[TarpleyG]

A friend of mine and I were talking yesterday and he told me of his idea of a gun owner "march" on DC. Something like the MMM march. What if only 1% of America's gun owners descended on Washington over the Independence Day holiday weekend next year. Is this doable? Would enough people show up to prevent us from being the laughing stock like the MMM is now?

Ideas, comments, suggestions on how to put this together?

Greg

[buy guns]

i think ind day is way too soon. you need alot of time to get the word out so people can get plane tickets, hotel rooms, get time off work etc.

[TarpleyG]

2005. Not this year. Still, that may also be too near. Maybe 2006.

Greg

[Bigjake]

4Th of julys seems like it would be a huge flop, i know i wouldnt skip all of my festivitys to go to DC for a march. Any other weekend though, and its possible.

[Skibane]

Well, the other obvious choice would be Father's Day (since MMM uses Mother's Day). However, that paints us with the sexist brush (guns are a tool of aggression that only a man could love, etc., etc.). Funny how nobody ever accuses the MMM of being sexist...

On the other hand, plenty of fathers could probably use it as a good excuse to get a day off: Mom buys Dad a bus/plane ticket and hotel reservation as his mandatory Father's day gift –

[atek3]

What about memorial day 2005?

atek3

[cropcirclewalker]

Whenever.

One thing fer sure though.

All the marchers should be wearing those funny glasses with the big nose and the mush on them because somebody will be taking pictures.

Smile

[WingZero]

You serously persue this idea and get it organized. You can count me in, and I know for a fact I can get another three or four people to come with me (if this was held tomorrow). Keep us updated, and let me know if there is anyway I can help.

[Night Guy]

I'd go. I've always wanted a good excuse to see D.C. Since I have to be unarmed, I'd rather do it when there are a bunch of gun enthusiasts around me.

[jonptoms]

They have a big ole party on the mall and all...

Any other time and it'd be fine - but like you said better have this organized by someone so we don't show up w/just 2000 ppl.

[El Rojo]

I would recommend Mother's Day, but the moms would probably be upset if we missed Mother's Day off in DC instead of at home kissing up. Heck, I say make it September 13 or some other random day that really doesn't mean much to the common man, but means a lot to a good patriot and gun owner. Just think if we could get a hundred thousand or so gun owners to assemble on DC the day the AWB sunsets? Awefully hard to put a positive spin on that one in the liberal media if they are trying to convince us America wants more gun control.

[71Commander]

[quote]I would recommend Mother's Day, but the moms would probably be upset if we missed Mother's Day off in DC instead of at home kissing up. Heck, I say make it September 13 or some other random day that really doesn't mean much to the common man, but means a lot to a good patriot and gun owner. Just think if we could get a hundred thousand or so gun owners to assemble on DC the day the AWB sunsets? Awefully hard to put a positive spin on that one in the liberal media if they are trying to convince us America wants more gun control.[quote]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully the AWB isn't a dead horse by Sept 13th. and already signed into law.

[dischord]

Not July 4th
They have a big ole party on the mall and all... Any march would get lost on the general July 4 festivities -- and the Park Police probably wouldn't give out permits for that day anyway.

[Foreign Devil]

>Heck, I say make it September 13 or some other random day that really doesn't mean much to the common man, but means a lot to a good patriot and gun owner.<

I like that idea very much!

[Langenator]

Remember that the battles of Lexington and Concord started as a gun grab by the redcoats. My vote goes to the anniversary date of the Shot Hear 'Round the World. Which I can't remember off the top of my head.

Somebody throw me a bone here.

[El Rojo]

Hopefully the AWB isn't a dead horse by Sept 13th. and already signed into law.That would make it an even better day to march on the capital. I would like to see how Congress and the President reacts to their decision to renew the AWB if 100,000+ people marched on DC to protest. I don't think it is going to make it to Bush's desk this year. He knows it will be his politcal death certificate if he signs it. This country is split right down the middle so the pols say. He will lose way more conservative votes than moderate votes he will pick up by signing that piece of legislation.

