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NRA board member Nugent nukes gun control deal; Veteran’s group’s oppose H.R. 2640, too

At least there is one NRA board member that has it right. Thank you Ted!

NRA board member Nugent nukes gun control deal


 

NRA board member Ted Nugent has come out in opposition to H.R. 2640, calling it Janet Reno’s dream.  Here’s what rocker Nugent said about H.R. 2640:

In its open letter of May 9, 2007, BATFE makes it clear that this “danger” doesn’t have to be “imminent” or “substantial,” but can include “any danger” at all. How many shrinks — using the Pennsylvania standard — are going to say that a pro-gun American like you, who believes the Second Amendment is the last defense against tyranny, DOESN’T POSE AT LEAST AN INFINITESIMAL RISK of hurting someone else?


 As easy as that, your gun rights would be gone forever.

(Go here to read Nugent’s full comments: http://www.tednugent.com/hunting/huntingnews/2007/default.aspx?PostID=179060)

Veteran’s group’s oppose H.R. 2640


 

The American Legion and the Military Order of the Purple Heart have joined National Association for Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America and dozens and dozens of state and local gun rights groups in opposition to Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and Sen. Patrick Leahy’s massive expansion of the Brady Registration Act, H.R. 2640.

Opposition to H.R. 2640 continues to grow, thanks exclusively to the grassroots activism of gun owners — like you and me– across the country.   All of the establishment, and notably the institutional gun lobby that s the NRA and their Gucci-loafered lobbyists are supporting H.R. 2640, the McCarthy/Leahy Gun Control Bill.

The NRA continues to make excuses; using legislative and legal doublespeak to mislead their members about this bill. 

Make no mistake; H.R. 2640 is a massive expansion of the unconstitutional Brady Registration Act.   This gun control legislation gives unprecedented new powers to the federal government s NICS system to open up supposedly private mental health records to government scrutiny.   This bill aims to criminalize our nation’s combat veterans and anyone who s sought help for depression or other mental concerns normally associated with combat.  They are working hard to give the Federal Government and their uncontrollable beast, the BATFE– the tools they need to persecute and prosecute gun owners.

In a Capitol Hill publication yesterday, even the President of the Brady Campaign was singing the praises of the NRA for supporting this gun control measure: (Go here to read the full article: Article)

The president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Paul Helmke, said he remains optimistic that the Senate impasse can be cleared, ascribing it to the everyday difficulty of moving a complex bill through Congress.

While the NRA has not tapped its extensive grassroots membership to help the background-check measure pass, Helmke said the premier gun group s support was enough.

Their concern is that some of their grassroots feels the same as the GOA on this, and they don t want to risk alienating some of their members, Helmke said. They re taking the right position here, which is that not everybody should get a gun. [Emphasis added]

That’s right: the Brady Campaign and the NRA are giving the federal government even more power to decide who should not have firearms.

But the Washington insider publication betrays the achilles heel of this battle: the NRA hasn’t gone to their members to sell this, largely because so very few gun owners — except those who believe the NRA can do no wrong, ever — can buy into their cut-and-run strategy.  “Let’s do it to ourselves (pass gun control in the wake of Virginia Tech) before they do it to us” is a song that has been sung a hundred times by NRA leadership on a state and federal level, and it’s become obvious where that strategy leads America.

Just how far has the NRA betrayed gun owners?

The NRA is cutting back room deals with the Brady Campaign and notorious anti-gun legislators like Sen. Chuck Schummer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy; all in the name of political access.  They keep saying they are improving current gun controls laws.  Gun owners don t want these laws improved , we want them repealed.  The NRA is simply trying to guild the chains that bind us.

The NRA s betrayal of gun owners on H.R. 2640 has been well documented. (For further evidence go here: http://www.nationalgunrights.org/othershr2640.shtml)

  • Don’t faint, but the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence have joined forces behind a bill regulating the sale of firearms

    • . — Gun reform with NRA blessing, The Denver Post, June 17, 2007

  • The difference is that the NRA endorsed the background check improvements, boosting its chances of becoming the first major national gun control law in more than a decade.

    • –Andrew Taylor of Associated Press, NRA Challenges Gun-Control Democrats, www.ABCNews.com, June 27, 2007

  • ‘ When the NRA and I agree on legislation, you know that it’s going to get through, become law and do some good,’ says Schumer. — NRA, Democrats Team Up To Pass Gun Bill , www.cbsnews.com/, June 13, 2007

There is some good news for gun owners:  Second Amendment hero Senator Tom Coburn continues to fight against H.R. 2640.  Opposition is building, but we still have a long way to go.

We need Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) to join Senator Tom Coburn in opposition to this outrageous infringement upon on constitutional rights.

Here s what you can do:

1)              Call Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Bunning and tell them to join Senator Coburn in opposition to H.R. 2640, the McCarthy/Leahy Gun Control Bill. 

   Call Senator Mike Crapo’s office at (202) 224-6142.   To e-mail senator Crapo go here: http://crapo.senate.gov

   Call Senator Bunning s office at (202) 224-4343.  To e-mail Senator Bunning go here: http://bunning.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm”

2)              Call or e-mail the NRA and tell them to stop schmoozing with Sarah Brady and Chuck Schummer and oppose H.R. 2640. 

