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NRA Nominating Committee Priorities

July 18, 2025 by 7 Comments

Bear in mind that the Final Judgment mandated that the Nominating Committee should “endeavor” to find 20 additional candidates for the board who were qualified (5+ years as a Life Member and conflict free) and who had not served more than one term of office on the Board prior to 2022. In other words, Judge Cohen didn’t want to see the same old 25 or so people being nominated for the Board of Directors year after year.

Part of the nomination process approved by the court was for the Nominating Committee in consultation with the officers to develop a list of attributes that they were seeking in candidates for the Board. I reached out to Buz Mills who is chair of the Nominating Committee for this list of attributes. With his permission, here is the list that was developed.

The following attributes were identified as skills particularly desired over and above those normally evaluated:

Gap Analysis:

  • Insurance / risk management experience
  • Finance / Investment review
  • Competition Shooting
  • Membership organizational experience
  • Gun Collectors
  • Minorities (Hispanic, Black, Asian)
  • Younger individuals with business or program background

Other qualifications desired:

  • Ability to communicate effectively
  • High level of passion for the NRA and our advocacy
  • Availably to dedicate a great deal of time to the Association
  • Availability to commit to extensive travel
  • Great social media skills
  • Industry professionals
  • Media influencers

If you know of someone who be a great Board member, nominate them! Nominations have to be in to the Nominating Committee by August 3rd in order for nominees to fill out the requisite paperwork and for the Nominating Committee to evaluate it.

If you would like to run by run by petition, you need to request the petition (and nomination) package from the Secretary’s Office. I would send an email to Laura Green, the Assistant Secretary, at lgreen@nrahq.org to request it. She will send you the packet and will set up your online link to your petition.

As I have said before elsewhere, the Board will only be as good as those we have on the ballot. To be brutally honest, write-in candidates have little to no chance of being elected. I could be wrong but the only person I know of who got elected by way of a write-in vote was the late Charlton Heston and that was almost 30 years ago.

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Vullo Is A Loss For NRA In 2nd Circuit

July 18, 2025 by 2 Comments

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals is no friend of gun rights or gun rights organizations. Despite NRA v. Vullo being remanded back to the 2nd Circuit by the Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision for rehearing, the Court of Appeals found that Maria Vullo and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) were covered by qualified immunity.

The NRA released this statement on the ruling.

The Second Circuit has regrettably declined to reverse itself on the issue of whether the defendants have immunity for their actions.  This is not a decision on whether their actions were proper but rather a finding that they have immunity from liability for such actions. NRA is exploring all legal action in appealing this ruling from the Second Circuit, up to and including petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court, which has previously vindicated our assertion that these actions may have violated our First Amendment rights. “Although we are disappointed in the Second Circuit’s ruling, we are confident in our position and are evaluating all appropriate next steps,” said NRA CEO and EVP Doug Hamlin.

You may read the Second Circuit opinion by clicking here.

Given you had two judges appointed by Pres. Barack Obama and the third by Pres. Joe Biden, one should not be surprised by this ruling. Only 11 judges out of the 27 senior and active judges on the circuit were appointed by Republican presidents.

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Candidate Bio For Charlie Brown

July 16, 2025 by

As I wrote earlier, Charlie Brown was part of our NRA 2.0 team running for the NRA Board of Directors last year. Thanks to two hurricanes and the lack of leeway in the Bylaws on the submission of petitions, his arrived a day or two late. He should have been on the regular ballot and should not have had to run as a write-in candidate.

He is again running as a petition candidate for the NRA Board and I have endorsed him. You can find a link to his petition here. He brings a wealth of management and marketing experience. Moreover, it is experience in managing and marketing a firearms company.

Charlie sent me his biography for publication.

Charlie Brown bioDownload
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Candidate Bios, Part 1

July 16, 2025 by

Frank Tait has assembled the first set of candidate biographies. This is for Ken Bowra, William Askins, and Jerry Kraus.

