18 Days Until Election Day-What (More!) Can You Do?
In 18 days we will go to the polls to vote in the critical mid-term elections. Other than voting on Election Day, what more should gun owners do? The answer is very simple--volunteer to work on pro-gun candidates’ campaigns to turn out supportive voters on Election Day, November 2nd.
While we know NRA members and gun owners are reliable voters, the same can’t be said for others. Our pro-gun candidates are going to have to rely on gun owners’ activism to ensure that voters who support them are contacted and actually vote on November 2nd. But turning out supportive voters won’t happen by accident. Here are some activities that can spell the difference between victory and defeat on Election Day:
YARD SIGNS: The key to placing yard signs is location, location, location. Put signs where large numbers of people will see them, but out of right-of-ways. Ask fellow firearm owners who have property that would make a good sign location to post a sign, and make sure the “natural resources of the pro-gun community” (gun shows, gun shops, shooting ranges, and gun and hunting clubs) have signs prominently displayed. Don’t put signs on private property without permission, and don’t tamper with the opposition’s signs. And, of course, make sure you have a pro-gun candidate’s sign in your yard or on your property. You can order NRA signs here.
LITERATURE DROPS: Literature drops are an extremely effective way for pro-freedom candidates to get their message to voters. Again, take advantage of the “natural resources” of the pro-gun community. Gun shows are the best venue to conduct a literature drop. Check with the show promoter to set up a literature table or share one with a fellow NRA member or pro-gun supporter. Or, better yet; hand out pro-gun candidates’ literature to all attendees as they enter the show. If distributing literature in neighborhoods, never put materials in a mailbox. Remember, the goal of this activity isn’t to debate with anti-gun voters, but rather, to distribute as much material to as many potential voters as possible.
BUMPER STICKERS: Make sure every vehicle you own has a pro-gun candidate’s (and/or NRA) bumper sticker on it. Then, work to ensure the vehicles of your friends and fellow firearm owners are proudly displaying stickers as well.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Please submit at least one letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of a pro-gun candidate between now and Election Day. Consult your paper’s deadlines, as some papers stop accepting political letters to the editor on a certain date prior to the election. You can find media contact information by visiting our homepage—www.NRAILA.org — and clicking the “Take Action” icon, and then the “Write The Media” link. Your goal in writing should be to ensure that pro-gun candidates are receiving positive media in these final days leading up to November 2nd.
GET OUT THE VOTE & ELECTION DAY ACTIVITIES: With slightly more than two weeks left in the campaign season, candidates are focusing their efforts on Get Out The Vote (GOTV) projects and laying the final groundwork for a barrage of Election Day activities. This requires assistance contacting voters by phone, walking precincts, volunteering to drive pro-gun voters to the polls, and putting up signs and handing out literature at polling locations on Election Day.
VOTE FOR PRO-GUN CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE ON NOVEMBER 2nd!: The ultimate act of volunteerism, of course, is casting your ballot on Election Day. Please be sure you vote on Tuesday, November 2nd, and urge your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to do the same. With this many tight races, we cannot take even a single pro-gun vote for granted! For candidate information, to assist you when voting, refer to your November NRA magazine, which contains NRA-PVF’s Candidate Endorsements, or visit www.NRAPVF.org.
CONTACT YOUR EVC: Another way to get involved with these, and other, similar activities in your area is to contact your NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC), who is a local NRA member spearheading our pro-gun volunteer campaign efforts. To locate your EVC, please visit NRA’s websites (www.NRAILA.org or www.NRAPVF.org) or contact the ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-VOTE (8683).
CONTACT YOUR CFR: Yet another way to get involved in election activities is to contact your NRA-ILA Campaign Field Representatives (CFRs). Our CFRs have been working for months to ensure that gun owners are registered to vote and actively working to elect pro-gun candidates on November 2nd. Additionally, our CFRs have been loaded up with FREE bumper stickers promoting our endorsed candidates. To see if your district has a CFR, and to obtain free bumper stickers for your vehicles and those of your family and friends, please visit /ActionCenter/GrassRootsActivism.aspx?ID=114.
