MICHIGAN COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERS "Promoting safe use and ownership of firearms through education, litigation, and legislation." MCRGO MONDAY E'NEWS MCRGO 25: The Early History This past week, MCRGO reached 20,000 current members. MCRGO passed 10,000 members in the fall of 2019. This explosive growth is due to a surge in interest in defensive carry as a result of COVID-19 related anxiety, civil unrest this past summer, and the presidential election. MCRGO hopes to reach 25,000 members for its 25th anniversary this November. For all the new members, welcome! The article below shared from the Spring & Fall 2019 On Target newsletters explains how our organization came to be. The article's primary source of information is the late Dr. David K. Felbeck's "Successful Political Activism – A Michigan Case Study" presented at the Scholars’ Summit of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy on November 10, 2001. The photo comes from former MCRGO President Glen Griffith. In Michigan prior to 2001, a person's ability to receive a concealed pistols license largely depended on where she lived or who he knew. Some counties issued a nonrestricted license to anyone who qualified. Some issued licenses only to people who could show a need and those were often restricted for work or range purposes. Some county gun boards, composed of the local sheriff, prosecutor, and state police representative, issued licenses to political supporters of those in office. And some counties were essentially no-issue. County gun boards were created by the Michigan Firearms Act (Public Act 372 of 1927) after an incident in 1925 when Ossian Sweet, an African-American physician, was charged with murder after he and friends used armed self-defense against a violent white crowd protesting his moving into their neighborhood. The may-issue system under the oversight of the county gun boards was designed to prevent minorities from carrying firearms for self-defense. As violent crime increased in the late 1960s-1980s, many counties became increasingly reluctant to issue licenses to the general population. In 1987, Florida became the first major state to institute shall-issue concealed carry although nine smaller states including Indiana had already moved to shall-issue or had unrestricted carry. The “Florida Revolution” set off a wave of states adopting shall-issue during the 1990s. By 2000, 31 states had moved to shall-issue or were unrestricted. Michigan came late in following Florida's example although it wasn't from a lack of effort on behalf of firearms activists and supportive legislators. In 1993, State Representative Alan Cropsey introduced shall-issue legislation. The bill failed under Democratic leadership in the House. Cropsey re-introduced his legislation in 1995. At the time, Michigan had a handful of differing firearms groups. Brass Roots, which had its foundations in the Michigan Libertarian Party, was the most vocal and noticed at the capital. Brass Roots took the position that all firearms laws were unconstitutional. Its no-compromise position resulted in the group aggressively targeting legislators and even protesting Cropsey's bill. Not surprisingly, Brass Roots' behavior alienated many legislators. While Cropsey's bill received a committee hearing that session that included many people testifying in favor of it, it failed a committee discharge motion on the House floor and died. By 1996, increasing use of the internet resulted in the birth of new organizations including Michigan RKBA, the Michigan Firearms Coalition, and Michigun. But each of these groups suffered from the same credibility problems as Brass Roots in taking an “all or nothing” position. It was due to this lack of progress that eight frustrated activists met at 8:00 PM on November 26, 1996 at Finley's restaurant in Lansing to lay out a new approach. The principles agreed upon at the meeting included: Supporting pro-gun legislation, supporting pro-gun legislators, working directly with local gun boards for change, and uniting different gun groups and activists who favored a more pragmatic strategy in making Michigan a shall-issue state. Word got out and, when the group met a second time on January 31, 1997 at Chief Okemos Sportsman's Club in Dimondale, its numbers grew. It was here that the creation of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners was formalized. The mission statement read: "To promote the responsible, legal ownership and usage of firearms through education and legislative action." The word “responsible” was emphasized to stress a desire to work with the Michigan Legislature to enact laws that made improvements, even if they were not perfect. The formation of MCRGO in 1996 was the catalyst for change in how