in my super-secret identity as a budding gunwriter, I’m now doing promotional work for one of the firearms magazines at InterMedia Outdoors. You’ll probably be hearing from me anyway, but if you have a great new optic, firearm, deerstand, holster, camo pattern, gun safe, utility knife or the like, send me a note at miss.attila ==AT==gmail==DOT==com, and I’ll set you up with my “real” contact information for product reviews.
Of course, if you send me a gun, that gives me an excuse to go to the range, provided the People’s Republic of California will let me—or one of the shooters at the magazine—get the firearm in time to test it, take a picture of it, and make our deadline.
* * * * *
And now for the political dimension:
California has very loose guns laws for the motion-picture industry, which needs to use guns in its movies. Print magazines, however, are treated nearly like private citizens in terms of how quickly/easily they can procure firearms for the purposes of a photo shoot (much less a trip to the range to check shootability, recoil, accuracy and the like). Deadlines? Whoever heard of that? The publishing companies in this state that deal with firarms (there are at least four of us) are subjected to waiting periods that no one in Hollywood has to deal with. And we are an endangered species because of this.
And all these publishing houses are in danger because of this double-standard.
By the way: if you are a backpacker or a camper who likes to carry a longarm or a pistol for protection in the backcountry, you do have a dog in this fight. You do not have to be a hunter to want reasonable access to firearms in this state. And you don’t ever have to have touched a gun to think that this is an awfully bad time for California to be losing jobs.
If you live in the Golden State and want print publications given parity with motion pictures in this regard, please send notes to Governer Schwarzenegger, as well as to our State Senators (their email info is at the links).
Remember the cardinal rule, however: be very polite. Simply express your concern about the possible loss of jobs in this state, along with the watering-down of a critical civil liberty. Remind your politicians that you are a concerned citizen, and that you vote.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160California Assembly Members
Adams, Anthony
Rep, 59th
(916) 319-2059Ammiano, Tom
Dem, 13th
(916) 319-2013Anderson, Joel
Rep, 77th
(916) 319-2077Arambula, Juan
Dem, 31st
(916) 319-2031Bass, Karen
Dem, 47th
(916) 319-2047Beall, Jim Jr.
Dem, 24th
(916) 319-2024Berryhill, Tom
Rep, 25th
(916) 319-2025Berryhill, Bill
Rep, 26th
(916) 319-2026Blakeslee, Sam
Rep, 33rd
(916) 319-2033Block, Martin
Dem, 78th
(916) 319-2078Blumenfield, Bob
Dem, 40th
(916) 319-2040Brownley, Julia
Dem, 41st
(916) 319-2041Buchanan, Joan
Dem, 15th
(916) 319-2015Caballero, Anna M.
Dem, 28th
(916) 319-2028Calderon, Charles M.
Dem, 58th
(916) 319-2058Carter, Wilmer Amina
Dem, 62nd
(916) 319-2062Chesbro, Wesley
Dem, 1st
(916) 319-2001Conway, Connie
Rep, 34th
(916) 319-2034Cook, Paul
Rep, 65th
(916) 319-2065Coto, Joe
Dem, 23rd
(916) 319-2023Davis, Mike
Dem, 48th
(916) 319-2048De La Torre, Hector
Dem, 50th
(916) 319-2050de Leon, Kevin
Dem, 45th
(916) 319-2045DeVore, Chuck
Rep, 70th
(916) 319-2070Duvall, Michael D.
Rep, 72nd
(916) 319-2072Emmerson, Bill
Rep, 63rd
(916) 319-2063Eng, Mike
Dem, 49th
(916) 319-2049Evans, Noreen
Dem, 7th
(916) 319-2007Feuer, Mike
Dem, 42nd
(916) 319-2042Fletcher, Nathan
Rep, 75th
(916) 319-2075Fong, Paul
Dem, 22nd
(916) 319-2022Fuentes, Felipe
Dem, 39th
(916) 319-2039Fuller, Jean
Rep, 32nd
(916) 319-2032Furutani, Warren T.
Dem, 55th
(916) 319-2055Gaines, Ted
Rep, 4th
(916) 319-2004Galgiani, Cathleen
Dem, 17th
(916) 319-2017Garrick, Martin
Rep, 74th
(916) 319-2074Gilmore, Danny
Rep, 30th
(916) 319-2030Hagman, Curt
Rep, 60th
(916) 319-2060Hall, Isadore III
Dem, 52nd
(916) 319-2052Harkey, Diane
Rep, 73rd
(916) 319-2073Hayashi, Mary
Dem, 18th
(916) 319-2018Hernandez, Edward P.
Dem, 57th
(916) 319-2057Hill, Jerry
Dem, 19th
(916) 319-2019Huber, Alyson
Dem, 10th
(916) 319-2010Huffman, Jared
Dem, 6th
(916) 319-2006Jeffries, Kevin
Rep, 66th
(916) 319-2066Jones, Dave
Dem, 9th
(916) 319-2009Knight, Steve
Rep, 36th
(916) 319-2036Krekorian, Paul
Dem, 43rd
(916) 319-2043Lieu, Ted W.
Dem, 53rd
(916) 319-2053Logue, Dan
Rep, 3rd
(916) 319-2003Lowenthal, Bonnie
Dem, 54th
(916) 319-2054Ma, Fiona
Dem, 12th
(916) 319-2012Mendoza, Tony
Dem, 56th
(916) 319-2056Miller, Jeff
Rep, 71st
(916) 319-2071Monning, William W.
Dem, 27th
(916) 319-2027Nava, Pedro
Dem, 35th
(916) 319-2035Nestande, Brian
Rep, 64th
(916) 319-2064Niello, Roger
Rep, 5th
(916) 319-2005Nielsen, Jim
Rep, 2nd
(916) 319-2002Pérez, V. Manuel
Dem, 80th
(916) 319-2080Pérez, John
Dem, 46th
(916) 319-2046Portantino, Anthony J.
Dem, 44th
(916) 319-2044Price, Curren D. Jr.
Dem, 51st
(916) 319-2051Ruskin, Ira
Dem, 21st
(916) 319-2021Salas, Mary
Dem, 79th
(916) 319-2079Saldaña, Lori
Dem, 76th
(916) 319-2076Silva, Jim
Rep, 67th
(916) 319-2067Skinner, Nancy
Dem, 14th
(916) 319-2014Smyth, Cameron
Rep, 38th
(916) 319-2038Solorio, Jose
Dem, 69th
(916) 319-2069Strickland, Audra
Rep, 37th
(916) 319-2037Swanson, Sandre R.
Dem, 16th
(916) 319-2016Torlakson, Tom
Dem, 11th
(916) 319-2011Torres, Norma
Dem, 61st
(916) 319-2061Torrico, Alberto
Dem, 20th
(916) 319-2020Tran, Van
Rep, 68th
(916) 319-2068Villines, Michael N.
Rep, 29th
(916) 319-2029Yamada, Mariko
Dem, 8th
(916) 319-2008
Just to keep the pressure on, you might also send notes to Senators Feinstein and Boxer, though they of course do not directly influence such matters within the state. Still, if you can bring yourself to be polite—and especially if you are a Democrat—it might not hurt to remind your representatives in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. that the shooting sports are in trouble nationwide, and in California in particular—and that outdoors recreation is an important part of this state’s economy.
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