The Perennial Defendant - by Tom Shafer

"The Perennial Defendant"

Tom Shafer, Main Speaker
Guns Save Life meeting, Urbana, Illinois
August 14, 2007, September 2007 GunNews

Tom Shafer, a dynamic and entertaining

speaker, was the main speaker at the August
Guns Saves Life meeting.

Frank Wright introduced Tom Shafer, of Springfield, IL, by saying that Tom has been involved in Second Amendment activism since Frank had hair and muscles. He hosts a public-access cable TV show every week on the Springfield cable system that reaches a potential 87,000 homes. The show is called "The Shooting Sport", and is on Springfield cable, channel 4, every Wednesday at 1:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 7:30 p.m.

Tom refers to himself as 'the perennial defendant' because of his 11 misdemeanor arrests while engaging in Second Amendment activism, often by carrying a sign saying "no more gun laws". Tom said the powers that be in Springfield have tried to silence him by using any excuse - spitting on the sidewalk, permit for a certain protest expired by one minute, etc. He has beaten the charges all eleven times.

Referring to John Boch's just-concluded story about the gun buy back in Chicago, Tom commented, "That's just the kind of in your face activism that I like."

At age 51, Shafer said he feels like a veteran of the gun wars. He thanked all those who put out GunNews. He said he considered doing a newspaper, but that takes writing, editing, proofreading, printing, and distribution - every month. He decided instead, with his gift of gab that cable TV was the way to go. With 340 episodes and counting, he's still going strong.

The 69 Day FOID
Tom recounted some "war stories" from his years of Second Amendment activism in Springfield. One of his favorites, that he still gets good comments on from the story he wrote about it, was his son's 69 day FOID odyssey. It seems his 13 year old applied for a Firearm's Owners Identification (FOID) card, which by law is supposed to be processed within 30 days. By day 58, his son would go to the mailbox every day and be disapointed his FOID was not there. Tom started calling the State Police division in charge of FOID processing. He called them every day, until they knew his voice.

When he finally talked to someone in charge, they said his son's application had been kicked out by the computer because it did not have a driver's license number, and the background check was based on that number. Tom said, "Of course he doesn't have a driver's license number - he's only 13." This discovery caused the state police to revamp their computer program, so that kids before driving age could get their FOID cards.

By day 69, when Tom called again, the FOID office said it was done, and they would drive it out to him today - and they did. "That was the funniest $5 I've every spent, said Shafer.

Politicians in Prison
"When a politician goes to prison (and Illinois has sent many there) and that person has voted against my gun rights, I write to them in prison. 'Hey, how are you doing? You need some stamps or anything? I went shooting today. Your gun rights are gone forever.' I also send them flowers. They never seem to write back, though.

A table of guns - at the Capitol
A while back, a guy named Schmidt was running for governor in the Democratic primary. He did a publicity stunt where he covered a table with guns at the Capitol, and in front of the press pointed to each one with disparaging comments about them.

I contacted the authorities and asked if I could do a similar display at the Capitol, to show the guns I love and think are useful. The authorities, of course, were aghast - until I threatened to sue them. Then they sent me a letter saying I could do it, but only if I followed 16 specified steps. I did it, and with the press there, I pointed to the different guns on the table: 'Love it; love it; got one of those; really love that one.'

The Abbate Video
Did you see the video of the off duty Chicago Police officer, a big brute, beating on a 115 pound female bartender? It was caught in glorious, high quality digital video on a security camera system. I played that clip on my cable show, over and over, I'd stop the video, and tell the audience, "OK, if it's legal to have a gun there, I'd have shot him then, and then, and again when he did that..." That's the type of incident that can make a real impression on TV.

The Quale Visit
Dan Quale came to Springfield once and I wanted to see him, and more important, for him to see me, and for the national TV cameras that were there to see me, with my "No New Gun Laws" sign. The apearance was in the Capitol Rotunda and I got there early to be in the front row.

I must have been on every list of every law enforcement agency, because an apparent FBI or Secret Service guy came up to me and asked me to come with him so he could ask me some questions. I said, of course I would come, but if there was no problem, they had to promise to return me to the front row. I know how these things work. You take the guy with the embarrasing sign out of the front row, ask him some questions, and the place fills up before he can return, and he's not a front row problem any more. I got the guy to promise me that they would return me to my spot, and I went with them.

They asked me a lot of questions to make sure I wasn't going to do anything stupid. They even said they wanted to do a pat down. I said, go ahead, I'm just here to exercise my first amendment rights, I'm not carrying anything illegal. The guy did a pat down, and grabbed my crotch hard enough that I thought maybe he wanted to get friendly or something. They couldn't find any further reason to detain me, so they said I could go. I said, "No, no, no, I agreed to come with you on the promise that you'd put me back where I was. I insisted on it loudly enough that, to shut me up, they did. By now the crowd was thick in the Rotunda, but several of the agents parted the sea for me and put me right back up front.

If they are trying to take away my rights, I'm willing to get in their face.

The Gun Wars in Illinois -- Shafer's Summary

Where we've been:
In 1968, the national media took sides, and campaigned against gun owners, resulting in the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Also at that same time in Illinois, they passed the FOID requirement, on the promise that they wouldn't need to pass any other gun control laws. They they started chipping away as soon as the FOID was approved.

In the 1980's we finally went around the national media, mainly by the means of talk radio.

Where we are:
In Illinois, we're on the edge of more gun laws. Mayor Daley is still governing the state from Chicago.

The major Illinois papers will never be with us. They won't tell our side; it's a lost cause.

There is still no Concealed Carry or preemption. Some guys are pushing the cutting edge of the laws, and they are the ones taking the real risks. I've always just been arrested for misdemeanors, so if I lose a case, it's not that big a deal. These guys are facing felonies - that's heavy.

We're still fighting the assault weapons ban, but the name calling has seemed to stop. The newspapers used to be full of stories calling us gun nuts and other names, but not anymore. That's progress.

Where we are going:
I don't have a crystal ball, but ...

The national media seems to have figured out that pushing gun control is a loser. Kerry and Gore both lost the South and the West, and the Presidency, because of gun issues.

Talk radio is huge, and cable shows are growing. We now have a voice.

The ideological divide is as big as ever. If we give up, we lose immediately, But we're making progress.

I don't shirk from a Supreme Court fight. If there's going to be a judicial battle over our rights, let's do it now, in our lifetimes.

The audience gave Tom a standing ovation, and GunsSaveLife thanks him for his hard work and activism on behalf of our rights.

From the Capitol Index