I love to see Phil's determination to rally the gun owners in California via the internet. It makes perfect sense. I can also appreciate that there are some valid concerns that many here have brought up.
I think I have a suggestion that everybody here could agree on.
Rather than jumping in to a campaign to secure signatures on a petition, lets jump in to a campaign to unite california gun owners. Rather than collecting signatures, collect email addresses. Imagine the potential grassroots power of a database of email addresses of the gun owners of California.
Make it as easy as possible for people to give you their email address. No other identification necessary. No names, addresses, telephone numbers, just an email address. Maybe ask for a zip code too, if it will be helpful for more local battles. This won't even cost people a stamp. When you collect 700,000 email addresses, then you can start getting serious about a petition for an amendment. In the meantime, it will be an excellent tool for good old hammering on the governor and legislators, and the media. It can also be used to encourage people to register to vote.
I think calguns will be a great resource for making this idea possible. Whether the database is kept there, or by crkba, is up to whoever takes it and runs with it. But the people of calguns will be able to make it happen.
I originally posted this relating to Chicago, so substitute calguns and crkba.org where necessary:
1. Make a list of all the stores that sell guns/ammo and all the gun ranges in Cook County (or the entire state.) I assume there is a list available somewhere of FFL dealers. Maybe Ammo manufacturers could also provide lists of their customers.
2. Get on the forum at Illinoiscarry.com and start a thread asking for volunteers to contact the gun stores/ranges. Send out a letter to everybody on the email list at Illinoiscarry.com asking for volunteers. Make assignments until every store is assigned.
3. Provide the volunteers with flyers and forms. (Even if it is only electronic copies that they can print.) This could be as simple as one or two flyers per store that encourages people to add their email to Illinoiscarry.com so they can be notified of demonstrations and events. Provide forms that people can use to fill in their email address at the store. It doesn't even need names on it. I'm picturing each form having space for 25-50 people to write in an email address. Talk to the store manager about getting cashiers and folks at the gun counter to ask people to sign up so they can be notified of grassroots activities. I'd guess that most people that are interested in looking at a pistol would be interested in getting involved to protect (establish?) their carry rights.
Provide pre-addressed, stamped envelopes (stapled to the form so it doesn't get lost) so that when the email list form is filled up the store owner can send it back to someone at Illinoiscarry who can enter it into the system.
Depending on what you can get for a budget, you could possibly provide business card sized handouts or tear off slips of paper pointing people to register at Illinoiscarry. But ideally they would just write down their email address right there.
4. It might even be possible to talk to the people at the big internet stores (cdnn, brownells, cheaper than dirt, etc.) and see if they would be willing to send out a mass email to Illinois resident customers encouraging them to register at the Illinoiscarry site.
5. Contact the NRA to see if they can send an email to Illinois residents pointing them to the site.
6. I noticed on the forum at Illinoiscarry there is a discussion about putting an ad on a billboard in Chicago. That is a great idea and a very realistic way to get the word out to gunnies and non-gunnies alike. And you don't have to rely on the media or worry that it won't be presented how you want it. Once you find a good billboard and get a price, send out a mass email to the hopefully increasing base of supporters and tell them the plan and the cost and ask for donations, nothing is too small. When you get the billboard in place, take a picture of it and email it out to everybody to show them their dollars at work.
Do the trains in Chicago have advertisements in them? Maybe that is another viable option.
7. Send out an email to the base of supporters encouraging them to get their gunny friends on the list. None of them should have any gunny friends that don't know about the site.
8. Start planning now for next year's rally. Keep people posted with a monthly email and weekly emails in the month or two prior to the event.
9. Find a local Chicago celebrity/athlete who is pro-gun who will come out to the rally. That will increase chances of media coverage dramatically.
Someone out there needs to lead these efforts. I don't know how Illinoiscarry is organized, if there is a president who can delegate or nominate someone to this. For all I know there is already somebody working on it. If anybody knows who that is, maybe pass these thoughts on along to him/her.
I went to a gun expo in California a year or two ago and was blown away by how huge the crowd was. I'm convinced there are enough gun owners out there. They just need to make their voices heard.
