Zuck strikes again. On Sunday, Facebook deleted the very popular “Illinois Gun Owners Together – IGOT” private Facebook group. And with the appeal is stretching into the fourth day, it looks like IGOT won’t be back.
We have watched as Facebook has shadow-banned conservative content in earnest following President Trump’s election. Now, Zuckerberg’s minions have moved to simply ban it on the platform altogether. And gun rights activism certainly fits that bill.
Over the last eight-plus years, the IGOT group had grown slowly and steadily to 8100 members, including a lot of younger gun owners.
What’s more, IGOT has grown far beyond the Internet. They organize outings such as the fun shoots (see picture at top) at the Buffalo Range near Ottawa for members to socialize, share some good food and have a great time.
In Springfield they have grown their influence at the Land of Lincoln’s state capitol complex, too. The group’s members regularly lobby their elected officials, submit witness slips and keep their friends and relatives on Facebook up to date on gun legislation and gun rights issues.
What’s more, at the past two Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day events, hundreds of IGOT members proved impossible to miss (or dismiss) in their IGOT shirts.
More recently, IGOT helped publicize State Senator Julie Morrison’s comments about confiscating America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15 and other modern sporting rifles from Illinois residents. Obviously Morrison’s comments went over poorly with Prairie State gun owners. And Morrison took a lot of heat on social media in the immediate aftermath. And IGOT proudly helped facilitate that.
Then Senator Morrison posted this on Facebook:
Clearly Senator Julie Morrison has no more respect for the First Amendment than she does for the Second. In just a week since her screed was publicized, it has received 1600+ comments. Few of them supported Morrison’s threat to suppress constituents’ free speech rights.
Now, just as a state senator is feeling the heat that IGOT, in part, brought down upon her, suddenly the group gets hit with the ban hammer by Facebook central command. Coincidence, no doubt.
Anyway, Facebook told John Coyne of IGOT’s leadership that three things would have to happen to bring the group back. They should change their cover photo, change the group’s description and address the posts that supposedly violate Facebook’s “community standards.”
Good luck identifying those in a group with thousands of posts every day.