NRA Feed

In April, the Senate voted on, and rejected, the Obama Administration's gun control agenda.  The administration was attempting to ban an ever-lengthening list of semi-automatic firearms, magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and to expand background check requirements to require government permission for many transfers of firearms among private citizens. The underlying bill Obama wanted to see pass was S. 649, by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the "universal background checks" provisions of which came from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).  Because Schumer's legislation was too severe to have any chance of passage, Senators Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), along with Schumer, proposed a compromise amendment in the hope of winning additional votes. However, the amendment was riddled with pitfalls for gun owners, and even some potentially pro-gun provisions added to sweeten the pot were flawed. The amendment fell four votes short of the 60 that were required for passage under a rule the Senate adopted to avoid a filibuster. (Click here to see how your senators voted.)

We've been reporting very regularly on ridiculous cases involving over-zealous school officials misinterpreting and wrongly enforcing "zero-tolerance" rules. In March, we reported on an outrageous case of a seven-year-old Baltimore, Md. student who, according to a March 2, Daily Caller article, was suspended for two days for the nefarious act of shaping a breakfast pastry into what his teacher thought looked like a gun.  Yes, a breakfast pastry. According to the young student, he was eating the strawberry pastry during snack time and was biting off pieces in an attempt to shape it into a mountain.  Apparently, the teacher thought the student's handiwork instead looked like a gun, and escorted him to the principal's office for prompt disciplinary action.

This week, we stumbled upon The Way of the Gun: Estimating Firearms Traffic Across the U.S.-Mexico Border, one of the strangest and most half-asked gun control-related "studies" to come down the sendero in a long time. It contends that a quarter of a million firearms are smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico annually--a figure far in excess of estimates offered by the BATFE, the GAO, and Mexican law enforcement officials--and that 47 percent of firearm dealers in the U.S. would go out of business if they were unable to sell guns intended to be smuggled across the border. And, it proposes several actions for our federal or state governments to take, without explaining why. First, the study--and in this instance we're using the term as loosely as the English language will allow--says that laws on our side of the border should require public disclosure of local gun purchase statistics. But in any jurisdiction, all or almost all firearms purchased have nothing to do with smuggling or Mexico. If you're looking for a needle in a haystack, why add hay? Furthermore, most firearm-related murders in Mexico are committed with handguns and, though the handguns used in such murders do not necessarily originate in the U.S., FFLs are already required to notify the BATFE whenever a customer acquires more than one handgun within a 5-day period.

Yesterday marked a victory for Second Amendment rights and a defeat for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in Nevada as Governor Brian Sandoval vetoed SB 221, an aggressive New York-style expanded background check bill which would impose unreasonable burdens and fees on law-abiding citizens while failing miserably to protect Nevada communities and putting violent criminals behind bars. In an extraordinary grassroots effort, thousands of concerned Nevadans called their representatives and Governor Sandoval's office in Carson City to oppose this legislation and remind those lawmakers that their duty is to protect our rights. The NRA and our members in Nevada thank Governor Sandoval for standing on principle and vetoing this extreme anti-gun bill.

A man entered a game room and tobacco store in East Fort Worth, Texas, pretended to play a game and then drew a gun on a clerk and demanded cash. The clerk complied with the demand, but a second clerk, who had overheard the robbery from another part of the store, retrieved a shotgun and fired at the criminal, striking him in the knee and head, and ending the robbery. When police arrived, the armed robber was taken to a local hospital, with police planning to charge him with aggravated robbery once he has recovered. Local media has reported that the armed clerk will not face charges. 

Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House renewed their push for gun legislation on Thursday, just months after it was defeated in the Senate, amid delicate talks on a new background check measure that advocates hope could change enough votes from no to yes.

In his veto message, Sandoval said the universal background checks provision "imposes unreasonable burdens and harsh penalties upon law abiding Nevadans, while doing little to prevent criminals from unlawfully obtaining firearms."

A measure adding more places to where people can carry or store concealed firearms in North Carolina and repealing a requirement to get a license to buy a handgun passed the North Carolina Senate Thursday.

Today, the North Carolina Senate passed a comprehensive right-to-carry reform, House Bill 937, by a 31-14 vote.  This bill now returns to the North Carolina House of Representatives for a concurrence vote on the Senate version.  Please contact your state Representative TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to vote to concur on H 937.  Click here for help identifying your state Representative and his or her contact information.

Today, Governor Brian Sandoval (R) vetoed Senate Bill 221.  SB 221 is misguided gun control legislation being forced on law-abiding citizens of Nevada by extremist New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his national anti-gun organization, “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” (MAIG).

As recently reported, your NRA is aggressively working to pass a comprehensive right-to-carry reform bill, House Bill 937.  H 937 contains numerous pro-gun provisions, including a section to repeal the antiquated permit-to-purchase requirement for anyone who wishes to purchase a handgun in North Carolina.  However, the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association is apparently circulating a letter to legislators that urges them to remove this section from H 937.

72-year-old Jan Cooper was at home with her 85-year-old husband in Anaheim, Calif. when a man attempted to break into the house through a sliding glass door. As the criminal made his attempt, Cooper retrieved a .357 revolver and called 911. While she was on the phone with the dispatcher, Cooper fired at the criminal, missing, but stopping him in his tracks. The would-be intruder then said to Cooper, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m leaving. Please don’t shoot,” before fleeing. The burglar was captured by police a short time later. An investigation revealed that the intruder has a criminal history that includes burglary, and was currently on parole and living at a halfway house near the Cooper residence. 

It is well known that places such as New Hampshire, with less restrictive gun laws, have far lower gun homicide rates than places like New York City or Washington, D.C., which have very restrictive gun laws. It never seems to have occurred to Bloomberg or his fans that the difference in gun homicide rates is largely a product of culture (including gang activity), not gun control. But it is a lot easier to call for more gun control than to do the much harder work of dealing with cultural decay and mental illness.

A bill that seeks to overturn a 96 year old Maine requirement that people must have a permit to carry a concealed weapon failed to win initial support in the Maine House by one vote.

Today, the Maine Senate killed important permitless carry legislation, LD 660, on a party-line vote.  However, this measure will be reconsidered by the Maine Senate tomorrow, giving LD 660 another opportunity to advance in the legislative process.  If passed and enacted into law, LD 660 would allow a person who is a resident of Maine and is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, to carry concealed without first obtaining a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP).  

While transportation, pro-life and juvenile justice issues have been added to the call for the current special session, the NRA has been informed that important Second Amendment issues such as campus carry will NOT be included.

Yesterday, the Maine House of Representatives narrowly defeated important permitless carry legislation, LD 660.   By a 74-73 vote, the state House accepted the Ought Not to Pass recommendation from the Joint Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on LD 660.

The Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is entering into Rule Development for Public Use Rule 40E-7, F.A.C., as it pertains to public access and nature-based recreation on District lands.  Nature-based recreation includes hunting and fishing.

23-year-old David Ferguson was inside South Avenue Gas Mart in Youngstown, Ohio, when he heard his cousin calling for him from outside the store. When Ferguson came outside he witnessed two men inside his car, and a third with a gun outside the vehicle firing at Ferguson’s cousin who was crawling on the ground. Ferguson, a Right-to-Carry permit holder, responded to the threat by drawing a 9mm pistol and firing at the carjackers; at which point the criminals returned fire and fled. Ferguson and his cousin suffered non-life-threatening wounds during the incident. 

Six months since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., parents of some of the youngest victims plan to visit Capitol Hill again this week to meet with lawmakers about crafting a bill to impose stricter gun laws.