MAINTAIN YOUR PROACTIVE SUPPORT FOR S. 397 AND H.R. 800
The House Judiciary Committee recently passed H.R. 800 (the House version of the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," and the companion bill to the Senate's S. 397) by a vote of 22-12 and ALL proposed anti-gun amendments were defeated! This critically important legislation would protect law-abiding firearm manufacturers from reckless, predatory, and potentially bankrupting lawsuits.
The bill currently has 257 cosponsors in the House, 56 cosponsors in the Senate, and has the full support of President Bush and numerous other groups and associations.
As we continue to emphasize, it is imperative that you contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support S.397 and H.R. 800--without any anti-gun amendments--and put a halt to these reckless lawsuits once and for all. Again, please be sure to let your lawmakers know that you consider any votes in support of anti-gun amendments to this legislation as votes against the bill itself.
To access the most up-to-date information on this issue, and to find out if your lawmaker is a cosponsor, please go to the "Help Save America's Firearms Industry" heading at, www.NRAILA.org. This function will allow you to easily send an e-mail or letter to your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators. Please forward this link to your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners.
For additional information on effectively communicating with your lawmakers, please go to: http://www.nraila.org/CurrentLegislation/ActionAlerts/Read.aspx?ID=274 (Grassroots Alert, Vol. 12, No. 12).
You may also call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, or your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.
UPCOMING VIRGINIA PRIMARY ELECTIONS
Virginia will hold primary elections this Tuesday, June 14. NRA members are encouraged to head to the polls and vote for those candidates who support our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. And please be sure to encourage your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to vote on June 14, as well.
NRA members who have not received NRA-Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) endorsement information can visit the NRA-PVF website at www.NRAPVF.org, or call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-VOTE (8683) for additional candidate information.
We strongly encourage you to go to the polls on Tuesday, June 14 and support these pro-Second Amendment candidates. Voter turnout is typically very low in primary elections, so your vote could make the difference!
Be sure to "Vote Freedom First" on Tuesday, June 14!
SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR 2004 NRA-ILA VOLUNTEER AWARDS
The "NRA-ILA Jay M. Littlefield Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award" is an annual honor that recognizes an individual NRA member who demonstrates exceptionally meritorious activism in defense of our Second Amendment rights. Similarly, the "NRA-ILA Volunteer Organization of the Year Award" is bestowed upon a group that has gone above and beyond the call of duty in defending our freedom over the past year.
All nominations must be submitted by NRA members in good standing and be accompanied by a one page description of why the nominee is deserving. Winners will be selected by NRA-ILA staff, and will be acknowledged at this Fall's NRA Board of Directors Meeting.
Nominations for these honors for last year (2004) should be submitted to: NRA-ILA Volunteer Awards, c/o Jennifer Bradey, NRA-ILA Grassroots Division, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA, 22030. Nominations may also be faxed to Jennifer at (703) 267-3918, or e-mailed to jbradey@nrahq.org. The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2005.
DELAWARE CLUBS TO HOST NRA DAY
The Delaware State Sportsmen's Association will sponsor "NRA Day"--a free day of gun safety and recreational shooting instruction for the entire family--tomorrow, Saturday June 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Brandywine Hundred Rod & Gun Club, located on DE Route 9 and Thorntown Road in Port Penn, Del.
"This event is an ideal opportunity for our community to learn what NRA is all about--the safe, responsible use of firearms," said John Thompson, President of the Delaware State Sportsmen's Association, NRA's state affiliate. "Parents and youngsters who are new to shooting can learn gun safety and basic marksmanship from NRA Certified Instructors. Those with shooting experience will get the chance to try different disciplines and socialize with other gun owners and NRA members."
"NRA Day" activities to be held include: shooting safety instruction; rifle, shotgun, and pistol shooting; plus demonstrations of cowboy action shooting and archery. All firearms, targets, ammunition, and eye and ear protection will be provided. The event is open to the public and admission is free. Refreshments will be available.
