Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education

North Carolina --(Ammoland.com)- Could Senate Republicans have prevented the murder of Danielle Watson?

Danielle was a manager at the Flying Biscuit Café. Last weekend, while closing the restaurant, she was murdered by an ex-con recently released after doing time for armed robbery.

In a classic application of “Dial 911 & Die!” Charlotte police botched their response to her fiancés 911 call, and never even discovered her body, stabbed and left behind a dumpster, until the next day. It was the second Charlotte restaurant murder in a single weekend, highlighting the need to pass House Bill 111, “Handgun Permit Valid in Parks & Restaurants.”

Right now, concealed handgun permit-holders are prohibited from protecting their families anywhere alcohol is “sold and consumed,” which includes many restaurants. This includes not only restaurant patrons, but also restaurant workers, since the only people exempt from the ban are restaurant “owners and lessees.” For full details, see GRNC president Paul Valone’s article at: http://exm.nr/StopRestaurantHomicide

How it should end
Now contrast this with another restaurant crime, only one week later. Just across the South Carolina border, in Spartanburg, Dante Lamont Williams and another man entered the Waffle House on Chesnee Highway, both armed with handguns. But when they held customers at gunpoint, a patron who was a concealed handgun permit holder shot Williams, killing him. The other robber fled, and innocent lives were saved.

Republicans do nothing
Despite passing in the House, however, the bill is languishing in the Senate Judiciary I Committee, where Republican Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (Guilford, Rockingham) has so far refused the bill a hearing on the premise that the topic doesn’t “poll well.” Meanwhile, as Republicans dither and fret about polls, restaurant workers are dying.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED:
Immediately email AND call

Republican leadership:

• Sen. Phil Berger, Senate President Pro Tem, at Phil.Berger@ncleg.net and (919) 733-5708
• Sen. Tom Apodaca, Senate Rules Chairman, at Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net, and (919) 733-5745
• Sen. Buck Newton, Senate Judiciary Chairman, at Buck.Newton@ncleg.net, and (919) 715-3030

Deliver This Message

(use subject line: STOP RESTAURANT HOMICIDE)

Dear Senator:

While House Bill 111, “Handgun Permit Valid in Parks & Restaurants,” languishes in the Senate Judiciary I Committee, restaurant workers are dying. In a single weekend, recently, Charlotte experienced two such murders, including that of 25-year-old Danielle Watson, a manager who was closing the Flying Biscuit Café when she was murdered by Mark Cox, an ex-con just released after doing time for armed robbery.

Police botched the 911 response, only finding her body behind a dumpster the next day, but it is your chamber that is preventing restaurant workers like Danielle from defending themselves: The Flying Biscuit has an on-premise alcohol consumption permit, where everyone but the “owner or lessee” is prohibited from protecting themselves with firearms.

Now contrast this with another restaurant crime, only one week later. Just across the South Carolina border, in Spartanburg, Dante Lamont Williams and another man entered the Waffle House on Chesnee Highway. Both men were armed with handguns. But when they held customers at gunpoint, a patron who was a concealed handgun permit holder shot Williams, killing him. The other robber fled, and innocent lives were saved.

Despite what newspaper editorials claim, nobody is advocating “drunks with guns.” As you well know, under HB 111, concealed handgun permit-holders will still be prohibited from imbibing alcohol.

Stop being a slave to polls, and start leading. Pass HB 111 to STOP RESTAURANT HOMICIDE. I will be monitoring your actions via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

About:
Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina. Visit:www.grnc.org

Armed American Radio

Atlanta GA --(Ammoland.com)- Armed American Radio and host Mark Walters will be kicking off the 2012 broadcast year by welcoming leaders of some of the most respected states rights, grassroots organizations in America this Sunday, January, 1st 2012 on the first national broadcast of the year.

Syndicated host Mark Walters said, “Armed American Radio is an avid supporter of the individual states, pro-gun, grassroots organizations and I’m excited to be bringing the leaders of some of them to the program this week to kick off this most important election year.

In addition to the state groups, the NRA will tee up the first segment of the program to remind the national audience of the freedoms at stake this year. Some of my guests this week include, Kevin Starrett from Oregon Firearms Federation, Nik Clark of Wisconsin Carry.org, Gene Hoffman of Cal-Guns, Jeff Burkett of Iowa Carry, Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League among others. It promises to be a great program”.

Adding affiliate stations at an unprecedented pace since its syndication two years ago, AAR now airs in dozens of markets across America from Florida to Alaska every Sunday evening from 8-11pm ET, 5-8 pm PT and is the fastest growing nationally syndicated, pro-gun radio broadcast in America dedicated entirely to the right to carry a firearm.

As Salem Radio syndicated talk host Mike Gallagher says, “Mark Walters and the Armed American Radio Network are redefining weekend talk radio”.

For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Armed American Radio is syndicated on the Salem Radio Network. For media kit information, please visit www.srnonline.com/talk/talk-walters.shtml

About:
Armed American Radio is the most free-thinking, politically incorrect radio station in the U.S.A. We discuss liberty, self-defense, weapons, family, friends, and life. Visit: www.Armedamericanradio.org

NRA - ILA

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Here are some of the top stories we brought you in the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert in 2011.

With what will be a critically important 2012, we must increase our efforts to ensure we’re prepared to meet the great opportunities and challenges we will face next year.

We will continue to provide you with information in future Alerts to ensure our mutual success.

January:

• The Ohio Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding Ohio’s firearms preemption law and siding with both the state’s and NRA’s position, as outlined in a “friend of the court” brief filed with the court.  The case, City of Cleveland v. State of Ohio, stemmed from the city’s scheme to establish a series of restrictive gun laws despite Ohio law, which clearly prohibits such municipal gun ordinances.
• The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 was signed into law.  The legislation included several provisions developed by NRA-ILA and pro-Second Amendment members of Congress, that provide practical benefits to gun owners while protecting the privacy and Second Amendment rights of gun-owning military personnel and their families and civilian employees of the Department of Defense.
• U.S. Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) introduced H.R. 420 — the “Veterans’ Heritage Firearms Act.”  The legislation would provide a limited amnesty period for veterans who served overseas before 1968.  During the amnesty period, the veterans would be able to register war relic firearms without fear of prosecution. This amnesty would also extend to a veteran’s lawful family members.

February

• U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to respond to allegations that it allowed suspicious firearm transactions to proceed, and that a gun sold in one of those cases may have been involved in a shootout that claimed the life of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
• The U.S. House voted for an amendment to H.R. 1 offered by Reps. Denny Rehberg and Dan Boren that prohibits the use of federal funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by BATFE. The measure passed the chamber with broad bipartisan support.
• In 2009, the Obama administration approved the importation and sale of collectible, American-made M1 Garand rifles and M1 carbines from South Korea. However, the administration reversed its decision in March 2010, deciding instead to prevent these rifles –legal to make and purchase in the United States—from entering the country.  S. 381—the Collectible Firearms Protection Act—and its House companion bill, H.R. 615 were introduced.  The bills seek to once again allow these American-made firearms to be re-imported and sold in the U.S.
• NRA worked with a coalition of the nation’s largest hunting and conservation groups to address the wolf management crisis.  The coalition thanked members of Congress for taking several steps in the right direction for wolf conservation, and reminded Congress that all wolves in the Rockies and Great Lakes area are recovered and should now be managed by state biologists. The coalition supports all four pending bills in the House and Senate to move recovered wolf populations to state wildlife management.
• H.R. 822, was introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.).  The measure would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms. A state’s laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within its borders. The bill also applies to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. territories.  H.R. 822 would not create a federal licensing system.  Rather, it would require the states to recognize each others’ carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards.
• A peerless friend of gun owners, retired U.S. Sen. James A. McClure, R-Idaho—who aggressively led the advancement of the Second Amendment cause in the U.S. Senate for two decades—died on February 26.

March

• U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) introduced S. 570 — “a bill to prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns.”  The bill would prohibit the use of federal funds for a multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox sent letters to key leaders in Congress calling for hearings to examine the firearms trafficking investigations tactics employed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Those tactics have allegedly allowed firearms to fall into the hands of Mexican criminal organizations, with the knowledge of the BATFE.   In the letters sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) and their counterparts in the U.S. Senate, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Cox wrote that the BATFE project “reportedly allowed over 2,000 firearms to be sold to individuals already linked to Mexican drug cartels.  Many of those transactions were reported as suspicious by the licensed firearms dealers themselves, but BATFE reportedly encouraged them to proceed with these sales, which the dealers would otherwise have turned down.”
• Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) signed legislation authorizing a mourning dove hunting season. With this historic expansion of hunting opportunities through SF 464, the Legislature and Governor demonstrated their steadfast commitment to sportsmen and gun owners.
• Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) signed into law House Bill 2013 and Senate Bill 152. HB 2013 enables residents of Kansas to purchase long guns in non-contiguous states and residents of non-contiguous states to purchase long guns in Kansas.  SB 152 allows persons licensed to carry a concealed firearm to lawfully carry their firearm while hunting.
• “Permitless Carry” legislation, Senate File 47, and “Castle Doctrine” legislation, House Bill 167, were signed into law by Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R).
• House Bill 1079, signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R), clarifies that residents of non-contiguous states may purchase long guns in South Dakota.
• Gov. Steve Beshear (D) signed into law House Bill 308.  The legislation will implement the federal NICS Improvements Amendments Act by enabling residents of Kentucky, who have lost their firearm rights because of a mental health-related commitment or adjudication, to petition a court to have them restored.