You can read them here. I have done thumbnails of the biographies and you can read them below.

Ken Bowra is a retired Major General (Army) who commanded special forces units at all levels. He then went on to the Department of Energy as well as a serving as a diplomat in the State Department. Along the way he amassed experience in running non-profits as the president of the Virginia War Museum Foundation and as a trustee of the Special Operations Association Foundation.

William Askins is a retired USMC officer who also had experience serving with the CIA’s Clandestine Services. If the name Askins rings a bell, it is because he is the son of Col. Charles Askins and grandson of Maj. Charles Askins. More importantly for our purposes, he was a participant in the Cincinnati Revolt of 1977 and went on to serve as Harlon Carter’s executive assistant. He also served as the Deputy Director of the NRA’s publication division.

Finally, Jerry Kraus has served as an ILA Volunteer Election Coordinator over a many year period. Currently a mortgage broker, he has over 30 years of experience in sales, finance, marketing, business strategy, and development. He is an avid marksman and hunter who both competes in events like IDPA and has hunted Africa and Alaska.

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85 Days And Counting

July 15, 2025 by 2 Comments

The NRA Bylaws (Art. VIII, Sec. 3(b)) state that all petition signatures must be received within 45 days after the Nominating Committee meets. With the Nominating Committee meeting on August 23, 2025, the cut-off date to submit petition signatures is October 7, 2025 or 85 days from now. The bylaws as they stand now have no provision for the extension of this date for force majure, hurricanes, or any other thing that would make it hard to get the signatures to the Office of the Secretary on time.

Click picture for link

The other deadline that is critical is August 3rd. This is the day by which names are to be submitted in nomination to the Nominating Committee for consideration. You can nominate a candidate for the Board of Directors online. You will need both their membership number and your own membership number along with addresses, etc. Just to be on the safe side, I think a conversation with the person you are nominating would be a good first step. He or she might have other commitments that would make serving on the Board a problem.

If running by petition, a candidate needs 0.5% of the number of participating voters in the prior year’s election. For 2026 this number is 363 which is one of the lowest on record. In the past, petitions were always on paper and each signature had to be verified by hand in the Office of the Secretary. However, as the New York court mandated in the fifth point of its Final Judgment, an online version is now available. I have signed a number of these already.

The one major limitation on obtaining signatures is that they must come from a voting member. A voting member is either a Life Member or an Annual Member with five years of continuous, unbroken membership. With many Annual Members dropping their membership due to their disgust over the excesses of Wayne and his coterie of friends, it is not as easy to find voting members as it was pre-2019. I and many of my fellow petition candidates certainly ran into this problem last year.

To run by petition, a candidate needs to request the petition (and nomination) package from the Secretary’s Office. I would send an email to Laura Green, the Assistant Secretary, at lgreen@nrahq.org to request it. She will send you the packet and will set up your online link to your petition.

Judge Cohen’s order in the Final Judgment specified that the Nominating Committee was to “endeavor to identify up to 20 additional candidates” who met the required qualifications (Life Member of 5 plus years) and who did not serve more than one term on the Board prior to 2022. Judge Cohen referred to these as “New Qualified Candidates”. His goal was to expand the pool of nominees on the ballot and to bring new people and new ideas to the Board of Directors. He had noted it seemed the same people were getting nominated and elected year after year.

2025 was a watershed year in that 14 Directors were elected who had never served on the Board in the past. New directors are either Chair or Vice-Chair of five committees including critical ones such as Finance and Elections. Moreover, new directors are a majority on the Audit Committee which is a committee of the Board under NY Non-Profit Corporation Law.

Enough about the logistics.

The Board will only be as good as those nominated and elected. We need good people with the dedication to both the Second Amendment and board governance to run. We don’t need ticket punchers or resume polishers. We have had enough of those in the past! It goes beyond showing up to Board meetings three times a year. We need hard workers who will do the committee work necessary to help rebuild this 154 year old organization.

