Idea: "DE CDW Permit Holders Association"

[groundgrid]

I support national organizations such as the NRA and SAF. However, they simply cannot be on the front lines of every issue. There are a lot of pro 2A and anti 2A groups. What I propose is an organization with very a specific, focused purpose that can be heard over the general gun chatter.

Check out the following web sites:
Texas Concealed Handgun Association : www.txchia.org
Armed Citizen Alliance: www.armedcitizenalliance.com
Ohioans For Concealed Carry: www.ohioccw.org
Wisconsin Carry Inc.: www.wisconsincarry.org
Students for Concealed Carry: http://concealedcampus.org
New Jersey Concealed Carry Association: http://newjerseycca.com
Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance: www.mnccrn.org/

Purpose:
To represent the interests of Delaware's CDW permit holders, applicants and others who choose to legally carry a firearm for self defense.

Prospective actions:
-Interface with the DOJ & other state agencies regarding firearm carry issues (Make them know that we are here)
-Meet with legislators on behalf of the membership.
-Suggest improvements to the current laws.
-Push the State to process applications in a fair & expedient manner.
-Intercept attempts to restrict carry rights, like what happened this past week
-Move the State toward Shall Issue
-Push for reciprocity agreements with ALL other states. (It is ridiculous that DE is not reciprocal with PA)
-Directly contact other states to ask for them to recognize Delaware permits. (There is no legal reason why we can't do this)
-Make a special push for reciprocity in MD. (I know it's far fetched) Not being able to traverse the Delmarva Peninsula is really ridiculous.
Note that many Eastern Shore Sheriffs would support this idea. (I've met them, they even come to NRA rallies)
-Provide support for sympathetic candidates and openly oppose those candidates that do not.
-Provide resources for existing & prospective permit holders such as a listing of instructors and ranges. Send out renewal reminders & updates
on new regulations, serve as an information hub.

How to do it:
-Moderate yearly dues that can be accumulated into a "war chest" for candidate support at election time.
-Sponsorship from both local & national gun related businesses.
-Have gun dealers & ranges distribute membership applications to purchasers as well as encourage permit applications.

IMO we are WAY past the stay under the radar stage. Like most generally conservative types, I prefer to quietly go about my own business.
However, I have come to the conclusion that this simply won't work any more. Anti 2A groups are very vocal & have considerable influence over elected officials, we need to actively fight them.

As is believed to be written in his personal diary (probably more elegantly in Japanese) by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto:

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

We all know that the Honorable Admiral and his Emperor did not fare very well.
The only way to win is to be the Giant and insure that we remain able to defend ourselves during our next nap.

[Etrier]

Looks really good to me. Count me in.  There is some additional info that is recounted in an article written by Massad Ayoob in 2001 regarding the Japanese.

 In 1960, Robert Menard was a Commander aboard the USS Constellation when he was part of a meeting between United States Navy personnel and their counterparts in the Japanese Defense Forces. Fifteen years had passed since VJ day, most of those at the meeting were WWII veterans, and men who had fought each other to the death at sea were now comrades in battle who could confide in one another.

Someone at the table asked a Japanese admiral why, with the Pacific Fleet devastated at Pearl Harbor and the mainland US forces in what Japan had to know was a pathetic state of unreadiness, Japan had not simply invaded the West Coast.

Menard would never forget the crafty look on the Japanese commander's face as he frankly answered the question. You are right, he told the Americans. We did indeed know much about your preparedness. We knew that probably every second home in your country contained firearms. We knew that your country actually had state championships for private citizens shooting military rifles. We were not fools to set foot in such quicksand.

The anti 2a groups have stepped in quicksand, now it is time to do our part.

[Obleo]

I, too, am evolving. After reading this thread, I’ll stick with oldgraygeek’s policy on flying under the radar.  “Flying under the radar” equates to NOT presenting the opposition a clear and viable target.  There has been much success in working with our reps who may not be able to handle a front line attack.

[SturmRugerSR9]

Let's see. Get all the people with concealed carry in one place. Sounds like a good place for a SWAT action by the Markell Gustapo! No thanks.

[ESPMan]

Sounds like a good idea, but it must be handled VERY carefully. There will definitely be a lot of opposition.

