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THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!
Prior to and even most of 2019, I didn’t know who the heck The DC Project was.
I mean... I used to bartend, but what the heck was a “Di Muller?”
Oh how things have changed!!
Growing up in the farming communities of Southern VA, guns were not always part of conversations (to many Gun Grabber's dismay)... but... definitely a rite of passage. I guess you can say, I had been an independent Gun Rights activist for a long while... like since age 5-ish... but only starting Mom-At-Arms in 2018.
In those early days, it was just me, putting my rants to the keyboard and screen... and as a busy mom trying to make sense of everything going on in the world, I kept praying for the day that more women would come to the forefront of the Gun Rights Community in order to combat the false narratives that Gun Grabbers (Like Shannon Watts and Moms Demand Action) push. I knew there were more like me, and I prayed hard for them to speak up.
I needed backup and I knew they needed my big mouth!
Rewind to 2019...
(Or should it be Fast Forward to 2019?)
On September 25th, 2019 while I was at work and couldn’t watch live, my research partner kept sending me updates via text of the House Judiciary Committee Hearing: “Protecting America From Assault Weapons.” With one pitiful let down after another, through each speech description- like that of Virginia Police Chief, Dr. RaShall Brackney, it finally came time for the Gun Rights folks.
First it was Dr. Amy Swearer (who's made controversial statements about firearm ownership in the past) who spoke up.
Research Partner's text: "She's doing good! She talked about her mama!"
Her actual statement for those of you who are interested:
God forbid that my mother is ever faced with a scenario where she must stop a threat to her life. But if she is, I hope she has a so-called “assault weapon” to end that threat. - Dr. Amy Swearer, The Heritage Foundation
(I was like, "Go Girl! I'm surprised!")
Then there was a long pause in communication from my RP...
Me: “Yo! Anything else!?! Who else spoke!?!” Him: “Holy s#*+! This one broad just told the committee she wouldn’t comply!”
Me: "WHO!?! What are you talking about!?!" Another long pause. (Men...)
So, I started pacing the floors, giving Dr. Swearer a few high fives in my head, and fuming over what Charlottesville, VA Police Chief, RaShall Brackney said. Since I’m a born and bred Virginian, as well as being a former VA Police Officer’s daughter... and Brackney is not, we take our Oath Keepers very seriously in this state. I couldn't believe she even uttered any support for Gun Control.
“I believe any weapon that can be used to hunt individuals should be banned,” - Chief/ Dr. Rashall Brackney, Charlottesville, VA Police Department.
(We found out why not too long after the hearing. You can read about that in additional links at the end of the article)
Pictured Above: Left to Right, KellyAnn Pidgeon (Armed & Feminine), Dianna Muller (Founder of The DC Project/ Pro 3 Gunner), Amanda Suffecool (Eye On Target Radio), Antonia Oakfor Cover (emPOWERed Founder)
Instead of waiting for my RP to get back to me, I started doing some Googling to catch up on who this "Mysterious Broad” was, that told the committee to take their compliances and chew on them... in so many words, of course. The pics in the media were flowing that day. I don't think they expected a Gun Rights Activist to take center stage... but she did.
There she was... this lady in pink, with an accent that I could almost claim. I remember saying to myself, “Oh snap! They got a backwoods girl on the panel!” (I say that as a fellow backwoods girl- and its not a bad thing. Backwoods means we are simple but dignified. We can paint our nails, curl our hair, and wrestle a hog if we gotsta... K.)
I even made note of the pink dress (pictured above) and how it made her stand out amongst all the others in that line, who were wearing dark, drab colors. She looked Strong, but Feminine. I was impressed.
This... was a "Di Muller." While still fuming over Brackney’s Gun Control speech, hearing the words, “I will not comply,” flow into the atmosphere was a magical thing. My jaw dropped open and my maniacal laugh filled my office building,
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA HAAAAAAAAA HA!”
Dianna Muller, former Tulsa, OK police officer, founder of The DC Project and Pro 3 Gun Competitor, spoke those words over the Gun Rights World on September 25th, 2019 and we stood in awe. It was electric.
WOMEN FOR GUN RIGHTS HAD A VOICE!!!
The energy was so strong that I had this surge of confidence and took to phones and social media... Demanding the IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION of Charlottesville, VA Police Chief, Dr. RaShall Brackney. I sent my posts to groups, pages and forums, left and right. "She's got to go, y'all! We can't have that talk up in VA!"
The next day, I decided to up my social media game and "@" the Charlotteville, VA PD directly on Twitter and tell them my demands. My Research Partner (RP) wrote an article on how Brackney broke her oath and as soon as it was published, I sent it to more folks in the Gun Rights World and in VA. Not too long after the article was sent out, a gentleman contacted me and told me that I had inspired him to create a petition, that included my demands for Brackney to skedaddle. He said that hearing her words, and then hearing not only Dianna Muller's, but then reading mine... being he were a fellow Virginian... he knew he had to play his part as well.
The petition was not a huge success in signatures. We didn't expect it to be, but it did make headlines and it did gain the attention of City Manager Tarron J Richardson- who, almost one year later, on September 11, 2020 put in his own resignation. Richardson stated he saw no need for Brackney to resign, but did think she owed VA's gun owners a clearer explanation. We never got that.
What we did get was a new movement of Women for Gun Rights. Dianna Muller's words, "I Will Not Comply," went with me and many many others to the VCDL's Lobby Day on January 20, 2020 in Richmond, VA, to tell Gov. Ralph Northam to chew on his compliances... so to speak.
Here we are, a year later, and not only am I now, The Virginia State Director for The DC Project, but my other advocacies have grown exponentially. Presently, we are at such a pivotal point in society, with Gun Sales rising and more women and minorities stepping into the spotlight as new gun owners.
WE ARE DOING SOMETHING!
This is OUR TIME! The time to paint America Teal with Education OVER Legislation!
Happy “I Will Not Comply Day,”
Gun Owners!
Thank you, Di Muller, and the rest of my sister DC Project members, for being the voice to help lead the way to a safer future for us all!
Video snippet courtesy of BlazeTV...
Additional link: https://www.mom-at-arms.com/post/i-will-not-comply