NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 21, No. 28 07/18/2014

Bloomberg Proxy Releases Anti-Gun Manifesto; Proposes to Ban Cartoon Characters and Colors!

The name of U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) headlines the Kelly Report, a new manifesto identifying a long list of gun control initiatives that anti-gun activists intend to pursue in the near future. However, the document appears to be the handiwork of Michael Bloomberg, whose misleadingly-named Independence USA political action committee contributed $2.1 million to Kelly’s congressional campaign last year. With Bloomberg’s help, Kelly was elected to fill the Chicago-area seat previously held by fellow gun control supporter Jesse Jackson, Jr., who is currently doing time in federal prison.

The Kelly Report consists of essays by gun control supporters, followed by a long list of gun control legislation and other efforts they support. Anti-gun activist groups represented in the “report” include Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign, the Educational Fund to End Gun Violence, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and Americans for Responsible Solutions.

The “report” advocates two gun control restrictions intended to achieve universal gun registration incrementally. They are “universal” background checks, a Bloomberg priority, and repealing the law that limits the amount of time that the FBI can retain records on people who pass background checks to buy guns. Kelly also calls for gun registration outright.

Obama Administration Bans Import of Popular Russian Firearms

This week, the Treasury Department used authority delegated to it by the president, under Executive Order 13661, to sanction Russian gun maker Kalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash). In the United States, the manufacturer is best known for its popular Saiga rifles and shotguns. While ostensibly a measure to curb aggression by some in the Russian Federation, the move does bar from importation firearms that gun control supporters have long sought to ban. We of course recognize the important role that enacting sanctions can have in furthering legitimate U.S. foreign policy interests. However, in this instance the extent to which these actions coincide with the stated domestic policy goals of gun control supporters is more than a little unsettling. As such, NRA-ILA is monitoring this situation closely.

Rolling Stone’s Seven Steps to Winning the War Against Five Guns

Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis had it right in 1963 – coincidentally, the year that Colt introduced the AR-15 to the civilian market – when he named one of his band’s classic albums “Seven Steps To Heaven.” The release features exceptionally creative improvisations by Davis, tenor saxophonist George Coleman, pianists Victor Feldman and Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummers Frank Butler and Tony Williams.

Firearms a Complete Unknown to Scribe at Rolling Stone

We don’t expect reporters – even those who write for national, well-established magazines like Rolling Stone – to be experts on firearms. We would at least hope, however, that they would be experts on reporting. In the case of Kristen Gwynne and her editors, however, we can only scratch our heads and wonder if they are as new to journalism as they are to the firearm issue.

U.S. House Votes to Protect D.C. Residents’ Right to Keep and Bear Arms

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) attached an amendment to a bill providing funding to the District of Columbia that would prohibit the District from expending any funds to enforce certain gun control laws. The amendment passed 241-181. The amendment blocks enforcement of the Firearms Registration Amendment Act of 2008, the Inoperable Pistol Amendment Act of 2008, the Firearms Amendment Act of 2012, and the Administrative Disposition of Weapons Act of 2012.

Appropriations Bill Passes with Pro-Gun Amendments

On Tuesday, July 15, 2014, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved the FY15 Interior Appropriations bill. This bill contains a number of pro-gun general provisions and will now head to the U.S. House floor for consideration. Click Read More below to read about the FY15 Interior Appropriations bill's pro-gun provisions

Participation Needed in Extended Comment Period for Multiple Sales Reporting Requirement

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) recently published a notice in the Federal Register that the comment period for the “Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Certain Rifles” has been extended for 30 days. As we initially stated when the comment period was opened, we urge everyone affected by this ill-conceived reporting requirement to provide comments. For more information on the many problems posed by the reporting requirement, please see NRA-ILA's comments on the extension of the reporting requirement.

Latest Update on Proposed Ban on the Domestic Sale of Ivory and Importation of Elephant Trophies

In past 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. However, banning lawfully-owned domestic ivory will have no impact on elephant poaching in Africa. On the contrary, such a ban would affect only 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.

Check NRA-PVF's Grades & Endorsements Before You Go to the Polls

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.

Students for Concealed Carry to Hold National Conference

Students for Concealed Carry is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprising over 43,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that they enjoy virtually everywhere else.

NRA Family InSights Reviews Springfield Armory’s XD-S Four Inch

An extra .7 of an inch can make all the difference in a concealed-carry gun's shootability. Barbara Baird explains how the newest iteration of Springfield's XD-S improves accuracy as well as the range experience...without sacrificing concealability.

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. Rep 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.