My notes from the 2 hour conversation are below the video
Daily Gun Show 1,386
2A Motivation Monday
Michael Schwartz
San Diego County Gun Owners
Gun Owners Radio
Executive Director for San Diego County Gun Owners PAC (SDCGO)
Helped launch:
– Orange County Gun Owners
– Riverside County Gun Owners
– San Bernardino County Gun Owners2020 – co-Host – Gun Owners Radio
https://minutemanuniversity.com/michael-schwartz/
RSWC #153 Michael Schwartz
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
1.4K subs
Favorite quotes:
“We’re a community; we’re the Second Amendment community in San Diego.”
“I got bummed out and I thought ‘something has to change’.”
“Being harassed like that, kinda being singled out for exercising a Right, that had an affect.”
“I believe that our organization, our model, is the ounce of prevention.”
“My Second Amendment isn’t the problem.”
Note from our Conversation
Michael Schwartz, 2A Activism in 2022
San Diego County Gun Owners
Gun Owners Radio
Started at the San Diego Republican Party
Being disregarded as a “Gun Guy” in politics
- Went to Gun Clubs
“Batters Gun Owners Syndrome”
“If we don’t rock the boat, they will leave us alone”
Designed the plan to incorporate the winning pieces focused on the 2nd Amendment
- Foucus on 2nd Amendment
- Didn’t want to step on toes / split hairs
- Focused on Locals (school, sheriff)
“What kind of group should it be”?
- PAC Political Action Committee, Take donations, & fund candidates
- Got a CPA to do everything correctly
started in 2015
Xmas 2015 party (200-300 people)
- Q = how do the PACs wield their power? (money)
- Smaller scale PAC, earning trust of the participants
example – 87 people walked the neighborhood & ran flag on cars
- Lost her fone and went to the Airport & the person knew her from SDGO
SDGO Currently has 3,400 members (in 7 years)
- Awards ceremony gala “Second Amendment Celebrity Dinner”
- fundraiser
- Showpiece for the local media
Gun Owners have made a mistake by ignoring the media
- Spend a lot of time crafting the message, then reaching out to everyone who wants to mention SDGO
- Making the other side respond to our message
- “$10,000 gun show challenge” - we will donate to your legal defense fund
- we got ¾ of the article they got ¼ and looked bad
Not a fan of Marches or Rallys
- rather a press conference / press releases
Johnathan Haidt book
https://amzn.to/3qz9cy6
6 moral foundations
Right = Value all 2 equally
Left = Caring & FairnessMost of their messaging is based on caring & fairness
CA has a dis-appropriate amount of laws, and the law are used against minority groups
“Why should 2A matter to me?”
The media is trained to know they can get a calm response from SDGO
SDGO asks politicians to sign a pledge to ‘tak with SDGO if any gun laws come up”
Q – have you needed to play that card?
- Yes all the time
How to measure success?
Are we changing minds?
Are we killing bad bills?
We have got some to vote with SDGO
the city of SD has 9 sitting committee members
in 7 years some cities have become pro, some have become anti
3.5 million people
Gun owner rights are a big political issue now more than ever before
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance
Q’s
(we had muskets & bolt actions and semi-auto, now the internet and social media )
- How do you stay motivated?
- you define your success
- decide what are measure of influences for you- focus on realistic goals
- take the wins and build on it.- feel blessed to be involved at this point in history
- can’t imagine a more important job
- The other Gun Groups in CA?
- were folks skeptical? Scared?
- there were people who were very supportive but skeptical
- larger group of gun owners who said “this will never work”
- How do you feel about / deal with “Fuds”?
- have to remember they are on you side
- so & so says its not that way .. so I try to rack the person down & explain to them too
- go to the source and attempt to explain
- can’t spend your carrier trying to convince everyone, know when to walk away
- be effective at communication so
- Difficult to balance Messaging & Recruitment?
- Do you use “2A is the gateway to other infringements” message ?
- offer a consistent message
- spend time crafting the message before hand
- I might get :25 seconds out of a 2 minute clip on media
- we then use those clips to explain to media the position
- they get a lot of good feedback from gun owners for the work being done
- Worth the risks? With Campaign
- Are there any other gatherings for 2A (or Gun Owners) that are more effective than 2A Rallys / marches?
- monthly meetings, fun , interesting & social & with a call to action
- giving them something to do after showing up
- Not Me (women program) to stop assault by education on gun ownership & CCW
- Women volunteers
- Many events, key = people walk away with people feeling like there was a reason for the event
- Are there already strategy for when politicians are better? Or is that something
- Partnered with FPC
- Changing Culture
- 7 years ago 1,100 – to over 6,000 now
- more gun owners
- getting people elected due to gun issues
-
Is there a ‘tipping point’ where SDGO wins influence with politicians?
- depends on the size of the area
- Partnered with FPC, why was that non-profit status, sir ??
- They reached out as the SDGO started when other orgs were adversarial
- They do lawsuits, funding & plaintiffs
- SDGO helped find the players
- Lawsuits make activists lazy
- How many Gun Owners are there in CA?
- How big is SD compared to the rest of CA?
35-40 million in CA
3.5 million in SD county
3.2 million in Orange Ocunty
4 Riverside & San Bern
- OG Pumpkin & Thrash n Raid
- Charlie Cook asked “What was your favorite guest on the radio show?”
OG Pumpkin
https://www.ogpumpkin.com
Thrash n Raid
https://tnrskateboards.com
- Your POV on Using Media as a tool?
- Your POV on Reliance on Lawsuits, why?
Is it because there is not an example to follow “door to door, etc”?
- what would be a better route?
- What resources does a 2A Activist need in 2022?
- what skills do you have to use for the 2nd amendment?
- if your skills are specific, look deeper, and apply them toward 2A- the most important thing is to get involved
- if it is 3 hours a week
- do not need to leave your comfort zone
- “my first interview was horrible” try to learn to talk with folks
- we have a LOT of engineers in 2A, we do not have enough “Salesmen”
- get better at sales or help find more salesmen- we have plenty of resources
- we have all the information at out fingertips
- 2 Books you can recommend to 2A Activists?
Johnathan Haidt’s book on “6 moral foundations”
https://amzn.to/3qz9cy6
Biography: of Gandhi & Martin Luther King
“Rules for Radicals” -
H.L. Richardson – Confrontational Politics
https://amzn.to/3Be2lio
- What would you do as the 5-Star General of 2A ?
- where we are today is amazing
- we need more local ‘boots on ground’ organizations in battleground cities / regions
- thankful for the efforts we have today, we have minor mistakes, like ignoring media
- Get more people involved with their Dime or their Time
- the percentage of volunteers is very low, get more people involved
- the amount of time the 2A Activists spend ‘keeping the lights on’
- “how many gun owners need to become of ‘the tipping point’
- remember that just 50% +1 need to show up to vote
- remember no one is perfect, know the strengths & weaknesses
In the past few years what has Michael seen needs to strengthen in citizens in the gun community
- Be unapologetic but humble
- too apologetic is bad
- so is being too aggressive
Where is Gun Prom at and when ?
750 people in 2021
1,000 people in 2020
Second Amendment Celebration Dinner
https://www.gunprom.com
800 – 1,000 people is a good ammount
Q - have there been some gotcha interviews?
- Be ready for the Gotcha Interview with every one
- They printed the whole press release once
- but usually so prepared
- they want friction
- they are not trying to further their narrative, they just want a spark
- Would it work outside of California?
- yes, it should
- The big Rock from Red Dawn