Invite your local officials to 6/18/09 TFA Meeting

[Pat McGarrity]

The Shelby County Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association will meet Thursday, 6/18/09, at 7:00 PM (19:00) at Range USA:

http://www.rangeusa.com/

2770 Whitten Rd. in Memphis. Please support Range USA every chance you can! They support TFA.

I have invited Mayor McDonald and the Aldermen of Bartlett, my home town, and Mayor Wharton and the Shelby County Commission to meet with us regarding the carry in parks prohibitions being proposed:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2098

I have two requests. One, please invite your Mayor and local representatives in your municipality; Germantown, Arlington, Memphis, etc. Two, please show up to this meeting and bring like minded friends. It wont be very effective if there are more politicians than TFA Members. Thanks!

Here is a copy of the e-mailed invitations I've sent:


" Dear Mayor Wharton:

I’m writing today in response to comments in a recent Commercial Appeal story regarding Gun Carry Permit Holders lawfully carrying in parks. Because there is no history anyone has been able to site as a problem, that made them feel they need to restrict our civil rights; I was surprised and disappointed at the opposition from some public servants. Granted, the media has done a good job at generating hysteria, but I expected reaction from local public officials to be based on facts, rather than propaganda.

There are however, facts to support the right of the overwhelming majority of responsible armed citizens not being infringed, and them having the tools to protect themselves and their families. For example, two bicyclists were attacked and robbed by a gang of at least ten, in the middle of the day, right down the street from me in Bartlett's Nesbit Park. Additionally, Memphis was just rated the most dangerous city in the U.S. by the FBI:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpoliti ... est_cities

Also, as a tax payer, I’m concerned about the liability of local governments, regarding their limitations placed on individuals to act on their own behalf, when the local authority knows, or should know, obvious threats exist.

The U.S. Supreme Court addressed this in DeShaney v. Winnebago County in 1989. The Court referenced at least two other supporting cases when it stated; “The affirmative duty to protect arises not from the State's knowledge of the individual's predicament or from its expressions of intent to help him, but from the limitations which it has imposed on his freedom to act on his own behalf, through imprisonment, institutionalization, or other similar restraint of personal liberty."

Restricting the ability of your constituents to protect themselves is not only morally wrong, it only benefits predatory criminals. Additionally, it very well could be inviting an expensive lawsuit from surviving victims, and/or their relatives. There are similar cases that support an establishment’s liability that restricts armed patrons, such as restaurants.

Please accept my invitation to meet some of the constituents you are concerned about. I’m confident you will find that your neighbors that have taken responsibility for their own safety, and that of their families, are not the individuals we should be concerned about.

The next meeting of the Tennessee Firearms Association, a leading civil rights organization in our state, is Thursday, June 18th, at 7:00 PM, at Range USA, 2770 Whitten Rd. We would sincerely appreciate your time and open mind on this important topic.

Thank you,



Pat McGarrity
Director – Shelby County TFA





http://www.tennesseefirearms.com"



Although we always welcome new TFA Members, you DO NOT have to be a member to attend our meetings. We'll promptly adjourn at 8:30 (20:30). I look forward to seeing you there.

In Liberty,

Pat McGarrity

At Your Service - Shelby County TFA Director

http://www.tennesseefirearms.com