Categories
RKBA

National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Vote Imminent

Vote on Right to Carry Coming Soon
— Please urge your Senators to vote YES!

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
Friday, July 17, 2009

A vote to protect your right to travel out-of-state with a firearm could
come to a vote next week — even as early as Monday!

Senators John Thune and David Vitter are the sponsors of S. 845 — a
bill that will establish concealed carry reciprocity amongst the several
states.

Senators Thune and Vitter offered the bill as an amendment (#1618) to
the Department of Defense authorization bill (H.R. 2647).

This provision will use the constitutional authority allowing Congress
to enforce “full faith and credit” across the country, so that each
state respects the “public acts, records, and judicial proceedings” of
every other state (Article IV).

The benefit of the Thune/Vitter legislation is that — unlike other,
competing measures — it would protect the right of any U.S. citizen to
carry out of state (regardless of whether he possesses a permit), as
long as he is authorized to carry in his home state. This is important
because of states like Vermont and Alaska, where residents can carry
concealed without prior approval or permission from the state… in
other words, without a permit!

ACTION: Please urge your Senators to vote YES on the Thune/Vitter
concealed carry reciprocity amendment that will be offered to the
Department of Defense authorization bill and NO on any modifying
amendments. This vote could come as early as Monday, so please act on
this right away!

You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators the
pre-written e-mail message below.

—– Pre-written letter —–

Dear Senator:

Please support the Thune/Vitter amendment to the Department of Defense
authorization bill. This amendment will protect the right of citizens to
carry firearms outside of their home state without violating the rights
of the other states. Thus, the reciprocity language masterfully protects
the principle of federalism while also promoting Second Amendment
rights.

A person’s right to defend himself and his family should not end at the
border of his state.

I urge you to vote for the Thune/Vitter concealed carry amendment and to
oppose any modifying actions that seek to weaken their amendment.

Sincerely,


Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
bounce back as undeliverable.

To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.

Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that
address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.


Scott’s website
Scott Blog


Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
RKBA

Your Right to carry a Knife is in Danger!

FORWARDED MESSAGE:
==================================================================

I don’t usually do this, but letters need to be in the mail within the next week or so.
The following alert from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is urgent and time sensitive.
It is a long letter so I’ll summarize:
US Customs and Border Protection has decided to reverse some past decisions and redefine what constitutes a “switchblade.”
Under their new definition just about any folding knife could be considered a switchblade – especially knives designed to be easily opened with one hand – like the one in your pocket.
Most state and local laws base their own definition of a switchblade on Customs’ definition so if Customs tightens up their definition it could easily result in tighter state and local laws as well and you could suddenly be committing a felony for crossing a state line with that same handy little knife you’ve been carrying for years.  Domestic manufacturers could also have their businesses seriously disrupted.
CBP was doing this kinda quietly and only allowed for a 30-day window for comments from the public – written on paper and sent to them through the US Mails.  The deadline for their receipt of comments is June 21 (which is a Sunday so the real deadline might be June 20.)
[By the way I am scheduled to guest-host Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk radio program on the 21st so be sure to tune in.]
We are encouraging people to submit comments to CBP telling them not to create all sorts of potential problems by trying to solve a problem that isn’t a problem at all.
We also ask that you start pinging on your Senators and Representative demanding that they rein in CBP and then fix the issue permanently by repealing the useless ban on switchblades. (Legislators just shouldn’t be allowed to watch West Side Story.)
KnifeRights.org is the lead organization in this and they have sample letters at their web site – linked below.
I think the hype in the following is a bit heavy, but this is important none the less and I hope everyone will take immediate action.
Jeff

The U.S. Government Is Trying To Take Away Your Pocket Knives!

SAF and CCRKBA Joins with Knife Rights

The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms have joined with Knife Rights to help fight this unwarranted knife grab by Customs. Alan Gottlieb CCRKBA Chairman noted, “we stand with Knife Rights in their support of Americans’ right to own and carry the knives of their choice.”

And, just a reminder, the Second Amendment doesn’t say “Firearms,” it says “Arms,” and knives are clearly covered.

The U.S. Government is after your Pocket Knives! In a sneak attack, U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would also include all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives!

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) on May 21st proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposed new rule would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its new broad definition of a switchblade could also include one-handed opening knives and could be easily interpreted to cover most other pocket knives, even simple old-fashioned slip-joints.

At this point, one-hand opening and assisted opening knives are 80% of U.S. knife sales. For most knife companies, they represent all or the majority of their product lines. These are the knives Americans take with them to work and to play everyday.

Note, please, that CBP’s interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act forms the basis for national, state and even local law and judicial rulings in many cases. This ruling by CBP is NOT limited to just imports. This WILL affect virtually everyone who carries a pocket knife, no matter the type!


CBP came up with this absurd proposal and then tried slipping it into their regular notices, apparently hoping nobody would become aware of until too late. They provided for only the minimum 30-day comment period, and there’s no email comments allowed. Just yesterday CBP rejected numerous requests for an extension to the unduly short comment period. Obviously, they’d just as soon not hear from us. We’re intending to disappoint them in that.

CBP’s proposal would have effects far beyond that suggested in the title of the proposal, “Proposed Revocation Of Ruling Letters And Revocation Of Treatment Relating To The Admissibilty [sic] Of Certain Knives With Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms,” which would be bad enough even if it only did that. However, this proposal would likely make it illegal for the estimated 40 million law-abiding Americans who own and carry pocket knives to do so. It would also cost this country dearly in destroyed businesses, lost jobs and ruined families.

