Election 2008 and the Long Road Ahead

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Election 2008 and the Long Road Ahead

Click here to take this week's poll about gun shows and the presidential election.

The 2008 elections are over, and America has spoken. While many of the results were not what we hoped for, this year's election does show how NRA members have truly changed politics in America.

Across the country, from the presidential race, to the U.S. Senate and House, to state legislative races, one thing was missing this year: ads proudly proclaiming candidates' anti-gun credentials.

The gun control lobby must be distressed that many Democratic gains occurred only because the party has run so far from the gun control issue. While they fondly look back to how actively Bill Clinton campaigned for gun control in 1992 and 1996, they also remember the lesson that gun owners taught an anti-gun Congress in 1994, Al Gore in 2000, and John Kerry in 2004. This was a lesson taught by the National Rifle Association that has changed the politics of our issue across the country.

"Yes We Can . . . Ban Guns"--Obama Announces Gun Ban Agenda Before The Final Vote Count Is In: Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan, "the audacity of hope," should have instead been "the audacity of deceit." After months of telling the American people that he supports the Second Amendment, and only hours after being declared the president-elect, the Obama transition team website announced an agenda taken straight from the anti-gun lobby--four initiatives designed to ban guns and drive law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers out of business.

Special Deal on Sights: Aimpoint and MidwayUSA Team Up to Help NRA-ILA: Aimpoint, Inc. and MidwayUSA will donate $100 to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action for every Aimpoint CompM4 electronic red-dot sight package purchased by NRA members from MidwayUSA through the end of 2008.

The Founder's Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, by Stephen P. Halbrook--Donate to NRA-ILA and Get Your Copy Now! Stephen Halbrook's The Founders' Second Amendment is the first book-length account of the origins of the Second Amendment, based on the Founders' own statements as found in newspapers, correspondence, debates, and resolutions. Mr. Halbrook investigates the period from 1768 to 1826, from the last years of British rule and the American Revolution through the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the passing of the Founders' generation. From the British seizure of guns in Boston to the Founders' own use of guns in their private lives, his book offers the most comprehensive analysis ever of the arguments behind the drafting and adoption of the Second Amendment, and the intentions of the men who created it.

To contribute to NRA-ILA and receive your copy of this remarkable book, please click here.

Help Defend Your Gun Rights One Easy Click At A Time: We now have a revolutionary yet simple tool that will allow you to stay connected to NRA-ILA and raise valuable contributions to defend our Second Amendment rights without spending a dime! It's the NRA-ILA Toolbar, and you can make a difference by downloading and using it.

STATE ROUNDUP (please click to see any updates on states not listed below.)

ARIZONA: Volunteers Needed to Clean Public Lands in Table Mesa Recreation Area on Saturday, November 8! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is hosting a cleanup event off of Table Mesa Road, north of Phoenix on Saturday, November 8. This area receives a tremendous amount of recreation, including target shooting. This alert is being sent to encourage NRA members who recreate in the Table Mesa area, or live in that part of the state, to volunteer for this event. NRA knows that its members understand the importance of keeping public lands open to the public by helping to clean up what the careless and thoughtless leave behind. Directions: From the Phoenix area, travel north on Interstate 17, exiting at Table Mesa Road (exit 236). On-site registration and cleanup begins at 8:00 a.m. BLM requests that those who wish to volunteer contact Chris Gammage at (623) 580-5512 or Mary Skordinsky at (623) 580-5500 to let them know you are coming. For more information, please click here.

Pro-Gun Input Needed as BLM Prepares Recreation Plan for Table Mesa Area! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is preparing a recreation plan for the Table Mesa area, north of Phoenix. This is a very poplar recreation area, especially for target shooting. The BLM wants to know what types of recreation and road access are important to people who recreate in this area. They want to hear from hunters and shooters about what areas are important to them for target shooting. It is critical that recreational shooters who use the area participate in this process in order to counter the radical environmental and anti-gun forces who want to end all recreational shooting in Arizona. There is little doubt that they will be active in this public input process. The agency will be holding two public meetings and it is critical that hunters and shooters who use this area attend one of the meetings. The first meeting will be on Tuesday, November 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Deer Valley Senior Center located at 2001 West Wahalla Lane in Phoenix. The other meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Anthem Community Center at 41130 N. Freedom Way in Anthem. Following the public meetings, the BLM will prepare a Recreation Activity Plan/Travel Management Plan and release it for public comment. Should you have questions about the planning process, you may contact Tom Bickauskas, Project Manager, at 623-580-5502.

WASHINGTON: Lead Ammunition Still in Danger in Washington State! In September we sent you several alerts pertaining to the draft Lead Chemical Action Plan (CAP) released by the state's Department of Ecology (DOE) for public comment. Through our political contacts in Washington, we learned that they have received more than 1,000 emails and phone calls from NRA members. In response to comments received from NRA members, the DOE was initially insisting that, "There is no proposed ban on lead ammunition in the draft Lead CAP." A follow-up NRA alert pointed out specific references to lead ammunition prohibitions. Subsequently, DOE issued a "correction" to the draft Lead CAP that deleted only one of the references to a prohibition on lead shot. One change in the document does not cure the problem! The DOE continues to state that it is not recommending a lead ammunition ban, only a voluntary conversion to non-lead alternatives. The draft Lead CAP, however, is still replete with statements that unmistakably direct the reader and importantly, state legislators and regulators, to the conclusion that lead ammunition should be banned. The comments that the NRA filed with the DOE can be viewed by clicking here. We encourage you to continue your communication with Governor Chris Gregoire (D) and the DOE and respectfully request that all reference to lead ammunition be removed from the draft Lead CAP before it is released as a final document. Contact information can be found by clicking here.

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