NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 21, No. 25 06/20/2014

Harry Reid May Call for Vote on Gun Control Legislation: Says, "We Need Some More Votes"

Gun control activists have recently renewed their efforts to gain ground on Capitol Hill. As we reported this week, they continue to exploit high-profile national tragedies in an attempt to push their anti-gun agenda. They use grieving victims to falsely claim that enacting their “reforms” would have prevented these tragedies. Anti-gun groups sponsored by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are trying to convince Congress to enact their proposals. And as we saw this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wants to help them do just that.

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Hillary Clinton: Gun Control Opponents Are Terrorists, Not Entitled to Viewpoint

Hillary Clinton hasn’t said that she’s running for the Democrat Party’s 2016 presidential nomination, but lately she’s been going out of her way to make sure that gun owners know what a Hillary presidency would be like for them.

On Monday, during an interview on CNN Newsroom, Mrs. Clinton made clear that at age 66, she still hasn’t outgrown the zealotry of her youth. With anger characteristic of the political fringe, Mrs. Clinton said of gun control opponents, “We cannot let a minority of people--and that’s what it is, it is a minority of people--hold a viewpoint that terrorizes the majority of people.”

Former MAIG Boss: Gun Control Wouldn't Stop Mass Murderers

Mark Glaze, who just resigned as executive director of Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), now says that the gun control restrictions MAIG supports are “a mismatch,” where crimes committed by mass murderers are concerned. “It is a messaging problem” for gun control supporters “when a mass shooting happens and nothing that we have to offer would have stopped that mass shooting,” Glaze told the Wall St. Journal.

Eighteen months ago, however, Glaze was singing a different tune. “The single biggest problem that the [Obama] administration can solve is making sure every (firearms) buyer gets a background check,” he said. Exaggerating the numbers even more than President Obama did a few months later, Glaze claimed at the time, “Nearly 50% of buyers never get [a background check], and that is the dominant problem in gun policy in this country.”

Gov. Hickenlooper: Don't Blame Me for Magazine Ban

Colorado’s Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), who signed his state’s 15-round magazine limit into law in 2013, is trying to absolve himself of responsibility for his decision. This is the same politician who last year claimed that the banned magazines “have the potential to turn killers into killing machines.”

On Wednesday, the Denver Post reported that Hickenlooper is now insisting that he signed the legislation only because “one of my staff had committed us to signing it.” He added, “no one in our office thought it would get through the legislature.”

Web of Deceit? School District's Internet Filter Chooses Sides in Gun "Debate"

Most schools these days like to trumpet their support of “critical thinking.” For at least one high school in Connecticut, however, that apparently means thinking that criticizes only one side of a contested issue.

In May, student Andrew Lampart of Nonnewaug High School was using the school’s internet service to gather information for an assigned debate on gun control, when he discovered a bias in the school’s filter. The censorship software the school uses to determine school-inappropriate sites blocked access to NRA’s and other pro-gun groups’ websites but allowed access to the sites of Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety and other gun control groups.

911 Call Sent to Voicemail During Violent Home Invasion

An oft-repeated adage holds, “when seconds count, police are only minutes away.” This isn’t a slight against the men and women of law enforcement, but they can’t be everywhere at once, and too often the damage is done when help finally arrives. A recent story out of Port Richey, Fla., demonstrates this point with unusual clarity.

A Port Richey resident was at home with his wife, infant and stepmother, when four armed intruders entered the premises. According to an account the wife provided to WFTS-TV, the home invaders beat the man, pistol-whipped the wife, and threatened to shoot the baby. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, according to WTSP-TV, were investigating the incident as a home invasion robbery targeting prescription drugs and cash. As the incident unfolded, the husband managed to retrieve a shotgun and fire at the intruders, striking one and causing the rest to flee.

Appropriations Bill Passes with Pro-Gun Amendment

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved the FY15 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. This bill contains a pro-gun general provision and will now head to the U.S. House floor for consideration.

During the mark up of the bill, Representative Tom Graves (R-GA) offered a pro-gun amendment that would prohibit the use of funds to implement or enforce regulations that prevent law-abiding Americans from carrying firearms on property managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. This amendment passed by a vote of 31-18.

The NRA would like to thank those members of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee who voted for the Graves Amendment. We will continue to keep you updated as the appropriations process moves forward.

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.