James D’Cruz

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2026 NRA Board Endorsements, Part 1

January 4, 2026 by

For 2026 I am returning to my tradition of encouraging a bullet vote. Last year I departed from that tradition to encourage voting for the full slate of reformers. This year thanks to multiple resignations there will be a total of 33 open positions if one includes the 76th Director and only 38 candidates. In other words, most on the ballot will be elected. My goal in encouraging a bullet vote is to assure that the best candidates get three year terms.

My first set of endorsements goes to the four whose names I submitted to the Nominating Committee. If I didn’t think they would be worthwhile additions to the Board of Directors, I would not have nominated them. It is as simple as that.

Four in alphabetical order are Rob Beckman, James D’Cruz, Jacqueline Janes, and Todd Vandermyde.

Rob Beckman

I first met Rob in person at the 2024 GOALS conference in Knoxville, TN. He later had me on his Firearms Trainer’s Podcast when I was running for the NRA Board of Directors. We caught up again at the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta during a meeting for clubs and associations. That is when I thought he’d make a great addition to the Board of Directors as he brought so much to the table. From being a senior project manager in IT for a global industrial company to being a podcaster to being the VP and Hunting Director for a state level 2A group (Ohio RPA) he checked all the boxes.

Rob’s official bio is below:

Proudly dual nominated by the members and Nominating Committee.  NRA Benefactor member, training counselor, NRA-FAL/ILA, volunteer for FoNRA in SE-Indiana, and dedicated 2A advocate.  Professional IT project manager, experienced with implementing enterprise systems in legal, finance, operations, manufacturing, audit, and organizational change management.  A devoted husband of 37 years, father, and grandfather. The host/creator of the Firearm Trainer Podcast, and VP/Hunting Director for the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association.  Former board member and current adult leader for the local Boy Scout council.  Selected for the 2025 NRA Annual Meetings “Voices of the Second Amendment” and guest on numerous podcasts.  Proud member of numerous pro-gun/conservation organizations including SCI, IALEFI, NSSF, NMLRA, FPC, GOA, GOAL, CNJFO, OGCA, BHA, RMEF, NDA, Boone & Crockett Club, NTA, OSTA, F4WM, IHEA. NMSSA, NKSSA, Buckeye Firearms, League of Ohio Sportsmen, League of Kentucky Sportsmen, Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, and the Illinois State Rifle Association.

I should point out that Rob is one of only three candidates who were nominated by both petition and the Nominating Committee. I kept in touch with Rob during the petition process and he worked his tail off to get those signatures.

James D’Cruz

I first became aware of James when he was a freshman at Texas Tech and the lead plaintiff in two NRA suits that challenged the prohibition on the purchase of handguns from FFLs by those age 18 to 20 and Texas’ restriction on carry by those under 21. The cases were D’Cruz et al v. BATFE et al and D’Cruz v McCraw. That was 15 years ago when this blog was very new. For his efforts to stand up and advance gun rights at that age, he was vilified by the gun prohibitionists. Josh Horwitz of CSGV disgustingly tried to portray him as a wannabe school shooter thanks to his Halloween costume while Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign accused him having “angry, violent Facebook postings.”

While James and his family later relocated to Florida and he was replaced in the cases, I stayed in touch with him over the years. I watched as he graduated from college and then went on to law school at Harvard where he earned his J.D. He served as a senior editor on the Harvard Business Law Review and had an article on the NFA published in the Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy. After law school he served in the trenches as an Assistant States Attorney in Orlando and then later in private practice in both Texas and Florida. He also serves this country as a Captain in the US Army Reserves JAG Corps.

