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Grassroots Alert: Vol. 12, No. 47 11/23/2005

ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON--
THEN GET READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING IN ‘06!

With the holiday season now upon us, we hope you enjoy your time with family and friends.  Thanks to your continued activism, we achieved some monumental victories this year; victories that simply would not have been possible without your support and hard work.

However, as we saw on Election Day 2005, our fight is far from over, and we cannot rest on our laurels.  The enemies of our freedom are redoubling their efforts to win back what they've lost in recent years, and they are using the results of some of this year's elections as their launching pad for 2006.  The anti-gun drumbeat, trying to convince politicians and the electorate that supporting the Second Amendment is a losing proposition, has already begun in earnest.  Rest assured this vitriol will continue right up through Election Day 2006.

While the next few weeks will allow us time to catch our breath, our respite will be over when the calendar turns to 2006.  Not only must we work to advance our legislative agendas in Congress and the states, but we must remain eternally vigilant in turning back the inevitable attacks on our firearm freedoms that the anti-gunners have in store for us.  And, we must once again ramp up our top-notch grassroots battle plan in preparation for an extremely busy election year.

We know we will again be able to count on you to answer the call.  We need you to help us build an even more formidable corps of grassroots activists to ensure the momentum we've gained in the past five years continues in 2006 and beyond.  So, please, while you are enjoying the company of family and friends during this holiday season, please continue to reach out to your pro-gun family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to ensure that they know what's at stake in the new year and that they are an active part of our team of volunteers who will once again work tirelessly to protect the Second Amendment.

All of us at NRA-ILA thank you for your commitment to stand with us to protect our rights, and we wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday.

D.C. PERSONAL PROTECTION ACT A TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY

One of NRA-ILA's top legislative priorities in Congress continues to be the passage of S. 1082 and H.R. 1288--the Senate and House versions of the "District of Columbia Personal Protection Act."  This legislation seeks to restore the constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights of the residents of the District of Columbia.

The need for this legislation is obvious.  While effectively banning handgun ownership for over a quarter-century, Washington, D.C., consistently has one of the highest homicide rates in the nation. 

"D.C.'s politicians have stripped law-abiding residents of their ability to defend themselves and their families," said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.  "Passage of the ‘District of Columbia Personal Protection Act' will remedy this senseless and dangerous injustice."

Please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 1082 and H.R. 1288.

For a list of Senate cosponsors, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01082:@@@P.

For a list of House cosponsors, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR01288:@@@P.

You can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, or your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.

HELP NRA-ILA FIGHT FOR FREEDOM IN THE COURTS!

With NRA engaged in various legal battles to protect our Second Amendment rights across the country, we are asking NRA members to contribute to NRA-ILA as we fight for freedom in the courts.  Please encourage your friends, family, and other Second Amendment supporters to stand with NRA-ILA by making a financial contribution to help us fight for freedom in the U.S. courts.  You may contribute by mail (please make checks payable to NRA-ILA, and send to:  NRA-ILA, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030); by telephone at (800) -392-8683; or via our website at:  https://secure.nraila.org/Contribute.aspx

[Contributions to NRA-ILA are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.]

Thank you for your continued support in our efforts to further the cause of freedom.

A LOOK AT THE STATES

(****For all of the action items below, you can find contact information for your legislators by using the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org.  As always, thank you for your support.****)

DELAWARE
Mark your calendar for the "Concealed Carry Conference and Second Amendment Rally" to be held January 8, 2006!  The Conference, held in conjunction with the Delaware State Sportsmen's Association Annual Meeting of Members, will feature special guest speaker NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox, as well as NRA President Sandra Froman, NRA 1st Vice President John Sigler, and NRA 2nd Vice President Ron Schmeits. The conference will be held at Modern Maturity Center, 1121 Forest Ave. (Rt. 8), in Dover.  Doors open at 1:00 p.m., and the meeting begins at 2:00 p.m. This event is open to everyone interested in preserving and defending the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.  See you there! 

MASSACHUSETTS
This week, Governor Mitt Romney (R) signed S.2255, a bill addressing a conflict in Massachusetts law concerning the difference between a loaded and unloaded muzzleloading shotgun or rifle.   For purposes of this section, "loaded shotgun or loaded rifle" shall mean any shotgun or rifle having ammunition in either the magazine or chamber thereof, such ammunition including a live cartridge, primer (igniter), bullet, or propellant powder designed for use in any firearm, rifle or shotgun and, in the case of a muzzle loading or black powder shotgun or rifle, containing powder in the flash pan, a percussion cap and shot or ball; but the term "loaded shotgun or loaded rifle" shall not include a shotgun or rifle loaded with a blank cartridge, which contains no projectile within such blank or within the bore or chamber of such shotgun or rifle.  The bill contained an "emergency preamble". Under normal circumstances a bill does not become law until 90 days after the governor signs it. With the emergency preamble, the bill became law immediately.  On behalf of our members, we would like to thank the Gun Owners Action League as well as Senator Stephen Brewer (D-Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Worcester) and Representative George Peterson (R-Worcester-9) for their special efforts in seeing this bill through the legislative process in time for the upcoming muzzleloader season. 

TEXAS
Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) has determined that the following five states' Concealed Handgun License (CHLs) holders qualify for recognition by Texas:  California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.  Governor Rick Perry (R) has signed unilateral proclamations of recognition for these states.  Although these states will not grant reciprocity to Texas CHLs, the proclamations are part of an ongoing effort by pro-gun officials in the Lone Star State to grant other states one-way recognition and encourage them to adopt or expand reciprocity provisions in their own carry laws.

[Editors Notes:  Effective January 1, 2006, the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert will be transmitted solely via e-mail.  Those of you who currently receive the Friday Alert via fax, and wish to continue to receive it, will need to sign up to receive NRA-ILA's e-mail alerts.  You may sign up for e-mail by visiting www.NRAILA.org and choosing "Sign-up for E-mail" or you may call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683.  This change is part of our ongoing transition to e-mail as our primary communication tool, recognizing the vast number of NRA members with e-mail access, and the additional flexibility e-mail affords recipients in easily forwarding the information to others. The NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert will still be posted at www.NRAILA.org.  Thank you for your cooperation with, and attention to, this change.--NRA-ILA]

NRA will be closing at noon on Wednesday, November 23, for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  We will re-open on Monday, November 28, at 8:30 a.m., EST.

Please have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

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.