April

• The continuing resolution for FY 2011 included a general provision that delists certain populations of wolves from the Endangered Species Act.  Wolf populations in Montana and Idaho as well as portions of Utah, Oregon and Washington would be declared recovered by reinstating the 2009 ruling from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), paving the way for regulated wolf hunting seasons.
• The NRA, and American gun owners, lost a loyal friend on April 16, 2011, when former U.S. Rep. Harold L. Volkmer died in his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. He had just celebrated his 80th birthday, and was pleased to read the hundreds of cards he had received from grateful gun owners.
• The Mexican government continued its attempt to blame the American gun community for Mexico’s internal strife, and retained the New York City-based law firm of Reid Collins & Tsai to examine its options for suing U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors.  Such lawsuits have been used for decades as a tactic by anti-gun groups and governments in their attempts to bankrupt gun manufacturers and circumvent the political process.  However, the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” protects firearm manufacturers, distributors, dealers and importers from lawsuits brought about as a result of “the harm solely caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended.”
• U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Representatives Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), introduced legislation to protect traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle from a potential ban by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed into law the “Fraudulent Firearms Purchase Prevention Act.”  Senate Bill 856 protects lawful firearm retailers from illegal gun sting operations.
• Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) signed into law two pro-gun reforms.  House Bill 1438 allows North Dakota workers to store their firearms in locked personal vehicles on publicly accessible parking lots without fear of being fired.  House Bill 1269 will grant persons who have lost their firearm rights because of a mental health commitment or adjudication the right to petition to have them restored.
• Senate File 456, signed into law by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), is designed to improve the language under last session’s “shall-issue” law and allow Iowa state law to meet the requirements set forth in the federal NICS Improvement Amendments Act.
• Gov. Jan Brewer (R) brought pro-gun reforms to the state of Arizona by signing key pieces of legislation.  Senate Bill 1469 strengths the current “Castle Doctrine” language by broadening the definition of reasonable use of force, including deadly force, to provide greater protection for those forced to defend themselves or family from an attacker.  House Bill 2645 is designed to meet the requirements of the federal NICS Improvement Amendments Act by enabling persons who have lost their firearm rights because of a mental health-related commitment or adjudication to petition a court to have them restored.
• Gov. Dave Heineman (R) signed Legislative Bill 512 into law.  LB 152 requires the state to provide information concerning mental health adjudications to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database and sets up a relief from disabilities process.  In addition, LB 512 makes numerous improvements to Nebraska’s right-to-carry laws.

May

• On May 1, Navy SEALS provide America with an historic event that will forever be seared in our memories:  the killing of Osama bin Laden — the mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks on our nation.
• NRA filed its formal comments on the “ATF Study on the Importability of Certain Shotguns.”  The “study,” published in January, proposed to ban the importation of any shotgun, regardless of action type, if it has one or more supposedly non-”sporting” features.
• NRA challenged the constitutionality of Illinois’ complete and total ban on carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home or place of business.  The case, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, is Shepard v. Madigan. The lead plaintiff is church treasurer Mary Shepard; joining her is the Illinois State Rifle Association, NRA’s state affiliate.
• Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) and Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) introduced H.R. 1865, the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act, which is designed to protect the rights of gun owners on lands owned or managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
• Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed into law five pro-firearm bills:  Senate Enrolled Act 506 (Transport Permit Reform), Senate Enrolled Act 292 (Firearm Preemption Reform), Senate Enrolled Act 94 (Non-Contiguous State Firearm Purchase), Senate Enrolled Act 411 (Parking Lot), and Senate Enrolled Act 154 (allows loaded firearms on off-road vehicles on private property if the person has permission to be on the property).
• The FBI estimated that the number of violent crimes decreased 5.5 percent from 2009 to 2010, including a 4.4 percent decrease in the number of murders.  Because the U.S. population increased during the period, the figures imply that the total violent crime per capita rate and the murder rate decreased more than six percent and five percent, respectively.  This brings the violent crime to a 37-year low and the murder rate to a 47-year low.
• Assembly Bill 217, signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), allows residents of non-contiguous states to purchase long guns in Nevada.  It also allows Nevada residents to purchase long guns in non-contiguous states.

June

• The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals conclusively and forcefully held, without need for oral argument, that the National Rifle Association has the right to recover attorneys’ fees in its lawsuits against the city of Chicago’s and the village of Oak Park’s unconstitutional gun bans. The court held that NRA was a prevailing party in the case of National Rifle Association v. City of Chicago and Village of Oak Park.
• Congressional hearings held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that the gun smuggling investigation known as “Fast and Furious,” implemented out of the Phoenix Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office, was conducted in a reckless manner that led to the illegal sale of thousands of firearms. Many of those firearms ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
• A proposal by U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) to prohibit necessary and legal practices used to effectively manage wildlife and predator species was overwhelmingly defeated in the House of Representatives.  The amendment to H.R. 2112—the Agriculture appropriations bill—was strongly opposed by NRA and other pro-hunting organizations.  It was pushed by the Humane Society of the United States and other radical anti-hunting groups.
• Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed into law Senate Bill 321, worker protection/parking lot legislation.  The Governor also signed legislation to extend the Right to Carry to your boat or personal watercraft (House Bill 25); to allow properly permitted landowners or helicopter owners to contract with third parties to ride on helicopters and take depredating feral hogs and coyotes (House Bill 716); to prevent rules restricting a foster parent’s ability to transport a foster child in a private vehicle if a handgun is present (House Bill 2560); and to limit the ability of local governments to sue owners or operators of sport shooting ranges (Senate Bill 766).
• Lawful firearm retailers are protected from illegal gun sting operations such as those by anti-gun New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) signed HB 450, Fraudulent Firearms Purchase Prevention legislation
• Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) signed into law Legislative Document 35.  This key piece of legislation prohibits an employer from banning an employee with a valid concealed firearms permit from keeping a firearm in the employee’s vehicle as long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm is not visible.
• Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed into law Senate Bill 234 and House Bill 45.  SB 234 brings reform to Florida’s “Right-to-Carry” law and allows residents to purchase long guns in other states.  HB 45 stops local politicians and governments from violating Florida law by providing penalties for willful violations.
• Louisiana residents may purchase a long gun in any state with the passage of Senate Bill 39—signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).
• Gov. John Kasich (R) signed House Bill 54 into law.  HB 54 brings Ohio in compliance with federal law to provide for the restoration of firearm rights for certain individuals.
• Gov. Bev Perdue (D) signed into law House Bill 650.  HB 650 contains “Castle Doctrine” language, Fraudulent Firearms Purchase language, allows Right-to-Carry permit holders to store firearms in their vehicles when parked on the grounds of certain state properties and courthouses, allows for the purchase of rifles and shotguns by North Carolina residents in other states, and makes other improvements.

July

• NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox joined Gov. Scott Walker (R) as he signed the Wisconsin Personal Protection Act into law. This made Wisconsin the 49th state to give law-abiding citizens an option to carry a concealed firearm for personal protection.
• Gov. Tom Corbett (R) signed Pennsylvania “Castle Doctrine” legislation into law.  This common-sense measure permits law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against attackers in their homes and any place where they have a legal right to be.  It also protects individuals from civil lawsuits by attackers or attackers’ families when force is used.
• The Obama administration formally announced that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will require firearm dealers in the southwestern border states to file “multiple sale” reports on detachable-magazine rifles larger than .22 caliber. Under the plan, each dealer will be required to report to the BATFE any sale of two or more such rifles to a single individual within five business days.
• NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre drew a line in the sand on behalf of American gun owners at the United Nations.  LaPierre spoke to the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Preparatory Committee, the group drafting an international treaty that will supposedly control all non-nuclear arms, worldwide, including civilian firearms. He told the audience of delegates from approximately 150 U.N. member states that the NRA would vehemently oppose any UN treaty that in any way restricts American gun owners’ rights.
• Gov. Jay Nixon (D) signed into law House Bill 294.  HB 294 expands a variety of firearm rights for Missouri gun owners, and addresses a number of Right-to-Carry issues.  HB 294 finally lowered Missouri’s Right-to-Carry minimum age requirement (formerly the oldest in the nation) from 23-years old to 21-years old.
• Gov. Jack Markell (D) signed into law House Bill 48.  This new law updates Delaware state law to meet the requirements set forth in the federal NICS Improvement Amendments Act. In addition to conforming Delaware law to the NIAA, this legislation also repeals Delaware’s instant check for firearm purchases and moves all background checks to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

August

• NRA supports a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s demand that Federal Firearms License holders report multiple sales of certain long guns in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. The suit asserts that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lacks statutory authority to demand these reports.
• Riots, looting, violent assaults and arson left London and other UK cities looking like war zones.  The current bedlam showed us what a disarmed country looks like and how little is left when free men and women surrender the right to own a firearm.  Chris Cox wrote a compelling op-ed on “Britain’s Criminal Utopia” for the Daily Caller.
• The Iowa Administrative Rules Committee met to review the Natural Resource Commission’s (NRC) final rule for Iowa’s first dove hunting season in nearly a century.  In a 9-1 bipartisan vote, legislators overwhelmingly rejected the NRC’s underhanded attempt to include a statewide traditional ammunition ban in the final rule.  This vote allowed for a “session-delay” of the lead ammunition ban, meaning the legislature will have to act during the next legislative session to remove the ban from the final dove rule.  However, Iowa’s first dove season will proceed and will not include a traditional ammunition ban.
• In what can only be described as “Washington D.C. logic,” the three BATFE agents who were responsible for the “Fast and Furious” debacle in Phoenix were promoted.  The Department of Justice announced the appointment of U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, B. Todd Jones, to serve as Acting Director of BATFE, replacing Kenneth Melson.  The DOJ also announced that Dennis Burke, U.S. attorney for the district of Arizona, resigned.  And the Wall Street Journal reported that Emory Hurley, the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for the day-to-day operations of “Fast and Furious,” was removed from his post and reassigned to the department’s Civil Division.