For more information, please call John Thompson at (302) 658-3070. To learn more about other NRA programs, please go to www.nrahq.org.
A LOOK AT THE STATES
(****For all of the action items below, you can find contact information for your legislators by using the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org. As always, thank you for your support****)
CALIFORNIA
Anti-gun legislation, Senate Bill 357, is expected to be heard in the Assembly
Public Safety Committee on June 21. This bill would establish a program requiring
serialization of handgun ammunition to be enforced by the Department of Justice.
The manufacture, transfer, and possession of non-serialized handgun ammunition
after July 1, 2007, would be considered a crime. SB 357 would also require
ammunition vendors and manufacturers to register with the Department of Justice.
Please contact members of the Committee at (916) 319-3744 and ask them to
oppose SB 357. Assembly Bill 352 was voted out of the Assembly and now moves
to the Senate. AB 352 would ban handguns that are not designed and equipped
with an array of microscopic characters which identify the make, model, and
serial number of the pistol by imprinting the characters on each cartridge
case when the firearm is discharged. This legislation would outlaw handguns
now commonly owned and used by California gun owners. Please contact members
of the Senate, and ask them to oppose AB 352. Senate Members can be reached
at (916) 651-40 (plus your 2-digit senate district number for the last two
numbers). Assembly Bill 996 is expected to be considered by the Senate Public
Safety Committee on June 21 at 9:30 a.m. AB 996 would require all retailers
to display and sell ammunition in a manner that is only accessible by an
employee, not the purchaser. Any violation of this measure would result in
a misdemeanor. This bill has been voted down twice during the 2005 Legislative
Session because existing law already makes it a crime to sell ammunition
to a minor, or ammunition designed for a handgun to anyone less than 21 years
of age. Please contact members of the Senate Public Safety Committee at (916)
651-4118 and ask them to oppose AB 996.
CONNECTICUT
The legislative session came to a dramatic close on Wednesday as House members
considered a gun-related bill as the final measure of the year. SB 1133,
which NRA had fiercely opposed since its introduction, would have made a
felon out of anyone who had been denied a permit or certificate of eligibility
and still possessed long guns. The bill was amended in the Senate on the
previous evening, and all language objected to by NRA was stripped, leaving
a bill that will do no more than facilitate communication between the state's
departments of Mental Health and Public Safety regarding the NICS system.
The bill, which was called at 11:57 p.m., in an effort to ensure that those
attempting anti-gun amendments would not have time, passed on a vote of 113
to 34 at 12: 01 a.m. Also, due to work from House members on both sides of
the aisle, SB 1195, which would have made it a crime to fail to report the
loss or theft of a firearm within 72 hours, failed to come to the floor for
consideration. "The Gun Traffickers Protection Act" would have
put law-abiding gun owners at great risk by forcing them to prove when they "knew
or should have known" their firearms were missing and offered legal
cover to criminals intent on illegally dealing or transferring guns. The
proponents of this measure have promised they will be back with this measure
next year. Also defeated this year were efforts to put local gun stores out
of business, ban .50 caliber firearms, universal registration for long guns,
and a ban on private transfer of long guns. These successes were due to the
work of NRA members, the team work of NRA, the National Shooting Sports Foundation,
the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, and many legislators, including Representatives
Len Greene (R-105), Kevin DelGobbo (R-70), Steven Mikutel (D-45), Antonio
Guerrera (D-29), Peter Panaroni (D-102), and Jack Stone (R-134), and Senators
Anthony Guglielmo (R-35), Lou DeLuca (R-32), and John Kissel (R-7). If you
live in any of these districts, please be sure to call these legislators
and thank them for their work to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
LOUISIANA
Thanks to your phone calls and e-mails this week, the sponsor of HB 726, a
proposed tax on the sale of all ammunition in the state, pulled the bill
down from further consideration during a meeting of the House Ways and Means
Committee. Gun owners and sportsmen were also successful in beating back
SB 319, a proposed ban on certain semi-automatic firearms, when the sponsor
of that bill withdrew it from the files of the Senate earlier this session.