Thousands of jobs and billions of dollars would be lost. CBP clearly appears to not have considered the consequences of this unnecessary, inappropriate and even illegitimate action. Since CBP is not required to consider the effects of their actions, only Congress or the courts can rein them in. If left to the courts, the industry and our rights will be devastated and America will lose much, regardless of who wins the legal fight.

The definition of what is a switchblade has been clear and settled for the most part since the Federal Switchblade Act was passed in 1958 and has been reaffirmed by many years of legal decisions. The Act is very clear that a switchblade must have an activating button on the handle. Without a button, it is not a switchblade and this has been upheld by numerous cases on many levels over the years. CBP’s convoluted reasoning in their proposal to reach back beyond the law and to expand their regulatory purview by rationalizing “intent” as justification for this new interpretation is a stretch, at best, and illegitimate at worst. It simply doesn’t meet the common sense test.

CBP’s reaching beyond the clear language of the Act in making this proposal is particularly questionable and irreconcilable because it flies in the face of virtually unanimous recent state court rulings (including several cases in California, Texas, Illinois and Michigan) where the issue of assisted-opening knives has already been decided in favor of the existing clear interpretation, that they are not a switchblade. They cherry-picked a few bizarre and untypical rulings from New York state from some years ago to provide support for their proposal, ignoring the many more recent rulings.

Beyond that, their significantly expanded interpretation of gravity and inertia knives, also included in the Act, would clearly make one-hand opening pocket knives illegal and according to industry sources, 80% of pocket knives sold today are one-hand or assisted openers. Beyond even that clearly excessively broad seizure of authority, we know from past unfortunate experience in many cases over the years that this sort of misinterpretation leads to potential abuse by law enforcement where even the most simple and innocuous Boy Scout folding pocket knife can be opened one-handed by use of dangerous and unsafe tricks, so that these too would be covered under this expanded federal definition. This ruling would therefore make almost all pocket knives subject to being considered switchblades.

The impact of this CBP ruling would go far beyond just imported knives because this “agency determination” will be used by domestic courts and law enforcement to determine what is a “switchblade” under both federal and state laws. Many states do not themselves define switchblades and simply rely on the federal definition and interpretation, which is only found in rulings by CBP. Since interstate commerce in switchblades is prohibited, except under very limited conditions, simply driving across a state line with a pocket knife in their possession would make someone a federal felon.

Knifemaking in the U.S. has enjoyed a renaissance in the past decade or two as the genius and innovation of American knifemakers, designers and manufacturers has created a booming and vital American industry with thousands of exciting new knife designs that improve the function, utility and safety of the lowly pocket knife, one of man’s oldest and most useful tools. Millions of Americans have responded to this innovation, creating a vibrant industry. For the most part these are family owned businesses that are American success stories, the core of America’s economic strength. This proposal by CBP would destroy all that for no good reason. That’s a heck of a stimulus package.

The knife industry tells us they employ nearly 24,000 Americans and have a nearly 6 billion dollar annual impact on our nation’s economy. Those are very conservative numbers. If this proposed ruling is allowed to stand, thousands of jobs will be lost at the direct cost of billions of dollars. That doesn’t even begin to cover the enormous cost to the country of those that would become unemployed, the ruined businesses, foreclosed homes, years of litigation by both industry against CBP and who knows how many criminal trials and appeals as law-abiding Americans fight this abusive attempt to take away their knives, as well as many other devastating unforeseen effects of this ill-considered proposal. Thousands of American citizens lives would be ruined. Millions of Americans would be impacted. The cost would be tragically huge, more so because it is neither necessary, nor desired by the vast majority of Americans.

Knife Rights www.KnifeRights.org is the organization that is heading the grassroots effort to stop Customs’ pocket knife grab. We are supporting their efforts to safeguard our rights. As they point out, the Second Amendment doesn’t say “Firearms,” it says “Arms.” Clearly the founding fathers expected that knives would be included.

Knife Rights has provided Model Letters to make it easy for you to make your feelings known. We are in for the fight of our lives to save our Pocket Knives. We can only win if you do your part. You have to write!

We need your help to make an impression on CBP. They figured that they could slip this by everyone with little notice. We need to let CBP know that they are not going to get away with it; that we noticed and we are not happy and that we will not stand by while they take away our pocket knives.

We need you to write CBP NOW! Their June 21, 2009, deadline is fast approaching and these letters must go via postal mail (or Fedex/UPS) and be RECEIVED (not postmarked) by that date. Click below for a Model Letter you can send to CBP. You MUST write TODAY!


http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29
or
http://tinyurl.com/q7w8tm

However, the reality is that CBP isn’t required to listen to our demands, but they do have to answer to Congress. After you send a letter to CBP, giving them notice they are not going to sneak this by us, the next step is to inundate Congress with emails and letters.

If you want to be free to carry your pocket knives in the future, you need to write your Senators and Representative TODAY! Click below for a Model Letter you can send to Members of Congress. Only your efforts will stop this and save our Knife Rights!

http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29
or
http://tinyurl.com/qqvmns

Help us stop this ill-conceived effort by Customs before it puts thousands of more Americans out of work and destroys one of Americas oldest industries, causing great harm to our nation and many American families. Help us stop these faceless, heartless bureaucrats from destroying our essential American freedoms. This nation has many more important issues that need our attention and energy in this time of crisis.

NOW IS THE TIME WE MUST DO BATTLE! WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE.!


GET ON YOUR COMPUTERS AND SEND THESE LETTERS and EMAILS.!

Write Customs & Border Patrol NOW!


http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29
or
http://tinyurl.com/q7w8tm

Write your Senators and Representative TODAY!


http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29
or
http://tinyurl.com/qqvmns

DO IT NOW! DO IT TODAY! DON’T WAIT!


< Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family >

Copyright © 2009 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All Rights Reserved.
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005 Voice: 425-454-4911
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
email: InformationRequest@ccrkba.org

_______________________________________________

================================================================================
This is a message from The Firearms Coalition Alerts list.  It is never
sent without a subscription and confirmation. 

If you have issues or questions about this or any message originating from the FirearmsCoalition.org domain, please forward it with all message headers to abuse[at]firearmscoalition.org.

================================================================================


Scott’s website
Scott Blog


Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
RKBA

National Training Week July 4-11th


NATIONAL TRAINING WEEK

Celebrate the Fourth of July with
Fireworks, Firearms and Freedom
Good Americans Are Good Marksmen
include some range time in your Independence Day plans!

National Training Week is endorsed by:
Congressman John Shadegg
The Second Amendment Foundation
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
KeepAndBearArms.com
The Firearms Coalition (Neal Knox’s group)
Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform
Skip Coryell, founder of the Second Amendment March
Gun Owners of America
The Appleseed Project

(This list is growing faster than our ability to update it;
groups that support gun rights and training recognize the value.)

Memo to Gun Clubs & Gun Ranges:


NATIONAL TRAINING WEEK 3 Easy Steps

Dear Range Owner,

The week of July 4th is being established as National Training Week, a time when all good Americans go to ranges nationwide and enjoy the shooting sports.

This is a promotional and business-building opportunity for you, and a chance for the nation to rise up as one and exercise the right to keep and bear arms.

The event is strictly voluntary, it costs you virtually nothing to participate, and you will attract new customers and a revenue stream by climbing on board.

1. Tell your employees to talk up National Training Week, July 4 to July 11, Saturday to Saturday, and post the fliers linked at the end of this letter.

2. Offer your standard handgun rentals for one hour at no charge that’s the big draw, people get to try out firearms they haven’t fired. It costs you almost nothing, and customers use range time and ammo at normal prices or offer discounts if you really want to increase your crowd.

3. Schedule classes, have instructors available on site, make sure you have supplies on hand (including some books!), and add any other promo and PR you like to increase your draw.

It s easy, it s coordinated nationwide, national news outlets are being approached for coverage… put up the signs, tell your clients, go for it!

Good Americans are good marksmen.
Safe gun handling is everybody s business.


______________________

NATIONAL TRAINING WEEK
July 4 to July 11, 2009
Saturday to Saturday

1-hour FREE Handgun Rentals!
Special classes for newcomers!
Instructors on site!
Easy lessons for first-time gun owners!

As part of the national campaign to improve marksmanship and gun safety across America, our range is offering FREE handgun rentals this is your chance to try out a new firearm, get in some range time, sharpen your skills, and exercise your right to keep and bear arms! Don t miss this great opportunity!

We ll be offering special classes for people who are new to firearms, safety instructions for parents, special attention for youngsters, even advanced classes for highly skilled shooters. Mark your calendar make sure you visit us during 4th of July week and add firearms to the fireworks of this great American holiday!

______________________

Come Celebrate
NATIONAL TRAINING WEEK
here at our range!

July 4 to July 11, 2009
Saturday to Saturday

1-hour FREE Handgun Rentals!
Special classes for newcomers!
Instructors on site!
Easy lessons for first-time gun owners!

As part of the national campaign to improve marksmanship and gun safety across America,
our range is offering FREE handgun rentals
this is your chance to try out a new firearm,
get in some range time, sharpen your skills,
and exercise your right to keep and bear arms!

We ll be offering special classes for people who are new to firearms, safety instructions for parents, special attention for youngsters, even advanced classes for highly skilled shooters.

Mark your calendar make sure you visit us during
4th of July week and add firearms to the fireworks
of this great American holiday!

Want to do something to defend your rights?
Invite a friend, especially a newcomer, to go to the range with you


< Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family >

Copyright © 2009 Second Amendment Foundation, All Rights Reserved.

Second Amendment Foundation
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005 Voice: 425-454-7012
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
email: InformationRequest@saf.org



Scott’s website
Scott Blog


Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
Politics

Rabidly Anti-gun Sotomayor is Unacceptable

Obama Picks Anti-gun Judge for the Supreme Court
— Time to start contacting your Senators right away

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Friday, May 29, 2009

Unless you’ve taken a very long Memorial Day vacation, you’ve no doubt
heard the big news.

President Obama has picked an anti-gun radical to replace Justice David
Souter on the Supreme Court.

Obama’s pick is Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who is currently on the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Second District. There she has racked up an
anti-Second Amendment record and has displayed contempt for the rule of
law under the Constitution.

The Heller decision put the Supreme Court in support of the
Constitutional protection of the individual right to keep and bear arms.
Sotomayor, a politically correct lover of centralized government power
(as long as she is part of the power elite), immediately went into
counter-attack mode against the Heller decision.

Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel earlier this year which ruled
in Maloney v. Cuomo that the Second Amendment does not apply to the
states. As she and her cohorts claimed, the Supreme Court has not yet
incorporated the states under the Second Amendment. Until then, she
believes, the Second only applies to the District of Columbia.

This is pure judicial arrogance — something Sotomayor relishes (as long
as she is one of the ruling judges). In fact, protection of the right
to keep and bear arms was a major objective for enactment of the
Fourteenth Amendment, as recently freed slaves were being disarmed and
terrorized in their neighborhoods.

But Sotomayor disdains this important right of individuals, as indicated
by an earlier opinion from 2004. In United States v. Sanchez-Villar,
she stated that “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental
right.”

Sotomayor has held very anti-gun views, even as far back as the 1970s.
Fox Cable News reported yesterday that in her senior thesis at Princeton
University, she wrote that America has a “deadly obsession” with guns
and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual right to
firearms ownership.