         Call (800) 392-8683 or e-mail the NRA s federal lobbyist, Chuck Cunningham at chuckc@visi.net and Federal-Affairs@nrahq.org.  

For NAGR s extensive analysis of H.R. 2640, go here: http://www.nationalgunrights.org/hr2640.shtml   

Join Me

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

National Association for Gun Rights

P.O. Box 7002

Fredericksburg, VA 22404

Website: www.NationalGunRights.org

Email:     contact@nationalgunrights.org 

Phone:   (888) 874-3006   Toll-Free

Fax:       (202) 351-0578

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Dangerous gun control bill in US Senate

HR 2640 is the most dangerous far-reaching assault on your Second Amendment Rights since the Democrats gained control of Congress!


Congress is authorizing $750 million to make a substantial expansion to the instant background check database — the very system that is violating our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. This new money will be used to collect and store your personal information including your medical records.

HR 2640 will allow shrinks (psychologists and psychiatrists) and bureaucrats to decide who can own and possess firearms. Currently under the National Instant Check System (NICS) a person becomes a prohibited person, regarding firearms possession, when that person is “adjudicated a mental defective,” “by a Court.” HR 2640 removes your due process rights, and greatly expands the definition of a “prohibited person” to anyone who, in the opinion of any shrink or government bureaucrat, could possibly be a danger to oneself or another. For example, under HR 2640 you won’t be able to call witnesses on your behalf; in fact, there won’t even be a hearing.

Many of our great service men and women would be prohibited from owning firearms, if, when returning from serving our country, they are labeled “dangerous” because of a visit to doctor for stress. We all know that our great service men and women see and experience situations that may continue to give them nightmares. Are these events good reasons to permanently ban firearms ownership for these individuals? They just finished serving our country and now they may be barred from even owning the firearms they used to defend this great nation. This was tried by the Clinton administration; the names of 83,000 veterans were sent to NICS to become prohibited persons. Under HR 2640 these 83,000 veterans would be banned as well as thousands more.

HR 2640 also expands the list of “prohibited persons” by allowing shrinks to decide who is a “danger”. We already know that many “professionals” in the psychiatric field believe that a firearm in the hands of any American is dangerous and therefore no person should have them. You can imagine the utter chaos this legislation will create!

Any medical “professional” could also make a similar determination. We already know that many pediatricians believe that any household with firearms is “dangerous,” even if they are properly stored. Senior citizens who have trouble balancing their checkbooks could become prohibited persons under a finding of “disability” or “incapacity.

Closet anti-gun politicians love legislation such as this. So far, politicians have hidden behind voice votes on this bill. HR 2640 is a Trojan horse. It sounds justified on the outside with promises of keeping mental defectives from having firearms, but a closer look at the details reveals a huge expansion in those who will become a prohibited person; an expansion that could potentially include most Americans.

Washington insiders think gun owners will be fooled by their veiled attempts to ban firearm ownership. They’ll go to great lengths to silence the grassroots, and to absolve themselves of responsibility if it does pass (and becomes yet another tool to the gun banners).

Just witness the latest issue of the American Rifleman. They admit that gun owners are mad, and have been contacting them.

And then they attempt to justify their support of this bill by saying “Trust us”.

Well, we don’t trust them. And we certainly don’t trust Cong. Carolyn McCarthy. Nor do we trust Sen. Patrick Leahy,

Take a look at what supporters of this bill are saying about it: http://www.nationalgunrights.org/othershr2640.shtml

This bill has already passed the House of Representatives with a sneaky voice vote and is expected to be voted on in the Senate soon! That is why we need you to contact your Senators today. This will be our only chance to stop this erosion of your rights!

P.S. Together we can stop the Washington insiders who want to eliminate private firearms ownership in the U.S.

What you can do:

  1. Send the pre-written message (below) to both of your US Senators. Click here to e-mail your U.S. Senators.
  2. Make an online donation to NAGR to help us fight this gun control monster.

PRE-WRITTEN MESSAGE TO SENATORS:

Dear Senator,

Please don’t allow gun control to pass on your watch. Gun owners don’t want to expand the “Instant Check” (NICS), we want to repeal it. It is simply wrong to penalize US Citizens by eliminating due process and assuming they are guilty until proven innocent. I encourage you to stand against the anti-gun Leahy bill, the Senate version of HR 2640, which the House passed when leadership snuck it through . Anti-gun zealots relentlessly push to prohibit more citizens from exercising their Second Amendment right. Your fight against the Leahy bill will prove that you are committed to the Second Amendment.

Sincerely,


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

National Association for Gun Rights

P.O. Box 7002

Fredericksburg, VA 22404

Website: www.NationalGunRights.org

Email: contact@nationalgunrights.org

Phone: (888) 874-3006 Toll-Free

Fax: (202) 351-0578

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HR 2640: Consider the source

Recently the NRA  has both denied and defended their support for HR2640, the McCarthy gun control bill that would disarm many in America — including many of our veterans. 