CONTACT PRO-GUN CAMPAIGNS: Finally, you can contact pro-gun candidates’ local campaign offices directly. By visiting the “Candidate Grades and Endorsements” section of www.NRAPVF.org and clicking on your state, you’ll find that many of the endorsed pro-gun candidates have a “Contact” link to their websites.
With only 18 short days left until Election Day, if you can spare just a few hours of your time with these efforts, it can and will make a difference! If protecting our Second Amendment rights for our children and grandchildren isn’t worth a few hours of your time, what is?
Thank you for all you have done to protect our freedom, and for all you will continue to do until the polls close on Tuesday, November 2nd. On to victory!
Visit NRA-PVF Site Before Election Day For Candidate Grades & Endorsements! Election Day, November 2nd, is now just a little more than two weeks away! For up-to-the-minute campaign information, and to see what more you can do to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates to office, NRA members are strongly encouraged to visit the newly revised NRA-Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) website, www.NRAPVF.org. This official NRA campaign site will serve as your one-stop campaign reference guide this election season. The site is loaded with all of the critical information you’ll need to make informed decisions on Election Day, November 2nd. Included on the site are news stories, articles from NRA’s magazines, multi-media ads, NRA-PVF press releases, and a complete listing of NRA-PVF candidate grades and endorsements!
In addition to all of the late-breaking campaign news, candidate grades and endorsements, Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVCs) and Campaign Field Representative (CFRs) contact information, and firearm issue background information, you will also find our media center— http://www.nrapvf.org/media-center.aspx —where you can catch up on speeches and remarks made by NRA leaders, supporters and elected officials, watch TV spots regarding candidates and issues, or listen to election-specific commercials from around the U.S.!
With so few days between now and Election Day, November 2nd, please be sure that you leave no stone unturned and, on November 2nd, join us on “Freedom’s Frontline” and “Vote Freedom First”!
The How & Why Behind NRA-PVF’s Endorsement Policies: With release of the grades and endorsements at www.NRAPVF.org, here once again is additional information on how our grades and endorsements are issued.
NRA is non-partisan in issuing its candidate grades and endorsements. We base our political decisions solely on gun-related issues. By not taking into account political party affiliation or non-gun-related issues, we ensure we do not divide our base of support.
We have a pro-gun incumbent-friendly policy that dictates our support for pro-gun incumbents seeking reelection over pro-gun challengers. We stand with our friends who stand with us in Congress or the state legislature. We would lose all credibility if we abandoned our friends. Of course, should a pro-gun challenger win his election, then he will be the beneficiary of this policy when he seeks re-election.
For candidates who are not incumbents, or who have not previously held elective office, we review answers to NRA’s candidate questionnaires. NRA staff also interviews candidates, reviews campaign literature and candidate statements, and factors in intelligence from local NRA members.
All of this information is then reviewed and a grade of A to F is issued. Endorsements are not given in every race, as in addition to a candidate’s positions on gun-related issues, NRA staff also has to take into account other factors like a candidate’s viability and campaign organization. Our endorsement is not given lightly; it is something that is reserved for those candidates who meet certain criteria and thresholds. It must be earned.
Our endorsements are recommendations only. We understand and respect that voters will decide for themselves how important non-gun-related issues are, and on which issues they will base their final voting decisions. Our job is to provide the clearest information possible on a candidate’s stance on Second Amendment-related issues and to encourage our members and supporters to “Vote Freedom First!” on Election Day.
For more information on NRA-PVF’s endorsement and grading policies, please click here and here for articles featuring NRA-ILA Executive Director and Chairman of NRA’s Political Victory Fund, Chris W. Cox.
2010 Firearms Law & The Second Amendment Symposium: The 2010 "Firearms Law & The Second Amendment Symposium" will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. This event will be sponsored by The NRA Foundation and the John Marshall Law School chapter of the Federalist Society.
