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Jeff Sessions Confirmed as U.S. Attorney General with Strong NRA Support

Friday, February 10, 2017

Jeff Sessions Confirmed as U.S. Attorney General with Strong NRA Support

Jeff Sessions, the former U.S. senator from Alabama, was confirmed on Wednesday as the new U.S. attorney general. 

The NRA had heavily promoted Sessions’s nomination, and he enjoyed the support of the entire Republican caucus in the U.S. Senate.  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) also crossed the aisle to vote for the long-time Alabama senator.

In addition to a Senate career spanning more than 20 years during which he consistently enjoyed “A” and “A+” ratings from the NRA, Sessions brings a wealth of law enforcement experience to his new position. He began a career as a federal prosecutor in 1975. President Reagan then nominated him to be the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama in 1981, and he would occupy that position for the next 12 years.

For gun owners, Sessions promises to be a welcome change from his predecessors in the Obama administration, whose tenures were marked by scandals that included Operation Fast & Furious and Operation Choke Point and that diminished the prestige and integrity of the Department of Justice. The continual agitation from the Obama administration for new gun laws did not translate into a determination to maximize prosecutions under existing statutes, and near the end of his term Obama even pardoned or commuted the sentences of numerous serious firearm offenders

Sessions, by contrast, made clear during his confirmation hearing that he intended to use the resources of the Justice Department to vigorously enforce existing laws, not just lobby for new ones:

If I am confirmed, we will systematically prosecute criminals who use guns in committing crimes. As United States attorney, my office was a national leader in gun prosecutions every year. We will partner with state and local law enforcement to take down drug-trafficking cartels and dismantle gangs. We will prosecute those who repeatedly violate our borders. It will be my priority to confront these crises vigorously, effectively and immediately.

NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox applauded Sessions’s confirmation. “The NRA and our five million members would like to congratulate Jeff Sessions on his confirmation as attorney general,” Cox said. “He will make America a safer place by prosecuting violent criminals while protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners.”

In another welcomed development for gun owners, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley appointed the state’s attorney general, Luther Strange, to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Sessions until a permanent replacement is chosen in a special election next year. Strange, like Sessions, has an established history of supporting Second Amendment rights.

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North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Friday, October 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Monday, October 13, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members—filed a lawsuit challenging California’s Glock ban.

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Major Digital Currency’s Terms of Use Prohibit Firearm and Ammunition Sales

So much of the energy surrounding the digital currency space has been aimed at bringing forth a new liberty. 

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Urban Crime Spike “the Most Overlooked U.S. Crime Story in Recent Years”

It was a standard talking point of the Biden White House that violent crime had dropped by record levels under the Biden-Harris administration, attributed in part to its support of gun control measures.

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

David Hogg: “The Grift that Keeps on Grifting”

At this point, anybody who reads NRA-ILA’s Grassroots Alerts even sporadically is well aware of the shameless, anti-gun self-promoter David Hogg. 

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Thursday, October 23, 2025

NRA-ILA Files Reply Brief Pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Its Challenge to the NFA’s Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Reply Brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles in a ...

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

Colorado Joins States in Promoting Use of Red Flag Laws

News  

Monday, October 20, 2025

Colorado Joins States in Promoting Use of Red Flag Laws

First there were the red flag laws themselves, dangerous laws allowing for the seizure of firearms while bypassing a citizen’s right to due process. 

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Virginia: Wytheville Town Council to Vote on Gun Control Ordinance on Monday

Friday, October 24, 2025

Virginia: Wytheville Town Council to Vote on Gun Control Ordinance on Monday

On Monday, October 27, the Wytheville Town Council is scheduled to vote on a gun control ordinance that would expand “gun-free zones” by prohibiting firearms in Wytheville government buildings, public parks, and community and recreation ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.