Ten days until the First and Second Amendments of our Constitution are reinstated for me.
I can't wait.
<Saturday, November 05, 2005
Ten Days...
Ten days until the First and Second Amendments of our Constitution are reinstated for me.
I can't wait.
<
Monday, October 31, 2005
How Could She Sue a Pro-Gun Senator?
I've watched slam after slam (mostly from the self-serving Charles R. Perricone, once-upon-a-time Speaker of the House) on how I am such a terrible person because I have included in my suit a supposedly pro-gun Senator, Alan Cropsey.
Short answer is, I believe in the law and Senator Cropsey isn't following it. He's one of the people who sat back and watched the law be broken and was fully aware of it.
But there's a longer answer as well.
Despite Mr Kliemann, also on MCRGO's Board of Directors, and his demand that I stop emailing any member of the Board that was also a sitting Legislator, I know who I sent emails, letters, etc. to. Senator Cropsey made the same decision to violate the laws and Bylaws that various other members of the Board did. If anything, frankly, I would think that his ethics, as a sitting Legislator, would demand that he follow the law, which he knew was legitimate, and the Bylaws of the organization he professes to love so well, not to mention those Court Orders that keep coming down the pipe.
Years ago, I explained to him that our Bylaws didn't allow for him to be the Legislative Chair. I pointed out the Bylaw, quoted the Bylaw - but no, the good Senator decided to heck with any of that. He'd do as he pleased and as Mr. Perricone pleased and on with the show.
Of late, he has even used his office to personally attack me to tens of thousands of Michigan citizens in an attempt to make them believe that I am wrong for expecting our organization, his and mine, to follow the law, the Bylaws and standing Court orders.
That would seem like enough, wouldn't it? Well, frankly, it is.
But let's take a look at that "Pro-Gun Senator" idea.
For the last seven months a very good Bill has been stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which the Senator is Chair. For those of you who know how committees work, you know that if the Chair wants it to move, it will move.
H.B. 4186 would give everyone the full 5 years they are paying for when they apply for the Concealed Pistols License and was passed by the House 109-0 on March 23rd.
109-0.
As it stands now, if someone has a CPL and then has to apply for a renewal, and they apply early to avoid letting their CPL run out before their renewal comes through, it is entirely possible to lose a month or two or even, as I did, four or more months. Introduced by Representative Tory Rocca in the first few days of February, 2005, the Bill would establish that when a person renews an expiring CPL, the starting date of the renewed license will be the expiration date of the old one, even if the person renews the license before it has expired.
Good Bill, seems sensible, no big deal, really. However, it was developed and offered by a Pro-Gun group that Senator Cropsey and Mr. Perricone, who served briefly as Speaker of the House and was then sent home, have decided are their "competition." How that works, I have no idea, but it's past time Senator Cropsey abandon that ill-founded idea and do more than give lip-service to the idea of being Pro-Gun.
Certainly, Mr. Perricone has been demonstrating for years that he was an Anti-Gunner, from working to establish Criminal Empowerment Zones to his recent interference with my Right to Keep and Bear Arms as a law abiding citizen.
But with Senator Cropsey heralding the Castle Doctrine Bill (also a good Bill) and shouting from the rooftops how Pro-Gun he is, I'm asking for some proof and so are a lot of other Pro-Gun activists.
H.B. 4186 is an excellent common sense Bill. It's been sitting waiting for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee since March 24th. Two-hundred-twenty-two days.
Move it, Senator Cropsey - the ball is in your Court, so to speak. Make it happen; you know you can. Put aside your feelings about the so-called competition and guide this Bill though to the success it deserves. Give CPL holders their money's worth.
Heaven knows gun owners are the reason you're in office. How about a little loyalty to your constituents?
Short answer is, I believe in the law and Senator Cropsey isn't following it. He's one of the people who sat back and watched the law be broken and was fully aware of it.
But there's a longer answer as well.
Despite Mr Kliemann, also on MCRGO's Board of Directors, and his demand that I stop emailing any member of the Board that was also a sitting Legislator, I know who I sent emails, letters, etc. to. Senator Cropsey made the same decision to violate the laws and Bylaws that various other members of the Board did. If anything, frankly, I would think that his ethics, as a sitting Legislator, would demand that he follow the law, which he knew was legitimate, and the Bylaws of the organization he professes to love so well, not to mention those Court Orders that keep coming down the pipe.
Years ago, I explained to him that our Bylaws didn't allow for him to be the Legislative Chair. I pointed out the Bylaw, quoted the Bylaw - but no, the good Senator decided to heck with any of that. He'd do as he pleased and as Mr. Perricone pleased and on with the show.
Of late, he has even used his office to personally attack me to tens of thousands of Michigan citizens in an attempt to make them believe that I am wrong for expecting our organization, his and mine, to follow the law, the Bylaws and standing Court orders.