September

• Senators Jim Webb (D-Va.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) introduced S. 1588—“The Recreational Land Self–Defense Act.“  S. 1588 is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 1865 and is designed to protect the rights of gun owners on lands owned or managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
• The Obama campaign launched a new website, AttackWatch.com. The purpose of the site is to give Obama supporters a way to report “attacks” on the president, implying that any criticism must be based on lies or misinformation.  When it comes to firearm issues, it’s this site that is misrepresenting President Obama’s record on guns.
• In what promises to be a continuing debate on the rights of law-abiding citizens, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that banning firearms on the grounds of Oregon’s public universities exceeded the scope of the university system’s authority, thereby opening up the state’s campuses to individuals who hold valid concealed handgun licenses.
• The New Hampshire House voted to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 88.  SB 88 is now law, and establishes that the law-abiding have the right to defend themselves from assault wherever they have a legal right to be when they believe there is an imminent threat to their life and well being.

October

• A divided federal appeals court upheld the District of Columbia’s controversial ban on semi-automatic rifles and so-called “large capacity” magazines, but asked a lower court to reconsider certain aspects of its gun registration system.
• The “Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act,” which was added to H.R. 2349 as an amendment, passed the House.  The bill will provide individuals receiving veterans’ benefits with added protection against loss of the right to possess firearms due to mental health decisions.
• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) subpoenaed the Justice Department in the “Fast and Furious” scandal.  The subpoena seeks documents and all communications between the office of Attorney General Eric Holder, his deputies, and the White House in connection with the now-infamous Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s failed operation.
• U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) introduced the Senate companion bill to H.R. 58, the “Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act,” which was reintroduced in the U.S. House in Jan. 2011.  This common sense reform to broaden lawful interstate sales of firearms has been an NRA priority for many years.

November

• NRA launched an ad campaign to tell President Obama to fire Attorney General Eric Holder.  The cauldron that is the “Fast and Furious” scandal continues to boil, with an increasing number of members of Congress now calling for Attorney General Eric Holder’s immediate resignation.  Meanwhile, the White House and the Justice Department remain silent and stubbornly continue to ignore the demands to remove Holder.
• The Washington state Court of Appeals affirmed that a gun ban in Seattle’s parks is illegal.  The decision comes more than a year after a King County judge sided with several area gun owners, NRA, the Second Amendment Foundation.
• The ongoing effort to fully vindicate the fundamental, individual right to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense took a major step forward with House passage of H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.” The bill, sponsored by Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), which had 245 cosponsors, was approved by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 272-154.
• The final conference report on the combined Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS) and Transportation/Housing/Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill was passed by both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and was signed into law. This conference report contains 12 provisions that strengthen legal protections for the Second Amendment.
• NRA will fight the proposal by the Obama administration and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to drastically restrict recreational shooting opportunities on public lands. NRA is particularly concerned about the stated motive of this action. A spokesman for the BLM told U.S. News and World Report that the proposed ban was being enacted in response to “urbanites” who “freak out” when they hear shooting on public lands. The spokesman also acknowledged that the impetus for this restriction was not rooted in safety, but to reduce “social conflict.”
• The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) S. 436.  Dubbed by anti-gunners the “Fix Gun Checks Act,” the legislation would eliminate private sales and gun shows as we know them and expand the range of persons prohibited from owning firearms.

December

• NRA opposition helps defeat the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  Halligan had a record of attacks on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.  NRA’s opposition to this nomination began in March 2011, when we expressed our concerns to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
• Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed Assembly Bill 69 into law.  This law provides essential protections for law-abiding citizens who defend themselves and their families from a criminal looking to do them harm.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- “In the 35 years since its foundation, the GOA has maintained its staunch opposition to any form of gun control, often taking a harder stand than the NRA.” — Ben Garrett, award-winning journalist, newspaper editor and blogger

With your help, Gun Owners of America was able to accomplish quite a bit in 2011. We thank you for your support, which makes this announcement  possible.

As we approach the Christmas holidays, we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

Here’s a partial list of what we accomplished together this year:

January

• * One of the first acts of the Congress in 2011 was to read the Constitution aloud, for the first time in history, on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte led the effort in the House and credited GOA for helping make it happen.

“I want to thank Gun Owners of America for early support of the idea to read the U.S. Constitution on the House floor and for taking the lead to rally the grassroots in support of the Read the Constitution effort,” Goodlatte said.

Of course, reading the Constitution is one thing, abiding by it is another. And that is a battle GOA brings to Capitol Hill on a daily basis.

• *GOA began a year-long effort to call attention to Fast and Furious. This operation that was run out of the Justice Department helped criminals buy guns “legally” from American gun stores -­ with the hopes that the ensuing violence would drive calls for more gun control.

February – March

• * GOA began warning its activists that anti-gun Democrats might try to attach gun control restrictions on a bill to reauthorize funding the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). These proposals included a ban on high capacity magazines; restrictions that would end gun shows; and, potentially, a provision stripping millions of gun owners of their rights by placing them on “watch lists” without any due process of law.

GOA worked on the Hill by putting pro-gun amendments into the hands of certain Senators. Our efforts to counter these disastrous proposals with pro-gun initiatives backed the gun grabbers into a comer and stymied their plans.

• *GOA and its activists won temporary victories when the House voted to repeal the anti-gun ObamaCare law and to adopt the Boren-Rehberg amendment — which would defund ATF’s latest gun registry.

Gun Owners of America contacted every member of the House of Representatives prior to winning the votes on ObamaCare and Boren-Rehberg. Sadly, both of these victories were temporary, as the Democrat Senate refused to go along.

• * GOA began a national campaign to defeat restrictive legislation introduced by New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D). Her bill, HR 308, would resurrect the ban on high capacity magazines which passed during the Clinton administration — but later sunset in 2004. (GOA will spend the year mobilizing gun owners against this threat, and can thankfully report that, by year’s end, her bill has remained bottled up in committee.)

April-May

• * After President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, GOA worked hard to alert Senators to his extreme, anti-gun record. Like many radical progressives, Liu believes that while our Second Amendment rights might have been necessary in the 1700s, they are no longer needed today. Thanks, in large part, to Liu’s radical views on the Second Amendment, his nomination was narrowly defeated.

• * Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tied the Senate in knots for more than a week fighting for a GOA ­backed amendment which would have protected 4473’s and other gun records from blanket searches by the ATF under the so-called PATRIOT Act.

Because many leaders in his own party refused to back him, Sen. Paul was not successful this time, but he put a marker down that gun rights would not be violated without a fight from the pro-gun community.

Sen. Paul thanked “Gun Owners of America for their strong support of my amendment to protect the privacy of gun owners.”

June – August

• * GOA activated its grassroots members in opposition to S. 679, the Cover-up Protection Act — a bill that would exempt hundreds of federal appointees from Senate confirmation, thus allowing the President to stack his administration with flaming anti-gunners.

This battle underscored the power of the grassroots — and the effect that phone calls and emails can have upon their elected officials. After hearing from thousands upon thousands of GOA’s activists, Capitol Hill staffers confided to GOA that key Senators reversed course and decided to add amendments which would require the most important Presidential appointments to still be approved by the Senate.

• * The crescendo over the Operation Fast and Furious debacle continued to build. Dubbed as Obama’s Watergate, Fast and Furious highlights the extent that his corrupt administration will go to demonize gun owners. GOA has spent the first half of the year educating the media and the grassroots over Fast and Furious — and for its part, CBS and Fox News lead the media in covering this fiasco.

September

• * GOA began to energize its grassroots in favor of concealed carry reciprocity bill introduced by Georgia Rep. Paul Broun. His bill (HR 2900) will allow law-abiding gun owners to carry out­ of-state without requiring them to possess a concealed carry permit in the state they are visiting.
• *Gun Owners of America briefed an important case before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier in the year — and, in September, we won! The Court handed down its decision in Bond v. United States, where the U.S. government had made a “federal case” out of a domestic dispute involving a Pennsylvania woman who injured her neighbor.

There was absolutely no reason why the federal government should have been prosecuting Carol Bond, as opposed to the local authorities. So GOA got involved with the intent to help drive the federal government back into the parameters as outlined in the Constitution — a result which will, most definitely, benefit gun owners.

October- November

• * In late October, GOA began pressing hard for congressmen to start petitioning for Eric Holder’s resignation. Within a week, the number of Representatives calling for Holder’s resignation rose to more than two dozen — and the number has since doubled to more than four dozen.
• * The Obama Administration issued regulations earlier this year requiring agencies to lie to the public under certain circumstances. GOA alerted its grassroots in October to these regs and urged Congress to defund the administration’s ability to enforce them. The Administration pulled the regulations within the week.
• * In November, Gun Owners Foundation won a Supreme Court case in defense of a gun owner in Virginia. Russell Ernest Smith had been wrongfully convicted of “willfully and intentionally” making a false statement on his 4473 form when purchasing a firearm. But GOF believed that the government’s argument against Smith was specious.

So Gun Owners Foundation prepared its amicus brief and submitted it on behalf of Mr. Smith. GOF was the only group making the case that Smith’s conviction should be overturned. After waiting several months for the verdict, the Virginia Supreme Court announced its verdict … and Smith emerged victorious.

What’s both interesting and exciting in this case is that, in overturning Smith’s conviction, the judges used an argument that GOF had made — an argument which his own lawyer did not even make. GOF is clearly making an impact upon the courts in defense of gun owners’ rights!

