Stories from the week of April 29, 2011

COPs on the Hill

Your Voice in the United States Congress

How does one talk to an armed citizen?:  This weekend I attended (first time) a three day conference of the NRA – National Rifle Association.   Conservatives are roughly two to one against the COP position.  Ergo, go to where folks need to be educated and or pushed to question their current position.

As I have been a small-time shooter since the age of 9, I believed – incorrectly – I would feel right at home. Who knew 20 odd companies made assault rifles, beside a couple of dozen pistol makers?  We could have started and won a war with just the guns in the conventional hall.     The COPs t-shirt attracted many stares and about 30-40 people per day asking me why.   Of the estimated 70,000 attendees about 5 to 9,000 read the shirt.   I also was on the local FM talk radio station for the afternoon (due to a relationship between the radio host with a COPs member) + 3 other print media interviews.  I was pleased with the impact of the effort.  I am seriously considering having a booth next year. 

The first half of the first day I answered the ‘why’ question with the standard answer of ‘protect our  children better by not wasting time on Willie Nelson and college kids.’   It worked as always but I felt a need to speak the NRA language better…voilá.  My follow-up question was: ‘We all believe passionately that adult citizens should not only be allowed to own a gun but that we should be allowed to carry deadly force wherever we go.  Since we trust ourselves with a gun, why do we not allow the same citizen to own a bit of green plant in their house?’   Poof….the unassailable* analogy.   That question won over the few that were undecided that I spoke with.   Women especially liked  the ‘protect our children better’ line…thanks Karen (my better ¾).

Good police work?  On the last day a Pittsburgh police sergeant in uniform asked me why.  We had the usual 3-4 minute good chat with him already agreeing with the COP position.   When I offered him my card, he declined, saying he already knew who I was and had been to the COPs’ website.   Yikes!  or know about the person you are about to talk to!    

The next conference is in late June –LULAC – League of United Latino American Citizens –  I will  try to come up with a Latino line of argument before I arrive.  Know one? in Spanish? Mejorar la protección de los niños en vez de malgastar tiempo con hierba!”= protect our kids better by not wasting time on MJ.

*unassailable –unangreifbar

COPs 2nd year stats to date:

TV appearances: 11 (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable) 

Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies

Radio appearances: 8 (one this week)

Published LTE: 14 (one this week)

Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 (3 this week)

127 presentations to Congressional staffers:  

8 (Member of Congress) contacts:    

5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):   

Consider being a member of COPs at $30.00 or more per year.   All contributions are tax-deductible.   Your support keeps the COPs voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress.   We agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow.  Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to: 

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POB 772

Buckeystown, MD  21717