Focusing on recent developments in our nation's courts regarding the Second Amendment, speakers will discuss and debate current Second Amendment scholarship and related issues. The symposium will feature top Second Amendment scholars and attorneys, discussing topics that range from the history of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, to the recent Supreme Court decision on Chicago's handgun ban, to critical recent developments in state legislation.
This event promises to present a thought-provoking discussion of one of the most relevant and important freedoms in the Bill of Rights. Each Symposium registrant will receive a packet containing the panelists' written materials on the subject- an excellent source for future reference. For guests who are attorneys, this year's event may once again meet state requirements for continuing legal education. The event, including all materials, food and beverages, is free.
The Symposium will be held:
Saturday, November 13, 2010
John Marshall Law School
315 South Plymouth Court
Room 1200
Chicago, IL 60604
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
(Registration and continental breakfast from 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.)
To register, please visit /workshops/Symposium.aspx?ID=chicago2010 or call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683.
“Don't Tread On My Gun Rights” Yard Signs Available Now: We’ve created a new yard sign that will send a strong message this election season to all who read it: “Don’t Tread on my Gun Rights.”
It has been estimated that well-placed campaign signs can account for four percentage points on Election Day. Think back to the 2000 presidential election, where 537 votes in Florida separated George W. Bush from Al Gore, and four points seems like a landslide! While you are focused on the November 2 election, some gun owners may not be aware of what’s at stake for the future of the Second Amendment on Election Day.
To help us raise gun owner awareness of the impending election, and to market NRA’s campaign efforts, we have produced three colorful, patriotic campaign yard signs featuring our “I’m the NRA & I Vote,” “Vote Freedom First,” and our newest, “Don’t Tread on my Gun Rights” slogans.
These high quality signs are bold, durable, and easy to assemble. Everything needed to assemble the sign is contained in one compact package, and all components are made in the USA.
Each sign costs a very reasonable $15.95, or you can order a combination pack of two signs for $26.95, or three signs for $38.95 (includes shipping and handling). A portion of the proceeds goes directly to NRA-ILA to assist our efforts to protect, preserve, and strengthen our Second Amendment rights!
By proudly displaying your NRA yard sign, and showing your support for the Second Amendment, you will greatly enhance our ability to deliver victory for pro-gun candidates on November 2!
Please call (866) 869-6389 or visit www.nrailasigns.org to order your NRA yard signs TODAY!
Another Way To Get Involved--Join NRA’s Facebook And Twitter Groups: Internet social networking has exploded in recent years, and websites such as Facebook and Twitter attract millions of users. This on-line community fosters a connection between its users, and allows distribution of user-generated content (like pictures, profiles, music, video, and text).
NRA has been a part of this social technology for some time now, with a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. By actively participating in these new media, we are able to reach out to more potential members and supporters than ever before.
The current king of on-line social networking is Facebook. NRA’s Facebook page continues to be extremely popular. In fact, our page has grown from about 300,000 fans on July 28, 2010 to about 514,000 as of this week!
Please do what these fans have done and join our Fan page at http://www.facebook.com/National-Rifle-Association.
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows users to send regular text updates (known as “tweets”) to “followers” who have subscribed to them. To sign up to receive NRA-ILA “tweets,” please visit http://twitter.com/NRAILA. With this year’s critically important elections just around the corner, you can also get timely election and endorsement messages and instant updates from NRA’s Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) a by visiting http://twitter.com/nrapvf and signing up (for additional voting and election updates and information, you may also visit the official NRA-PVF site at www.nrapvf.org).
If we are going to actively reach and recruit the future leaders of the pro-gun movement, we must take full advantage of these on-line social networking resources. Please consider getting involved today!
Grassroots News Minute Video: To view this week’s “Grassroots News Minute” video, please click here.
STATE ROUNDUP (Please note the only items listed below are those that have had recent action. For other updates on state legislation, please go to the state legislation section at www.NRAILA.org, and check each week’s issue of the Grassroots Alert.)
