August 2013
I hope everyone is having a great summer! Contrary to last year we’ve had a lot of rain! I won’t complain and I’ll bet the farmers are relieved and pleased! Here in my area temperatures have been mild and that I’m very grateful for.
If you missed the KSRA Annual Meeting in Topeka you missed a really outstanding event. There were several hundred members in attendance. We started off with the Annual Membership Business Meeting and elected the Board Officers and Directors for 2013 – 2014. I’m greatly honored to be serving you for a sixth term as your President. Thank you so much for asking me to lead you for another year as we forge ahead and continue our mission. I am humbled by the faith you have bestowed in me and I will do my best not to let you down.
After the business meeting we presented the KSRA Awards of Excellence. You’ll find a write up about each of them in this issue. Congratulations to all of them for a job well done! Presenting those awards is always the highlight for me.
We heard messages from KDWPT Secretary Robin Jennison who talked about changes in hunting regulations and hunter education issues. We appreciate his leadership regarding hunting, hunter education and conservation. We were then delighted with a message from Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, a staunch and ardent defender of the Second Amendment and the Constitution. Wrapping up the morning session we conducted a Legislative Interactive Panel with Representatives Jim Howell and John Rubin and Senator Forrest Knox, all outstanding true believers and champions of the Second Amendment in the Kansas Legislature. It was a great discussion! All of our speakers and panelists answered questions from members which I consider a valuable interaction and learning session.
After lunch we were honored with a two hour presentation by Sheriff Richard Mack, America’s Constitutional Sheriff! He gave a riveting speech and educated all of us on the responsibility and duties of our county Sheriff’s. It was a great lesson in what the Constitution actually has to say about that!
Later that evening about 150 people gathered at the Jayhawk Room for the Celebration of Liberty Event. We heard from many speakers such as Tom Boldin, Founder of the Tenth Amendment Center and another but different presentation by Sheriff Richard Mack. I spoke about the new laws we passed this session and gave some of the back story on it. A good time was had by all and the “gun cake” was a big hit!
On a little different note, I want to remind you all that the 2014 elections are right around the corner. It is imperative that we be able to support good pro-Second Amendment legislators and the anti-gun lobby is targeting some of those good folks who will be running for reelection to try to unseat them. Please consider a donation of any amount to the KSRA PAC so we can again be effective in maintaining a super majority of pro-Second Amendment legislators in both the Kansas House and Senate. Every dollar counts!
Enjoy your summer! I’ll leave you with a final thought.
"A free people ought to be armed. When firearms go, all goes, we need them by the hour. Firearms stand next to importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence." --George Washington, Boston Independence Chronicle,
January 14, 1790
Yours In Freedom,
Patricia A. Stoneking
President
Patricia A. Stoneking
President
##
February 2013
I see a lot of new people who are gravely concerned for this country getting involved in the campaign and election process. We are already seeing a much larger participation in the last two months than I have ever seen in Wyandotte County. With a seasoned and savvy leader like Mark Gilstrap at the helm as Chair of the county party he understands the importance of community outreach and working together as a team.
It was great attending the State Convention as a delegate from Wyandotte County and getting to network with other Republicans from all over the state. Kansas has many strong county parties which are growing all the time and I observed that more youth are getting involved in the party. I think it would behoove WyCo to get youth involved as they are the leaders of the future. I would like to see the Republican Women’s group schedule their meetings at the same location as the State Convention. Since they were in Topeka they were unable to attend the meeting in Hutchinson and I felt like there was a part of the party missing. It should be brought together under one roof next year. Wyandotte County has been identified as one of the weakest but fastest growing county parties in the state. I believe that the State leadership understands that they must participate in our county party and help us succeed by providing whatever resources necessary.
I think that a little education goes a long way and in order to turn Wyandotte County RED we will need to work to educate communities in our county and dispel the myth that the Republican party is the “good old white haired man party”. Getting our youth involved in getting the message out is one of the best ways that we can give a new look to the party. I think we have to clearly define what our message is and how to present it. Uncivil discourse is not the right approach. We need to work methodically to have thoughtful dialogue with the leaders in our WyCo communities because those community leaders are the ones who will influence the average voter in their neighborhood. We have to be willing to sit at the table, not as adversaries, but as concerned citizens who want the best for our county, our state and our nation and talk about how the policies of the Republican party best fit to achieve that end. We must make WyCo citizens see that we can no longer allow the status quo or business as usual. And I think it’s the job of the WyCo leadership to come up with the best strategy for doing these things effectively.
I believe that the next two years are critical and as they say, we must make hay while the sun shines! We have solid conservative leadership in our State Offices, Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and solid conservative leadership in both chambers of the Kansas Legislature. We have a conservative majority in the Senate, unlike none before it, that understands that the constitution, bill of rights and freedom and liberty must be first and foremost in the decisions that they make. I’ve been very excited since the 2013 session began because for the first time in four years I’ve been able to sit down with Senate leadership and have a thoughtful discussion about the future of the Second Amendment in Kansas. Our entire Senate leadership went from being primarily ‘F’ rated to ‘A’ rated and they’ve been a joy thus far to work with on our proposed legislation for this year. I have had both Senators and Representatives actually contact me and ask how they can help. That is certainly new and different on the Senate side! I expect this will be a very productive year!
No comments:
Post a Comment