Calling all New Jersey Residents

[cl4de6]

I know a lot of you out there listen to Gun For Hire Radio (gunforhireradio.com) and if you don't, you should. About a quarter of a million New Jersey listeners already do.

Republican State Senator Joe Kyrillos is vying for Democratic Senator Joe Menendez's job this November. Despite being behind Senator Menendez in funding by a 9 to 1 margin, Senator Kyrillos won't go on Gun For Hire Radio to discuss his stance on Second Amendment issues: he's afraid of even talking about gun rights to New Jersey residents.

If you live in New Jersey, take a look at the video below. If we send enough emails and call enough times, maybe he'll come on Gun For Hire Radio and explain why he feels the way he does?

Senator Kyrillos has an NRA "C" Rating. He tends to avoid voting or discussing gun issues.

Senator Menendez has an NRA "F" rating. This is a guy who once claimed that New Jersey needed additional restrictions on rifles because: "Violence on our streets is devastating too many New Jersey families. I introduced legislation to combat gangs, which includes increased penalties for gun crimes."

The choice between a C and F candidates is usually pretty clear, but there is no guarantee that Senator Kyrillos will remain a C rated candidate or enlighten himself to become an A rated candidate. If we can get him on this show, we may be able to convince him that he is going down the wrong path.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW8Qud_ZB6c

 

[hso]

This sounds too much like partisan politics so far.

What is Joe Menendez's 2A record and what is Joe Kyrillos's 2A record and why is one of them better than the other for NJ gun owners?

 

[xXxplosive]

No good man wants the job..........

 

[hso]

Well, mediocre is better than awful, but why should he go on the show if he doesn't want to provide ammunition to the F-rated candidate's supporters? Are the NJ 2A supporters incapable of deciding a C beats an F for their purposes? Perhaps the better thing for gunforhireradio and NJ 2A supporters to do is actively work to support the C candidate instead of trying to push him to a B on the air and right off the ticket.

 

[cl4de6]

Well, here's why.

We would love to help the guy. But he won't talk to talk to us. Not a phone call. Not a letter, not an email has been returned regarding his position on gun rights. Nothing. His website: nothing. His twitter feed: nothing.

Last I checked, a candidate was supposed to listen to his supporters. As far as we can tell, he runs from us. We are not going to support somebody who won't even give us the courtesy of an email or phone call back.

All we want is some acknowledgement that we exist and have valid concerns.

This is activism in its purest form.

You live in a free state, hso. I don't. My Second Amendment rights end as soon as I walk off my property. I'm one of the guys trying to fight to bring our rights back. That won't happen if someone turns a deaf ear to us. So we talk and talk and talk until we are heard. It may take 30 years, but we'll bring New Jersey back. Step by step. Vote by vote. Dollar by dollar. But it starts with a phone conversation.

 

[MAUSER88]

Nothing has gotten better in NJ since the installment of our archaic pistol permit system in 1966. It's only gotten worse as each year has gone by.

Nothing will ever change for the better in NJ concerning our 2A Rights.

I'll keep fighting but I expect NOTHING in return. NJ is too Liberal, too Democratic and the printed media HATES firearms!

 

[GRIZ22]

A US Senator can look after the gun rights on a Federal level but has little, if any, impact on state gun laws. Let's get that on the way. Gun rights are not a concern for most NJ voters. A few years ago there was a very pro 2A candidate in NJ who was very vocal about it. He supported CCW for NJ residents. His opposition turned this into a massive campaign of "he's for hidden handguns" and he lost miserably. If you don't get elected how you feel about any issue doesn't make a difference.

If you make 2A issues a big part of your campaign in NJ you will lose. That's the way it is here. Not a concern for most voters. Christie is far from a 2A supporter but he is showinf NJ that reducing spending and taxes is the way to go. Hopefully we continue to gun rights.

Politics is not like spending the day at Grandma's where you always get everything you want. I'll take the C for now.

 

[hso]

We are not going to support somebody who won't even give us the courtesy of an email or phone call back.

You've just said the better 2A candidate won't get your support because he won't appear on a radio show. So you'd rather the F rated guy get the office? Explain that one to me.

This sounds more like taking personal offense that the candidate won't respond to a demand he appear on a radio show instead of 2A activism.

The nasty realities of 2A politics sometimes involve realizing that what appears normal to some of us in the 2A community looks far more radical to the general community. Every one of us should have the objective of moving the restoration of the 2A along in whatever increments are possible whether those strides are smaller than we'd like, but all that are possible.

 

[Al Thompson]

Joe Kyrillos has nothing to gain by expressing his views on 2A stuff and will provide fuel for his opposition by doing so. If I were him, I'd probably avoid that particular rail on the subway track myself.

 

[BullfrogKen]

If he won't talk to you, after many attempts, why keep trying? Seems like he doesn't want to have anything to do with the issue or you.

At some point I'd just give up on the guy. Perhaps it's time.

 

[hso]

The valuable lesson here is that in some cases where there's nothing politically to gain by coming out publicly on a high sensitivity topic on a high visibility forum a lot of politicians will ignore the requests to participate. Their understanding of politics for the area might lead them to avoid advocacy groups that could hurt them in the position they support somewhat.

As activists we have to decide if we accept the political reality that it might be political poison for a candidate to be associated with a minority opinion group they agree with. It may do more harm for them to make a bigger issue of our particular issue than the larger voter population will accept. The politician is looking at the bigger picture of getting elected instead of risking the election.