Read more about this bill (sponsored by Democrat Patrick Leahy in the Senate) at:

http://www.rmgo.org/alerts/2007-McCarthy.shtml
http://www.nationalgunrights.org/hr2640.shtml

The following are quotes from other sources on this bill.  That any of these rabid anti-gun members members of Congress support this bill should give cause for pause, but with all of them backing it gun owners should be quite leery.

In a deal brokered by former NRA-board member Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) and blessed by the National Rifle Association, a bill introduced earlier this year by gun control advocate Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) to improve the NICS was modified at the last minute and passed by the House with much fanfare and little outside analysis.
–Josh Sugarmann, Mental Health Gun Bill Has Hidden Problems, The Huffington Post, July 26, 2007

With the NRA on board, the bill, which fixes flaws in the national gun background check system that allowed the Virginia Tech shooter to buy guns despite his mental health problems, has a good chance of becoming the first major gun control law in more than a decade.
— NRA, Democrats Team Up To Pass Gun Bill , www.cbsnews.com, June 13, 2007

“We ll work with anyone, if you protect the rights of law-abiding people under the second amendment and you target people that shouldn’t have guns,” NRA chief Wayne LaPierre told CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Atkisson.
— NRA, Democrats Team Up To Pass Gun Bill , www.cbsnews.com, June 13, 2007

“When the NRA and I agree on legislation, you know that it’s going to get through, become law and do some good,” says Schumer.
— NRA, Democrats Team Up To Pass Gun Bill , www.cbsnews.com, June 13, 2007

(The Politico) On the day President Bush is set to receive a report on April s deadly Virginia Tech shooting, Congress took steps to pass the first piece of federal gun control legislation in 13 years.
–Patrick O’Connor, Schumer Predicts Smooth Senate Sailing For Gun Bill, The Politico, June 13, 2007

“I came to Congress in 1997 in the wake of my own personal tragedy,” she said. “Today&we are one step closer to reducing the needless deaths from gun violence.” (Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.))
–Patrick O’Connor, Schumer Predicts Smooth Senate Sailing For Gun Bill, The Politico, June 13, 2007

Don’t faint, but the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence have joined forces behind a bill regulating the sale of firearms.
— Gun reform with NRA blessing, The Denver Post, June 17, 2007

The NRA is the nation’s largest gun-rights group. But its support for the new bill actually reflects the NRA’s long-standing belief that existing gun laws should be enforced before new ones are written. That’s exactly what the McCarthy/ Smith/Dingell bill would do.
— Gun reform with NRA blessing, The Denver Post, June 17, 2007

Also pending in Congress is a Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2007, geared to require criminal-background checks for all firearm transactions at events where guns change hands.
This has drawn criticism from groups such as the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action, which said the measure “masquerades as reform imposing bureaucratic restrictions aimed at shutting down gun shows without fixing real problems.” The NRA, however, has supported some of the proposed federal changes.
–Anna M. Tinsley, Gun control back as national issue, The Seattle Times, August 16, 2007

The difference is that the NRA endorsed the background check improvements, boosting its chances of becoming the first major national gun control law in more than a decade.
–Andrew Taylor of Associated Press, NRA Challenges Gun-Control Democrats, www.ABCNews.com, June 27, 2007

The House voted Wednesday to fix flaws in the national gun background check system that allowed the Virginia Tech shooter to buy guns despite his mental health problems.
The legislation, passed by voice vote, was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, boosting its chances of becoming the first major gun control law in more than a decade.
–Jim Abrams, Associated Press, House Tempers Background Checks for Guns, www.ABCNews.com, June 14, 2007

The NRA worked closely with Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., a gun rights proponent and senior House member, in crafting the new bill. The NRA insisted it was not gun control legislation because it does nothing to restrict legal rights to buy guns.
–Jim Abrams, Associated Press, House Tempers Background Checks for Guns, www.ABCNews.com, June 14, 2007

Senior Democrats have reached agreement with the National Rifle Association on what could be the first federal gun-control legislation since 1994, a measure to significantly strengthen the national system that checks the backgrounds of gun buyers.
–Jonathan Weisman, Democrats, NRA Reach Deal on Background-Check Bill, Washington Post, Sunday, June 10, 2007; Page A02

By contrast, this agreement is a marriage of convenience for both sides. Democratic leaders are eager to show that they can respond legislatively to the Virginia Tech rampage, a feat that GOP leaders would not muster after the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. Meanwhile, the NRA was motivated to show it would not stand in the way of a bill that would not harm law-abiding gun buyers.
–Jonathan Weisman, Democrats, NRA Reach Deal on Background-Check Bill, Washington Post, Sunday, June 10, 2007; Page A02

Now in her fifth term, McCarthy can see the light. Spurred by the massacre of 32 people by a gunman at Virginia Tech in April — and in a rare collaboration with the National Rifle Association — the House passed legislation that would provide money for states to collect and maintain records on the mentally ill, with penalties if states don’t comply.
–Lois Romano, A Long-Sought Advance for a Gun-Control Bid Born of Sorrow , The Washington Post, Jun 14, 2007, A.25

