Todd Vandermyde

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Yet Another NRA Board Change

October 27, 2025 by 2 Comments

Former NRA President Sandy Froman has resigned from the NRA Board of Directors effective today. This comes after serving on the Board for 30 years. She will remain a member of the NRA Executive Council. Her replacement is the next runner-up Todd Vandermyde.

First, what does this mean for the 2026 Board election? You will now have a total of 29 seats on the Board filled from the 38 candidates. This will include 25 regular 3-year terms, two replacement 2-year terms, one replacement 1-year term, and the one year term of the 76th Director. Reformers are in the ascendency and this election will cement their win.

Second, I am thrilled to have Todd on the Board. He and I have been friends for many years and I have endorsed him multiple times. He is on the ballot again this year by petition. I sincerely doubt any other petition candidate got as many signatures as Todd who received over 1,200 valid signatures.

Third, Todd brings a unique combination of expertise to the Board. Not only is he the president of the Aurora Sportsmen’s Club, the largest gun club in Illinois with over 2,500 members, but he successfully lobbied for gun rights in the Illinois General Assembly for decades. He did this for his union local, as a contract lobbyist for the NRA, and as the lobbyist for the Federal Firearm Licensees of Illinois. In addition, as I’ve said earlier, Todd is an innovative thinker who thinks out of the box when it comes to 2A litigation.

Finally, success or failure at the NRA is now on the shoulders of reformers. While many of the problems facing the organization were left to us by Wayne LaPierre and those who looked the other way, it remains our responsibility as reformers to repair the damage and rebuild the NRA into the organization it can be and should be. I look forward to having Todd helping in this effort going forward.

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Barnett V. Raoul – Oral Arguments And Analysis

September 25, 2025 by 2 Comments

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of Barnett v. Raoul on Tuesday. The case involves the ban by the State of Illinois on certain semi-automatic firearms as well as standard capacity magazines. The US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois had issued a permanent injunction against the enforcement of this ban and the state appealed against this judgment. Barnett is the lead case and is the amalgam of four different challenges to the state’s Protect Illinois Communities Act.

What makes this case even more interesting than a usual AWB and mag ban case is that the US Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs and was given time in the oral arguments. Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, argued on behalf of the DOJ.

The full oral arguments can be found here. The three judge panel consisted of Judges Frank Easterbrook, Michael Brennan, and Amy St. Eve.

Involved in the case(s) since the beginning has been my good friend Todd Vandermyde. He and I had a long conversation about the case and the oral arguments earlier this week as he was in the courtroom. He has since put up an analysis of the case on his Freedom’s Steel YouTube channel. Most interesting was Todd’s analysis of what happens next depending on the opinion in the case. It could a win, it could be a win and the state appeals for an en banc hearing, it could be a split decision, or it could be a loss. All have ramifications for what direction things take from there.

Todd also did an interview with William Kirk of Washington Gun Law regarding the case. That interview is on YouTube and can be found here.

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Todd Vandermyde For NRA Board

September 1, 2025 by 1 Comment

I nominated Todd Vandermyde for the NRA Board in 2024 and I did it again this year. Neither time resulted in him being nominated by the Nominating Committee which I found very disappointing. Todd was on the ballot by petition for the 2025 Board election and was a part of the NRA 2.0 reform slate. Unfortunately, he missed being elected by a just a few spots.

Todd is again running for the Board by petition. He is off to a good start but needs your help to cross the finish line. If you are a voting member of the NRA, you should sign his electronic petition! Voting members are either Life Members or Annual Members who have 5 or more years of continuous, unbroken membership.

https://nra.directnominations.net/Petitions/Sign/bc943a68-a03b-4e53-be4e-b5f1ddffa775

First and foremost, Todd is an innovative thinker when it comes to finding ways to preserve, protect, and advance the Second Amendment through both legislation and litigation. Sometimes to move beyond incremental change you need a disruptor and I think Todd could provide this to both the Legislative Affairs and Legal Affairs Committees. He fought for over 25 years in the Illinois General Assembly to advance gun rights and won more than he lost. Further, he has helped build Second Amendment litigation from scratch including Shepard v Madigan who brought shall-issue concealed carry to Illinois.

