How we can fight back

[Viper1973]

Since I actually work for the media I have a few tactics that I can share that will help us get heard loud and clear.

1. Submit a 'letter to the editor' to your local newspaper and SIGN IT. These are often published and get political attention and the attention of your friends and neighbors who may not understand that their rights are in danger. Anonymous letters do no good and are often discarded by the news folk. But signed ones get special attention and priority.

2. Write your representatives (both at the state level and federal). Their job is to represent the interests of their constituents - those that put them in office and can remove them. Believe it or not, when their offices get flooded with mail about an issue it becomes their priority. Make your feelings clear.

3. Send a clearly hand-written letter to the president and the vice president -- not typed. These immediately get separated from 'form' mail and get handled differently. The majority of folks DO NOT take the time to write hand written letters any more. That tells them that this issue is of significant importance personally to you.

While all of these things take time, this is our best chance to get some positive influence going in our direction. I was up until 2am this morning with a book of stamps writing and just mailed them out a few hours ago.

The individual CAN make a difference and get their voice heard if you know how to 'work the system'. These are very much the same tactics the other side as pulled to get this thing blown entirely out of proportion against us.

- Denver

 

[Icarry2]

I agree, already informed many how I feel, by letter, email, phone call, etc. And I did before the election..

 

[Viper1973]

If we can flood their mailboxes and eat up their newsprint we can get some serious attention -- but it's going to take the combined effort of all of us.

 

[hick185]

I too have contacted my politicians. Don't sit by thinking that nothing will happen. Contact politicians let them know.

 

[RonnieF]

It may help but with the media still on the roll of all the children ITs going to be a tough one to hopefully have blow over.

 

[Icarry2]

Good place to start..

Indiana’s Members of Congress & Congressional District Map - GovTrack.us

 

[Viper1973]

The media can be your best friend or your worst enemy... Their only goal is ratings, newspaper sales, and pageviews. I'm a senior manager for a media company so I know what drives our bottom line. I'm also an avid shooter, Glock armorer, and the son of a retired law enforcement officer.

Right now the other side is using this to their advantage. If we take the same route, the playing fields can quickly get leveled. Politicians read newspapers and watch TV too.

If they see the newspaper publishing a ton of pro-gun stories and letters to the editor it will quickly get their attention that they're on the wrong side of the fence.

 

[EvilBlackGun]

We "GUNNERS" need ....

..... to do what the hippies did during Viet Nam: T A K E - O V E R THE MEDIA !!! Keep it up, as though your Constitutional Right To Keep and Bear arms is at stake. Also, GIVE AS MUCH STINKY-CRAP TO THE ADVERTISERS AND proponents of gun control. Watch and respond to the media, industry, commercials during anti-rights programs, restaurants where you might hear staff or proprietors talking smak about gunners and rights. We are at (correct me if I'm wrong here, MODS) around 30,000-strong on INGO!! "Y'now, Sir / Ma'am, I overheard your anti-gun statement, and want you to know that am a member of a group that is 30,000-members strong right here in Indiana, and we can shop/eat/buy/frequent ANY businesses we like, and stay away from people who don't like the Rights we have in the Constitution. Are you absolutely sure you want to keep stating your un-provable position on gun-rights?"? Who has the 'nads to do that? I do.

 

[LP1]

Have a neutral party proof-read your message before you send it. A lot of the political posts on INGO are poorly written; send something like that and it will get tossed out or used as an example of "those crazy gun guys".

 

[Viper1973]

Have a neutral party proof-read your message before you send it.

EXACTLY!!!

Bombard the local newspapers, TV stations, politicians with letters.... The more, the better.

The sad thing with this is we have one real shot to make a difference. Once things are set in stone it will be nearly impossible to get things changed back to something we want. Therefore, it's up to each of us to take the time for our -- once in a lifetime -- shot at this.

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

Bookmarked. I will be starting on this tonight.

 

[dbrier]

Have a neutral party proof-read your message before you send it. A lot of the political posts on INGO are poorly written; send something like that and it will get tossed out or used as an example of "those crazy gun guys".

this X10

Write clearly and concisely, you don't need to write a book. Name calling, ranting, poor grammar and incoherent letters don't get you anywhere. The fastest way to get your letter thrown away is to start it out - Dear dickwad,
Make it original, copying another letter may be easy, but the reviewers see it.

Write it.
Take a few hours or even a day break and look it over again.
Have a third party look it over.
Send it on.
Now that you have a good letter, don't waste it on just one person, send it to all your elected officials and newspapers. Make sure you include your name and address (as stated above) and only send it to people you can actually vote for. Sending it to an County Commissioner in a county you don't live in will just get it thrown away - you aren't their constituent.

 

[Viper1973]

Also keep in mind that some of the larger newspapers ONLY accept letters to the editor via their websites so they don't have to retype them. When in doubt, send it both snail-mail and electronic!

Hit the Indy Star hard and their competitors in Anderson, Kokomo, Greensburg, Terre Haute, etc. -- even your small town daily/weekly.

The important thing is to get PRO-gun material in front of our elected officials to reinforce that attacking our freedoms is totally wrong. Using the media that we all read, watch and listen to all day long is the key.

All it takes on our end is time and postage stamps and the will to stand up for what we believe in.

 

[Viper1973]

Made some progress this evening... Was on the phone for over an hour with two reporters who called in response to my letters. Now if everyone else on here would do the same thing we could get some favorable press going.