MISSOURI
The U.S. Corps of Engineers is currently considering the construction of a
new levy in the St. Peters, Mo., area of the Mississippi River floodplain.
The construction of such a levy could negatively impact this critical wetland
habitat area. Of particular concern to hunters and sportsmen, it has been
estimated that 65% of the migratory waterfowl in the United States pass through
this area of the Mississippi River floodplain each year. Construction and
development that alters the natural passage of water in this area could have
a major impact on the migration patterns of countless birds. In fact, the
health of an entire species could be imperiled by changes in the floodplain.
Since the Mississippi River floodplain is of such significance to wildlife
that not only live in Missouri, but that travel across the North American
Continent, it is critically important that the necessary steps are taken
to ensure that this vital habitat is not unnecessarily destroyed. Please
contact both the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at (800) 361-4827
(or via e-mail at: oac@dnr.mo.gov), and the Missouri Department of Conservation
at (573) 751-4115, and request that an environmental impact study (EIS) be
conducted prior to the construction of the new levy in the St. Peters Mississippi
River floodplain area to determine how such changes may affect the wildlife
habitat.
OKLAHOMA
On June 9, Governor Brad Henry (D) signed into law House Bill 1243, providing
employers and employees legal protection if a gun is taken from an employee's
vehicle and used to commit a crime. HB 1243 also provides a means of civilly
enforcing the existing statute, which prohibits an employer from banning
the lawful storage of firearms in an employee's locked vehicle. For further
details of this measure, please visit www.lsb.state.ok.us. A special thank
you goes out to Governor Henry for his support of the bill, and to Representative
Greg Piatt (R-48) for his dedication and persistence. We would also like
to thank Senator Jay Paul Gumm (D-6), the Senate sponsor, with final thanks
to Speaker Todd Hiett (R-29) and Senate Pro Tempore Mike Morgan (D-21), for
bringing the bill to the floor for its final vote.
OREGON
The "Salem Friends of NRA" cordially invites you to attend their
NRA Dinner and auction fundraiser Saturday, June 18 at 5:00 p.m. The dinner
will take place at The Eagles Lodge, located at 2771 Pence Loop SE, in Salem.
Seating is limited and it is expected to be a sold-out event, so get your tickets
early! There will be a live auction, silent auction, special drawings, and
door prizes. Prizes include limited edition firearms, custom knives, and NRA
Commissioned Art. Banquet tickets are $35.00 each. For additional information
on tickets, event sponsorships, contributions, or to assist the committee,
please call Jim Jacobe at (503) 931-1629 or Wendy Coombs at (503) 871-0634.
NEVADA
In a letter, dated March 15, four Nevada Sheriffs and one Police Chief lent
their names to an effort opposing H.R. 800--federal legislation to end reckless
lawsuits against the gun industry. Anti-gun organizations such as the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Handgun Violence and the Million Mom March have posted
the letter on their websites as a way to garner key support for their efforts.
It is vital that NRA members contact law enforcement officials and ask them
to remove their names from the H.R. 800 opposition letter. Please make the
call today! For contact information please call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800)
392-8683.
NEW YORK
With the end of the legislative session drawing near, lawmakers in Albany have
many gun-related measures pending before them. In the Senate are A 673, which
creates the crimes of failure to store a firearm "safely" and criminally
negligent storage of a firearm; A 2302, which would prohibit the retail sale
of a handgun that does not contain a "child proofing" or integrated
safety device; A 4471/S 2590, which would ban the sale, use, and possession
of .50 caliber firearms; A 2345, which would impose new restrictions on firearm
dealers; and A 2466 and S 5504, two bills which would expand the state's
ban on so-called assault weapons. Please contact your State Senator TODAY
and urge him/her to oppose all of the above measures! You can reach your
Senator by calling (518) 455-2800. A 4853A, which would allow the use of
rifles for hunting in certain parts of the state, and A 6608, which would
exempt shooting ranges already in existence from new local noise ordinances,
are two NRA-supported measures pending in the Assembly. Please contact your
Assemblymembers today and urge him/her to support A 4853/S 918A and A 6608!
