Petition Forms Now Available for California Right to Keep and Bear Arms Initiative

The Alliance for Civil Rights ^

[William Tell]

The "Right to Possess Firearms" initiative submitted by The Alliance for Civil Rights has received Title and Summary from the Attorney General of California. Petition form files are available here.

This Initiative Constitutional Amendment will prohibit government infringement of the right of Californians to keep and bear arms. The initiative is carefully crafted to instruct the courts to treat the right to keep and bear arms in the same protective fashion that currently applies to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

The proposition reads as follows:

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The inalienable right to defend life and liberty as set forth in Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution includes the fundamental right of each person to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family and home. This right shall not be infringed.

1. All State government action regulating the right of law-abiding persons to acquire and possess arms for the defense of self, family and home shall be subject to strict scrutiny, in the same respect as the freedoms of speech and of the press. All county, city and local government action on this subject is preempted by state law and this Amendment.

2. This Amendment does not limit the State from regulating the acquisition and possession of arms by: felons, minors, the mentally incompetent, and any person subject to restraining orders based upon their own violent conduct.

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Signatures must be gathered from approximately 800,000 registered voters in order to qualify the measure for a place on the November, 2006 general election ballot.

Organizers have now identified 70 volunteers whose contact information is listed on the volunteer's web site, rkba.members.sonic.net. The 29 counties with identified volunteers contain 91% of the state's population.

If you wish to become a listed volunteer, send your contact information ( county, name, phone, email, and/or address ) to Dave at rkba@sonic.net.

If there are already listed volunteers for your county, let them know that you are willing to help now to gather signatures and distribute petitions.

Critical counties without volunteers are San Luis Obispo and Ventura. If you know of pro-gun people living in those counties please let them know that their help is needed now to ensure that the petition drive gets off to the most successful start. The goal is to have petitions and petition packets available at most gun stores in California in the first several weeks of the petition drive.

[William Tell]

As indicated in yellow on the map below, activities have begun in 29 of the largest California counties to get the word out regarding the upcoming petition drive, to recruit volunteers to gather signatures, and to distribute petition forms. Those 29 counties contain 91% of the California population.

Seventy volunteers are listed on the unofficial web site for organizing volunteers, rkba.members.sonic.net.

The first month and a half of volunteer recruiting has resulted in a doubling of listed volunteers approximately every 12 days. Your name added to the list will ensure that this pace continues and that the petition drive is successful.

The map indicates in red and gray the counties where volunteers have yet to be identified.

Especially critical is the very populous Ventura County. San Luis Obispo County is also critical because volunteers are needed to gather signatures at an upcoming gun show on December 17th. Volunteers are requested to contact Dave at rkba@sonic.net to be added to the list. Only then can coordinated county level activities begin.

Volunteer if you can, no matter how limited your time or abilities, or pass the word to people you know in the critical counties. We cannot have too many volunteers.

If volunteers are already listed for your county, contact them now to offer whatever help you can.

[P8riot]

Best of luck from a displaced native Californian now living in the free Commonwealth of Virginia.

[Nachoman]

Am I the only one who finds it strange and sad you have to ask you state gov't to grant you a right enumerated by the Constitution?

From what I hear out of the clowns in Hollywood, the first amendment seems to be safe in CA.

[William Tell]

Here's a ping to many California Freepers.

The success so far indicates that you are getting the word out. Keep up the good work and volunteer if you can.

Contact the listed volunteers in your county to get a supply of petition forms so that you, your family, and your friends can sign.

[William Tell]

Here's a ping to many California Freepers.

The success so far indicates that you are getting the word out. Keep up the good work and volunteer if you can.

Contact the listed volunteers in your county to get a supply of petition forms so that you, your family, and your friends can sign.

[Snapping Turtle]

Can we do this with our members?

[William Tell]

Nachoman said: "Am I the only one who finds it strange and sad you have to ask your state gov't to grant you a right enumerated by the Constitution? "

The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (affectionately known as the "Ninth Circus") has ruled that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution is not an individual right. The US Supreme Court has refused to reverse them.

It is certainly strange and sad that we should have to ask our state government to grant us a right to keep and bear arms.

But the fact of the matter is that we aren't wasting our time asking the anti-gun legislature of California, or its RINO, gun-banning Governor, to grant us anything.

California's Constitution, like that of nine other states, includes the right of "Initiative". By this process, the people themselves can gather signatures for an amendment to their constitution and, if the required number of valid signatures are gathered, the amendment is put on the general ballot.

If a majority of California voters approve the amendment, then it becomes the law of the land. Approval of the legislature or the governor are not required.

[calcowgirl]

I rarely use the McClintock ping list for anything else, but I think he would approve ...

PING!

[calcowgirl]

Downloaded and signed. I'll see if I can fill it all up this week.

[William Tell]

calcowgirl said: "Downloaded and signed. I'll see if I can fill it all up this week."

Printed double-sided on 8.5" by 14" legal size paper?

Please keep in mind that only registered voters of the county named on the petition can sign.

There is a page of instructions for gathering signatures on the volunteers web site, rkba.members.sonic.net, which contains important instructions for circulating such petitions.

If, while gathering signatures, you should come across a particularly energetic signer, please suggest that they volunteer by contacting Dave at rkba@sonic.net.

Thanks for signing.

[Carry_Okie]

Am I the only one who finds it strange and sad you have to ask you state gov't to grant you a right enumerated by the Constitution?

The original Constitution limited only the Federal government in most instances. The Fourteenth Amendment incorporated some of the BOR, but the Second Amendment is still considered applicable only to the Feds while firearms regulation has been left to the States.

If you want to learn more about the Orwellian selective incorporation doctrine, consider this piece.

[calcowgirl]

>>Printed double-sided on 8.5" by 14" legal size paper?

Yep! I followed the instructions exactly (and got the right county). :-) I've been through this drill a couple times now.

I should be able to fill it up with friends and family. But if I happen across some eager helpers, I'll send them Dave's way!

[janetgreen]

Thanks for the ping!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[PsyOp]

Can the petition forms be downloaded online?

[PsyOp]

Found the place to download, but I cannot print them out in the specified format. Which of the volunteers can send me a petition form or two. I can probably gather a few names.

[PsyOp]

Let's try this again...

Found the place to download, but I cannot print them out in the specified format. Which of the volunteers can send me a petition form or two. I can probably gather a few names.

[William Tell]

Many large counties have volunteers listed on the volunteers web site. The quickest way to get a supply of petition, if you are unable to print them yourself, is to have a hard-working volunteer near you supply some to you.

You can also take the electronic file to a Kinkos or OfficeMax and they can make copies. They will want about 18 cents a copy, which is why we are recruiting people who can print and ship petitions at cost.

There is such a volunteer in Sacramento, Kirk Haley, who will print and ship at his cost, using his own printer. Kirk's email address is also on the volunteers list.

Let me know if you still need help. Also, there is no pre-determined commitment to being a listed volunteer. We are all just doing our best to get this measure on the ballot. If you can sign up, it will reduce the work others need to do by whatever help you can offer.

What county are you in?

[Czar]

"I rarely use the McClintock ping list for anything else, but I think he would approve ..."

He would indeed. Thanks.

[Czar]

"Printed double-sided on 8.5" by 14" legal size paper?"

Damn! My HP printer doesn't do anything but 8.5 x 11.

Will have to take other steps to get copies.