James’ official bio is below:

Nominated by NRA Nominating Committee. NRA Life member.  Attorney in Texas and Florida. Firearms enthusiast, collector, and advocate. Outspoken advocate for overturning the National Firearms Act and the Hughes Amendment. Promoter of constitutional and open carry, as well as nationwide reciprocity. Second Amendment scholar and author. At 18, was the lead plaintiff in two national NRA-backed lawsuits challenging ban on handgun possession and carry by 18–20-year-olds. Served as a felony domestic violence prosecutor in Orlando. Currently a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps. NRA pistol instructor. President of the Harvard Law School Target Shooting Club (2015–2017). Owner of Cerebral Arms Company, LLC (07/02), which manufactures and sells firearms, provides firearms and self-defense consulting to the legal community, and provides concealed weapon permit training. Participates in match pistol, sporting clays, and high-power rifle shooting. Board Member of Florida Association of Veteran Owned Businesses (FAVOB).

We need younger people on the Board of Directors. James, only in his early 30s, has accomplished more than most and I think he’d continue that trend if elected to the NRA Board of Directors. He stood up when it counted, took his lumps, and has come back stronger than ever.

Jacqueline Janes

I first met Jaci and her partner Robert in 2011 at the LuckyGunner.com Blogger Shoot. After that, we’d run into one another at the NRA Annual Meeting, the SHOT Show, and the Gun Rights Policy Conference. I remember being at a business conference in Scottsdale, AZ. I had posted something about being there on social media and I got an email within hours asking if I wanted to join Jaci for an evening pistol competition at her gun club. She promised to provide all the firearms and ammo. Unfortunately, I could not make it but it would have been cool

When the Nominating Committee issued the attributes they were seeking for nominees, I immediately thought of Jaci. She checked so many boxes – competitor, younger with business experience, membership organizational experience, grassroots, social media experience, and an industry professional. For those that don’t know, Jaci is the marketing director for Apex Tactical Specialties which makes triggers, barrels, and other after market accessories for the leading handgun brands. At a time when the NRA has recently switched marketing firms and is seeking a new approach, I think it would be highly advantageous to have an actual marketing professional on the Board to provide both insight and guidance.

Jaci’s official bio is below:

NRA Life Member with over 14 years of volunteer experience as an NRA-ILA Grassroots FrontLines Activist Leader in Arizona. Recipient of the 2012 Jay M. Littlefield NRA-ILA Volunteer of the Year Award. Nominated by the NRA Nominating Committee, leadership experience includes serving as an Executive Board Member of Phoenix Rod and Gun Club and the Women’s Outdoor Media Association. An accomplished competitive shooter with experience in IDPA, USPSA, ICORE, 3-Gun, and Long-Range Precision Rifle. Former Certified NRA Pistol Instructor, IDPA Match Director, Certified IDPA Range Safety Officer, and competed on the Team SIG Shooting Team. Brings over 25 years of marketing expertise as a marketing director in the firearms industry, writing featured in leading industry publications, including Shooting Illustrated, USPSA Magazine, IDPA Tactical Journal, and the Beretta Blog.

Todd Vandermyde

I’ve known Todd seemingly forever. We first met at a NRA Annual Meeting sometime after I started this blog. He was the NRA’s contract lobbyist in Illinois at the time and was a great resource on what was then happening in the Prairie State.

I nominated him for the Board in 2025 and am proud to do it again in 2026. He is on the ballot by petition and I don’t think anyone gathered as many signatures as he did or even came close. As of late October, Todd is now on the NRA of Directors filling out the term of a resigned director and deserves to be elected to serve a full three year term. He has hit the ground running since joining the Board and is just the sort of disruptive influencer that the NRA needs if reforms are to continue.

Todd’s official bio is below:

Proudly nominated by petition. NRA Life Member. Lifelong shooter, hunter, amateur gunsmith, veteran, operating engineer, retired lobbyist, and gun club president. Retired operating engineer and Director of Government Relations, Local 150 Operating Engineers. Represented NRA, gun owners, and FFLs as a lobbyist before the Illinois legislature for 30 years. Responsible for legalizing SBRs in Illinois, organizing litigation overturning the Illinois carry ban, and lead plaintiff in challenge to Cook County’s gun and ammo tax. President, Aurora Sportsman’s Club – largest gun club in Illinois; VP, Second Amendment Law Center; VP, Second Amendment Defense and Education Coalition. US Army Reserve, 18 years – Staff Sgt, Airborne and Pathfinder qualified. Member of Gun Owners of America, Firearms Policy Coalition, Illinois State Rifle Association (life), and Single Action Shooting Society (life). Former gun store owner with 07 FFL and SOT. 2018 Sturgis Freedom Fighters HOF inductee. Freedom’s Steel YouTube channel creator. Shoot house instructor.

