Grass Roots North Carolina

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GRNC Recommendations For The NC Runoff Primary

June 29, 2012 by

The Grass Roots North Carolina Political Victory Fund issued four recommendations for the upcoming July 17th runoff primary.

GRNC-PVF CANDIDATE RECOMMENDATIONS

US House District 8 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for SCOTT KEADLE for Congress. Keadle earned GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation and will be a leader in defending your rights. Keadle has a long history of bucking the “establishment” GOP and will represent you, not the status quo.

US House District 9 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for ROBERT PITTENGER for Congress. Pittenger built a 100% pro-gun voting record in the NC Senate, earning GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation (****). Opponent Jim Pendergraph (GRNC 0-star) claims to be a Second Amendment supporter. But during his tenure as Mecklenburg County Sheriff, he obstructed pistol permits and refused to sign Form 4s for Title II firearms.

US House District 11 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for MARK MEADOWS for Congress. With a perfect 100% on GRNC’s gun rights candidate survey, Meadows earned GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation (****) and has made defense of the Second Amendment a pillar of his campaign.

NC Senate District 41 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for JEFF TARTE for NC Senate. Through his actions as mayor of the town of Cornelius and his GRNC candidate survey, Tarte earned GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation and has vowed to sponsor pro-gun legislation once elected. He has also promised to buck Senate leadership if necessary to advance the cause of gun rights – something which has proven painfully necessary in the recent session of the legislature.

Early voting began yesterday and July 10th is the last day to request an absentee ballot in writing. For more information on Early Voting Sites, go to this website. It should be noted that Early Voting Sites are not always open five days a week.

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Restaurant Carry Still Delayed In NC

June 18, 2012 by 4 Comments

While the North Carolina State Senate ponders (and ponders) HB 111 – the restaurant carry bill – another restaurant was robbed. Grass Roots North Carolina just sent out another alert about it last night.

They choose to block important legislation while restaurant patrons and employees
continue to be victimized

News released on Friday, June 15, 2012 reports that several local and surrounding Fayetteville area restaurants have been hit in a string of robberies in the past 30 days. On Friday, surveillance video was released showing the suspects clearly wielding handguns during the most recent robbery at a Fayetteville Hardee’s Restaurant on June 1st.

Had this crime happened while you were having dinner with your family at your favorite restaurant, would state law have prevented you from legally protecting yourself and your family?

While criminals continue to ignore laws and endanger the lives of citizens in restaurants around the state in crimes conducted regularly, Senator Phil Berger and the Senate Republican leadership have intentionally blocked HB 111 for no other reason except cowardice. They have decided that Democrats might just say bad things about them during the upcoming election cycle if the bill is passed. Instead of honoring their promises to law-abiding gun owners who helped put them in power, they have decided that they are too busy to deal with the bill on the Senate floor in the form of a vote.

Enough is enough!

Accept no more attempts to dodge the issue by the Republican leadership in the Senate. They’ve passed the budget, they’ve worked hard in the current session and have announced that there is finally an official state “Livermush Festival”, and now they have run out of excuses. Now is the time for the Senate Republican leadership to lead as they have promised.

We do not have the luxury of waiting for politicians to decide our fate. We do not have the time to be brushed aside, hoping that HB 111 will be taken to the Senate floor for a vote at a later time. Republican leaders must know that they have run out of places to hide and must bring HB 111 out of the Finance Committee where it is being held hostage. This Bill must go to a full Senate floor vote NOW!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

* CALL PRESIDENT PRO TEM PHIL BERGER (919.733.5708) & RULES CHAIR TOM APODACA (919.733.5745): Tell them to send HB 111 to the Senate floor IMMEDIATELY!
* EMAIL ALL SENATE REPUBLICANS using the copy-and-paste email list and message below to deliver either the pre-written message or your own.
* CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR, whom you can find by going to: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.html
* (Note: You will need your 9-digit zip, which can be found on your driver’s license.)
* HELP GRNC DEFEND GUN RIGHTS: We are now reaching over 60,000 gun owners with every alert (like this one). This costs $500 per alert – serious money. Please join or contribute by going to: https://ssl4.westserver.net/grnc.org/join.html!

