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The Vote To Abolish The Special Litigation Committee

September 23, 2024 by 2 Comments

As has been reported elsewhere, the vote to abolish the NRA Board’s Special Litigation Committee failed as it didn’t get a super-majority. The good news was that it was done with a roll call vote which can now be reported. Thanks to Jeff Knox and his obtaining clearance to report the vote which is public information, we know who voted to abolish the SLC, who voted to keep it (and Brewer), and who was either absent or abstained.

The final vote was 34 in favor of rescinding the resolution authorizing the creation of the SLC with 26 opposed. There were 16 abstentions or absences reported. While there was a majority, it did not meet the threshold to rescind the resolution and abolish the SLC.

While those in favor should not all be considered reformers and all those opposed are not necessarily cabal supporters, it does give some indication of each director’s leanings. As such, with preparation for the 2025 election of directors in full swing, here is the roll call vote. I have annotated with whether or not the director could be up for election, if they were re-nominated by the Nominating Committee, or if they having to run by petition. A star next to the name of the director indicates their term will expire in 2025.

In favor of abolishing the SLC:

  • Paul D. Babaz (*, petition)
  • Bill Bachenberg
  • Clel Baudler
  • Ted W. Carter
  • Anthony P. Colandro (*, Nom Comm)
  • Rick Ector
  • Todd R. Ellis (*, Nom Comm)
  • Dennis Fusaro
  • Craig Haggard
  • Al Hammond (*, Nom Comm)
  • Maria Heil
  • Charles T. Hiltunen (*, Nom Comm)
  • Phillip B. Journey
  • Susannah Warner Kipke (resigned)
  • Jeffrey A. Knox
  • Willes K. Lee (*, petition)
  • Robert E. Mansell
  • Rocky Marshall
  • Owen Buz Mills
  • David Norcross (*, not running for reelection)
  • Janet D. Nyce
  • James W. Porter II (*, petition)
  • David A. Raney
  • Ronald L. Schmeits (*, Nom Comm)
  • Steven C. Schreiner
  • Leroy Sisco
  • Amanda Suffecool
  • Craig Swartz
  • Mark E. Vaughan
  • Linda L. Walker
  • James L. Wallace (*, Nom Comm)
  • Bruce Widener
  • Robert Wos
  • Cathy S. Wright (*, Nom Comm)

Those in favor of keeping the SLC:

  • Joe M. Allbaugh
  • Scott L. Bach
  • Charles R. Beers III
  • Donald J. Bradway
  • J. William Carter
  • Patricia A. Clark
  • Charles L. Cotton
  • David G. Coy
  • Larry E. Craig (*, Nom Comm)
  • Isaac Demarest (*, Nom Comm)
  • Steven W. Dulan (*, Nom Comm)
  • Edie P. Fleeman
  • Carol Frampton (*, Nom Comm)
  • Joel Friedman (*, Nom Comm)
  • Sandra S. Froman (*, Nom Comm)
  • Curtis S. Jenkins
  • Amy Heath Lovato
  • Bill Miller
  • Johnny Nugent
  • Jay Printz
  • Kim Rhode (*)
  • Barbara Rumpel
  • Don Saba
  • Danny Stowers (*, Nom Comm)
  • Dwight D. Van Horn (*, Nom Comm)
  • Eb Wilkinson

Abstentions or absences:

  • Thomas Arvas
  • Bob Barr (*, abstained, Nom Comm)
  • Ronnie Barrett
  • Kenneth Blackwell
  • Matt Blunt
  • Dean Cain
  • Marion Hammer (*, absent-health, not re-nominated)
  • Niger Innis
  • Tom King (*, absent-health, Nom Comm)
  • Mitzi McCorvey (*, Nom Comm)
  • Mark Robinson
  • Wayne Anthony Ross
  • Jim Tomes
  • Blaine Wade (*, absent, Nom Comm)
  • Howard Walter
  • Judi White

While the reformers hold the majority for now, three of them – Babaz, Lee, and Porter – can only get on the ballot for 2025 if they gather enough petition signatures. Furthermore, David Norcross will not be running for reelection and Susannah Kipke has resigned to take the position of Deputy Director for Advancement within the NRA. She will be replaced by John Sigler who probably is not a reformer and who is on the ballot thanks to the Nominating Committee. This means potentially a swing of five votes to the cabal.