I have reached out to Buz Mills who is the chair of the Nominating Committee for skills they are seeking. I will post his response here when I get it. I can say from my own perspective that candidates with management, marketing, and finance skills, experience in non-profit governance, grass roots advocacy, and social media skills are especially welcome. I would also say that younger candidates who can reach out to millennials and Gen Z to become members are doubly welcome.

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More NRA Reform Candidates Need Your Signatures

July 13, 2025 by 8 Comments

Frank Tait has just published a list of reform candidates seeking signatures to be put on the 2026 NRA Board of Directors election ballot. Many were recruited by LtCol Robert Brown whose reform efforts got him pushed off the Board after his term ended. He was ignored by the Nominating Committee which was at the time still run by the Old Guard. I should note LtCol Brown is running, too.

Looking over the list, I see the names of many whom I know and trust to do the right thing if elected. I have endorsed Rob Beckman in June. Huey Laugesen of the Colorado State Shooting Association serves with me on the Membership Committee and is a breath of young fresh air. Charles Brown was one of two write-in candidates on the Elect A New NRA slate in the past election. Steve Schreiner is a long time Board member who has consistently been on the reform side. Randy Luth of Luth-AR was one of the first industry insiders to say enough is enough with regard to Wayne. I don’t know some of the rest but an endorsement by LtCol Brown and Frank Tait says everything that needs to be said.

Here is the list along with links from Frank’s Substack.

Rob Beckman https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/836e1142-b049-47d9-81b9-2fa4e2fcd426

Here are the other endorsed petitions as the original post had broken links

Col Brown https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/281d7f0c-6ac4-41e5-b5b5-dbecc9a95709

Sgt. (Ret.) Jerry Kraus https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/a445f9d6-4672-4ffd-9e69-195aece128c3

Major General (Ret.) Ken Bowra https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/51919442-e375-448b-a960-7712eea24bd2

Major (Ret.) William Askins https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/1f52f5f3-b301-4277-b836-2fd567758ba5

Huey Laugesen https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/c1cb1f95-9d72-4df2-9be4-935a07d2e6e6

Randy Luth https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/c4ef9324-28ec-4c74-9d2e-4058a88f1f2f

Lt. Colonel (Ret.) William Bailey https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/8a8fe04c-ca03-4b25-b131-e5d92519cb7e

Steve Schreiner https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/349aa059-59c9-45e1-9118-a32bcdf3777a

Charles Brown https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/10875a27-b29b-459f-8831-f046eeea9cd6?

Please sign the petitions!

As a reminder, to be eligible to sign the petitions you have to be a Life Member or an Annual Member with five years of continuous, unbroken membership. Each of these petition candidates will need a minimum of 363 valid signatures to be placed on the ballot.

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Suggestions For The NFA Tax Savings

July 12, 2025 by 3 Comments

Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill has been passed and signed the $200 tax on suppressors, short barreled rifles and shotguns, and NFA any other weapons will disappear as of January 1, 2026. Many suppressor retailers such as Silencer Central and Silencer Shop will more than likely be running promotions between then and now where they will pay the $200 tax.

Despite the tax being gone, all the other onerous provisions of the National Firearms Act on these suppressors and weapons will still be in effect. This will include background checks requiring fingerprints and photos, restrictions on taking SBRs and SBSs across state lines, and, of course, registration with the government.

The rationale for the legitimacy of the National Firearms Act going back to the 1930s was that it was a tax with associated regulations as opposed to regulations with a fee attached. Now that the tax will be zero as of January 1, 2026, that legitimacy will be called into question. Two different coalitions will file or have filed suits in Federal court challenging the NFA on these grounds.