CONTACT INFO

Austin.Allran@ncleg.net, Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net, Phil.Berger@ncleg.net, Stan.Bingham@ncleg.net, Harris.Blake@ncleg.net, Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net, Harry.Brown@ncleg.net, Peter.Brunstetter@ncleg.net, Chris.Carney@ncleg.net, Warren.Daniel@ncleg.net, Jim.Davis@ncleg.net, Don.East@ncleg.net, Thom.Goolsby@ncleg.net, Rick.Gunn@ncleg.net, Kathy.Harrington@ncleg.net, Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net, Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net, Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net, Brent.Jackson@ncleg.net, Wesley.Meredith@ncleg.net, Buck.Newton@ncleg.net, Louis.Pate@ncleg.net, Jean.Preston@ncleg.net, Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net, David.Rouzer@ncleg.net, Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net, Dan.Soucek@ncleg.net, Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net, Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net, Tommy.Tucker@ncleg.net, Wes.Westmoreland@ncleg.net

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “More restaurant robberies: Will it take another death for Republicans to act?”

Dear Senate Republican:

Each passing day brings us news of yet another robbery or vicious killing in one or more of North Carolina’s restaurants. While law-abiding, responsible gun owners are severely handicapped by state law in terms of protecting themselves, criminals continue to victimize patrons and employees of restaurants around the state at will.

You have promised me that you would support reasonable and common sense legislation that is designed to enhance my safety, and that of my family. HB 111 would do just that. Yet, you have chosen to delay the bill intentionally by sending it to the Senate Finance Committee where there is a good chance that it will die.

I urge you to reconsider this tactic and take HB 111 out of the Finance Committee and bring it to an immediate full vote on the Senate floor so it can then be moved closer to passage. Doing so will greatly enhance my ability to protect the lives of my family as well as my own.

I will be closely following your actions concerning HB 111 through the efforts of Grass Roots North Carolina, as well as keeping notes for the upcoming elections in November.

Sincerely,

UPDATE: The Winston-Salem Journal is reporting that two men robbed a Sonic drive-in yesterday evening in Winston-Salem. The time to pass HB 111 is now.

UPDATE II: The State Senate Finance Committee is meeting today. The agenda lists a number of bills for consideration. However, HB 111 is not one of them.

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Media In NC Starting To Notice Pressure On GOP About HB 111

June 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina’s pressure on the GOP regarding HB 111 has caught the eye of the media.

The Associated Press’ Allen Reed sent out a 4-paragraph report on this issue. He notes, correctly, that the perception is that the Republican leadership is shunting the issue to the side and claiming they just don’t have the time. It appears to be have been picked up by a number of papers.

The Winston-Salem Journal goes further on the issue quoting Paul Valone of GRNC and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger on the issue.

“Do we have to wait until more die, Sen. Berger?” wrote Valone. “Will your legacy be that Republicans turned their backs on slain restaurant workers due to fear of bad press? I urge you to pull HB 111 from the Finance Committee and send it to the floor for an immediate vote.”

Berger, R-Rockingham, said he personally supports the bill, but that senate leaders are taking “a careful approach to it.”

“Whether we will be able to finalize the bill during the short session or whether it’s a long session issue we’ll pick up,” Berger said. “The issue is not going to die.”

Berger said the Senate would review the gun bill if there’s time left over after passing the budget.

“It’s not a question in my mind of if, it’s a question of when,” Berger said. “I think we’ll see it, but we’re working on a number of things, and that is one of them.”

If, as Sean points out, they have time to recognize not one but two livermush festivals, they have time to deal with this. Livermush is North Carolina’s answer to scrapple. If they don’t take the time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of them suffer the same fate as former House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman who blocked the Castle Doctrine.

