NRA

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Irony

June 15, 2011 by

Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, in his written testimony submitted for the hearings into Operation Fast and Furious, relies upon a position taken by the head of the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel during the Reagan years for refusing to provide all the documents requested by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The most basic justification for the policy follows from the Constitution’s careful separation of legislative and executive powers, the purpose of which is to protect individual liberty. As Charles J. Cooper, the Assistant Attorney General heading the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel during the Reagan Administration, explained in 1986, providing a congressional committee with sensitive, Executive Branch information about an ongoing law enforcement investigation would put Congress in an inappropriate position of exercising influence over or pressure on the investigation or possible prosecution. See Congressional Requests, 10 Op. O.L.C. at 76.

In what can only be called a delicious irony, the most anti-gun administration in recent memory has had to rely upon the writings of pro-gun attorney Charles J. Cooper to defend their position. Cooper and his law firm Cooper and Kirk serve as the attorneys for a number of the Second Amendment lawsuits brought by the National Rifle Association. Among the more notable include Benson v. Chicago which challenges the New Chicago Gun Law and both of the D’Cruz cases in Texas.

(edited)

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An Open Letter From Paul Valone, President Of Grass Roots North Carolina

June 14, 2011 by 2 Comments

F. Paul Valone, President of Grass Roots North Carolina, just sent out this open letter regarding SB 594, HB 650, amendments, and the emergency powers gun ban. It shouldn’t come as surprise that I agree 100% with Paul on this if you have read this blog for more than a week.

I am a Life Member of both the National Rifle Association and of the Second Amendment Foundation. I also belong to Grass Roots North Carolina. As Paul says, this isn’t about the NRA or GRNC. I’d also add in the Second Amendment Foundation. It is about being smart and not-short sighted. We are in a Long War to regain our freedom and our God-given rights to protect ourselves and our families. We lost these rights bit by bit and now must win them back bit by bit. Among the tools we need to win are legal precedents. A case that gets mooted never becomes a precedent.

OPEN LETTER FROM PAUL VALONE:

IS SB 594 THE RIGHT BILL?

To: North Carolina Gun Rights Supporters

From: GRNC President F. Paul Valone

Members of the NRA recently received postcards urging them to call NC Senate leadership in support of Senate Bill 594, described in the postcard as “an emergency powers bill [to] ensure that our Right to Keep and Bear Arms cannot be suspended” during declared states of emergency.

But while North Carolina’s state of emergency law is indeed a problem, SB 594 is the wrong solution. Worse, it seems to be a short-sighted effort by the NRA to grab credit for what some would have you believe to be a victory.

Why? Because it would render moot – and cause the dismissal – of crucial litigation to expand recognition of the Second Amendment in the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is Bateman v. Perdue. Together with the Michael Bateman, Virgil Green, Forrest Minges, and the Second Amendment Foundation, GRNC is working with Alan Gura – the winner of DC v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago – the cases which led the Supreme Court to affirm the individual right to keep and bear arms.

Although GRNC has made numerous entreaties to NRA representatives to back the Bateman case, they have apparently fallen on deaf ears. Just as the NRA tried to derail the DC v. Heller decision in its early stages through its attempts to repeal the DC gun ban, now it apparently wants gun owners to regard GRNC – the state’s most vocal and effective gun rights organization – as somehow “anti-gun” for realizing that SB 594 is a short-sighted and misguided vehicle to advance gun rights.

Gun rights supporters have two choices:

* Help the NRA achieve a narrow, short-sighted win by amending HB 650 or other gun bills to include language from SB 594, the now-dead “state of emergency” bill; or

* Help Gura, SAF and GRNC expand the interpretation of the Second Amendment, which will not only render North Carolina’s state of emergency law unconstitutional, but will advance gun rights for everyone, everywhere.

Don’t support GRNC. Don’t support the NRA: SUPPORT THE SECOND AMENDMENT! And do so by helping Bateman v. Perdue expand your right to keep and bear arms.

Armatissimi e liberissimi,

F. Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina

I would also urge you to read Sean Sorrentino’s post that went up this afternoon entitled More Respectful Disagreement. It is an excellent post and I think his ideas are on the mark.

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An Area In Which The NRA Excels

June 4, 2011 by

The legislative arena along with the concomitant lobbying is one of the areas in which the National Rifle Association really excels. The embedded letter below is evidence of their success.

The letter to President Barack Obama urges him to stop the stonewalling over Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker). It was spearheaded by Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) who was one of the keynote speakers at the recent NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh. The letter is signed by 31Congressional Democrats.