Sotomayor’s Second Amendment views go hand in hand with her politically
correct views on the law and the role of judges.

In a speech given at Duke University in 2005, she made it abundantly
clear that judges are involved in making policy. Realizing that this
did not sound very judicial (even though most judges act on this basis),
Sotomayor tried to laugh off her brazen admission: “I know this is on
tape and I should never say that, [audience laughing], because we don’t
make law — I know. Um, okay. I know, I’m not promoting it, I’m not
advocating it.” The audience continued to laugh. They got the joke.

But Sotomayor’s joke will be on us and our liberties if she gets
confirmed to the Supreme Court. And that is why we need to start
contacting our Senators early and often, urging them to vote against
this dangerous nomination.

ACTION: Please contact your two Senators and urge them to oppose the
nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. You can
go to the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators the
pre-written e-mail message below.

—– Pre-written letter —–

Dear Senator:

If you cherish the Second Amendment and agree that it protects an
individual right to keep and bear arms — as stated by the recent Heller
decision — then you must vote against Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

This choice for the Supreme Court is totally unacceptable! Consider a
partial rendering of her anti-gun record:

  • Sotomayor ruled in United States v. Sanchez-Villar (2004) that “the
    right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.”
  • Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel earlier this year which
    ruled in Maloney v. Cuomo that the Second Amendment does not apply to
    the states. This makes her more liberal than the Ninth Circuit, which
    stated in April that the Second Amendment does apply to the states.
  • Sotomayor has held very anti-gun views, even as far back as the 1970s.
    Fox Cable News reported on May 28 that in her senior thesis at Princeton
    University, she wrote that America has a “deadly obsession” with guns
    and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual right to
    firearms ownership.

I will consider a vote in favor of Sotomayor as the most anti-gun vote a
Senator could cast. To send an anti-gun liberal judge to the Supreme
Court for the rest of her life is to establish “legislation without
representation.” After all, she says that the courts are where policy
is made, and once she’s there, we’ll never be able to vote her out.

Again, please vote against this dangerous nomination.

Sincerely,


“Live Fire” radio with Larry Pratt is broadcast by the Information
Radio Network on Saturdays at 12:00 Noon Eastern. “Live Fire” is
simulcast on the web at http://inforadionet.com and previous episodes
are archived at http://irnusaradio.com/our-programs/live-fire with a
number of listening formats, including podcasts, supported.

Recent guests, among many others, have included:

  • Charl van Wyk — Gun Control in Africa
  • GOA’s Mike Hammond — Socialized Medicine and Gun Control
  • Dave Hardy — Ranchers, Illegal Immigrants, and Guns

Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
bounce back as undeliverable.

To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.

To unsubscribe send a message to
gunowners_list@capwiz.mailmanager.net with the word unsubscribe in
the subject line.

Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that
address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.



Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
RKBA

Watch this CNN anti-gun YouTube video and SAF’s rebutal

Watch this CNN anti-gun YouTube video and SAF’s rebutal

Watch the YouTube link below to see CNN anti-gun rights bias and my on air knock out punch to them.

YouTube – CNN Rick Sanchez ‘SLAMS’ FOX News’s Gun Fear Mongering with guest Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation.

With your help we can make this the most watched video on YouTube.

Thanks for all your help and support in protecting our right to keep and bear arms.

Sincerely yours,

Alan M. Gottlieb
Founder, Second Amendment Foundation


< Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family >

Copyright © 2009 Second Amendment Foundation, All Rights Reserved.

Second Amendment Foundation
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005 Voice: 425-454-7012
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
email: InformationRequest@saf.org



Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
RKBA

Petition to Harry Reid — Sign now!

April 6, 2009

Dear NAGR supporter:

“There are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons.”

Barack Obama’s anti-gun Attorney General Eric Holder didn’t exactly surprise gun owners when he came clean about his plans to ram through a new “Assault Weapons” ban into law.

But today, with the White House and Congress chock full of anti-gunners, Barack Obama and his anti-gun Attorney General don’t just want the “same old ban.”

They want a PERMANENT ban expanded to include almost any semi-automatic firearm in America!

That’s why it’s vital you sign the online petition we’ve prepared for our members, which demands that Senator Harry Reid refuse to allow so much as a hearing on the “Assault Weapons” Ban — TODAY!

You see, an “assault weapon” could be virtually any gun.

The anti-gun politicians just like the term “assault weapons” because it sounds “scary.”

And some people get them confused with fully automatic select-fire “machine guns” — guns that have been tightly controlled since 1934.

So Sarah Brady and the gun grabbers think they’ve got it made.  They believe all they have to do is call a gun an “assault weapon” to demonize it, and then pass a ban.

That’s why we must fight back NOW!

The only good news in this situation is that we DO have a real chance of stopping this bill. 

You see, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is THE KEY to defeating any new “Assault Weapons” Ban. 

All he has to do is REFUSE to allow any Senate action on the bill, and no ban will get passed.

He’s already said he plans on voting against a new ban “if it comes up for a vote.”

Great, but not good enough, Harry.

 That’s why you and I need to make sure Senator Harry Reid knows that if he allows the ban to have so much as a hearing, he will lose his seat.

And believe me: That’s a threat Senator Reid will take seriously.

He’s already disliked by a majority of Nevadans — and insiders are calling Senator Reid the most vulnerable Democrat in the Senate.

If Senator Reid crosses gun owners, he’s political dead meat — plain and simple.  It’s our job to make sure he knows it.

But remember, Senator Reid doesn’t need our votes to win reelection — he needs the votes of folks in Nevada.

So — in addition to your signed petition — you and I must do everything we can to mobilize Second Amendment supporters in Nevada.