McCarthy said the bill in essence enforces a 1968 gun-control measure that prohibits the sale of firearms to those adjudicated as mentally ill. She gives major credit to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), a former NRA board member, for negotiating with the organization, because she was a bit wary.
–Lois Romano, A Long-Sought Advance for a Gun-Control Bid Born of Sorrow , The Washington Post, Jun 14, 2007, A.25

Dudley Brown
Executive Director

Direct Office Line 970-842-3006
Toll-free line     888-874-3006
Mobile Phone       970-396-3006

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners

Colorado’s Largest Gun Rights Organization

PO Box 3006
Brush, Colorado  80723
Phone      (888) 874-3006
Fax Line   (202) 351-0528
http://www.rmgo.org  

director=@=rmgo.org    (= must be removed)

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Joaquin Jackson Update

I don’t trust the NRA and I’m a life member but I don’t give them money any more. I just got a card from them endorsing the current mayor of Phoenix who has made Phoenix an illegal alien sanctuary city.. FAR too often the NRA has endorsed people I’d rather spit on than vote for and pushed bills that do more to further restrict our rights than protect them. I believe the second amendment should be just what it says “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.” Scott.
2nd Amendment quotes and freedom quotes

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Please reply to feedback [at] FirearmsCoalition.org using appropriate email format. 

    Yesterday I sent out an Alert about NRA Director Joaquin Jackson’s TV interview in which he opined that “assault weapons” were alright if they only had a capacity of 5 rounds.
    This story has actually been bouncing around the internet for a couple of weeks and Ranger Jackson and NRA have released a response to the concerns raised by the story.
    It is very clear in the interview exactly what Jackson is saying and what he means.  Along with some other comments he states;
    “I think these assault weapons basically need to be in the hands of the military and they need to be in the hands of the police, but as far as assault weapons to a civilian, if you& if you& it’s alright if you got that magazine capacity down to five rounds.”


    The interview took place on June 5, 2005 – not long after the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban had been allowed to sunset – so the debate on that issue should have been fairly fresh in Jackson’s mind.
    The interview can be viewed at:
http://www.klru.org/texasmonthlytalks/archives/jackson/jackson.asp
   The pertinent segment is the last one on the page.

    For the record, H. Joaquin Jackson is indeed a sitting member of the NRA Board of Directors.
    A complete listing of NRA Officers and Directors, along with their mailing addresses, was published in the current (September) issue of the NRA magazines.

    A response has been posted on the NRA web site,
       http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/InTheNews.aspx?ID=9899
that is supposed to have been written by Jackson, but which does not really sound or feel like Jackson.  In that response letter, Jackson – or his ghost writer – claims that the mistake is the viewer’s, not his.  That his only mistake was in not making himself clear that he was talking about hunting and full-auto assault weapons.
    If that is true, then Ranger Jackson was advocating that the police have full-auto weapons and that it is “alright” for civilians to have then as long as the magazine capacity is restricted to only 5 rounds.

    Here is the Statement:

Recently, concerns have been raised in response to statements made by NRA Board Member Joaquin Jackson to Texas Monthly in 2005. We have received questions from NRA members who are seeking clarity as to NRA s positions on the subject matter discussed in Mr. Jackson s interview. To be clear, NRA supports the right of all law-abiding citizens to Keep and Bear Arms for all lawful purposes. We will continue, as we have in the past, to vigorously oppose any efforts to limit gun ownership by law-abiding citizens as an unconstitutional infringement on our Second Amendment freedoms. These efforts include opposition to any attempts to ban firearms, including firearms incorrectly referred to as “assault weapons”, and any attempts to place arbitrary limits on magazine capacity.

For more information on NRA’s legislative efforts to protect and defend the Second Amendment, please visit www.NRAILA.org  and www.Clintongunban.com.

STATEMENT OF JOAQUIN JACKSON

Recently, some misunderstandings have arisen about a news interview in which I participated a few years ago.  After recently watching a tape of that interview, I understand the sincere concerns of many people, including dear friends of mine.  And I am pleased and eager to clear up any confusion about my long held belief in the sanctity of the Second Amendment.

In the interview, when asked about my views of assault weapons, I was talking about true assault weapons fully automatic firearms.  I was not speaking, in any way, about semiautomatic rifles.  While the media may not understand this critical distinction, I take it very seriously.  But, as a result, I understand how some people may mistakenly take my comments to mean that I support a ban on civilian ownership of semiautomatic firearms.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  And, unfortunately, the interview was cut short before I could fully explain my thoughts and beliefs.

In fact, I am a proud owner of such rifles, as are millions of law-abiding Americans.  And many Americans also enjoy owning fully automatic firearms, after being cleared by a background check and meeting the rigorous regulations to own such firearms.  And these millions of lawful gun owners have every right and a Second Amendment right to own them.

As a hunter, I take great pride in my marksmanship.  Every hunter should practice to be skilled to take prey with a single shot, if possible.  That represents ethical, humane, skilled hunting.  In the interview several years ago, I spoke about this aspect of hunting and my belief that no hunter should take the field and rely upon high capacity magazines to take their prey.

But that comment should never be mistaken as support for the outright banning of any ammunition magazines.  In fact, such bans have been pursued over the years by state legislatures and the United States Congress and these magazine bans have always proven to be abject failures.