ARKANSAS: Vote Yes on Issue 1; Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish
Issue 1 is the NRA-supported ballot issue enshrining in the Arkansas Constitution the people’s long cherished right to hunt, fish and trap. This right is subject only to “regulations that promote sound wildlife conservation and management” prescribed by the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission. The sanctity of private property rights and Amendment 35, establishing the Game and Fish Commission, is explicitly protected.
Issue 1 recognizes hunting, fishing and trapping as constitutional rights. Specifically, it prohibits regulations that would ban the use of “traditional methods” such as bow hunting or the sustainable taking of “wildlife” such as deer, bear and doves. Issue 1 protects the citizen’s hunting heritage from attacks initiated by well-funded anti-hunting activists who have assailed sportsmen throughout the country in recent years. In addition, it specifies that hunting, fishing and trapping shall be used as the preferred means of managing and controlling nonthreatened species. This ensures that sportsmen will continue to be used as the state’s responsible game managers instead of the taxpayer funded sharpshooters and unproven, expensive wildlife contraception schemes employed in other jurisdictions.
Anti-hunting organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have an annual budget of over $120 million. Their declared objective is to end all consumptive sporting practices. Through the initiative process, they have succeeded in enacting hunting bans in states considered to be sportsmen strongholds. For instance, three years ago in Michigan, a state with a million hunters, HSUS banned the hunting of doves, the most commonly hunted game bird in America. It’s only a matter of time before these anti-hunting activists, using the state’s initiative process, set their sights on the sportsmen of Arkansas. It is not prudent to wait until a crisis to pursue a constitutional amendment. By then, it will be too late.
For more information, please visit: /righttohuntar/
Vote for Your Right to Hunt and Fish this November 2! Vote Yes on Issue 1!
HAWAII: JOIN THE HAWAII RIFLE ASSOCIATION FOR LUNCH WITH FORMER NRA PRESIDENT SANDY FROMAN! On Saturday, November 6, join the Hawaii Rifle Association for a lunch with former NRA President Sandy Froman! This will be the first time that an NRA President, past or present, will address the shooting community in Hawaii. Don’t miss this opportunity! Seating is limited so please sign up early. Attendance is by pre-paid reservation only. For more information, click here.
KANSAS: VOTE YES ON 1 NOVEMBER 2ND! A 1905 ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court interpreted Section 4 of the Kansas Constitution to mean that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms only exists as a collective right for those in the militia or military and no individual right exists. For that reason, the NRA has worked with the Kansas State Rifle Association, Senator Mike Petersen and the legislature, to pass a Constitutional Amendment during the 2009 legislative session, which provides new language that clarifies Section 4 and guaranteesan individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The language reads: “A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose.” Our elected officials have done law-abiding Kansans a tremendous service by passing this landmark Constitutional Amendment. Now it is up to YOU to do your part on November 2, 2010 and vote this provision into the Kansas Constitution.
Paid for by the National Rifle Association.
MONTANA: Dangerous Ballot Initiative, I-161, Threatens Wildlife Management and Montana’s Hunting Future!
Educate your fellow Montanans and vote No on I-161! I-161 is a ballot initiative popularly known as the Kephart Initiative. It proposes to eliminate all outfitter-sponsored licenses currently available in Montana. These outfitter-sponsored licenses would be reallocated to non-residents through the general draw system and significant price increases would be imposed on all general non-resident draw tags.
Initiatives pertaining to hunting laws, by their very nature, politicize the state’s wildlife management policies. This is contrary to the North American Model of Wildlife Management that has made Montana’s wildlife populations and rich ecosystems the envy of the world. Laws related to hunting and wildlife management strategies should be firmly rooted in science, not driven by a wealthy few who can produce the most emotionally-appealing 30-second television commercial during an initiative campaign. For this reason, NRA has always opposed “ballot box” wildlife management. A wide array of groups are standing up with the NRA to oppose this precedent-setting initiative, such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Safari Club International.
With regard to the specific provisions, Kephart’s I-161, through its significant fee increases, threatens to make the same monumental mistake made in Idaho last year. Non-resident license fees there were increased with expectations of proportional increases in revenue. The move backfired, resulting in a $1 million shortfall because fewer hunters purchased the more expensive licenses. With already poor budget conditions, a similar shortfall in Montana will jeopardize important wildlife management and conservation projects – ultimately detracting from hunting opportunities for all hunters in the state.
