The GOAL Podcast - Official Podcast of Gun Owners' Action League

On this episode we sit down with GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace to discuss recent goings on relevant to our work, including the status of our ongoing lawsuit against Attorney General Maura Healey (Worman v. Baker), our Concealed Carry Fashion Show, #SelfDefenseisaHumanRight, LTC/FID license delays and more.

On this episode we sit down with Stavroula Avramidis, who just took the leap of faith, left the corporate world and started her own female focused instruction business. She Equips Herself provides women with the tools they need to feel safe and confident no matter the situation, through personal safety workshops and 1 on 1 training. Stav has also recently taken up hunting, and has been spending some quality time in a tree stand, so we discuss what that process has been like, and how she plans to share this knowledge with her clients. We had a great time catching up with Stav and we are sure you will enjoy this episode. Be sure to check out SheEquipsHerself.com and follow along on Instagram.

On this episode we sit down with Attorney Jay McMahon. Jay is the Republican candidate for Attorney General with vast real world experience. We discuss the infamous and unconstitutional enforcement notice released by AG Healey on 7/20/16 and the Second Amendment in general, "shall not be infringed" rings true with this candidate! We also discuss the broken MA criminal justice system, how our courts endanger the good citizens of Massachusetts (#MACourtFails), while AG Healey instead chooses to spend her time suing President Trump and oil companies. If you would like more info about Attorney McMahon, please visit his website here. You can also sign up to stand out for Jay by visiting his website, or calling 508-759-9099. To follow GOAL online: Website Twitter Facebook Thanks for listening!

The Primer Episode 24 On this episode we discuss our soon to be published legislator and candidate grades for Massachusetts' elected officials and candidates. We also touch on the 3D fear mongering being perpetrated by many anti Second Amendment legislators, including our attorney general. We also discuss the kids marching 50 miles to Smith & Wesson to demand more gun control laws, and how their efforts are sadly misdirected. Thanks for tuning in! GOAL's website: www.goal.org Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

Now that the Extreme Risk Protection (ERPO) - "Red Flag" law has been signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker, we look back at the process, the many mistakes by legislative leadership, how it will fail to protect us, how it will fail to help those in need, and how they completely screwed up on electronic self defense devices. We also discuss the opioid epidemic in MA, which last year claimed almost 2000 people in Massachusetts, and how the legislature is refusing to increase penalties for drug traffickers and dealers who are also trafficking firearms.

On this episode we discuss "extreme protection order" legislation, currently being rebranded as "red flag" legislation across the country. This legislation, funded by New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg has been filed in many states, with the intention of providing a vehicle for stripping Second Amendment civil rights from citizens. People need to know that this legislation will do nothing to help people with mental health issues. We also discuss our new opioid and firearm trafficking bill which will provide severe penalties for those who traffic drugs and guns. For more information about these bills, please see our website, www.goal.org and follow us on social media.

Welcome to the Primer, official podcast of Gun Owners' Action League. On this episode we discuss the recent bump stock ban by the MA legislature and why GOAL did not take action in court. We also discuss other legislative issues, currently being discussed at the State House. Please note, this episode was recorded on February 6, 2018.

The Massachusetts Joint Committee On Public Safety & Homeland Security held a public hearing yesterday regarding many Second Amendment related bills. As you can imagine there was a lot of testimony on both sides of the issue. During the testimony a MA State Representative from Cambridge, MA provided chilling testimony that is a glaring example of the disrespect that many on her side of the aisle, within the MA legislature has for the Second Amendment. For this reason, GOAL has filed H.1296, An Act Relative To Constitutional Rights. This bill will force elected officials in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to recognize that the Second Amendment is a civil right equal to all civil rights. For more on all of this, please see our news/blog page here.

We started discussing H.3081, An Act Establishing Extreme Risk Protective Orders on Episode 17, "bad legislation and legal weed". Since that time, the legislation has gained momentum in the halls of the State House, so we wanted to revisit it and point out the many issues presented by this bill. For more info, you can also see our blog, here. If you would like to donate to our Dog Days Fundraiser, please click here. Thank you everyone for listening and supporting GOAL!

GOAL has been working on two new bills, which will enable people to choose their best means of self defense and get government out of the way. We made great strides towards that in 2014 when we deregulated the sale of self defense sprays, and are now working towards doing the same with electronic devices. These products are available over the counter in the majority of the country and we are working towards getting MA into the light regarding self defense choice. We hope you enjoy!

