The protesters met as individuals at the front entrance to the Velma Teague Library in Downtown Glendale. My wife, baby, and I parked the Explorer, loaded with a dozen picket signs, cooler, and PA at about 10 minutes 'til 11am. Channel 3 was already there represented by a cutie black chick, as well as KFYI's Jim Sharpe, and Reporterette Diana Balazs from the Arizona Republic. Interviews were already being conducted as I unloaded the signs, cooler and PA system and assembled them. At that point we had about 24 people (my count) on our side which swelled to as many as 35 people (C.D.'s count) at the height of the action.
Libertarian challenger to Senator Jon Kyle's seat, Barry Hess was there and he graced us with a speech about basic principals of freedom. These were words that we all knew, but, I am sure appeared foreign to some in the press. L. Neil Smith, the Libertarian Candidate for President on the Arizona ballot gave an impressive speech (said my wife, I was playing with Jolie), some of which dealt with the history of rights infringement. Jim Sharpe spoke of his Libertarian roots, John Arbon of the parody cite www.cphv.com (must see) told a story of how he came to be in this situation, and spoke about the Tyranny Response Team now operating in Phoenix. He even brought official TRT-shirts. (HCI and CPHV is suing him, btw).
C.D. Tavares had an excellent interview with the Channel 3 african-american reporterette. She suggested that it was quite normal for people to be uncomfortable around armed citizens. C.D. told her that thirty years ago it was considered normal for people to be uncomfortable around you. The reporterette said, "That's different," while C.D. countered that it is exactly the same...people attempting to restrict your rights because they feel uncomfortable. There was no further response.
The .50BMG raffle rifle was presented to its winner (Unknown) and then I closed with a reading of Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis's dissent in Olmstead v. United States...
"Decency, security, and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the
citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is
the potent, the omnipresent, teacher. For good or ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a
law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."
Which was why we were there in the first place.
Then we all stormed the front door of the library. (It took some coaxing). The automatic doors opened and as the four police agents stood fifteen feet away we said, "Please let us come into read a book. We just want to read a book...."
The cops were drawn out and the camera and recorders rolled. It was clear that they were not prepared to answer our questions about the defacto registration of guns in violation of the law. The cops kept asking us "Do you wish to check your weapon?" But how could we make an informed decision when they wouldn't tell us what would happen to our information which was filed away in a Glendale Police Bunker? I think it was Sgt Toomey (or maybe the older guy) who said, "We are not here to argue the law; we are here to take your guns..."
Yeah. I think that is the quote of the day.
A young girl and I sang a couple of pro-gunrights parody songs (That'll be the day, when you take my guh-uns, from Buddy Holly , and The Beatles' "With Gun Grabbers Standing There."
Having made our case, we left the area.
The rest is up to you. You have to continue hammering Glendale and the State Legislature as well as the Governor and the County Attorney and Attorney General to prosecute them. Yeah, right. You also have to keep up with the press and make sure they make this an issue. Some press coverage will generate gunnie interest and pressure on Glendale and other cities who are looking very closely at this.
Oh, some of us now have standing to sue Glendale because they registered our firearms which is against state law. Anyone wishing to joing the class-action suit...you know what you need to do.
Rick