Here are some of the top stories we brought you in the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert in 2007. With the 2008 election season just around the corner, we must redouble our efforts to ensure we are prepared to meet the opportunities and challenges we will face next year. We will continue to provide you with information in future Alerts to ensure our mutual success.
JANUARY:
- The U.S. Senate passes an amendment to S.A. 3, the “Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act”, removing an onerous proposal that would have drastically limited the First Amendment rights of Americans in the political process. Offered by Sens. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the amendment removed language that would have forced ordinary citizens to register with the federal government as “lobbyists,” with all the attendant restrictions, costs, and penalties
- U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D) introduces S. 388—the Senate version of H.R. 226, a national Right-to-Carry reciprocity bill that would provide national reciprocity for state carry licensees by allowing any person with a valid carry permit or license issued by a state to carry a concealed firearm in any other state if they meet certain criteria. The bill would not create a federal licensing system; it would simply require the states to recognize each other’s carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses.
FEBRUARY:
- Judge Carl J. Barbier, presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, grants NRA’s motion for contempt against New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and police chief Warren Riley for “failure to provide initial disclosures and to compel answers to discovery” during NRA’s lawsuit against the City for its illegal gun confiscation of law-abiding citizens following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
MARCH:
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s Circuit rules that the Second Amendment is an individual right and concludes that the District of Columbia’s handgun ban is unconstitutional. According to the majority opinion, "[T]he phrase 'the right of the people'...leads us to conclude that the right in question is individual."
- A new look for the Grassroots Alert is rolled out, providing you with more concise story summaries, along with the option to click the story title if you wish to read the entire piece.
APRIL:
- Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (R) and West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin (D) sign NRA-backed “Emergency Powers” legislation in their respective states to prevent state and local authorities from confiscating lawfully owned firearms during declared states of emergency, such as occurred in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
- The Kansas State Senate overrides Governor Kathleen Sebelius’s veto of vital legislation that would allow law-abiding Kansans to protect themselves outside their homes.
- The Brady Center sends out a tasteless fundraiser asking for one dollar for each of the Virginia Tech shooting victims.
MAY:
- The Fraternal Order of Police’s (FOP) Chuck Canterbury and acting BATFE Director Michael Sullivan note their support for keeping sensitive gun trace data off limits to those who would use it to foster an anti-gun agenda. Mayor Bloomberg would later label the national FOP as a “fringe” organization.
- The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declines to review the decision in Parker v. District of Columbia—thus paving the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
- H.R. 2093, legislation restricting grassroots lobbying, is defeated. The “Meehan-Shays amendment” would have defined communications by organizations such as NRA, written with the intent of mobilizing citizens to contact Congress, as “lobbying,” subjecting those efforts to onerous registration and reporting requirements for the first time in American history.
JUNE:
- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passes H.R. 2640, the “NICS Improvement Act,” which makes needed, and long overdue, improvements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
- Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons (R) signs the NRA-backed “Emergency Powers Firearms Protection Act” into law.
- In a temporary setback, anti-gun Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee, announces she will not include the “Tiahrt Amendment” in the CJS appropriations bill. In doing so, Mikulski defies BATFE and the FOP, choosing instead to do the bidding of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R). The NRA-backed language is later reinstated in an amendment by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).
- An amendment to prohibit the importation of polar bear trophies to the U.S. is defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
JULY:
- Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signs into law two of NRA-ILA’s top legislative priorities. SB 62, Missouri’s “Castle Doctrine” bill, removes the “duty to retreat” for victims of criminal attack; while SB 225, the “Hunting Heritage Protection Areas Act,” preserves important wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities throughout the state.
- The U.S. House Appropriations Committee votes to protect the “Tiahrt Amendment,” rejecting two separate amendments designed to strike or gut the language, in the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008. This language maintains firearm trace information within the law enforcement community and out of the hands of politicians, trial lawyers and special interest groups.
- Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announces the city will appeal the Parker ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
AUGUST:
- President George W. Bush issues an executive order directing Federal agencies to work more diligently to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and the management of game species and their habitat.
- The Culture and Media Institute (CMI) releases a report entitled "The Media Assault on the Second Amendment,” finding that in the first seven months of 2007, the three major networks ran some 650 stories on firearm-related homicides, yet only two covering the use of guns for self-defense. Considering guns are used three to five times more often for self-defense than to commit a crime, this disproportion is staggering.
SEPTEMBER:
- NRA holds its first “Celebration of American Values” conference, providing NRA members the opportunity to hear some of our nation’s most important leaders—including a number of 2008 Presidential candidates—address Second Amendment issues. Hundreds attend and the event is broadcast nationally by C-SPAN and receives heavy media coverage.
- The U.S. Senate passes the Foreign Operations appropriations bill, which includes an amendment by Senator David Vitter (R-La.) to prevent any funding to foreign organizations that infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of lawful American citizens. Any organization that adopts a policy anathema to the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment would no longer be eligible for U.S. financial assistance—including the U.N.
OCTOBER:
- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) dismisses the concerns of gun owners and sportsmen in California and signs two anti-gun pieces of legislation into law—a bill to outlaw the sale of all new handguns that do not imprint identifying information upon cartridge cases after firing, and a ban on the use of lead ammunition in areas which are inhabited by California condors.
NOVEMBER:
- The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the Washington, D.C. gun ban case.
- “The Outrage of the Week” section of the Alert debuts with a story about a 17-year old Olympic shooter who is charged for possessing two unopened boxes of shells in her SUV that was parked in a school’s visitors lot.
- 89% of NRA-PVF’s endorsed candidates with their races on Election Day!
- In a video posted on YouTube, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards notes his belief that owning a handgun is merely a privilege, not a right.
DECEMBER:
- H.R. 4900—the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007”—is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- After months of careful negotiation, NRA’s work with Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) pays off with passage of H.R. 2640—“The National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Act.” As we reported numerous times, passage of this bill is a win for American gun owners.
- In an astounding display of hypocrisy, Hillary Clinton issues a press release assailing Barack Obama for his past support of “banning all handguns,” citing his position as one reason to “raise serious questions about his electability.”
NRA will be closed on Monday, December 31, and Tuesday, January 1.
Please have a safe and happy New Year!!!