[corncob]

This has been discussed several times before. A few points:

1. April 19th, I believe, was the shot heard round the world?

2. In order to get that 100,000 head count, people will need a long time to plan. (unlike the libs, most of us aparently have jobs)

3. This flat won't work without the support of the NRA. People just won't know it's being planned. If we could get them behind it, as well as THR, Glocktalk, all the bloggers, etc., 100,000 is a conservative estimate.

4. There is the ever-present danger of one (or more) of those 100,000 bringing thier guns to DC with them and causing a PR nightmare. The national media will do everything within thier power to cast us in a bad light.

I personally think it is worth the risks, but someone involved in the buisiness of promotions will have to step up and put it together. Americans today (yes, even gun-owners) are lazy. It is going to take a lot of constant prodding to get those kind of numbers.

[cropcirclewalker]

Langenator,

Shot heard 'round the world. April 19
Waco Massacre April 19
OK city Bombing April 19

The managed media would flip out with spinning militia stuff and like that.

The Govt. would probably have at least 100,000 infiltrators in the march
trying to stir up a riot.

Video cameras out the wazoo.

Not a good day.

[Brat7748]

Johm Wayne's Birthady?

Date NRA was founded?

[Werewolf]

corncob opined that:
4. There is the ever-present danger of one (or more) of those 100,000 bringing thier guns to DC with them and causing a PR nightmare. The national media will do everything within thier power to cast us in a bad light.

Suppose...
Just Suppose...

That all 100,000 showed up with their guns.

What then?

[joab]

That all 100,000 showed up with their guns. It would be called an insurection in retaliation for Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Wal-Mart discontinueing the sale of Gunmetal Blue house paint.

[Waitone]

I'm all in favor of massive demonstrations.

Million gunowners in town would give media a self-induced orgasasm. Wall to wall coverage of white, fat, middle aged white guys.

I will guarantee you that if large number of gun owners demonstrate in DC there will be a shooting. Not by the participants, but by anti groups seeking to discredit the movement.

I doubt if we'd see a million gun onwers. I'd like to see one hundred thousand. Instead of demonstrating I'd love for them to enter into one hard week of capitol hill lobbying. That's right, make appointments and buttom hole their congressional vermin. Go to the various news bureaus and ask why the news coverage is so one sided. Looks the media elites in the eye and make them tell you that you are a psychopath. Volunteer to become a background source on firearms to keep them from making bigger idiots out of themselves than they normally do.

Yea, demonstrate . . . . .in the halls of congress. That is where the problem is, not out with the gardners.

[gunsmith]

I write letters,send money,make phone calls etc.
I wont go to places that place more restrictions that I face at home.
I only visit places that have less restrictions.
I am a native NYC person and refuse to visit,why should I go to a place thats even worse?
I like waitones idea of doing a week of lobbying better....If I thought another Demo would make a difference I would go...but I don't think these demo's work...I could be wrong though.

[Desertdog]

Instead of one big demonstration in DC, how about demonstrations at the state capitol, all on the same day?
VT and AK could have thank you parties at their capitols.

[one45auto]

I'd certainly go, and should (God forbid!) Herman Munster win the election we'll definitely need to flex our political muscle lest the Republicans lose their nerve and allow sKerry and his sorry cohorts in the Democratic party run roughshod over our Second Amendment rights.

The problem is that many gun owners still seem to regard firearms ownership as something less than reputable and are therefore averse to being indentified as such. How else can you explain the fact that the MMM crowd is able to round up a few thousand soccer moms who aren't camera shy on short notice while we can't seem to gather enough people to hold a backyard barbecue - let alone a protest, even though we outnumber them and our position is more mainstream? As I've long told friends and family that there are two types of people in this country - those who own guns, and those who admit it.

[Harry Tuttle]

i be there with the 136 other guys that actually show up

but i'm a fetid swamp local

get ahold of Jeff Head and ask about the "March for Liberty"

[Werewolf]

The problem is that many gun owners still seem to regard firearms ownership as something less than reputable and are therefore averse to being indentified as such.

