Thirdpower has more Todd Vandermyde, at a Chicago “Town Hall” meeting on concealed carry. Todd has been quite willing to engage in this issue at a very grassroots level, and I wish more NRA liaisons would take that cue. It is going to be increasingly necessary, going forward, for the strategy in every state to involve a combination of grassroots outreach and lobbying. Lobbying alone is simply no longer a recipe for overall success, and additionally, tends to drive mistrust and skepticism among the grassroots with the most energy to offer the cause.
Category: Gun Rights Organizations
Video Weekend, Part II: Todd Vandermyde
Todd is the NRA State Liaison for Illinois, and is thus tasked with implementing the 7th Circuit’s edict, which demands Illinois pass a constitutional carry scheme by June 9th. A few days ago, there was a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee before which Todd testified. The subtitles are my own, special addition, where I translate politicianese into ordinary language.
A lot of folks have been asking about why NRA doesn’t just run the clock out, and we’ll have Constitutional Carry for everyone after the court deadline passes. That is not really in the realm of reality. Reality is we don’t know what the Court’s further course of action will be. Will they enjoin Illinois? As Todd mentions in the video, NRA will move for that if the deadline passes. Will the Court do it? Or will they just extend the deadline?
Secondly, there’s no reality where the Illinois legislature is going to allow the situation to go from no carry to Constitutional Carry. They will pass something to try to satisfy the courts, so the choice is to stand back and let the politicians in this video try to pass something on their own, or participate in the process and try to get a good shall-issue bill. Todd has been working on this issue for years, and has come within a razors margin several times. The ruling by the 7th Circuit on carry offers the possibility of picking up the extra needed votes, in addition to the possibility of getting a better bill than would have been possible in the past.
Working with the current ruling to get a good shall-issue bill is the best course of action going forward. Anything else is trusting in the courts and politicians to do the right thing, and when they don’t, having to go back to the federal courts and re-litigate.
h/t to Chris from AK to pointing me to the video. Chris has the unedited version, which includes all 3 an a half hours of testimony.
NRA Response to Obama State of the Union
ILA is tweeting this out ahead of the State of the Union. Apparently Eric Holder’s DOJ have been busy bees studying the gun control issue:
The document NRA is speaking about can be found here, and is a January memo from the National Institutes of Justice, part of the Department of Justice. I think it’s important this is spread far and wide.
The Lies of the Other Side
Listen to this nonsense, and note that YouTube allows you to express disapproval of this video. I would encourage you to do so. Unfortunately, Reasoned Discourse is in full effect for comments, though I don’t honestly blame anyone for doing that on YouTube:
I guess I should be glad our opponents don’t heed the first lesson of conflict, which is to know your enemy. I used to think these people didn’t actually believe this stuff, and it was just spin designed to make Second Amendment rights seems freakish and out of the mainstream. But after having interacted with many of them on social media, many folks on the other side of the issue are utterly convinced everything here is truth. As I’ve said, NRA is a manifestation of the gun culture. The gun culture is not a manifestation of NRA. If NRA were working for the gun industry, they’d support ending private sales, because it drives more dollars to dealers, and by making guns harder and more costly to trade, drives people to newly manufactured firearms. The only reason the gun industry hasn’t gotten on board with this already is because we’ve gotten very talented, as a community, at rooting out and destroying the businesses of traitors.
I’d encourage everyone to spread this video far and wide and get people to give it a “thumbs down.”
Keene: Gun Control Won’t Pass
David Keene predicted failure for all congressional measures related to guns, including expanded background checks for gun purchases.
I hope he’s right, but I would not count on it.
David Keene Interview
The Daily Caller did a lengthy interview with David Keene, President of the NRA:
Keene has been a pretty decent spokesperson on this issue. He knows policy very well, and understands how the political process operates.
NRA Polls its Own Members
The results look vastly different than Frank Luntz’s bogus poll. It all depends on how you ask the question. The more I see of polling, the more I think polling is a refuge for scoundrels, and yet it unfortunately plays a large role in political battles, which is why NRA is doing it. The more important part is many of us will crawl over broken glass to oppose politicians who favor gun control.
Why Gun Rights and Hating on Gays Don’t Mix
It can get you sued, and discovery is a bitch. I’m glad I’ve never had anything to do with NAGR or RMGO.
Anti-Gun Folks Still Want to Believe NRA’s Numbers are BS?
NRA reaches 2.1 million “Likes” on Facebook:
Not bad for a movement composed of a bunch of old fat white guys, eh? So either the antis have to believe that a lot of OFWGs are on Facebook, or that perhaps this movement is a bit more diverse than is often credited.
Manchin Lying Again
He says he’s working on a universal background check bill, and notes:
“With exceptions. The exceptions are: Families, immediate family members, some sporting events that you’re going to — that if you’re just going to be using them at the sporting events. So we’re looking and talking to people with expertise. I’m working with the NRA, to be honest with you, and talking to them,” he said.
NRA is denying it:
“If Sen. Manchin supports putting private transfers between law-abiding citizens under the thumb of the Obama-Holder justice department, we will vigorously oppose those efforts,” said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.