This is a small first, but a first nonetheless. Jonathan Goldstein flew up from Philadelphia to Boston just to film a show with me! Yes, I’m beyond honored! He’s also working hard to get elected to the NRA Board of Directors. And in his home state of Pennsylvania for their gun owners. It’s always fun to meet someone new and widen my circle of friends. I picked up Jonathan at the airport, and we drove for a bit to get to know each other. We kick things off quickly and jump in deep, talking about Bruen, open carry versus concealed, and why some laws aren’t conducive to logic. He’s got a great line, borrowed from Chris Conte from the NRA ILA, about “New Jersey being the North Korea of gun ownership.” I knew things were going to be fun after that.
Jonathan didn’t really grow up as a gun guy. He owned IT businesses and sold them before going to law school. Besides that, he was a newlywed and applied for law school, and was on the ballot for the state legislature. After not liking the big law firm, he got together with some other friends and started outsourcing legal work to India. But as he says everyone “hates outsourcing, but they hate lawyers more.”
Back in 1994, the gun laws were being redone in the Pa. There were lots of folks against it, and he wanted to see what they were against. Each of the towns and cities were supposed to have the same laws. But they decided they were going to have different classes of cities, and thus, Philly was in its own class. Therefore, having its own laws that the rest of the state didn’t have. He started thinking about why the politicians were so set against lawful gun ownership. That piqued his interest, and that’s when he became a gun owner. He got a permit, bought a snub revolver, got into shotguns and bird hunting and found a new passion.
Around the time Heller was going on in 2008, he was getting more involved in getting cases and getting noticed by the NRA. This is where he became friends with Chris Conte at NRA ILA. In 2011, he was awarded the Defender of Justice by NRA ILA. He also helped raise money for the NRA.
On the radar of the NRA, he ends up on a couple committees, one for the legal affairs and one for the non-traditional gun owner, those of racial and sexual minorities. With enough trust, he was placed on the nominating committee. That’s when he started seeing that things were not necessarily going so well. That’s when he started seeing that some BOD members weren’t there for wholesome reasons. He saw that they weren’t all rowing in the same direction. Some of the folks haven’t seen that the old tactics aren’t working, haven’t been, and don’t want to change.
We got into it a bit more of course. He’s very passionate about the NRA and what is going on and what needs to be changed. I really enjoyed the conversation with Jonathan and I look forward to seeing him in Atlanta in April.
This wraps up the five interviews I’ve done with the NRA 2.0 Candidates running on the reform ticket. I’ve had another five or so on the show over the years. I’m voting for all 28 of the “Reformers.” I enjoyed the conversations with them all. As with the NRA staff that I’ve had on the show, I can see the passion for the NRA and our rights that they have and they’re fighting for. These 28 candidates know that the NRA didn’t earn the respect of the members, their funds, and their support. I do have faith in them and what they plan on doing to resurrect the NRA from what has been going on. I have confidence in them and I’m looking forward to the progress for gun owners across the country.
While it is too late to become a life member and be able to vote, it’s not too late to vote for those who haven’t yet. Ballots were sent out in the February magazines and have to be received by April 6, 2025.
Favorite quotes:
- “The goal is to frustrate the gun owner.”
- “The modality that works best today is concealed carry. Not open carry.”
- “The fact that I carry a gun keeps you safer. You’re welcome.”
- “What do these politicians intend to do to me that my ownership of firearms is a threat to them.”
- “NRA is back on the map. We’re clean. We’re well run. We deserve to get out seat at the table back.”
About Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie isn’t about firearms. It is about having an intimate conversation with 2 people talking. You’re the fly on the rearview mirror. Many of the passengers are involved in the firearm community.
This is a more intimate conversation than a phone, radio, or Skype interview. You get to see the passengers. And you’ll see where the road and the conversation take you!
CCL holders commit crime at rates which are even lower than police officers. Try 15-30% the rate of police – averaging about 20% across the country. We make police look like thugs next to us – though many officers are already doing so on their own. Particularly considering that things like Civil Asset Seizures, destroying someone’s home without compensation (McKinney TX), or killing Brian Malinowski are legally defined as legal. If any of us did any of that we’d be counted toward that 20%. My guess is majority of crimes committed by CCL holders are gun law related such as… Read more »
The sooner Negotiating Rights Away goes away the better.
The Second Amendment doesn’t have the time, nor do gun owners have the money to waste on preventing this “non” profits suicide.
Holy smokes! This guy is the most qualified to step into executive VP of the NRA. Not that those at the top now are slouches. But this guy is a lawyer, articulate, who lives and breaths gun rights.