NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 21, No. 24 06/13/2014

Everytown's List of "School Shootings" Employs Misleading Terms for Emotional Effect

Michael Bloomberg’s gun control operatives, currently organized under the umbrella of “Everytown for Gun Safety,” are trying to mislead legislators and the general public with a list of firearm-related incidents titled, “School Shootings in America Since Sandy Hook.” As of a June 10, 2014 update, “at least 74” such incidents are said to have occurred.

The list’s invocation of Sandy Hook and its accompanying photograph of a grief-stricken woman suggest that it documents only crimes similar to Sandy Hook, i.e., the murder of multiple students and/or teachers in their schools.

That suggestion, however, is false.

Everytown’s list stretches the parameters of the term “school shooting” past any commonly understood notion of that term. The current list includes crimes, some involving gangs, that simply happened to take place on or near school grounds; incidents where no one was injured; suicides; accidental discharges; a least one victim who may have been shot off-site and stumbled onto school grounds; defensive force; and even an off-campus crime spree that ended with police shooting the perpetrator after he ran onto the grounds of a college.

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Obama (Again) Touts Australian Gun Control, Misleads (Again) on Background Checks

On Tuesday, Barack Obama once again shared his desire for Australian-style gun control to be imported stateside. While participating in a Q&A session involving the social media website Tumblr, Obama described the failure to enact gun control legislation as the “biggest frustration” of his presidency. The president added, “A couple of decades ago, Australia had a mass shooting… And Australia just said, well, that’s it, we’re not seeing that again. And basically imposed very severe, tough gun laws.”

Obama went on to share misleading and inaccurate comments regarding current U.S. gun regulations. “But the idea that, for example, we couldn’t even get a background check bill in to make sure that if you’re going to buy a weapon you have to actually go through a fairly rigorous process so that we know who you are, so that you can’t just walk up to a store and buy a semiautomatic weapon – it makes no sense.”

Anti-Gun Activist: Ban All Detachable-Magazine Semi-Automatics

Recently, a longtime firearm prohibition advocate confirmed at least two points that people who follow the gun control debate have long known. First, anti-gun activists have not abandoned the holy grail of their agenda, getting handguns banned. Second, they will never be content with an “assault weapons” ban that applies only to external features of semiautomatic firearms and not to the operating systems of those guns.

In an article published Sunday in the Sacramento Bee, Josh Sugarmann, a/k/a the Violence Policy Center (VPC), essentially proposed banning all semi-automatic firearms that use detachable magazines, regardless of their external features or the capacity of their magazines. Hoping to alarm gullible readers, Sugarmann claimed that detachable-magazine semi-automatics are “unprecedented” in America, despite the fact that they have been popular in our country for more than a century. John Browning’s Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol is a prime example.

First Grader Suspended for Voluntarily Surrendering Toy-Gun

As useless as the practice may be, anti-gun crusaders typically love a gun turn-in, even those aimed at toy guns. Yet in this week’s example of zero-tolerance zealotry, even that act was cause for punishment.

On Wednesday, June 4, seven-year-old first grader Darin Simak was at Martin Elementary School in New Kensington, Pa., when he discovered that he had accidentally brought a toy six shooter, complete with bright orange tip, with him in his backpack. The innocent mistake was the result of Darin’s mother, Jennifer Mathabel, resorting to a spare backpack after Darin had left his usual bag with a friend the previous evening. Ms. Mathabel failed to realize that the toy was in one of the backup bag’s pockets.

When he discovered the mistake, Darin alerted a teacher so he could turn in the toy. The teacher responded by notifying school administrators, who immediately suspended Darin.

"The Gunny" Speaks: Saving Private K-9

NRA Family InSights recently had a chance to speak to everybody’s favorite Gunnery Sergeant, R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey, about some of his latest projects. Chief among these is his newest TV show, “Saving Private K9.” So, square yourself away and listen up, recruits!

Ask Your U.S. Rep. to Oppose Wide-Ranging Gun Control Bill--H.R. 4783

Last week we reported that U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, had introduced what he is calling "the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014." In truth, we noted, the bill -- H.R. 4783 -- is largely composed of gun control measures that mirror, and supplement, acts being pursued in the states by the likes of Michael Bloomberg and his "Everytown" gun control cabal.

Ask Your U.S. Representative to Cosponsor and Support "The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013"

The "Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013" (H.R. 2959)--introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah)--would allow any person who is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law and who has a valid concealed firearm permit, to carry a concealed handgun in any state that issues its own residents permits to carry concealed firearms. Persons carrying a handgun in another state pursuant to H.R. 2959 would be subject to the laws of that state with respect to where concealed firearms may be carried. Similar legislation to H.R. 2959 passed the House in 2011 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 272-154.

Does Your Candidate Make the Grade? Primary Grades and Endorsements Available on NRA-PVF.org!

With freedom hanging in the balance, this year's elections will almost assuredly be the most important in your voting lifetime! You've no doubt heard that said before, but with the stakes enormously high, the importance of this year's elections simply cannot be overstated.

In the coming days and weeks, the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) will continue to announce endorsements and candidate ratings in hundreds of federal and state primary races. You need to be fully informed in order to make a sound decision. For up-to-the-minute information on NRA-PVF candidate grades and endorsements, and to see what you can do to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, please visit the NRA-PVF website: www.NRAPVF.org.

Update on the Obama Administration's Proposed Ban on the Domestic Sale of Ivory and Importation of Elephant Trophies

In recent Grassroots Alerts, we 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 trade of ivory, but this proposed ban on legally owned ivory sold domestically will have no impact on poaching of elephants and the illegal ivory trade. On the contrary, this ban will only affect honest law-abiding Americans by making their possessions valueless. Please see this New York Times article highlighting the broad spectrum of people who will be harmed by the ban.

Order Your NRA-ILA Yard Signs Today!

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 on the November 4 election, some gun owners may not be aware of what's at stake for the future of the Second Amendment on Election Day.