Uncategorized

For 76th Director

April 15, 2025 by 1 Comment

The reformers aka NRA 2.0 have coalesced on supporting Charles Hiltunen III for the 76th Director. As Frank Tait notes in his Substack post, he is fully supporting Charlie for the 76th Director. He asks that anyone considering supporting him to please support Charlie.

As I’ve said earlier here and elsewhere, I am disappointed that Frank Tait didn’t make the cut. He would have been a valuable addition to the Board based upon his experience with non-profit boards, finance, and audit. As he finished 32nd in the race, two more resignations or deaths put him on the Board.

Charlie is an attorney, lobbyist, instructor, and shooting coach. In addition, he is the President of the Indiana State Rifle & Pistol Association and is the Chair-elect of the Crossroads Council BSA. He touches all the bases and I think he should be elected as the 76th Director. That he, Frank, and Todd Vandermyde didn’t make the cut greatly surprised me.

We don’t know who will be his primary opponent but I suspect it will either be Tom King or Ron Schmeits.

As a reminder, anyone who is a NRA member attending the Annual Meeting in Atlanta is eligible to vote for the 76th Director. I understand voting is in Room 403 on the 4th Floor of Building B of the Georgia World Congress Center which is where you pick up your credentials for the Meeting of Members. Voting closes at the conclusion of the Meeting of Members.

Uncategorized

Copycatting 2A Scholarship

April 12, 2025 by 1 Comment

Building a body of legal scholarship that recognized the Second Amendment as an individual right was a goal that began over 50 years ago. This is what was known as the Standard Model. Early law review works include Of Arms and the Law by Dave Hardy and John Stompoly (1974 – Chicago-Kent Law Review), Handgun prohibition and the original meaning of the Second Amendment by Don Kates (1983 – Michigan Law Review), and The Embarrassing Second Amendment by Sanford Levinson (1989 – Yale Law Journal). Of course there were many more before the landmark DC v. Heller. The key was that they provided a body of scholarship that could be used to combat the idea that the Second Amendment only was a collective right.

As with all good things, copycats will take them, pervert them, and use them for their own nefarious purposes.

Submissions have opened for our third annual Everytown Law writing competition! If you are a law student interested in ways of utilizing litigation and the law to advance gun violence prevention, this is for you! Accepting submissions now through June 20: etwn.us/3Tq4vWD

[image or embed]

— Everytown for Gun Safety (@everytown.bsky.social) April 11, 2025 at 6:42 PM

Thus Everytown Law is trying to make up a body of legal scholarship that is supportive of gun control by giving monetary awards to law students. Winners have included papers that support bans on carry on public transport, attempts to find ways to pierce the PLCAA, finding supposed historical precedent for control of gunmaking, and support for red flag laws. The winners have come from prestigious law schools including Stanford, Yale, and Duke among others.

The gun control industry has already captured much of “Big Law” and now is trying to do the same with law schools and law students. I have written about such a program at the University of Minnesota Law School that is working with that state’s anti-gun Attorney General Keith Ellison on gun control laws. You have the Duke Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law School which is trying to provide the gun control industry with scholarly research to make a case for more regulation.

As an antidote for this is the Firearms Research Center at the University of Wyoming College of Law. The Center is directed by 2A scholar George Mocsary. Firearms historian Ashley Hlebinsky is the executive director and legal scholar David Kopel is a Senior Fellow.

As with everything coming out of the gun control industry it bears keeping an eye on.

Uncategorized

Celebration Dinner

April 11, 2025 by 10 Comments

Yesterday was cold and rainy so we waited until tonight to have our celebration dinner for me winning a seat on the Board of Directors.

We went to a little pub and restaurant called The Flying Squirrel Pub which is close to us. Prior to being The Flying Squirrel they were known as Voodoo Brewing and only rebranded a day ago.

We had a giant pretzel with beer cheese and sliders which was plenty for dinner. I had a Pluff Mud Porter from Holy City Brewing out of Charleston, SC which was very nutty which I loved.

Not only was the food good and the service great but it had a nice, friendly atmosphere with lots of families with their kids as well as guys stopping for a beer on their way home from work. It was a fitting place to celebrate our win.

Uncategorized

NRA Election Results In Order

April 11, 2025 by 13 Comments

I received this in an email from John Frazer just a few minutes ago. It is the unofficial (but almost official) order of finish. I have marked those on the NRA 2.0 ticket in bold. The official official results with vote totals will be announced at the Meeting of Members.

I don’t know who each side will be pushing for the 76th Director yet. When I know, I’ll post it.

The incorporation amendment was fairly noncontroversial once people understood it and passed with a 97% affirmative vote.

