Category: Gun Rights Organizations

SayUncle says the naughty word.  It’s not Cerberus looking to buy Advanced Armaments, it’s the Freedom Group.  We don’t want to jeapardize any more NRA Board positions by using the word that is not to be spoken!

In June, the Seventh Circuit’s decision against incorporation prompted me to step up and put my money where my mouth is via the Civil Rights Defense Fund.  With today’s news that Bloomberg wants to pick another fight against gun owners, I’m going to step up again.  Because Michael Bloomberg wants to wage a media campaign, this donation will be specifically flagged for media outreach.

The media outreach donation will fund NRA News, ad campaigns, and other media efforts.  It will also help support the Public Affairs efforts to pick up earned media in response to Bloomberg’s iniative.  If Bloomberg wants to fight in the media, then I want to make sure that NRA has the resources to do it.

This is a rather ridiculous assertion.  Gun control activists are angry that NRA lobbied to have the CDC stop producing biased gun studies designed to reach a certain conclusion.  And why should the CDC, which is the federal epidemiological agency, be involved in studying crime?  Crime is not a public health issue, sorry, no matter how much the left wishes it were so.  It’s beyond CDC’s mandate, and Congress took appropriate action to keep them within their mandate.

We have lousy numbers on gun violence.

Why, in this sophisticated world of a data mining, where marketers can profile you within an inch of your life, can’t we track victims of violence? Not only the dead ones, who tragically are easier to count, but the ones who are shot but don’t die?

Could the answer, at least in part, be the massively powerful, heavily funded National Rifle Association?

Well, I for one am glad to see Chicago’s total handgun prohibition working so wonderfully as advertised.  Certainly the NRA is responsible for guns being in Chicago where they are illegal no?   But either way, the allegation is totally false.   A quick search turns up this site, which links directory to Chicago police computers.  You can search on all manner of crimes that happen in and out of schools in the City of Chicago.  The data is there, for anyone who wants to compile it.  The problem is that it’s no longer coming in a politically convenient package all wrapped up by the Clinton Administration’s CDC, and ready to use to push for more restrictions in a city where guns are already largely illegal.

You have to love a release for Elanor Holmes Norton that describes the NRA as being “drunk with power”.  We must be doing something right.  But she’s quick to give Obama credit for things he doesn’t deserve credit for:

For example, the Obama Administration quickly overturned a last-minute Bush Administration regulation that allowed people to carry loaded guns in national parks, but the NRA, almost as quickly, brought back the Bush provision.

The Obama Administration never overturned anything.  A federal court enjoined the administration from implementing the new rule.  And we never would have gotten that taken care of if Obama hadn’t put his John Hancock on the bill that did it.

Dave Adams of the Virginia Shooting Sports Association, has a good post on Mark Warner’s comment about NRA, which I spoke about yesterday.  He’s also touting a quote from Paul Helmke, which is basically prepping the ground for a loss on Sotomayor, “you can vote against the NRA and still win, and win in gun-friendly areas.”

I think Helmke is probably right about this.  Confirmations just don’t get people that fired up, but opinion leaders in the issue expected NRA to oppose, and so they did.  But I doubt anyone is going to lose their seat over the vote.  If Sotomayor gets to rule on a Second Amendment issue before the 2010 elections, that’ll be one thing, but likely by the time she does, the connection will be too tenuous, and politicians will have had plenty of time to make it up.

Article lamenting NRA’s political power:

The NRA won that fight. My candidate lost. And it’s hard to think of a fight the NRA hasn’t lost over the past 30 or so years. Because of the NRA, it’s okay for people in the U.S. to buy automatic assault weapons, to circumvent permit laws, to carry concealed weapons, to be armed at bars, schools and churches, and essentially to buy, sell, do or use any weapon. The purchaser’s mental health doesn’t seem to matter. Neither does past criminal activity. Nor does the opinion of law enforcement officers who face the real threat of being outgunned by law breakers.

Automatic assault weapons?  Circumvent permit laws?  Armed at schools?  Buy sell or use any weapon?  No mental health or background check?  This isn’t the gun laws I live under.

No one should fear these days that their right to own guns is in jeopardy. Rather, the big fear should be that people are carrying guns everywhere, and that many people have serious arsenals of weapons, including grenades and other explosive weapons, legally purchased.

I don’t think we’re afraid of that anymore, although we know some will still try for it.  No, now the goal is to make the Second Amendment mean something, and yes, that means I can “bear arms” for personal protection, without undue interference by government.

This letter NRA sent this morning to the Senate would appear to confirm that they are indeed grading the vote on Sotomayor, since I know some readers were skeptical.

A statement from Chris Cox Exec. Director of NRA-ILA:

“While we are disappointed that the 60 vote procedural hurdle was not met, the vote shows that a bipartisan majority agrees with the NRA.  We would like to thank Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), along with all senators who voted in favor of this amendment on both sides of the aisle. The efforts of these senators were not in vain, as the NRA will continue to work tirelessly to ensure this important legislation finds the right avenue to come before Congress once again.”

Emphasis mine.  If the anti-gun folks think they’ve seen the last of this bill, they would definitely appear to be mistaken.

Apparently Red State did not get the memo that NRA is grading the vote on Sotomayor.  Nothing to refute here.  It’s just wrong.  But what does the correction look like:

I regret the error. I’ve found I cannot defend the claim and must retract it. My apologies. Notwithstanding that, the overall point remains — the NRA has capitulated on Sotomayor and has totally refused to put up a fight, just like with Eric Holder. If the NRA is not going to aggressively combat anti-2nd Amendment judges, why should we give them money?

Emphasis mine.  How is grading the vote capitulation?  What do you want them to do?  Kidnap Senators and hold them for ransom?  It’s hard to take Red State seriously with crap like this.

Hat Tip to Gunservatively