And that’s good news!

 Firstly, Nevada is one of the most pro-gun states in the country.

And secondly, this program will give you and me an incredible “bang for our buck.”

Instead of mobilizing folks all over the country to try and get 41 votes to filibuster the gun grabbers’ schemes, we can concentrate all our firepower in ONE state.

And Nevada just happens to be one of the least populated states in the country — their TOTAL population is just under 2.5 million.

That means the National Association for Gun Rights can run the kind of no-nonsense, no-compromise grassroots effort that will have Senator Reid running for the hills.

 But of course, even a targeted statewide program like this won’t be cheap.

So in addition to your petition , I hope I can count on your financial support as well.

With your generous contribution, we’ll focus our resources on running a full-scale campaign to mobilize Nevada gun owners, including:

  • Sending out three massive statewide mailings, urging Nevada gun owners to contact Senator Reid and express their opposition to the ban.
  • Writing hard-hitting guest editorials for every daily and weekly newspaper in Nevada to explain to Nevadans that Senator Reid has the power to single-handedly stop any new “Assault Weapons” Ban.
  • Training in-state pro-gun activists to write letters to the editor, work the talk-radio shows, talk to the press and hand out flyers at EVERY ONE of Senator Reid’s in-state events.
  • Putting up anti-BAN billboards within eyesight of EVERY one of Senator Reid’s Nevada offices, demanding that Senator Reid refuse to allow so much as a hearing on the ban.
  • Running statewide newspaper, radio and TV ads to show Senator Reid we really mean business.

The truth of the matter is, this simple statewide program in Nevada has the potential to be the most important program ANY gun rights group runs this year.

 And if we can stop the so-called “Assault Weapons” Ban from passing, we just may be able to stop anything the gun control crowd throws our way.

But without an IMMEDIATE influx of funds, we may not be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

And if we don’t, a new, permanent “Assault Weapons” Ban WILL become law.

I’m sure, like me, you can hardly stomach that thought.

That’s why, in addition to your signed petition to Senator Reid, I also hope you’ll agree to make a generous contribution of $100 or $200 to the National Association for Gun Rights.  Click here to contribute.

Believe me, I know that’s a lot, but we have an opportunity here to make a major difference.

If you can’t afford $100, please consider contributing $75 or $50 to the cause.

Listen: If you and I show Senator Reid that he could lose his seat if he allows action on any new gun ban, we can win.  It’s that simple.

So please sign and the online petition, and rush me your most generous contribution of $200, $100, or $50 TODAY.

Sincerely,

Dudley Brown
Executive Director

P.S. We need to make sure Senator Harry Reid knows you and I — and tens of thousands of Nevadans — aren’t going to let him get away with allowing a new, permanent “Assault Weapons” Ban to pass.

So please sign NAGR’s online petition to Harry Reid demanding that he refuse to allow so much as a hearing on the “Assault Weapons” Ban TODAY!

And in addition to your signed petition, please send a generous contribution of $200, $100, or $50 — or whatever you can afford — TODAY! Click here to contribute.


Help fight gun control. Donate to the National Association for Gun Rights!

 
Forward this message to a friend »   | 
View as a web page »



Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
2nd Amendment

Police Fatalities for ’08 Prove CCW Laws no Threat to Cops, Says CCRKBA

NEWS RELEASE

POLICE FATALITIES FOR 08 PROVE CCW LAWS NO THREAT TO COPS, SAYS CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, WA Another bogus argument of gun control extremists that sensible concealed carry laws create an increased threat to police officers has been refuted by statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and published by USA Today.

The number of officer fatalities due to gunfire is the lowest in 50 years, noted Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. A report out Monday said that this year, 41 officers have died from gunshot wounds, down 40 percent from the 68 who died by gunfire in 2007. Yet the number of concealed carry permits issued by the states has risen, dramatically in some areas, in the past 12 months.

Better training and equipment have contributed to this decline, Gottlieb stated, but it must be noted for the record that growing numbers of legally-armed citizens have not resulted in more police slayings. That has been one of the many lame arguments offered by gun control fanatics over the past few years when they fought against expanded concealed carry rights.

The death of one police officer is a tragedy, he continued, but common sense right-to-carry statutes have no relation to the criminal slayings of police officers, and anti-gun rights extremists know it.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports that more officers have died in traffic-related incidents than in shootings, same as last year, Gottlieb noted.

There are, today, more legally-armed citizens than ever before, he commented, and more privately-owned firearms than ten or even five years ago. More Americans own semiautomatic sport-utility rifles, growing numbers of women own guns for personal protection and more citizens are involved in shooting sports.

None of these law-abiding citizens pose any threat to public safety, and especially to the safety of our local police, Gottlieb concluded. We expect the new Congress, and state legislatures around the country, to keep this in perspective as the gun ban lobby mounts new attacks on firearm civil rights in 2009.

These Dogs Don’t Hunt: The Democrats’ War on Guns

This book is a must read for every gun owner concerned about the election results.
Buy now at a discount
from www.amazon.com


< Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family >

Copyright © 2008 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All Rights Reserved.
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005Voice: 425-454-4911
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
email: InformationRequest@ccrkba.org



Bookmark and Share

Bookmark and Share


Categories
2nd Amendment RKBA

End of the Year Report

GOA Members Win Key Battles in 2008
— While gun rights advanced this year, the prospects for next year
look very tough

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm


“The best Second Amendment defense organization in the country is Gun
Owners of America.” — Joseph Farrah, founder and CEO of

WorldNetDaily.com, September 2008

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Change.

That’s what the next four years are going to bring. More government
regulations… more government spending… and more battles over gun
control.

