Senator Max Baucus Responds To LOBO WATCH E-Mail In Regard To His Back And Forth Stand On 2nd Amendment Rights...

April 19, 2013                                          Why I Opposed Expanding Gun Control Recent tragedies have shaken all of us, and everyone wants to do their part to protect our children and communities from violence of all kinds. That debate has sparked conversations around kitchen tables all across Montana. Over the past few months, I have heard from thousands of Montanans, and it was very important to me that every one of you had a chance to weigh in on an open and transparent debate.   What I heard from you was clear: Montanans are overwhelmingly opposed to new gun control laws. That is why I voted against legislation before the Senate this week to expand gun control. And that is why I will oppose anything that infringes on the 2nd Amendment rights of responsible, law-abiding Montanans.   Montanans are passionate about our 2nd Amendment rights. We teach our kids to respect that right, and we teach them to live up to the responsibility that comes with it - just like my father taught me when he gave me my first .22 when I was 13 years old. What makes sense in other states, doesn't make sense for Montana.   Everyone agrees we need to do a better job keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, but infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens isn't the solution. The facts are clear: under the Obama Administration, federal weapons prosecutions have fallen to the lowest levels in over a decade. The Administration isn't doing a good enough job enforcing the laws that are already on the books, so piling on more regulations just for regulations' sake won't do anything to make our communities safer.   We need real solutions that will actually make our communities safer. That is why I supported funding for school safety and mental health resources. And I supported a measure to force the Department of Justice to take a good, hard look at how they can use the tools they already have to keep guns away from criminals, without adding burdens on law-abiding folks in Montana.   A top-down, one-size-fits-all approach like the President is pushing simply won't work for Montana, and it won't work for me. I will not support anything that infringes on the 2nd Amendment rights of responsible, law-abiding Montanans.   All the best, -- ________________________________________________________________________________ LOBO WATCH Response To Montana Senator Max Baucus   Dear Seantor Baucus;   Thank you for sending the following*. And please thank the college intern or aide who actually wrote it for you, they did a fine job. I know it is in response to my e-mail to you dated 4-19-13, in regard to your fence riding when it comes to gun control in America.   My first "gun" was also a .22 rifle - an old Stevens "Crackshot" single shot model. My father never bought that gun for me, and didn't even know I had it, and I managed to keep it hidden from him in the rafters of our garage for several years. I traded a bicycle that I had assembled from junk bicycle parts for the rifle, which was close to 50 years old when I acquired it in 1959, a couple of months before I turned 10 years old.   America was a much different, and much better, place at that time. We actually did have freedoms, and could enjoy them. Back then, I would ride my bicycle up to a small rural gas station, and buy a 50-round box of Winchester .22 long rifle ammo for 45-cents. And I would take that old rifle out and shoot a box of "bullets" just about every week - but my father eventually found the little rifle, rolled up in a piece of blanket. When he learned I had been shooting it for that long, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two quarters, handed them to me, and said... "If you've had it that long and shot it that much, and haven't shot anyone yet, I guess you're okay with it...go buy yourself a box of ammo."   This took place in the democratic socialist republic that used to be the State of Illinois.   Whatever happened to that country? A country where we didn't have a federal government that was so all controlling, and felt that it had to dictate everything in our lives.   Max, the residents of the Great State of Montana, which has become foreign soil to you, see right through the ruse. When it came to your vote against Obama's call for extremely stringent gun control, you and Jon Tester simply cancelled out each other's vote. He's in for another term, and you face an upcoming re-election.   In the following "Why I Opposed Expanding Gun Control", why didn't you share with your constituents your reason for voting in favor of the U.S. signing the United Nations pact known as the Small Arms Treaty? The gun control clauses within that treaty are far more stringent, far more controlling, and would effectively void our Second Amendment rights. Still, you voted for Obama to sign the treaty.   Be honest now, do you truly believe in World Dominance by the United Nations? Do you truly feel that America as we have known and loved it should be abandoned, and the good Ol' U.S. of A. be simply absorbed into a single world government...one run by the United Nations?   Also, why did you not address the manner in which Obama's private military, a.k.a. Department of Homeland Security, sure hasn't practiced any "gun control" and has been actively arming up in order to wage war against Americans? Why else would they need 1.6 BILLION rounds of ammo (enough to conduct 20+ years of combat against U.S. citizens)...and armored personnel carriers? Much of the ammo procured by DHS consists of specialized long-range sniper rounds, and hollow-pointed ammunition - which has been internationally outlawed for combat use.   Now, at a time when the U.S. has become a target for international terrorists, why are so many Democrats so hell bent to disarm American citizens? If there was ever a time in history for every home to have an AR-15 and several 20- or 30- round clips fully loaded...it is right now. Never before has this country been so threatened by enemies - both very domestic and foreign.   The wolf is at the door...and the time for Americans to take up arms is right now.   Toby Bridges LOBO WATCH Missoula, MT   www.lobowatch.com       *Note:  The "following" mentioned in the first line of this e-mail is actually the Baucus newsletter sent out in response to our first e-mail in regard to his back and forth gun control support/opposition.  That message can be read in the following post of this blog, titled "An Open Message To MT Senator Baucus - Taking America Back!"

