Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Anti-Gunners Hope to Seize the Initiative in the Battle for Your Rights

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The 2014 elections were a huge win for the Second Amendment. Gun owners played a key role in electing new pro-gun state legislators, governors, congressional representatives and senators. Without that effort, we could have been facing a nightmare combination of a President Barack Obama hell-bent on advancing his extreme agenda—regardless of the Constitution—and weaker support in Congress for our right to bear arms.

Instead, we have a chance to stop him from winning passage of new federal gun restrictions, and the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) will be at the forefront of the fight to do just that. But even though we just completed an expensive and hard-fought election, we already are facing huge challenges for 2016. Of course, we have a presidential race coming, and our hard-won pro-gun leadership in the U.S. Senate is threatened. Now, our opponents have embraced another way to attack our rights—ballot initiatives—and they are pulling out all the stops to use this tool in new and damaging ways.

In 2014, the pro-gun side won nearly every contested race. But there was one exception. The voters of Washington state, after being bombarded with misleading information, passed Initiative 594 (I-594). I-594 radically expands the requirements for background checks to the point that even lending a gun to a friend for a few hours is illegal without fees and government paperwork (and registration, in the case of handguns). The people of Washington state are just starting to learn the real negative impact of this ill-conceived proposal.

But our opponents are focusing on that victory as an opportunity and are looking to expand that game plan to other states that have the ballot initiative process.

So, what is a “ballot initiative?” Simply put, it is a provision included in the constitutions of 24 states that allows the voters—or more commonly, national organizations that purport to represent the voters—to put a legislative proposal on the ballot. The rules and procedures vary from state to state, but in general, supporters of a proposal have a set amount of time to gather a specific number of signatures to win inclusion of their proposal on the ballot. Those signatures must be verified as authentic, and they must come from registered voters in that state.

Fourteen of the 24 states that have an initiative process provide that if the requisite number of signatures are collected, the issue automatically goes on the ballot. The remaining states provide that the legislature must first take action.

A ballot initiative is what ushered in the private transfer ban in Washington state. And our opponents think they have found a way to win when they regularly fail to convince elected legislators to do their bidding.

Anti-gunners know that legislators, armed with accurate and reliable information about firearm issues, usually reject their radical agenda, but uninformed—or, more accurately, misinformed—voters are often more vulnerable to emotional, but baseless, arguments that are the stock and trade of the anti-gun movement.

At the forefront of these campaigns are the groups that billionaire ex-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has funded with millions of dollars. This past election, he spent more than $50 million, and we can safely assume he will spend even more in 2016.

We must be vigilant in gathering information about the initiative process in our states, and we must be aware of the proposals that are being advanced through this method. We have to be on the lookout for people gathering signatures. We have to know what the issues really are and refuse to sign any petition to put any anti-gun proposal on the ballot. And we need to make sure our friends, family and others are fully informed about the truth of these proposals and also know not to be too quick to sign on the dotted line.

NRA-ILA is already chasing down the information on proposed initiatives and will make that information known in our magazines and on NRAILA.org.

This is the challenge we face. But it is also our opportunity. If we all do the work now, and over the next 18 months, we can make a huge impact on the future of our Second Amendment rights. NRA-ILA is ready to do more than we ever have, but we need the active help of every gun owner in America. With that support, we can win another huge victory in November 2016.

IN THIS ARTICLE
Chris W. Cox
TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

News  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

Last week we reported on a major breakthrough on behalf of veterans who risked losing their Second Amendment rights because of a long-running scheme by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report certain beneficiaries ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on HB24-1292, the ban on semi-automatic firearms. Please contact your legislators today by using the button below and urge them to OPPOSE HB24-1292!

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

A number of firearm-related bills, including enhanced preemption, are moving in the Louisiana Legislature. It's critical that NRA members and Second Amendment supporters get involved to keep the momentum going!

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.