Interesting NRA Fact

The NRA of the United Kingdom is 12 years older than the American version:

NRA of the UK - established 1859

NRA of America - established 1871

Too bad the UK seems to have forgotten their rich shooting heritage.
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The Power of Us ...

... through the NRA. Here is a list of the 51 Senators who sent a letter to the White House saying the Second Amendment is non-negotiable, re: the UN Arms Trade Treaty.

The media and anti gunners (yeah, yeah I know) like to cry about the power of the NRA, but the power lies with us, its members. They need to acknowledge that, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Updated Gun Giveaways

Over at The Weapon Blog, Aaron has a roundup of contests. Win guns, knives, the Constitution, NRA memberships, etc.

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New TN Gun Law

A recent update from the NRA:

Tennessee: Pro-Gun Bill Signed into Law by Governor Haslam

On March 31, Governor Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 519 into law.  SB 519, which took immediate effect, recognizes that any employer permitting a person to legally carry a firearm on the employer's property does not constitute an “occupational safety and health hazard” to the employees.  SB 519, sponsored by state Senator Mike Bell (R-9), passed in the Senate by a 30 to 1 vote.  House Bill 283 is the companion bill to SB 519, sponsored by state Representative Vance Dennis (R-71), that passed in the House by an 82 to 8 vote.  

The recognition of Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards by the General Assembly in SB 519 and HB 283 should serve as a stepping stone toward the passage of parking lot/worker protection legislation that would allow gun owners to lawfully store firearms in their privately-owned and locked vehicle while parked in publicly accessible parking lots controlled by their employer or a business that they frequent.  Employees should not be forced to choose between being fired from their job or sacrificing their right to self-defense on their daily commute.

 

Sweet
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The National Rifle Association Strongly Opposes the Nomination of Andrew Traver to Head BATFE

via email:

The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama's nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a "recess appointment," in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators.

Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police's (IACP) "Gun Violence Reduction Project," a "partnership" with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists.

The IACP report, generated with Traver's help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as “assault weapons,” as well as calling for bans on .50 caliber rifles and widely used types of ammunition. The report also suggests that Congress should regulate gun shows out of existence and should repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt Amendment -- all efforts strongly opposed by the NRA and its members.

Traver also participated in an extremely deceptive NBC Chicago report (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Assault-Weapons-Surge-in-City-69620227.html) in which he referred to "the growing frequency of gang members and drug dealers using heavy caliber military-type weapons" and described them as if they were machine guns: "Pull the trigger and you can mow people down." Traver and his agents provided the reporter with a fully automatic AK-47, with which she was unable to hit the target. He then said that stray bullets are "one of the main problems with having stuff like this available to the gangs."

As the Agent-in-Charge of Chicago’s BATFE office, Traver knows that fully automatic firearms are not available through normal retail channels--the opposite of what was implied in the report.

An agency involved in the regulation of a fundamental, individual right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution should not be led by an individual with a demonstrated hostility to that freedom. For that reason, the NRA strongly opposes Andrew Traver to head the BATFE and urges President Obama to withdraw this ill-advised nomination.

The Obama administration putting an anti-gun guy from Chicago in charge of the ATF? I'm shocked!

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Newsflash - Liberal Heads Exploding All Over West Tennessee

Via the Commercial Squeal:

In a surprise move, the National Rifle Association has endorsed Democrat Roy Herron over Republican Stephen Fincher in the race for West Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. John Tanner, a Democrat.

So, Democrats/Progressives/Liberals, are you going to vote for the NRA lackey, or the Republican?


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Decisions, Decisions

I have to admit, I'm not 100% sure who to vote for tomorrow. While I'm not a Republican, I can vote in the primary, and I plan to. The question is, who to vote for?

Bill "I was against guns before I joined the NRA for life" Haslam, Zach "Theocracy is good" Wamp, or Ron "I'm already here" Ramsey.

Ok, maybe I'm being a little hard on Zach, he never advocated for theocracy, not really. But still, which one of these would make the best Governor?

Bill, I'm sorry, your MAIG thing puts you right out, I don't care if you joined without really knowing what they were about. If you treat gun rights with such little concern, you're not my guy.

Zach, the whole "return to our Judeo-Christian values" thing may be pandering, but I've spent time in countries where religion is the law, and it ain't pretty. Talk like that scares me. Besides, I'm Catholic, you might not even consider me a Christian (I've heard that more than once).

Ron, you're the only one who hasn't managed to piss me off yet. Besides, you're not scared of evil black rifles. So, for now, you're the man.

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Knock Me Over With a Feather

You could have, after I read this:

Chris Peck: Why I'm a member of the NRA

Chris, you see, is the editor of our local puppy trainer, The Commercial Squeal, noted for its consistently anti-gun messages. He doesn't really convince me he's for gun rights. He does address the NRA's recent victories, but then he says this:

The NAACP, once as powerful and well-oiled a public-interest group as the NRA, struggled to stay relevant after the civil rights battles of the 1960s. The NAACP won the legal battles that eventually led to less-segregated schools, more access to the polls for African-Americans, and blazed a path for a new generation of young people who blithely assumed their more tolerant world was the way it has always been.

