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"Infringed" documentary going for crowd-funding
"Infringed: The Second Amendment in the Crosshairs," has a kickstarter page for contributions that went live a few hours ago. This is a professional team out to create a professional product, and I hope they keep at it after this.
In the right hand column they have various rewards for different levels of support.
5 Comments | Leave a comment
Hi Jim -
We thank you for your $5 pledge, and I'm sure you understand that we certainly hope you're wrong about the outcome! :-)
Over the years we have watched the anti-gun lobby funnel billions of dollars into misinforming the American public about guns, violence, and the Second Amendment. As a result they have created significant numbers of voters who are sufficiently confused that they continue to vote for politicians who undermine and subvert Constitutional liberties.
The mainstream media aren't going to correct the problem: they're part of it.
Associations like the NRA and NAGR lobby against bad law, but don't do enough in the way of reeducating the misled component of the voter pool. Consequently the lobbying efforts become more and more difficult as the groups trying to preserve gun rights get cast as "bad guys" who "just want to sell guns." The non-gun-owning public gets repeatedly told that real people don't really believe anything pro-2A, it's all just a plot by gunmakers to make more money.
That's why, in our view, it is essential that this project succeed. If it does, it makes powerful statements in two ways.
First, the message of the movie itself reaffirms that the Second Amendment was part of a powerful framework of laws designed and intended by the founders to be the country's legislative foundation. While we certainly address present day issues to debunk anti-gun rhetoric, what viewers should walk away with is a reverence for how our bedrock laws helped make the USA the great nation it is and how dangerous it is to ignore, undermine or subvert those laws.
Second, the grassroots nature of the funding itself is intended to send a companion message. This project isn't being funded by any of the "name" special interest groups. It's being funded by the plain old ordinary Americans the anti-gun lobby claims don't exist.
We hope you'll join us in helping to get the word out, and in proving them wrong.
Kind regards,
Pete Gould, Executive Producer / Director
INFRINGED: Second Amendment in the Crosshairs
Well, I join you in hoping I am wrong! Best of luck!
PS - I'll even up my pledge a bit ;-)
You might want to reconsider trying to justify your project by criticizing the NRA as inadequate. Your project is a great idea that stands on its own, so why attack the very folks who would want you to succeed? (Also, lumping NAGR in with NRA is just embarrassing.)
In response to "Suggestion to Pete" - in NO way am I criticizing the NRA, nor am I "lumping them in with NAGR" except in the sense that they and numerous other large nonprofits advocate for the liberties guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
It's simply a truism that all the large pro-2A nonprofits have focused their energies on combating bad law. That's not a criticism - it's something that needs to be done. But it leaves few resources for reaching the public with a positive message.
Moreover, if the NRA produced this project, it would be dismissed by the anti-gun community as a propaganda piece produced by the firearms industry, and even people who might have had an open mind will be prejudiced against it because the anti-gunners have done such an effective job at villifying the gun rights organizations - not just the NRA but ALL of them.
That's why we think this project can be so effective, IF we can get the kind of grassroots funding that says "this was NOT produced by an advocacy group - this was produced through the efforts of independent filmmakers and funded by the mainstream." That's an extraordinarily powerful message if we are successful at generating it.
Thanks for the opportunity to clarify. (BTW - I'm a proud NRA member myself - not a board member, not an officer, just a proud regular old dues-paying member).
Pete
Ha, I pledged $5.00. Don't have a spare $10,000 to be co-producer or whatever. Sadly, my bet is that I'll be keeping my $5.00. I don't see this getting fully funded.