In an ideal world, the NRA would concentrate on training, the legislative arena, and other areas in which being a mass organization really helps and leave the court challenges to the Second Amendment Foundation. While the NRA does have good lawyers, it is the Second Amendment Foundation that has the agility, smarts, and legal expertise in Alan Gura to bring the strategic Second Amendment cases which will get the appellate wins.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world. There are some in the NRA’s hierarchy who believe the NRA has to be the be-all and end-all of all things Second Amendment. The result so far has been a number of “me, too” cases, overly broad complaints, and poorly vetted plaintiffs as well as interference in the strategic civil rights litigation of the Second Amendment Foundation. It is time for the adults in the NRA to rein in those who seek organizational glory at the expense of the Second Amendment.

Project Gunrunner Letter to POTUS June 2011(function() { var scribd = document.createElement(“script”); scribd.type = “text/javascript”; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = “http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

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But What Will The Violence Policy Center Say?

May 27, 2011 by 4 Comments

Ruger is attempting to become the first firearms manufacturer to sell one million guns in one year. They issued the following release saying what happens if they meet their sales goal.


Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the “Million Gun Challenge” to benefit the NRA. Ruger pledges to donate $1,000,000 to the NRA if one million new Ruger firearms are sold between the 2011 and 2012 NRA Shows.

“Our goal is to present the NRA with a check for one million dollars during the 141st NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis next April,” said Ruger CEO Mike Fifer. “This substantial donation would reflect a record-breaking feat in the firearms industry, as we believe no company has every sold one million firearms in a 12-month period. With the help of our loyal customers, we hope to make history and to share that accomplishment with the NRA.”

I’m sure that Josh Sugarman and Kristen Rand at the Violence Policy Center are jumping up and down for joy thinking that they have just been vindicated. They have been saying that the NRA is just a tool for firearms manufacturers and that is why the MidwayUSA’s, the Rugers, the Glocks, etc. “subsidize” (i.e., donate money) to the NRA. I wonder what they will do once they realize that this means another million firearms in the hands of freedom-loving, Second Amendment backing Americans?

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ISRA Says Anti-Gun Legislators Only Have Themselves To Blame For Lawsuits

May 17, 2011 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association release the following which notes that the failure to pass HB 148 robs the Illinois State Police of money needed to upgrade their background check system and is directly responsible for the lawsuits filed by the NRA, ISRA, and the Second Amendment Foundation.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

Illinois gun control advocates and their allies in the General Assembly delivered a “triple-whammy” against public safety recently when they sabotaged passage of HB148.

Under the provisions of HB148, well-trained, well-qualified Illinois citizens would be permitted to carry defensive firearms to protect themselves and their families from violent criminals. At the same time, HB148 would have provided upwards of $40 million in permit fees to the Illinois State Police to pay for upgrades to the state’s antiquated gun buyer background check system.

But, thanks to the short-sighted efforts of the gun control movement and its friends in the Illinois House, tens of thousands of law-abiding Illinois citizens will continue to suffer at the hands of murderers, robbers and rapists because they cannot lawfully defend themselves. Likewise, the gun control movement can take credit for saddling the state police with a background check system based on software developed in 1959.

Rounding out the triple whammy-against the citizens of Illinois is the fact that the actions of gun control advocates are to blame for a pair of lawsuits filed this week in federal court against the State of Illinois. Both lawsuits – one filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the other filed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the ISRA – contend that the state is damaging law-abiding citizens by prohibiting the carrying of defensive firearms.

In a nut shell, the gun control movement’s efforts the kill HB148 have ensured that Illinois remains one of the most dangerous places to live in the United States. In addition to causing the loss of $40 million for better background checks, the gun control movement is now responsible for Illinois having to shell out millions in taxpayer dollars to pay legal bills related to the SAF and NRA/ISRA lawsuits. Once again, the extremist views of the gun control movement are costing the good people of Illinois dearly.

“The ISRA is very excited about being a plaintiff in the NRA/ISRA lawsuit,” commented ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. “This lawsuit defines the cutting edge of one of the most important questions of the day. That is, does the state have the right to decide who is worth defending and who is not?”

“The fact that two lawsuits have been filed against the State of Illinois this week is proof-positive that this issue is not going to go away,” continued Pearson. “The behind the scenes political gamesmanship that resulted in the scuttling of HB148 has not diminished the resolve of the good people of Illinois. Whether it is in the courts, in the legislature, or at the ballot box, we will relentlessly push forward until the citizen’s right to self defense is restored in Illinois.”