The coalition composed of the Silencer Shop Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, B&T USA, Palmetto State Armory, SilencerCo, Gun Owners Foundation, and Brady Wetz have filed suit in the Northern District of Texas as of July 4th. Their attorneys are Stephen Stamboulieh and the DC firm of WileyRein LLP. This lawsuit contends that the NFA’s registration and transfer requirements exceed Congress’ Article I powers with regard to untaxed firearms. Thus, it seeks a declaratory judgment that this portion of the NFA is unconstitutional along with a permanent injunction against the ATF and the Department of Justice on enforcement of any part of the NFA pertaining to untaxed firearms.

The second coalition is composed of the NRA, the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and the American Suppressor Association. It is my understanding that they hope to be filing suit early this coming week with the well-known 2A law firm of Cooper & Kirk representing them. I am hoping that it actually will be Monday as that is Bastille Day which celebrates that storming of the gates of the Bastille in Paris. Instead of storming the gates of the Bastille, this lawsuit would storming the gates of an unconstitutional law.

Litigation is expensive. It is an unfortunate fact of life especially if you challenging the Federal government in court. Herein comes my suggestion on using part of the tax savings to support this litigation.

Take half your tax savings or $100 and send it to NRA-ILA to help support the litigation. Make sure to put “litigation” in the memo field. That will designate it specifically for litigation and I’m assured by NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford that it will be used for litigation. Mail that check to NRA-ILA, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Alternatively, if you want to support the other coalition’s lawsuit, Palmetto State Armory is doing a special run of AR-15 stripped lowers marked “GOA-15”. $25 of each one sold at $59.95 will go to GOA to help fund that coalition’s litigation against the NFA. They are hoping to raise $250,000 this way.

My preference is to send the money to NRA-ILA. While I am a NRA Director, my preference is based upon the fact that I already have a number of stripped AR lowers in my gun safe and, more importantly, that 100% of the money will be used for litigation.

What to do with the remaining $100 in tax savings? I have some ideas about that as well.

Large numbers have a power all their own. An organization with a large membership will, all things being equal, have greater influence with politicians than smaller one. Despite the growth of the other Second Amendment organizations such as GOA, FPC, SAF, and even NAGR, the National Rifle Association still remains the largest even despite its past problems. If you have read my past posts, I take a Laswellian approach to politics and who gets what, when, and how is quite often determined by size.

Let’s set aside $50-70 to buy memberships in the NRA for friends and relatives. For example, you could buy five Associate memberships for $50. Conversely, we on the Membership Committee have been discussing creating a $25 digital membership where you are a full member but get the magazine in a digital format and are not sent any welcome trinkets. You could buy two of those for $50. Even now, you can find a regular NRA Annual membership for $35 if you search. Given that over 10 million people think they are NRA members but aren’t, imagine if even one-third actually became members. That would double the membership of the NRA overnight and return fear as a component of the NRA’s relationship with politicians. Being feared by politicians is a good thing.

With the remaining $30-50, I suggest buying a box or two of subsonic ammo.

Alternatively, you could get a carbine-length buffer tube kit and a carbine stock to convert your AR pistol into a SBR. I certainly will be considering this if the regulations were to go away.

The stark reality is that it is going to take money to get the NFA regulations on untaxed firearms to go away. Even if we win in US District Court, there is nothing to say a win won’t be appealed and then appealed again. I say spend the potential savings now so we can get what we really (really!!!!) want.

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More Amazon Prime Days Deals

July 9, 2025 by 2 Comments

My first pair of “good” binoculars was from Maven. I took a pair of their 8×30 binoculars with me to the Eastern Cape of Africa last year. While not quite to the standard of Leica or Swarovski, they were excellent little binos.

Amazon Prime Days has some excellent pricing on the Maven C1 binoculars. The Maven C1 8×42 is $280 while the 10×42 C1’s are $297.50. These prices are $20 less than what is being offered to hunting guides and almost $150 less than MSRP. If I were going to Limpopo in the north of South Africa, I’d go with the 8×42 while I would want the 10x42s in the Eastern Cape as distances are longer there. In my opinion, these are some of the best buys out there for Prime Days. You can never go wrong with a good set of binoculars.

