Disinformation Continues as U.N. Arms Treaty Takes Shape

In New York this week, the U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty continued trying to draft a treaty to impose worldwide controls on small arms, including civilian-owned firearms.

The NRA has made clear its opposition to any treaty that includes civilian firearms, and continues to note that a majority of the United States Senate stands with American gun owners in opposition to such a treaty. We have led the effort to mobilize opposition to the treaty in Congress, and not only a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate, but also 130 House members, have voiced strong opposition to the treaty. Ignoring that reality, U.N. conferees are working to regulate not only civilian small arms, but also ammunition and firearm parts.

Anti-gun treaty proponents continue to mislead the public, claiming the treaty would have no impact on American gun owners. That's a bald-faced lie.

New Federal Report Shows Right-to-Carry Boom

A new report this week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office confirms that the number of Americans exercising the right to carry firearms for personal protection is skyrocketing.

GAO investigators gathered information from state authorities nationwide about the number of permits issued, eligibility requirements for those permits, and the extent to which states recognize permits issued by other states. The researchers also conducted a more in-depth review of nine selected states. While information on eligibility requirements and reciprocity is easily available online (for example, on NRA-ILA's "Gun Laws" page), some of the statistical information in the report is remarkable.

With hard numbers or estimates from all but three of the 49 states that have laws allowing for issuance of carry permits, the GAO reports that there were about 8 million active permits in the United States as of December 31, 2011. That's about a million more than previous estimates by scholars.

BATFE Continues Campaign Against Whistleblowers

In their latest attempt to protect whistleblowers from BATFE reprisal, on July 18 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sent a letter to BATFE Acting Director B. Todd Jones, asking him to clarify the comments he made in a video message sent to agency employees. In the video, entitled "Choices and Consequences," Jones states, "Choices and consequences mean, simply, that if you make poor choices, that if you don't abide by the rules, that if you don't respect the chain of command, if you don't find the appropriate way to raise your concerns to your leadership, there will be consequences."

In their letter, the lawmakers tell Jones that his message "could be interpreted as a threat" to whistleblowers, and remind him that BATFE employees have the "right to talk to Congress and provide Congress with information free and clear of agency interference or retaliation"--a right expressly protected by federal law. The congressmen made clear to Jones that they expect a written response to the letter no later than July 25.

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Olympic Shooting Sports on the Rise, But Not in the UK

Just as governments are meeting to negotiate a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that could have devastating effects on legal gun ownership everywhere, word comes that the shooting sports are more popular than ever across the globe. With the lineups for the 2012 London Olympics set, there are a total of 390 shooters from 108 countries competing at the games. The number of competitors places shooting in the top four sports at the Olympics and the total countries represented is up from the two previous games.

Rumor Control: Old Rumor Survives to Deceive Another Day

An old rumor has once again resurfaced alleging that Cerberus--the private equity firm that owns Freedom group, a holding company that in turn owns a number of firearms manufacturers, including Remington, Marlin, Bushmaster, and DPMS--is in some way tied to George Soros.

This rumor is completely false and baseless.

Searching for West

NRA is the largest pro-hunting organization in the world. Through programs, legislation, grant funding and publications, NRA efforts have strengthened the rich tradition of hunting for generations.

As such, NRA is proud to partner with Seacat Creative to preview an elegant and authentic new hunting story: Searching for West. The high-tech film stars elk hunter and mountain athlete Mark Seacat. Seacat has long believed that the primal act of hunting is, at its core, quite beautiful, and now he and director Christopher Murphy think they’ve proven it.

Order Your NRA-ILA Yard Signs Now!

It has been estimated that well-placed campaign signs can account for four percentage points on Election Day. Think back to the 2000 presidential election, where 537 votes in Florida separated George W. Bush from Al Gore, and four percentage points seems like a landslide!

While you are focused like a laser beam on the November 6 election, some gun owners may not be aware of what's at stake for the future of the Second Amendment on Election Day.