CAL-FFL, California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly to Co-Host Showing of Gun Rights Documentary Inside California Capitol
Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) August 22, 2013 -- Second Amendment civil rights are under fire by the California Legislature, according to leading industry and consumer group California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees (CAL-FFL). To help underscore the point, civil rights advocates have taken their argument to the big screen -- and are now bringing the big screen to the Capitol Building through the efforts of top-rated Assembly member Tim Donnelly (District 33 – Hesperia) and CAL-FFL.
In conjunction with CAL-FFL, Donnelly, who’s already declared his candidacy for the 2014 gubernatorial election, will host a private screening of the Second Amendment-focused documentary ‘Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire’ inside the State Capitol to educate members of the Legislature and staff about this historic civil rights struggle.
“We are honored that Assemblyman Donnelly chose to present our film on civil rights to his colleagues - the very elected members who are working hard to pass bills that would effectively end the Second Amendment in California for many years to come,” said Emmy Award-winning producer and writer Kris Koenig, the film’s writer and director. “Most of these bills aren’t even rationally related to actual crime data. Our research and film clearly shows that these bills won’t improve public safety. If they watch the film they will come to understand why.”
“I spent the last eighteen months of my life creating this film because I saw our rights being wholesaled off for political gain with no real benefit to public safety,” continued Koenig. “It’s like the NSA invading our privacy with no real connection to global terrorism.”
The Los Angeles Times called ‘Assaulted’, narrated by critically-acclaimed rapper and actor Ice-T, “a reasoned counter to Michael Moore's ‘Bowling for Columbine’.” The film takes a step back from the public discourse on issues like banning assault rifles and restricting magazine capacity. Instead of heavy rhetoric, ‘Assaulted’ offers a unique historical and legal perspective on the Second Amendment’s significance over the years since America’s founding, taking a critical and objective look at current gun laws and their effect on civil rights and liberty. The film includes commentary by preeminent UCLA constitutional law professors Adam Winkler and Eugene Volokh as well as attorney Alan Gura, the lawyer who secured two major victories for gun owners in landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Interviews include Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, Margot Bennett, executive director of Women Against Gun Violence, and the advocate/entertainer Ted Nugent.
“California’s gun control movement has always been about keeping ‘those people’ from exercising their rights,” said Craig DeLuz, CAL-FFL’s Legislative Advocate. “In the 1800s, ‘those people’ were the Chinese and Native Americans. In the 1960s, it was the Black Panthers. Today, you and I are ‘those people’ - Assaulted shows how we got here and why we have to avoid repeating the same gun control mistakes we’ve made in decades past that continue to cost innocent people their lives.”
“The opportunity to educate the members of the California Legislature and their staff about the civil rights aspect of the gun control bills they’re working to pass as we speak is just tremendous. We simply cannot thank Assemblyman Donnelly enough for his generosity and tireless efforts to defend our fundamental Second Amendment rights,” said Brandon Combs, President of CAL-FFL and Managing Director of the national Firearms Policy Coalition.
Continued Combs, “We hope that all public officials and senior staff of agencies like DOJ will watch the film and give real thought to the arguments made regardless of their personal views. When lawmakers make mistakes writing gun laws innocent people go to jail, period. Getting caught in the dangerous, confusing, and expanding gun control spider web is not a very pleasant future for millions of law-abiding California gun owners, visitors, and local businesses.”
CAL-FFL will be hosting a public screening of Assaulted at the Crest Theatre, located at 1013 K St., at 6 p.m. that same evening. CAL-FFL is giving away free tickets to the first 100 people who RSVP and request tickets at http://www.calffl.org/assaultedtickets. All Crest attendees will receive an Assaulted movie poster that can be signed by Koenig.
Government officials, staff, and members of the press can request a complementary ticket to the 6 p.m. screening at the Crest Theatre by emailing Craig DeLuz at cdeluz(at)calffl(dot)org or by calling him at (916) 595-0264. Tickets may also be purchased for $12 from Tugg at http://www.tugg.com/events/5116 .
Participants are invited to join Kris Koenig, Craig DeLuz, and Brandon Combs for discussion and Q&A about the film, gun control in California, and the status of Second Amendment litigation immediately following the 6 p.m. showing at the restaurant Pizza Rock, located at 1020 K St., just steps away from the Crest Theatre.
DETAILS
WHAT: Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire (Private Screening)
WHEN: August 28, 2013 - 12 Noon
WHERE: California State Capitol Building
WHAT: Assaulted: Civil Rights Under Fire (Public Screening)
WHEN: August 28, 2013 - 6 p.m.
WHERE: Crest Theatre (1013 K St., Sacramento, CA 95814)
Craig DeLuz, CAL-FFL Legislative Advocate, CAL-FFL, http://www.calffl.org/, (916) 595-0264, [email protected]
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