• * Concealed carry reciprocity legislation passed on the floor of the House by a 272-154 vote. Representatives had two bills to choose from — although the weaker bill passed. The battle now moves to the Senate, where GOA will work to amend the legislation with the provisions of HR 2900, the “constitutional carry” friendly bill.

December

• * GOA worked hard this year to stall (or defeat) the nomination of anti-gun judges. One of Obama’s picks who stalled out was Caitlin Halligan, a judicial nominee with a history of anti­gun activism. But with most of the nation focusing its attention on the upcoming holidays, GOA had to call the troops into battle after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to ram through Halligan’s confirmation in early December.
• * The response of Gun Owners of America members to the GOA alert was overwhelming and played an important role in defeating the confirmation of Halligan. On the Hill, Gun Owners of America briefed Senate offices right up to the time of the vote about the danger of confirming Halligan. Thankfully, in a procedural maneuver known as a “cloture vote,” Reid fell six votes short of getting the needed votes to move the nomination forward for a final vote.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education

North Carolina --(Ammoland.com)- HB 650, the massive gun bill we have been telling you about is now passed in House Judiciary C Sub-Committee.

We now need you to contact the full House list to express your support for this important bill.

To recap:
HB 650 is a huge and aggressive bill, meaning it will be difficult to pass. But if passed, it will go far toward reversing the creeping encroachment on gun owners’ rights perpetuated in previous sessions of the legislature, including (but not limited to):

• Castle Doctrine (yet another vehicle for popular Castle Doctrine is now moving);
• Reducing penalties for carrying firearms on “educational property,” including a protection against accidentally becoming a criminal by requiring that offenders “knowingly” brought the gun onto educational property;
• Enabling concealed carry at events for which admission is charged;
• Reducing penalties for a host of minor (often inadvertent) gun violations;
• Adding protections for gun owners whose guns are confiscated pursuant to domestic protective orders;
• Improves concealed handgun reciprocity to straight recognition of out-of-state permits;
• Removes provisions for concealed handgun applicants under which sheriffs are conducting intrusive investigations of medical history; and
• Enabling employees to keep guns in locked vehicles at places of employment.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

CONTACT ALL MEMBERS of the NC House (copy and paste list below).

DELIVER THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:

Dear Representative:

I am writing to urge your support of HB 650, “Amend Various Gun Laws.” It is vital that this important bill become law. It will provide such needed measures as Castle Doctrine. It will provide for the defense needs of our citizens as well as providing important legal protections.

I will be following the progress of this bill with great interest through the alerts of Grass Roots North Carolina.

Sincerely,

A Concerned North Carolina Voter

CONTACT THESE LEGISLATORS

Larry.Bell@ncleg.net, William.Brisson@ncleg.net, Garland.Pierce@ncleg.net, Ray.Rapp@ncleg.net, Winkie.Wilkins@ncleg.net, Michael.Wray@ncleg.net, Bill.Faison@ncleg.net, Rick.Glazier@ncleg.net, Frank.Iler@ncleg.net, Joe.Tolson@ncleg.net, Edith.Warren@ncleg.net, Bill.Cook@ncleg.net, Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net, Jean.Farmer-Butterfield@ncleg.net, Mike.Hager@ncleg.net, Dewey.Hill@ncleg.net, Carolyn.Justice@ncleg.net, James.Langdon@ncleg.net, Marvin.Lucas@ncleg.net, William.McGee@ncleg.net, Marian.McLawhorn@ncleg.net, Gaston.Pridgen@ncleg.net, William.Wainwright@ncleg.net, Harry.Warren@ncleg.net, Kelly.Alexander@ncleg.net, Marilyn.Avila@ncleg.net, Jeff.Barnhart@ncleg.net, Hugh.Blackwell@ncleg.net, John.Blust@ncleg.net, Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net, Glen.Bradley@ncleg.net, Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net, Larry.Brown@ncleg.net, Rayne.Brown@ncleg.net, Harold.Brubaker@ncleg.net, Justin.Burr@ncleg.net, George.Cleveland@ncleg.net, Jeff.Collins@ncleg.net, Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net, Bill.Current@ncleg.net, Leo.Daughtry@ncleg.net, Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net, Jerry.Dockham@ncleg.net, Elmer.Floyd@ncleg.net, Dale.Folwell@ncleg.net, Phillip.Frye@ncleg.net, Mitch.Gillespie@ncleg.net, David.Guice@ncleg.net, Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net, Mark.Hilton@ncleg.net, Mark.Hollo@ncleg.net, Bryan.Holloway@ncleg.net, Julia.Howard@ncleg.net, Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net, Dan.Ingle@ncleg.net, Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net, Bert.Jones@ncleg.net, Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net, Ric.Killian@ncleg.net, Stephen.LaRoque@ncleg.net, David.Lewis@ncleg.net, Danny.McComas@ncleg.net, Darrell.McCormick@ncleg.net, Pat.McElraft@ncleg.net, Grey.Mills@ncleg.net, Tim.Moffitt@ncleg.net, Tim.Moore@ncleg.net, Bill.Owens@ncleg.net, Shirley.Randleman@ncleg.net, Efton.Sager@ncleg.net, Ruth.Samuelson@ncleg.net, Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.net, Mitchell.Setzer@ncleg.net, Tim.Spear@ncleg.net, Paul.Stam@ncleg.net, Edgar.Starnes@ncleg.net, Fred.Steen@ncleg.net, Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net, Michael.Stone@ncleg.net, Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net, Roger.West@ncleg.net, Marcus.Brandon@ncleg.net, John.Faircloth@ncleg.net, Ken.Goodman@ncleg.net, Charles.Graham@ncleg.net, Susi.Hamilton@ncleg.net, Craig.Horn@ncleg.net, Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net, Frank.McGuirt@ncleg.net, Rodney.Moore@ncleg.net, Tom.Murry@ncleg.net, Phil.Shepard@ncleg.net, John.Torbett@ncleg.net

Find Your Representatives: NC STATE House & Senate: http://www.grnc.org/contact_reps.htm

About:
Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina. Visit:www.grnc.org

Elon University Skews Poll On Concealed Handguns

Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education

North Carolina --(Ammoland.com)- A poll released last week by Elon University* purports to show little public support for expanding North Carolina’s existing concealed handgun law into parks and restaurants, as proposed under House Bill 111.

However, the misleading and inaccurate phrasing of poll questions suggests that the researchers either haven’t read HB 111, or are woefully ignorant of North Carolina gun laws.

INACCURATELY PHRASED QUESTIONS:

“[Do you agree/disagree with] permitting people to carry handguns in restaurants and bars.”

Facts:

• No pending bill would allow “people” - meaning anyone – to carry handguns in restaurants and bars. Rather, HB-111 is strictly limited to allowing concealed handgun permit holders to do so.
• Individuals covered by HB 111 have been verified by their sheriff as law-abiding citizens who have proven they are trained in the law and proficient with their weapons.
• These people have passed criminal background checks and had their fingerprints cleared by the FBI.
• The sheriff has verified they are not alcoholics or substance abusers, and in the case of veterans, were honorably discharged.
• This class of people - who number approximately 2% of North Carolinians - have proven, over the past 16 years, to be responsible, prudent, safe, and overwhelming law-abiding.
• A similar question skewed results on “people” carrying concealed handguns in parks when, in reality, the parks provision too would apply only to concealed handgun permit-holders.

OMMITTED INFORMATION

* The question on restaurants omits at least two major qualifying conditions: That those carrying handguns are prohibited from consuming any alcohol, and that individual restaurants have the ability to ban the carry of handguns on their premises.

SAMPLING BIAS

* Although the Elon poll found that 42.4% of respondents owned firearms, earlier polling of North Carolina residents found a far higher gun ownership rate of 56%,** suggesting a sampling bias against lawful gun ownership.

1. * John R. Lott, Jr. More Guns, Less Crime 3rd Edition. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
2. ** Elon University poll available at: http://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/elonpoll/041811_PollMethodology.pdf

About: Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina. Visit:www.grnc.org

National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- During last November’s elections, NRA members and gun owners throughout the Badger State sent a clear message to elected officials that a strong Right-to-Carry law must be a legislative priority.

Residents of Wisconsin sent their legislators to Madison to secure their freedom.

To ensure we are prepared to meet the challenges posed by anti-gun forces and answer questions our members have about this legislation, NRA-ILA Grassroots will be hosting a series of workshops throughout the state. Please plan on attending to learn more about the bills, as well as what you need to do as gun-owners to assist in our efforts.

At this meeting, NRA-ILA Staff will discuss the bills, as well as what each of you need to do to ensure victory. NRA State and Local Lobbyist Darren La Sorte will be on hand along with NRA-ILA Grassroots Staff to lead the workshop.

This meeting is absolutely free and beverages and light snacks will be provided. The workshop will run about 60-90 minutes. Please make plans to attend one of our events and encourage your fellow NRA members and Second Amendment supporters to attend as well.

Here are the details for the upcoming workshops:

Eau Claire
Tuesday, May 10th
6:30p.m.
Gander Mountain
6440 Sculy Drive
Eau Claire,WI 54701
(715) 834-4594
www.nraila.org/workshops/Register.aspx?ID=eauclaire2011

Milwaukee (Richfield)
Wednesday, May 11th
6:30p.m.
Cabela’s
One Cabela Way
Richfield, WI 53076
262-628-5700
www.nraila.org/workshops/Register.aspx?ID=Richfield2011

Wausau (Rothschild)
Thursday, May 12th
Gander Mountain
6:30p.m.
1560 County Road X
Rothschild,WI 54474
(715) 355-5500
www.nraila.org/workshops/Register.aspx?ID=Rothschild2011

To register for this free event, please visit the link under the location closest to you above, or call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-VOTE (8683).

