June 4th edition
Gun Owners' Action League.
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In This Issue.
  • News Bytes.  Select Local and National News Stories
  • Governor Patrick blames GOAL.  AGAIN!
  • Victory!  GOAL's Members rise to occasion again to block proposed anti civil rights legislation.
  • Deval Patrick blames GOAL for lack of progress on his unconstitutional legislation.
  • GOAL Summer Banquet with New England Patriot Matt Light
  • Veterans photos needed for special tribute
  • Candidate information needed!
  • Spring Fling Raffle
  • Upcoming Events
  • Women on Target, for Ladies only, sign up today!
  • Sign up for a great class at GOAL
  • Gunsmiths wanted
  • Note About Forwarding The Friday News
News/Editorials and other tidbits from the Web.

Governor Patrick blames GOAL AGAIN!
GOAL Shield LogoGun Control, the Common Enemy

June 3, 2010

There are currently two groups of people in Massachusetts that share a common enemy. The first group consists of the victims of violent crimes and their families. The second group is the law abiding citizens who are simply trying to exercise their civil rights. It should be clear to all that we cannot compare the tragic loss of life on our city streets due to violent crimes to the burdensome oppressive laws regarding lawful firearm ownership. Still, it should be equally clear that both groups share a common enemy and its name is "gun control".

In 1998 the Massachusetts legislature passed the Gun Control Act, more commonly referred to as "Chapter 180". Those of us who fought the battle against this misguided new social experiment called gun control can still hear the echoes of the false promises made by its proponents. Remember the press conferences where they claimed we would be leading the nation in common sense gun control legislation while still respecting the rights of lawful gun owners?

More than a decade later criminal violence with firearms has risen at an alarming rate in Massachusetts. At the same time, licensed gun ownership has been decreased by nearly 85%. Those few left that are legally able to own a gun live under a set of laws, regulations and policies that are incomprehensible. One thing that should be abundantly clear to everyone is that the Commonwealth has over a decade of evidence that proves beyond any doubt that gun control is a failure.

Deval on NECNJust yesterday the Governor of the Commonwealth said this: Governor Deval Patrick on NECN Broadside June 2, 2010: "We haven't got any tools in place in terms of how we control the flow of illegal guns, how we deal with these dangerousness hearings, which is something we have proposed, for people who commit crimes using a gun...and the gun lobby is so prominent, so present up on Beacon Hill that we can't even have a conversation about it, a serious debate in the legislature about it and that bothers me..."


Read the rest on goal.org
Victory!  GOAL Members rise to occasion!
GOAL Shield LogoCORI Bill Update
May 27, 2010
 
Over the past few days GOAL members have received several requests for action by the GOAL staff due to the busy pace of legislation at the State House. We are very pleased to tell our members that your response in the way of phone calls and emails to your legislators has been very successful.
Over the course of two days GOAL alerted our members to four action items.
 
1.   The Senate budget contained an amendment (#121) that would have adopted language allowing the courts to hold citizens without bail for simple unlicensed possession of certain types of firearms.
2.   During the House debate on H.4703, the "CORI Bill" (Criminal Offender Record Information) two amendments were filed:
a.   Amendment # 29 would have changed the laws regarding the private sales and transfers of guns to be done though a licensed dealer.
b.   Amendment #30 would have provided a 10 year prison sentence for the attempt of or commission of a misdemeanor while carrying a firearm while committing or threatening physical harm of another. (This language is very loose and could have led to serious criminal issues for minor offenses.)
3.   During the House debate on H.4703, the "CORI Bill" section 113 of the bill would have allowed the courts to hold citizens without bail for simple unlicensed possession of certain types of firearms. This language would have been in violation of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling Commonwealth vs. Young. This decision ruled that simple unlicensed possession is a "passive and victimless crime".

GOAL offered an amendment to this section through Rep. George Peterson to correct the language putting it in line with the SJC ruling. Our amendment would have tightened up what the courts could consider and provided a tougher tool for prosecutors.
 
Working together we were successful in defeating the Senate budget amendment (#121) and the two anti-civil rights amendments (#29 & #30) to H.4703. 