That would seem like enough, wouldn't it? Well, frankly, it is.
But let's take a look at that "Pro-Gun Senator" idea.
For the last seven months a very good Bill has been stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which the Senator is Chair. For those of you who know how committees work, you know that if the Chair wants it to move, it will move.
H.B. 4186 would give everyone the full 5 years they are paying for when they apply for the Concealed Pistols License and was passed by the House 109-0 on March 23rd.
109-0.
As it stands now, if someone has a CPL and then has to apply for a renewal, and they apply early to avoid letting their CPL run out before their renewal comes through, it is entirely possible to lose a month or two or even, as I did, four or more months. Introduced by Representative Tory Rocca in the first few days of February, 2005, the Bill would establish that when a person renews an expiring CPL, the starting date of the renewed license will be the expiration date of the old one, even if the person renews the license before it has expired.
Good Bill, seems sensible, no big deal, really. However, it was developed and offered by a Pro-Gun group that Senator Cropsey and Mr. Perricone, who served briefly as Speaker of the House and was then sent home, have decided are their "competition." How that works, I have no idea, but it's past time Senator Cropsey abandon that ill-founded idea and do more than give lip-service to the idea of being Pro-Gun.
Certainly, Mr. Perricone has been demonstrating for years that he was an Anti-Gunner, from working to establish Criminal Empowerment Zones to his recent interference with my Right to Keep and Bear Arms as a law abiding citizen.
But with Senator Cropsey heralding the Castle Doctrine Bill (also a good Bill) and shouting from the rooftops how Pro-Gun he is, I'm asking for some proof and so are a lot of other Pro-Gun activists.
H.B. 4186 is an excellent common sense Bill. It's been sitting waiting for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee since March 24th. Two-hundred-twenty-two days.
Move it, Senator Cropsey - the ball is in your Court, so to speak. Make it happen; you know you can. Put aside your feelings about the so-called competition and guide this Bill though to the success it deserves. Give CPL holders their money's worth.
Heaven knows gun owners are the reason you're in office. How about a little loyalty to your constituents?
But They Still Don't Get It...
Here is a perfect example of why this case has dragged on as long as it has....
Compare the Court Order of April 13, 2005 and the information contained in the following with what has been offered by MCRGO as a plan for compliance.
The addendum at the bottom of the page that refers to the "Ex-Parte Motion to Recall Warrant" was soundly rejected by the Judge, as earlier referenced.
The warrant remains outstanding and our attorney will be filing an objection to this "plan" today.
Such a foolish waste of time, energy and money.
Compare the Court Order of April 13, 2005 and the information contained in the following with what has been offered by MCRGO as a plan for compliance.
The addendum at the bottom of the page that refers to the "Ex-Parte Motion to Recall Warrant" was soundly rejected by the Judge, as earlier referenced.
The warrant remains outstanding and our attorney will be filing an objection to this "plan" today.
Such a foolish waste of time, energy and money.
Do the Right Thing - Part 2
Well, it's been five days since the Judge issued an arrest warrant for Dale Shantz President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners.
He has neither acknowledged the warrant, nor, as far as anyone knows, responded to it. He continues to ignore the Court's orders and has certainly not turned himself in, as any responsible, upright and law-abiding citizen would. Perhaps he is being told not to worry, that the warrant is no big deal, that Mr. Perricone will "take care of it" as he was told so often over the last three years.
Let's review that last three years. No, Mr. Shantz was not the organization's Chairman for all of that time, but he certainly sat on the Board of Directors and he has certainly defended the actions of an overpaid former Speaker of the House (please don't ever forget Mr. Perricone once briefly held office - he'd be quite upset if you did) and others who have blatantly violated the law and the Bylaws.
The organization went from over 12,000 members to its current 5,900. That is the number being given, but a recent discussion with a PAC member revealed it was more like 4,000. Either way, it is more than a fifty percent loss in three years. How long before it ends up just the hundred or so Life Members are left at this rate of attrition?
The organization has spent almost two years in Court fighting doing what is both legal and right. The cost has been tremendous. Their behavior cost them thousands of members and supporters and the cost of dragging this through the Courts in terms of dollars has been incredible. Certainly, the Cost to MCRGO members must now be approaching $100,000, especially because the Board continues to be in contempt and the fines and costs continue to mount. There is the contempt fine of $100 per day for every day they ignore the orders, and there is also the costs of any attorney fees, not only on their side, but to our attorney as he continues to try to get them to comply.
We will be back in Court today with yet another Show Cause motion, sadly enough.
When will this end? When the Board fully complies and the second Slander/Defamation suit is settled. That could also be years from now, but is not a case where the individual members of the Board will be able to hide behind MCRGO's corporate veil.