We look forward to seeing you! Yours in freedom NRA Institute for Legislative Action www.nraila.org

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- In anticipation of a hectic legislative session at both the federal and state levels, and in order to lay the foundation for a successful campaign season in 2012, NRA-ILA will be hosting a FREE Grassroots Workshop on Friday, April 29, in conjunction with NRA’s Annual Meetings in Pittsburgh.

You will hear from NRA Officers and NRA-ILA Staff on what you can do locally to defend our Second Amendment rights. We will provide you with the materials and strategies you will need to educate and empower your fellow gun owners.

Your attendance at this year’s NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop in Pittsburgh is a critical step toward ensuring the future of our gun rights. This Workshop has been a staple of NRA’s Annual Meetings, and is one of the most popular events of the week, attended by hundreds of freedom-loving NRA members.

For more information, please contact the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-(VOTE) 8683, or you may click here to sign up for the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop www.nraam.org/events/grassroots_workshop.html.

There is no better time to prepare for success for the inevitable battles we will face than while we are in Pittsburgh! Please encourage your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to attend as well!

In addition to the Grassroots Workshop, the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division will also be hosting a Special Session on Saturday, titled ”In Their Own Words.” This session will feature some of NRA-ILA’s top activists from around the country who will discuss their personal experiences promoting our Second Amendment rights. The session will be moderated by NRA-ILA Grassroots Division Director Glen Caroline, and will also allow attendees to ask questions of our panelists, and network with fellow attendees. The “In Their Own Words” session will be held Saturday, April 30th, at 2:00 p.m., in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, room 327, 1000 Penn Avenue, in Pittsburgh. And, as with the Friday Workshop, admission is FREE, and no registration is required.

We hope to see you in Pittsburgh!

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-ILA grass roots news continues to cover break gun rights news with a new and improved format for the “Grassroots News Minute” video!

Topics: ATF Reform, National Gun Registration, Firearms Record Keeping

To view the current video in its new format, please click above:

Read More on these topics:

• Senate Committee to Hold Hearing on S941 BATFE Reform
• ATF Declaring War on Honest Gun Owners

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Read More on these topics:

• BATFE’s ‘Project Gunrunner’ Comes Under Additional Scrutiny
• NRA Letter to President Obama
• Obama’s Hollow Words On The Second Amendment

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-ILA grass roots news continues to cover break gun rights news with a new and improved format for the “Grassroots News Minute” video!

To view the current video in its new format, please click above:

Read More on these topics:

• Leupold Becomes NRA Sponsor
• Volunteers Needed For 2011 NRA Annual Meetings In Pittsburgh PA
• Independent Poll Shows Strong Support For Open Carry Of Firearms

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Second Amendment Weekend At Cabela’s

NRA - ILA

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter, recently played host as the foremost meeting place for Second Amendment activists, as it hosted NRA-ILA for its third annual “Second Amendment Weekend at Cabela’s” in Dundee, Michigan.

NRA-ILA staff conducted two workshops on Saturday, February 5th: An NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop in the morning, followed by an NRA University presentation later that afternoon.

The weekend also featured NRA recruiters and multiple informational tables for pro-gun and sportsmen’s-related groups, as well as special discounts throughout the Cabela’s store for card-carrying NRA members.

The heavy snow and single digit temperatures certainly didn’t stop over 175 Michiganders (and a few Buckeyes that crossed the border) from attending both events. The morning Grassroots Workshop kicked off with NRA-ILA’s state liaison for Michigan, Darin Goens, discussing NRA- ILA’s recent success in the state, along with ILA’s priorities for the current legislative session.

Once focused on our pro-gun priorities, NRA-ILA Grassroots Staff presented the most effective methods for grassroots activism and promoted some of our successful volunteer programs. A very special thanks to our NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator, Wayne Blank (MI-15), for helping set up the successful event, as well as to our other EVCs in attendance, Don McGaffey (MI-11) and Jonathan Adamson (MI-09).

Following the Grassroots Workshop, additional speakers addressed the crowd, including Michigan State Representative Dale Zorn (R-56), Professor Brian Patrick of the University of Toledo, and Reid Smith, the Midwest Regional Chair for Students for Concealed Carry.

The afternoon session was dedicated to NRA, Darin University and included both students and non-students interested in learning more about NRA, the Second Amendment, and the facts & myths of the gun control debate. Students from various area universities attended, including Hillsdale College, University of Toledo, Albion College, and Wayne State University. Attendees received free one-year memberships to NRA along with NRA University hats and t-shirts.

The weekend was a great success for NRA and the pro-gun community, and provided the perfect opportunity for NRA members and supporters to meet, strengthen their pro-gun networks, and learn more about what it takes to protect and promote the Second Amendment, locally and nationwide.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

NRA University At Conservative Political Action Conference

NRA - ILA

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Last month, NRA-ILA Grassroots staff conducted its volunteer training program at one of the nation’s premier gatherings of conservative activists.

The program is NRA University (NRA U), our free, two-hour training seminar for college students interested in learning more about NRA, the gun control issue and how they may become more active, both on and off campus, in the fight to protect our Second Amendment rights. The event was the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., that drew college students from around the country, making CPAC an ideal venue for the NRA U seminar.

It’s no secret that the Second Amendment frequently comes under attack on college and university campuses, through ignorance or deliberate mis- information campaigns. NRA U strives to help pro-gun college students level the playing field through education and training.

The CPAC NRA U, which featured an interactive and entertaining PowerPoint presentation, was conducted by ILA Grassroots Director Glen Caroline, along with Grassroots Coordinators Krista Cupp and Brent Gardner. And one of the highlights for the approximately 100 attendees was a surprise appearance by NRA’s Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre.

NRA U is rapidly becoming one of our most popular and most requested programs. Last year, grassroots staff conducted dozens of these seminars on college campuses around the nation. This year, we have already received more than 50 NRA U requests for the 2011 spring semester—with almost half of the requests generated by our presence at CPAC!

If you know of, or happen to be, a college student who is tired of hearing misleading arguments from anti-gun activists; who longs for more balanced discussions and debates on campus; and who wants to help educate your classmates, then NRA University is for you!

For more information, please join NRA University on Facebook, visit the NRA University Home Page at www.nraila.org/nrau/, e-mail us at NRAU@nrahq.org, or call us at 800-392-VOTE (8683).

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

NRA - ILA

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- For years, our grassroots efforts have emphasized “hunting where the ducks are” by utilizing the natural resources of the pro-Second Amendment community.

Gun shows, gun shops, gun & hunting clubs, shooting ranges—the places where our supporters tend to congregate— should be our top priority when recruiting and mobilizing volunteers in support of our freedom.

I often stress that, while we may be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting our message out in the so-called mainstream media, we have a built-in advantage at these venues through which we can recruit potential volunteers. Contrast that with our opponents, who don’t have any “gun control shows” or gun control shops, and it becomes clear we must leverage this strategic advantage.

Recently, one of our more outspoken opponents made this exact point. Josh Horwitz, the executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, recently noted our “structural advantages”, commenting, “We can’t go to a gun show.”

This is important for two reasons.
First, it shows that they are aware of a strategic weakness. And, second, you can bet they will work overtime to try to make-up for this deficiency in other ways. As Horwitz noted, “spontaneous outrage is the key to legislative success. The question is, can you keep that intensity up long enough to pass legislation?” That means not only must we continue to utilize our natural resources, we must EXPAND these efforts.

A great example of this can be found in our NRA-ILA Second Amendment Activist Center program. These are primarily, but not exclusively, gun-related businesses that serve as distribution points for ILA’s educational materials. In turn, their business is promoted on our website and via e-mails. Click here for more information on Second Amendment Activist Centers, including how to sign up.

While Horwitz accurately notes, “There’s no place that I can go every weekend and recruit activists,” there are plenty of places WE can go. And go we must

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Florida Carry

Florida - -(Ammoland.com)- SB 234 is on the agenda of the FL Senate Committee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday, February 22nd at 9:00am. Florida Carry, Inc. urgently requests that you email via the members of the committee in support of Senate Bill 234.

This NRA authored bill comprises several separate initiatives. These include the option for CWFL holders to carry openly; a provision to authorize carry at career centers, colleges, and universities; the right to store a firearm in one’s vehicle wherever it may be lawfully parked; the authorization for the Department of Agriculture to take fingerprints; the repeal of Florida’s ban on long gun purchases in most other states. Quite simply put, this is the most comprehensive carry rights bill since shall-issue concealed carry was passed twenty-four years ago.

Florida is one of only seven states where open carry of firearms is generally forbidden, excepting under certain circumstances. Arguments against open carry generally consist of concerns regarding the fearful reactions of the general population. Some have suggested that an open carrier becomes an instant target, having his firearm snatched by a criminal in line at a convenience store. The facts simply do not support those allegations. In states where open carry is lawfully practiced, citizens have become accustomed to the understanding that a holstered weapon is a danger to no one. There have been no wholesale attacks on open carriers, nor have open carriers been shot with their own weapons. Police officers are not fearful of open carriers as they know that a 5-year FBI crime study has shown that criminals do not open carry, nor do they carry in holsters. Criminals shun attention, something that the open carrying of a firearm invariably draws to some extent. Not a single state that has legalized open carry in recent years has repealed the right.