Second, he is the President of the Aurora Sportsman’s Club which is the largest gun club in Illinois with over 2,000 members. Running a gun club that size is like herding cats with all the competing interests and Todd has done it smoothly. Having this non-profit management experience would be valuable on the Board. Even more importantly, clubs and associations have been earmarked as an area in which the NRA is seeking to grow members.

Third, Todd knows social media. His YouTube channel Freedom’s Steel has a growing viewership and Todd’s analysis of cases is spot on. Yeah, he kinda looks like a “Bad Santa” but he is our Bad Santa.

Fourth, Todd knows heavy machinery! Of course he does as he was an operating engineer (aka heavy machinery operator) as a member of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. In other words, Todd has worked with his hands unlike most of us on the NRA Board. Given today is Labor Day, I thought it important to point this out.

Fifth, Todd is a veteran. He served 19 years in the US Army Reserves in a variety of units and MOS’s.

Finally, Todd is my friend and we have known one another for years. That said, I have never been more impressed with Todd than over the past two years as he has helped his wife Amy rebound from a massive stroke. That takes love, dedication, care, and perseverance.

Todd’s bio is below and gives many details. Why he was not nominated by the Nominating Committee is beyond me but you can see that he is on the ballot by signing his petition.

As Nike advertises – Just Do It!

Todd Vandermyde BIODownload
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Ames V. Ohio Dept of Youth Services – Another Take

June 13, 2025 by 1 Comment

Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services was a recent Supreme Court decision regarding reverse discrimination. It was found in favor of Ames on an unanimous vote with the opinion written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The basis of the case was that Marlean Ames, a white, heterosexual woman, was denied a promotion in a favor of a lesbian. She was later demoted as a program administrator and replaced by a gay man. She filed suit under Title VII alleging discrimination. She lost in district court and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. However, the 6th Circuit had adopted a rule that when a person of a majority group alleged discrimination they had a higher burden.

It is on this second step that Todd Vandermyde examines in his Freedom’s Steel podcast. Todd believes that the SCOTUS striking down lower court’s made up or secondary rules may be helpful in gun rights cases. I’ll let him explain it in the video below. I think he may be on to something especially when it comes to AWBs and mag bans.

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NRA Petition Candidate – Todd Vandermyde

September 14, 2024 by 1 Comment

I remember Don Moran, then president of the Illinois State Rifle Association, telling me that no one knew the laws concerning firearms in Illinois better than Todd Vandermyde. Don said he could quote the laws to you. Todd used this to our advantage for years in Illinois when he served as the NRA’s contract lobbyist and put together coalitions to both stop bad bills and pass good bills in Springfield. If Todd makes the ballot as he should and gets elected to the Board of Directors, the impact he would make on the Legal Affairs and Legislative Affairs Committee would be tremendous.

Todd is a friend and we have discussed cases and legal strategies for years. Even though Todd is not a lawyer – he was an operating engineer – he sees paths to victory in the courts that many lawyers cannot see due to their rigid mindset. You can see this for yourself on Todd’s YouTube channel called Freedom’s Steel where he discusses the Rahimi case. As Todd has said many times, imagine what could have been done for the Second Amendment with just a fraction of the money wasted on Brewer.

I should note here that I submitted Todd’s name to the Nominating Committee for nomination while he submitted mine. I still think that even though they overlooked him that he was more qualified to sit on the Board than many whom they did put on the ballot. I have embedded his bio below.

Todd Vandermyde BIODownload

I would strongly urge you to sign Todd’s petition if you are a voting member and ask fellow voting members to do likewise. Both the Complementary Spouse and I have signed his petition. This is the second time I’ve posted his petition because I believe so strongly in his candidacy.

You can return Jim’s petition either to him directly at 2341 Iroquois Lane, Yorkville, IL 80560. 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.

Todd Vandermyde 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.

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Put Todd On The Board, Too!

August 19, 2024 by

Todd Vandermyde of Illinois is a friend and the type of person who needs to be on the Board of Directors of the NRA. For many years, he labored in the trenches of the Illinois General Assembly as a contract lobbyist for the NRA, FFL of Illinois, and Springfield Armory among others. While he is retired as a lobbyist, Todd most recently was an expert witness in Barnett v. Raoul which challenges the Illinois mag and “assault weapon” (sic) ban. Currently, he serves as the president of the Aurora Sportman’s Club which is one of the largest gun clubs in Illinois.