An Open Message To MT Senator Baucus - Taking America Back!

 

Dear Senator Baucus;
 

I'm sure you have received many e-mails of thanks for voting against the President's strong arm push, at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars, to enact more stringent gun control - which would indeed infringe upon the right of American citizens "to keep and bear arms."
 

I too would like to thank you for standing up against the pressure I'm sure that was put on you, as a Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate, to run with the pack of other Democratic senators which were attacking the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
 

What I cannot understand is, if you truly believe in our rights to own and find comfort in the lawful use of a wide range of firearms, how could you stand behind President Obama's support of the United Nation's Small Arms Treaty?
 

You were one of 46 U.S. Senators to support the President's equally strong push for the U.S. to agree to the harsh restrictions on the private ownership of firearms as laid out in that extremely agenda driven treaty. Firearm owners across the country, and especially here in Montana, now view you and the other 45 senators who were ready to hand over our Constitutional Rights to the U.N. as little more than traitors.
 

Fortunately, 56 senators had the common sense to reject participating in the treaty.
 

The President's equally agenda driven desire for the U.S. to cave in to the demands of the U.N. does better explain why the Department of Homeland Security has been stockpiling all of that ammunition (1.6 BILLION rounds to be more precise), and that agency's acquisition of a non-disclosed number of armored personnel carriers. Were you aware that at the height of the war in Iraq, U.S. troops were expending about 6-million rounds of ammunition EACH and EVERY month? Even at that rate, DHS is now sitting on top of enough munitions to wage war with American citizens for more than 20 years.
 

The manner in which you voted in favor of the U.S. signing the U.N. Small Arms Treaty, then to turn around and vote against Obama's (and Biden's) attack on gun owners' Constitutional rights sends more than mixed signals to the Montana residents you are supposed to represent. It tells them that you cannot be trusted...or believed.
 

Real Americans are ready and willing to take this country back, if not at the election polls then by force, as rightfully guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
 

On which side will you stand...with the American people, or with the tyrants who are working so hard to destroy this country?
 

Toby Bridges

LOBO WATCH

Missoula, MT

www.lobowatch.com


Semper Fi

Great Gear & Great Volunteers Are Sure To Highlight 2013 Tri-State Veterans Stand Down In Plains, MT May 4th & 5th!

Womens Army Corps veteran Christy Steigers-Bridges, far left, of Missoula enjoyed the gear she took home from the 2012 Tri-State Veterans Stand Down...Plus worked as a volunteer to make it enjoyable for all vets attending.  Following photos show some of the $2.5-million in great gear to be redistributed to military vets at the 2013 Stand Down.  Click on photos to enlarge.