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GRNC Ratchets Up The Pressure Over Restaurant Carry

June 12, 2012 by

Grass Roots North Carolina is ratcheting up the pressure on the Republican leaders of the North Carolina State Senate to keep their promise to bring HB 111 – the restaurant carry bill – to the floor of the Senate. They are accusing Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and Rules Committee Chair Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson) of referring HB 111 to the Senate Finance Committee in an effort to kill it.

Expectant mother and Flying Biscuit Café manager Danielle Watson was recently slashed to death at the restaurant she managed by an ex-con just released from prison. On the day she was to be married, she was instead buried. On the same weekend, also in Charlotte, restaurant worker Ed Rosen was murdered during a robbery by two thugs who remain at large. Elsewhere, eastern North Carolina has suffered a series of armed restaurant robberies, including two in which employees were herded into freezers where they could easily have been slaughtered.

HOUSE BILL 111 WILL SAVE LIVES…

Current law disarms not only restaurant patrons, but also restaurant workers. Except for the “owner or lessee” of the establishment, patrons and workers alike are prohibited from carrying concealed firearms for self-protection at any restaurant which serves alcohol, regardless of the fact that concealed handgun permit-holders are already prohibited from imbibing. Fortunately, HB 111 could give victims means to protect themselves and their families; it could give women going to or from restaurants means to defend against rape and murder.

…BUT REPUBLICAN LEADERS ARE ABOUT TO KILL HB 111

Although the bill passed the House last year and passed the Senate Judiciary II Committee last week, Republican Senate President Pro Tem PHIL BERGER and Rules Chair TOM APODACA sent HB 111 to the Finance Committee to die. You see, if it doesn’t get a floor vote in the Senate and a concurrence vote in the House by the time the legislature adjourns – likely next week – HB 111, like Danielle Watson, will be D.O.A.

IN DIRECT CONTRAVENTION OF EARLIER PROMISES

In a March GRNC meeting with Berger staffers GRANT BROOKS and SKYLAR ADAMS, Berger’s staff promised they would NOT re-refer HB 111 to another committee after it passed in the judiciary committee – that they would not kill the bill by “running the clock,” a legislative tactic by which politicians kill bills without going on record.

So why is Sen. Berger reneging on his pledge? Because, as Tom Apodaca reportedly admitted, Republicans are afraid that Democrats will come after them using misleading ads about “guns in bars.” Translated…

While restaurant workers like Danielle Watson are dying, Republican leaders are hiding under their desks, afraid to act because they might get bad press!

ACT NOW TO STOP RESTAURANT HOMICIDE!

GRNC has tried to negotiate, and gun owners have exercised admirable restraint. But now the gloves have to come off: If YOU don’t act immediately, restaurant carry will die.

You can find the action items of the Alert here. It includes a request to call the offices of Berger and Apodaca, to send an email to all the Republican senators, and a Twitter engine to send out Tweets pushing the bill.

Even if you do not live in North Carolina, you can help by using the Twitter engine and by sending the email. You can rewrite the email to emphasize that you won’t spend your tourist dollars – which is a big business in this state – in a place which doesn’t allow you to protect yourself while eating.

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Restaurant Carry In NC Now In Finance Committee

June 10, 2012 by

HB 111, the North Carolina restaurant carry bill, now resides in the State Senate’s Finance Committee. Grass Roots North Carolina has just sent out an alert asking people to push their State Senator to move this bill.

HB 111 now resides in the Senate finance committee…
Time is getting short, and if this critical bill doesn’t move soon there is a chance it will die in committee. We have worked too hard for too long to allow this to happen.

Please send the reminder – or one of your own – shown below to your Senator. This is ESPECIALLY important if your Senator is on the Senate Finance Committee. Let them know that you want them to use their power to get Restaurant Carry (HB 111) to the Senate floor for passage.

