Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Take Action

Grassroots Spotlight: Meet Jay M. Littlefield Award Winners Rick Coufal and Dennis Barthenheier

Monday, February 13, 2023

Grassroots Spotlight: Meet Jay M. Littlefield Award Winners Rick Coufal and Dennis Barthenheier

The annual NRA-ILA Jay M. Littlefield Award recognizes individual NRA members for their meritorious defense of the Second Amendment. Late last year, awards were presented to two individuals for their selfless commitment to upholding and supporting the Second Amendment.

Dennis Barthenheier, owner of Wisconsin Firearms Training Center in Brookfield, Wisconsin, received the award for his invaluable work with the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division over the past five years. Combining his passion for the Second Amendment, with his business, Wisconsin Firearms Training Center, he continually serves as a beacon for pro-Second Amendment activities in Wisconsin.

Dennis is always willing to generously let NRA, local volunteers, and pro-2A activists use his business and resources for so many important grassroots events focused on educating and engaging many in Wisconsin in support of our rights. He additionally lends his own personal time to the cause and has assisted NRA-ILA with other endeavors outside his business, such as NRA State Conferences and other events.

Rick Coufal has been volunteering directly with the NRA-ILA in Oregon for just a few short years, but has made a huge impact!  He has been instrumental in important grassroots outreach in Oregon as a Frontlines Activist Leader, as well as the Legislative Director for the NRA affiliated State Association. Rick went above and beyond the call by not only helping the new NRA-ILA PNW Grassroots Coordinator get acclimated to the region, but also helped to staff numerous gun shows and legislative events that contributed to his accumulation of more than 120+ volunteer hours in a single year. Most recently he was an integral part of the Oregonians for Freedom Committee, which was instrumental in fighting the atrocious Oregon gun control ballot initiative. A U.S. Army Veteran, he has always been a wealth of knowledge and commitment and one day aspires to serve the NRA in a greater capacity on the Board of Directors.

TRENDING NOW
Pervasive Surveillance and Data Storage an Emerging Concern for Gun Owner Privacy

News  

Monday, October 5, 2026

Pervasive Surveillance and Data Storage an Emerging Concern for Gun Owner Privacy

Americans have willingly, and sometimes unwillingly, surrounded themselves with technology that watches, listens, records, and remembers. Cars know how and where we drive. Phones track just about everything in our daily routines. 

Creating Crimes Out of Thin Air: Federal Bill Seeks to Treat Air Guns as Firearms

News  

Monday, October 5, 2026

Creating Crimes Out of Thin Air: Federal Bill Seeks to Treat Air Guns as Firearms

A new bill introduced in Congress proposes to regulate “lethal air guns” as firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (GCA). Yet the risk of fatalities and criminal misuse from air guns ...

Bad Faith: Gun Controllers Seek to Enlist Clergy in Firearm Confiscation Efforts

News  

Monday, October 5, 2026

Bad Faith: Gun Controllers Seek to Enlist Clergy in Firearm Confiscation Efforts

It’s often been said that gun control is really about people control. Understanding this, the megalomania gun control advocates exhibit in their never-ending pursuit to control others displays a zealotry often associated with religious fundamentalism.

Virginia Gun Shops Brace for the New Jerseyfication of the Commonwealth

News  

Monday, September 28, 2026

Virginia Gun Shops Brace for the New Jerseyfication of the Commonwealth

Jay Jones, the anti-gun but pro-bullets to the head Virginia attorney general, announced on September 15 the creation of the Firearms Accountability & Industry Responsibility (FAIR) Unit within the Civil and Criminal Justice & Public ...

St. Louis Housing Authority Evicts Man Who Police Say Acted in Self-Defense

News  

Monday, October 5, 2026

St. Louis Housing Authority Evicts Man Who Police Say Acted in Self-Defense

While the state of Missouri is considered a pro-Second Amendment state—including having Constitutional Carry—the City of St. Louis has a tendency to try to go its own way on the matter. The recent case of ...

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

Thursday, October 1, 2026

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

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

The New Battleground for Second Amendment Rights: Global Online Content

News  

Monday, October 5, 2026

The New Battleground for Second Amendment Rights: Global Online Content

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots – computer programs on websites, messaging apps, and social media platforms designed to simulate human conversation through text or voice – are now ubiquitous. Asked how widespread AI usage is, a ...

Support of Self-Defense for Law-Abiding Citizens Continues to Spread Globally

News  

Monday, September 28, 2026

Support of Self-Defense for Law-Abiding Citizens Continues to Spread Globally

In spite of some countries deciding they cannot trust their own citizens with firearms, other countries seem to be rejecting this policy…at least a bit.  

California: Newsom Takes One Last Shot at the Second Amendment as Governor

Monday, September 28, 2026

California: Newsom Takes One Last Shot at the Second Amendment as Governor

On Saturday, Governor Gavin Newsom inked his signature to six anti-gun bills, continuing his attack on law-abiding gun owners as he closes his final months as the Governor of California. Since taking office in 2019, ...

U.S. Department of Justice Declares Age 18-20 Handgun Sales Ban Unconstitutional

News  

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

U.S. Department of Justice Declares Age 18-20 Handgun Sales Ban Unconstitutional

On September 17, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a memorandum opinion to answer the question “whether restricting young adults from buying firearms comports with the Second Amendment as the Supreme ...

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.