URGENT: Your calls and emails needed for final passage TOMORROW South Dakota Gun Owners Email Alert Network
PO Box 3845 Rapid City, SD 57709
605.221.5766
[email protected]
www.SDG
rg
February 14, 2008
Action:
Your grassroots pressure has proved highly effective once again. The vote to “smoke-out” HB 1261 passed the Senate today (see below for background). This means that the vote for final passage on HB 1261 will be tomorrow.
1. Please call or email (or both!) the Senators listed below. They are the “swing seats” on this vote and it is crucial that they hear from you right away. The vote will most likely be taken before 12:30 tomorrow afternoon.
Your email can simply be “Please vote YES on HB 1261” in the subject line. You can also copy and paste the sample message below or feel free to compose your own message.
The number to call is (605) 773-3821. A legislative page will be there to take your call any time after 8 am. You can leave a message for up to two Senators with each call. Your message need be no more than “Please vote YES on HB 1261.”
Sen. Bob Gray - [email protected]
Sen. Gary Hanson - [email protected]
Sen. Gil Koetzle - [email protected]
Sen. Orville Smidt - [email protected]
Link Removed2. Contact your Senator to remind him or her of your support. How each one voted on the “smoke-out” is listed below. It is very important that the Senators who voted for the “smoke-out” hear from their constituents. This will help keep them from changing their votes. You can find out who your Senator is by clicking here:
Link Removed
Simply enter your address under ”My Elected Officials” and click “GO.”
“Smoke-out” vote on HB 1261
Voting pro-gun (to bring HB 1261 to the floor)
Sen. Abdallah
Sen. Albers
Sen. Apa
Sen. Bartling
Sen. Duenwald
Sen. Gant
Sen. Garnos
Sen. Greenfield
Sen. Hauge
Sen. Kloucek
Sen. Lintz
Sen. Maher
Sen. McNenny
Sen. Napoli
Sen. Peterson
Sen. Schmidt (Dennis)
Voting anti-gun (not to bring HB 1261 to the floor)
Sen. Dempste
Sen. Gray
Sen. Hansen (Tom)
Sen. Hanson (Gary)
Sen. Heidepriem
Sen. Hoerth
Sen. Hundstad
Sen. Hunhoff
Sen. Jerstad
Sen. Katus
Sen. Knudson
Sen. Koetzle
Sen. McCracken
Sen. Nesselhuf
Sen. Olson
Sen. Smidt (Orville)
Sen. Sutton
Sen. Turbak Berry
Sen. Two Bulls
The “smoke-out” was successful because it received more than twelve YES votes.
---Sample message---
Dear Senator,
I strongly support HB 1261, which would recognize the right to self-defense on state college campuses.
The current patchwork of “gun free” policies on college campuses throughout South Dakota is simply appalling. “Gun free” zone signs don’t stop armed criminals. Turning colleges into “gun free” zones via school policy only invites another horrific massacre.
Experience has proven that “gun free” zones are far from gun free. In fact, virtually every major mass shooting in recent history has been committed in a so-called “gun free” zone. A “gun free” zone simply means that the law-abiding can’t defend themselves from armed criminals.
Why should a person have less freedom and safety than anyone else simply because he or she goes to college? If a person is responsible enough to cast a vote, fight a war, own a gun, carry a gun and exercise every other right of citizenship that every other adult citizen enjoys, then why should he or she be disarmed and defenseless at institutions of higher learning?
Sen. Dennis Schmidt has sponsored HB 1261 to recognize the right to self-defense on college campuses. If it is passed, HB 1261 will simply allow adults who can legally carry anywhere else in the state to carry on campus. Statistics clearly demonstrate that the right to carry is a strong deterrent to mass shootings. HB 1261 will help protect South Dakota colleges from a Virginia Tech-style massacre.
Please vote YES on HB 1261. South Dakota Gun Owners will keep me informed on how you vote.
Respectfully,
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
Seven left-leaning Senators tried to bury the right to carry on campus bill (HB 1261) in their committee. They were hoping to stifle this popular pro-gun bill by refusing to send it to the Senate floor for a vote.
But thanks to your grassroots pressure, the 16 Senators voted successfully to “smoke” the bill out of committee and bring it to the Senate floor where it can then be voted on by the entire Senate body.
The anti-gun crowd in Pierre claims that in the event of a mass shooting, law-enforcement would shoot anybody who had a gun and ask questions later.
“‘We would have shot anybody who came out of that building with a weapon,’” stated Board of Regents lawyer Jim Shekleton in a supposed quote from law-enforcement after Virginia Tech.
To bolster his far-out claim, Shekleton recruited Vermillion Police Chief Art Mabry to speak before the Senate committee.
“We go in with the presumption that we have guns, and the bad guy has guns, and there’s no other guns in there,” stated Mabry.
“If other guns are in there, there’s a good chance that someone’s going to get hurt, someone’s going to get killed, and it’s probably not going to be the police officers. We will give that person instructions to drop the weapon now. After the word ‘now’ comes out of our mouth, if that gun isn’t on the floor, we’re going to start firing.”
This outrageous assertion is a slap in the face of South Dakota’s responsible and well trained law-enforcement officers.
“The rules governing use of force govern law-enforcement officers, too,” stated Rapid City SWAT training officer Martin Sonnenfeld. “We’re not going to just shoot people because they have a gun in their hand.”
But the facts have never stood in the way of anti-gun politicians.
Senate Majority Leader Dave Knudson led the vote against the right to carry on campus bill.
“I can’t see this as preventing tragedy so much as promoting it,” Knudson stated.
In other words, law-abiding citizens simply can’t be trusted with the right to bear arms in self-defense. Sen. Knudson’s vote against HB 1261 is the latest in his growing list of anti-gun votes.