Yet these very victories, along with the bruises that came with them, set the stage for a difficult and ongoing transition for the 21st century NAACP. Some people suffered from diversity fatigue. Others simply concluded the work of the NAACP was largely done.

Could a similar struggle be ahead for the NRA?

Highly doubtful, Chris, for this one reason: the NAACP refused to change with the times. It refused to give up its original focus and kept crying "RACISM" in the face of societal change.

Also, the NRA does a lot, lot more than fight political battles. You'd know that if you knew ANYthing about the NRA.

I noticed that at no point does Chris say he's a member because he believes in the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

I have a feeling he's a member of the NRA for the same reason I get updates from the Brady Campaign - know thy enemy.

UPDATE: Shootin' buddy, for the win:

Chris, we are not stopping until you can buy handguns in vending machines at airports, gun classes are mandatory in junior high and high school, and owning an M16A2 (or whatever the line weapon of the U.S. Militree is) is mandatory.

LOL.

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Quote of the Day

From Sebastian, on the NRA- conservative dustup, because it's what I'm thinking at the moment:

This pisses me off, because if you weaken NRA, you weaken the Right to Bear Arms. There is no group that’s going to step up, or is capable of stepping up, and taking their place.

At times I wonder if some conservatives are really pro-gun, or just using us as useful idiots.

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NRA Statement on McDonald

Statement by Wayne LaPierre Executive Vice President, National Rifle Association Regarding U.S. Supreme Court Decision McDonald v. City of Chicago

Today marks a great moment in American history. This is a landmark decision. It is a vindication for the great majority of American citizens who have always believed the Second Amendment was an individual right and freedom worth defending.

The Supreme Court said what a majority of the American public believes. The people who wrote the Second Amendment said it was an individual right, and the Court has now confirmed what our founding fathers wrote and intended. The Second Amendment -- as every citizen’s constitutional right -- is now a real part of American Constitutional law

But, Supreme Court decisions have to lead to actual consequences or the whole premise of American constitutional authority collapses. Individual freedom must mean you can actually experience it. An incorporated freedom has to be a real freedom.

The intent of the founding fathers -- and the Supreme Court -- was to provide access. Words must have meaning.

The Supreme Court has now said the Second Amendment is an individual freedom for all. And that must have meaning. This decision must provide relief to law-abiding citizens who are deprived of their Second Amendment rights.

I’m a practical guy. I don’t want to win on philosophy and lose on freedom. The end question is, can law-abiding men and women go out and buy and own a firearm? Today the Supreme Court said yes – anywhere they live!

This decision cannot lead to different measures of freedom, depending on what part of the country you live in. City by city, person by person, this decision must be more than a philosophical victory. An individual right is no right at all if individuals can’t access it. Proof of Heller and McDonald will be law abiding citizens, one by one, purchasing and owning firearms.

The NRA will work to ensure this constitutional victory is not transformed into a practical defeat by activist judges, defiant city councils, or cynical politicians who seek to pervert, reverse, or nullify the Supreme Court’s McDonald decision through Byzantine labyrinths of restrictions and regulations that render the Second Amendment inaccessible, unaffordable, or otherwise impossible to experience in a practical, reasonable way.

What good is a right without the gun? What good is the right if you can’t buy one? Or keep one in your home? Or protect your family with one?

Here’s a piece of paper – protect yourself. That’s no right at all!

Victory is when law abiding men and women can get up, go out, and buy and own a firearm.

This is a monumental day. But NRA will not rest until every law-abiding American citizen is able to exercise the individual right to buy and own a firearm for self defense or any other lawful purpose.

Sent to me via email from the lovely & talented Rachel Parsons of the NRA - ILA.
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Cowardly Commercial Squeal at it Again

(Unsigned) Editorial: No sign? No dine

You know what this is all about, right?

It's probably not going out on a limb to predict that the state House of Representatives, following the lead of the Senate, will override Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto of the guns in bars bill this week.

That's because most people are not against it.

Two statewide polls show Tennesseans are strongly opposed to the idea, but the National Rifle Association, which won't rest until there are guns in every honky-tonk, biker bar and strip club, has threatened legislators' re-election efforts if the legislation fails.

Link, please. No? Ok, I'll just take your word for it, being the bastion of responsible journalism you are.

Please tell me, if Tennesseans are so strongly opposed to this, how does the NRA come into play? The NRA doesn't appoint politicians, Tennesseans vote them in. If Tennesseans are so displeased with this bill, nothing the NRA says and does will keep the voters from ushering in a changing of the guard next time they vote.

Unless a developing lawsuit by restaurant servers is successful, Tennesseans will soon have the right to pack heat in any restaurant or bar that serves alcohol and doesn't explicitly forbid it.