Todd and I have had many discussions on what could have been done to advance our Second Amendment rights if only half of the money spent (wasted!) on Bill Brewer had been spent on 2A litigation. It is enough to make any activist cry.

Todd, like me, wants reform at the NRA and I have submitted his name to the Nominating Committee for consideration. He, like me, is also running as a petition candidate. I have placed his petition below. If you are a voting member of the NRA – Life or an Annual Member with five or more continuous membership without interruption, please consider signing it.

Todd Vandermyde PetitionDownload

Email Todd at tvandermyd AT aol DOT com for his mailing address.

Thanks!

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Barnett V. Raoul – Hearing On Challenge To Illinois Gun Ban

April 13, 2023 by 1 Comment

Barnett v. Raoul is the consolidated case which challenges the Illinois AWB and magazine ban. It is being heard before Judge Stephen McGlynn in US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. A hearing was held today in East St. Louis, Il.

Bishop On Air live tweeted the arguments in the case which is embedded below. He did a great job of capturing the essence of the arguments. I used Thread Reader to pull them all together.

After the oral arguments ended, plaintiffs said they were confident on obtaining a preliminary injunction against the law. From my reading of Judge McGlynn’s questions, I think they very well get their injunction.

You can see more comments from the plaintiffs’ attorneys along with my friend Todd Vandermyde who served as a consultant in the case in the video below.

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Action Alert For Illinois

January 4, 2023 by

Anti-gun politicians in Illinois are pushing hard for HB-5855. This bill includes a magazine ban which includes possession as well as a ban on the sale of new “assault weapons”.

From the Illinois State Rifle Association:

WANT TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD on HB-5855?

Find your IL legislators at the link below:

elections.il.gov

1. Call your IL State Legislators at their State and Local Offices

    about HB-5855! 

2. State your name.

3. State your address.

4. Let them know you are a concerned constituent of theirs

5. “I am calling you to request that you vote NO on HB5855 or any similar bill that takes away my Second Amendment rights. 

Thank you for your consideration.”

Todd Vandermyde, former NRA lobbyist in Illinois and the guy who knows more about gun laws in Illinois than anybody, has produced a series of YouTube videos on the bill. Included is his testimony as a private citizen before the Illinois State House.

The most recent:

From December 30th:

Todd’s testimony to the committee hearing on December 20th:

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Oral Arguments In NYSRPA V. Bruen

June 8, 2022 by 7 Comments

Todd Vandermyde and I have had multiple conversations regarding the Supreme Court this last few months. Todd, for those that don’t know him, was the NRA’s lobbyist in Illinois for many years. He also coordinated with NRA-ILA on bringing cases at the state and Federal level against restrictions in the Prairie State. Don Moran, former president of the Illinois State Rifle Association, once told me that the reason Todd was successful in Springfield is that he knew the gun laws better than anyone and could quote any section of the laws verbatim at will.

Todd has been reading the tea leaves in NYSRPA v. Bruen from the oral arguments. He found some interesting things in them especially with regard to comments by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Todd lays out his thoughts in the YouTube below. While we are waiting for the decision, this gives some things to think about and to look for in the final decision.

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Moving Dirt

May 21, 2021 by 1 Comment

The Aurora Sportsmen’s Club in Waterman, Illinois has a large tract of land on which they are always building even more ranges. I last mentioned them in 2020 when they were prevented from being open due to Gov. J. B. Pritzker’s Covid restrictions. This despite being a huge outdoor facility where “social distancing” was easily accomplished.

My friend Todd Vandermyde is part of the club and likes to play with big Tonka toys. Really big toys! He does this when he has some free time from lobbying the Illinois General Assembly on gun rights.

If you ever wondered what went into building a major facility like this watch the next two videos. Between a D8 Caterpillar bulldozer and an excavator, they are moving tons and tons of dirt.

You can see more of his videos on his YouTube channel called “Freedom’s Steel”.