[seniorgeek]

I like the idea BUT, it must be done more discreetly as Obleo has stated.
I am for it as long as we back DSSA, NRA, etc. It can be a membership group with the funds to support candidates, member of congress, etc. but now an open publicized group.
Too much attention could be a negative thing for the members. Membership list should be very private and not publicly available or the whole group will be liable for all types of
legal issues plus who know what Markell and Biden may come up with to harass the group.   

[poster formerly know as Silverbullet]

I like the idea BUT, it must be done more discreetly as Obleo has stated.
I am for it as long as we back DSSA, NRA, etc. It can be a membership group with the funds to support candidates, member of congress, etc. but now an open publicized group.
Too much attention could be a negative thing for the members. Membership list should be very private and not publicly available or the whole group will be liable for all types of
legal issues plus who know what Markell and Biden may come up with to harass the group.   

I get supporting dssa and NRA, but remember the NRA was ok with that HB88. You give anti-gunners and inch they go for a mile.

[groundgrid]

My idea of not "under the radar" is to be well known to the legislators but not commonly known by the general public.

One thing that I learned last legislative session is that many of the bills are actually written by outsiders, usually law firms
or special interest groups. I also know as fact that the Brady Campaign actively proposes specific law changes.
We need to be doing the same & getting favorable changes introduced in the legislature.

It is much easier to get meetings with influential lawmakers if you represent a known & preferably large group of
constituents. Having 5000 plus votes behind us would make us very powerful, probably enough to turn most statewide
elections and as a result bend the ear of whomever we want. Even the most anti 2A legislators want to keep their jobs,
getting them to simply do nothing would be a win for us. In other cases changing a few words in a proposed bill could turn a problem into a
minor annoyance while making us look like "reasonable" gun owners instead of obnoxious "gun nuts."

Politics is a game, it needs to be played. One way to keep things under control is to propose alternative bills instead of just opposing everything.
Another strategy is good old fashioned power brokering. (eg. if you kill this bill we will help you get support for your pet project, despite how idiotic it is)

Doing any of this requires organization, money and numbers.

The State already knows who we all are, where we live, what we look like and even who some of our friends are (from our references). Being more vocal does not expose us any more than we are already. We can't just keep to ourselves otherwise people like the Brady idiots will be able to bend ears and brainwash the entire legislature.
 

[seniorgeek]

groundgrid, based on your last statement, I can go along with you 100%. Count me in.

[robberbaron]

I'm in also. I'm tired of being pushed around. Let's band together and stand up to the bullies. That usually makes them run and even if it doesn't. it may educate the politicians.

[ThePixelated]

Great idea!

[groundgrid]

Anybody want to work on a web site?

I have the following domains (among a few others):

DelawareCarry.org (.com, .net & .info)
DelawareGunRights.org (.com & .net)

"DE" is also the abbreviation for "Deutschland" (Germany).
It might be confusing to the search engines if the DE abbreviation were used in the name of a web site.

Also have a great software package to make it easier.

[anjdrifter]

this is a good operation..  they are not under the radar at all but they have done a heck of a lot good in promoting the cause they also send weekly newsletters. Since I belong to a range in Va. and also own property in Va. I get all their stuff..
http://www.vcdl.org/

[Capnball]

I'm interested in this idea. Many of us fear being individually bullied and harassed by the dictators and bullies that now make up our government at every level. I know..... I've been there, It happened to me many years ago. Of course now we have the NSA and God-only-knows what other bunch of evil monsters watching everything we say, write and do on a daily basis. I'm to the point where I really don't care any more. I have never hurt anyone or their property wouldn't think of doing so unless it was to defend myself against an aggressor. If one of the elected or appointed evil-monsters decides to rid the world of any one of us individually, they can do it and get away with it. Lie, cheat, steal and manipulate is what these people do for a living and if they decide to jail or kill one of us they have the power to do it and get away with it. However, it is much more difficult to run that type of an operation on a large number of people at once without getting public attention and a potential backlash. Like any cock-roach they don't like the light of attention nor do they want to play on an even playing field. There is at least some safety in numbers. Things are bad today and getting worse. But thankfully we haven't yet sunk to the level of most dictatorships in the world... yet. By banding together we have a chance at preventing it.

[groundgrid]

In looking around the web the best model may be forming the

"Delaware Citizen's Defense League"

Therefore being more inclusive of those who OC as well
as those who simply want to  protect their homes.

There are numerous other Citizen's Defense Leagues therefore opening up the possibility of
a national coalition.