Gun Rights Organizations – Page 18 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Opposing the Sandy Hook Riders

From March 8-11, 26 cyclists will pedal from Sandy Hook, Connecticut to Washington DC, and their route will take them through my county. There is a rally planned in Doylestown for this Sunday to protest. I gave some thought about whether or not I will attend, but I am of mixed feelings on the best way to deal with this situation, and I have some reservations about the organizers.

One the one hand, the Sandy Hook riders don’t seem to be getting much attention. They currently rank 5063 “likes” on Facebook, with 632 “talking about this.” Hardly a movement. They also aren’t really pulling down much news coverage, at least as of now. There does come a point where all you’re accomplishing by protesting is helping them make a story and get in the news, when they might otherwise be ignored.

On the other hand, I also think they shouldn’t ever be allowed to occupy the field without being opposed if our side still retains the energy for opposition. They should know they are wading into controversy, and that there are fellow citizens who oppose their political agenda. They shouldn’t be able to get away with making their positions look non-controversial, or trying to pass off an obvious political statement as a memorial ride.

So I’m torn on whether a counter-protest is even the right tactic at all, but if protesting is the right thing, the deciding factor turns on what is the best protesting tactic. In my opinion passive opposition is the way to go here. I don’t think passive opposition is always the correct tactic, but I think it is in this particular circumstance it is. The group organizing this protest is Concerned Gun Owners of PA (formerly Concerned Gun Owners of Bucks County) who are not known for using passive tactics. They are better known for armed demonstration combined with aggressive, in-your-face tactics.

CGOBC sprung up right after Sandy Hook, and I attended several of their meetings and rallies. We attended a few meetings with some of their leaders. The group ended up splitting into two organizations last year, largely due to disagreement about tactics. I soured on CGOBC after the mother’s day rally, especially when they started to generate negative headlinesÂ having one of their leadersÂ photographed screaming in the face of a little old lady. When you’re in a position of strength, as we are now, I think it’s best to behave as if you’re in a position of strength. Passive protest is the right tactic in this circumstance. Just be seen, and have someone ready to speak to the media when they come around. Don’t let the headline become armed protesters show up to intimidate a memorial ride. Unfortunately, CGOPA hasn’t shown (to me, at least) that they are good at using wise tactics.

Charlton Heston Gets a Stamp

In April, the USPS will release a stamp honoring former NRA president Charlton Heston. I initially found the news at Daily Caller, but they simply said the stamp would be released sometime in the year 2014. A look at the USPS website says that the release event is scheduled for a day to be determined in April.

If USPS is really interested in making some money, they would do it before the NRA meetings start on April 25 so that it’s a nifty little fact that stands a chance of getting mentioned to 70,000+ people who are more likely to have an interest in this particular actor.

Since it will be a standard First Class Forever stamp, it’s entirely possible that any mail sent in the next few years from our house may honor Mr. Heston. Think they’ll do a custom one of Charlton Heston in a Santa hat or holding some mistletoe for my Christmas cards? (h/t NYSRPA)

Liberal Gun Club in the News Again

A 1200 person gun club probably wouldn’t be a big news item if it weren’t for the fact that the club were made up of gun-loving progressives who had a few bad things to say about the NRA. In that case, the press is all over it. I wrote about this group a few weeks ago, when The Blaze first did an article about them. I do think this group is serious and not a false-flag front for interests that are pushing for more gun control.

It’s a difficult issue, because I can understand how they might be turned off by the gun rights being branded politically as a right-of-center belief, and a lot of gun rights groups don’t really do a whole lot to try to dissuade people from that viewpoint, and a few actively use gun rights as a lever for other right-wing causes.

But it is a fact that NRA endorses far more Republicans than Democrats because far more Republicans are better on the gun issue. I still challenge the Liberal Gun Club to outline a viable political strategy for starting a pro-Second Amendment insurgency from within the Democratic Party, which is where they could be the most useful. If being part of the Liberal Gun Club means loving your guns, but continuing to vote for the very people that vote for gun control because they are a-okay on other issues, you’re just window dressing. More importantly, your window dressing for those very people who defile the Second Amendment, because you’re advertising that you love guns and are fine with their policies. Do you love your guns enough to vote your gun rights? That’s the question they should answer.

Harrisburg Sportsmen’s Show Success by the Numbers

The local tourism authorities were quick to promote the success of NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show by the numbers that could be tallied.

Unfortunately, a hard attendance number is apparently impossible to say with accuracy because the barcode scanners used to track ticket holders actually entering the show had technical problems early in the show.

However, using other measures they regularly track for events at the venue, they were able to get an idea of how well it did.

42,784 cars were parked on site and in off site parking lots designated for the show.
Using the same formula for approximate number of people in a car that they used with previous attendance, this means 23% increase in attendance in 2014 vs 2012 under Reed.
Nearly 4,800 NRA memberships sold on site.
10,033 more room-nights were sold in 2014 vs 2012 under Reed’s management, and this is with fewer junky vendors coming into town to sell their wares & stay in the region.
$35 million in direct spending by attendees & vendors using conservative calculations that only 10% of attendees were staying the night in the area.

Also in their report include facts like many more hotels were willing to participate in the room block programs than under the old show and that the new mayor was actually a gracious host to NRA and met with them several times during the final planning stages.

