2003—THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Here are some of the top stories we brought you in the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert in 2003. No doubt 2004 will be one of the busiest election seasons in our Association`s history, and we hope to provide you with information in future Alerts that will enhance your effectiveness as a grassroots activist. As always, we strongly encourage you to receive the Grassroots Alert via e-mail, as opposed to fax, as this will save ILA money and allow you more flexibility in forwarding the Alert`s contents to other pro-Second Amendment activists. To receive our Alert via e-mail, simply go to www.NRAILA.org, click on the "Sign Up For Email" link, and follow the instructions. Please call (800) 392-8683 once you begin receiving the Alerts via e-mail, and let us know we can remove you from the fax system.
JANUARY
The year started off on a sad note with the passing of former NRA President and American hero, Joe Foss. The Brady Bunch, as they are wont to do, held a press conference and used the D.C.-area sniper shooters to promote their opposition to federal legislation to end the reckless lawsuit campaign against the lawful gun industry. And George Clooney took a swipe at another NRA legend and former NRA President—Charlton Heston—when he "joked" about Mr. Heston`s courageous battle against Alzheimer`s disease.
FEBRUARY
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) acknowledged what NRA has been saying for some time—any ballistic "fingerprinting" scheme implemented today would be flawed and unworkable. Lockyer`s report found, "[O]ur analysis concludes that today`s technology is not yet adequate to handle the volume associated with adding all new guns to the database and still provide useful information for investigators." Staying in the "Golden State, Los Angeles County was ordered to pay the organizers of the Great Western Gun Show $1.6 million to compensate plaintiffs for litigation costs. Organizers sued the county claiming that a prohibition of the show on county`s fairgrounds violated their First Amendment rights. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit that would have allowed the city of Chicago access to information regarding gun manufacturers, dealers, and purchasers as part of the city`s reckless lawsuit against the firearms industry. City attorneys, as part of Chicago`s nuisance lawsuit, had demanded the BATFE turn over information through a Freedom of Information Act request.
MARCH
NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox excoriated Michael Moore`s Bowling for Columbine—highlighting the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Science`s own "Special Rules for the Documentary Award" that define a documentary film "as a non-fiction motion picture," with the emphasis "on factual content." Bowling for Columbine, of course, miserably failed this practical test, as it was a work of propaganda, riddled not only with slovenly conducted research, but with calculated dishonesty and creative editing to promote Moore`s virulent hatred for the Second Amendment.
APRIL
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1036, its reckless lawsuit preemption bill, on an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 285-140. The first group of pilots to have undergone extensive background checks and rigorous training prepared to equip themselves with firearms as a last line of defense against terrorist hijackers. NRA continued its work to ensure that those pilots who wish to be armed and satisfy the training requirement aren`t needlessly delayed in carrying firearms in the cockpit. NRA celebrated its enormously successful Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Orlando, Fla.
MAY
The push got underway to further expand the ‘94 Clinton gun ban, as Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) drafted legislation to ban millions more guns! Senator Charles Schumer`s (D-N.Y.) campaign was fined by the Federal Election Commission for violating campaign finance laws, and was ordered to pay $130,000 in civil penalties and return $120,455 in illegal contributions. CNN, which bills itself as "the most trusted name in news," was caught lying on so-called "assault weapons," when it aired two stories that deliberately mislead its viewers into believing that the semi-automatic firearms banned by the ‘94 Clinton gun ban are somehow more powerful than other guns that weren`t banned. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called CNN on the carpet, forthrightly stating, "We caught them red handed in the act. Now they`re backpedaling. Either it was a deliberate attempt to fake the story, or the reporter had a complete ignorance of the story he`s covering."
JUNE
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) noted in no uncertain terms, its support for S. 659—the Senate reckless lawsuit preemption bill. Michael Baroody, NAM`s Executive Vice President, wrote, "On behalf of the 14,000 member companies of the National Association of Manufacturers, I ask you to cosponsor S. 659...[which] will help to forestall lawsuits that are brought with the intent of shutting down a legitimate and legal industry, as opposed to those that are brought to right a genuine wrong." Washington, D.C., reclaimed the notorious title of "murder capital" of the United States—despite its 25+ year old gun ban. Yet another significant legal victory was won in the ongoing battle over reckless lawsuits, as the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court affirmed a trial court`s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D). The appellate court found that it was "legally inappropriate, impractical and unrealistic" to force gun manufacturers to take steps to decrease the availability and illegal use of firearms.
JULY
Another group lent its support to reckless lawsuit preemption when the President of the National Association of Wholesalers (NAW), Dirk Van Dongen, wrote U.S. Senators noting, "We believe that it is a true miscarriage of justice for the manufacturers, wholesaler-distributors and/or retailers of products to be held liable for the misuse of those products by end-users over whose conduct they have no control." Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced S. 1414, the "District of Columbia Personal Protection Act," which seeks to restore the constitutionally guaranteed Second Amendment rights of the residents of our nation`s capital. New York Federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein ruled that the NAACP`s reckless lawsuit against the gun industry had failed to make its case against law-abiding firearm manufacturers and distributors.
AUGUST
David B. Kopel`s, Dr. Stephen P. Halbrook`s, and Alan Korwin`s, book "Supreme Court Gun Cases" found conclusively that, "the Supreme Court has recognized an individual right to arms for most of the past two centuries," noting how "three dozen of the cases quote or mention the Second Amendment directly." Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) introduced "consumer protection" bills—S. 1224 and H.R. 2403. The legislation is, in reality, a poor smokescreen for back-door gun prohibition, proposing to "expand the powers of the Attorney General to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and sale of firearms and ammunition." Or, in other words, to empower a president, through the BATFE, to bypass Congress and unilaterally prohibit the manufacture of firearms.
SEPTEMBER
Anti-gun U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John Kerry (D-Mass.) stated, "Our party will never be the choice of the NRA, and I am not looking to be the candidate of the NRA." The Missouri Senate joined the House in overriding Governor Bob Holden`s (D) veto of Right-to-Carry legislation, marking only the seventh time in Missouri history that legislators had successfully overturned a governor`s veto.
OCTOBER
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of a broad-ranging federal review of 51 studies to determine whether gun laws do, in fact, prevent violent crimes, firearm-related accidents, or suicides. CDC`s conclusion: there is "insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws." Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) introduced their latest gun show bill that would effectively shut down gun shows, invade the privacy rights of American citizens, and implement gun owner registration.
NOVEMBER
Voters in Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia went to the polls and elected 82% of the 188 NRA-PVF-endorsed candidates (both Democrats and Republicans). NRA-ILA rolled out its newly-designed website—www.NRAILA.org. Knowing it would pass if it came to a final vote, anti-gun Senators used parliamentary maneuvering to stymie S. 659/
S. 1806—legislation to end reckless lawsuits against the firearm industry—postponing final action on the legislation until 2004. Governor Jim Doyle (D-Wisc.) vetoed Right-to-Carry legislation setting up a showdown to override his veto.
DECEMBER
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the First Amendment a blow, when they upheld the so-called campaign finance "reform" law that calls for a First Amendment "blackout" period in the weeks leading up to Election Day. NRA`s Wayne LaPierre called the decision a "sad day for the Constitution" and vowed that the voices of NRA`s four million members would continue to be heard.
Have a safe and happy New Year!!!
