Dan Zanoza, Executive Director of RFFM.org, interviews Warren Drake, GunEnews editor about issues involving Americans' right to bear arms. Drake gives a history of the organization and where it is headed in the future. Warren Drake of Mahomet, Illinois is an active member of GunsSaveLife, Inc., and currently serves as GunEnews editor, GunNews Magazine Distribution Chairman, July 4th Parade Chairman, and helps with other interesting activities as they come along.
In His Own Words" -- Warren Drake
Q. I believe GunsSaveLife.com (Champaign County Rifle Association) is one of the most influential grassroots organizations in Illinois. RFFM.org's readers would be interested in knowing something about why you feel the fight for our Second Amendment rights is so important. Briefly, how did you personally become involved in this effort?
A. Culture. Our fight to retain and regain our Second Amendment rights is so important because those rights, the freedom that flows from them, and the liberty from tyranny (of bullying criminals and government alike) they help preserve, is a key part of our unique American Culture. Our rights to own property, to go elsewhere to seek work, take the risks of running a business, to worship--or not worship, are all dependant on the rule of law, and our society's ability to enforce the law. I see private ownership of firearms as key to the long-term success of our culture, and therefore it is worthy of our efforts to protect it.
My active involvement in the gun rights movement started about 1996, when I went to a meeting of "Champaign County Grassroots" in Urbana at the Jolly Roger Restaurant. It was then and still is a congenial group with a wide range of interests and knowledge. When we incorporated, we adopted the name Champaign County Rifle Association, and later added GunsSaveLife as another corporate name. Our website, and the tagline on our highway signs, is GunsSaveLife.com.
Q. Can you give us a description of what your organization's Mission Statement is?
A. Our main mission is education. We promote gun safety education for and the responsible use of firearms for youth and adults. We aim to educate the population regarding the history of firearms in this country, and the proven benefits to America of law-abiding firearm ownership. We also promote participation in the shooting sports, by sponsoring and offering classes, shoots, and encourage the building and maintenance of shooting ranges for the public to use.
Q. How many Illinois residents receive your e-newsletter and newspaper, Gun News, each month?
A. At present we are distributing 9,000 copies of GunNews Magazine, the paper version. We mail individual copies to our members, as well as certain companies, politicians, and other organizations whose goals are similar to ours. Our members distribute copies to auto parts stores, restaurants, sporting goods stores, veterinarian's offices, and friends--who often pass them on again. Sangamon County Rifle Association, which has a section in GunNews, is a prolific distributor for many miles around Springfield. We mail 60 bundles to more distant locations. We also post GunNews in PDF format on our website, GunsSaveLife.com.
I am really pleased with the quality of our newsletter. Many thanks to GunNews editor John Naese!
We send out GunEnews to all who sign up to receive it, a few hundred at present. This is the e-mail newsletter I edit, with links to stories of interest, sometimes the full text of stories, and information on events that shooters and gun-rights supporters might be interested in attending. GunEnews helps get calls to legislators in a more timely fashion.
Q. I know one thing for certain. Millions of motorists see your billboards along Illinois Interstates. Do you receive much feedback regarding the billboards? How are the billboards funded and do you plan on putting more of them up across Illinois?
A. Oh, yes! We get lots of feedback! Our Burma-style sign program is easily our most visible effort at educating the public. Developing the slogans is also a popular meeting activity, members pitching in to tweak, trim the slogan into 19 letters per sign, hopefully made to rhyme and have proper meter. Then the final test: "Does everybody like it?" Once, a slogan was met with near unanimous enthusiasm. Except for one man, who pointed out that if one did not catch the first panel, the whole meaning was reversed. We scrapped the slogan. Unanimously.
The funding for sign sets, about $500 a set, comes from members dues and donations we receive at our regular monthly meetings. We also have received some grant money for public education purposes from the Friends of NRA organization. We currently have about 30 sets of these around the state.
The biggest item for these signs is always donated -- the land that they sit on. The key to getting them that close to the Interstate highways is that they are non-commercial, political speech. Landowners who support what we do and have land fronting a major highway give us permission, and then our volunteers swing into action.
We will certainly put up more, mainly when we find new, good sites along major highways with landowners that will help by letting us use the space. Q. What's so different about your gun rights organization, compared to others?
We hope that the rhyme, humor, and simple statement of a truth will nudge people who really have not considered the value of privately owned firearms to our society, into looking at them in a more positive light. Whether the signs convert anyone or not, I ALWAYS FEEL BETTER WHEN I SEE ONE.
A. I believe member involvement and participation is key. Meetings are well attended: second Tuesday every month. Our members recommend and recruit speakers, as well as volunteer to be the feature and "tech time" speakers at our monthly meetings, to share their knowledge and insight with others. Many of the articles in GunNews are written or sent to the editor by our members. Our members volunteer to show the flag at the Fourth of July Parade (Champaign County Freedom Celebration is huge--we get lots of "thumbs-up" and a few hecklers!), and at gun shows and other events. Our members help at youth shooting camps and other educational events. In short, we offer our members many ways besides sending money that they can help, and many take us up on the offer.
Q. Perhaps the most important court ruling in our nation's history regarding the Second Amendment was recently handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court when that judicial body struck down the Washington, D.C. gun ban. What was your initial reaction when you first heard the news?
A. My initial reaction was, a very quiet "THANK GOD," followed by profound grief that four members of the highest court in the land could be so dishonest; that they could actually write an opinion denying that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual rather than a government right. All in all, it is appalling that the case had to be brought at all.