Your Assemblymember can be reached by calling (518) 455-4100. Also, you are
invited to join NRA Recruiter and ILA FrontLinesT volunteer Charlie Olsen
as he hosts a FREE viewing of "The Great U.N. Gun Debate" between
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and Rebecca Peters of the International
Action Network on Small Arms. This historic debate will be shown on June
15, at 7:00 p.m., at the VFW Post 5088, Elm Street, in Cobleskill, NY, 12043.
For more information, please contact Charlie Olsen at 518-284-2609. Finally,
please make plans to join NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) Rich
Mullin (NY-22), and fellow NRA activists for a volunteer meeting on June
18, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at Gander Mountain in the Seminar
Room, located at 528 Harry L. Drive, Johnson City, NY, 13790. Please call
Rich Mullin at (607) 757-9657, or e-mail David Decker at deckerdm@stny.rr.com
with any questions.
SOUTH CAROLINA
This week, Governor Mark Sanford (R) signed S 654 into law. This NRA-supported
legislation eliminated the requirement that law-abiding citizens fill out
state-mandated paperwork when purchasing a handgun from a licensed dealer.
With last year's repeal of the one-handgun-a-month law, this paperwork requirement
was simply unnecessary
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ehrlich Praises Gun Law For Cops
Washington Times
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. has initiated a state program to
license retired police officers to carry concealed handguns, making
Maryland one of the first states to implement new federal laws expanding
gun rights for retired and off-duty officers. "This is good public policy
that will make a safer state, which is why I am very proud Maryland has
led," said Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican.
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20050613-104819-1439r.htm
------------------------
Trust, But Verify
Weekly Standard
During the presidential campaign, various antagonists repeatedly urged
John Kerry to sign a Standard Form 180, thereby releasing the entirety
of his military records for public consumption. The senator stubbornly
refused these pleas. (Actually he "stubbornly refused" in a uniquely
Kerry-esque manner. While he kept promising to sign the form and get the
information out there, he never quite managed to do so.)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/724pabsc.asp
------------------------
Criminal Mischief
City Journal
The New York Times romanticizes violent felons into impulsive hipsters.
http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon_05_24_05ng.html
------------------------
Patriot Act Push Angers Some On Right
Los Angeles Times
A closed-door vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee last week to
expand law enforcement powers under the USA Patriot Act is prompting
sharp criticism from some conservative leaders who are otherwise among the
most vocal allies of President Bush and the Republican leadership in
Congress.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-patriot12jun12,0,47470.story?coll=la-home-nation
------------------------
Conservatives, Liberals Align Against Patriot Act
Washington Times
Conservative groups have found common ground with the liberal American
Civil Liberties Union in their opposition to the USA Patriot Act and
pledge to wage a high-profile fight against it, claiming even its renewal
is shrouded in secrecy.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050614-121304-2787r.htm
------------------------
Pavlov`s Dogs And The Patriot Act
National Review
In weighing renewal of the Patriot Act, the Senate Intelligence
Committee is recommending a modest expansion of FBI investigative powers. The
ACLU, is drooling again. The episode illustrates how far off the
reservation this politicized epigone of a once-solid organization has gone,
and how insidiously it has poisoned a much-needed discussion of the
proper balance between liberty and security in a post 9/11 world.
http://www.nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200506130739.asp
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Diggers Corner
Read More:
http://www.nraila.org/HuntingAndConservation/Diggerscorner/?ID=15
------------------------
New Federal Regulations Would Limit The Way Mississippi River Is Used
Lacrosse Tribune
No booze on the beaches. Keep those Jet Skis off the backwaters. And no
more blasting away at ducks all day. Those are some of the potential
changes for the upper Mississippi River as the federal government firms
up a sweeping, $216 million-plus regulatory package. The plan could
transform river life for the next decade and a half by limiting waterfowl
hunting, camping and boating.
