusable for the entire day. Call the businesses that contributed lots of money to the politician’s campaigns and let them know you’re organizing a boycott because of their anti-gun stance. If anything gets a politicians attention, it’s money and re-election chances. Those are the things you should be going after, and hard. Start circulating recall petitions. Whatever you can do to make it personally affect these anti-gun politicians, that’s what you should be doing. Explaining what a pistol grip does is a waste of effort.

  25. I think the only suggestion I would make is to push on the point that things that make guns more accurate make them more SAFE. And to use the words “comfortable” and “ergonomic” more. Also, the way a flash-hider is described, some idiot could take it to mean it makes you invisible so the cops can’t see who’s shooting, when what a flash hider *really* does, for the most part, is redirect the flash so it doesn’t go up into the sight line and blind you. Other than that, though, I think this is one of the most well put together and logical videos I’ve seen so far, and we need to make sure we share it far and wide so that 2nd amendment advocates can use it as ammunition.

  26. Don’t ever vote for a libtard (democrat) again. This is how you make sure these anti-gun (freedom) laws never appear again.

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