Let me be very clear.  As a retired Texas Ranger, during 36 years of law enforcement service, I was sworn to uphold the United States Constitution.  As a longtime hunter and shooter, an NRA Board Member, and as an American I believe the Second Amendment is a sacred right of all law-abiding Americans and, as I stated in the interview in question, I believe it is the Second Amendment that ensures all of our other rights handed down by our Founding Fathers.

I have actively opposed gun bans and ammunition and magazine bans in the past, and I will continue to actively oppose such anti-gun schemes in the future.

I appreciate my friends who have brought this misunderstanding to light, for it has provided me an opportunity to alleviate any doubts about my strong support for the NRA and our Second Amendment freedom.

       ####

    Doesn’t that sound more like it was written by a Washington PR suit than a Texas Ranger?
    Regardless of who actually wrote the letter, Jackson’s name is on it.
    As I said in the Alert yesterday, I like and respect Joaquine Jackson.  I am very disappointed that he would take such a misguided and bigoted position on “assault weapons” and even more disappointed that he would choose to try to blame the viewer rather than owning up to his own remarks.  If he thought civilians shouldn’t have “assault weapons” and has now seen the light and changed his position, I could accept and respect that.  Trying to claim that what he very clearly said – and reiterated – is not what he actually meant, I find completely disingenuous.

    I hate having to get into the middle of this at a time when The Firearms Coalition is actively working to bring the gun rights community together, but when you are guided by certain principles, you can not ignore those principles in favor of diplomacy.

    Should Joaquin Jackson be vilified and made a pariah in the gun rights community?  No, absolutely not.  But he should not be a member of the NRA Board of Directors.

Jeff Knox
www.FirearmsCoalition.org

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Disarmed Victims in Virginia

I was going to write something similar but Jeff Knox says it more eloquently than I would have. If just one person had a Weapon they could have stopped this person. Laws preventing law abiding citizens from carrying weapons for self defense and defending themselves just turn them into victims. Such stupid laws do NOTHING to stop someone like the person who shot up Virginia Tech. A teacher or guard, even a student could have stopped this person if they weren’t prohibited from carrying weapons on campus even if they do have a CCW. Weapons free zones are nothing more than disarmed victims waiting zone. If you think the police are there to protect you this incident should be a lesson to you, they only take reports after the fact..

DSS

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Thirty three dead after shooting rampage at Virginia Tech. All of the
victims were unarmed. The murderer killed himself.
Virginia Tech forbids students and faculty from possessing firearms on
campus, even when they have valid concealed weapons permits.
News is still sketchy but it appears that a lunatic went on a rampage
at Virginia Tech University this morning killing some 32 people before
killing himself. Early reports indicate that the shooting started shortly
after 7:00 this morning in a co-ed dormitory housing some 800
students. The gunman avoided apprehension after that incident and it is
speculated that the same gunman then walked into a classroom building two
hours later and began shooting students in classrooms.
Reports indicate that the gunman first chained the doors to the building
from the inside and was wearing a vest with numerous magazines attached to
it. The only firearms mentioned in any of the reports were two 9mm
handguns supposedly carried by the gunman, but those reports are so far
unsubstantiated.
The campus Police Chief says that officers entered the buildings
immediately upon arrival but that there was never any exchange of gunfire
between the gunman and police.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League has sponsored legislation in the
last two sessions of the Virginia legislature aimed at forcing state
schools like Virginia Tech to abandon their policy of forbidding students
and faculty from possessing guns on campus. Representatives of the
colleges argued that their campuses were safe and have little crime…
As always happens in incidents like this, the media is casting about
for someone or something to blame for this tragedy other than the
criminal. Most of the criticism so far has been pointed toward the schools
response to the first shootings. They are asking questions like, “Why
wasn’t the campus locked down at that time?” and “Why weren’t students
notified not to go to classes?”. So far no one in the mainstream media has
asked the question we want answered: “Why do you force law-abiding students
to disarm when on campus?”
When asked what could be done to avert a tragedy like this, the
president of the University responded that, “We obviously can’t have an
armed guard in front of every classroom every day.” To which the Firearms
Coalition responds: If you admit that you can’t protect people, why do you
insist on taking away people’s ability to protect themselves?
Eyewitness accounts of the shooting suggest that the shooter was firing
very rapidly, precluding any opportunity for students to overwhelm him with
force and numbers. The only thing that could have mitigated this tragedy
would have been one or more persons armed with firearms within close
proximity when the shooting started.
Instead of pointing out this simple, practical truth, it won’t be long
until the media takes up the cries that have already begun from the
anti-gun forces and start blaming the tools and using this tragedy as an
excuse to pursue more restrictions on firearms. It is up to the pro-gun
majority to bring this back to the facts of personal protection – that an
individual’s security is that individual’s responsibility and it is
inexcusable for anyone to ever take away anyone else’s right to their
chosen means of affecting that protection.

We will keep you posted as this story develops.

Yours for the Second Amendment,

Jeff Knox
Director of Operations
The Firearms Coalition

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[Fcalerts-list] NRA BoD Recommendations

Please reply to feedback at FirearmsCoalition.org (using appropriate email
format).