:cuss: And some folks actually believe that Political Correctness is no longer a problem.


Riiiiiiiiiight!

The thought police reign supreme in the US today. They are everywhere and gun owners, like all people, want to belong. The thought police tell everyone that guns are bad. Hear that often enough and you start to believe it.

Gun owners in general are pretty much a law abiding bunch. Being law abiding pretty much equates to conformism, not making waves. So rather than fight back we just maintain as low a profile as we can and hope the sheep don't notice.

The trouble is it doesn't matter whether the sheep notice or not. It only matters if the sheep herder notices...

Think about that!

[Bigjake]

I 2nd the idea to have it the day the AWB sunsets. that would be a real show of force.

[RAY WOODROW 3RD]

Guys,
Getting gun owners to do something like this is harder than herding cats!

Harry Tuttle Quote:

"get ahold of Jeff Head and ask about the "March for Liberty"

I was there.
What did we have show up? under 100 people?

SHAMEFULLY, There were more people in DC running around in drag during their "run around washington in drag" annual meet.

SAS rally this past mother's day? 200 people, tops.

I have been there done that (with the wife and 4 kids, mind you).

People would rather weed the garden/go shopping with the wife for her shoes/clean out the gutters then show up to something like this. The only way you might gaurantee the numbers is that you ask people to put their money where their mouth is.

Your coming to the rally/march in DC? GREAT! $100.00 deposit please. Here is your claim number. Show up with the number and you get the $100.00 back. Don't show up, you lose it and it goes towards a 2nd A fund of some sort.

As for the NRA, THEY DO NOT SUPPORT ANY TYPE OF RALLY OR PROTEST.

[Baba Louie]

Please, Do NOT, under any circumstances, use the word "Million" anywhere in the thought process.

If I may suggest, a Memorial Day weekend (you pick the year). Visit Arlington, the Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln Memorial. The Vietnam and WW II Memorial. Visit the Smithsonian, Mt Vernon, Monticello, NRA Museum... heck maybe even walk by 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Meet your Congressional Representatives. See THE Documents in the Library of Congress. Donate a dollar or two to some shelter for battered women or V.A. hospital.

Leave Washington DC a better place for our having passed through. Make it an annual thing (any shooting matches or gun shows around VA that time of year?)

And leave the guns at home.

[Moparmike]

I would do my best to attend this. God knows if it could actually happen though.

[one45auto]

You're absolutely right, Werewolf. Take me, for example. I was raised to regard firearms ownership as normal and yet the very first time I walked into a gun shop I felt like a preacher going into an adult bookstore. Not because I felt that I was doing something wrong, but rather because I was concerned over what other people - namely those I knew, might think. My sister, for instance, who is afraid of guns, got that shocked look on her face when I told her where I was headed and when I excitedly mentioned that I was going to be buying my first gun several co-workers at the time asked me bluntly who I was planning on killing. Clearly, the liberals have been extremely successful in brainwashing the ignorant masses to believe that only a vigilante or someone intent on commiting a crime or murdering an aquaintance would have any need for a handgun. Consequently most gun owners prefer not to advertise this fact in public and will shy away from publicity.

Think about it.

Outside of Texas, and a few other gun-friendly states, most men are hesitant to mention their interest in firearms to potential dates or girlfriends for fear of scaring them off. Usually they do so only when the relationship has progressed to the point where the women know them well enough to accept it - or at the very least have come to realize that they're not the proverbial "gun nuts" referred to in the media. If you start talking about your new Smith&Wesson or AR-15 over dinner on a first date it'll usually be your last. Truth be known, the real problem isn't anti-gun politicians or new gun laws, it's our image. If we could only change people's perceptions of firearms the laws wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of passage.

[sigman4rt]

GREAT IDEA!! How about April 19,2006. Patriots day as celebrated here in Maine and N.E. I don't know if it is celebrated nationwide, maybe it ought to be, and this will help get that recognition started. What better day than the day a handful of ordinary people on April 19, 1776 marched to Lexingon and Concord and took on the number one superpower of their time.The 230th anniversary.

