Reporter Lee Williams, aka The Gun Writer, has a regular column in the Sarasota, FL, Herald Tribune. He knew Aaron and was aware that JPFO had been handed off to the Second Amendment Foundation. So when he saw via Twitter that there was a new gun group in town following in Aaron’s footsteps, he jumped right in.
He opens:
Aaron Zelman was a titan within the gun-rights community.
The group he founded in 1989 — Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership — mimicked his bold, uncompromising personality and his truth-telling style.
Zelman and the JPFO called out anti-gun politicians, many of whom represented districts in the Northeast. He had a loud, powerful voice lawmakers learned to respect if not fear.
Some of Zelman’s tactics, though effective, could appear controversial to the uninitiated.
He once paired a picture of a saluting Adolf Hitler with the caption: “All those in favor of gun control raise your right hand.”
A classic, that.
Zelman never compromised in his support of the Second Amendment, or any other amendment, and his members loved him for it.
And it just gets better from there.
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As TZP’s own Sheila Stokes-Begley noted in her interview with Williams, people have given us a tremendous response. People have been asking how they can join and have told us they want TZP logo tee-shirts, fridge magnets, and other swag. We’re workin’ on it, guys. With your help and support, a lot will soon be happening.
Williams got just one small detail wrong in his report (which is really pretty good these days). He’s right that we don’t yet have a button to allow people to join. But we do have a button for donations. Check it out: top right of the page. AND we already have our first two generous donors.
That’s pretty good for a site that been online only a few weeks. We’ll be putting those donations and our behind-the-scenes energies into building an organization that you can join and can be proud of — an organization that will carry out Aaron’s mission. And even if nobody left on earth can conduct Aaron’s mission in Aaron’s unique style, we’ll give you our best.
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A personal note: Kudos to my fellow TZP founders — Jo Ann for hosting and site building, Sheila for dynamic public relations, Nicki for more things than I can name but especially social media skills (JPFO lost a dynamo when it lost Nicki), and Brad for good humored moral support. Kudos to all the TZP bloggers, especially our two newest, the famous Ilana Mercer and the more-humble-than-he-needs to be newcomer, Y.B. ben Avraham. What a privilege and a delight it is to be in your company.
And BIG kudos and thanks to Lee Williams for giving us such a superb and honest media launch.