Immediate Action Required

Email YOUR Senator.
Tell them to do what they can to move HB 111 to the Senate floor for a vote.
Find your State Senator’s email address using the NCGA web tool here: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.html

Deliver This Message

Suggested Subject: Act Now to Move Restaurant Carry

Dear Senator:

Forty-four other states already have some form of restaurant carry. It is past time for North Carolina to join this group. Restaurants see more than their share of violent crime, and law-abiding citizens have a right to protect themselves and their families everywhere within our state.

As my Senator I respectfully ask that you do all in your power to move HB 111 to the Senate floor for a vote.

I will be following progress through Grass Roots North Carolina alerts.

Sincerely,

A Concerned North Carolina Voter

The issue is starting to attract the attention of the local news media. WLOS Asheville had a story on it yesterday with the obligatory comment from a woman who didn’t think you should carry a firearm and drink. Of course, the bill does not allow you to carry concealed and drink anything stronger than sweet tea but facts such as this never trouble the local media.

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GRNC On Restaurant Carry In North Carolina

June 8, 2012 by 2 Comments

As I said in my update on HB 111, Sean Sorrentino at An NC Gun blog has done a great job going over the details of the committee substitute to HB 111 which deals with, among other things, concealed carry in restaurants and eating establishments.

Grass Roots North Carolina has more on the bill as well as some info from the hearing yesterday. From their email alert:

HB 111 is unanimously approved, but moved to another committee…

There were a few modifications made, some good, some not so good, but if enacted our main goal of concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcohol will be achieved!

Additional restrictions to and penalties for weapons possession by felons have been added, along with clarification of park areas wherein carry is permitted.

The modified park language will improve statewide uniformity that has been cynically attacked by several municipalities following enactment of last year’s HB 650.

Improvements include carry specifically allowed on bike paths and walking trails. Disappointing exclusion of carry within certain restroom/dressing/storage facilities has now been added.

If voted into law, restaurant carry becomes effective Jan 1, 2013.

GRNC Volunteers Attend Judiciary II Meeting

A newer member of GRNC’s Assembly watch-dog team, Josette Chmiel gave important testimony in favor of HB 111. Her testimony was so compelling it has been quoted in the News & Observer’s coverage of the meeting. Josette’s powerful words flipped the votes of at least two Senators who, just prior to the meeting, had pledged opposition. As a result, the bill was unanimously passed. Here is brief excerpt of Josette’s testimony:

“Not everyone who frequents a bar or restaurant drinks. I regularly enjoy going out with friends to restaurants that serve alcohol. When I leave that restaurant & walk to the parking garage, I automatically become a potential victim. Look at me. I am your wife, your daughter, your fiancé. And I can be a victim of a crime and not be able to defend myself because I was not permitted to carry in the restaurant. Every time I leave a bar or restaurant, I put myself at risk.”

If you meet Josette, thank her for a job well done!

Turfed to another committee?

Although in our grasp, victory remains uncertain. For reasons we are not yet sure of, HB 111 was routed to yet another committee rather than immediately to the Senate floor where we are confident we have the votes to pass it.

We will have more information about the reasons for this routing and their implications soon. Additional pressure may need to be applied to move this bill the floor for the vote IT DESERVES!

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Update On HB 489 – The Effort To Negate The Bateman Win

June 1, 2012 by 3 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina sent out an update yesterday evening on HB 489. This was the attempt to re-write North Carolina’s state of emergency gun ban that would have negated the win in Bateman v. Perdue. It now appears that all efforts to re-write the gun ban have failed and that the NC General Assembly will just vote to repeal the offending law.

From GRNC:

Congratulate yourselves on applying pressure that has resulted in another GRNC win added to a growing trend of recent pro-freedom victories. As you recall, in the case Bateman v. Perdue, GRNC and SAF won the lawsuit over North Carolina’s ban on transporting firearms outside the home during declared states of emergency, resulting in the law being declared unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Because the state chose not to appeal, the decision stands and our unconstitutional law had to be repealed.

