NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 21, No. 11 03/14/2014

NRA Files Friend of the Court Brief in Appeal of NSA Spying Case

This week, NRA filed a brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The brief supports the American Civil Liberties Union's request for reversal of a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that upheld the National Security Agency's data collection program.

We previously reported on the lower court case in an article available here. That article contains a more detailed description of NRA's arguments, but they generally make two major points. First, that the NSA's mass data collection violates the First Amendment's freedom of association protection because individuals will be chilled from joining certain groups – like NRA – that have been the target of hostility by others, including certain public officials, and identify their members' private social, political, or religious beliefs to the government. The second line of argument focuses on how the data collection programs could undermine privacy protections in federal law that prohibit creating a registry of firearms or firearm owners.

Watch the Latest NRA-ILA Grassroots News Minute

Continue to Contact Your Senators and Ask Them To OPPOSE Confirmation of Anti-Gun Obama Nominee for U.S. Surgeon General

As we have recently reported, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee recently voted 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 lawful gun ownership.

Same Shirt, Different Day: NRA Logo Apparel Lands High Schooler in Suspension

The latest chapter in a seemingly never-ending string of illogical anti-gun interpretations of school dress-code and zero-tolerance policies comes to us courtesy of the administrators of Grand Island High School in Grand Island, N.Y. This time, however, it's personal for those of us who proudly display the NRA logo on our clothing, vehicles, and gear.

The incident unfolded when a school official took exception to 16-year-old NRA member and sportsman Shane Kinney's NRA t-shirt. The shirt in question features a small NRA logo on the front left chest, and a larger NRA logo on the back superimposed over a muzzleloader crossed with a more modern hunting rifle. Surrounding the NRA logo are the words "2nd Amendment" and "Shall not be Infringed" in large print, and "Live Free Or Die" in small print. Kinney told Fox News that the official ordered that he "had to either turn the shirt inside out or put duct tape over the words." Kinney refused, and was relegated to in-school suspension until his father could bring him a new shirt.

More Fuzzy Math: Gun Control Supporters Misrepresent Gun Owner Trends

President Obama absurdly suggested during his State of the Union address in January that "citizenship" means going along with the gun control agenda that he's been pushing for the past 15 months. Nevertheless, anti-gunners -- not banking on Obama's promise to impose that agenda "without Congress" -- are trying to convince politicians that they can vote for gun control without fear of repercussions on Election Day.

This week, anti-gun agitator Michael Bloomberg and The Economist both repeated the idea that the number of gun owners is rapidly declining, a dubious claim often pushed by handgun prohibition activist Josh Sugarmann, a/k/a the Violence Policy Center. According to Sugarmann, "gun-free households are an increasing majority while gun-owning households are a shrinking minority." (This, coming from a guy whose "organization" has no members, while NRA's membership has grown to over five million.)

"Cause" of Injury List to Exaggerate Risks of Firearms

Get ready for gun control supporters bogusly to start claiming that firearms "cause" more injuries than more than 150,000 other factors. The United Nations' World Health Organization is increasing its list of injury causes from 17,000 to 155,000, effective October 1, 2014.

The U.N.'s injury list, which will be used by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is being expanded to include such commonplace mishaps as "Forced landing of spacecraft injuring occupant, initial encounter" and "Toxic effect of contact with other jellyfish, intentional self-harm, initial encounter."

No, we're not making this stuff up. The Weekly Standard covered this story on Monday.

The Latest on the Obama Administration's Proposed Ban on Domestic Sale of Ivory

In recent Grassroots Alerts, we have addressed the Obama administration's proposal to ban the trade and sale of legally owned ivory within the United States (click here to see the initial alert). The NRA supports efforts to stop poaching and the illegal ivory trade, but the proposed restrictions on domestic sales of legally-owned ivory will not stop nor hinder the poaching of elephants or the illegal trafficking in ivory that leads to it. On the contrary, this ban will only affect honest law-abiding Americans by making their lawfully-owned ivory all but worthless.

CPAC 2014: More Guns Less Crime Panel Discussion with Chris W. Cox

This year's Conservative Political Action Conference--better known as CPAC--featured a very informative law enforcement panel discussion. The topic was, "More Guns; Less Crime: How Law Enforcement is Beginning to Embrace a Well-Armed Civilian Population," and panelists included NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox; former U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams; Milwaukee County, WI Sheriff David A. Clarke; and Washington Times Senior Editor of Opinion, Emily Miller.

View the panel discussion with Chris W. Cox now by read more below.

Attend the Free Grassroots Workshop at NRA's Annual Meetings in Indianapolis!

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.

Attend the NRA Firearms Law Seminar at NRA's Annual Meetings in Indianapolis!

The 17th Annual Firearms Law Seminar will be held on Friday, April 25, 2014, as part of the NRA Annual Meetings. The gold standard in firearms CLE classes, this day-long seminar provides legal instruction for practicing attorneys and all others having an interest in Second Amendment law. Topics to be discussed include gun trusts, current law suits across the country, recent changes in Illinois law, Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine laws, federal and state firearms disqualifications and the restoration of rights, working with firearms ranges, and legal ethics.