The Liberal Gun Club Forum

I've been at my farm on the Eastern Shore since Friday night and just saw your post. I also just saw your comment to my post from Friday, which you put up on Sat. I don’t have very good online access at my farm so haven’t been checking. You want a response? Here it is. And, I guess this means those five readers who voted "Yes" in the poll were right.

One thing I like most about DailyKos, and I’ve been posting now for a year and a half, is that it’s confirmed my belief that there are a lot Democrats and progressives who are pro-gun as I am. And, I am pro-gun. I’m going to be 68 soon. I’ve owned guns since I was 10. At this point in my life, I’m not going to let anyone else define what being pro-gun means for me. I live it.

Glad to know you work as a firearm safety instructor. I do support carrying concealed. It’s part of the personal liberty to me. You and I know both know that those who go through the process of acquiring the licensing are generally not the criminal element we need worry about illegally owning firearms, or being a detriment to society or our communities. Also, anyone who decides to carry concealed in public, should be well trained. Texas has a good model for that. From what I’ve been reading since I got back online, if Senator Thune hadn’t used typical NRA tactics on his bill today, we might have had some progress. Instead, he decided to ram it through with no hearings. Look where that got us.

I get challenged on my pro-gun credentials all the time, mostly because I am a Democrat -- and also because the NRA knows there are a lot of gun owners like me who don't toe their extremist line. I’ve had to answer all the questions in your post many times before. You may or not be aware, but they’ve become standard talking points for the NRA.

And, as for my past work with Brady, read this post I put up over at Huffington Post and on AHSA’s website. I think a lot of gun owners who are in relationships with another person who doesn’t love guns will understand. When you read that post, you’ll see my wife is no longer a member, or supporter of the Brady Campaign. (Also, I don’t care what the president of Brady says. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t share my view on assault weapons and the Second Amendment and many other issues. )

As for John Rosenthal. Please. He hasn’t been part of our organization for over two years. He’s long gone. And you left this part of the release on our website out of your post:

Mr. Rosenthal has had no involvement with AHSA since May 21, 2007, and does not speak for AHSA. Any public views expressed by Mr. Rosenthal regarding the "gun issue" or other firearm policy matters do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the American Hunters and Shooters Association.

I think that is pretty clear.

So, sorry you felt I was ignoring your questions. I’ve answered those same exact questions many, many times –and that’s why the answers are on AHSA’s website, too. No matter how many times I’ve answered them, they pop up again. NRA talking points die hard. And, trust me, none of those question intimidate me. I played pro football for years. I don't back down. I went out on the campaign trail for several weeks last fall to talk to gun owners for Obama. I got aaked a lot tougher things face-to-face when people's votes were on the line.

So, that’s my response. I'm going to keep fighting for the Second Amendment, gun rights and the environment. And, I'm not going to have my pro-gun credentials challenged.

And, I know every time I write on Dailykos, I'll get some great reaction -- and some who will never agree with me, some who are gun control supporters and some hard core pro-gunners. But, overwhelmingly, the commenters have been positive and supportive. This community really understands that many gun owners are Democrats, liberals and progressives. And, they’re part of the reason Obama was able to get twenty million gun owners to vote for him.

I started AHSA because I'm not going to let the right-wing NRA set the agenda for gun owners. They've become a money-obsessed, power hungry GOP front group. If you don't think so, ask why David Keene and Grover Norquist are on the Board. That’s a talking point all gun owners should have.

I’ll keep the url to this comment, because I know those questions will pop up again. And, I’ll have the same answers.

Ray Schoenke

CarolinaHiker wrote:From my research, they are now defunct :

Without explanation or fanfare, all AHSA activity appears to have ceased last February, 2010.

No additional posts have been made to AHSA website, Twitter or FaceBook page since then. What’s more, the AHSA website, http://www.huntersandshooters.org, has been offline since early October, and emails to the organization bounce.


Interesting :

Research on Internal Revenue Service filings by “American Hunters and Shooters Association Foundation, Inc.”, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, may provide an explanation.

In 2006, AHSA recorded just $50 (!) as coming from membership dues, yet the group spent $88,634 more than it received in that first year.
In 2007, the foundation reported just $5 (!!) in membership dues. And in 2008, the year of Obama’s presidential candidacy, and the last year reports are available, the foundation reported $0 in membership dues(!!!).

They ended the year with just over $42,000 in the bank - having depleted a quarter of a million dollar surplus from 2007.

Curious where their money was coming from, since it surely didn't appear to be from actual Membership support.


Regards,

CarolinaHiker