 Tri-State Veterans Stand Down In Plains Expected To Draw A Great Turn Out

          Per capita, Montana has the largest number of veterans of any state in the Lower 48.  In the six counties that make up the northwest corner of Montana, there are more than 11,000 military veterans, including  4,000 in Missoula County alone.  With just as many next door in northern Idaho, and in eastern Washington as well, the Sanders County Fairground in Plains, MT is expected to be a very busy place the weekend of May 4 and 5 as the second annual Tri-State Veterans Stand Down welcomes veterans of all ages from all three states.  Last year, more than 1,000 veterans gathered for the event.

          So, just what is a Veterans Stand  Down?

          Originally, the term "Stand Down" meant to pull combat troops away from battle, and get them to a place of relative security and safety where they could rest and recover.  Today, the term stands for a program that reaches out to veterans needing a helping hand.  More than 200 such events now take place across the country every year - where military veterans can receive medical assistance, legal advice, food, clothing and gear, along with information on veterans programs and benefits.

          Much of the clothing and gear comes in the form of military surplus.  For last year's Tri-State Veterans Stand Down, coordinator Billy Hill, of Trout Creek, MT, had accumulated surplus items valued at nearly $1.5-million.  The 2012 event was such a success, even more of that military surplus has been provided this year - and since mid March, Hill and a handful of Sanders County volunteers have been extremely busy unboxing and organizing close to $2.5-million of surplus boots, sleeping bags, clothing, blankets,  and other surplus gear.

          "It takes a lot of work to get this much stuff unloaded...unpacked... organized...and laid out...and it takes the help of some great volunteers to make an event of this magnitude run smoothly and be successful," says Hill. 

          Last year, two completely packed fairground show barns of surplus were handed out to Montana, Idaho and Washington military vets.  There is so much gear this year that a third barn had to be added, and it is expected to be nearly all distributed during the two-day Stand Down. 

          Hill is quick to point out, "This is not a hand out...it is a hand up.  It's veterans helping veterans."

          Among the free goods to be redistributed to qualified veterans will be hi-tech modular sleeping systems, extreme cold weather sleeping bags, aluminum pack frames with rucksacks, wool Navy pea-coats, wool socks, wool blankets, insulated underwear, boots, and other surplus military gear.  When Veteran Stand Downs were first widely organized, they were geared to serve the homeless veteran who found "camping out" a new way of life.  With so many people now strapped by a struggling economy, barely being able to stretch one paycheck to the next, or having no job at all, today's Stand Down events are now open to all military veterans.

          The Tri-State Veterans Stand Down takes place at the Sanders County Fairground, 30 River Road, Plains, MT on May 4th and 5th, from 0800 Hrs. (8 a.m.) to 1600 Hrs. (4 p.m.) each day.  Hot breakfasts and lunches will be served both days, and for those who are in need, haircuts and showers will be provided.  Event coordinator Billy Hill says all veterans are welcomed, whether they come for the surplus clothing and gear, the meals, to learn more about V.A. services and benefits, for health services, to seek employment, or for the camaraderie and being with many other military veterans.

          "Everybody's entitled to one of each item and by the time they leave, each should have a sleeping bag.  The bag will be full of items and also a duffel bag will be full," says Hill.

          Those attending must bring a form DD-214, discharge, V.A. or military I.D. as proof of military service.  For more details contact Billy Hill at (406) 847-2407. 

Volunteers Needed - Especially needed are able bodied young men and women who can help veterans, some who are disabled, to pack gear from the fairgrounds to the adjacent parking areas.  Volunteers should contact Billy Hill at (406) 847-2407. 


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Billy Hill, second from left and far right in the photo at the top of this post, organized the first ever Tri-State Veterans Stand Down, held in May 2012.  Thanks to dozens of volunteers from the Sanders County area, it was not only one of the largest such events held in the state, it was also one of the smoothest run Stand Downs ever held in Motnana.  Billy is shown here with some of the volunteers which are now working hard to organize all the gear to be redistributed to qualifying veterans May 4th and 5th.  Click on photos to enlarge.