D.W. Drang
Member
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/122560_gottlieb19.html
Communities: He's fast on draw with message
'Citizen activist' Gottlieb wins friends, foes in gun control fight
Monday, May 19, 2003
By BRAD WONG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
BELLEVUE -- Alan Gottlieb sees an ally in the time gap between Seattle and Washington, D.C.
If news about gun control breaks late in the nation's capital, he'll answer media calls to make the next day's papers. Late into the night, he'll give his views on East Coast talk radio. And he'll post speedy reactions on his Web site.
Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, likes having his message out fast. For him, it's all part of defending the right of citizens to own firearms.
For about 30 years, this articulate and controversial man has found support among many Northwest residents and people throughout the country. He has plenty of critics. He describes himself as a "citizen activist."
"If people tell me what I have to do or what I can or can't do, I tend to resent it," he said.
He wages his educational and legal defense campaign from his Bellevue office building, which also houses an affiliated lobbying group, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. From a business perspective, his accomplishments are impressive, both his supporters and critics say. He has pioneered direct-mail advertising and applied marketing principles to advocate for gun rights.
He has raised money for like-minded political candidates, including former President Reagan. Since January, the foundation and committee have raised nearly $10 million, he said. Last year, he said, the two groups raised $7 million.
Gottlieb, 56, also operates an advertising company and a telephone bank, publishes books and magazines and buys radio commercials to get his message out fast. And he owns three radio stations in Washington and Oregon.
But critics maintain that he misleads the public and that his tactics and publications play to people's fears about perceived government intrusion.
"Alan Gottlieb is a political profiteer who has exploited the fears of the right wing to build a very successful and lucrative direct-mail business for himself, one that thrives on fear, hate and revenge," said David Brotherton, a board member for Washington Ceasefire, which focuses on gun safety.
"A lot of what he produces kind of develops that paranoia and fear that any type of gun legislation will lead to gun confiscation," said Rob Wilcox, spokesman for the Brady Center, a Washington, D.C., group trying to end gun violence.
Gottlieb defends his operations. As a University of Tennessee student, he learned about individual freedoms while reading about economics in his spare time. He first fired guns when he received Army training as a student. As a Jewish man, he also heard about the atrocities committed during World War II.
"Obviously, the Holocaust and being a repressed minority and having governments pick on you played into the whole argument to me of the importance of individual freedom and the right to keep and bear arms," he said.
In 1972, he started working for the committee, which was based in Seattle. Two years later, he started the foundation. The operations were eventually moved to Bellevue.
In 1978, the U.S. government charged in U.S. District Court that he failed to pay $29,396 in tax debt. He said he settled to pay $16,000 and served six months in a halfway house in Washington.
Gottlieb says he has licenses to carry guns in several states, including Washington. In a bit of bravado, he said few critics actually will debate him, even in cities with liberal reputations, such as Seattle.
"It's funny. They probably don't because they think I'm carrying my gun, and they're afraid to," he said, leaving his statement a little unclear.
"It might not be a joke. I don't know."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P-I reporter Brad Wong can be reached at 425-453-1682 or [email protected]
© 1998-2003 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
http://www.saf.org/
http://www.womenandguns.com/
http://www.gunweek.com/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/122560_gottlieb19.html
Communities: He's fast on draw with message
'Citizen activist' Gottlieb wins friends, foes in gun control fight
Monday, May 19, 2003
By BRAD WONG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
BELLEVUE -- Alan Gottlieb sees an ally in the time gap between Seattle and Washington, D.C.
If news about gun control breaks late in the nation's capital, he'll answer media calls to make the next day's papers. Late into the night, he'll give his views on East Coast talk radio. And he'll post speedy reactions on his Web site.
Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, likes having his message out fast. For him, it's all part of defending the right of citizens to own firearms.
For about 30 years, this articulate and controversial man has found support among many Northwest residents and people throughout the country. He has plenty of critics. He describes himself as a "citizen activist."
"If people tell me what I have to do or what I can or can't do, I tend to resent it," he said.
He wages his educational and legal defense campaign from his Bellevue office building, which also houses an affiliated lobbying group, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. From a business perspective, his accomplishments are impressive, both his supporters and critics say. He has pioneered direct-mail advertising and applied marketing principles to advocate for gun rights.
He has raised money for like-minded political candidates, including former President Reagan. Since January, the foundation and committee have raised nearly $10 million, he said. Last year, he said, the two groups raised $7 million.
Gottlieb, 56, also operates an advertising company and a telephone bank, publishes books and magazines and buys radio commercials to get his message out fast. And he owns three radio stations in Washington and Oregon.
But critics maintain that he misleads the public and that his tactics and publications play to people's fears about perceived government intrusion.
"Alan Gottlieb is a political profiteer who has exploited the fears of the right wing to build a very successful and lucrative direct-mail business for himself, one that thrives on fear, hate and revenge," said David Brotherton, a board member for Washington Ceasefire, which focuses on gun safety.
"A lot of what he produces kind of develops that paranoia and fear that any type of gun legislation will lead to gun confiscation," said Rob Wilcox, spokesman for the Brady Center, a Washington, D.C., group trying to end gun violence.
Gottlieb defends his operations. As a University of Tennessee student, he learned about individual freedoms while reading about economics in his spare time. He first fired guns when he received Army training as a student. As a Jewish man, he also heard about the atrocities committed during World War II.
"Obviously, the Holocaust and being a repressed minority and having governments pick on you played into the whole argument to me of the importance of individual freedom and the right to keep and bear arms," he said.
In 1972, he started working for the committee, which was based in Seattle. Two years later, he started the foundation. The operations were eventually moved to Bellevue.
In 1978, the U.S. government charged in U.S. District Court that he failed to pay $29,396 in tax debt. He said he settled to pay $16,000 and served six months in a halfway house in Washington.
Gottlieb says he has licenses to carry guns in several states, including Washington. In a bit of bravado, he said few critics actually will debate him, even in cities with liberal reputations, such as Seattle.
"It's funny. They probably don't because they think I'm carrying my gun, and they're afraid to," he said, leaving his statement a little unclear.
"It might not be a joke. I don't know."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P-I reporter Brad Wong can be reached at 425-453-1682 or [email protected]
© 1998-2003 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
http://www.saf.org/
http://www.womenandguns.com/
http://www.gunweek.com/