If you are looking for an ultra lightweight binocular harness, I can recommend the Rick Young Outdoors bino harness. It can be worn over one shoulder or it can be worn so that the binoculars are center on your chest. Both ways work. I use mine actually as a camera strap. I wanted to be able to take pictures at the SHOT Show and have my camera readily available. It definitely works.

There are some good deals on Magpul products. The Daka Kit Bag (3.5 liter) is one of them at $22.75

The Magpul Daka Flat Zippered Pouches in a variety of sizes are also on sale starting at $15.97 for the smallest.

The Magpul MS1 Two-Point Quick-Adjust Sling in basic black is available for only $17.04 which is 57% off.

When you need a good flashlight, you need a good flashlight. The Streamlight MicroStream is available in both AAA battery and USB rechargeable versions. I like the idea of a rechargeable flashlight but I also know what it is like to be without power for days which would give the nod to AAA battery version. What the heck, get one of each! The AAA battery version in red is $24.26 while the USB rechargeable version in black is $25.82. Prices vary by color so make sure to look for the lowest cost version. I don’t think the color of a small flashlight stuck in your pocket really matters that much.

Next up is for any one traveling and especially if traveling with a firearm on a plane. I put an Apple AirTag in both my gun case and my primary suitcase when I went to Africa. I was able to see on my iPhone that my guns had been transferred from one terminal to the next and would make it on my flight. It would have sucked to have arrived in Johannesburg with ammo and no rifle. I will say from my own experience that the AirTag works and it works well. Additionally, the battery is easily replaceable so the AirTag is not like those old flashlights where the battery couldn’t be replaced. The price is $19.99 for one or even greater savings on a four-pack at $64.99. The normal price is $25 or so per AirTag.

A good first aid kit is always needed. This one comes with many of things you will need from band-aids to bandage scissors. For $23.96, you get the beginnings of a good kit for the price of a pouch.

As I noted, it comes with the beginnings of a good kit. There are some things I would add to complete it. These Israeli compression bandages would come in handy.

It goes without saying that you should have a tourniquet. I took the Swat-T tourniquet with me to Africa in my first aid kit as it took up so little space. Alternatively, a tourniquet with a windlass is never a bad choice if you have the room.

Chest seals would be helpful as well.

As a reminder, this blog is an Amazon Associate and commissions are earned on products my readers purchase. It helps support the blog and I do appreciate it.

UPDATE: Today is the last day of Amazon Prime Days.

Here is something I wish I had last night. I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend at 9p and boom – everything went black. Duke Energy said it was an equipment issue. I had a flashlight on my desk so I wasn’t stumbling around. That said, something like these little lanterns would have been easier to light whole areas. Places like the bathroom! With the Etekcity Camping Lanterns for Power Outages 4 Pack you can light multiple places around the house.

If you travel and have any sort of electronic devices, keeping track of cords, connectors, and chargers can be a hassle. I saw this case just minutes ago and ordered the medium sized one.

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Amazon Prime Days

July 9, 2025 by

July 8th through 11th are Amazon Prime Days and there are some good deals out there. As I am a Amazon affiliate, I do earn a commission on items ordered through postings on this blog. However, it does not cost you any more. I cannot say I’ve used all the products but I do try to be careful about what I’d recommend.

First on the list is the Pelican Vault V770 gun case. It is a 51 inch case with rollers. At $135.96 it is a good deal. Indeed, I paid a fraction less for one sold by Harbor Freight. I did see many hunters last year at the Johannesburg airport with these exact gun cases. If they can handle international flights and baggage handlers, they will do a great job protecting your prized rifle(s). If you need a longer case, the 56 inch V800 is available for $183.96.