The biggest challenge came with attempting to fix section 113 of H.4703. Sam Sutter, the District Attorney from Bristol County was trying to put a lot of pressure on House members to give the courts the ability to hold citizens for simple unlicensed possession in spite of the SJC ruling.
 
Because of your quick response to the action alerts, your phone calls and emails told legislators you were paying attention and wanted this done right. In the end we did not get our original amendment, but we were able to substantially change the section to protect citizens from wrongful detention without bail for simple possession. The language that we were successful in attaining can be found below.
 
Congratulations to all of our members who reacted so quickly to GOAL's action alerts this week.Many times during this legislative push our staff was told by legislators that they had received communications on these matters. We would also urge our members to send a note of thanks to Rep. George Peterson for his tremendous efforts on this bill.
 
Note: The last sentence dealing with feeding devices may be a little confusing to some. It was put there due to an argument from GOAL during the senate debates on this in February. At that time we successfully argued that someone driving through the Commonwealth with a high cap magazine in their vehicle, and nothing else, should never be held as a dangerous person. In this new House language it wasn't necessary to add because of the changes we were able to attain, but it also does no harm. All it means is that if you are a felon, person on bail, or on probation and you are arrested for unlawful possession of a high cap magazine, you must also have possession of the gun to be held under this law.
More about this legislation
Deval Patrick blames GOAL for lack of progress on HIS unconstitutional legislation.  GOAL responds.
PATRICK TAGS GUN LOBBY WITH LACK OF PROGRESS ON GUN BILL


By Jim O'Sullivan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 10, 2010...... Gov. Deval Patrick blamed firearms lobbyists Monday for his gun control legislation's lack of progress amid another murder of a child over the weekend, drawing a quick rebuke from the Gun Owners Action League, who called Patrick's bill flawed and ineffective. 

Hours after speaking with the mother of Jaewon Martin, the 14-year-old murdered on a Boston basketball court Saturday, Patrick told reporters, "Look, there's a lot of volume that the gun lobby has in this building, but it seems to me that people in neighborhoods, those mothers that are losing their children on the streets of our cities, the law enforcement who are having to deal with the proliferation of illegal firearms out there, used in the course of crime - those voices need to be raised, and those voices are greater in number, and I think at the end of the day greater in significance than the gun lobby."

The state's top firearms policy group said Patrick had mischaracterized lobbyists' work.

James Wallace, executive director of GOAL, replied, "My first question is: Who's the gun lobby? ... I don't lobby for guns, I lobby for people. That's one of the tools they use to dehumanize us. We lobby for . . . civil rights and public safety."

More on GOAL.org

Watch GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace's video reply here.
GOAL Summer Banquet, June 19th!
Freedom Will Prevail 2010
Gun Owners' Action League
Summer Event June 19, 2010
 GOAL Shield LogoBy attending this special event you will help present a strong unified voice for all lawful Massachusetts gun owners.  A voice that needs to be heard loud and clear on election day.  Your attendance reflects the strength of our organization that just last week stopped several anti-civil rights actions at the State House.

Stand with us and be counted at "Freedom Will Prevail 2010"


Hello Everyone,

During this election year GOAL would like to invite you to join us at our "Freedom Will Prevail 2010" Summer Banquet on Saturday June 19th at the Boxborough Holiday Inn! 

Purchase tickets here!

Here is why YOU should attend!
  • Meet great people, other GOAL members!
  • Have a great meal, couples stay the night at the hotel, make a weekend of it!
  • Guest speakers include Sandy Froman past president of the NRA, Allan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation, and Matt Light of the New England Patriots, and more!
  • You attendance will support GOAL in all that we do to represent your constitutional rights!
  • Meet and discuss Second Amendment issues with Massachusetts legislatures that will be in attendance.
  • Plus, by attending you will have a great chance of winning many great prizes!  (see below)
We will have lots of great prizes that can only be won by attending the banquet, including 6 great guns!
* AR15 Carbine
* Glock 22
* CMP M1 Garand (Certificate presented which winner can use to claim from CMP)
* Saiga 12 ga
* Remington 597
* Mossberg 535
* Thompson Center Muzzleloader

Tickets start at only $40.00 each.  Please support GOAL and come to the banquet for a great night!  