There have even been claims of fraudulent signature gathering and a Montana court is currently examining these claims. The state legislature and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks hold public hearings when determining laws and regulations. No similar forum is allowed with regard to initiatives and this is one of the primary things that make them so dangerous.
For this reason, it is up to NRA members to inform your friends, families, co-workers and fellow hunters about this dangerous ballot initiative and to reject it at the polls this November 2! Your voice and efforts today will make a tremendous difference. Make no mistake about it, the anti-hunting radicals are watching. If I-161 succeeds, they will learn from Kephart’s methods and try to circumvent the standard policy-making system and public processes that have stymied them through the years and use deceptive 30-second sound bites to advance their radical agenda.
For more information, please visit: /votenoon161/
NORTH DAKOTA: Vote NO on the North Dakota Anti-Hunting Ballot Initiative: Initiated Statutory Measure No. 2!
Don’t Allow Radical Animal “Rights” Interests to Infiltrate North Dakota!
North Dakota sportsmen should be aware that a group cleverly calling itself North Dakota Hunters for Fair Chase (NDHFC) has collected enough signatures to place an anti-hunting initiative on the 2010 General Election ballot. Make sure that you and your family and friends vote NO on November 2.
Initiatives pertaining to hunting laws, by their very nature, politicize the state’s wildlife management policies. This is contrary to the North American Model of Wildlife Management that has made North Dakota’s wildlife populations and rich ecosystems the envy of the world. Laws related to hunting and wildlife management strategies should be firmly rooted in science, not driven by a wealthy few who can produce the most emotionally-appealing 30-second television commercial during an initiative campaign. For this reason, NRA has always opposed “ballot box” wildlife management.
This initiative effort is supported by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a Washington D.C.-based lobbying organization that spends $120 million a year in an effort to end all hunting and animal agriculture in the United States. Misinformed supporters of the initiative and NDHFC have claimed that HSUS has not been involved in the initiative or its predecessor in 2008, but one needs only to visit the HSUS website to find, “In North Dakota, HSUS members and supporters helped to gather signatures to place a measure on the ballot to halt the captive shooting of wildlife behind escape proof fences. Unfortunately the measure was not approved, but we will continue working to end the egregious practice of captive hunting.” Here are just a few quotes from Wayne Pacelle who serves as President of HSUS:
- Interviewer: "About fishing ... do you avoid campaigning against it because there isn't a ground-swell movement in our culture to eliminate it?"
Pacelle: "That is correct. We're out to minimize suffering wherever it can be done, and wherever our limited resources can be utilized most effectively—abusive forms of hunting for now, all hunting eventually." Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt - “If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would.” – (Associated Press)
- “Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting. Our opponents say hunting is a tradition. We say traditions can change.” – (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
- “We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States… We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state.” – (Full Cry)
The proposed initiative would ban private big game hunting preserves in North Dakota. This violates basic American principles of private property rights and sportsmen deciding for themselves how and where to hunt. Hunting ethics should be decided by each individual hunter, not by politically-motivated laws supported by radical animal “rights” interest groups. Further, the group behind this initiative falsely advertises preserves as very small pens or cages, when most preserves amount to thousands of acres.
This effort threatens to establish a precedent that will allow Wayne Pacelle and others to further pursue their ultimate agenda of banning all hunting. These anti-hunting radicals are learning how to circumvent the standard policy-making system that has stymied them through the years and will be emboldened to further utilize deceptive 30-second sound bites to advance their radical agenda. Please work to inform your family, friends and fellow sportsmen in North Dakota that they should vote No on Initiated Statutory Measure No. 2 this November 2.