In 1987, open carry was outlawed primarily because of the predictions of wild west shootouts, blood in the streets, gun battles over parking spaces, and normally law abiding people indiscriminately becoming homicidal maniacs. The main opponent of open carry was Janet Reno, then assistant state attorney. She was able to rally support from a vocal group of police administrators with the doom and gloom scenarios. Amazingly enough, the exact same arguments were heard against “shall-issue” concealed carry.

Twenty-four years later, and none of the rampant bloodshed predictions about concealed carry have come true.

With regard to carry on colleges and universities, it is not coincidence that most of the mass shootings in the U.S. occur on the campuses of educational institutions. To believe that a potential assailant would be dissuaded from committing mass murder simply because there is a law forbidding him to bring a firearm on campus is pure folly. Rape, robbery, assault, and murder have all occurred on campuses across the country.

College and university administrators continue to deny the reality that by prohibiting students, faculty, staff, and visitors from defending themselves promotes an unsafe environment. Often ignored by opponents is the fact that only concealed weapons/firearms license holders would be permitted to carry on campus, and the minimum age requirement to have a license is 21. Those students under 21 would not be permitted to carry on campus. Once again, the potential criminals do not care about minimum age or having a license. After all, there are no barriers to access on most campuses.

Florida Carry, Inc. supports SB 234, and encourages all gun owners/carriers to join us in contacting the senators on the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Please tell them 24 years is enough.

We urgently need you to email the committee members NOW!
Include “Support SB 234” in the Subject Line

E-mail Helper (feel free to cut, paste, and edit to suit)
—————————————————————————-
TO:
evers.greg.web@flsenate.gov
dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov
dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov
margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov
smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov

SUBJECT:
Support SB 234 – Support the Second Amendment

Dear Senator,

This e-mail is to express my support for Senate Bill 234, Firearms. As a member of the Florida Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, you will be hearing this bill on Tuesday, February 22nd. I respectfully ask that you wholeheartedly support this bill.

The predictions of doom and gloom that preceded the adoption of “shall-issue” concealed carry have been proven to be fiction. For twenty-four years, Florida concealed weapons/firearms license holders have proven themselves to be responsible to the extreme. Since 1987, only 168 of nearly two-million licenses have been revoked due to misuse of firearms. It is time to recognize that responsibility by giving those licensees the option to carry their firearms in the manor that is most appropriate to their situation, openly or concealed. In the 43 states that permit some form of general open carry, not a single state has repealed that right.

It is also time to recognize that criminals have discovered a target-rich environment at colleges and universities. Rapes, robberies, assaults, and other violent crimes continually occur at and near campuses on students, faculty, and staff alike. Concealed weapons/firearms license holders should not have to relinquish the ability to defend themselves because of a mistaken belief that criminals obey campus restrictions.

Please support SB 234.
Respectfully yours,

———————-

About:
Florida Carry is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to advancing the fundamental civil right of all Floridians to keep and bear arms for self defense as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I Section 8 of the Florida Constitution. Florida Carry, Inc. was organized by a group of Florida gun rights activists in order to better coordinate activities, effectively lobby the state legislature, and to provide a legal entity capable of filing suit to demand compliance with state and federal law. Florida Carry stands only to represent our members and the over 6 million gun owners of Florida. We are not beholden to any national organization’s agenda that may compromise that mission.
Florida Carry works tirelessly toward repealing and striking down ill-conceived gun control laws that have been proven to provide safe havens to criminals and be deadly to law abiding citizens.

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- This is the bill that would directly threaten our ability to advocate for your right to keep and bear arms by not allowing us to inform you about the voting record of incumbent politicians.

In our last article we warned you that the vote on the so called “Disclose Act” was set to take place on Wednesday.

The “Disclose Act” is the 1st Amendment killing bill that seeks to silence organizations like Iowa Gun Owners from informing you about the votes cast by your elected officials during election time.

Passage of the “Disclose Act” would be a huge benefit to the anti-gun incumbents currently elected to office. You see, anti-gunners don’t like hearing from you at any time but they especially don’t like to hear from you during election time.

But members of grassroots gun rights organizations just like you went to work contacting your Senators and Representatives and we are pleased to report that your actions have paid off!

The vote on the “Disclose Act” stalled as the anti-gunners failed to obtain the required number of votes needed to move this bill forward! Thank you for all your hard work.

Senator Grassley kept his word and voted against this bill while Senator “put all the guns on a barge and sink them” Harkin voted in favor of this act.

But make no mistake, this fight is not over!

While the anti-gunners failed to muster the votes required to begin final debate on “Disclose,” this bill is not dead.

The Senate adjourns next week but this bill may rise up again next week, or, more likely, this bill may come up again in the Fall. Anti-gun politicians like Senator Reid will wait for the right moment to spring this.

When that time comes we will inform you. In the meantime, thanks for all your calls and emails regarding this bill.

Clearly gun owners from all across the country mobilized on this and you’ve made a tremendous impact!

About:
Iowa Gun Owners (IGO) was formed in January of 2009 to combat the oppressive gun laws in the State of Iowa. IGO does not believe that you, as a law abiding citizen, should have to beg permission from the government to be able to defend yourself and your family. That’s why we are working so hard to get a Vermont/Alaska style carry law passed in Iowa. In these states, unless you are a convicted felon or otherwise barred from possessing weapons, you don’t need a permit to carry a gun for self-defense! Join us now! Visit: www.iowagunowners.org

Iowa Gun Owners

Iowa --(AmmoLand.com)- The vote on the so called “Disclose Act” was held on Thursday as we reported to you last week.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, with her substantial majority, was able to force this bill through the House of Representatives.

However, what was supposed to be an easy victory with minimal resistance turned into an all out battle and “Disclose” passed by a slim margin of just 219 to 206.

Thanks to you, and thousands of gun rights activists across the country, you made this a tough fight for those anti-gun Democrats in the House.

Your calls and emails into Washington made a huge impact!

Iowa’s Congressional delegation was split on this issue.

• Congressmen King and Latham voted against this bill.
• Congressmen Loebsack, Braley, and Boswell voted in favor of this bill.

In case you missed the alert we sent out last week, the so called “Disclose Act” is being used by liberal power brokers in Washington to eliminate our ability to communicate with you regarding the political votes cast by your state and federal politicians during the months prior to an election!

Of course this is the most important time for grassroots activists like you and me to be communicating, right before it’s time to cast your vote.

It’s every anti-gun politician’s dream to be able to vote against your gun rights and then prevent No Comprise groups like Iowa Gun Owners from reminding you how they voted at election time.

And believe me, there are many anti-gunners in Des Moines who would love to silence Iowa Gun Owners so that no one can stand in their path as they continually attempt to regulate, restrict, and further erode your 2nd Amendment rights.

The fight now moves to the Senate – where we stand a fair chance of stopping “Disclose” if we act quickly!

The liberal anti-free speech and anti-gunners don’t have as big of a majority in that chamber, but they do have the majority so you need to get involved.

Contact Senator Grassley at 202-224-3744 and let him know what you think of this bill. He has indicated to Iowa Gun Owners that he will vote no on this bill. (More on that below.) But he needs to be reminded that Iowans find this bill repulsive so that he’s not tempted to change his mind.

In addition, call Senator Tom Harkin at 202-224-3254 and strongly urge him to vote no on the so called “Disclose Act” as well.

As we told you last week, this bill was dead in the water until the NRA made a deal with anti-gun politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid that allowed a special exception for them.

We are not going to take your time to repeat what we said in the last alert but just want to remind you that this bill was dead until the NRA cut a deal to make them exempt.

So feel free to call the NRA at 800-672-3888 and tell them to knock it off. Tell them to denounce the so called “Disclose Act” for what it is, an attack on both our First and Second Amendment rights.

Many of you have called us reporting that the NRA says that they are opposing “Disclose.” We don’t understand why they are saying that as it simply isn’t true. Conservative organizations all over the country are scratching their heads trying to understand why the NRA would do this. So call them again and demand that they publicly oppose “Disclose.”

Need more confirmation? Read next to hear what US Senator Charles Grassley told Iowa Gun Owners at the state convention last Saturday about Disclose and the NRA.

As many of you know Saturday was the date of the GOP convention in Des Moines. Nearly every Republican figure you can think of was in Des Moines to attend the event.

Representatives from Iowa Gun Owners were also on hand talking to candidates and incumbents about REAL Right-to-Carry and Iowa’s unconstitutional permit-to-purchase requirements and other issues concerning our 2nd Amendment freedoms.

Senator Charles Grassley was present as well and one Iowa Gun Owners representative asked him how he intends to vote on the so called “Disclose Act.”

To his credit, Senator Grassley said that he plans to vote NO on “Disclose.”

We were pleased to hear this.
But more, Senator Grassley came back to us and urged us to contact the NRA and find out why they are supporting Disclose by default!

That’s correct, even Senator Grassley is acknowledging that the NRA could do much to stop this First Amendment attack on our Second Amendment rights. Their refusal to act needs to be confronted.

So make sure to contact the NRA today and tell them to officially oppose the so called “Disclose Act.”

About:
Iowa Gun Owners (IGO) was formed in January of 2009 to combat the oppressive gun laws in the State of Iowa. IGO does not believe that you, as a law abiding citizen, should have to beg permission from the government to be able to defend yourself and your family. That’s why we are working so hard to get a Vermont/Alaska style carry law passed in Iowa. In these states, unless you are a convicted felon or otherwise barred from possessing weapons, you don’t need a permit to carry a gun for self-defense! Join us now! Visit: www.iowagunowners.org

NRA - ILA

USA --(Ammoland.com)- You can’t open up a newspaper or turn on the TV these days without being reminded that this is an election year. Every vote our elected officials make, on every issue, has implications for some constituent somewhere.

