Gun Activists Demonstrate at Mauser House and Post "Wanted" Posters of Tom
Demonstration fizzes
On Friday night, December 15, 2001,during the Christmas season, marchers from the pro gun activist group, the Tyranny Response Team, came to the Mauser house to demonstrate. It was announced on the TRT's web site weeks in advance. It was done to correspond with Constitution Day.
The Sheriff's Office was alerted and was there. Neighbors were alerted and advised to ignore these extremists, who often are rude. Neighbors demonstrated their feelings: many turned off their Christmas lights that evening, and some placed their trash cans out to block the sidewalk.
But the demonstrators didn't march. They held a "candlelight vigil" in front of the Mauser home to grieve 'the death of the Bill of Rights at the hands of Tom Mauser.'
Only eight TRT people showed up. Perhaps the attendance was low when it became obvious there would be no confrontation or counter-demonstration. The TRT thrives on confrontation and controversy, so we weren't about to give it to them. While they spent their Christmas season evening demonstrating, the Mausers spent time together as a family.
One of the TRT people was stopped for a traffic violation by the police. A TRT member tried to take pictures of teens hanging out in a driveway next door, but weren't very successful, though he did hand a flier to one of the teens. (The TRT likes to intimidate people by taking photos and placing their wild triumphs on their web site.)
The event was a non-event. Besides, the TRT went to the wrong house: to lament the passage of Colorado's Amendment 22, the TRT should have demonstrated in front of many more homes--the 70% of Coloradans who voted for Amendment 22!
Tom targeted on pro gun web site
Back in 2001 a gun activist group's web site included a poster that announced that Tom is "Wanted for: Crimes against civil liberties." The poster said secondary charges are "for conspiring with fanatical Nazi style groups" and "for fraudulent profiting from the death of his son."
The poster, on the Tyranny Response Team's web site (www.trtnational.org), went on to say that Tom gets "violently angry," is "anti-American," and "has made thousands of dollars off of memorial scams."
The poster advised people that "any help in this matter is strictly confidential" and that if Mauser is seen, "contact local officials or contact us online at trtnational.org."
In early October, just after Tom spoke at a gun control workshop, the posters were placed on poles in the Columbine area and in Tom's immediate neighborhood.
Trash like this speaks for itself and says a lot about the people who produce it. We needn't say any more. But some people have written to the guest page with some strong words for groups like the TRT:
- Alice from Littleton writes, "These people can't keep up with the rational positions you take, so they just resort to insults and crazy behavior. What they really want to do is intimidate all of us so that we stop speaking out. But we can't let them bully us!"
- A gun owner from Wisconsin said, "These people are lunatics and cowards.
All they can think about is their guns and themselves. Nothing else exists in their world."
A friend of Tom's, disgusted with the wanted poster, placed a message on the TRT's bulletin board. He received many nasty emails in response. One was especially vile, reminding me that "your little bastard is dead..." It included much more vicious and vile material, including something about Daniel, that I won't place here because it is so revolting.
