30 Nov 2011
Dear Member:
As I reflect on the first snow of the winter season this morning (and its removal!) I am drawn to reflect on the founders and charter members of our organization. Less than three years ago these brave men and women set a vision: to educate the public on the lawfulness of Open Carry and make it more normalized – and show that we’re just normal, friendly people like them. Like a plow sets down its blade and pushes aside the snow, these courageous men and women cleared the way for many of us to better enjoy the right to open carry in Michigan.
At the time of our founding, open carry wasn’t well known in Michigan, outside of hunting and target shooting. Some people would see a “man with a gun” (MWAG) and immediately call 9-1-1. Thanks to those who sparked our organization into life “MWAG calls” are now much less frequent. When such calls happen now we have evidence (as recently in the past few months in the Battle Creek area) that police aren’t reacting by automatically dispatching cars and detaining people for 20 minutes or more.
This tells me a few things:
1. We are on a good path.
2. We have much to be thankful for in regards to those who have lead before me. I’d like to mention them: Brian Jeffs, John Roshek, Jeff Sayers, and Scott Webb. Thank you, gentlemen!
While I was running for this leadership position, I was asked about my vision and what I’d like to see happen with the organization. Amongst these items were (in no particular order):
• Continue to grow our membership and involvement in metro-Detroit.
• Grow our membership throughout the state by holding more gatherings in the western and northern Portions of the lower peninsula.
• Step up our lobbying efforts in Lansing. In doing this we not only will be making the future for gun rights better, lobbying will also helps us better establish ourselves as a "legitimate" and "serious" gun rights organization in Michigan.
• Continue to fight against unlawful attempts by local governments to ignore preemption and trample our natural right to keep and bear arms.
Moving ahead with these items in mind, I look forward to serving you and our organization. I hope to help the organization grow in these next two years and thank those visionaries that “plowed” the way before me.
If you need to contact me, I can best be reached at board@miopencarry.org. I look forward to meeting many of you in the near future. Until then, have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to the opportunity of sharing my thoughts with you again in the future and thank you for our time and continued support of this organization.
Most Sincerely,
Phillip Hofmeister
President
Michigan Open Carry, Inc
Archived Previous Letters:
