Month: October 2024

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Will It Be Trick Or Treat For The NRA?

October 31, 2024 by 3 Comments

Judge Joel Cohen has scheduled the oral arguments on the final judgment proposals for tomorrow at 11am. Unfortunately, New York being New York, we cannot watch or listen to the oral arguments live as that is prevented by New York law. You can thank the media who covered the Lindbergh kidnapping trial back in 1935 for that.

Since the oral arguments are scheduled for Halloween, the question is whether the final decision will be a trick or treat for the NRA.

Having read both sets of proposals – and I’m not counting the one from disgraced former EVP Wayne LaPierre – my expectation is that Judge Cohen’s final decision will tend to be closer to the proposal offered by the New York Attorney General’s Office than that of the NRA. My reasoning is that their proposal more closely follows his dicta in his interim decision. For example, the NYAG’s proposal more fully opens up the nomination process while the NRA’s speaks of seeking out certain attributes for directors. The latter could be used to eliminate candidates who might not buy into the party line.

While not having a crystal ball, I also would not be surprised if Judge Cohen orders that Paul Babaz and Charlie Brown be added to the ballot. Both were late in delivering petitions due to storm-related issues.

As I wrote earlier, neither proposal addresses information sharing with the members. I would hope that Judge Cohen realizes this is not addressed and adds that as a requirement. NRA members should be able to view up-to-date bylaws online, see the financial filings for a period of at least five years, and be able to read the minutes and agendas for Board meetings. This is the minimum that should be available online for members to access. If anyone is worried about the opponents of gun rights having access to it, make it available to members only just as they do with the ratings from the NRA-PVF.

I don’t think we will have to wait long to receive Judge Cohen’s final judgment. I would not be surprised if he doesn’t have a draft in place that only needing some tweaking following the oral arguments.

Fingers crossed that the final judgment will be a treat for the members and a trick for the cabal whose acquiescence to the whims of Wayne LaPierre put us in this position to begin with.

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Clays For Education

October 23, 2024 by 1 Comment

The Montgomery Community College Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is holding their 6th annual Clays for Education tournament on November 1st at DeWitt’s Outdoor Sports in Ellerbe, North Carolina. Proceeds from the event will go to help support the college’s top-notch gunsmithing program.

If you right-click on the image below and select “open in a new tab”, you can print out the registration form.

If you will be in the area and want to help support a school that doesn’t look down on firearms and shooters, this is it. I mean, really, how many schools send their college president to both the NRA Annual Meeting and the SHOT Show. I’ve met Dr. Chad Bledsoe, MCC’s president, at both.

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National Ruger Day

October 22, 2024 by 1 Comment

Celebrated every year since 2017, October 22nd – 10/22 – has become National Ruger Day. It is a day to celebrate all things Ruger. I can get on board with this as I have many Rugers in my armory ranging from Security-Six revolvers to an older model Ruger Red Label shotgun. Their common stock hasn’t done too poorly for me either over the years.

This year is a little special as it coincides with Ruger’s 75th Anniversary. Bill Ruger partnered with Alexander McCormick Sturm to found Sturm, Ruger, and Company in 1949. As most know, their first product was the Ruger Standard semi-auto pistol in .22LR.

While today is the day to celebrate Ruger, there are many events going on all week long. You can find a list of the participating retailers here. Depending upon the retailer, there will be sales as well as Ruger swag.

Probably the best way to celebrate the day and the week is to introduce a non-shooter to shooting using a 10/22 carbine. It is light, easy to handle, and, like all .22s, has virtually no recoil.

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2025 NRA Board Candidates – Annotated

October 21, 2024 by

The combined list of candidates for the 2025 NRA Board of Directors’ election was sent out on Friday by Secretary John Frazer. This includes all of those who were nominated by the Nominating Committee plus those who were successfully added to the list by petition. There are two candidates, myself and John Sigler, who are “double nominated”. That is nominated by both petition and by the Nominating Committee. Additionally, James Gilmore and Grover Norquist who were nominated by the Nominating Committee declined their nominations.

Absent from this list are Charles Brown and Paul Babaz. Both failed to meet the October 8th deadline as they were impacted by the recent hurricanes. While not on this list of candidates, there is hope that they will be added one way or another.

Voting members may choose up to 28 candidates to fill 25 three-year terms that expire in 2028; one two-year term ending in 2027; and two one-year terms ending in 2026. This will be the year in which I will not be encouraging bullet voting but voting a complete ticket. More on that to come.

I have annotated the list of candidates below to reflect if they are currently on the Board, how they were nominated, where they stood with regard to the Special Litigation Committee, and if they are on the reform ticket of candidates. Greer Johnson and John Sigler replaced directors who resigned after the September board meeting where there was the vote on abolishing the Special Litigation Committee. While not a given, it should be assumed that they would have voted with the cabal to retain the SLC.

KEY

* = Petition Candidate

** = Nominating & Petition Candidate

Bold = Reform Ticket

+ = Current Board Member

@ = Voted to abolish SLC

#  = Voted to keep SLC

NOMINATING COMMITTEE & PETITION NOMINEES

1. Bob Barr +

Smyrna, Georgia

2. Sharon Callan

Tucson, Arizona

3. Anthony P. Colandro + @

Woodland Park, New Jersey

4. Larry E. Craig + #

Boise, Idaho

5. Isaac Demarest + #

Holland, Ohio

6. Steven Dulan + #

East Lansing, Michigan

7. Todd Ellis + @

Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania

8. Robert Scott Emslie*

St. Augustine, Florida

9. Richard Fairburn

Canton, Illinois

10. Richard Todd Figard*

Wadsworth, Ohio

11. Lawrence Finder

Houston, Texas

12. Jeff Fleetham

Mesa, Arizona

13. James Fotis

Lake Worth, Florida

14. Carol Frampton + #

Prosperity, South Carolina

15. Joel Friedman + #

Henderson, Nevada

16. Sandra S. Froman + #

Tucson, Arizona

17. Jonathan S. Goldstein*

Haverford, Pennsylvania

18. Philip Gray

Chillicothe, Ohio

19. Jack Hagan

Charleston, South Carolina

20. Al Hammond + @

Alachua, Florida

21. Charles T. Hiltunen, III + @

Indianapolis, Indiana

22. Theresa Inacker*

Tabernacle, New Jersey

23. Greer Johnson +

Duluth, Georgia

24. Tom King +

East Greenbush, New York

25. Lucretia Hughes Klucken

Loganville, Georgia

26. Willes K. Lee* + @

Arlington, Virginia

27. Howard Massingill*

Pueblo West, Colorado

28. Mitzy McCorvey +

Houston, Texas

29. David Mitten

Chillicothe, Ohio

30. James W. Porter II* + @

Birmingham, Alabama

31. Kim Rhode* + #

Monrovia, California

32. John Richardson**

Arden, North Carolina

33. Gene T. Roach

Shelbyville, Kentucky

34. Charles Rowe

Wadsworth, Ohio

35. Lane Ruhland

Lodi, Wisconsin

36. Ronald L. Schmeits +  @

Raton, New Mexico

37. James A. Sheckels*

Fayetteville, North Carolina

38. Mark Shuell

Auburn, Michigan

39. John C. Sigler** +

Dover, Delaware

40. Danny Stowers + #

Pearland, Texas

41. Regis Synan

Export, Pennsylvania

42. Frank Tait*

Wayne, Pennsylvania

43. Todd Vandermyde*

Yorkville, Illinois

44. Dwight D. Van Horn + #

Hayden, Idaho

45. Blaine Wade +

Bristol, Tennessee

46. James L. Wallace + @

Newburyport, Massachusetts

47. Knox Williams

Atlanta, Georgia

48. Jason Wilson*

Riverton, Wyoming

49. Cathy Wright + @

North Beach, Maryland

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We Voted Early

October 20, 2024 by 1 Comment

The Complementary Spouse and I voted today around mid-morning. She estimated it took us just over a half hour from the time we got in line until we left. Our early voting location, the South Buncombe Public Library, had much longer lines on Thursday which was the first day of early voting. Indeed, it was out the door and around the parking lot. Today, since we went during what we called “church hours”, the end of the line was at the library door.

This year, instead of the more traditional sticker, Buncombe County held a contest for young artists to design the sticker. 12-year old Maya LeRoy, an Asheville middle school student, won the contest. Her entry was voted on by residents from a selection of 10 finalists.

While many traditionalists may prefer to vote on the actual Election Day, I have taken advantage of North Carolina’s in-person early voting for at least 15-20 years. It usually is a good way to avoid the lines. Moreover, in an age of terrorism, you are less vulnerable to attacks. Less than two weeks ago, the FBI arrested an Afghan national in Oklahoma City who had planned an election day terrorist attack in the name of ISIS. If it could have taken place in Oklahoma, it could take place anywhere. Given the number of illegal aliens of military age who have crossed our southern borders, it does make one wonder if this was merely the tip of an ice berg. If you have read Kurt Schlichter’s The Attack (#commission earned), while fiction, it certainly could be a possibility.

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International Gin & Tonic Day

October 19, 2024 by

October 19th is International Gin and Tonic Day. It was created by Jayne Withers in honor of her grandmother Mary Edith Keyburn. Mrs. Keyburn lived to the ripe old age of 95 and enjoyed her gin and tonics. Indeed, her family smuggled a gin and tonic into the hospital in water bottle and served it to her in a tea cup. She sounds like she was my kind of older woman!

I plan to honor this day (and Mrs. Keyburn) with a gin and tonic made from one of the craft gins that I brought back from my two trips to South Africa this year mated with a tonic from Franklin and Sons. The British Empire will be well represented with a UK tonic and a South African gin. As an aside, distilling craft gins in South Africa is quite the industry with small distilleries scattered across the country.

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We Made It By Petition

October 18, 2024 by 1 Comment

I received notification on Tuesday that I qualified for the 2025 NRA Board of Elections ballot by petition. It was thanks to you that I made it.

Richardson Petition Notification LetterDownload

According to an affidavit filed with the New York court on Wednesday by NRA Secretary John Frazer:

. As of the execution of this affidavit, 14 candidates have qualified for the 2025 ballot by submitting the required number of valid signatures as of the October 8 deadline. (Two of those candidates were also nominated by the Nominating Committee.) Three additional potential candidates submitted petitions, but
did not submit enough valid signatures as of the deadline to qualify.

First, I have no idea who the second candidate to be double nominated is. If anyone knows, please put it in the comments. Second, as of now, thanks to storm-related delays, neither Paul Babaz nor Charles Brown qualified. It is my understanding that each had enough signatures but did not make the October 8th deadline thanks to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Judge Cohen may have other ideas about whether they will be on the ballot or not. The New York Attorney General’s Office amended proposal is requesting an extension to November 15th for those petition candidates who are residents of North Carolina or Florida. Unfortunately, that will not help either Paul or Charlie as they reside in Georgia and Ohio respectively.

One question that comes up is why I bothered to seek to run by petition when I was already on the ballot thanks to the Nominating Committee. My answer is quite simple. While I appreciated the nomination by the Nominating Committee surprising as it was, being nominated by petition reflects the will of hundreds of rank and file NRA voting members who took the time and effort to sign and mail my petition. To me, that is a great honor which also comes with great responsibility if elected. I will endeavor to be worthy of that support.

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Supporting Operation Airdrop In Post-Helene Relief

October 13, 2024 by

A number of firearms and firearms related companies are coming together to support Operation Airdrop in their efforts to bring relief to Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Operation Airdrop is a Texas-based 501(c)3 non-profit that organizes general aviation assets after a natural disaster. Many of the companies involved are located here in North Carolina. They have organized a raffle that will donate 100% of the proceeds to Operation Airdrop.

Tickets are $20 each and give you two entries in the raffle. The grand prize is valued at over $11,000 while the second place prize is valued at over $8,000.

You can get your raffle ticket here.

This effort is being spearheaded by ZRO Delta which is located in Connelly Spring, NC. While I don’t want to get political, ZRO Delta, US Optics, and Unbranded AR are co-owned by Pat Harrigan who is the Republican nominee for Congress in the 10th District of NC. In the interest of full disclosure, I gave a small donation to his campaign back in the Spring.

The raffle closes at midnight on October 16th.

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Michigan Goes Full Stasi

October 11, 2024 by 3 Comments

What do the former Soviet Union, Mao’s Red China, and the State of Michigan have in common? They all want to use children to inform the state on their parents and elders.

In a bill signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) yesterday, the State of Michigan does just that. Embedded within HB 5503 CR-1, a bill dealing with appropriations for public schools in Michigan, was this gem.

Sec. 97h reads:

Sec. 97h. (1) From the state school aid fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated an amount not to exceed $1,000,000.00 for 2024-2025 only to an intermediate district to partner with the department to create or partner with an existing program and support a tip line for students to anonymously report improperly stored firearms that are accessible to a minor.
(2) The department shall develop educational materials related to improperly stored firearms, and how to report improperly stored firearms, and distribute the educational materials to districts and intermediate districts.
(3) Notwithstanding section 17b, the department shall make payments under this section on a schedule
determined by the department.
(4) As used in this section, “improperly stored firearm” means a firearm that is not stored in accordance withthe requirements of section 9 of 1927 PA 372, MCL 28.429.

As the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owner’s notes, everyone supports proper storage of firearms but this is what one might expect to see in a totalitarian police state. Indeed they are correct. Whether it was the Young Pioneers in the USSR and DDR or the Red Guard in Mao’s China, all were urged to report on their parents.

A better solution than going full Stasi might have been to work with the NSSF’s Project Project ChildSafe® which has developed a comprehensive program dealing with firearms safety and which provides locks free of charge. Going further, imagine if that $1 million grant was used to provide tax credits to firearms owners who purchased safes, lockboxes, or other firearm storage devices. Both of these would be real solutions to improperly stored firearms rather than using kids as tools of a totalitarian police state.

H/T Tovis