Kickstarter

A Few Threads of the Film

The threads below will be woven with current events in California and Nationally that are creating demands for new assault weapons legislation and ammunition sales restrictions. Are these law in the best interest of public safety or infringement of our civil rights?

We will seek out interviews with leading constitutional historians, anti-violence leaders, gun rights activists, law makers and gun owners to create a film that will start a meaningful conversation, not add to rhetoric.

Battle of Athens

When the 2nd Amendment is discussed, the concept of the citizens’ rights to defend themselves against a corrupt or tyrannical government is sure to be included. The idea of the people rising up against the government here in the USA seems farfetched. Just the stuff of a Hollywood film, but it has happened.

In 1946, returning GIs from WWII faced off with a corrupt county sheriff and his cronies in McMinn County, Tennessee. The film will look at the causes of the conflict, and how the soldiers and the citizens restored the rule of law to their county by the applied use of the 2nd Amendment.

Deacons for Defense

The civil rights movement of the 1960’s is always associated with the nonviolent actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights workers that spread out across the South. Rarely mentioned are the “Deacons for Defense” and how a handful of armed black men protected the civil rights workers, broke the stranglehold of the Ku Klux Klan in Louisiana and secured civil rights for all citizens in the South.

Guns for the White Man only

Gun laws from the beginning of the United States of America have always favored the wealthy white man. The first laws written barred Native Americans and Blacks (freed or enslaved) from possessing firearms and continued through the Jim Crow era.

World War II saw gun confiscations precede forced interment of Japanese-American citizens just because of the fear of war empowered the white man to do so. The fact that no German-Americans or Italian-Americans had their firearms taken just supports that gun laws have been written for the white majority.

The California Gun Control Act of 1968 has been said to be a knee-jerk reaction to the Black Panther’s use of loaded rifles in peaceful protest to bring attention to white bigotry in the Oakland police department and abuses by its white police officers against black citizens. Even today, the majority of Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permits issued in California are given to white males.

This racial trend in gun control has also jumped the color barrier to only favor the rich who can financially afford their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms and secure self-defense CCW permits through political campaign donations while the single mother in the inner city can’t legally acquire an affordable gun to protect her family.

Distribution

Southern Oregon Public Television (SOPTV) is our PTV/PBS presenting station. SOPTV will package Assaulted for distribution over PTV and PBS networks.  

How will the funding be used?

Filming

We need funds to travel to film interviews in Denver, Washington, DC, Louisiana,Tennessee, Chicago, Seattle and Europe.  We also need funds to purchase rights to historic footage and contemporary b-roll.

Post-Production

Talent costs money and high-quaility, national level editors don't come cheap and no matter how well the story is written, a bad edit will sink a film.  In addition, we plan to have a original score with some live orchestration to match the high quality photography.

Post-production also means meeting PBS engineering standards and practices must be met.  There are direct costs associated with a PBS review that the producer pays for on top of the overall production. 

Then there are duplication costs, tapes, lawyers fees, insurance, and health insurance for the crew...on and on.

With your help we can produce a great film about a serious subject that affects lives, our civil rights, public safety and our liberty.

Thank you for your support.