From: "Christopher W. Knox" Subject: Meet Neal Knox To: cknox@crl.com (Blind CC sent to the Firearms Coalition Online) Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1993 09:57:42 -0700 (MST) Howdy, folks: I know that many of you are already familiar with Neal Knox, but that may not include everyone. There are also some questions that seem to come around a lot, so this is also an FAQ answer. Chris === Meet Neal Knox Neal Knox is the premier spokesman for the Second Amendment in America. Strong words, and it would be reasonable to take them with a grain of salt since they come from his son, but I think they're justified. In an October 26, 1993 profile, _The Wall Street Journal_ said he "is likely to have a greater impact on the rapidly escalating firefight over gun control than any other individual in America." Knox has testified before Congressional committees at least fifty times since 1966 when he appeared before the House Subcommittee on Crime against what eventually became the Gun Control Act of 1968. He was the founding editor of _Gun Week_ , editor and publisher of _Handloader_ and _Rifle_ magazines, and Executive Director of NRA-ILA following the Cincinatti reforms. For the past nine years he has worked as a writer and lobbyist supported by people who believe as he does, that the Second Amendment is about the fundamental human right to defend self, home, family, and country. The Firearms Coalition Those who financially support Neal Knox in his work, who retain him as their lobbyist, are the Firearms Coalition. There are no FC belt buckles, no caps, no secret decoder rings, just a bi-monthly newsletter and the good feeling that comes from supporting a good work. _The Hard Corps Report_ has come to be known as a reliable source of straight information on the politics of gun ownership. Unlike other political newsletter writers, Dad encourages readers to reproduce and distribute his mailings asking only that the source be cited and that the Firearms Coalition's address appear. Except for NRA's FAX and GunTalk releases, no other pro-gun organization's mailings are so widely distributed on the Net. The people who scan or transcribe those mailings are not employees of Neal Knox. They are people who feel what he has to say is important and that he needs to be heard. The _Online Firearms Coalition Bulletin_ The electronic bulletins are generally the scripts that are used to on the phone mail legislative update line at (301) 871-3006. But we can also send out detailed information such as "box scores" of gun rights votes in Congress. We also take advantage of the speed of electronic mail to send out special updates and bulletins that would be too time-sensitive to entrust to the U.S. Postal Service. Why not just post? If you are familiar with News and the talk.politics.guns newsgroup, you may wonder why we don't just post the information rather than taking the trouble to build and maintain a mailing list. The reason is that posting would violate the "no commercial use" rule of netiquette. The equipment and services to get access to the Net are not free. We intend to fundraise and we don't want to become involved in a flame war with the other side over what should and shouldn't be in News. On the other hand, other people (bless you each and every one) have been posting the _Hard Corps Report_, including the beg letter, for years with nary a complaint. That seems to be an effective policy to continue. In short, if you'd like to see a Firearms Coalition Online Bulletin in News, you can put it there yourself. This is a new effort and there are bound to be glitches. If you have a suggestion or see a problem, by all means drop me a line. Chris Knox cknox@crl.com