Box Elder Wildlife Federation

[OldBear]

This message is not intended to sway your opinion on the subject one way or another, it is meant to give you more than one thing to think about. In fact, I probably have not made up my mind on it either, but here goes:

Today's USPS delivery brought us a pair of envelopes from NRA to registered members. Subject matter was corporate firing of employees by some companies for having firearms in their vehicles on company property, specifically parking lots.

The basic message was that these corporations (including AOL, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, and Weyerhaeuser) were from the top management levels anti-gun organizations locked in a multi-corporate plan to decimate the 2nd Ammendment. The NRA is representing the fired employees it seems, and enlisting political influence and renewed memberships to assist.

I read along until the companies were named. Now I personally don't really give a hoot about any of the companies. I don't use any of AOL services, there are no ConocoPhillips stations around here that I patronize, I don't have any business with Halliburton, and when I buy an occasional piece of lumber it *might* say Weyerhaeuser..... But there is where I started remembering something I had heard about Weyerhaeuser allowing individual hunters onto their millions of acres.

"Whoa", I thought, "If Weyerhaeuser is anti-gun, they would not probably allow hunters onto their property, or they would farm it out to some club that would keep you and me from access". But I couldn't remember where I had heard the story. Then it came back.

In an issue of Sports Afield some avid hunter wrote a story about how to find more hunting access. Specifically mentioned were the millions of tree-farm acres owned and managed by Weyerhaueser across the country, and open to hunters and campers and other outdoors types. So I clicked up the old browser and pointed it to http://www.weyerhaeuser.com. Once there I found a link called something like public relations. So I clicked it and went to http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/citizenship/landaccess/default.asp.

There I found their well-done website references for several states and several locations within each state. When I chose a particular location in Washington State that link gave me a phone number to call for info on that area, which were the large Aberdeen-Raymond parcels up in Washington State, it said; ( Please call 1-866-636-6531 for more information ). I dialed the number and listened to the corporate information for people who wanted to go onto their property.

Basically, Weyerhaueser granted permission to hunt, camp, hike, etc on their land with certain restrictions: (1)Pack-it-in, Pack-it-out, period. (2)Stay on improved roads. (3)Don't cut, drive over, damage, or take any of our trees. (4)Do your target-practice and sighting-in before you get here because only game in season hunting shots are allowed. (5)Break our rules and we cancel your invitation immediately.

I had a hard time resolving this seemingly generous access policy with the thought that Weyerhaueser is engaged in a sinister corporate scheme with other anti-gun forces to disarm the American citizen. Of course, like the info said, they could change the rules at any time and would keep information signs posted on their property to advise of any changes. I tried to find a corporate business number that might have a carbon-based lifeform to ask for further clarification of their policy but the business hours were over.

Some time ago there was a news article from Ogden that AOL had fired employees for having firearms in their locked vehicles on company property (parking lot). I may be wrong, but it *seems* there had been some discussion and conflict on the subject between the employees and AOL before the employees were fired.

Most property owners in most states (including most property owners in Utah) have the right to admit or ban most anything on their property, including firearms. (Which, by the way, begs the question; 'why would NRA spend good money trying to defeat basic property rights in favor of employees having firearms on prohibited private property?').

I would be interested to know the exact background involved with the employees' problems with these companies. For instance, did the employee knowingly challenge the company after being warned, or was the employee fired on the spot after being suddenly subjected to a selective security search for firearms, enforcing a corporate firearms rule out of nowhere with no warning? The background of these employee-firing cases would interest me. It would allow a personal evaluation of whether the companies involved acted out of the sinister orders from their accused anti-gun anti-Second Ammendment corporate executives, in concert with anti-gun lawyers, and with how-to instructions from radical anti-gun groups, as the claim indicated.

I would not want to falsely accuse any corporation, or person, that grants individual hunters access to it's premium property. On the other hand, I would be interested in knowing *exactly* the background events leading up to the employee firings. Not rumor or the one-sided Reader's Digest version, but the exact events.

If any of our members are in the know on this matter, we'd be interested to hear the "rest of the story".

Just something to think about.
Best Regards, OldBear.

[reb8600]

I did not recieve an envelope from the NRA, maybe today. Here is a link that I found on the AOL matter. This is the way I remember it being. http://www.thegunzone.com/rkba/antigun-aol2.html

As much as I support the NRA I think it is a waste of our membership money to fight these things. When you are hired you agree to their terms. They never should have brought them into sight. They want to say it is public property but it is actually private. Also most employers want you to leave the premises as soon as your shift is done. They could have met somewhere else. State law does not give you the right to take firearm on to private property and that is what it is. AOL is not a place the public can go in and out of, they have security the same as convergys and several other companies.

If what you say is true about Weyerhaeuser that they allow hunting then that shows the NRA is wasting more of our money. Since they are not anti gun.

As a concealed carry holder you can carry into a public place and there is no law against it. They cannont even post it and stop you. The show house in the newgate mall has a small sign on the window where you buy your ticket that says no firearms. They cannot do that and the sign does not even meet the state requirements if they could.

I think the NRA needs to quit being on the defensive so much and start trying to get some pro gun laws going. They waste a lot of our money. I would renew my membership and within a month have another notice to renew for the next year and would receive one about every month. I finally called them and told them to quit wasting money and send me a notice when it is due, not every month.
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NRA
Utah Trappers Assoc
WWW.Utahpredatorcontrol.com
SASS#66686