Anti-Gun Obama Nominee, Vivek Murthy, Clears First Hurdle in Confirmation for U.S. Surgeon General

This week, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 13-9 to confirm President Obama's anti-gun nominee--36-year-old Dr. Vivek Murthy--as United States Surgeon General, clearing the way for Murthy's consideration by the full Senate.

NRA strongly opposes Murthy's confirmation. In a letter to Senate leaders, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox noted that the U.S. Surgeon General is charged with the important tasks of providing the American public with information to better inform decisions related to their health, and with directing much of the federal government's public health efforts. In order for these roles to be carried out effectively, the public must trust that the Surgeon General's actions and recommendations are based on empirical and scientific evidence, rather than political or ideological motives. Unfortunately, Murthy's record of political activism in support of radical gun control measures raises significant concerns about the likelihood he would use the office of Surgeon General to further his preexisting campaign against gun ownership.

Obama Administration's Proposed Ban on Domestic Sale of Ivory Could Impact Gun Owners

On February 11, 2014, the White House announced a National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking. One of the many aspects of the National Strategy is to ban the commercial trade of elephant ivory inside the United States. The Administration plans on banning the domestic sale of legally owned ivory in an upcoming rule.

In response to the White House's announcement, the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing titled, "International Wildlife Trafficking Threats to Conservation and National Security" (Hearing may be viewed here). During this hearing, Director Ashe confirmed the NRA's concerns regarding the domestic trade and sale of ivory inside the United States. Director Ashe stated if you own a firearm that contains any amount of ivory that is less than 100 years old, you will not be able to sell this firearm.

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Piers Morgan Gets the Hook

There's a saying in the entertainment business that "the show must go on." Everything has its limits, however, and this week CNN finally reached its limit with British tabloid journalist turned TV talk show host, Piers Morgan. Profitable TV is all about advertising, which is all about ratings, and after three years of coming in mostly dead last, or near dead last, in the ratings for its time slot, it's "curtains" for "Piers Morgan Live."

Over the last week, the internet has been full of speculation about the reasons for CNN cancelling Morgan's show. David Carr, writing in the New York Times, noted "There have been times when [Morgan] didn't seem to like America very much" and wondered whether Morgan's British accent didn't play well with American viewers.

CNN: Piers Morgan Out— Sarah Brady In

Like certain other TV networks, CNN likes gun control supporters. For more than a year, it allowed Piers Morgan to relentlessly and viciously attack the Second Amendment and anyone who supports it, until Morgan's perennially low-rated show had cost the network so much in lost advertising revenue that keeping him on the air was no longer financially sustainable.

As noted in the previous Alert story, CNN recently made the decision to cut "Piers Morgan Live" from its lineup. However, from the network's perspective, the problem was the messenger, not the message.

Brady's Fuzzy Math on NICS Denials

The Brady Campaign released a report this week claiming that in its first 20 years, the NICS background check system has blocked more than 2.1 million gun purchases. Brady would have you believe each of those denials prevented a dangerous person from getting a gun. They would also have you believe their numbers prove the system should be expanded to include all firearm transfers, rather than just those occurring between licensed dealers and their unlicensed customers, as is the case now.

The problem for Brady is their claims simply do not tell the whole story, and the truth does not support their recommendations.

Now Where Did I Put That? A Few BATFE Agents Still Losing Track of Their Guns

BATFE agents lost at least 49 agency-issued firearms between 2009 and 2013, according to a new report by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The newspaper reached its finding after reviewing materials obtained from the BATFE through a Freedom of Information Act request. Most of the lost firearms were handguns.

Previously, a 2008 report by the Department of Justice's Audit Division concluded that over a 59-month period between 2002 and 2007, "76 weapons and 418 laptop computers were lost, stolen, or missing from ATF" and that "ATF's rate of weapons loss per month has nearly tripled since Treasury's 2002 audit." Furthermore, "ATF staff did not report many of the lost, stolen, or missing weapons and laptop computers to ATF's Internal Affairs Division as required by ATF's property management policies."

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Plan to Attend Free Grassroots Workshop at NRA's Upcoming Annual Meetings in Indianapolis, Ind.

With the critically important 2014 elections just around the corner, it has never been more important for NRA members and Second Amendment supporters to be effective activists in our efforts to protect and preserve our Second Amendment rights. Our freedom is under attack and we simply have no other option than to take action if we are to repel this attack. For our own sake, and for the freedom of future generations, we must fight. And to fight effectively, you've got to be trained.

As such, your attendance at this year's FREE NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop in Indianapolis is a critical step toward ensuring the future of our gun rights. This Workshop has been a staple of NRA's Annual Meetings for decades, and is one of the most popular seminars of the week, attended by hundreds of freedom-loving NRA members.