Q. How do you feel the high court's ruling will impact Illinois legislation regarding the possession of firearms? I know you can probably write a book on this subject, but what will the ruling's immediate impact be?
A. The immediate impact is to put us on offense and the anti-rights people on defense. Instead of us having to fight off another gun ban, now they (as in City of Chicago) are having to fight off lawsuits seeking to strike down their onerous bans and regulations.
Q. We are already hearing of potential lawsuits being brought against cities like Chicago and Wilmette regarding these city's prohibitive laws banning hand gun ownership. But how will the D.C. gun ban decision apply to such cities on an immediate basis? For example, does the ruling automatically strike down Chicago's ban on hand guns?
A. Not potential lawsuits, actual lawsuits that have already been filed against the City of Chicago and a handful of suburbs. Although there will be no immediate improvement in Chicago, as that city has chosen to fight the suits, there has been an immediate effect in several suburbs, such as Wilmette, Morton Grove, and Evanston which have chosen to amend or repeal their anti-gun ordinances rather than spend large amounts defending them in suits they would almost certainly lose. Vigilance IS still required--some may try the D.C. route of making minor changes that will require another court fight.
Q. Obviously, the debate over whether individual citizens have the right to bear arms is over. In a more far-reaching sense, what did the Supreme Court say to not only Illinois, but the rest of the nation regarding the possession of firearms? Will the ruling give a boost to those who are trying to implement conceal and carry laws in states that do not yet have them?
A. This ruling will give a boost to those of us who are working for right to carry laws here in Illinois, which is one of only two states (Wisconsin is the other) that have NO provision for any regular citizen to get a permit to carry. Like I said earlier, this puts us on offense. Let THEM make the case that the people of Illinois are less trustworthy, and less in need of personal and family protection, than the citizens in 48 other states.
What the Supreme Court has essentially said is that gun bans are off the table. This lifts a tremendous burden from gun rights supporters, who can now concentrate on getting the rest of the gun laws to be more citizen friendly. To join, send a check for $30 per year to Guns Save Life.com, PO Box 51, Savoy, IL, 61874. You can print the third page of the .PDF found at
Q. Without letting the proverbial cat out of the bag, can you tell RFFM.org's readers what is at the top of your legislative agenda statewide?
A. It's no secret that we would like to see permit to carry enacted in Illinois. Even more urgent, we need what's called a "preemption" law that would prevent cities and counties from making gun laws more restrictive than those on the state level, so that when we do get permit to carry, it won't be negated by a patchwork quilt of city and county ordinances.
Q. There are millions of Illinois residents who support the Constitutional right to bear arms. How can they help protect these rights?
A. Vote pro-gun rights. A politician who wants gun restrictions probably doesn't trust you with other freedoms, either. Get involved. Work to get good candidates elected. Urge good people to run for office, and support them when they do. Get involved in primaries; by the time of the general election, it's often a choice between bad and worse. Support pro-freedom organizations such as ours, not only with your money, but with your time. Join or start a local group that can impact politics in your area.
Q. If someone wanted to join your efforts at GunsSaveLife, what do they need to do? Can they send donations? Can they volunteer their time? How can they sign up for your newsletter?
A. The best way to support our organization is to become a member. You'll get GunNews every month, which will keep you very informed on the gun rights scene here in Illinois.
Donations, by check payable to Guns Save Life.com, are certainly welcome. You can specify if you want your donation used for the Burma Sign campaign, our legal defense fund, or our range and land acquisition fund, or our general operations (mainly GunNews). If you own a business, consider advertising in GunNews. Page 2 of the PDF above has the advertising rates. Call Editor John Naese at 217-684-2602 or e-mail him at
if you are interested in advertising. It's a good way to reach a target audience of freedom-loving, generally conservative and intelligent people.
You don't have to be a member to subscribe to GunENews; just e-mail
And if you can, come on out for our meetings, at the Park Inn in Urbana, just off Interstate 74 at the Cunningham Avenue exit. You don't have to be a member to attend. Folks from all over drive quite a distance to come to these meetings, which are held on the second Tuesday of every month. We have dinner and conversation from 6 to 7 P.M., and the meetings generally go from 7 to 9 P.M., with a featured guest speaker and a "Tech Time" presentation on a particular gun or shooting discipline. We have regular attendees from as far away as Springfield, Decatur, Lincoln, Bloomington, Danville, and many other cities.
One more very important way you can help: if you have land suitable for a Burma Shave style sign set, or know someone who does who would want to help us out, we want to hear from you. Our sign coordinator is David Pike, at 217-352-6405, or e-mail him at
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I thank Mr. Drake and his group for fighting the good fight. During my quarter century in the army, I repeatedly took the oath to support the Republic and the Constitution. I continue to do my best to live up to that oath. In the current political climate, that favors rock star candidates over good honest citizens, it is important that we all remember that all Civil Rights were hard won, often with the bills paid in blood. We must support each other in all cases. Far too many support only those Rights that touch them personally. I find it strange that so many fellow citizens, will allow others rights to be infringed without complaint, until it is their ox being gored. I also find it strange that while wearing the uniform, I was trusted with hand guns, rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, and even 60 ton tanks, but now as I age, I cannot be trusted with even a small hand gun for defense of my family.
Posted by: Charlie | August 06, 2008 at 07:48 PM