Well it’s that time of year again and those of you who are Life Members or
have been regular members of NRA for five or more consecutive years should
have received the “Ballot Issue” of your NRA magazine this week.

We are receiving a lot of requests for recommendations of who to vote for
and so we respond with the following based on the principle that Change is
Good.

History tells us that all, or almost all of the current Board Members
running will be reelected, making it highly unlikely that more than two or
three new members can win and those that do are almost guaranteed to be
among those nominated by the Nominating Committee.

That being the case, we recommend that you “bullet vote”, casting your
ballot with as few as just one, but no more than three or four names
marked. For a variety of reasons, we recommend you vote only for candidates
you personally know and respect and one or all of the following three well
qualified candidates:

Johnny Nugent is highly recommended by activists in his home state of
Indiana

Curtis Jenkins receives similar endorsement from our friends in Georgia

David Jones has been a prominent activist and leader in Missouri for
many years

We are voting for only those three.

If you feel you must vote for more than just three, other candidates who
are not current members of the Board include:

Charles Fox
Steven Schreiner
Fred Edgecomb
Cleta Mitchell
Al Cardenas
James Dark
Ken Elliott

Please do not vote for any of the several long-time members of the Board
and celebrities that are up for reelection. Skip the old standards in favor
of a few new faces.

Please share this information – post it on forums, in gun shops and at
ranges, e-mail it to your NRA friends.

The Board of Directors is supposed to set policy and hold staff accountable
for following those policies; instead the Board is being managed by the
staff. Every new face elected to the Board offers the potential for a shift
away from that status quo.

We hope you find this helpful.

Yours for the Second Amendment,

The Knox Crew
Neal Knox Associates
The Firearms Coalition

This is the Firearms Coalition Alerts list. It is never sent without a
subscription and confirmation. To unsubscribe, follow the link below. To
change your address, unsubscribe your existing address and resubscribe from
the new one.
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Pro-Gun Bills Make Way To House Floor

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NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol. 13, No. 38 09/22/06

PRO-GUN BILLS MAKE WAY TO HOUSE FLOOR!

The House of Representatives may act as early as next week on critical pro-Second Amendment reform bills. These bills need your support today:

H.R. 5092–the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) Modernization and Reform Act of 2006,” by Reps. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) — will curb the agency’s efforts to revoke dealers’ licenses for minor paperwork errors, improve the appeals process for dealers, and, establish new guidelines for BATFE investigations. This bill was drafted in large part to address recent, blatant BATFE abuses at Richmond, Virginia gun shows highlighted in hearings before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. (See next story on Brady Center’s blatant misrepresentation of this bill.)

H.R. 5005–the “Firearms Corrections and Improvements Act,” by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) — will protect gun owners’ privacy by creating a permanent version of the “Tiahrt Amendment,” preventing disclosure of gun owner records outside of legitimate criminal investigations. The bill also includes a ban on BATFE retrieving out-of-business dealers’ records by the gun owner’s name-making permanent an appropriations restriction that’s been in effect for the last 10 years. Among other reforms, H.R. 5005 will also permanently ban federal fees on instant background checks and roll back various restrictions on firearms industry activities.

With the legislative clock running out, this may be our last chance to pass these essential reforms before the November election–so please be sure to immediately contact your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and urge him or her to VOTE FOR H.R. 5092 and H.R. 5005 when they are brought to the House floor! Additional contact information can be found by visiting www.NRAILA.org, clicking the “Take Action” icon, and then clicking the “Write Your Representatives” icon.

Please be sure to contact your Representative TODAY, and urge your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to do the same!

Thank you for your continued support as we work to make these legislative reforms the law of the land!

BRADY CENTER MISLEADS PUBLIC ON BATFE REFORM BILL

The Brady Center’s latest hatchet job attacks makes many false claims about firearm dealer license revocations, in order to attack H.R. 5092 and the reforms that bill would make.

The “study” is based on published court decisions that have upheld BATFE license revocations. This is misleading because it excludes all cases (about 90% of revocations) where dealers choose not to file a challenge in court-often because the dealer couldn’t afford the necessary attorneys’ fees.

The study also implies that dealers violate the law more often than they used to. To “prove” this, the Brady Center relies on studies from the Clinton administration, which targeted licensees in an effort to reduce the availability of firearms to law-abiding Americans. It’s not surprising that when BATFE politically broadened the definition of “violations,” it found more of them.

The report also harps on dealers who had guns “lost” or “unaccounted for.” These vague phrases don’t tell us whether the dealer had a gun stolen, made a paperwork mistake, or made criminal “off the book” sales. Obviously, under current law or under H.R. 5092, intentional sales without paperwork would be serious violations, for which a dealer could have his license revoked (and even be arrested and imprisoned).

70 MILLION MORE GUNS.38% LESS VIOLENT CRIME

Data released by the FBI on Monday showed that in 2005, the nation’s total violent crime rate was 38% lower than in 1991, when violent crime hit an all-time high. Rates of the individual categories of violent crime were also much lower in 2005 than in 1991. Murder was 43% lower, rape 25% lower, robbery 48% lower, and aggravated assault 33% lower. The FBI’s report came on the heels of a Bureau of Justice Statistics crime survey that found that violent crime was lower in 2005 than anytime in the survey’s 32-year history.

