Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Bob Dole: Veteran, Senator, and Friend to the Second Amendment

Monday, December 13, 2021

Bob Dole: Veteran, Senator, and Friend to the Second Amendment

Former Senate majority leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole passed away December 5 at the age of 98. A World War II veteran who was the recipient of two Purple Hearts and two Bronze stars, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a five-term Senator from Kansas, Dole served his country with distinction throughout his life.

A quarter century has passed since Dole was in the U.S. Senate, but the freedom he helped secure for law-abiding gun owners lives on. A staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, Dole was instrumental in enacting several pieces of legislation that had a profound effect on gun rights.

Dole was first elected to the Senate in 1968, the same year President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Gun Control Act. In the years that followed, Dole would become one of the GCA’s staunchest critics.

Describing his position on the GCA in those years at a 1988 candidates forum, Dole explained,

Simply stated, the legislation placed undue burdens on law-abiding gun owners, thereby diverting law enforcement resources away from real criminals. That, coupled with overzealous enforcement by government bureaucrats, eventually made the need for remedial legislation painfully obvious.

Putting this understanding into action, in 1979 Dole co-sponsored the first version of the McClure-Volkmer bill (the Firearms Owners' Protection Act, or FOPA).

In 1982 Dole secured the first legislative rollback of the GCA. At the time, the GCA required federal licensing for all ammunition dealers and required that a record be kept on all handgun ammunition sales by retailers. The senator sponsored a successful amendment to a trade bill that removed .22 caliber rimfire ammunition from the GCA’s dealer ammunition sale recordkeeping requirement. Two years later, Dole offered a successful amendment removing the GCA’s restrictions on military surplus imports.

Upon becoming Senate majority leader for the first time in 1985, Dole put FOPA at the top of the legislative agenda, securing passage on July 9 of that year. Writing Dole to thank him for his hard work several days after FOPA passed the Senate, NRA-ILA Executive Director J. Warren Cassidy noted,

all of us here in the Institute will never forget that it was your strong, determined leadership that brought about the passage.

If you had not made it known that you intended to bring that bill to a vote, certain parties – both pro and anti gun – would have once again blocked any positive action.

The House passed FOPA on April 10, 1986. On April 26 of that year Dole served as the keynote speaker at the 115th NRA Members Banquet at the NRA Annual Meetings. During his speech, Dole made clear his intent to shepherd the vital gun rights bill through final Senate approval. FOPA was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on May 19. Pursuant to NRA tradition, NRA presented Dole with a well-deserved flintlock long rifle crafted by master gunmaker Cecil Brooks.

[For more information on the important changes to federal law in FOPA, readers are encouraged to study David T. Hardy’s excellent work on the subject, here and here.]

Dole’s obvious work on behalf of gun owners did not stop some of the more outspoken within the gun rights community from, at times, finding perceived fault with the senator. Speaking in 1988 Dole explained,

I’ve done more than talk about my commitment. I’ve done more than give lip service to gun owner’s rights. I’ve made a difference.

All gun owners should be grateful for the tremendous difference Dole made.

TRENDING NOW
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.

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). 

Firearm Prohibition Advocates Mute on Jay Jones “Two Bullets to the Head” Scandal

News  

Monday, October 13, 2025

Firearm Prohibition Advocates Mute on Jay Jones “Two Bullets to the Head” Scandal

Democrat Jay Jones, candidate for Virginia attorney general, still has not suspended his campaign, even as pressure mounts over disclosures that should disqualify, to put it mildly, any individual from serving as the chief law ...

FBI Persists in Underreporting Armed Citizen Defensive Gun Use

News  

Monday, October 13, 2025

FBI Persists in Underreporting Armed Citizen Defensive Gun Use

Three years ago, Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), writing for RealClearInvestigations, described how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was vastly undercounting, “by an order of more than three the number of instances in ...

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with the American Suppressor Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation—announced the filing of another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

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.

Rehearing En Banc Sought in NRA-Supported Challenge to New Jersey’s Carry Restrictions

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Rehearing En Banc Sought in NRA-Supported Challenge to New Jersey’s Carry Restrictions

Today, the National Rifle Association announced the filing of a petition for rehearing en banc in Siegel v. Platkin, a challenge to New Jersey’s carry restrictions.

US Virgin Islands: Sweeping Gun Control Measures Advance

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

US Virgin Islands: Sweeping Gun Control Measures Advance

The 36th Legislature of the US Virgin Islands is continuing to advance sweeping gun control measures through the legislative process.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on ...

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 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.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

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.