PO Box 3845 Rapid City, SD 57709
605.221.5766
[email protected]
www.SDG
rg February 14, 2008
Action:
Your grassroots pressure has proved highly effective once again. The vote to “smoke-out” HB 1261 passed the Senate today (see below for background). This means that the vote for final passage on HB 1261 will be tomorrow.
1. Please call or email (or both!) the Senators listed below. They are the “swing seats” on this vote and it is crucial that they hear from you right away. The vote will most likely be taken before 12:30 tomorrow afternoon.
Your email can simply be “Please vote YES on HB 1261” in the subject line. You can also copy and paste the sample message below or feel free to compose your own message.
The number to call is (605) 773-3821. A legislative page will be there to take your call any time after 8 am. You can leave a message for up to two Senators with each call. Your message need be no more than “Please vote YES on HB 1261.”
Sen. Bob Gray - [email protected]
Sen. Gary Hanson - [email protected]
Sen. Gil Koetzle - [email protected]
Sen. Orville Smidt - [email protected]
Link Removed2. Contact your Senator to remind him or her of your support. How each one voted on the “smoke-out” is listed below. It is very important that the Senators who voted for the “smoke-out” hear from their constituents. This will help keep them from changing their votes. You can find out who your Senator is by clicking here:
Link Removed
Simply enter your address under ”My Elected Officials” and click “GO.”
“Smoke-out” vote on HB 1261
Voting pro-gun (to bring HB 1261 to the floor)
Sen. Abdallah
Sen. Albers
Sen. Apa
Sen. Bartling
Sen. Duenwald
Sen. Gant
Sen. Garnos
Sen. Greenfield
Sen. Hauge
Sen. Kloucek
Sen. Lintz
Sen. Maher
Sen. McNenny
Sen. Napoli
Sen. Peterson
Sen. Schmidt (Dennis)
Voting anti-gun (not to bring HB 1261 to the floor)
Sen. Dempste
Sen. Gray
Sen. Hansen (Tom)
Sen. Hanson (Gary)
Sen. Heidepriem
Sen. Hoerth
Sen. Hundstad
Sen. Hunhoff
Sen. Jerstad
Sen. Katus
Sen. Knudson
Sen. Koetzle
Sen. McCracken
Sen. Nesselhuf
Sen. Olson
Sen. Smidt (Orville)
Sen. Sutton
Sen. Turbak Berry
Sen. Two Bulls
The “smoke-out” was successful because it received more than twelve YES votes.
---Sample message---
Dear Senator,
I strongly support HB 1261, which would recognize the right to self-defense on state college campuses.
The current patchwork of “gun free” policies on college campuses throughout South Dakota is simply appalling. “Gun free” zone signs don’t stop armed criminals. Turning colleges into “gun free” zones via school policy only invites another horrific massacre.
Experience has proven that “gun free” zones are far from gun free. In fact, virtually every major mass shooting in recent history has been committed in a so-called “gun free” zone. A “gun free” zone simply means that the law-abiding can’t defend themselves from armed criminals.
Why should a person have less freedom and safety than anyone else simply because he or she goes to college? If a person is responsible enough to cast a vote, fight a war, own a gun, carry a gun and exercise every other right of citizenship that every other adult citizen enjoys, then why should he or she be disarmed and defenseless at institutions of higher learning?
Sen. Dennis Schmidt has sponsored HB 1261 to recognize the right to self-defense on college campuses. If it is passed, HB 1261 will simply allow adults who can legally carry anywhere else in the state to carry on campus. Statistics clearly demonstrate that the right to carry is a strong deterrent to mass shootings. HB 1261 will help protect South Dakota colleges from a Virginia Tech-style massacre.
Please vote YES on HB 1261. South Dakota Gun Owners will keep me informed on how you vote.
Respectfully,
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
Seven left-leaning Senators tried to bury the right to carry on campus bill (HB 1261) in their committee. They were hoping to stifle this popular pro-gun bill by refusing to send it to the Senate floor for a vote.
But thanks to your grassroots pressure, the 16 Senators voted successfully to “smoke” the bill out of committee and bring it to the Senate floor where it can then be voted on by the entire Senate body.
The anti-gun crowd in Pierre claims that in the event of a mass shooting, law-enforcement would shoot anybody who had a gun and ask questions later.
“‘We would have shot anybody who came out of that building with a weapon,’” stated Board of Regents lawyer Jim Shekleton in a supposed quote from law-enforcement after Virginia Tech.
To bolster his far-out claim, Shekleton recruited Vermillion Police Chief Art Mabry to speak before the Senate committee.
“We go in with the presumption that we have guns, and the bad guy has guns, and there’s no other guns in there,” stated Mabry.
“If other guns are in there, there’s a good chance that someone’s going to get hurt, someone’s going to get killed, and it’s probably not going to be the police officers. We will give that person instructions to drop the weapon now. After the word ‘now’ comes out of our mouth, if that gun isn’t on the floor, we’re going to start firing.”
This outrageous assertion is a slap in the face of South Dakota’s responsible and well trained law-enforcement officers.
“The rules governing use of force govern law-enforcement officers, too,” stated Rapid City SWAT training officer Martin Sonnenfeld. “We’re not going to just shoot people because they have a gun in their hand.”
But the facts have never stood in the way of anti-gun politicians.
Senate Majority Leader Dave Knudson led the vote against the right to carry on campus bill.
“I can’t see this as preventing tragedy so much as promoting it,” Knudson stated.
In other words, law-abiding citizens simply can’t be trusted with the right to bear arms in self-defense. Sen. Knudson’s vote against HB 1261 is the latest in his growing list of anti-gun votes.