Defying the anti-gunners’ claim that more guns means more crime, from 1991-2005 the number of privately owned guns increased by more than 70 million.

The news media often characterize violent crime as a primarily gun-oriented problem, but the FBI’s report showed that only one in every four violent crimes in 2005 was committed with a gun. In 2005, as in previous years, most violent crimes were robberies and aggravated assaults, most of which were committed with knives or bare hands.

Recently, anti-gun politicians and activists have intensified their rhetoric over the “lack” of bans on handguns, so-called “assault weapons”, and .50-caliber rifles; gun registration, gun owner licensing, and mandatory background checks on sales of guns between friends and family members; and limits on the frequency of gun purchases, all of which they say are necessary to reduce the nation’s murder rate. But for the last seven years, the murder rate has been steady¾in the 5.5-5.7 per 100,000 population range¾at all times lower than anytime since the mid-1960s. In 2005, for example, the murder rate was 5.6.

Naturally, anti-gunners will downplay the downward trend in violent crime since 1991, and focus on the fact that the FBI’s report showed a 1% increase in total violent crime, and a 2% increase in murder in 2005, compared to 2004. But those changes are miniscule, compared to the huge decrease in crime over the last 14 years.

The FBI’s report once again confirmed that violent crime rates are lower in states with Right-to-Carry (RTC) laws. In 2005, RTC states had, on average, 22% lower total violent crime, 30% less murder, 46% lower robbery, and 12% lower aggravated assault rates, compared to the rest of the country.

As usual, Washington, D.C., which leads the nation in anti-gun laws, led the nation in murder, with a rate six times higher than the rest of the country. Neighboring Maryland, where gun control advocates have been particularly active recently, once again had the highest robbery rate among the states, but also tied for the unenviable distinction of “first place” in murder among the states. However, despite Maryland’s high crime counts, CeaseFire Maryland, the local Brady Campaign affiliate that recently released a paper demanding an “assault weapon” ban, was unable to point to any crimes in the state involving such a gun.

The FBI’s report must have displeased New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg (R). Despite the mayor’s recent posturing on the gun issue, and his self-laudatory comments about fighting crime, the Big Apple’s murder rate was more than double that of the rest of the state. Similarly, in Philadelphia, where anti-gun politicians are calling for a statewide one-gun-a-month law, the murder rate was more than seven times higher than the rest of Pennsylvania.

Adding to the reasons why voters should “Dump Doyle” in Wisconsin’s upcoming gubernatorial election, their state had the greatest total violent crime rate increase (15.1%) between 2004-2005. Murder was up 25.2%; robbery up 11.2%; and aggravated assault up 20.2%. Wisconsin is one of only two states that prohibits Right-to-Carry entirely, but in 2005, 11 of the 12 states that had the greatest decreases in total violent crime, and 12 of the 14 states with the greatest decreases in murder were Right-to-Carry states. The seven states with the lowest total violent crime rates in 2005, and 11 of the 12 states that had the lowest murder rates, were Right-to-Carry states.

Last, but not least, is good news from Florida, the state that during the last 20 years has been most often attacked by anti-gunners, for (among other reasons) setting the Right-to-Carry and “Castle Doctrine” movements in motion. In 2005, Florida recorded a murder rate 13% lower than the rate for the rest of the country (4.96 per 100,000, vs. 5.67 for the rest of the country). For the record, Florida’s 2005 murder rate was 58% lower than it was in 1986, the last year before the state’s landmark Right-to-Carry law took effect.

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2nd Amendment RKBA

The People’s Right to Keep and Bear Arms

http://scottsworld.info/rkba.htm

The People’s Right to Keep and Bear Arms

You will be told that the second amendment is about militias, but it is not and that is an intentional lie. It was written to protect the right of the people to defend themselves and have an armed populous to defend the country from foreign and internal threats to our liberty, I.E. the Government trying to take away our Rights.

This amendment uses the word People I.E. you and I, the same as it does in every case that it is used in the Bill of Rights and Constitution, it means the common citizens. The founders were clear when they meant State I.E. Government and when they meant People. They did not give the right to the government at any level to regulate your right to self defense or to keep and bear arms, they in fact wrote that it “Shall not be infringed“.

It is no coincidence that the right to keep and bear arms comes right after the right to free speech. When we lose these rights and the others in the Bill of Rights will shortly follow, and we will be no longer a free people.

Without the right to bear arms to defend ourselves and our rights, we have no rights! Are we free people today? Our rights have been so infringed by government because we keep demanding more of government that it is debatable if we are free now. Read the Bill of Rights and Constitution for yourself and see how frequently it is violated and ignored by our government from the Federal Government on down to the local level. It is vital to the future freedom of this country and our posterity that we know our rights as protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights and vote to defend them.