Once Barack Obama takes his oath of office in January, he will
become, without a doubt, the most anti-gun President this nation has
ever seen.

How are gun owners responding to the oncoming Obama presidency? By
the tens of thousands, they are pouring into gun stores all across
the country and stocking up on guns and ammo, fearing the worst.
Many buyers include first-time gun owners.

And while that is not a bad idea, it’s a short term solution to a
long-term problem that does nothing to defend our Second Amendment
rights from being eliminated by a Congress controlled by people like
Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, Carolyn McCarthy and other notorious gun
grabbers.

That’s why we need you to stand with Gun Owners of America next year.
If you have never become a GOA member — or you’ve let your
membership lapse — we need you on board so that we have the
ammunition necessary to fight every gun control bill that comes our
way.

It takes less than five minutes to go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm and sign up. By doing so,
you will be joining — in the words of WorldNetDaily’s founder — the
“best Second Amendment defense organization in the country.”

We need you now more than ever, as we are surely in for the fight of
our lives!

Even so, despite all the hurdles that we see ahead, one should not
forget that 2008 was a real improvement for gun rights in many
respects. Gun Owners of America experienced victories in the
courts… in the Congress… over federal bureaucracies… and in the
states.

The following victories are just a few of the accomplishments that
GOA was able to achieve this year with YOUR HELP. So let’s take a
look at our work together, month by month.

January – February

  • As the new year dawns, President Bush signs the Veterans
    Disarmament Act (a.k.a. the NICS Improvement Amendments Act). This
    legislation codifies illegitimate procedures that, over the past
    decade, had already resulted in almost 150,000 veterans being denied
    the right to buy guns because battle-related stress has supposedly
    rendered them unable to manage their own financial affairs.

GOA was able to win some significant concession in the bill, even as
we were trying to kill it outright. Unfortunately, the bill passed
both houses of Congress last year without a vote. Republican Senator
Jim DeMint of South Carolina later complained that the Democrat
controlled Senate had passed 94 percent of its bills this year
without a recorded vote.

  • An Associate Director in the U.S. Interior Department defends the
    National Park Service ban claiming that “parks are safe places” and
    that right to carry laws “do not reduce crime” or protect people
    against dangerous wildlife. GOA responds by generating thousands
    upon thousands of postcards into the Oval Office, asking President
    Bush to put the squeeze on Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to get
    the NPS ban reversed — a reversal that will come about in May.
  • The U.S. Solicitor General files a brief with the U.S. Supreme
    Court in the D.C. v. Heller case arguing that categorical gun bans of
    virtually all self-defense firearms are constitutional if a court
    determines they are “reasonable” — the lowest standard of
    constitutional review. This view could justify a national ban on all
    firearms, including a ban on all hunting rifles.

GOA works with Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) and helps him to quickly get
57 additional congressmen to oppose the Solicitor General’s opinion.

  • Because of generous contributions from its members, GOA is able to
    submit a very unique amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in
    defense of Dick Anthony Heller, who was denied the right to own a gun
    in the nation�s capital as a result of the draconian gun ban which
    exists there.

In this hard-hitting brief, GOA takes aim at the weak arguments put
forth by both the DC government and the Bush Administration. But
more than that, GOA examines the favorable text and context of the
Second Amendment in great detail, while also documenting the pro-gun
history that formed the backdrop of its inclusion into the Bill of
Rights.

March – May

  • After looking at all the briefs which have been submitted in the
    Heller case, the editors at USA Today decide to use GOA for the
    opposing voice on March 19. The paper’s editors tell our attorneys
    that GOA had an argument that was clearly distinctive, as we were the
    only ones to argue that the words “shall not be infringed”
    invalidated all federal gun control laws.
  • In the states, GOA helped Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming to pass
    Emergency Protection bills throughout the country. These bills
    repeal laws that allow police to confiscate firearms during a
    declared emergency, such as what occurred in New Orleans after
    Hurricane Katrina decimated the city in 2005.

  • The sponsor of the Utah legislation, Senator Mark Madsen (R), thanked
    GOA in March for the help we offered in helping pass the legislation
    in his state.

    “GOA supplied me with video that documented the plight of decent gun
    owners in New Orleans who had their guns stolen by police after
    Hurricane Katrina,” Madsen said. “The DVD was very helpful in
    educating other members of the Utah legislature, and my bill to
    protect Utah gun owners from gun confiscation, SB 157, passed by
    overwhelming margins.”

    Sen. Madsen’s new law is one of the best in the country. If someone
    were to have his gun illegitimately confiscated, that person could
    not only sue for damages, but could hold the offending officer and
    his superior personally liable.

    • GOA’s attorneys uncover a proposal in April to keep gun owners from
      shipping replica or inert munitions through the mail. GOA
      immediately submitted a blistering critique to the U.S. Post Office
      and contacted thousands of grassroots activists so they could submit
      their own comments as well. To date, the agency has backed off of
      its original gun control proposal.
  • The Bush administration, after more than seven years, has finally
    issued regulations permitting the carrying of firearms in national
    parks! Beginning in 2009, gun owners will be able to carry firearms
    according to the laws of the state in which the park is located.

  • GOA learns about Pastor Phillip Miles of South Carolina, who was
    sentenced to three years in a Russian prison for carrying a single
    box of hunting ammo in his luggage, intended as a gift. GOA urges
    President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to intervene on
    Miles’ behalf, as the sentence definitely did not fit the “crime.”
    Russian authorities succumb to the outcry shortly thereafter… Miles
    is released in June and returns to the United States.

  • June – August

    • The Supreme Court strikes down the DC gun ban! While not perfect,
      the Court’s decision recognizes that the Second Amendment protects an
      “individual right” and states that the decades-old ban in the
      nation’s capital is unconstitutional.