The ISRA is the state’s leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.

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Castle Doctrine In North Carolina Is Out Of Committee

February 23, 2011 by

SB 34, the first castle doctrine bill filed, has been reported out of the NC Senate Judiciary II committee. It will come to the floor of the State Senate as early as tomorrow.

As I discussed earlier, this bill had been criticized as not going far enough as it did not cover people in their vehicles nor did it have a “stand your ground” provision. These defects have been remedied as the Judiciary II committee adopted substitute language to strengthen the bill. It now adds both of these provisions.

Both the NRA and Grass Roots North Carolina have indicated their support and approval of the strengthened bill. The NRA released this tonight:

Earlier today, NRA-supported “Castle Doctrine” self-defense legislation was favorably amended and reported by the Senate Judiciary II Committee. The full Senate will now consider this important legislation, which could take place as early as tomorrow.

Introduced by state Senators Andrew Brock (R-34), Doug Berger (D-7) and Kathy Harrington (R-43), Senate Bill 34 would codify the “Castle Doctrine” in the home, as well as establish immunity from civil lawsuits for those who use lethal force to defend themselves or their loved ones while in their home. The bill was amended to add automobiles to the Castle Doctrine protections, as well as “Stand Your Ground” language. This greatly expands the legislation to offer more protections for law-abiding citizens who use their firearms for personal protection.

Please contact your state Senator TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to support your right to self-defense and pass Senate Bill 34 when it comes up for a vote.

From an alert sent out by Grass Roots North Carolina this evening to its members:

Under guidance from Grass Roots North Carolina, the Senate Judiciary II Committee today passed SB 34: “Castle Doctrine” in a stronger version which could ultimately create the most comprehensive such law in the country.

Thanks to the efforts of Sens. Buck Newton (R-, GRNC ****) and Andrew Brock (R-Davie/Rowan, ****), an amendment was made to the bill to incorporate most of the desirable features of HB 74, plus an added protection against crime in the workplace.

GRNC Legislative Action Team members were heavily involved in improving the language of the bill, drafting and reviewing sections, and providing information to sponsors and committee members.

Speaking on behalf of the bill were Sens. Berger, Clary, Daniel, Newton, and Tucker. Raising questions about the bill were Sens. Dannelly and McKissick. Sen. Berger initially offered an amendment to remove workplaces, but later withdrew the amendment and voted for the bill. SB 34 passed unanimously.

Improvements made to SB 34 include:
* Presumption of reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury when an attacker makes an unlawful and forcible entry not only of a home, but also a motor vehicle and a workplace. Beyond including the carjacking protection long-sought by GRNC, this may be the first law in the country to include the workplace among protected areas
* “No duty to retreat” before using deadly force in anyplace the victim has a lawful right to be.
* Protection against malicious prosecution: Police may not arrest a victim forced to use deadly force unless they have probable cause to believe the use of force was unjustified.

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Blood Drenched Organization?

February 13, 2011 by 4 Comments

Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC’s “The Last Word” describes the NRA as a blood drenched organization in his “rewrite” of Wayne LaPierre’s CPAC speech. He goes on to say that “the merchants of death” aka firearms manufacturers pay Wayne’s salary. And here I thought it was my dues as a NRA member that paid them.

If Lawrence O’Donnell is considered by MSNBC to be the man to replace Keith Olbermann, it is obvious that he was chosen because of his gift for hyperbole and snide nastiness. Weren’t progressives bemoaning “hate-filled” political rhetoric only a few weeks ago? Mr. O’Donnell must not have gotten the memo.

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I’ll Believe It When I See Her In Pittsburgh

January 19, 2011 by 1 Comment

Rachel Maddow had Meghan McCain as a guest on her show Monday. In her discussion with McCain about guns, gun control, and McCain’s NRA membership, Maddow revealed that her first date with her partner Susan Mikula was at an NRA Ladies Day on the Range event.

Meghan McCain then invited her to attend the NRA Annual Meeting and Maddow accepted. Then McCain went on to make stupid comments about how no one “needs” standard capacity magazines. I’ll believe Maddow was serious about her acceptance when I see her at the Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of April. Heck, I’ll believe McCain is a NRA member when I see her there as well.

The comments begin at about the 8:55 mark and it is at the 10:00 mark where McCain discusses the “need” for, in her words, “extended capacity” magazines. As to “need”, little Miss McCain ought to heed the advice of Uncle when he says “Whats need got to do with it?”