Rather than simply repealing the ban, however, NC Senate staffers apparently ran amok and drafted replacement language which was worse than the original law. But after GRNC issued alerts to tens of thousands of gun owners, your input shut down the committee and forced them to reconsider.

Suffice to say you made quite an impression. Instead replacing an unconstitutional gun ban with yet another unconstitutional gun ban, and even including language to “authorize” your right to bear arms in your home during emergencies, as did HB 489, the SOE gun ban is headed for repeal pending an almost certain floor vote in the Senate and House concurrence. This is what should have happened from the very beginning, and serves as a reminder that we need to remain ever vigilant against anti-gun legislation.

This is good news. More importantly, it emphasizes the need to keep an eye on the state legislature to nip these bills in the bud. Without an organized and aggressive state level organization this might have gone through. If you don’t belong to a state level gun rights organization like GRNC, CalGuns, or whatever your state has to offer, you should strongly consider it. The NRA-ILA can only do so much and state-level organizations fill in the gap. Or in the case of organizations like GRNC and CalGuns, lead the way.

WizardPC at Guns, Car, & Tech is assembling a list of these organizations. Check there to find your state’s organization if you don’t know it already.

UPDATE: Two North Carolina gun bloggers, Knitebane and Mark of a Free Man, have been doing some detective work into just who rewrote HB 489 in an effort to negate the Bateman win. No state senator is taking credit for the substitute language and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary I committee won’t identify the author. The person that they come up with makes sense to me. Go here to read the full story. It makes for some interesting reading.

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Update On Attempt To Negate Bateman Win

May 24, 2012 by

Grass Roots North Carolina sent out an update this evening regarding the NC Senate Judiciary I committee substitute for HB 489. The proposed language of this substitute would effectively negate the win that Alan Gura secured in Bateman v. Perdue.

The substitute has been pulled from the calendar to give the Judiciary I committee “more time to study the issue.” As to why it was even proposed, GRNC speculates that it was legislative staff run amok.

What is becoming clearer, however, is that this might be a case of inadequately supervised staffers running amok. When emergency management bill HB 843 went to the Senate Judiciary I Committee, it still contained the language found unconstitutional in Bateman. Committee chair Sen. Pete Brunstetter then reportedly gave it to staff to “fix.” But instead of simply repealing the now-unconstitutional gun ban, they apparently took it upon themselves to draft new gun bans. Equally clear is that although HB 489 was Rep. “Skip” Stam’s bill, Stam wasn’t even informed that his bill would be gutted before it was attempted.

What remains to be seen is whether Brunstetter and other Republicans will do the right thing and simply repeal the old ban. Right now, too many are still making noises about using gun bans to combat looting during natural or manmade disasters – once again falling for the old trap of targeting lawful guns instead of unlawful behavior.

GRNC is now asking that people contact their state senator (as opposed to the committee members) and make their displeasure known. You can find out your state senator (if you don’t already know) by going to this link and putting in your ZIP+4. If you don’t know your ZIP+4, you can find it on your driver’s license or most any piece of mail coming to your home.

The suggested letter composed by GRNC reads:

Dear Senator:

I strongly urge you to oppose the Proposed Committee Substitute for House Bill 489: “Dangerous Weapons Restrictions in Emergencies” (H489-CSSA-71 [v.4]). The bill would be more accurately titled: “Gun Rights Authorized by Bureaucrats.”

North Carolina’s existing ban on bearing arms outside the home was recently declared unconstitutional under the Second Amendment by a federal court in the case Bateman v. Perdue. But instead of simply repealing what is now a largely unenforceable statute, HB 489 would replace it with an even more insidious ban.

That HB 489’s long title describes “authorizing” arms and ammunition in the home speaks volumes about the bill. Language purporting to restrict cities from banning guns outside the home is vague to the point of being useless; the bill is sloppily drafted; and worst of all, it stipulates for the first time which lawful firearm-related activities I may or may not exercise IN MY OWN HOME.