*Hurry, ticket sales for this event will close on June 14th!*

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here!

Thanks, we hope to see you there, please support GOAL, we depend on YOU!

A special request to Veterans and Family Members of.

The GOAL Staff is putting together a special photo tribute to our Veterans.

This tribute will be shown at our Summer Banquet on June 19th (see above for details)

If you have a military photograph of yourself, a friend, or a family member that you would like to share, please email it to me, mike@goal.org.

Thank you all!
We need help with Candidates!
GOAL Shield Logo Help us, help you, make great decisions on election day! 

One of the fantastic after effects of Scott Brown being elected is a new resurgence of people that are willing to not only get involved by working for campaigns, but also to run for office.

There are more new candidates running for office this November within Massachusetts than we can recall seeing for a long time.  In order to sort through them we are asking for some help.  If you are a candidate for a county, state, or national office, or if you know or work for a candidate, please ask them to fill out one of our new candidate questionnaires.

This will give us a great read on how much a candidate knows, and cares about Second Amendment Issues.  After completing we will grade the questionnaire and post that grade on our Candidate Ratings Pages.  (See below)
*Note:  The U.S. Congress ratings are courtesy of the NRA.  Also note that ALL of our current incumbents up for re-election have an "F" grade.
Spring Fling Raffle!
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GOAL Shield Logo
Hurry, time is running out for this raffle!
Spring is here and that means it's time for the Spring Fling Raffle!
Support GOAL and enter for a chance to win a great shopping trip at Kittery Trading Post!

The prizes are as follows:
  • 1st Prize: $1,000.00 Kittery Trading Post Gift Card
  • 2nd Prize: $500.00 Kittery Trading Post Gift Card
  • 3rd Prize: $250.00 Kittery Trading Post Gift Card
The drawing will be held at the GOAL Banquet on June 19, 2010. All MAILED and ONLINE entries must be received in the office by noon on June 17, 2010.

Click here to purchase online

Click here to download a mailable order form

You can also purchase tickets by phone @ 508-393-5333 or in person at the GOAL office

Thanks and best of luck all!

If you would like to see the winners from our Annual Raffle, click here

Upcoming Events
GOAL Shield LogoGOAL Affiliated Club Events:
If your club is officially affiliated with Gun Owners' Action League and is running an event of some sort, here is where you can advertise it. Please email me the information (who, what, when, where, how much) or a link to your  web page.  For a full listing of shooting competitions go to www.goalshooters.org.

More events here

Are you planning a wedding, birthday, or other special event? Check out our listing of Affiliated Club Function Halls
Women on Target!
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The GOAL Foundation presents Women On Target eventsall over Massachusetts. If you are interested in a great day of fun and education for ladies only check out our listing of scheduled events!
Great Classes available at GOAL!

New classes added at The GOAL Foundation!

Full Schedule of courses here!
Gunsmiths wanted!
GOAL Shield Logo
We are going to be adding a listing page of local gunsmith's to GOAL.org.

If you are a GOAL member and a gunsmith and would like to be added please email me your contact information and we will get you listed.

Please include.
  • all pertinent contact info
  • what types of guns you work on
  • what you specialize in
  • any other pertinent information.
Please email it to me.  mike@goal.org.

Thanks
 

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FORWARDING THE FRIDAY NEWS!

Dear subscribers, it has come to our attention that some of you have become "unsubscribed" from our e-mailings as of late.

This is due to the method used when forwarding this e-mail.  PLEASE NOTE, if you would like to forward this e-mail, use the "forward" option at the bottom of this page.

Forwarding this email as you would any other could cause you to become unsubscribed should any of the recipients choose to "opt out".

If you ever do need to subscribe, or if you know anybody that would like to receive this, it is now easier than ever to get on our list, simply go to http://goal.org/joinourlist.html to subscribe

Thanks to all for supporting GOAL! 

Join/Support GOAL,  Protecting YOUR freedom begins here!

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Sincerely,
 
Mike Sweeney
GOAL Communications Manager
Gun Owners' Action League