Nice use of the hyperbolic "pack heat", there mister/miss unsigned editorial person. Make sure you don't go into detail about it (person carrying can't drink, etc), it would ruin your alarmist tone.

The bright side is that people have the right to show their displeasure with this new policy in two ways. First, don't patronize restaurants and bars without signs in the window barring entry to armed patrons.

That cuts both ways, as restaurant owners have already begun to find out.

As foolish and irresponsible as this law is, it does make this small gesture of respect for private business rights. Restaurateurs don't like the stigma that a no-weapons sign carries, but it could become a kind of welcome mat for diners who prefer gun-free dining.

It could also create a "victim disarmament zone", letting criminals know where the guns are not.

There's another way for Tennesseans to register their displeasure with guns in bars.

An election in the fall presents an opportunity for voters to send a message to lawmakers that there are consequences for their actions.

I already addressed elections, so, instead I'll say this: There's also a way for Memphians to register their displeasure with bigoted newspapers - don't buy them.

Hell, they're only good for the coupons, and you can get those online.

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Trigger the Vote

Chuck Norris and the NRA are starting a voter registration drive called Trigger the Vote.

Check it out!

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We're Winning

Via the NRA's lovely and talented Rachel:

Bipartisan Majority of the U.S. Senate Votes in Favor of National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity

Fairfax, Va. – Today, by a margin of 58-39, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate voted in favor of an amendment offered by Senator John Thune to provide interstate recognition of right-to-carry permits.

I'm beginning to like "Hope and Change".

Update: file this under "read the whole thing next time":

“While we are disappointed that the 60 vote procedural hurdle was not met, the vote shows that a bipartisan majority agrees with the NRA,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.

Ah, well. Time to see who voted how I guess. Onwards and upwards.

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Somewhere, Someone is Having Fun

A lot of someones, actually. The NRA convention is underway, and reports are rolling in. Here's the first few:

Snowflakes in Hell got to meet Heller.

Michale Bane says Hi and the new Ruger will debut in five hours.

Thirdpower has pics and got to meet the lovely & talented Rachel Parsons at check-in.

Kevin's at his bro's house. Must be nice. I can't wait till they have a convention in Memphis.

More as it comes in, at least until I am totally consumed by envy and drink myself into a stupor.

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Time For the NRA to Break Tradition

... and rescind Kirsten Gillibrand's A rating immediately.

This is betrayal of the highest order.

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Some Bad News/Good News on TN Gun Bills

After some gratuitous NRA- bashing and reporting on the TN Guns in Parking Lots bill (Bad News - it's been shelved), we discover some Good News:

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill allowing people with handgun-carry permits to take their guns into restaurants that serve alcohol -- places where they are currently banned by law.

Details

The committee stripped out restrictions that remain in the House version of the bill, including one that bans guns in the restaurants between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and one banning guns in restaurants that restrict admissions to minors. (Under state law, restaurants that allow smoking may prohibit minors from entering.)

The committee sent the bill to the Senate for a floor vote that hasn't been scheduled. But the House and Senate must reconcile difference between the two versions before it can become law.

(emphasis mine)

That's a Good Thing, of course. I just hope folks don't get all wrapped around the axle over this.

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Wayne LaPierre on Glenn Beck

Via email:

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre was a guest on the Glenn Beck program on Fox News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009. Wayne and Glenn discussed Attorney General Holder's recent announcement that he wants to resurrect the failed semi-automatic firearm and magazine bans. They also talked about the preposterous claim being made by gun control congressmen and senators that our Second Amendment, and not the corruption within the Mexican government, is the cause for the violent crime caused by Mexican drug lords.

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More Good News

Via NRA-ILA's Rachel:

Today in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, 65 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR), expressed their opposition to the reinstatement of the failed 1994 ban on semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines.

The pdf is here, the emphasis mine.

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An Answer to the Brass Question

In answer to my post below, Chris Cox 'splains it all:

As DLA explained to Senators Baucus and Tester, and to NRA-ILA, DoD officials responsible for the demilitarization of military property temporarily halted the release of the cartridge cases last week, pending review of a policy change issued last year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which, in the interest of national security, halted the sale of items within a broad category of government property including, but not limited to, surplus small arms cartridge cases.

To make cartridge cases eligible for sale once again, DoD demilitarization officials verified that the cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for use within the United States, and then executed the recategorization. Whereas during the brief suspension, fired cartridge cases would have been releaseable only if the purchaser crushed or smelted them, now the cases may be sold as before, intact and reloadable.

Good deal.

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The Real Bobby Jindal

I didn't watch the speech the other night, not one bit. Watched the last two episodes of Leverage instead. (more episodes this summer!)

I heard Bobby didn't fare well, which surprised me after seeing him speak at the NRA convention last year. He knocked it out of the park there.

Here is the Bobby I saw:



He's the real deal.

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