Some of these votes may improve our lives, while others may make life more difficult. At the end of the day, however, those who don’t participate in the electoral process are inconsequential.

A lawmaker’s primary mission, especially in an election such as this, is…re-election. The only individuals who can re-hire or fire an elected official are his constituents who are registered to vote, and thus, eligible to cast their ballots on Election Day.

While Election Day 2010 – November 2 - may seem like a long way off, as the tip of NRA’s grassroots arrow, you need to ask yourself, “what am I waiting for?”

Though the elections are still months away, why should we wait until shortly before Election Day to begin engaging ourselves in the process? The answer, of course, is we shouldn’t. We should begin NOW. By beginning your grassroots election program NOW, you will be in much better position to ramp it up to the fullest extent when Election Day is imminent. Our goal should be to simply be able to flip a switch for our final activation, when our efforts will count most.

What should you start doing TODAY to ensure success on November 2?

Here are some suggestions:

REGISTER PRO-GUN VOTERS: Nothing is more important than ensuring our supporters are registered to vote. If voters who support the Second Amendment don’t register to vote, they don’t have a voice on Election Day. Start your voter registration drive NOW to ensure you don’t have to cajole folks to register as the deadline approaches, and so you can fully integrate them into your other volunteer activities.

RECRUIT MORE VOLUNTEERS: Many hands make light lifting, and nowhere does this axiom apply more than in campaign activities. The more volunteers you recruit early and with whom you keep in contact, the more boots on the ground you will have for precinct walks, phone banks, and other activities. You can never have too many volunteers!

HUNT WHERE THE DUCKS ARE: Whether registering pro-gun voters or recruiting pro-Second Amendment volunteers, focus your efforts on places where “our people” can be found. Our goal isn’t to empower the opposition, it is to engage our supporters. Gun shows, gun shops, gun & hunting clubs, ranges—what we call gun owners’ “natural resources”—are the places on which you should concentrate your primary efforts.

RAISE AWARENESS: Letters to the editor of local papers on issues of concern to the gun-owning community are a great way to inform and educate your fellow Second Amendment sympathizers to issues of mutual concern. Write a letter to the editor in support of an NRA issue. Encourage others to do so. And, keep an eye out for pro-gun letters that are published, and work to contact the authors to commend them and recruit them into your network!

HELP US HELP YOU: The Grassroots Division is set up for one reason—to help you become a more effective political activist and provide you the training and resources you need. Let us know how we can assist you, not just in the end stages of the game, but RIGHT NOW. Contact our offices at (800) 392-VOTE (8683) and ask to speak to your state’s Grassroots Coordinator. Visit http://www.nraila.org/ for information and materials to enhance your activities, including information on contacting your local Election Volunteer Coordinator.

The one factor in any campaign that is finite and equal is time. Every day in which we are not working to increase our volunteer ranks is a day lost that we will never get back. As the calendar turns and we get closer to Election Day, things only get more hectic. That is why RIGHT NOW is a great time to get your ducks in a row to ensure you can maximize your effectiveness in those crazy days and weeks leading up to Election Day.

Why would you wait?

FirearmsCoalition.org

Manassas, VA, --(AmmoLand.com)- It’s been awhile since I have written an installment of my Effective Activist Politics series, but this is one of the most important topics for activists and activist organizations to pay attention to so I’m adding it to the series. If you’d like to read or re-read the other articles in the series they are available at www.FirearmsCoalition.org and also at www.GunVoter.org.

Every grass roots lobbying organization needs to schedule two strategic planning sessions every year. The output of one is a legislative plan, and the other is a political action plan.

The legislative session should be held after elections and before the legislature convenes. In most states, that will fall in December or January. The political action planning session should be held as soon after the legislature adjourns as possible.

Both planning sessions should include the organization’s leadership, key activists, representatives from other organizations, and trusted advisors. Active politicians and others with priorities other than gun rights should not be included in the core planning stage, but should be carefully included in appropriate areas of the action plan. Plans generated from both meetings need to be interwoven and complimentary because the bottom line of activist politics is the ability to impact elections. Politicians can dismiss letters, emails, faxes, and phone calls, but they cannot ignore votes. As my father was fond of saying, the one and only thing a politician needs to be successful is the ability to be elected. Without that a politician is not a politician at all. The best way to get a politician’s attention – and perhaps shift his position on a given issue – is to demonstrate the ability to impact his electability.

I’ll talk about strategic planning for elections in another article.

Here is a 10-step process for developing a legislative strategic plan:

1. Determine the Ultimate Objective of your organization. It is painfully obvious that many organizations – including major national organizations – have never actually done this. They tend to drift in a general direction rather than steaming toward a clear objective.
2. Develop a comprehensive inventory of current law and a prioritized list of changes you’d like to see. This is another frequently neglected but critical step, and once completed must be kept very confidential.
3. Analyze the political Big Picture. Who’s in power? Where is the pendulum? Which way is it moving? What external forces are in play? This can be easier to see from a distance so be sure to bring in some outside perspective here.
4. Evaluate each politician in your arena. Positions, philosophy, motivations, vulnerabilities, potential challengers, etc. Once this has been done once it is easier to keep up, but it still requires a lot of work. Knowing the strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of friends and foes alike is invaluable in both legislative and election planning.
5. Run scenarios. Challenge yourself and your brain-trust with “What ifs.” Use the conclusions from steps 1-4 to test possibilities and options.
6. Develop a general, “draft” strategy for the next two years.
7. Bring in fresh eyes and different perspectives. This is the time to bring in members of your Board of Directors, trusted political advisors, and strategists from other organizations.
8. Firm up a comprehensive strategy that utilizes all of the knowledge and tools at your disposal. Even if you and another group can’t agree on a mutual strategy, you can take their plans into account and play off of their actions to make your organization more effective.
9. Map out the tools, tactics, and timetable that you will employ to execute your strategy. Revisit the plan frequently through the year and never deviate from the plan without first revisiting the strategic process and reconciling the change to the overall strategy.
10. Rinse and repeat. Every year the process should be started over again. Every step should be revisited with an open mind and fresh eyes. Each strategic plan should cover at least two years, but the process should be started fresh every year with the previous year’s plan as nothing more than one of the ideas on the table.

The key to the process’ effectiveness is using a process. Whether your group adopts this 10-step plan or some other system for building a strategic plan, the important thing is to have a process and use it. Anything that helps to focus thought and attention on this critical, often neglected component of effective political activism is a good thing. While success can be achieved without such a planning process, it is far more likely to be achieved sooner if serious thought is given to these issues in advance.

If your organization needs help with planning or analysis, or would just like another perspective on some issue, give The Firearms Coalition a call. We’re here to help you succeed.

About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org

New Jersey Outdoor Alliance

Belmar, NJ --(AmmoLand.com)-The meaning of “grassroots” is “pertaining to, or involving the common people.” Grassroots is not like anything else in politics. Today’s major political movements tend to ignore the grassroots and focus almost exclusively on the use of media to gather winning support at the polls. But “grassroots” efforts are needed if we are to make enduring improvements to society.

Grassroots is a testimony to what we can do when we “get involved.” During the past two months the officers of the NJOA; Ed Markowski, Pete Grimbilas, Jerry Natale and Cory Wingerter, along with countless volunteers, traveled the length of the Garden State to speak at sportsmen’s clubs, hand out flyers at retail stores and talk with customers at bait & tackle shops in an effort to rally the common people and bring attention to the decaying condition of New Jersey’s outdoors.

Their efforts ended with the Rescue Our Outdoor Rally (R.O.O.R.), an initiative that highlighted the need to reverse the trends that are weakening the condition of our forests, waters, fish and wildlife. It was also a forum for Mr. Chris Christie to announce his commitment to reverse these trends.

So, I’d like to thank all of you – the common people – for being involved, for your efforts to get out the vote and for caring enough to make a difference. Change does not come easy and the election of Mr. Chris Christie as New Jersey’s next governor is only the first step in many that we will need to take in order to improve the condition of New Jersey’s outdoors.

As we take these steps and encounter challenges we now have a history of success to look back on for inspiration. In 2007 we, the “common people,” voted two state legislators opposed to fishing and hunting out of office and two pro-outdoor legislators into office in District 12. In 2008 we unified to elect Congressman John Adler to federal office. Now, in 2009, we helped to elect the next governor of New Jersey – Mr. Chris Christie.

Again, thank you. There are 650,000 anglers, hunters and conservationists in NJ. Our numbers are nearly 30% of the people who voted in yesterday’s election!

We can control the future of conservation in New Jersey – in fact, we have already begun.

About:
NJOA – New Jersey Outdoor Alliance is the state’s first major political action committee devoted to the task of electing outdoor-minded candidates to public office. NJOA has formed with the support of leaders of major pro-hunting, pro-angling, and pro-trapping organizations. We are not a hunting, fishing, or trapping “club” or “group,” and do not compete with the interests of such organizations. NJOA helps to ensure that strong wildlife and natural resource protection laws are produced by outdoor-minded elected officials. The best way to ensure a “conservation presence” in Trenton is to support the election campaigns of representatives who understand the relationship between a balanced ecology and hunting, fishing, and trapping. Visit: www.njoutdooralliance.org

National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action

National Rifle Association

Fairfax, VA --(AmmoLand.com)- For more than a decade, the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division has over-seen arguably the most truly grassroots program in the country.

Started in 1994, the NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) program consists of an individual NRA member in most congressional districts serving as the liaison between NRA members and gun owners and those legislators. Additionally, EVCs and their volunteer networks act as the tips of our grassroots arrows in working on gun-related legislation in Congress and in their state capitals.

