Anti-Gun Point Man As Next Attorney General
So much for “I support the Second Amendment,” and so much for the notion of “change.”
Media reports say President-elect Barack Obama has selected Eric Holder as his Attorney General, and that Holder may already have accepted the offer. Holder, as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno during the Clinton Administration, said that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right, but instead protects the right to have a firearm when serving with a militia. After leaving office, Holder stuck to that assertion when he signed Janet Reno’s brief to the Supreme Court in the Heller case, which stated, “The Second Amendment does not protect firearms possession or use that is unrelated to participation in a well-regulated militia.”
Winnetka, Ill., Repeals Draconian Handgun Ban: Becomes Third Chicago Suburb to Drop Total Ban Since Supreme Court Ruling: The Winnetka, Ill., Village Council has repealed its 20-year handgun ban following this summer’s Supreme Court decision and subsequent lawsuit by NRA and three Winnetka residents. The village council voted unanimously to strike portions of its firearm restrictions in light of issues raised by NRA lawyers in September of this year in U.S. District Court.
Got a New Rifle? Get a Top-Ranked Sight and Help NRA-ILA: AR-15s and similar rifles are flying off gun store shelves these days. If you’re one of the buyers, here’s your chance to put a top-of-the-line red dot sight on your new rifle - and at the same time, help defend all your guns against anti-gun groups and the Obama administration.
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This is a great opportunity to get an Aimpoint CompM4 at a special price and help NRA-ILA defend our firearms freedoms. The Aimpoint CompM4 is currently used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force as the M68 Close Combat Optic. It is also in service with the Navy and the Marine Corps.
The Founder’s Second Amendment:Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, by Stephen P. Halbrook--Donate to NRA-ILA and Get Your Copy Now! Stephen Halbrook’s The Founders’ Second Amendment is the first book-length account of the origins of the Second Amendment, based on the Founders’ own statements as found in newspapers, correspondence, debates, and resolutions. Mr. Halbrook investigates the period from 1768 to 1826, from the last years of British rule and the American Revolution through the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the passing of the Founders’ generation. From the British seizure of guns in Boston to the Founders’ own use of guns in their private lives, his book offers the most comprehensive analysis ever of the arguments behind the drafting and adoption of the Second Amendment, and the intentions of the men who created it.
To contribute to NRA-ILA and receive your copy of this remarkable book, please click here.
Help Defend Your Gun Rights One Easy Click At A Time: We now have a revolutionary yet simple tool that will allow you to stay connected to NRA-ILA and raise valuable contributions to defend our Second Amendment rights without spending a dime!
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Grassroots Minute Video: To view this week’s “Grassroots Minute” video, please click here: http://blip.tv/file/1494171.
STATE ROUNDUP (please click to see any updates on states not listed below.)
COLORADO: Bureau of Land Management Begins Management Plan for Public Land in Mesa and Western Garfield Counties The BLM Grand Junction Field Office is asking the public to help identify issues to be addressed as they begin revising the current Resource Management Plan for 1.2 million acres in the state. The Plan revision will guide management of these lands for the next 20 years. This public "scoping" period runs through January 9, 2009. The public is invited to come to three open houses between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to talk with BLM staff. The dates and places are: Tuesday, December 2 at Whitewater/Kannah room, Two Rivers Convention Center, 159 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO; Wednesday, December 3 at Grand Center, 182 N 500 W, Moab, Utah; and Thursday, December 4 at Collbran Auditorium, 102 Main Street, Collbran, CO. For further information about the plan revision and how to provide comments, log on to www.blm.gov/co (select Grand Junction from the map) or contact Matt Anderson, Planning and Environmental Coordinator at 970-244-3027. Comments may be mailed to BLM GJFO RMP, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506, faxed to 1-866-625-0707, or emailed to [email protected]. It is vitally important that sportsmen and women, particularly those who recreate on these public lands, participate in the planning process to ensure that hunting and shooting are addressed in the plan revision to ensure their positive management for the next two decades.