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How Pathetic

December 8, 2010 by

Josh Horwitz has just one-upped Paul Helmke on the pathetic scale.

Horwitz is the Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. In a post today at the Huffington Post entitled NRA’s Latest Poster Boy Sounds Like School Shooter, he insinuates that James D’Cruz is another Columbine killer in waiting. He compares quotes on James’ Facebook page to the stuff said by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris as well as the Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho and the Pearl, Mississippi school shooter. He then concludes:

The best case scenario here is that D’Cruz is strikingly immature and incapable of handling the serious responsibilities that come with gun ownership. The worst case scenario is that he’s a ticking time bomb in need of psychiatric care. In either case, he’s a poster boy for why we should prevent handgun sales to those under 21 years of age.

Of course it is utter bullshit and could well be considered an actionable case of defamation.

One could very well rewrite Horwitz’s quote to read:

The best case scenario here is that Horwitiz is strikingly immature and incapable of the rational thought needed for serious policy discussion. The worst case is that he’s a ticking time bomb in need of psychiatric care. In either case, he and Paul Helmke are the poster children for the flailing gun control movement which can be seen in their compulsion to demonize an 18 year-old college freshman.

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A Cruel Game

December 1, 2010 by 3 Comments

The Brady Center is engaged in a cruel game with Texas Tech freshman James D’Cruz. As the lead plaintiff in two lawsuits sponsored by the NRA, he has become the prime target of the Brady Center. The lawsuits challenge respectively the Federal prohibition on sales by FFL’s of handguns to 18-20 years olds and the denial by the State of Texas of Concealed Handgun Licenses to non-veteran, non-military 18-20 year olds.

As Sebastian at SnowFlakesInHell has noted, they have mischaracterized his Facebook page as filled with “angry, violent Facebook postings”. They are now using pictures from his Facebook page in a fundraising campaign.

It is as I say above a cruel game that the Brady Center is playing with D’Cruz. If he complains about it, he will be portrayed as a whining teenager not ready to handle adult responsibilities like being a Concealed Handgun Licensee. If he does not respond to the mischaracterization, they will feel free to continue to vilify him as violent and angry. He’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. Still, given they are going to savage him one way or another, the best thing he probably can do is to do nothing and keep leading the exemplary life that he has led in the past.

I wonder how Paul Helmke would have reacted if his daughters Laura and Kathryn had been attacked when they were 18 like he and the organization he heads are doing to James D’Cruz. I am sure that like any good father he would have been rather angry about it – as well he should.

So then why is it OK to demonize and vilify a young Hispanic male who has led what seems to be an exemplary life and is now a freshman in college?

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Brady Campaign Racist?

November 27, 2010 by

From the Austin American-Statesman on the D’Cruz cases:

“This is an unprecedented attempt to arm teenagers … even though most states currently restrict them from carrying a concealed weapon,” said Daniel Vice , senior attorney for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence . “Teen gang members could buy guns if this law is changed.”

James D’Cruz is Latino.

James D’Cruz is 18 years old.

By the logic of the Brady Center, the combination of the two makes James D’Cruz a potential “teen gang member”. Nice racial stereotype, isn’t it.

I guess this is no surprise given their recent attack on Mr. D’Cruz where they took Facebook postings out of context to conclude he is fascinated with “with gangsters and outlaws, often quoting them, and include violent, threatening messages.”

By this logic, one would say the Yale Law Class of 1973 was filled with a bunch of hack politicians that slept with staff, attacks 18 year olds, and only got a job due to family connections. It makes as much sense.