Dear Mr. Wilson:
As you know Mr. (name withheld) and I have been denied an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Florida
State IDPA Match being held in Orlando. Our crime was putting a circle and line through the Smith &
Wesson logo at the top of the Central Florida Rifle and Pistol Club application. Our expressions of
disapproval for S&W’s actions were exactly that, just an expression. We did not insinuate or express in
any way a desire to cause trouble or an unsafe condition at the match. In fact the Smith & Wesson
advertisement at the top of the application did not indicate that they were sponsors of the match. Our
applications and match fees were returned with a rambling letter from president and match director of the
Central Florida Rifle and Pistol Club, Buck Stout. He indicated that we would not be permitted to take part
in the match because he did not understand why we would want to participate in a match sponsored by
a company we did not like and he wanted to keep anti-gun propaganda [sic] out of the match. (No, I don’t
understand the last part of this quote either) He also gave us a lesson on why we need buy American.
The point that evaded Mr. Stout was that we really didn’t care who sponsored the match, our only objective
was to shoot the match, have fun and be with friends.
I contacted IDPA headquarters only to find that our applications were refused with the direct authorization
of Tom King of the IDPA. The reason given for refusing our applications was because Buck Stout
considered us troublemakers. Apparently, all that is required to be considered a troublemaker in the IDPA
is to express thoughts that are contrary to the company line. If we were warned in advance that any
expression of dislike for Smith & Wesson would lead to expulsion from the match, perhaps things would
have turned out differently.
Mr. Wilson, we have tried to contact you by phone and with numerous letters in an effort to enlist your help
in correcting this disgraceful decision made by IDPA staff and Buck Stout. Unfortunately all of our requests
to contact you have been met with silence, a shameful silence. In my last phone conversation with Tom
King I pointed out that his and Mr. Stouts decision to ban us from participating was clearly against IDPA’s
own rules. The rules for IDPA club affiliation are very clear:
“To qualify as a Defensive Pistol Club, the following criteria must be met”
1 - Club matches and facilities must be open to all IDPA members.
2 - Clubs must follow IDPA rules and principles. (See rule one)
Obviously the IDPA and the Central Florida Rifle and Pistol Club are in direct violation of IDPA rules. I
brought this to the attention Mr. King and also gave him one last opportunity to correct this deplorable
situation, unfortunately he refused to have anything further to do with this matter and passed it on to
someone else for a decision. I have waited four months for that decision, I feel I have been more than
patient.
This dispute was never about protesting Smith & Wesson, it is about being banned from an IDPA match
in violation of your own IDPA rules because we privately expressed an opinion. It is about Smith &
Wesson style political correctness effortlessly circumventing IDPA rules. It is about the heavy-handed
tactics used by the IDPA and CFRPC (both of whom receive S&W money) against IDPA members. If we
had been contacted and simply asked for an assurance, even in writing, that we had no intent to disrupt
or cause an unsafe condition at the match we would have gladly given it. But that did not happen. Why?
To be sure this is an IDPA Management “Failure To Do The Right Thing,” for its own Members! Sadly, it
appears that the First Amendment does not apply to IDPA members.
It is with great regret that I am enclosing my unused IDPA membership for a refund. I cannot, with good
conscience be a member of a club whose members are prejudged and punished because of their beliefs,
not even because of their actions, but just because of their beliefs. Furthermore, I am canceling my order
for the KZ45 which I placed with your company more than a year and a half ago. At onetime I would have
been proud to own a Wilson pistol, but not today.
Respectfully
George Tice #A03463