    GOA’s brief had countered both the DC government and the Bush
    Administration — as the latter had asked the Court to use the DC
    case as a justification for all sorts of gun control. GOA is pleased
    that the Justices heeded our admonition to limit the Court’s holding
    to the case before it, thus shooting down both the DC government and
    the Bush Administration in their quest to validate other firearms
    restrictions.

    • GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt escorts David Olofson to a
      federal prison in Minnesota. Olofson was convicted in federal court
      of transferring a malfunctioning semi-automatic firearm which the ATF
      claimed was machine gun — a determination that should concern every
      gun owner who owns a semi-auto.

    Gun Owners of America becomes the lead gun organization fighting
    against the ATF’s persecution of Olofson. In taking on this case,
    GOA is also defending the rights of gun owners who could be
    prosecuted for owning a malfunctioning firearm. For the ATF, a gun
    that misfires is an excellent opportunity to rack up an easy
    conviction on an illegal machine gun charge.

    In Olofson’s defense, GOA submits an appeal challenging his
    conviction at the district court level, and sets up a relief fund to
    help pay for his family’s mortgage and car payments.

    September – November

    • David Olofson’s wife, Candy, thanks GOA and its members for helping
      their family. Candy tells GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt that
      because of the financial help that GOA members have given, she has
      not had to get a second job, so she is able to spend time being a
      Mom.
  • GOA’s Larry Pratt travels to the Big Easy to award a brand new
    handgun to Patricia Konie — the New Orleans resident who was tackled
    and disarmed by police in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Konie was
    forced to evacuate her home in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005,
    and until recently, had remained disarmed. To this day, she has
    never gotten back her stolen gun.

  • GOA tells its email activists how the ATF was trying to prevent the
    distribution of an electronic 4473 Form. This software has been
    developed by a private firm, Coloseum Software Corporation, and is
    intended to protect dealers against the “mistakes” that have allowed
    the ATF to prosecute or harass them into giving up their licenses.

  • GOA issued a grassroots alert in mid-October explaining how the ATF
    had been dragging its collective feet for months — keeping Coloseum
    from distributing its software, even while the ATF was developing its
    own competing software (and possibly, violating the copyright which
    belonged to Coloseum).

    After GOA asked gun owners to contact the Bush Administration, the
    owner of Coloseum contacted us shortly thereafter to tell us that our
    alert had been a tremendous success: “After the GOA alert put the
    spotlight on criminal activity by the BATFE, they quickly provided us
    [Coloseum Software Corp] with the required documentation for the new
    Form 4473 which we had been asking for months.”

    Sign up with GOA… the battle lines are now drawn!

    GOA is on the front lines, fighting to defend your rights. Even if
    you have already renewed your membership in GOA, we hope you will
    consider making an additional contribution.

    With your extra support in 2009, we will fight off every new attack
    on our gun rights. And we will remind the Democratic Congress what
    happened to their majority the last time they followed an anti-gun
    President down this path.

    This next year is going to be our most difficult year in a long, long
    time. Already, President-elect Obama is surrounding himself with
    virulent anti-gunners:

    • His pick for Attorney General went to a committed gun grabber in
      Eric Holder. Holder signed on to an amicus brief in the Heller case
      which SUPPORTED the DC ban on handguns and the ban on using any
      firearm for self-defense in a person�s home. Holder’s brief also
      argued that the Second Amendment protects a “collective” right, not
      an individual right (as the Supreme Court eventually ruled).
  • And based on his pick for Chief of Staff, you can be sure that the
    Obama administration will use any “crisis” it can to push its gun
    control agenda. Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, told the Wall
    Street Journal recently that, “You never want a serious crisis to go
    to waste…. [A] crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things
    that you could not do before.”

  • Get it? Every time a crackpot goes on a shooting spree, the Obama
    administration is going to use that “crisis” to come after your guns!

    So please make the decision to stay with us in the upcoming year, as
    it will be critical for America’s gun rights. Whether you can help
    us out with your gift of $35 or $3500, your contribution will be put
    immediately into the fight to preserve and restore all of our gun
    rights.

    Please go to http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm and stay with
    us in 2009!


    Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
    bounce back as undeliverable.

    To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
    http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
    address may also be made at that location.

    Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
    goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that
    address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
    week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.



    Bookmark and Share

    Bookmark and Share


    Categories
    2nd Amendment RKBA

    Post election gun ban alert

    **** Alert *** Alert *** Alert ****

    Dear Fellow NRA Member,

     Barack Obama’s campaign promise
    not to take away our guns is a lie.

    He’s not even in office, yet he’s fired the opening salvos in a war against the future of the Second Amendment, our hunting and shooting traditions, and YOU.

    Obama’s FIRST attack on YOU: Appointing Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel to be White House Chief of Staff. In Congress, Emanuel earned an “F” rating from NRA, and while working in the Clinton Administration, he was known as the “point man on gun control.” He is an avowed enemy of the Second Amendment and will wield enormous power in the battle for the future of our firearm freedoms.

    Obama’s SECOND attack on YOU: If Hillary Clinton is confirmed as Secretary of State, she’ll rip the Second Amendment right out of the Bill of Rights. She’ll be our nation’s top diplomat with the power to determine whether the United Nations will pass, and Obama will sign, a global gun ban treaty that will surrender our Second Amendment rights and our national sovereignty.

    Obama’s THIRD attack on YOU: Nominating ex-Senator and former Majority Leader Tom Daschle-an avowed enemy of NRA-to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. NRA was responsible for defeating Daschle when he ran in South Dakota for re-election to the Senate. If Daschle is confirmed, he could hold the ultimate power to declare guns a “public health menace” and regulate away our essential liberties.