The answer to violence and crime is not to ban guns or other weapons. We have literally thousands of gun laws which largely are not enforced well, if at all. It is illegal to murder someone, do we need more laws specifying it is illegal to murder someone with a weapon as well? (I oppose hate crimes for the same reason.) In many locations in this county you can not have a gun in your home to defended yourself. Much less carry one in your car or on you as I do here in Arizona to defend against car jackers and other assailants. Is it any wonder that crime and murder are rampant in these areas? Such areas are easy pickings for the criminals who don’t obey the laws anyway, because they know their victims have been disarmed by the government for them.. In nearly every state it is illegal to shoot a burglar even in your own home unless you are threatened with harm or death and can not get away..

Someone breaking into to your home is not threat enough? It is mind boggling. You may or may not be prosecuted for shooting a burglar depending on the views of the prosecutor in your area. Then, thanks to lawyers, you might be sued by the burglar or his family for injuring him, pain and suffering, depriving him of his livelihood. You think I’m joking? They have done it and won several times!

The answer to crime is to punish criminals severely for crimes. I strongly support capital punishment, I do not believe we should intern any criminal for life at tax payer expense. If they are so bad we must lock them away for life to protect society from them, then they should be put to death. If they take a life or use a gun in the commission of a violent crime they should be put to death. The idiots who want to ban guns will say their efforts have reduced crime. Utter lies, crime is going down because more and more states are keeping criminals behind bars with truth in sentencing and three strikes laws. The more criminals behind bars, the less crimes they commit, how much more simple could it be? The majority of crimes are committed by repeat criminals, something like 60% of all crimes. Crime is also going down because more states are allowing (imaging that, allowing you to exercise your God given right to defend yourself..), citizens in good standing to pay a tax (I.E. license) so they can carry a concealed weapon to defend themselves.

It has been proven conclusively that the more lax the gun laws a locality has and the more citizens carrying weapons to defend themselves, the less violent crime there is. The inverse is true also, the more strict the gun laws the more violent crime and murders there are. This is because criminals are cowards and attack the easiest prey they can find. They most definitely don’t want to go after someone who can defend themselves and possibly hurt or kill them.

Accidents? Truth be told accidents with guns have been going down for decades. The reason why is education, yet the gun banning idiots claim gun education promotes gun violence. We teach children to be safe with matches, hot stoves, etc. Why do we not teach children how to be safe with guns? The NRA Eddie Eagle education program teaches very simple rules to children. If they find a gun they are not to touch it and to find an adult and tell them about it. It is frequently opposed by liberal fools because it has to do with guns and is taught by the NRA.. If we are to ban guns to “Save The Children” (a favorite refrain of reactionary, emotional, fools), should not we also ban cars, swimming pools, bicycles, dogs, etc., which each kill and maim far more children than guns do every year? Opps, I almost forgot there are some liberal fools out there trying to do just that too…

My interest in guns? I like to target shoot and I carry a pistol for self defense most of the time. I started carrying after a shoot out between two cars in the parking lot of the apartment complex I used to live in, in a reasonably nice neighborhood. A couple months later I was shot at in south Phoenix, likely by some gang members. They were following me on the highway I-10 and I pulled off on to surface streets around Thomas and 27th Ave to verify this, then tried to loose them on side streets. I am a very good driver and when I was so far ahead of them I started to loose them, they turned sideways at a T in the street and fired one shot which went through the rear window of the camper shell of the red lowered Toyota Pickup I had as my company vehicle at the time. This came from my boss’s son after his divorce and was popular with the gangs back then, it attracted way too much attention all the time. From there the bullet went though a box, a plastic tool box and passed between where the camper rests on the bed frame and the bottom of the camper, hitting the rear of the cab behind my right shoulder, stopping after leaving a big dent in the metal. The car was a white late 80’s Mustang with dark tinted windows so I never saw them and they were always behind me so no plate number. The police think it was a 9 mm handgun. Which was one of the reasons I bought a 40 Caliber Glock 23, also the police are carrying the same caliber which was a shortened version of the10 mm the FBI was carrying in the 80’s.

Several years ago, about 1 A.M. (I’m a night person) I left my apartment complex to mail some bills that needed to be off right away so they would go out at the 6 am pickup at the post office half a mile away. When I came back about ten minutes later the parking lot was filled with police, Fire Dept. and neighbors. In the short time I was gone, one of the neighbors had caught someone breaking into his truck and they murdered him by shooting him in the head when he confronted them unarmed. Unarmed = Victim.. I won’t be a victim, don’t be one yourself!

If we allow the liberals to keep passing stupid gun laws, some day you will be a criminal just because you own a shotgun, rifle or a handgun to protect your home, hunt with or target shoot. There are already liberal controlled cities (in America, the land of the Free and home of the Brave??) where if you have an unregistered gun you are a criminal just for possessing
it. Have no doubt many liberal idiots want only the police to have guns and have publicly said so, even then they don’t really trust the police with them either.. There is no question they want to take away your rights to arm and defend yourself and your family. They don’t Trust you! You Must not trust them! Say NO! to more gun laws! Be involved, write your congressmen and senators to tell them you are opposed to any bill that infringes on your right to bear arms.. Tell them you are opposed any federal crime bill, crime is a local issue, best dealt with at a local level. Elect people who will support your rights and do your best to remove from office those who won’t.

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