This reemphasizes the importance of gathering enough petitions to get the reformers running by petition on the ballot. In addition, while I will be on the ballot thanks to the Nominating Committee, being placed on it by petition would give me a leg up on some of the cabal’s nominees. If you are a voting member and you haven’t signed the petitions, do it now! Time is running out.

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My Firearms News Articles

September 22, 2024 by

While I won’t be a regular contributor to Firearms News, I will be sending them the occasional article. My first two articles have now been published and are available online.

The first dealt with research coming out of Duke University School of Medicine. Now that docs think they know something or two about the criminal misuse of firearms – I refuse to call it “gun violence” – sometimes their research is useful for our side.

Med School Researchers Conclude Gun Control Has No Impact on Homicide Rates

The second article is about using tax credits and tax deductions to advance innovation in the firearms industry. It goes into detail about Sec. 41 tax credits and Sec. 174 tax deductions. The article is based upon my interview of Kevin Culver of Royse Partners.

Letting the Government Pay You for Firearms Innovation

If you have suggestions for further articles, leave them in the comments.

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Learning From The Gun Prohibitionists

September 19, 2024 by 6 Comments

Lee Williams aka The Gun Writer has a post up today about a new anti-gun group called “Legislators for Safer Communities.” It is about gun prohibitionist legislators in 43 states coming together to form a coalition to work for gun control. What struck me about this story was not yet another astroturf gun control organization being formed. Rather that it was being supported by all the major gun prohibitionist groups.

From their press release:

Legislators for Safer Communities will serve as a hub for collaboration, partnership, shared resources, strategy, research, and peer networking. The coalition will work in partnership with Brady, Community Justice, Everytown, GIFFORDS, and March For Our Lives.

You have Brady, you have Everytown (and presumably their subgroups), and you have the Cult of Personality known as Giffords. While they take different approaches, they are all on the same page in fighting firearms rights, promoting the monopoly of violence by the state, and seeking more control over our lives.

Unfortunately, too many in the pro-rights community don’t play well together whether through philosophical differences or mere jealousy. One need not look too hard to find examples of that.

Here in North Carolina, a bill to allow permitless concealed carry which came from Grass Roots North Carolina and Gun Owners of America was killed when the NRA objected to it due to a provision that required a class on the use of deadly force. The bill was certainly not perfect and that provision was a requirement from House Speaker Tim Moore to move the bill. The thinking by its backers was that moving the bill was more important than the objectionable provision which might well be removed later.

The actual question was whether the NRA objected to the bill because of the provision or because it had not originated with them. This mindset has driven me up the wall for years. Unlike the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition, I rarely see the NRA join with other groups as co-plaintiffs in cases. This needs to change! Resources are finite and are even more so now that the NRA has spent almost $200 million on Bill Brewer’s legal “services”.

If I am elected to the NRA Board of Directors, I plan to be a voice for working with other groups. It should not matter if the group is NRA affiliated or not. Coalitions need to be formed with groups like GRNC, Virginia Citizens Defense League, AzCDL, Commonwealth 2A, and the list goes on. The NRA should work with these groups on the state and local level just as much as they do with their affiliates so that NRA-ILA can do more within the halls of Congress with the resources they have. Sad to say but the non-NRA state affiliates are often more effective and more resolute in their push for gun rights.

Litigation needs to be coordinated where possible with SAF, FPC, NSSF, and the various foundations like the Mountain States Legal Foundation. You see it somewhat on amicus briefs but it needs to go beyond that. I remember reading about then NRA President Charles Cotton complaining about all the 2A cases brought by other plaintiffs after the NRA’s win in Bruen. The complaint should not have been that these groups were bringing cases based upon the Bruen decision but rather that the NRA had failed to follow up on its own win. Smaller organizations like SAF and FPC are always nimbler and inertia is always a problem with a larger, more bureaucratic, organization like the NRA. The smart thing would have been to give support to the nimbler organizations by either being co-plaintiffs or even funders of their efforts instead of just whining about it.

Everyone and every organization wants to get the credit for a win. That is understandable. However, is it more important to get the credit or get the win for firearm rights and freedom?

I know where I stand.

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NRA In Danger On Subtlety

September 18, 2024 by 1 Comment

NRA In Danger had a very interesting post this afternoon. It dealt with how the cabal has become subtle as they go about clinging to power.

From the post:

Has “leadership” turned over a new leaf? No, they just got subtle. Instead of using the big-name anti-reformers, they substituted ones not so well-known (they have a bench of 30+) and made sure the important committees (important from the standpoint of hiding corruption) had an anti-reformer chair and an anti-reformer majority.