SOUTH CAROLINA: On November 2, Vote for Your Right to Hunt and Fish in South Carolina
Amendment 1; Constitutional Right to Hunt, Fish and Harvest Wildlife
Amendment 1 is the result of the National Rifle Association's effort to partner with the state DNR and others to enshrine in the South Carolina Constitution the people's long cherished right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife. This right is subject only to "regulations that promote sound wildlife conservation and management" prescribed by the South Carolina General Assembly. NRA has spearheaded efforts to provide truly meaningful protections to sportsmen across the country. It is expected that nearly one-quarter of all states will have adopted similar amendments by year's end.
Amendment 1 recognizes hunting, fishing and harvesting wildlife as constitutional rights. Specifically, it prohibits laws that would ban the sustainable taking of "wildlife" such as deer, bear and doves. Amendment 1 protects the citizen's hunting heritage from attacks initiated by well-funded anti-hunting activists who have assailed sportsmen throughout the country in recent years. In addition, it specifies that hunting, fishing and harvesting wildlife shall be used as a protected means of managing wildlife. This helps to ensure that sportsmen will continue to be used as the state's responsible game managers instead of the taxpayer funded sharpshooters and unproven, expensive wildlife contraception schemes employed in other jurisdictions.
Anti-hunting organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have an annual budget of over $120 million. Their declared objective is to end all consumptive sporting practices. Through the initiative process, they have succeeded in enacting hunting bans in states considered to be sportsmen strongholds. For instance, three years ago in Michigan, a state with a million hunters, HSUS banned the hunting of doves, the most commonly hunted game bird in America. It’s only a matter of time before these anti-hunting activists, using the state’s initiative process, set their sights on the sportsmen of South Carolina. It is not prudent to wait until a crisis to pursue a constitutional amendment. By then, it will be too late.
For more information, please visit: /righttohuntsc/
Vote YES on Amendment 1 this November 2!
TENNESSEE: Vote "YES" On Proposed Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment!
The proposed Right to Hunt and Fish constitutional Amendment, on the November 2 Ballot, will amend the Tennessee State Constitution to forever recognize Tennessee's sporting heritage and the great contributions that hunters and fishermen make to conservation and wildlife. The National Rifle Association has spearheaded efforts to provide truly meaningful protections to sportsmen across the country. These meaningful protections embedded in the proposed Amendment are the result of the NRA's effort to enshrine in the Tennessee Constitution the people's long cherished right to hunt and fish. It is expected that nearly one-quarter of all states will have adopted similar amendments by year's end. Tennessee’s Right to Hunt and Fish provides permanent safeguards against attacks from the radical animal "rights" extremists whose ultimate goal is to end all hunting in America.
Hunting and fishing has a rich heritage that is woven into the very fabric of the Volunteer State. The proposed Amendment will allow your kids, grandkids, and future generations to have the opportunity to experience the outdoors in the spirit of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. The flourishing wildlife populations and sound conservation in Tennessee are the result of what hunters and fishermen do.
PETA opposes the Right to Hunt and Fish in Tennessee, which should be reason enough to vote Yes on November 2. They have been quoted as saying that the proposed amendment is a “solution in search of a problem” and that no one is trying to ban hunting or fishing. Soon after these statements, PETA sent a letter to UT-Chattanooga asking that the University ban its fishing team because fishing is a “blood sport.” The fact is that PETA and extremists like them are the problem and this Amendment is the solution. Making hunting and fishing a permanent part of Tennessee’s Constitution will help to fend off attacks from anti-hunting extremists who continually attempt to advance their emotional and political agenda.
For more information, please visit: /righttohunttn/
Vote "Yes" on the Right to Hunt and Fish amendment and tell the anti-hunting radicals that the Volunteer State is off-limits to their anti-freedom agenda!
WISCONSIN: Wisconsin Court Finds State Carry Ban Unconstitutional -- Time for Voters to Act! In a ruling that is likely to renew the debate over Wisconsin's laws on carrying firearms, a county trial court has found that a state statute's total ban on carrying concealed weapons violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ruling, issued Oct. 12 by Judge Jon M. Counsell of the Clark County Circuit Court, dismissed an indictment against Joshua Schultz, who had been arrested for carrying a knife in his waistband, covered by his shirt. To learn more, please click here.