GEORGIA: Madison County Board of Commissioners to Consider Anti-Gun Ordinance on Monday, November 24! On Monday, November 24 at 6:30 p.m. the Madison County Board of Commissioners will be discussing a proposed ordinance that would ban the discharge of a firearm in “close proximity to a residence.” While details about this proposed ordinance are scarce, it is vital that gun owners and sportsmen of Madison County attend this hearing and make their voices heard. There is little doubt that non-shooters and anti-gun forces will be active in this public input process. The meeting will be held in the Madison County Courthouse’s Public Meeting Room located at 91 Albany Avenue in Danielsville. Please attend Monday’s meeting and express your opposition to this measure. If you cannot attend, please contact the members of the Madison County Board of Commissioners and respectfully urge them to oppose this proposal. Contact information can be found here.
NEW JERSEY: Update on Pending New Jersey Gun Ban! In response to your calls, faxes, and emails, the New Jersey Assembly delayed passage of A2116, legislation banning most firearms over .50 caliber. Anti-gun members of the Assembly amended the legislation in an attempt to divide gun owners and sportsmen by exempting some firearms while still banning others. Make no mistake: at the end of the day, A2116 is still a gun ban. It would still outlaw firearms based on bore diameter. A2116 could be considered by the full Assembly as soon as December. However, no amount of tinkering can "fix" a gun ban and A2116 remains fundamentally flawed because instead of targeting criminals, it singles out law-abiding gun owners and punishes them by banning their guns. Please continue to contact your Assembly Members and respectfully urge them to oppose A2116. Their contact information can be found by clicking here.
OREGON: Help Protect Your Right-to-Carry Privacy Rights! Newspapers across the state have been requesting that local sheriffs release information about the identity of individuals who have been issued Concealed Handgun Licenses within their respective counties. Earlier this year, after the Jackson County Sheriff refused a request for similar information from the Medford Mail Tribune, a circuit court in Jackson County ruled that individuals who apply for or have been issued CHLs must document that the license is for personal security reasons in order to be exempt from state public records disclosure laws. The Portland Oregonian reported last week that in response to this ruling and subsequent requests for information, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office has decided to mail letters to the tens of thousands of individuals who have been issued CHLs by the county, asking them if they obtained their license for personal security reasons and whether they want their information released as part of a public records request. CHLs in Washington County also have the option of answering these questions by visiting the sheriff’s office website at http://washtech.co.washington.or.us/handgunholder/. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office should be commended for recognizing the importance of keeping a personal security decision to obtain a CHL private -- and for developing a mechanism that complies with the court’s ruling, but still gives CHLs a choice in the matter. We’ve also received information that the Coos County Sheriff has done the same for his CHL holders, so bravo to him as well. Members are urged to contact their county sheriff and ask him or her to devise a way to accommodate CHL holders and their privacy concerns as the Washington and Coos County Sheriffs’ Offices has done. You can find contact information for your county sheriff’s office by visiting http://www.oregonsheriffs.org
VIRGINIA: Prince William County Board of Supervisors Approves Indoor Shooting Range! On Tuesday, November 18, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted 7-1 to approve an application for the construction of a new commercial indoor shooting range in Woodbridge. The new range will be located in the Marumsco Plaza in Woodbridge. Thank you to all of the NRA members who answered the call in support of this range. Without you, this victory could not have been possible. Thanks to your efforts, Prince William County’s law-abiding gun owners will have a place to learn and safely practice their Second Amendment freedoms.
WASHINGTON: Jefferson County Board of Commissioners to Consider Proposed No Shooting Area on Monday, November 24! The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Monday, November 24 at 5:00 p.m. to consider a proposed No Shooting Area (NSA). The hearing will be held in the Superior Courtroom at the Jefferson County Courthouse located at 1820 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend. Up for discussion and public input will be the Chimacum Creek NSA. This is a proposed No Shooting Area in the Port Hadlock-Irondale area between the Jefferson County Airport to the northwest and Port Townsend Bay on the east. The area in question includes land that has been, and continues to be, used for hunting. Although the middle of the proposed NSA is becoming increasingly developed, areas to the north and west around Chimacum Creek are still undeveloped and the area of the bay included within the eastern portion of the proposed NSA is suitable for waterfowl hunting. Please attend Monday’s hearing and weigh-in on this proposal. If you are unable to attend, please contact the members of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners at (360) 385-9100 to voice your opposition to this measure.
NRA will be closing at noon next Wednesday, November 26, for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Because of the abbreviated workweek, we will not transmit the Grassroots Alert next week.
We will re-open on Monday, December 1, at 8:30 a.m., EST, and will resume our normal Friday Grassroots Alert transmission schedule on December 5.
Please have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday!
