Ok, I'm just plain sick and tired of the propaganda from VPC, Brady, etc., going largely unanswered, and I want to do something about it.  I will be starting a website soon, www.controlthis.org, with the sole mission of countering the mistruths, distortions, and outright lies the gun control crowd spews forth on a regular basis.

Note, when I say "unanswered", I mean in a place where the vast majority of readers are not necessarily people who already are against gun control.  If you lurk on any of the well known firearms forums on the net, you will find many excellent retorts to anti-gun positions.  Unfortunately, the people who really need to see this stuff will probably not venture into these forums.

What I propose is as follows:

1) The basic concept of the site will consist of taking anti-gun statements from celebrities, the mainstream media, politicians, and gun control organizations, and doing a line by line (or paragraph by paragraph) commentary, correcting the inaccuracies in a sensible, logical manner.

2) While I will do some of the writing myself, my primary function will be to design, produce, and administer the site, as well as to serve as an editor.  For example, a "target" (such as VPC's recent press release on "assault weapons" and the DC "sniper") may end up having several contributors, each with their own analysis, research, and opinion.  I would collect these writings, perhaps adding some of my own, then combine and edit them into one document to be listed as a response to the particular anti-gun statement.  While the focus of the site will be responding to specific anti-gun claims in the manner described above, essays would be welcome too.

3) All contributors would be credited (unless, of course, they desired not to be identified).

4) The content of the site would generally be as civil as possible.  Granted, I personally have a very difficult time discussing any gun control advocate without throwing loads of colorful words, and that sort of thing goes over just fine with people who feel the same way, but the goal here is to try and enlighten ordinary average folks who either don't own any guns, or those who do own a gun or two but don't really see a problem with more gun control.  Presenting our side of the story in a calm, logical manner is the best way to reach these people.

5) Yes, I am well aware that this is not going to have an effect on someone who is a rabid gun hater.  And it might not have much of an effect on normal folks either.  We need to continue to be proactive with regards to contributing money to gun rights organizations, writing letters to representatives, etc., but I feel that informing the general public is an area that is sorely in need of attention, and if done properly (particularly at a "grass roots" level like this), could be quite effective.

Comments?  Questions?

So, who's with me?

--Mike

(edit: made subject line more descriptive)

I am with you all the way.  Keep me updated and let me know what you need to get started.

We're right behind you.  [:)]  You got it started yet or are you still setting up?

Hmmmm. Interesting. Where do you think the Libs will hide your body? Don't make them build another stadium. Turn yourself over to them now and they might spare your family.

Seriously, good call, but ANTIS will never see it, they only go to ANTI sites, get it.

I will hopefully have the site ready to go in a week or two, but I need to get some material together first.  Anyone wanting to contribute, please e-mail me, and we'll get started right away!

And, as I mentioned before, I don't think any true antis can be won over... they're a lost cause.  But I am of the opinion that there are many quasi-antis and fence sitters who are only hearing the gun control side of the story.  These are the people I would like to reach.

For example, I'm thinking back to how I was just 10 years ago.  At that time, while certainly not a gun hater (I owned a little .25 Beretta mouse gun... errr... saturday night special), I didn't see a problem with moderate gun control.  Embarrasingly enough, I didn't see any problem with a licensing / registration scheme.  And, I didn't understand why anyone would need to own a "military-style" rifle.  Yes, I was clueless (though, to my credit, I did think that CCW would be a great deterrant to crime).  Fortunately, over time, I became more educated on the subject (thanks to Gore's internet).  The gun control agenda, preached almost nightly on the networks, began to not make a whole lot of sense to me.

I am hoping that perhaps with some carefully crafted meta tags and search engine submissions, some of these "gun neutral" people, or even those who are passively anti, can be reached and informed.

Again, anyone willing to participate in this, please e-mail me. [b] Sick of preaching to the choir? [/b] Me too!

--Mike

Mike, feel free to take a look at my "Common Sense" reasoning in support of our Firearms Rights, or as I prefer to call it; 2A For Dummies.  If there's anything there that makes sense for you to use, or you feel could benefit from a bit of adaptation, please touch base by Email.

http://www.gothammarketing.com/rck/firearms.htm

Will it be website based only, or do you plan on making press-releases and offering direct counterings to the misinformation portrayed by the media?

Check out the info at my site. Look for the "somebody is lying". doc.

[url]http://www.geocities.com/gebooth2001/[/url]

[url]http://geocities.com/gebooth2001/docs/somebodylying.html[/url]

Very good site.  I need to read it again, but at first pass I like it!.  

Initially, just website based, but formal press releases would certainly be something to consider later.


Thanks for all the suggestions, links, etc.  I will soon begin to privately contact those who have expressed an interested in contributing.  Anyone else interested, please post here or contact me.

--Mike

might i suggest a statistics and facts section to show things like crime rates and gun sales and how many of the guns went where what year etc. a good example of why you need this was a previous thread here, but i dont know where it was.

some liberal stated many things. one of which was how the 1994 gun laws had dramatically decreased gun sales since 198?. he failed to mention his numbers included foreign sales and military contracts. and in reality sales to US citizens had jumped by leaps and bounds over this time period. a good source for facts like this would be a usefull weapon. but be sure that sources are quoted and accurate. that drives those liberals crazy when we can put names and dates to our studies and they can't =). too bad the media is always on their side and only asks republicans and pro-gunners to give evidence.

also i suggest using sources of facts whenver possible in your writings. again liberals hate it when our facts have something behind then and theirs are backed up by...well its just that way.. and ...a study shows it...

Jonathan,

Good suggestion.  And this is where I could especially use some help... collecting facts, figures, and statistics to use as ammunition against the anti-gun onslaught.

--Mike

Don't forget to include the things they are not saying. For example, the children that are supposedly killing each other are in reality teenage and young adult gang members. All the Anti's that claim to care about children don't lift a finger to go after the numerous things which are far more dangerous to children. They don't tell you that when it comes to things which kill children, guns are way down the list. They don't tell you that a child is more likely to be hit by lighting than a bullet at school. Ask them to identify ONE highly publicized school shooting in the last several years where the shooter was NOT taking a psychoactive drug.  I can't cite sources off the top of my head but basic research should bring this info up. Good luck.