The Primer - Episode 17 On this episode of The Primer we sit down with GOAL's Executive Director Jim Wallace to discuss a couple of important topics. The first is Representative David Linsky's new legislation, H.3081 An Act Relative to Extreme Risk Protective Orders. We also discuss legalized marijuana in MA and how that can lead to pitfalls for licensed gun owners and those who someday may wish to be. As always, you can find more info on everything we discuss on our website, www.goal.org. Thanks for listening and please leave us a review on iTunes, this will help us with visibility!

The Primer - Episode 16. On this episode we are joined by GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace. We have a lot to talk about, we have filed a civil rights lawsuit in Federal Court against Attorney General Maura Healey, Governor Charlie Baker and other Massachusetts entities. We also talk about our legislative package for the 190th Massachusetts General Court. As always we have a lot of important pieces of legislation to discuss and how you can help us move them forward towards becoming law. As always we have lots of additional information on our website, www.goal.org

If they can do it to us, they can do it to you! On July 20, 2016 Attorney General Maura Healey announced a deliberate misinterpretation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts via a highly controversial enforcement notice posted on her website. There was no due process, no public input, no members of the legislature debated her enforcement notice and the governor never signed it into law. Hundreds of thousands of licensed gun owners are now threatened by Healey with a ten year felony charge for failure to comply to the information posted on her webpage. (She also wrote that her enforcement notice is open to change at her discretion.) Attorney General Healey's actions demonstrated a complete disregard for due process, she did it to advance a political agenda for her personal gain, she usurped the power of the legislature, she silenced the courts, and she muted the voice of the voters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As a result of Healey's actions, hundreds of small businesses owned by moms and dads are suffering. They are providers and they are grossly affected by her action. By her enforcement notice hundreds of thousands of law abiding gun owners now have a ten-year felony hanging over their head because of property they legally purchased. Her action also denies families the ability to include many firearms in a will, making inheritance impossible. On this episode we discuss how Healey is intimidating and threatening law abiding citizens with her enforcement notice and lack of clarity it contains. Click here to read the enforcement notice.

Massachusetts State Senator Mike Moore (D) Second Worcester has been a state senator for 8 years. On this episode we discuss Senator Moore's background and how he became a state senator. We also discuss becoming a candidate for office in MA, common mistakes, best methods and more!

Massachusetts Attorney General Unilaterally Changes Gun Laws http://www.mass.gov/ago/public-safety/awbe.html Without any prior notice or public hearings and while the legislature is on break for national conventions the Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, has issued an "Enforcement Notice" to firearm retailers throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts changing the longstanding definition of so-called "Assault Weapons". For nearly 18 years since the passage of the 1998 Gun Control Act firearm retailers, gun owners and state agencies have been operating under the same interpretation. Now, suddenly, without warning or any due process a single person with a clear political agenda decides to change the rules. All Massachusetts residents should be alarmed! GOAL is currently trying to decipher the enforcement letter, but with as much information that it contains, it is not very clear what it means. Statements such as the following make it very convoluted: "… a weapon is a Copy or Duplicate, for example, if the operating system and firing mechanism of the weapon are based on or otherwise substantially similar to one of the Enumerated Weapons." Virtually every semi-automatic that utilizes a detachable magazine has the same operating system or firing mechanism, so what does this mean? The short answer is we simply don't know. Our best advice to firearm retailers for now is to err on the side of caution. These new rules may cover a lot more than just what we might think. GOAL is working with people and groups around the State and the nation to clarify these new interpretations and decide the best course of action. One thing is certain that this new interpretation is purely a political stunt and has nothing to do with public safety or real law. Jim Wallace Executive Director

The Primer, Episode 12 - No Fly No Buy. On this episode we discuss the events over the last week with Congress and the #NoFlyNoBuy movement that is being propelled by many house Democrats. We discuss the secret government lists, the issues with them and why they should never be allowed to be used to erode or destroy guaranteed rights without due process.

The Primer Episode 11 with Mandy Deveno. Mandy Deveno is a shooting sports enthusiast, avid hunter, NRA Instructor, and working on becoming the Massachusetts State 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator. On this episode we discuss her experience raising kids, teaching gun safety, hunting, running 4H programs and more!

