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Minorities’
Day at the Range 2003
 It was a Saturday like so many other
Saturdays this spring—cold, damp, miserable and threatening rain. But
unlike the others, this Saturday, June 21st, was brightened by the 150
enthusiastic attendees who streamed into Cherry Ridge for the fourth
annual Minorities’ Day at the Range. Hosted by ANJRPC and the Tenth
Cavalry Gun Club, Inc., (TCGC) and funded in part by a grant from the
NRA Foundation, the annual event promised a day of safe shooting and
lots of fun. And as they have so many times in the past, our volunteers
delivered the goods.
Jerry Martin, Tenth Cavalry Gun Club, Inc. President, welcomed everyone
and gave a short overview of the club. He introduced Percy Bennett,
Marketing Manager, NRA Clubs & Associations, Field Operations
Division. Percy is also a long-time member of the Association,
co-founder and former President of the New Jersey Chapter of the TCGC.
Percy made the trip from Washington, DC to participate in the day.
After leading the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, which was presented
for the third straight year by the Newark Police Young Law Enforcement
Explorers, Percy gave a brief history of Juneteenth, the day that all
slaves were finally freed, and the contributions that African Americans
have made in the U.S. military. He encouraged African-Americans to avail
themselves of all the rights guaranteed under the Constitution,
particularly the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Percy and
Jerry reviewed the house rules and the day’s agenda. Jim Bresett, Head
Range Officer, warned about the numerous black bear sightings and told
guests how to handle an encounter.
For the first time, portions of the event were recorded on film. Matt
Siegel, an independent filmmaker, is working on a documentary about non
traditional groups and the shooting sports. He had received permission
from ANJRPC and TCGC to include footage of Minorities’ Day. A reporter
from the New York Daily News was also on hand.
For the fourth consecutive year, Octavio (Cookie) Rankin, Terrence
Robinson and Mike Fisher kicked off the day’s training session by
providing the participants with the basics of safe firearms handling,
ammunition and range safety rules. Once this was completed, it was out
to the range to apply what had been learned.
Three ranges were set up, one for each of the three disciplines (rifle,
pistol and shotgun). Participants were divided into three groups to 
allow for an orderly rotation among and give everyone a chance to try
all three disciplines. At each range, shooters received individual
attention from our volunteer NRA-certified instructors. Our shooters
were safe and they had FUN! Cheers and applause greeted each clay bird
that broke. New shooters looked closely through the spotting scopes to
see how their shots were placed and made adjustments in their
techniques. After two rotations when everyone came back to the clubhouse
for lunch, there was a lot to talk about!
After lunch, we were honored to have two very special guest speakers.
Dakhar Holmes of C.O.R.E. (Congress of Racial Equality), a strong
supporter of Minorities’ Day since its inception, addressed the crowd,
pledging his continued support and solidarity. Then it was on to a very
special guest. Thanks to the efforts of TCGC Treasurer Terence Robinson,
our featured speaker was Armstrong Williams, a syndicated columnist,
best-selling author, entrepreneur, third-generation Republican and
multi-media wonder. Williams has been called “one of the most
recognized conservative voices in America” by The Washington Post. His
column is carried in a wide array of African-American and mainstream
papers and his popular national radio show is carried by hundreds of
affiliates around the country.
“Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are a good thing,”
Williams said. “They prevent crime. There are millions of families
that have been saved because they’ve had a gun in the house.” Adding
that that guns warded off crime 2.3 million times last year, he asked,
“If you have someone break in, don’t you feel more confident knowing
you have a gun?”
Mentioning the proposed legislation that would block lawsuits against
gun manufacturers for guns used in crimes, he said. “Suing the gun
manufactures is ridiculous. If you buy a baseball bat and use it to kill
someone, you don’t sue the manufacturer. If you buy a car and run
someone down, you don’t sue the manufacturer.” He encouraged
law-abiding citizens to work with law enforcement to get guns out of the
hands of the criminals in their communities.
“You are responsible enough to own guns responsibly,” he said. “I
trust the people not the government. If the government is big enough to
give you everything you need, it’s big enough to take it away.”
After a huge round of applause for Armstrong Williams’ remarks and
time to ask a few questions and shake hands, it was back to the range
for one more round of shooting. The storm that had been threatening all
day finally broke with enough thunder and lightening that the range
officers called a halt to the shooting. Everyone hurried back to the
clubhouse, where Jerry and Terence, with the help of Terence’s son,
Chris, presided over a question-and-answer session that reviewed TCGC
history, firearms safety and issues discussed earlier in the day. Jerry
also recognized the Newark Police Young Law Enforcement Explorers for
their excellent fourth-place finish in national competition last
summer.
It was a safe, fun-filled day. Many thanks to all our volunteers for
making it happen, especially Peggy Hodgkiss and Maria Lichtenstein, who
handled all the coordination and logistics. As our volunteers help
people learn what shooting and responsible firearms ownership is all
about, we can count on more new shooters and renewed enthusiasm for our
great sport.
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