Read the whole thing and read the stats presented. If anything it points to how important this next Board election will be if we are to reclaim the NRA for the members and not for the enrichment of the grifters.

Getting petition candidates on the ballot will be a necessary first step. Here again is the link to all the petition candidates on the reform platform. Remember, original signed petitions need to be to Rocky Marshall by September 30th. Time is of the essence!

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Remember In November

September 17, 2024 by 3 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina has a biennial project whereby they evaluate candidates at the national and state levels on where they stand on gun rights. Candidates are rated from zero to four stars with four stars being the best. The evaluation process uses any votes the candidate may have taken plus their responses to a survey sent to every candidate at their registered office. It is called Remember in November.

This guide estimates where candidates stand on gun issues by comparing their views with those of a control group of gun owners. As noted below, a “4-STAR” candidate agrees with the control group on at least 90% of gun issues, a 3-STAR agrees on least 80%, a 2-STAR on at least 70%, a 1-STAR on at least 60%, and a 0-STAR candidate agrees on less than 60% of gun issues….

GRNC’s “Remember in November” project estimates candidates’ views on “assault weapons,” concealed handguns, gun storage laws, gun rationing, other gun control and the Second Amendment.  THE EVALUATIONS HEREIN ARE NOT ENDORSEMENTS.  We issued surveys first to a control group of gun owners and then to candidates. Next, we measured how closely each candidate’s views and voting record (if available) agree with the control group.  Pay more attention to voting records than survey results unless, of course, you believe politicians never lie.

The 2024 General Election candidate evaluations have been released. If you want to view by office and name, use this link. If you would prefer to have the higher ranked candidates for each office, use this link. I find the latter more useful myself.

It should be pointed out that if a candidate just blows off the survey, they will get a zero star rating as well they should. Most of the candidates blowing off the survey tend to be the Democrats. That said, you do get Republicans who should be pro-rights just ignoring it as well. See for example both Dave Boliek (R) for State Auditor and Mike Causey (R) for Insurance Commissioner. They are both zero stars as they didn’t return the survey. Likewise for Sherry Higgins who is running as the Republican in my state house district. In my opinion, this is foolish. In a close race every vote is needed and ignoring gun rights voters could be the difference between winning and losing. These are the type of Republicans that whoever coined the term for the GOP as the Stupid Party had in mind.

While the higher rated candidates tend to be either Republicans or Libertarians, I did find a race where both the Republican and Democrat were both 4-star rated. That was in State Senate District 9 located in southeastern North Carolina. Incumbent Republican Brent Jackson faces Democrat Jamie Campbell Bowles. Both are from Sampson County. I’m wondering if Ms. Bowles didn’t get the Democrat’s memo that guns are icky or just ignored it. I’m so old I remember when there was actually such a thing as a pro-gun Democrat.

One last thing. If you aren’t registered to vote, now is the time to do it! As someone who registered to vote on my 18th birthday, it always amazes me when I come across gun owners who are not registered to vote. I just can’t see leaving my rights at risk by not voting.

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NRA Petition Candidate – Willes Lee

September 15, 2024 by 1 Comment

Willes Lee got left out in the cold by the Nominating Committee. I don’t think that would be a surprise to anyone who has read my blog or seen his criticisms of the cabal on social media. If there is anything the cabal hates more than a reformer it is one of their own who awakened to the dangers they posed to the organization and thus to the Second Amendment. Willes became dead to them when he resigned from the Special Litigation Committee and they took their retribution.

I will admit that it still pisses me off that he called me a hater back in 2019 when I said there were problems within the NRA and it needed fixing. Being of Irish extraction, I can hold a grudge with the best of them. That said, I really do think Willes could bring something to the Board with his knowledge of how the cabal thinks and his knowledge of the inner workings of the NRA. He reached out to me with regard to the Special Litigation Committee to correct my erroneous belief (and that of others) that the members were chosen by position and not by name. He didn’t have to do it but he did it.

Given all of this, Willes has my support as a petition candidate for the Board. Both the Complementary Spouse and I have signed his petition and returned it. Besides, his cryptic needling of the cabal is quite entertaining!

Willes Lee Petition (1)Download

You can return Willes’ petition either to him directly at 5527 3rd Street South, Arlington VA 22204. Alternatively, you can return it along with other petitions to Rocky Marshall. That address is Frontier Truck Gear, Attn Rocky Marshall, PO Box 277, Center Point, TX 78010. Regardless of which address you send it, the petition should be sent so that it arrives by September 30th.