Understand that I will accept NO NEW GUN BANS, but only the repeal of the state of emergency gun ban found unconstitutional in Bateman.

Please advise me of your position on this issue. I will be monitoring it via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

This is too important an issue to just let other people do it. If you live in North Carolina and you value your gun rights, get off your duff, copy and paste this message into an email, and send it.

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GRNC Annual Meeting And Dinner

May 14, 2012 by

Grass Roots North Carolina will be having their annual meeting and dinner this coming Saturday, May 19th, in Greensboro. If you live in the Piedmont area, you should take advantage of this. I bought my ticket last week and I’ll be attending.

Below is the update on this from GRNC:

GRNC dinner will honor Rep. Mark Hilton
With only a few tickets remaining, act now to secure your place at the table for GRNC’s Annual Dinner. This is a very special time as we honor a hero of the gun rights community. Sadly, the Honorable Mark Hilton (R-Catawba, GRNC ****) will not run for re-election in 2012. First elected with GRNC Political Victory Fund support in 1996, Hilton has sponsored legislation for concealed handgun reciprocity, bypassing handgun purchase permits, parks and restaurant carry, Castle Doctrine and far more. He has been instrumental in GRNC’s success in killing scores of gun control bills.

GRNC ANNUAL MEETING & DINNER

At its May 19 annual meeting and dinner, GRNC will honor Rep. Hilton with the presentation of a Remington Model 1911 pistol as the organization’s first “Lifetime Freedom Achievement Award” recipient. Please join us in honoring this patriot.

The dinner will immediately follow GRNC’s annual meeting and board of directors election at the Clarion Greensboro Airport Hotel.

Reservations for the dinner are required and available for $37.50 by going to:

https://mobipledge.mobi/GRNC/webpledge/dinner.php

DETAILS

Date: Saturday, May 19, 2012
Time: Annual Meeting: 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM*
Annual Dinner: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: Clarion Greensboro Airport Hotel, 415 Swing Road, Greensboro, NC 27409, conveniently located off I-40 at Exit 213.

* GRNC voting members will receive proxy cards by mail in the next few days. If you cannot attend the annual meeting, please return the proxy card using the directions on the card.

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GRNC Steps Up Pressure On Bank Of America

April 27, 2012 by

Grass Roots North Carolina is stepping up the pressure on Bank of America to come clean on their treatment of businesses in the firearms industry. Bank of America is a North Carolina company headquartered in Charlotte.

Why doesn’t ‘Bank of (Un)America’ issue a statement of support for the Second Amendment?

GRNC has been in direct contact with Charlotte-based Bank of America. While expressing sympathy, Bank representatives have publicly side-stepped the issue of gun rights, tried to imply blame on firearms-related businesses by hiding behind unclear “confidentiality concerns” and when offered an opportunity to clarify support of the right to keep and bear arms on GRNC’s website, they offered the following cynical non-response:

“…it is absolutely not true that we would dismiss a customer purely based on being in this (firearms-related) industry. In reviewing the facts of the case, we do believe there was a miscommunication with this client, and we have already reinforced our policies with our teams and with the client. We have also discussed with the client a transition period during which the client may be able to obtain a new source of funding.”

Remember, these “reinforced policies” led them to abruptly cut the credit lines of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, Inc; manufacturer of firearms and accessories, including vital components of the M40A3 Marine Corps sniper rifle currently used by our forces in Afghanistan. This step was taken by BoU Senior Vice President Ray Fox who reportedly indicated to McMillan that the decision was “politically motivated”.

These attacks are being launched from our backyards

If they want to behave like they are from Bloomberg’s NYC, they can move. While they are in the free state of North Carolina they will act responsibly or answer to US!

They go on to ask people to cut up their Bank of America credit cards, drop their accounts, email bank officials, and use social media to get the word out. The full alert can be found here along with email links and Twitter links.

GRNC is demanding that Bank of America publicly announce that they support Second Amendment businesses and to instruct their managers of that.