I don't know about you, but I think it's time Dale Shantz resigned. From the Chairmanship and from the Board. If he is not willing to set aside personal animosity and do the right thing for the organization, then he needs to relinquish the reins.
Before he does any further damage.
He has neither acknowledged the warrant, nor, as far as anyone knows, responded to it. He continues to ignore the Court's orders and has certainly not turned himself in, as any responsible, upright and law-abiding citizen would. Perhaps he is being told not to worry, that the warrant is no big deal, that Mr. Perricone will "take care of it" as he was told so often over the last three years.
Let's review that last three years. No, Mr. Shantz was not the organization's Chairman for all of that time, but he certainly sat on the Board of Directors and he has certainly defended the actions of an overpaid former Speaker of the House (please don't ever forget Mr. Perricone once briefly held office - he'd be quite upset if you did) and others who have blatantly violated the law and the Bylaws.
The organization went from over 12,000 members to its current 5,900. That is the number being given, but a recent discussion with a PAC member revealed it was more like 4,000. Either way, it is more than a fifty percent loss in three years. How long before it ends up just the hundred or so Life Members are left at this rate of attrition?
The organization has spent almost two years in Court fighting doing what is both legal and right. The cost has been tremendous. Their behavior cost them thousands of members and supporters and the cost of dragging this through the Courts in terms of dollars has been incredible. Certainly, the Cost to MCRGO members must now be approaching $100,000, especially because the Board continues to be in contempt and the fines and costs continue to mount. There is the contempt fine of $100 per day for every day they ignore the orders, and there is also the costs of any attorney fees, not only on their side, but to our attorney as he continues to try to get them to comply.
We will be back in Court today with yet another Show Cause motion, sadly enough.
When will this end? When the Board fully complies and the second Slander/Defamation suit is settled. That could also be years from now, but is not a case where the individual members of the Board will be able to hide behind MCRGO's corporate veil.
I don't know about you, but I think it's time Dale Shantz resigned. From the Chairmanship and from the Board. If he is not willing to set aside personal animosity and do the right thing for the organization, then he needs to relinquish the reins.
Before he does any further damage.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Anonymous Asked...
How is it that you are unarmed now? What have you done to lose your license? Details, need details.
--
Posted by Anonymous to Neva at 10/30/2005 12:24:12 PM
My answer:
Nothing - absolutely nothing. Read the rest of the blog, especially this post. I was notified that I had to appear in front of the Gun Board and that my license was immediately suspended. No details, no charges, no reasoning given.
I have done nothing other than continue to fight this case in Court. I have not been arrested or charged, and I have taken no action that would warrant such an egregious violation of my rights. When I know more, everyone will know more. I have never hidden anything and I will continue to bring all of this into the light.
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant." I love that quote - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis was right on target, I believe.
Read - you'll see. Look at the public documents available here. In fact, check back on Monday and look at the latest transcripts. You'll read of the MCRGO's attorney's objections to public documents being posted. They want to avoid the members being informed of the realities of what has happened.
I believe the membership has the right to know. I believe that Michigan State law must be complied with. I believe that the Bylaws, flawed as some of them are, must also be complied with. I believe in ethics and putting aside personal feelings to make sure that our organization is following the right and legal path.
That's what this two year long fight has been about and that is what this fight will continue to be about.
The fight will end when the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners Board of Directors makes the decisions, and follows through on them, to correct its violations and get back to the business of the fight for firearms rights.
Some Thoughts...
I wonder if the attorney for MCRGO, who should be reporting to the Board and explaining their legal rights and responsibilities to them, is doing so.
I wonder if he is doing what he is supposed to be doing for the organization or just reporting to, listening to, and taking orders from Mr. Perricone.
I wonder if he's told Dale Shantz, "Don't worry about the warrant; Chuck and I are taking care of it."
I wonder if some of the members of the Board of Directors might be considering getting their own attorneys since this has now gotten to the point where individuals are going to jail.
I wonder how soon we will see Dale Shantz resign as Chairman, President and Director on the Board.
I wonder if it's already happened.
I wonder if the rest of the Board is now ready to see Mr. Kliemann step up to the plate as Acting Chair.
I wonder when the Board will start complying with the Law, the Bylaws and the Court's orders.
I wonder if he is doing what he is supposed to be doing for the organization or just reporting to, listening to, and taking orders from Mr. Perricone.
I wonder if he's told Dale Shantz, "Don't worry about the warrant; Chuck and I are taking care of it."
I wonder if some of the members of the Board of Directors might be considering getting their own attorneys since this has now gotten to the point where individuals are going to jail.
I wonder how soon we will see Dale Shantz resign as Chairman, President and Director on the Board.
I wonder if it's already happened.
I wonder if the rest of the Board is now ready to see Mr. Kliemann step up to the plate as Acting Chair.
I wonder when the Board will start complying with the Law, the Bylaws and the Court's orders.
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