[Bubbles]

I've been here done this not once but twice. The first time the SAS held a rally in DC (Mother's Day 2000) my name was on the permit filed with the US Park Police, and I was the one who met with them to discuss the details and logistics. So, I'm speaking from experience here.

First, do not hold the event on a holiday, especially Memorial Day or Independence Day. Not only do folks make other plans for those days, but the rally sites are reserved for official events.

Second, the event should be held on a weekend. Gun owners work for a living; they will not go to DC on a week day. Plus, if you ask to close streets on a week day you will end up pi$$ing off a lot of commuters. They may have been neutral on the gun issue prior to your event, but if you double their commuting time they will not support you in the future.

Third, you'll need money, and a lot of it. Why? Sound & Stage. Potties. Travel and hotel accomodations, and perhaps speaking fees, for your high-profile speakers. Insurance. Security. Trash pickup. Advertising.

Fourth, you'll need someone local to DC to coordinate with the Park Police. They're great to work with and they're happy to help, but they'll want to meet with someone to make sure that you've got the logistics covered.

Fifth, if you want to march, that requires street closings. Someone has to coordinate with DCPD; it's usually the person who is in contact with the USPP.

Finally - SAS just had a pro-gun rally in DC a few weeks ago. WHERE WERE YOU ALL????

The NRA doesn't do rallies since the return on investment of the time, efforts, money, and other resources required are very low. They can get more "bang for the buck" by mass-mailing their members and asking them to contact their legislators. 100,000 calls/letters/postcards/faxes to Congress are a lot more effective than 100,000 people on the Mall.

[Diggler]

Not on Earth Day.

I'm always busy with my yearly tradition, roasting a California condor over a tire fire in a strip mine.

:evil:

[JesusCow]

I'm interested.

I need to go on my first road trip, and DC sounds entertaining. Especially if there's gonna be a pro-2a rally. Sept 13th sounds good to me, but I'll be able to make time in my calendar regardless.

1500 miles doesn't sound that bad either!

edit: Hmm, should I take the gun rack out of my Geo Metro before leaving?

[tfurey19]

Make it on the anniversary of the liberation of one of the German concentration camps. (Sept 13th would be a great date but it would have to be this year).

One other point to think about... many have asked why the NRA never held such a rally. When asked that question the response is always the same.... Its not worth the risk of having only a few people show up. Honestly I agree. It would be devestating to have such a rally and not have the expected turn out.

There is also another factor to consider. If the rally is a success it MAY get SOME coverage. If it is a flop it WILL get EXTENSIVE coverage. It is therefore a big risk and a strategy would have to be very broadly formulated with dozens of different groups.

I'm not saying forget the idea. What I am saying is that you MUST either do it right or not do it at all. ANything imbetween would be devestating.

[RAY WOODROW 3RD]

Bubbles stated:

"Finally - SAS just had a pro-gun rally in DC a few weeks ago. WHERE WERE YOU ALL????"

MY POINT EXACTLY!!!

It is easy for people to punch some computer keys and say they will do this or that or will show up etc.

I CHALLENGE YOU (whom ever started this idea) TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND DO THIS!

The amount of work is overwhelming. NJCSD is trying to do this in N.J. for our Trenton Rally on July 16th against the MMM. Any NJ Gunners, Step on up to the plate and join with us OR continue to bitch and complain as the state bends you over for another round like they always do.

NJ Gunners,
GET VOCAL AND GET ACTIVE!
The time IS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
www.njcsd.org

[Diggler]

Why not have a THR/TFL shoot the day before/after somewhere in VA or elsewhere that would be closer to get to DC? Might sweeten the pot.

Only problem is stashing the guns when we go into occupied territory.

[Hawkmoon]

I'm chiming in a bit late here, but I'd think either Patriots' Day (19 April) or Veterans' Day would be likely candidates with some symbolism to them.