Happy Saturday gang! We’ll be live tonight on the usual platforms. You can watch on Twitter (X), Rumble, Odysee or You Tube. We’ll be on signal again tonight for the group. The link is down below if you’d like to be a part of the live stream.
Our first Knock and Shock of 2025 is next Wednesday (1-15-25). We will meet at Senator Mike Moon’s office at 9:00AM. (So far, the weather looks favorable for travel to the capital). Mike Moon’s office is #220 (second floor of the capital). For those who have never joined us at the capital before, we refer to this as “home base.” Home base is an office that we can hang up our jackets, leave our lunch boxes and even leave a concealed weapon for safe keeping (several parts of the capital do not allow weapons).
Most commonly asked questions for visiting the capital for Knock and Shock:
- Can I bring my conceal carry weapon? Answer: If you have a CCW permit, your weapon is allowed in the capital. If you are a Constitutional conceal carry holder (no permit), the answer is no. Weapons are not permitted in viewing galleries and various other places, so we can always leave our weapons at home base (Senator Moon’s office) if we need to venture into these areas.
- What if I cannot get there by 9:00AM (start time)? Answer: This happens a lot and is not a problem. If you cannot be there when we start, just go to home base when you arrive and either Luke (Moon’s Legislative Assistant) or Jeff (Moon’s Chief of Staff) will call one of the group leaders so someone from the group can go to the office and bring you to the group. Knock and Shock usually runs from 9:00AM to 5:00PM but if you can only join for an hour, we’d love to have you join us.
- Can I bring my own lunch? Answer: Absolutely. Although there is a nice restaurant in the capital and many restaurants around the capital, some folks prefer to bring their own lunch. We usually break for lunch around noon. We usually meet at the capital restaurant for this even if you bring your own lunch. Purchasing an average lunch at the capital is generally around $10 to $12.00 BTW. Also, there are plenty of vending machines around the capital and free coffee (if you know where to find it – which I do J ).
- Where do I park? There are MANY places to park around the capital. There is a parking garage and metered parking right next to the capital but there are many free parking options very close to the capital as well. Click on the map below for more details.
- “I have never done this before, I am nervous and I do not want to speak to legislators.” We see this with a lot of new folks. This describes me back in 2002 when I ventured to the capital for the first time (pro-life rally). There is no requirement to speak to legislators, however; it is a VERY good idea to talk to YOUR Senator and Representative when you are there, even if it’s just to let them know you live in their district. We encourage this. Building relationships with your legislators is very important. Make sure your legislators know your name AND what YOUR legislative priorities are. This should be EVERYONE’S goal when visiting the capital. It helps when you are in a larger group if you are uncomfortable speaking. Remember, ALL of us have as much ownership of government as our representation does.
- Do I need to bring anything with me? Answer, generally, no. Just bring yourself and a few family members and/or friends if you can, the larger the group – the better. I design and print out all the handouts we give to legislators in advance of the trip. We generally always have extra flyers if you would like to take one home. However, I encourage folks to create their own handouts too if they want to. Printing in color is a good idea. Very few grassroots use color, and color flyers get attention.
- Can I be a group leader? Answer: Absolutely. Sometimes we have over 30 people show for Knock and Shock and when that happens, it’s generally better to divide into smaller groups. This serves many purposes. It’s very, very difficult to squeeze 30 folks into a Senator’s office but it’s virtually impossible in most Representative’s offices. Groups of 10-15 is usually how we do this. Also, with more than 1 group, we can cover the 200 legislators’ offices much more quickly. Group leaders are chosen in the morning before we start and if necessary again after lunch. We encourage anyone who wants to lead a group to do so.
- This is not really a question but a best practice point. It is bad form to be rude or to argue with a legislator. I am not saying you cannot disagree with them but in the past we’ve had folks in our group that have deliberately verbally attacked legislators with an axe to grind. This NEVER helps our cause, in fact, it hurts our cause. It’s virtually impossible to have a positive influence on a legislator if you have been rude to them and it reflects badly on the group. Another way to look at this is; can someone who is rude to you change your mind to give them something they want and need your help to get it? The answer is almost certainly no. Legislators are human, they can make mistakes just like the rest of us and respond virtually the same way everyone else does to personal attacks. Positive actions and conversations are statistically more likely to garner positive results. Constructive criticism of legislation is definitely encouraged! If you have an idea on how to improve a piece of legislation, do not keep it to yourself, let the bill sponsor know your thoughts! They are often very grateful for the input and more often than not, amend their own bill with better ideas they get from constituents. This practice is one of the more memorable positive experiences you can have with a legislator. If a legislator lets us down or breaks a promise, they are ALWAYS approached about that incident but usually via phone or email or sometimes in a scheduled meeting.
Knock and Shock Mission: Get co-sponsors for the bills we support (especially the Constitutional Money Act), bring information (flyers) to legislators, answer questions about the bills we are supporting for legislators, introduce ourselves to new legislators and build on existing relationships with legislators and finally, make sure everyone who can make it from the Initiative is known to their representation. This will help you with all future contacts you have with your Senator and Representative.
For those of you who have not heard, Justin Sparks lost his bid to be House Speaker. Jonathan Patterson received almost all the votes in the House, including the Democrat vote. He is officially the Speaker for the next two years. We accept this and we move on. It doesn’t change what we would do in the capital.
Supported bills: Last Saturday we submitted, discussed and decided on the bills we will be supporting for 2025. They are as follows in order of vote totals…
- HB433 Sponsor Bill Hardwick – The Constitutional Money Act (and by extension Mike Moon’s SB25).
- SB75 – Sponsor Brad Hudson – Removes the sunset clause from the S.A.F.E. Act.
- HB658 – Sponsor Jeff Vernetti – Prohibits the use of automated traffic enforcement systems and the use of automated license plate readers.
- HB561 – Sponsor Mitch Boggs – Modifies provisions relating to the placement of any surveillance or game camera on private property
- SJR7 – Sponsor Rick Brattin – Replaces the property tax on real property with a sales tax
Tonight on the live stream, Isaac joins us again after delving into filed legislation and just like last year, more bills have introduced that benefit very few people and contain World Economic Forum agendas. These are bills that MUST die. Details tonight on the live stream. I’ve noticed that when Isaac is on, we get more views. The information he provides is invaluable and he is often invited to speak with legislators in meetings at the capital with his findings.
Lastly, it’s been a while since I linked up Gretchen Garrity’s blog. Gretchen and her husband John are fighting the good fight to get the smut intended for children out of easy reach for children in the Christian County libraries. Gretchen does more than this obviously but things are heating up in the library controversy. Gretchen covers all this and more in her blog and she is a regular contributor in our live streams and regularly ventures up to the capital. You can visit Gretchen’s blog here.
Don’t forget Sam Britton and his Sunday show “Off the Cuff” on Missouri Liberty Radio Sundays at 6:00PM to 9:00PM.
John Williams with Missouri Liberty Report had his live stream last night. You can view the program here on Rumble or here on You Tube.
That’s all for now gang, I hope to see you tonight on the stream. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have for Knock and Shock at Patrick@mofree.org
May God bless us all with good health and with wisdom and courage.
Yours for liberty,
Patrick Holland
Missouri Freedom Initiative
P.O. Box 343
Clever, Missouri 65631
patrick@mofree.org
https://mofree.org
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