ELECTED FOR THREE-YEAR TERMS ENDING IN 2028

  1. Mitzy McCorvey
  2. Jack Hagan
  3. Howard L. Massingill Jr.
  4. Willes K. Lee
  5. Sharon Callan
  6. Sandra S. Froman
  7. James Fotis
  8. Cathy Wright
  9. Bob Barr
  10. Larry E. Craig
  11. Theresa Inacker
  12. Carol Frampton
  13. Todd Ellis
  14. Jason Wilson
  15. Jonathan S. Goldstein
  16. Dwight D. Van Horn
  17. Al Hammond
  18. Blaine Wade
  19. John Richardson
  20. James A. Sheckels
  21. Philip Gray
  22. Knox Williams
  23. Anthony P. Colandro
  24. Lawrence Finder
  25. Robert Scott Emslie

ELECTED FOR A TWO-YEAR TERM ENDING IN 2027

  1. Joel Friedman

ELECTED FOR A ONE-YEAR TERM ENDING IN 2026

  1. Richard Fairburn
  2. James W. Porter II
  3. Danny Stowers

NOT ELECTED — ELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR 76TH DIRECTOR

  1. John C. Sigler*
  2. Gene T. Roach
  3. Frank Tait
  4. Charles T. Hiltunen III
  5. Regis Synan
  6. Todd Vandermyde
  7. Tom King
  8. Jeffrey Fleetham
  9. Ronald L. Schmeits
  10. David Mitten
  11. Richard Todd Figard
  12. Kim Rhode
  13. James L. Wallace
  14. Charles Rowe
  15. Lucretia Hughes Klucken
  16. Isaac Demarest
  17. Steven Dulan
  18. Lane Ruhland
  19. Greer Johnson
  20. Mark Shuell

(* At Mr. Sigler’s request, his name will not be included on the 76th Director ballot.)

As an additional reminder,  Board member Ken Blackwell has submitted his resignation, to take effect after the Board meeting on April 30 (and after the results of the 76th Director election are announced on April 26).  After the Board meeting, Mr. Blackwell’s resignation will take effect and create a new vacancy. The top remaining runner-up from the mail ballot will complete the final year of Mr. Blackwell’s term. 

SPECIAL BALLOT RESULT

Finally, the Board-recommended amendment to the certificate of incorporation (changing the NRA to a “non-charitable” not-for-profit corporation under New York law) was approved by a 97% to 3% margin. 

Uncategorized

Only A Day Late!

April 10, 2025 by

March 9th was National Gin and Tonic Day. This is not to be confused with International Gin and Tonic Day which will be on October 19th.

I apologize for being a day late with the notification but I had other things on my mind.

My biggest suggestion about making a good gin and tonic is to use a quality tonic water such a Fever Tree, Q, or Franklin & Sons. You can get by with a just OK gin but not a crappy tonic water.

Uncategorized

Elected!

April 10, 2025 by 7 Comments

From Stephanie Daniels, Asst NRA Secretary, at 12:06pm

Congratulations! Based on the draft report of the ballot results, you have been elected to the NRA Board of Directors for a three-year term ending in 2028. The newly elected Directors will be recognized at the Annual Meeting of Members in Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, April 26, and will take office upon the adjournment of the meeting. The Board will meet on Monday, April 28. Authorization to attend the meetings will be emailed to you under separate cover. We look forward to seeing you there.

In terms of who else has been elected, I know Theresa Inacker, Jim Sheckels, and Scott Emslie. According to my email with Rocky Marshall, so far we know that 7 of NRA 2.0 were elected and 3 were not.

UPDATE 1: You can add Anthony Colandro, Al Hammond, and Todd Ellis to the list of those elected. On the downside, it just kills me that Todd Vandermyde did not get elected. He had a ton of great ideas plus the experience to make the difference in legislative affairs.

UPDATE 2: In addition to Todd, I heard that David Mitten, Regis Synan, Todd Figard, Jim Wallace, and, shockingly, Frank Tait were not elected from the NRA 2.0 team. I did hear that Bob Barr and Sandy Froman were re-elected.

On the plus side, Jim Porter, Knox Williams, Jonathan Goldstein, Philip Gray, Willes Lee, and Cathy Wright were elected from the NRA 2.0 team. Additionally, Tom King was not re-elected.

UPDATE 3: Rounding out the results for NRA 2.0 team, Mitzy McCorvey, Jack Hagan, Howard Massingill, Dick Fairburn, Jim Fotis, and Jason Wilson were elected. On the downside, Charles Hiltunen along with the two write-in candidates, Paul Babaz and Charles Brown, were not elected.

I don’t have the rank order of candidates yet but have heard it will be sent to the Board tomorrow. It should also be posted on the publications website after that so perhaps Friday or more likely Monday.

Uncategorized

Beware Scammers!

April 9, 2025 by 1 Comment

I got one of those fake Paypal invoices today for a .50 caliber double barrel shotgun.

I’m like WTF?

Now here is the funny part. There is actually such a thing as a Seneca Double Shot .50 cal Double Barrel Shotgun. Turns out it is an air-shotgun. Think air rifle but made up as a shotgun. Even Midway USA carries it!

I’m not sure why I’d want a air shotgun given all the choices available in “real” shotguns. Nonetheless I learned something like that actually exists. I guess I should thank the scammers for broadening my horizons.

Uncategorized

Some Good News On Tariffs

April 8, 2025 by

If you went abroad hunting and are having personally hunted trophies returned in either finished or “dip and pack” form, these are not subject to the newly announced reciprocal tariffs. This is good news! However, if you bought curios made from animal parts or things like a zebra rug from an animal that you didn’t shoot, they are subject to the tariffs.

Personally, I have the trophies from my two trips to South Africa in process with taxidermists over there so it makes me very happy.

Doug Cockcroft of Splitting Image Taxidermy has more on it in the video below. I did get a chance to visit his facility last June in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The finished work was outstanding and I can’t wait to get my taxidermy from them.