Michigan gun activist worked toward the goal of shall-issue concealed carry. No longer were they focused on an all or nothing strategy, but instead an achievable mission using grassroots lobbying techniques. The founders saw clearly, after the difficulties with the Cropsey bills under antagonistic House leadership, that the only reliable way to assure meaningful firearms reform, including subjects beyond concealed carry reform, was to elect legislators sympathetic to the rights of firearms owners. MCRGO therefore created three entities: MCRGO, a Michigan non-profit; MCRGO Political Action Committee (PAC); and the MCRGO Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization for legal purposes. In early 1998, the membership of MCRGO had reached about 3,500, still with no paid staff. Two of the founders, Ross Dykman and Rod Collins, each of whom lived in the Lansing area and served as President for portions of this period, became active lobbyists in all their spare time. Identifying and publicizing those legislators who supported firearms rights and those who did not became a significant function of the MCRGO leadership. Before the 1998 election the House was split 58 Democrats to 52 Republicans, and the Democratic leadership, while promising to bring the shall-issue bill to a vote, never did. Thus a change in the House leadership (the Senate was Republican, though not universally in favor of CCW reform) was imperative to achieving change. Three districts held by Democrats looked like close races. In each case, MCRGO contributed funds to the candidates, sent in full-time volunteers when possible, organized town-hall meetings for the candidates, and worked to get out the vote. These three victories turned the House around to 58 Republicans and 52 Democrats, and Representative Chuck Perricone was elected Speaker. He never forgot what MCRGO had achieved. Alan Cropsey was term-limited out of the House in 1998, so Representative Mike Green submitted a shall-issue bill, HB 4530, in early 1999. Extensive testimony was given before House and Senate committees. These were very well attended, particularly by representatives of MCRGO, and the vocal opposition of earlier years was much subdued. The publication of John Lott's book, More Guns Less Crime, and his scholarly testimony before the House in 1998 were instrumental in educating the Legislature on the relevant facts regarding the benefits of concealed carry to every honest citizen and the positive experiences in other states. With the invaluable assistance of the NRA working with MCRGO, both the Senate and House bills were passed by substantial majorities in their respective chamber. In the House, more than one hundred amendments were put forth in an effort to stall and defeat the purpose of the bill. MCRGO volunteers worked diligently in the lobby to call out representatives to discuss the significance of changes intended by these amendments. The bill was finally passed at 1:00 a.m. in the House after a marathon session. Finally, following the 2000 election, Speaker Perricone and House Majority Leader Dan DeGrow appointed a joint conference committee to put together a single shall-issue bill acceptable to both chambers. Speaker Perricone asked representatives of MCRGO, NRA, and MUCC to sit on a preliminary drafting committee to work out acceptable compromises to this legislation. The final version of the legislation passed both chambers by substantial margins on December 13, 2000. Many legislators reported that they had never before experienced such a large number of volunteers working actively for a bill. The governor signed the bill into law on January 2, 2001 as 2000 PA 381, hours before it would have been pocket vetoed if he had not signed it. Shall-issue concealed carry took effect on July 2, 2001 after surviving a last minute court challenge by opponents. MCRGO Moves to Trebuchet MS Font MCRGO has typically used the Arial Black & Tahoma fonts for titles and the classic Times New Roman font for text. Serif fonts such as Times New Roman with their ‘ticks’ and ‘tails’ at the end of most strokes tend to obscure the shapes of letters. This makes reading difficult for people with dyslexia, a disability which is very sensitive to particular typefaces. For this reason, MCRGO is transitioning to the Trebuchet MS font for text. Trebuchet MS is a recent font designed by Microsoft in 1996. It has short descenders but reasonably long ascenders, a small body size, generous line spacing, and no serifs making it easier to read. It is commonly available across most modern digital applications. Thanks to MCRGO Instructor Gennae Hill for recommending this change. JOIN MCRGO RENEW ONLINE CONTRIBUTE MCRGO | PO Box 14014, Lansing, MI 48901 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!