NRA-ILA ANNOUNCES 2004
VOLUNTEER AWARD WINNERS
Each year, NRA-ILA bestows its volunteer awards upon those individuals (and an organization) who have gone above and beyond the call in defense of our freedom. As in past years, we received a number of extremely qualified nominations for the 2004 awards, and we were heartened to learn of all the tremendous work our volunteers have been doing throughout the country. With 2004 being an extremely busy election year, this choice was made even more difficult.
Here are the NRA-ILA Volunteer Award winners for 2004:
Jay M. Littlefield NRA-ILA Volunteer of the Year Award:
Roy Burkhart (Alaska)
Scott Newhall (N.H.)
NRA-ILA Volunteer Organization of the Year Award:
Gun Owners' Action League (Mass.).
Roy Burkhart serves as the NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) for Alaska. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) personally nominated Roy for this award, crediting him with spearheading her campaign activities in the Mat-Su Valley region during the 2004 elections. Senator Murkowski noted, "Having won a high-profile race for the U.S. Senate last year, I can attest that the reason candidates succeed is through the dedicated efforts of grassroots volunteers like Roy and [his wife] June. Not only are the Burkharts top-notch campaign volunteers, but after having known them now for some time, I also consider them friends. Their activism represents all that is good with our system of governance and active citizen participation.…In closing, I again want to thank NRA and its grassroots activists like Roy and June Burkhart for their tremendous support in my race last year. I could not have won without them."
Scott Newhall serves as NRA-ILA's EVC for the entire state of New Hampshire. In this role, he organized volunteers to attend rallies, to work at campaign offices, and to undertake numerous other grassroots election activities. Additionally, Mr. Newhall planned and executed his own EVC Grassroots-Election Workshop that was held in Manchester in May 2004. This meeting included 20 core volunteers, as well as individuals from Gun Owners of New Hampshire (NRA's state affiliate), two NRA-ILA Grassroots staff members who also participated in the presentation, a representative from the Bush campaign, and other local candidates for office. He also wrote his own e-newsletter encouraging involvement with the campaigns of President Bush, U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-1), U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass (R-2), Gov. Craig Benson (R), and numerous state and local candidates. Additionally, Scott regularly attended Second Amendment Roundtable meetings with Rep. Bradley. These are just some of the many endeavors Scott undertook throughout New Hampshire in 2004.
And last but certainly not least, Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL) of Massachusetts distinguished itself in the fight to preserve the Second Amendment, working closely with NRA-ILA's State Liaison, attending legislative hearings, and always keeping their membership apprised of key legislative activities and state gun laws through their website and e-mail alerts. GOAL also took a leadership role in reforming provisions of Chapter 180 of Massachusetts law that benefited all law-abiding gun-owners in the Bay State.
All of us at NRA-ILA offer our sincerest thanks and congratulations to the 2004 award winners for their support and dedication to our mutual cause, and we know you all join us in congratulating these individuals and Gun Owners' Action League for their tireless defense of the Second Amendment.
Congratulations to all!
NEW YORK UPDATE
Law-abiding gun owners prevailed in Albany on Wednesday during a special session called by Governor Pataki (R). During the session, lawmakers passed legislation that focused on illegal gun trafficking and crimes against police officers. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's (D-64) shameless attempts to use this opportunity to go after legal gun owners and to put legitimate licensed gun dealers out of business failed this time, but he has vowed to bring his anti-gun proposals back when the legislature goes into regular session in early January. In fact, a December 22, New York Times article quotes Mr. Silver as saying, "Our job is not finished. While we have locked the front door on gun traffickers, the NRA's influence in Albany keeps the back door open."
It is critical that NRA members remain vigilant. We urge you to contact your lawmakers to thank them for keeping the focus where it belongs--on the criminals. You should also remind them that NRA is acting as a voice for the thousands upon thousands of law-abiding gun owners, hunters, and sportsmen in New York State that are members of our organization. Speaker Silver's insinuation that those lawmakers who don't go along with him are doing the NRA's bidding is just plain wrong. They are acting on the will of the people who elected them. Assemblymembers can be reached at (518) 455-4100, and State Senators can be reached at (518) 455-2800.