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2005/05/19/news/00lead.txt
------------------------
U.S. Report Criticizes U.N.
New York Times
A Congressionally mandated panel will report that the United Nations
suffers from poor management, "dismal" staff morale and lack of
accountability and professional ethics but will acknowledge the broad changes
proposed for the organization by Secretary General Kofi Annan and urge
the United States to support them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/13/politics/13nations.html?ei=5065&en=71f26bbed401b6d1&ex=1119326400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
------------------------
Federal Power Daze
Washington Times
The chief author of our Constitution, James Madison, had little
patience for those who accused him and his allies of trying to create a large,
intrusive federal government. In 1788, he noted pointedly the "powers
delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few
and defined."
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20050611-112051-4116r.htm
------------------------
Bolling Staying On Message
Augusta Free Press
NRA-PVF endorsed Bill Bolling, running for Virginia
lieutenant-governor, says: "There are values that I believe in strongly.
The right to
life, the Second Amendment, the sanctity of marriage. I talk about those
things plainly."
http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$34942
------------------------
Animal Rights Folks Off Base On Dove-Hunting Assertion
Mlive.com
Well (as Ronald Reagan used to say), it looks like we`re going to the
ballot box to decide this dove hunting business, writes Bob Gwizdz. No
surprise there--in an issue as controversial as this, emotionalism
trumps reason.
http://www.mlive.com/sports/statewide/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1118225431324970.xml
------------------------
Who`s The Capitol`s Top Gun?
Salt Lake Tribune
A state legislator is setting up free concealed handgun classes for
policy-makers and their families this summer, while at the same time
formulating a proposal to make it easier for Utahns to carry a firearm.
Rep. Curtis Oda (R-Clearfield) says the sessions are aimed at educating
lawmakers and debunking gun-control advocates` criticism of Utah`s gun
laws.
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2796158
------------------------
Plame Confusion
Wall Street Journal
The Supreme Court should clarify the law on journalistic sources, says
Theodore B. Olson, former U.S. solicitor general.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110006811
------------------------
Intra Family Violence Decreases
Washington Times
Violence among family members fell by more than 50% between 1993 and
2002, according to a new Justice Department report, from an estimated 5.4
victims to 2.1 victims per 1,000 U.S. residents 12 and older.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050612-110140-9682r.htm
------------------------
Virginia Tech Board To Vote On Gun Ban Policy
Roanoke Times
Virginia Tech officials are sticking to their ban on guns and asking
the university`s governing board to endorse a policy that threatens to
arrest anyone who refuses to disarm or leave campus. But while the gun
ban would clearly prohibit holders of Right-to-Carry permits from
carrying firearms on campus, university officials said they have no intention
of searching visitors unless police believe they pose a safety threat.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke%5C25354.html
------------------------
Unlikely Partners Unite On The Environment
Baltimore Sun
After the November election, many political commentators pondered
whether environmentalism was dead because it seemed to have become a narrow,
liberal special interest with no appeal in red-state America. But there
is mounting evidence that left-leaning nature lovers can gain
significant national political influence by forming an unlikely alliance with
conservative middle-class hunters.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/perspective/bal-pe.environment12jun12,1,6693146.story?coll=bal-perspective-headlines
------------------------
Crossbow Gains Legality
Washington Times
In Maine, a bill allowing crossbow use during deer firearms season has
worked its way through the legislative process and likely will be
signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci (D). Neighboring New Hampshire has a
similar law, as do a growing number of other states.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050612-110140-7357r.htm