As with all of these petition candidates, if you can get more voting members to sign it, so much the better. A voting member is a) a Life Member of whatever level or b) an Annual Member with five years of continuous membership without a break.

Time is of the essence. We have about two weeks to go in which to secure the necessary signatures to get Willes and the others on the ballot. The goal is to have a reform candidate for every slot just like the cabal has loaded the ballot with those who support the status quo.

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NRA Petition Candidate – Scott Emslie

September 15, 2024 by

Scott Emslie is a retired New York State Bridge Authority administrator where he managed multiple-million dollar budgets. Now residing in Florida, he is a NRA Certified Rifle and Pistol instructor as well as treasurer of his local Friends of the NRA committee. His budget experience is what is needed by the NRA especially now given the financial straits it has been left in thanks to Brewer and company.

Scott’s bio is below:

Robert Scott Emslie BIODownload

You can return Scott’s petition either to him directly at 1061 Morgans Treasure Rd, St. Augustine, FL 32084. Alternatively, you can return it along with other petitions to Rocky Marshall. That address is Frontier Truck Gear, Attn Rocky Marshall, PO Box 277, Center Point, TX 78010. Regardless of which address you send it, the petition should be sent so that it arrives by September 30th. Both the Complementary Spouse and I have signed his petition.

Petition Robert _Scott_ EmslieDownload

As with all of these petition candidates, if you can get more voting members to sign it, so much the better. A voting member is a) a Life Member of whatever level or b) an Annual Member with five years of continuous membership without a break.

We have about two weeks to go in which to secure the necessary signatures to get Todd and the others on the ballot. The goal is to have a reform candidate for every slot just like the cabal has loaded the ballot with those who support the status quo. It was defending Wayne, the grifters, and the status quo that put the NRA on trial in New York!

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NRA Petition Candidate – Todd Figard

September 15, 2024 by

Todd Figard is a retired quality engineer whose career made him a believer in compliance and corrective action plans. That certainly sound like something the NRA could use! Moreover, he is a certified instructor across multiple firearms disciplines and has served as the Lead Safety Inspector for the past couple of years at the Great American Outdoor Show and the NRA Annual Meeting for displayed firearms.

His bio is below:

Richard Todd Figard BIODownload

You can return Todd’s petition either to him directly at 1640 Reimer Rd, Wadsworth, OH 44281. Alternatively, you can return it along with other petitions to Rocky Marshall. That address is Frontier Truck Gear, Attn Rocky Marshall, PO Box 277, Center Point, TX 78010. Regardless of which address you send it, the petition should be sent so that it arrives by September 30th. Both the Complementary Spouse and I have signed his petition.

Richard Todd Figard PetitionDownload

As with all of these petition candidates, if you can get more voting members to sign it, so much the better. A voting member is a) a Life Member of whatever level or b) an Annual Member with five years of continuous membership without a break.

We have about two weeks to go in which to secure the necessary signatures to get Todd and the others on the ballot. The goal is to have a reform candidate for every slot just like the cabal has loaded the ballot with those who support the status quo. It was defending Wayne, the grifters, and the status quo that put the NRA on trial in New York!

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NRA Petition Candidate – Jonathan Goldstein

September 14, 2024 by

Jonathan Goldstein is an attorney specializing in firearms law, a serial entrepreneur, and a private equity investor. He has served on the NRA’s Legal Affairs Committee and lectures on firearms law and safety across Pennsylvania. He is the founding partner of Goldstein Law Partners. He is seeking to be on the 2025 ballot by petition. The Board certainly could use more members with entrepreneurial experience as they tend to think outside the box.

Jonathan’s biography is below:

Jonathan Goldstein BIODownload

You can return Jonathan’s petition either to him directly at 824 Buck Lane, Haverford, PA 19041. Alternatively, you can return it along with other petitions to Rocky Marshall. That address is Frontier Truck Gear, Attn Rocky Marshall, PO Box 277, Center Point, TX 78010. Regardless of which address you send it, the petition should be sent so that it arrives by September 30th. Both the Complementary Spouse and I have signed his petition.

Jonathan Goldstein PetitionDownload

As with all of these petition candidates, if you can get more voting members to sign it, so much the better. A voting member is a) a Life Member of whatever level or b) an Annual Member with five years of continuous membership without a break.