TFC Reorganized

[Charles L. Cotton]

The Texas Firearms Coalition's website has been completely revamped to better represent the new format for the TFC. When the TFC was launched in 2011, the goal was to create a Texas advocacy group that would focus on education, advocacy and representation. In order to grow the organization and do it quickly, dues were set very low; i.e. $12/year. In all candor, it didn't work. Only 167 people joined and this did not begin to provide funding for one of TFC's primary goals of offering live seminars in many cities and towns throughout Texas. Reluctantly, the TFC website was taken down and we stopped accepting Members and donations so it could be reorganized.

The new Texas Firearms Coalition is in operation with a totally new structure. We still need a large membership, especially in light of what we are facing from the national anti-gun forces. To achieve the membership levels we need to have an impact in Texas, the decision was made not to charge a membership fee. That's right, you can join for free. It is absolutely critical that we have a large base of activists who will answer calls-to-action and do so quickly. While I post such notices here on the TexasCHLforum.com, they are not seen until people log into the Forum. At times this is fine, but at times we need a much faster response. Having many tens of thousands of TFC Members with accurate email addresses will make massive and timely responses possible. (With approximately 700,000 Texas CHL's alone and millions more Texas gun owners, the TFC membership should be measured in the hundreds of thousands!) Rest assured, we will never sell or otherwise provide your email address to anyone.

When you join, you will fill out an online information sheet. Please take the time to learn your House and Senate District (link on TFC website) if you don't already know it. Being able to send emails to people living in specific districts is invaluable in some cases. Please note that you can sign up for email blasts and eNewsletters on the website and it would be very helpful if you would do so. This means we won't have to manually enter your email address when we get your membership application. Obviously, you could simply sign up for email on the website without joining, but please don't do that. Membership numbers matter to politicians, so please join. Also, some email notices will be sent only to people who join, so you may miss out on some information and calls-to-action if you merely sign up for emails without joining.

Please encourage your friends and family to join also. One goal is to get as many people as possible to create phone and/or email trees to help us get the word out quickly. The more people you can get to join and provide email addresses, the fewer people you will have to contact yourself.

Since traveling throughout Texas to give seminars and other educational presentations is not possible, we will be relying heavily on audio and video podcasts and webinars, in addition to our website articles. How much of this we can do will depend upon funding that will come from various sources. I just announced an online CHL class registration and automated CHL-100/CHL-8 service for CHL instructors and a significant portion of the subscription revenue will be used to partially fund TFC. The newly revamped http://www.TexasShooting.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; will be an online magazine for Texas gun owners with a lot of features. It will not be politically oriented and will serve as a resource for all types of shooting activities, articles, videos and much more. The goal of TexasShooting.com is to promote all aspects firearms ownership and usage whether for sporting or self-defense purposes. It will also offer a service for shooting ranges, clubs, instructors and matches much like the registration/reservation service offered to instructors on CHLregistration.com. A portion of the proceeds from TexasShooting.com will also be used to fund the TFC. Donations can also be made to TFC and the website is set up to accept donations in any amount you wish. Please consider supporting TFC by making a contribution. Please note that donations to TFC will not be tax deductible.

When the idea of TFC was just a fleeting thought in the shower one morning a few years back, I promised my wife that, unlike every other Second Amendment activity I have engaged in for 30 years, TFC would not be funded out of our personal bank account. I have kept that promise and will continue to do so. Martha has been incredibly supportive of my efforts for decades and her request is reasonable. We can grow our Membership to a truly impressive number because membership is free, but how much of the current operational model will be possible will depend on how well the various funding sources are supported.

I want to make this very clear. TFC is not and never will be a substitute for joining the NRA! In fact, supporting a newly invigorated ProjectOneMillionTexas.org effort to get NRA membership in Texas at or above 1 million will be one of the primary activities of the TFC. As I've noted in other threads and articles, we absolutely must grow the NRA to tens of millions of members, or we will lose the fight for the Second Amendment. I hate sports analogies because they are so overused, but I can't resist this one because it is so appropriate. The fight to save the Second Amendment isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Every single one of us must stay involved, stay active and stay committed to growing and funding the NRA.

Thanks,
Chas.

[Wes]

Joined, thanks for all you do Charles.

link to join page for everyone - http://www.texasfirearmscoalition.com/

[texanjoker]

That is excellant. I will sign up today.

[gigag04]

Are us original folk still in or do we need to re register?

[TexasCajun]

I'm in!

[Sidro]

Are us original folk still in or do we need to re register?

[Seabear]

Got'er done.

[Wodathunkit]

Done

[10Shooter]

Done

[mbschne]

Signed up.

[77346]

done

[Charles L. Cotton]

Are us original folk still in or do we need to re register?

Please register again. This is a new site with a new database.

Thanks,
Chas.

[Jumping Frog]

Ok, I signed up. However, I messed one thing up. I figured I'd create the membership record, then go find my electoral districts, then come back and edit my membership.

My mistake. I see no way to edit a membership. If you are able to help me fix my error, I am in TX House 126, TX Senate 7, SBOE 6, and US House district 2.

[The Annoyed Man]

Are us original folk still in or do we need to re register?

I just went ahead and signed up again, since I can't remember my username and password.

[C-dub]

I'm in again.