Gun Rally - Yes or No

If I say yes or no right now I'd guess a fair proportion of readers (however few they are in numbers) will log off this page & go look at some cool videos. That's likely to be summed up with 2 sayings that annoy some pople "Such is life" and "It is what it is".

So instead...

There is one & only one prime action left between the last day of the WA Parliament sitting & March 8th when it comes to Firearms Laws & Regulations. One. Just One. Vote Labor Out. As I type there are 37 days until Polling day. Even less when you consider Pre-Polling. There's an increasing number of people who use Pre-Polling. It's not long. Putting aside whether or not the Gun Rally is damaging or negative I'm not sure if the net gain benefits are there compared to focusing on the #1 ISSUE - Vote Labor Out. Perhaps the rally will help that priority but we can be certain what the speakers say will not be realyed in full without clever bias editing around the state. The rally is largely preaching to the converted, well a portion of them & whether they feel or genuinely are unrepresented or not at the moment, right now for that to change, they will have to change. I'm not sure if they mean unrepresented or not a direct input but right now the only task is Get Labor Out so they need to do their bit now & every day until Polling Day. The political dead zone is Last day of Parliament until Polling day. Not much happens except election promises. The representative groups can do nothing, no one will see them. Ministers are campaigning, making funding announcements that actually were decided before the last budget but are rolled out now for vote value. Local MP gets their picture taken with a massive LotteryWest Cheque for funding...stop, think & realise. THAT MP DID NOT MAKE THAT FUNDING DECISION. If they did that's a breach of proper process. They're the local big knob so they get asked to present it...you bet they will, vote points. Little is happening now except campaigning. There is no ability to improve anything in the legislature, there is not ability to improve the regulations via committee, minister or cabinet. THIS IS THE POLITICAL DEAD ZONE. Its the dead zone when a hostile to us govt would love for us to get stirred up & bang fingers at each other, jostle for position. Where we create our own wedges & we help the Government divide & conquer us. If there is 90,000 licenced firearms owners I don't what % the rally organisers are expecting but sadly the Labor Govt is not scared of anyone, regardless of the numbers Their arrogance and contempt for the Firearms ePitition was staggering. Over 30,000 people signed on to the largest ePetition & 2nd largest of ANY petition to Parliament in my lifetime. It was ignored. Some were pretty irate that there's 90,000 firearms owners & only 30,000+ signed it. THAT was a massive turnout. Remember it it called for was that the Firearm's Bill be referred to the Upper House Legislation Committee as it should have been automatically. Few bills have gone there, a committee which is usually VERY busy. Louise Kingston MLC was sworn in & she signed onto that committee because one MP stepped down because there was strangely very little to do. As if the committee was bound & gagged, thrown in a dark cellar & told "Shush now, we'll call you when we need you) The committee's roll is to drill down deeper into the Bill, test all the problem list & the risk assessments that should be stacked high in files (doesn't seem to be any), go through all the independent evidential research of problem-solution connections & the etrics that would be used to gauge success or otherwise after the Bill is passed. THEN the Legislative Council's Legislation Committee would make recommendations for possible amendments (and why) and the Legislation Council considers them during debate. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN. THIS is the stab in the face for the WA Parliament. Stabbed with an ice pick that was dipped in red hot contempt. Now if that wasn't enough to be bigger front page news every week since the Bill was made law here's some emphasis that should. 492 sections in the Bill. It was MASSIVE. The WA Labor Party pulled the procedure lever referred to the guillotine. Debate cut short. Less that 3% of the Bill was debated. Forget the topic of firearms. Can you imagine any bill not being fully debated & if it was so serious, so over due, so much an existential threat to public safety...why was it denied passage to the Legislation Committee & not fully debated It was bulldozed through. Now if you had a Bad Legislation Rally now, it would be a flop, we're in the dead zone until March 8th. We are shouting into a cyclone with our vocal cords removed. A rally on legislation now would be all colour, movement & some sound if you're there. Otherwise it really is akin to, a tree falling in a forrest but no one's there, did it make any noise? I'd guess yes, but it changed nothign out to sea & is patently ineffective. The number one priority is Vote Labor Out. If anyone thinks showing up at the rally is all they have to do they are mistaken. If they think they are unrepresented, marginalised and/or not heard perhaps go through the cupboard & put on some adult pants (whether you go to a rally or not, think its a good thing or not) Write to a MP now. Don't wait for a reply, send another one in 4 days time then repeat. Egos & peeing contests over different tribes is counter productive. Go join a political party, or if you don't like that, send a donation which will help Vote Labor Out. Contact the local candidates you align with, offer to wear their T Shirt on Polling day, help with door knocking now. I'm not going to the rally, but I'm helping others to try & get elected. By all means go to the rally if you think there's a Net Benefit Gain...but don't get all loud & grumpy if that's the only effort you put it. Spare any time you can helping to Vote Labor Out. If after there election you're one of those who is again loud & grumpy and all you did was rant on FaceBook...don't you dare point fingers at the group or groups that all the political parties recognise, that will open their doors to listen to. Its those impatient angry foot stompers that are helping the Labor Govt divide and conquer. I note some Rally advocates talk unity, stop divide & conquer but they're not saying go to the Rally, then write to MPs twice a week, help one or more candidates from one or more different parties with their door knocking or handing out how to vote cards, donating time & money. Are you willing to spare time on polling day in the T shirt of a non Labor Party to hand out How To Vote? You should if you want good things saved. We have a very big problem & we need a calm wise solution. That involves you being present & helping or absent & being the problem. You ought to be angry but you have to be wise, smart, focused & measured. FWIW you have one Lower House MP & 6 Upper House MPs representing you, no matter where you live in WA. It will be that way until March 8th. Keep writing to them because they aren't all pullong out of politics. This election the ballot, Upper House changes, there is now One Vote One Value (which is neither equal or fair) so on the Upper House ballot the only district/region/electorate is WA. Where are most voters? Wanneroo to Bunbury. Where are most Labor voters? Traditionally Wanneroo to Bunbury. It was to fix the Upper House result in Labor's favour, nothing else.  

Which party should you support? You work it out, you decide but remember these things

Govt is formed in the Lower House. There will be 3 parties who'll get MPs elected there.
Only Labor will elect in its own right, the other option is a Liberal-National Government. 
If you want people to only vote Liberal, good luck, there won't be a change of Government. If you want a Nationals only Govt, forget luck cannot happen. You need minimum of 30 seats to form Govt & Nationals to date only have 17 candidates & many of them are in seats the Nationals have never contested before.

You Need To Promote Both Liberal & Nationals.
Both have committed to fixing the Firearms Act & yet still there's firearms owners wanting to demonise the Liberal Party. They have committed to fixing it. In the Lower House promote & vote Liberal or Nationals.
Re that massive ePetition...who organised that? Petitioner was Rick Mazza. The facilitating MP was Hon. Nick Goiran MLC. Both from the Liberal Party.
Maybe stop trying to find reasons to destroy what you want & get on board 

Help, promote & Vote Liberal & Nationals
In the Upper House help, promote, Vote Liberals, Nationals & friendly independents or minnow parties

If you want to demonise anyone, pick Labor & Greens, pin your ears back & go hard.