I am a big believer in the need to stay hydrated. For this, I really like the wide mouth Nalgene bottles that hold a quart of water or other liquids. I have a number of them and they last forever. During Prime Days, the Nalgene bottles are $13.30 or a bit more which is about $4 cheaper than places like REI. In addition, you have your choice of 32 colors. Personally, I like a clear neon colored bottle so I don’t misplace it.

Speaking of water and staying hydrated, you can never go wrong with the LifeStraw. It protects against 99.999999% of bacteria (including E.coli, Salmonella), 99.999% of parasites (including Giardia and Cryptosporidium), 99.999% of microplastics, dirt, sand and cloudinessProtects against 99.999999% of bacteria (including E.coli, Salmonella), 99.999% of parasites (including Giardia and Cryptosporidium), 99.999% of microplastics, dirt, sand and cloudiness. Looking at the prices, it is cheaper to buy the LifeStraw individually than in multi-packs. The price is only $9.95.

Storage of gear is always a consideration. I have a number of these Plano Storage Trunks. They roll, they are lockable, they are stackable, and they hold up. I know I have had mine for upwards on 8-10 years. I have stored everything from tactical gear to books in them along with everything in between. $32.29 is a good price for them. During the Prime Days, this is a good $10 less than from Walmart.

Hearing protection is an always useful item to buy when on sale. While I have used the Howard Leight electronic muffs for years, they aren’t on sale this year. That said, I don’t think I could go wrong with the Walker’s Razor Slims. If you don’t mind buying teal, the price is $29.33. The Complementary Spouse needs a pair and I know she wouldn’t mind wearing teal. If you insist on other colors, they are only a few dollars more. I like their slim design and their 23 db noise reduction rating. (Update: I ordered a pair of these headphones for the Complementary Spouse. They will pair well with her Women for Gun Rights aka DC Project t-shirt.)

Speaking of hearing protection, wearing noise canceling headphones made both of my 16 hour flights to Africa last year bearable. I used these Soundcore Anker Life Q20 headphones which had both Blue Tooth and noise cancellation. I found them comfortable and the battery lasted to Africa and back. There are more expensive noise canceling headphones like these from Bose but the Soundcore worked just fine for me. At $37.99, they are a deal. For a case, I used this one which is under $8. It has protected my headphones and has a place to keep both the charging and plug in jack cords.

What would the end of a day be without your “sundowner”. If in Africa, it is often a gin and tonic. In my experience, the key to a really good gin and tonic is not the gin but the tonic water. I love both Fever Tree and Q. During Prime Days, you can get a full case of Q tonic water with real quinine and organic agave for only $17.18. If you do a subscription, it is even cheaper. Compare this to the price at your local supermarket. Q tonic water comes highly rated and after two plus cases of it drunk myself, I’d agree.

That does it for tonight. As I find more deals, I will be posting them. In the meantime, I think I’ll be having a late sundowner made with Q tonic water.

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Stupid Tweet Of The Day

July 7, 2025 by

There are stupid tweets and then there is this which is extra stupid.

Yes, Keith Olbermann is a leftist shill but even so I would expect better from someone with his supposed education.

According to his bio, Olbermann is a graduate of the Hackley School and of Cornell University. The former is a highly regarded prep school that sends a number of its graduates to the most highly selective universities. The latter, Cornell, is one of the Ivy League universities which US News ranks at the 11th best in the United States.

Now I didn’t have a prep school and Ivy League education. Nonetheless, I did have a very decent one at my small Catholic high school and my little Quaker liberal arts college. I also know that both my favorite English teacher in high school, Chuck Sullivan, and my favorite English instructor in college, Mildred Marlette, would have looked at me like I was stupid if I had said such a thing. Fortunately, I never gave them much reason to think that.

Given Olbermann and I are rough contemporaries who were educated in a time before grade inflation and with higher classroom standards, he either thinks his followers are that stupid or he is suffering from some sort of brain eating amoeba. That is the only way I can explain this level of idiocy in a tweet.