Gun Control for Profit
I’d love to see that business plan.
So, it looks like the Moms Against Guns group held itself out as a non-profit in order to get free billboards in Philly. Turns out, they’re not a non-profit and mislead Clear Channel Outdoor. The group is self-funded.
Ah, the ethics of anti-gunners. Once again, lying to win.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
I’m not sure how much they actually mislead Clear Channel, as much as they let Clear Channel believe what they wanted them to believe. Based on what I can tell, Clear Channel is guilty of two things. One is not doing their homework on this group, to make sure they were the type of organization they wanted to work with, and two, not understanding the gun issue very well.
We laugh at groups like Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and Moms Against Guns, which claims to crusade against illegal guns, but to people who don’t know our issue, and more importantly don’t know the nature of gun control groups, this actually does fool them.
Our opponents are very slick, and they play the media game very well. Much better than our side does, unfortunately.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:55 am
I wouldn’t really go after the homework side very much. Yes, it was sloppy. Like I said last night, it’s often the accountants who think to ask for the tax status paperwork, and they often don’t do it until the end of the year. As for the folks who assumed, they probably should have clarified, but they also have worked with Lynne before on legit non-profit stuff.
As for the not knowing the gun issue very well, yes, absolutely to that.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
“Our opponents are very slick, and they play the media game very well. Much better than our side does, unfortunately.”
Part of the problem is that the media is on their side.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I believe that there’s a very simple letter that every tax-exempt organization has and it presents it when it buys office supplies, or arranges a banquet or whatever. Somebody at Clear Channel dropped the ball for who knows what reasons.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
nk,
As I said above, often no one bothers to request those for donation purposes until the end of the year if they plan on partnering for more than a single event or day. Believe me, I’ve been on the non-profit end of the frantic phone calls when the accountants start demanding those letters when they realized they don’t have them on file.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I believe you, Bitter. I have defended accountants from lawsuits from their own clients for assessments of liability. “But my accountant should have told me! Boo-Hoo!”