Would you post a letter to protest the CJB?

Sparks

Okay, here's a nutso idea. Let's say we draft the text of a form protest letter to the head of the Dail Select Committee and put it up here as a word file, a pdf, and any other format going. How many of you would download it, print it off, sign it, stick it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it off?
(Stamps cost 48cents for a <100g letter these days, don't forget)

Chopperdog

Sparks,

Why should one protest about something that has not been published yet?
To the best of my reckoning nobody outside of Dail Eireann even knows for sure how the bill will effect us as shooters.
Why stir up sh1t un-necessarily?

Methinks that someone just likes the sound of their own voice.........

Sparks

Chopperdog wrote:

Why should one protest about something that has not been published yet?

Because once published, it requires another Bill to be drafted and passed through the Dail and Seanad in order to amend the offending one, by which time a great deal of damage may have been done.

To the best of my reckoning nobody outside of Dail Eireann even knows for sure how the bill will effect us as shooters.

Unless you know the future, none of us know how it will affect shooting; but there are precious few of us who can't guess what's going to happen next here:

Why stir up sh1t un-necessarily?

I'd agree - if I thought it unnecessary. Have you not read the proposed amendments?

Methinks that someone just likes the sound of their own voice.........

Methinks you're wrong.

Clare gunner

Heck,there should be a copy of that proposed legislation in every gun shop,gun club,pub,magazine and anywhere where us shooters frequentwith a petition form under it to sign in protest ,to be mailed out by a certain date.
There is still a chance of influencing this,BUT we had better get thumbs out and invest in a stamp and envelope.

Dvs

Hello All,
I am gathering a list of Senators to write to all of them,
this is the time to get off our collective backsides and write to these people and the members of the committee that are in control of this list of proposed ammendments Now!

Do Not, sit on your hands and wait for someone else to do it.

Do Not, sit on your hands because you think it might draw attention to you by virtue of speaking out.

Do Not, sit around bitching about, how we can't do anything,
they will do what they want anyway,only if you let them,
the Minister for Justice seems to have forgotten, that he is a servant of the people not a Dictator.
Remind him that the Republic of Ireland is a democracy!

Do Not, wait until this is passed unoppossed, and then spout on about your lost freedoms, and the fact that nobody did anything to stop it !


Do Not, just read what is posted on the boards, about theses proposed ammendments.

Read these proposed ammendments,
and see how Draconian and non-specific they are,
a catch all designed to stop anyone challenging,Superintendents,
the Garda Commissioner or the Minister For Justice,
on their directives,regulations,restrictions,
and anything else they decide to do.

Safe guards of the Law, and Irish Constitution will be rendered void !



Dvs.

Sparks

Dvs wrote:

Hello All,
I am gathering a list of Senators to write to all of them,

The members of the 22nd Seanad
Hope that helps, Dvs.

this is the time to get off our collective backsides and write to these people and the members of the committee that are in control of this list of proposed ammendments Now!

Agreed. But so far, out of 220,000 licenced firearms owners in the state, 11 have said they'd post a letter and one's said that it's a big put-up job. Which we pretty much expected, to be honest. That's why I was thinking of making it as easy as possible for shooters to do this; sort of like the Sellafield postcard campaign a while back. Pick one guy (the chairman of the committee), lay out one form letter, and then get as many as we can to send it to him with their signatures on it.

the Minister for Justice seems to have forgotten, that he is a servant of the people not a Dictator.
Remind him that the Republic of Ireland is a democracy!

In fairness Dvs, that wouldn't help much. Complaining to the Minister that he's being dictatorial is both complaining to the wrong person and not terribly likely to do anything but irritate him. And we've just seen what happens when we try that.

Do Not, wait until this is passed unoppossed, and then spout on about your lost freedoms, and the fact that nobody did anything to stop it !