More Magazine Circulation News

I’ve covered the positive news about gun magazines here before, but this is quite a shocker. American Rifleman is now in the top 25 of publications in the US, and it knocked Maxim out of the list of top magazines.

Video Day: Charlton Heston at the 1998 NRA Annual Meeting

This was held in Philadelphia. I can’t imagine NRA hosting an Annual Meeting in Philadelphia today. I did not go, because I wasn’t into guns back then, but I thought it was interesting that it got Ed Rendell to say something nice about the NRA. I was surprised this video was out there:

Supporting the NRA Takeover of Harrisburg

Okay, so maybe the NRA hasn’t actually taking over Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but they did take over the sportsman’s show in Harrisburg after the last producers banned semi-automatic rifles.

This article features reporters who talked to attendees, and the response to NRA’s involvement appears to be overwhelmingly positive. One man said, “I’m happy the NRA took over,” even though one of the top things he was looking for at the shows included ATV displays. Another attendee told reporters that since NRA took over the show, it appears more organized and functional for consumers to get around the facility.

Looking at their photos, several of the aisles look nearly as packed as the busiest weekend days of the NRA annual meetings. That’s impressive. I hope that the rough winter weather doesn’t impact attendance too much. Hopefully, word will continue to get out that it’s a great event under new management and numbers will continue to climb.

New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Doubles Membership

The wages of the SAFE Act. Now they are the largest NRA state affiliate organization, having surpassed Texas:

Today, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) is proud to announce that its membership has nearly doubled since the passage of the NY SAFE Act. NYSRPA President Tom King said, â€œOur membership has increased from (22,000?) to 41,000+ individual members in the space of one year. This is an extraordinary jump, and when you factor in the clubs and other organizations that are also members,Â we are a force to be reckoned with.â€ King noted that NYSRPA, the nationâ€™s oldest National Rifle Association (NRA) affiliate, is now the largest, surpassing the Texas affiliate. King, an NRA board member, said he looks forward to drawing attention to this when he meets with his Texas Colleagues at the next NRA board meeting.

King cites the passage of the NY SAFE Act as the primary reason for the exponential increase in membership. â€œThe NY SAFE Act is one of the most egregious assaults ever perpetrated on the Constitutional Rights of New Yorkers and people are fed up. I would point out that the governor recently said that advocates for the Second Amendment, traditional marriage, and the right to life, have forfeited their right to residency in this state. This is simply outrageous, and while we are strictly a Second Amendment advocacy organization, I can appreciate other organizationâ€™s consternation at such hubris.â€

The NYSRPA is currently in the process of litigating against the NY SAFE Act. â€œWe had a recent decision in the Western NY federal judicial district that bodes well for our cause,â€ King. â€œThe court ruled that the seven round limit on magazine capacity violated the Second Amendment and this decision has left the door open for a favorable ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court. Said King, â€œNYSRPA has already spent over $450,000 in legal fees and is prepared to bear whatever cost is required to defeat the NY SAFE Act. To quote the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. â€˜we shall overcomeâ€™.â€

Let us hope that their lawsuits find some success. I’ll be writing more about some activity in regards to lawsuits later, when I have a chance to review some opinions.

Who Spent What in the Connecticut Gun Control Fight?

This Wall Street Journal article is telling, in terms of who spends what money trying to fight for gun control laws.

For Connecticut’s new gun control:

Connecticut Against Gun Violence: $150,234
Mayors Against Illegal Guns: $153,011
Total for: $303,245

Against Connecticut’s new gun control:

National Rifle Association: $145,265
Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen: $24,295
NSSF: $83,344
Total against: $252,904

Our side got outspent, but remember that we’re the big-bad corporate gun lobby. They are just a bunch of concerned mayors and mothers our to pass some common sense laws to fight gun violence.

Liberals Who Don’t Care About Their Gun Rights

I can completely understand why folks like this wouldn’t really appreciate the GOP:

Itâ€™s theÂ Liberal Gun Club, the left-leaning version of the National Rifle Association.

The groupâ€™s members share the same fascination with guns that many assign to NRA members, but Liberal Gun Clubs members eschew the NRAâ€™s notoriously right-leaning politics.

I don’t care how sick you are of hearing about the “Kenyan Muslim socialist,” the fact is that this Administration is outrightly hostile to your right to keep and bear arms. That is an unarguable fact just a year into his second term. NRA endorsed quite a number of Democrats in the 2010 elections, a number of whom were facing tea party backed Republicans. Where were all of you liberal gun owners then?

The group, like the NRA, supports the right of American citizens to own and carry a wide array of firearms. Most members of the Liberal Gun Club even think recent calls for expanded background checks on gun owners go too far.

Great. I agree with you. But if you’re going to vote for people who are against every single one of those concepts, what use are you? Give me a list of anti-gun Democrats you’re going to try to primary with pro-gun Democrats. Let me know how you’re going to work for gun rights within the Democratic party. Forming a shooting club doesn’t mean jack. If you’re not voting your gun rights, to be blunt, you don’t really care abut gun rights, and no one will ever give a crap about what you think on this topic. If all you’re doing is saying you love guns, but keep voting for people like Obama, DiFi and Boxer, you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution.