NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert

In case you missed it - last week's NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This evening I went to the gun range with one of my boys & we shot my AR-15, which was great fun as always. It begs the question of why Obama wants to ban the manufacture & sale of a type of semi-automatic (only one shot per trigger pull) firearm that is so much fun to shoot? What exactly does Obama have against my rifle that makes him want to ban it? But I digress.

I actually just wanted to wish everyone a Very Happy Thanksgiving! I am very thankful for my family, my home, my Country, and of course my guns. I'm looking forward to hanging out with my family & enjoying Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and of course Pumpkin Pie. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! :)

PA: Meleanie Hain Files Million Dollar Suit

Remember Sheriff DeLeo who maliciously revoked Meleanie Hain's CCW permit without merit? She got it back, and now Meleanie Hain has filed a One Million Dollar lawsuit against Sheriff Michael DeLeo:

In addition to the monetary compensation, Weisberg said he is seeking a court order for DeLeo to undergo law-enforcement education.

“He needs to be educated that the complaints of a few do not compel him to suppress individual rights,” he said.

Hopefully Sheriff DeLeo will learn a valuable lesson: you don't maliciously violate people's natural born but second amendment protected rights & expect to get away with it.

WA: Spokane CCW Permit Applications Up After Election

In Spokane Washington the number of applications for CCW permits has been on the rise:

Despite the $55 price tag, the number of applicants has jumped from 25 a week in September to 50 per week in October. The week Obama was elected, 133 people asked for a license to carry a concealed handgun.

By my count that was a 100% increase of weekly applicants before the election by people worried Obama might get elected, followed by an additional 166% increase over that once everyone knew that Obama was elected, a 432% increase overall.

In effect, not only are more people buying guns after the election, but more people are opting to be prepared to defend themselves & their families at all times, even when away from their homes. This is good news for law abiding citizens everywhere, as an armed citizenry discourages criminal activity, but it is bad news for the criminals currently not residing in may issue States like California. Many criminals may wish to move to States like California where due to existing "May Issue" laws, criminals are less likely to encounter armed victims.

Of course, the ultimate US Utopia for thugs is Washington DC, where nobody but the police & criminals are armed outside of their homes. It isn't the Utopia for thugs that it once was now that the Supreme Court ruled on the DC vs Heller Case, but it is still the next best thing for them in the US. To find the ultimate in defenseless victim Utopias, criminals would have to move outside of the United States where in many Countries they find that their victims are not even allowed to defend themselves with their bare hands. People in some countries even get accosted by Police for daring to walk with a walking stick.

Update 1: More reports coming in from all over the US!

Another Handgun Ban Bites the Dust!

More good news:

Winnetka, IL Repeals Draconian Handgun Ban Becomes Third Chicago Suburb to Drop Total Ban Since Supreme Court Ruling

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Fairfax, VA-The Winnetka, IL Village Council has repealed its 20-year handgun ban following this summer's Supreme Court decision and subsequent lawsuit by NRA and three Winnetka residents. The village council voted unanimously to strike portions of its firearm restrictions raised by NRA lawyers in September of this year in U.S. District Court.

"This decision to repeal the Winnetka Village handgun ban marks another great victory for NRA members and firearm owners in Illinois," said Chris W. Cox, NRA's chief lobbyist. "This summer, our country's Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment right is exercised individually and belongs to all Americans. It is time this constitutionally protected civil right be returned to the residents of Winnetka Village."

The Winnetka Village Council's decision to repeal its handgun ban follows similar complete repeals by the councils of two other Chicago suburbs: Wilmette and Morton Grove. Evanston passed a partial repeal by allowing handguns in the home, but NRA’s lawsuit against it continues since the remaining ban prohibits possession of a handgun at any other place, including transportation of a handgun to one’s home.

"This victory in Winnetka is not the end for NRA's fight to bring the Second Amendment to lawful residents across America. We will continue with lawsuits in any area of the country that denies the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans in defiance of the Supreme Court's ruling."

-NRA-

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Nearly four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

AZ: Sources Say Napolitano is the Top Choice for an Obama Cabinet Position

I have mixed feelings about this news. On the one hand I would feel sorry for our Nation for unleashing Napolitano on the world as a possible Secretary of Homeland Security, but at the same time I would feel very happy for Arizona because if she decides to accept the position we would finally rid ourselves of "If you want to carry a gun, get a Permit" Napolitano who never saw a good gun rights bill overwhelmingly be passed by our legislature that she was not happy to use her Veto stamp on. We would thus have the blessing of Napolitano ending her own anti-freedom reign two years before Arizona State term limits would have ended it for her.

If Napolitano does decide to step down as Governor to accept the offered Obama cabinet position, Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer would become our next Governor.

H/T to Dave Kopp, President of AZCDL.

Update 1: It's official!

National Ammo Day

Don't forget that today is National Ammo Day which marks the beginning of National Ammo Week. It's rather difficult to get your hands on ammo these days due to the fact that Obama is the most anti gun President Elect our Nation has ever had, but if you can get your hands on some, be sure to do so. I picked up a few hundred more rounds of 12 gauge shotgun shells today to add to my growing stockpile. If stored properly in a dry location ammunition lasts forever & it's best to get as much as you can now before Obama has a chance to raise the ammo & gun excise taxes that he eventually HOPES to.

The fact that we are now buying guns & ammo in record numbers should not be considered by the enemies of freedom as an indication that freedom loving people have given up. We WILL fight the anti gun legislation that Obama has HOPE of enacting, but it is better to be safe than sorry. It is better to have the ammunition and guns now before we need them, than to need them at a future date & not be able to get our hands on them.

As always, be sure that all of your friends join us in our fight. Now more than ever we need to have strength in our numbers. As one example, if the NRA were to go in representing 8 or 12 Million members rather than only 4 Million, imagine the added trepidation they could inspire in any anti freedom legislator who were to dare to back a gun ban or a radical increase in gun & ammo excise taxes (currently already at 10-11% built into the sale price before you add sales tax). Surely your freedoms are worth at least a $10 associate NRA membership. You can hardly even buy a box of ammo for $10 these days.

If you're already a member of your favorite gun rights groups, join another, or buy a membership as a Christmas gift for a friend. Last Christmas I bought a bunch of $15 youth Junior NRA memberships for my nephews & nieces. They LOVED it - it was a gift that kept on giving all year long (not to be confused with The Jelly of the Month Club) as they received their monthly NRA Insights magazines. Most of their other gifts are already long since lost or broken, but not their NRA membership. If we all manage to get only 2 people to join the national & local gun rights groups of our choosing, we could triple the membership numbers in each of the respective gun rights organizations.

Like many of you, Obama & his National Police Force can take my guns & ammo from my cold dead hands. But I'd rather contribute to the fight now so that it doesn't ever to come to that.

H/T to Mark for the link to the photo from Leyinglo.

ABC News Piece On Skyrocketing Gun Sales

This ABC news piece was aired before we knew that the number of instant background checks for gun purchases had increased by 48% during the first week after Obama was elected. Regardless, it is still an interesting piece.



H/T to Armed Citizens of Chicago.

AZ: PETA Requests Ban on Hunting by Youth

Last week I took my 11 & 14 year old sons out Quail hunting. All three of us have taken hunter safety courses & I was very proud of the responsible way that they followed safe & ethical hunting practices. We had a lot of fun, and we even managed to harvest some very tasty Quail for our dinner table. PETA recently sent a letter to Arizona Governor Napolitano asking her to support legislation that would ban anyone under the age of 18 from hunting. They argued that hunting animals somehow translates into hunting people. I don't know about you, but even though I've recently been shooting at quail I still have not had any urges to shoot at people, not even at the members of PETA that wrote the letter.

Personally, I like the hat that says "PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals" - it fits well because the Quail were indeed very tasty, and I am most certainly in favor of eating tasty animals.

H/T to Sebastian.

AZ: Tonights Table Mesa BLM Meeting

I attended the Table Mesa BLM Planning meeting this evening that I had posted about earlier. The BLM representative said that the turnout was much larger than expected. No exact count of attendees was given but the estimate was somewhere around 200 people. Gun owners were the largest group there so we were well represented. The second largest group identified themselves as rock crawlers. Several members of the rock crawlers group made some wild unsubstantiated claims.

One example was one rock crawler who stated "99% of the shooters don't clean up after themselves." I think it is easily agreed that 99% would be way too high of a number. My initial thought was that 99.643% of all made up statistics are 100% incorrect. I would tend to think it would likely be in the single digits but I am not aware of any studies that provide an actual number. I don't know what the exact percentage of irresponsible users would be who don't pack out their garbage, but I would agree that whatever the percentage of folks from all aspects of recreational public land use that don't clean up after themselves is, they do manage to do a large disservice to everyone. As an Eagle Scout I have always ascribed to the practice of pack it in, pack it out, and leave the area cleaner than you found it.

Some of the ideas proposed by our opponents included making certain areas off limits to shooters or even so far as to have one or two designated areas for shooting while making all other locations off limits. One gun owner at the meeting raised an excellent question. He asked how many people had been injured by irresponsible shooters in the past. The BLM representative had no idea. He then posited that perhaps they were trying to create a solution to a problem that doesn't even exist. I couldn't agree more.

They are accepting public comments until December 20th. Drop them an e-mail at AZ_PDO_Routes@BLM.gov & let them know that you are against restricting BLM public land use by hunters & shooters.

SCCC Pitch it to the People Week

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) is currently running "Pitch it to the People Week." In addition to spreading the word, they're asking all supporters to make small donations this Friday Sep 21st to form a grass roots money bomb to fund their 2009 operation expenses. There is a link to their donation page at the top of their site. Related story here.

Gun Sales Up: 48% jump in background checks

Last week the number of instant background checks requested nationwide for gun sales jumped 48% over the same period the year prior.

Yesterday on Gun Talk Radio Tom Gresham interviewed Pete Brownell of Brownells.com who reported that earlier this year they had several months worth of standard capacity 30 round AR-15 magazines on reserve in their inventory. Now their reserve inventory is all sold out, and they have added extra shifts to their manufacturing plant to increase production to the current rate of making 1,500 magazines per day which are essentially all being sold the second they come off the assembly line. Even with the increase in production they're still unable to meet the current demand for the magazines. In fact, as I'm writing this they currently show them as being out of stock. I'm sure other magazine manufacturers are seeing similar results.

Update 1: More news.

Update 2: CCW Permit Applications Up in Spokane WA.

AZ: Gun Owner Participation Needed at BLM Meetings

From NRA-ILA:

Please Stand-Up and Make Your Voice Heard!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is preparing a recreation plan for the Table Mesa area, north of Phoenix. This is a very poplar recreation area, especially for target shooting. The BLM wants to know what types of recreation and road access are important to people who recreate in this area. They want to hear from hunters and shooters about what areas are important to them for target shooting.

It is critical that recreational shooters who use the area participate in this process in order to counter the radical environmental and anti-gun forces who want to end all recreational shooting in Arizona. There is little doubt that they will be active in this public input process. The agency will be holding two public meetings and it is critical that hunters and shooters who use this area attend one of the meetings.

Tuesday, November 18, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Deer Valley Senior Center, 2001 West Wahalla Lane, Phoenix

Thursday, November 20, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Anthem Community Center, 41130 N. Freedom Way, Anthem

Following the public meetings, the BLM will prepare a Recreation Activity Plan/Travel Management Plan and release it for public comment. Should you have questions about the planning process, you may contact Tom Bickauskas, Project Manager, at 623-580-5502.

TN: Kindergartner with Toy Gun in Backpack Expelled For 1 YEAR

A Kindergartner with a Toy Gun found in his backpack was expelled for a YEAR! The idiocy of zero tolerance (with zero thought) policies is insane. The leadership involved in this foolish decision should be expelled for a year, not the kindergartner!

More from Terry Frank & Worldnet Daily.

PA: Is the Pottsville City Council Smoking Pot? They Decided to Victimize Crime Victims

Has the Pottsville City Council been smoking something that has damaged their brains beyond repair? A couple of days ago they passed a new ordinance that makes it illegal to not report your guns stolen within 24 hours of the theft.

“Unfortunately, sometimes you have to pass rules to make stupid people make the right decisions,” Councilman Dave Eckert, who believes the new law will act as a deterrent to illegal gun traffickers, said Monday.

I have this response to Councilman Dave Eckert's above comment: "Unfortunately sometimes members of the city council make the wrong decisions to pass stupid laws." Illegal gun traffickers are already doing something illegal - making it more illegal to do something illegal will not reduce crime, but it will create new victims by turning law abiding citizens into criminals & throwing them in jail for up to 90 days.

Perhaps when he & his fellow council members loose their next election they will finally understand that passing laws that victimize crime victims a second time by turning them into criminals themselves is nothing but idiocy.

Obama Sends Gun Sales Through The Roof

If you thought people were running to buy guns when they were worried Obama might get elected, you had not seen anything yet. Now the question isn't that we might loose freedoms, the question is how long do we have before Obama signs his first gun manufacture & sales ban into law?

. . . By midday Wednesday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's West Watch "Insta- Check" background check required for the sale of a firearm and typically about 8 minutes long was jammed with waits lasting more than two hours.

Gun-shop owners and buyers said the urgency was fueled by Barack Obama's presidential win and Democrats' increasing their majority in Congress . . .

Obama's Kind of Change

Great Glenn Beck Audio titled "Change" - it's about Obama of course:

Gun Rights in Peril

GOA wrote an article entitled: Gun Rights in Peril. I couldn't agree more. Now more than ever we need to mobilize those in favor of protecting our freedoms to join our ranks. Ask your friends who love our constitution to join their favorite local & national gun rights groups. The greater the numbers we can mobilize, the louder we will resonate in the ears of congress members. Obama is hopeless - he'll sign any anti-freedom legislation that comes across his desk. Our only hope is placing the fear of loosing the next election into anyone in congress that dares to infringe on our freedoms and natural but 2nd Amendment protected right to keep & bear arms.

If you live in Arizona I recommend AZCDL as a great local group to join that works very hard to protect our freedoms. For National groups there are many to choose from. Pick a few that best align with your goals, I have some of my favorites listed on the right under "Gun Rights Sites."

Annoy the Media - Go Vote

Newt Gingrich wrote a very nice article titled Annoy the Media: Go Vote. The mainstream media is hoping their predictions of an Obama Victory will discourage enough McCain voters to allow Obama to win by default. Ruin their day - go vote & prove them wrong.

GOA has a good election day message as does the NRA.

MO: Woman Successfully Defends Herself Against Rapist

Cape Girardeau, MO: Ronnie Preyer was a career criminal & rapist who had raped her 5 days earlier. He broke into her home again on Halloween night, but this time she was ready to defend herself with a borrowed shotgun. He's dead, she's safe. This is the way I like to see career criminals end their careers!



H/T to USCCA. More here.

Sandy Froman: Obama Promises Supreme Court That Will Destroy Second Amendment

Sandy Froman - Obama Promises Supreme Court That Will Destroy Second Amendment

. . . The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms survived by the slimmest of margins. If a single justice had voted the other way, the Second Amendment would have been erased from the Constitution forever. Obama’s record shows his assurances to gun owners are cheap campaign talk. He has an unbroken record of voting for every anti-gun measure to come before him. He’s voted to outlaw ammunition and to allow trial lawyers to sue gun makers and dealers for the misuse of firearms by criminals. He has voted against the self-defense rights of victims of crime. He even wrote as early as 1996 that he supported a law to ban all handguns.

But even if he had no anti-gun record, he has said who he would appoint to the Supreme Court and the justices he would appoint will take away our Second Amendment rights. He has singled out one justice on the Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as his model for Supreme Court appointments. Justice Ginsburg was one of the four who voted that private citizens have no Second Amendment rights at all, and voted to uphold D.C.’s handgun ban . . .

. . . As Theodore Roosevelt said, “A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.” On Tuesday, use your vote wisely; vote to protect the Second Amendment, vote for John McCain.