    Obama’s FOURTH attack on YOU: Nominating Eric Holder to be Attorney General. As former Assistant Attorney General, Holder was a key architect and vocal advocate for the Clinton era’s sweeping gun ban agenda. He supported national handgun licensing, mandatory trigger locks, and ending gun shows as we know them.

    Just recently, Holder opposed the District of Columbia’s Heller decision that declared the Second Amendment an individual right. Holder also called for reviving the Clinton gun bans and, as Attorney General, would fight in court to prevent the landmark Heller decision from being made applicable to state and local governments.

    Worst of all, if Holder is confirmed as the nation’s top law-enforcement officer, he would control BATFE and wield enormous power to harass gun owners and sue America’s arms makers out of existence.

    Obama’s FIFTH attack on YOU: In the job application for the Obama Administration, he made it clear that gun owners are second-class citizens and told 80 million gun owners not to even bother applying for a job. In the “White House Personnel Data Questionnaire” he asked:

    “Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”

             This chilling notice to gun owners-that they are not welcome to serve in his Administration-shows the deep hostility for Americans’ Second Amendment Freedoms that Obama and his Administration have in their hearts.

    On its face, that question endorses gun registration-a mandate in only five states in our nation-and buys into the anti-gun premise that firearms are inherently dangerous and gun owners are prone to misusing them.

    That’s an outrageous mindset, especially for the President-elect whose sworn duty will be to uphold the U.S. Constitution, including our right to keep and bear arms.

    Obama CLEARLY wants to make gun registration the law of the land.

             First for employees under his control…AND THEN FOR YOU.

    Working with a Congress dominated by gun haters like Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, John Conyers, Henry Waxman, and Charles Schumer!!!

    Rubbing salt in gun owner wounds is the Brady Campaign, which just issued a completely bogus poll claiming that two-thirds of the Americans-including 60% of all gun owners-favor gun registration, licensing of firearm owners, and other sweeping restrictions on our firearm freedoms!

    Add it all up and you have the potential
    for a Second Amendment disaster that’s unlike
    any other NRA members have ever battled.

    That’s why we need the strongest possible commitment from EVERY NRA member, starting today. That’s why I’m hoping you’ll validate your new NRA membership card the moment you receive it.

    Because our greatest strength is you.

    Only by working with you can NRA hold the line against these threats from every quarter. We are the one force that has the strength to keep Americans free and our rights intact for future generations. With you at our side, we will fight and we will prevail against all odds.

    Thank you for your loyalty to NRA and the cause of Freedom.

    Forward this E-Mail to Friends
    and Urge Them to Join NRA Today!

    ———————————-
    National Rifle Association * 11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA 22030



    Categories
    2nd Amendment

    A Special Offer for SAF Supporters

    The
    Second Amendment Foundation
    is pleased to offer a
    special discount on
    Armed Response’s new Video Training Series!

    Whether your are in your home, car, at work, or on the street, the Armed Response Video Training Series
    presents skills, techniques and tactics that are vital to not just surviving, but winning a lethal encounter.
    These are the not to be missed, essential lessons needed to defend your life with a firearm!

    The Armed Response videos are the most complete and up-to-date training resource available for defensive shooting. If you have a firearm for self-defense, these DVDS are a must see.


    – Alan Gottlieb, Founder, Second Amendment Foundation

    A must have training video, Armed Response covers important details on protecting third parties, multiple adversaries, holding people at gunpoint and much more. Ralph Mroz and David Kenik have produced a valuable program that should be in every shooter’s library!


    – Dave Workman, Sr. Editor, Gun Week



    Fundamentals of Defensive Shooting presents over 2.5 hours of crucial training on the skills needed to properly operate a firearm and the fundamentals of combat shooting.

    Topics include;  The Reality of Gun Safety on the Street, Operational Fundamentals of Handguns, Reloading Semi-Automatics and Revolvers, Magazine Management, Carry Positions, Alternative Carry Options, The Tactical Draw, Malfunction Clearing Skills, Sighted and Non-Sighted Firing, One-Handed Manipulations and Shooting, Combat Accuracy, Stopping Power and much more!


    Tactics and Techniques for Defensive Shooting This 2-hour DVD transforms fundamental range skills into realistic combat shooting techniques and demonstrates specific tactics for using firearms for self-defense.

    Covered subjects include; Gun Fighting Survival Priorities, Avoidance and De-Escalation, Assault Cues and Reactionary Distance, Close Quarters Shooting, Shooting While Moving, Use of Cover, Multiple Adversaries, Protecting a Third Party, Defense in Your Home, Defense in Your Car, Defense in a Public Place, Holding a Person at Gunpoint and much more!


    Fundamentals of Defensive Shooting presents a detailed and thorough plan of shooting exercises designed to dramatically increase your combat shooting skills and develop a winning mindset.  Over 30 street realistic drills are covered in this 2-hour DVD A bonus section includes information on how to run effective and safe force-on-force simulation training.

    This vital training includes; Speed Shooting, Back-Up Weapons, Shooting on the Move, Precision Shooting, One-Handed Drills, Moving Targets, Judgment Skills, Positions Drills, Shooting Under Adverse Conditions, Close Quarters Shooting, Use of Cover, Shooting from your Car and much more!

     Previews of all three DVDs may be viewed here


    SPECIAL OFFER
    from the Second Amendment Foundation!

    $20 off your purchase the complete 3-DVD set!


    Use coupon code SAF (without quotes) in the coupons section of the checkout page.

    To visit the Armed Response store, click here



    Bookmark and Share

    Bookmark and Share