SAN FRANCISCO BACKS OFF--
FOR NOW
Bowing to pressure from NRA and law-abiding firearm owners, the City of San Francisco has agreed to postpone enforcement of the provision of Prop H that bans the sale or transfer of any firearm or ammunition until March 1, 2006. The handgun possession ban provision of Prop H does not goes into effect until April 1, 2006. Residents of San Francisco have until then to get their guns out of the city or turn them in to police without compensation.
In the interim, the NRA lawsuit challenging the ordinance will be filed in the San Francisco Superior Court. NRA had previously filed suit in the Court of Appeals on November 9, but the Court declined to exercise jurisdiction until the Superior Court had heard the matter. The hearing date on NRA's motion to invalidate the entire ordinance has been tentatively scheduled for February 15, 2006, in San Francisco Superior Court.
For more information on Prop H and the lawsuit, please visit www.stopsanfranban.com.
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. Since 1977, the District has banned the possession of all handguns not acquired and registered before that year. D.C. law also prohibits keeping an assembled rifle or shotgun in the home, effectively outlawing the use of firearms for lawful self-defense. And despite these Draconian gun control laws, 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. 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.
Thank you for your continued support in our efforts to further the cause of freedom.
[Contributions to NRA-ILA are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.]
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!
NEW YORK
In response to a recent "investigative" story done by local NBC affiliate I-Team 10 in Rochester that revealed that a number of hunting licenses have been issued to convicted felons over the past decade, State Senator Michael Nozzolio (R-54) indicated he might be introducing legislation to remedy the problem by requiring criminal background checks for all hunting license applicants. Apparently, when I-Team 10 did their misleading investigation, they failed to uncover and report the fact that there are many people who have hunting licenses who do not possess or use firearms. For example, in New York State it is necessary to obtain a big game hunting license prior to obtaining a bow hunting permit. After careful review of the issue, Senator Nozzolio has contacted NRA and has stated he does not plan to introduce new legislation on this subject and believes that the challenge of keeping firearms out of the hands of felons can be met by enforcement of federal law. We commend Senator Nozzolio's efforts to thoroughly analyze the issue before taking any action and we encourage members to contact Senator Nozzolio at (315) 568-9816 to let him know that we appreciated his attention to the matter.
WISCONSIN
The same week that the Personal Protection Act passed the Assembly by a veto-proof margin, another critical, NRA-backed bill was overwhelmingly approved. AB 586, legislation that lowers the minimum supervised hunting age from 12 to eight years-old and establishes a mentored hunting program, was sent to the Senate on a strong, bi-partisan vote of 74-19. The bill is intended to remove many of the barriers that keep Wisconsin's youths from hunting and enjoying the outdoors. It allows parents, instead of the state, to determine when their children are mature enough to begin hunting under the close supervision and mentoring of an adult who meets the hunter safety education requirements. AB 586 also allows a person 12 years-old and older, who has not yet completed the hunter education requirement, to hunt with a mentor who is within arm's reach. This is better known as the "try it before you buy it" provision and is allowed for up to two years for each individual. Many would-be hunters are discouraged from hunting in Wisconsin today because they must first complete the lengthy hunter safety class. The mentoring program allows these people to get out and try hunting to see if they like it enough to complete the class so that they are eventually able to hunt on their own. AB 586 is critical to the preservation of Wisconsin's hunting heritage. Please contact your state senator today at (608) 266-2517, or (800) 362-9472, and respectfully request that he or she support the Youth Hunting Bill, AB 586.
[Editor's Note: 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 close today at noon, and will be closed on Monday, December 26, for the Christmas Holiday. Please have a safe and Merry Christmas, and please remember our men and women in uniform, and the sacrifices they are making for all of us this Holiday Season.