The Primer – Episode 10 with Alex Hartmann of Ridgeline Shooting. Alex Hartmann is a former Marine and OEF veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq as a Marine Corps Scout Sniper. Currently Alex teaches many aspects of firearms training and self defense through his Ridgeline Shooting Academy. For Episode 10 we talk about his path to becoming a Scout Sniper, his thoughts on precision shooting, teaching it, and what a new shooter should know about it. We conclude by discussing the Orlando attack and the sort of things that licensed gun owners can do to be better prepared for a worst-case scenario. Give Alex a follow on his website here: http://ridgelineshooting.com/

Lexington voices. In episode 8 and 9 we will hear from Lexington residents whose rights came under attack via an article filed on the town meeting warrant, which needed to be voted down. Two of the leaders of the efforts to stop the attacks are Mike Barg and Alan Seferian, we will hear their take on what transpired in Lexington and how LexForLiberty came to be. We will also hear how they were successful in protecting liberty for Lexington residents.

Lexington voices. In episode 8 and 9 we will hear from Lexington residents whose rights came under attack via an article filed on the town meeting warrant, which needed to be voted down. Two of the leaders of the efforts to stop the attacks are Mike Barg and Alan Seferian, we will hear their take on what transpired in Lexington and how LexForLiberty came to be. We will also hear how they were successful in protecting liberty for Lexington residents.

Senate Budget Alert GOAL is asking our members to contact their Massachusetts state senator and ask that they OPPOSE senate budget amendment #888. The amendment would establish mandates to wildlife management programs within the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) as well as establish a "working group" for those programs. GOAL is well aware that the establishment of a rattlesnake population on a Quabbin island has become very controversial with local residents. All levels of management for fisheries and wildlife have apologized for the mishandling of the project and have placed the project on hold while they hear and address the concerns of local residents and legislators. GOAL has not taken a stance for or against the establishment of a new snake colony. Our concern comes with keeping politics out of the professional management of our wildlife resources and protecting millions of dollars of firearm owner's money! Millions of dollars every year that are collected through excise taxes from the sale of firearms and ammunition partially fund the DFW. It is because of this that GOAL carefully watches how your money is being spent. If we were to allow political mandates like amendment #888 to pass, it would not be a far reach to see future mandates on everything the DFW is involved in. Can you imagine extremist groups lobbying to remove funding for managing deer, turkey, or pheasant hunting? How about mandating working groups to study hunting or fishing in general? Every program that you cherish and pay for would be at jeopardy if we allow mandates like this to move forward! Regardless of where you stand on the snake project, please stand with GOAL and prevent the future politicization of professional wildlife management. Please call your Massachusetts state senator today and ask them to oppose senate budget amendment #888 and protect professional wildlife management. Learn about the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program: http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/AboutUs/ItemsTaxedJan2011.pdf Amendment #888 - Timber Rattlesnakes Mr. Lesser moved that the proposed new text be amended, in Section 2, in item 2310-0200, by adding at the end thereof, the following:- "provided further, that no state funding, resources, or personnel shall in any way be used to establish or re-establish a population of venomous Timber Rattlesnakes in a location they presently do not exist; and provided further that the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife shall establish a working group to recommend the best ways to protect the Timber Rattlesnake population in locations where they presently exist."

The Primer, Episode 6 with Brent Carlton, President of Commonwealth Second Amendment, a non-profit Second Amendment litigation and education group, which specializes in Massachusetts law. Commonwealth Second Amendment (Comm2A) has been doing great work in MA for 5 years now, so we thought it would be great to sit down and talk about their work, accomplishments and how our groups benefit each other. We hope you enjoy!

The Primer, official podcast of Gun Owners' Action League. Episode 5, Let's Talk Lexington! On this episode we discuss how town meetings are being used as a subversive means of suppressing our Second Amendment rights. We discuss what just happened in Lexington, the future for Longmeadow and more.

The Primer! Official podcast of Gun Owners' Action League, episode 4 features our friend Mike Williams from the American Suppressor Association. On this episode we discuss GOAL's legislation at the MA State House, a national and local overview of the laws pertaining to suppressors, the history, the myths and more! Click here for more information about American Suppressor Association.

For some time now GOAL has been meeting with the "distressed persons" task force, formed as part of Chapter 284, this task force is working on finding best solutions regarding gun ownership, mental health issues, and suicide prevention. We have not liked much of the info that has been presented and are working very hard to prevent some of the misguided ideas from becoming legislature to be voted on at the State House.

Episode two. For this episode we are glad to have our Director of Education, Jon Green join us. We discuss many things regarding MA firearms law including how to get an LTC/FID card, training opportunities at GOAL, the convoluted lists and rosters regarding which firearms you can purchase and more!

The Primer, a Second Amendment podcast from Gun Owners' Action League of Massachusetts. On this episode we will kick things off with an update on legislation currently at the State House, the proposed Lexington gun ban, Lowell's continued attack on 2A rights and more.