What makes the EVC Program so unique and distinct from other grassroots programs? First and foremost is its size. With hundreds of EVCs spanning the entire country, working with thousands of volunteers, NRA has a local grassroots presence in nearly every pocket of the country.

Second, the EVC Program is 100% volunteer. EVCs do not receive one cent for any of their activities. Whether incurring staggering phone bills, paying for copying and postage, or traveling hundreds of miles in this day and age of high gas prices, EVCs do all they do on their own dime—and on their own time.

Unlike other “volunteer” programs where individuals may be paid to work, receive a day off from work, or are “professional volunteers” who travel from state to state, our EVCs are true volunteers. They have jobs, families, and other commitments. Their EVC activities are done in addition to, not in lieu of, their normal, day-to-day activities.

Another big advantage of the NRA-ILA EVC Program is that many of our EVCs actually know their lawmakers, their fellow constituents, and the local “hot spots” where gun owners congregate. Not only are they able to “talk the talk,” but they also “walk the walk,” and are an accurate reflection and representation of gun owners in their neck of the woods.

While the EVC Program has certain guidelines in place, one of its most redeeming values is that the Program can, and should, be tailored to the particulars of each congressional district. The EVC Program is not a cookiecutter, one-size-fits-all program. It is a skeletal frame that allows each EVC to put his or her own flesh on the bones, and thus ensure that the program succeeds. To locate and contact you EVC or inquire about a vacancy please click here.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education

Charlotte, NC - -(AmmoLand.com)- GRNC needs volunteers to host the tables at the next Dixie Gun & Knife Classic to be held the weekend of August 15th & 16th at the Metrolina Expo Center in Charlotte.

http://www.dixiegunandknifeshow.com/

http://www.metrolinatradeshowexpo.com/

Please set aside some time to help. If you have an articulate friend whom you would like to introduce to gun rights activism please invite her or him to work with us show weekend whether or not that person is a current member.

Volunteers please email Frank Hinson at mrwiznc2@aol.com. You may call him at at Home (704)372-8055, Cell (704)200-0513 with your preferred day and time(s) to be scheduled to work.

About:
Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina.

U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD) & David Viter (R-LA)

National Rifle Association

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- NRA-ILA would like to recognize the recent pro-Second Amendment, pro-self-defense actions of U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and David Vitter (R-La), for their work in sponsoring and championing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390), that would have provided for interstate recognition of Right-to-Carry permits. This critically important NRA-backed legislation would have allowed an individual who has met the requirements for a carry permit, or who is otherwise allowed by his home state’s law to carry a firearm, to carry a firearm for protection in any other state that issues such permits, subject to the laws of the state in which the firearm is carried.

On July 22, by a margin of 58-39, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate voted in favor of the amendment, falling two votes short because Senators had agreed to a 60 vote requirement to avoid a threatened filibuster. “Today’s strong majority vote in the U.S. Senate was an important step forward in the National Rifle Association’s decades long effort to make Right-to-Carry and national reciprocity the law of the land,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

Expanding Right-to-Carry enhances public safety, as criminals are deterred from attempting crimes when they know or suspect that their prospective victims are armed. A Department of Justice study found that 40 percent of felons had not committed crimes because they feared the prospective victims were armed. The Thune-Vitter amendment recognized that competent, responsible, law-abiding Americans still deserve our trust and confidence when they cross state lines.

Passing interstate Right-to-Carry legislation would not only reduce crime by deterring criminals, but — most important of all — Allow honest Americans to protect themselves if deterrence fails.

“While we are disappointed that the 60 vote procedural hurdle was not met, the vote shows that a strong bipartisan majority agrees with the NRA,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox. “We would like to thank Sen. Thune, Sen. Vitter, and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), along with all senators who voted in favor of this amendment on both sides of the aisle. The efforts of these senators were not in vain, as the NRA will continue to work tirelessly to ensure this important legislation finds the right avenue to come before Congress once again.”

NRA members and gun owners should contact Senators Thune and Vitter and thank them for sponsoring this important amendment, along with their strong and continued support of our Second Amendment Rights.

Contact Information for Senator John Thune can be found at:

http://nra.www.capwiz.com/bio/id/538&lvl=C&chamber=S

Contact Information for Senator David Vitter can be found at:

http://nra.www.capwiz.com/bio/id/699&lvl=C&chamber=S

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

National Rifle Association of America

National Rifle Association

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- On July 15, the Grassroots Division conducted another successful NRA University program on Capitol Hill for D.C.-area interns. NRA University (NRA U) is a three-hour training seminar for those interested in learning more about NRA, the Second Amendment, and the gun control debate.

An enthusiastic crowd of 64 interns gathered at the Longworth House Office Building, and NRAILA staff members Brent Gardner and Katrina Lauzon addressed the myths of gun control, covering topics such as the history of the Second Amendment, the use of guns for self-defense, and solutions to reducing firearm accidents. All of the attendees signed on as NRA members and 42 also enrolled in the NRA-ILA FrontLines™ Volunteer Program.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

National Rifle Association of America

National Rifle Association

Virginia - -(AmmoLand.com)- As I noted in last month’s column, the 2009 Virginia elections will be ground zero for our grassroots activities this year. Not only will these elections determine the future our of our gun rights in Virginia, but they will also be used as a barometer for the 2010 elections.

If two recent events I attended in Virginia Beach are any indication, we are well positioned this year in Virginia to remind politicians running in 2010 that those who oppose the Second Amendment do so at their own political peril!

On July 16, my Virginia Beach tour begin with a Volunteer Kick-Off meeting I conducted along with NRA-ILA Campaign Field Representative (CFR) Tom Garloch. (Tom is one of six CFRs we have hired and placed on the ground in strategic regions across the state to register pro-gun voters and ensure pro-freedom candidates have sufficient volunteer support. NRA Grassroots staff is also coordinating similar activities near NRA Headquarters.) The fact that 80 staunch pro-gun stalwarts came out on a beautiful summer weeknight shows that gun owners in the Commonwealth are fully engaged in this process and are demonstrating this fact through their actions. At the meeting, attendees learned what more they could do with NRAILA’s two primary missions this election season: 1) registering pro-gun voters; and 2) ensuring they actively support and turn out to vote for pro- Second Amendment candidates.

Those in attendance represented a good mix of long-time activists, as well as some new faces. We managed to sign up 62 new FrontLines volunteers, who will be fully engaged with Tom Garloch’s activities in the region. Nearly half the attendees took phone lists and corresponding scripts, agreeing to contact thousands of Second Amendment supporters to urge them to register to vote in the days immediately following the meeting. Further, more than 100 “I’m the NRA & I Vote” yard signs and hundreds more bumper and lapel stickers were distributed among the attendees for prominent display throughout the pro-gun Virginia Beach community. Not a bad start!

This meeting was the first of seven similar meetings we will conduct across Virginia to bolster the grassroots networks of Tom’s fellow CFRs that are living and working in targeted regions throughout the Old Dominion State.

My and Tom’s work didn’t end on Thursday, however, as early Saturday morning we met with approximately 100 Virginia Beach Republicans, who are already fully engaged in the 2009 campaign process. An informal survey showed more than half the attendees were current NRA Members, ranging from annual members to Benefactor members! I even managed to sign up a young woman as a new member on the spot.

Once again, as with our Thursday night volunteer meeting, we were able to recruit more volunteers, distribute call sheets and scripts, and provide attendees with yard signs and stickers.

Our efforts in Virginia Beach were heartening, as they demonstrated that many NRA members and pro-Second Amendment activists are already engaged in this year’s elections, and are willing to assist further. Our challenge now is to ensure that more gun owners, hunters, and Second Amendment supporters throughout Virginia are registered to vote and will active support those candidates who support our rights. While we can never expect everyone to do everything associated with a successful grassroots campaign, our efforts in Virginia to ensure everyone does something will continue in full force right through Election Day—November 3—and into 2010!

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

National Rifle Association of America

Theodore Roosevelt in front of a redwood in Big Tree Grove, Santa Cruz, Calif. (photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- Eight years ago today, a group of avid hunters, anglers and conservationists launched the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. With the mission of guaranteeing all Americans quality places to hunt and fish and using Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation legacy as inspiration, these visionaries set out to create a coalition of organizations to inject sportsmen’s voices more effectively into natural resources policymaking.

Help the TRCP continue its record of success by celebrating our birthday with a personal donation. In times of economic hardship, people turn to hunting and fishing as a simple and affordable way to enjoy time with their families. Now more than ever, we are reminded of why we are so lucky, as Americans, to have affordable access to quality hunting and fishing. During these tough economic times, the TRCP needs your help to ensure the future of America’s sporting traditions.

With your help, the TRCP and our 24 partner organizations are successfully influencing our nation’s decision-makers to include conservation provisions for fish, wildlife and their habitats in federal policies and legislation. Our efforts have resulted in fish and wildlife funding being included in climate change legislation under consideration in Congress. We’ve advanced clean water policy that will help sustain the critical habitat and sporting opportunities provided by America’s wetlands. And we’ve presented to Congress and the new administration principles for ensuring balanced energy development on our public lands and waters.

TRCP membership is free, and your participation in our grassroots efforts plays a huge part in the TRCP’s success in addressing the concerns of hunters and anglers in the policymaking process.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.”

The TRCP looks forward to another successful year of work ensuring that our nation continues to responsibly use our natural resources and conserve our fish, wildlife and habitats so future generations of hunters and anglers can enjoy them.

Support the TRCP birthday today, and do your part to ensure that all Americans continue to have quality places to hunt and fish.

About:
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.