Amen to that. The old lads in the sport now can complain about losing it all in '72 all they want - what we're looking at here could be much, much worse if it goes bad. And I don't plan on waiting till I'm in my 60s before I get my sport back thanks!

de_shadow

Quote ["But so far, out of 220,000 licenced firearms owners in the state, 11 have said they'd post a letter "]

I know and im sure others here know plenty of shooters who are not boards members who would sign a letter and post it off , i'm also in close proximity to 3 gunsmiths/ shops where i could leave a few dozen photocopies for others to sign im sure they wouldn't mind what affects their customers affects them.

Sparks

Hmmm. True 'nuff. Might be a runner so. We'd want a short, discipline-neutral statement that didn't dive off the deep end. Anyone got any suggested wordings?

Clare gunner

I know and im sure others here know plenty of shooters who are not boards members who would sign a letter and post it off , i'm also in close proximity to 3 gunsmiths/ shops where i could leave a few dozen photocopies for others to sign im sure they wouldn't mind what affects their customers affects them.

Would it not be worth the few quids to put a notice in the Irish shooters Digest and a sample petition,for Jans edition as well?I'm sure Eric the editor] will see us right on this?

Sparks

Thing about petitions, CG, is that you can get 1000 signatures, and it's what, 35 pages? Send 1000 letters though, you get 1000 pages. More of an impact, I would have thought (and we're past the idea of pure logic and rationale there and into PR, I know, but that's the nature of the beast).

I think the Digest would carry the letter for free if it became popular enough; it's in Eric's best interests to see the community survive, after all, since he's basicly only got us and the gardai as customers

Clare gunner

Sparks wrote:

Thing about petitions, CG, is that you can get 1000 signatures, and it's what, 35 pages? Send 1000 letters though, you get 1000 pages. More of an impact, I would have thought (and we're past the idea of pure logic and rationale there and into PR, I know, but that's the nature of the beast).
Ok whatever,petition and letter.As you know most people will set a signature more quiickly than compose a letter.So maybe a detachable letter that all you have to do is sign.Proably some lazy tight wads out there would want the envelope and stamp as well.Not to mind us posting it as well for them:rolleyes:

FLAG

Dear All

Please read the proposed amendments together with the notes, the notes are important as these notes give a clear understanding of the intention of the particular section.

It is possible that we can change some aspects of the proposed legislation, I do not believe protesting the amendments in total will achieve anything, it is time to clearly outline our specific concerns with the specific amendments.

Some comments to date have been well made and need to be relayed to the people who are advising the Minister, like for example a one year license to reload when the firearms certificate is 3 years, personally I have a very specific concern about the conditions for the grant of a restricted firearm:
"(c) the restricted firearm is of such a unique type as to be the only weapon appropriate for the purpose [sought]."

Note:
This Head amends section 3 of the 1925 Act by the insertion of a number of new subheads governing the grant of firearms certificates.

A Superintendent shall refuse an application for a firearm certificate if the application is for a firearm or ammunition which has been deemed restricted by Order of the Minister. In effect this provides that a Superintendent cannot issue a firearms certificates in respect of firearms once it has been deemed "restricted".

The Head only allows a firearm certificate to be issued in respect of a "restricted" firearm by the Gárda Commissioner, or a person designated in that regard by the Commissioner.

Provision is also been made for an appeal to the District Court against a refusal of a certificate or an authorisation.

Finally, provision is being made requiring a decision on a firearms certificate to be issued within 3 months of receipt of an application.


This to me means that they could narrow ownership of restricted firearms to a known maker and configuration.

My suggestion is that if one has a specific issue with a particular amendment, write down your specific concerns, what effect that you might think the application of the amendment may have and most importantly a suggested alternative:

Unfortunately anonymous submissions are useless and do not waste your time writing them, please refer any written query to flagireland@eircom.net and I can assure you that it will be raised with the appropriate people.

Sparks

Thanks Declan, but firstly there's been no suggestion of anonymous submissions, and secondly as I said above, one letter arriving, even with a few thousand names, will not have as much effect as even a few hundred all arriving from different people.

Besides, I've been left with little confidence in our current representatives given what we're seeing in the amendments, thanks.