NRA University--
Coming To Your Campus This Spring?
In an effort to educate the next generation of gun rights advocates on exercising and maintaining their constitutionally-guaranteed Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the NRA has developed a comprehensive program for college students called “NRA University”-- NRA U for short.
NRA U is a two-hour training seminar for college students interested in learning more about NRA, the Second Amendment, gun safety, legislative threats to gun rights and the gun control debate. NRA-ILA staff will travel to a college campus and provide seminar attendees with the tools they’ll need to become more effective activists in the fight to protect our freedom, both on and off campus.
Staff will address the myths of gun control, covering topics such as the history of the Second Amendment and the use of guns for self-defense, and provide the NRA’s solutions to reducing gun crime and accidents.
Law-Abiding, Honor Roll High School Student Faces Expulsion--Support from NRA members needed! Demari DeRue is a 16-year-old junior at Columbia Falls High School in Columbia Falls, Montana. She is an honor roll student, a cheerleader and a hunter. On Monday, December 13th, she faces expulsion from school because, after a recent weekend family hunting trip, she inadvertently left her unloaded and secured hunting rifle locked in her trunk, and then drove to school Monday morning and parked on school property.
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).
Help Defend Your Gun Rights One Click At A Time: We 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! It’s the NRA-ILA Toolbar, and you can make a difference by downloading and using it.
Show your support, stay connected to your NRA-ILA, and raise valuable contributions for our defense of the Second Amendment by downloading and using this free toolbar! Please click here to download your toolbar now!
Grassroots News Minute Video: To view this week’s “Grassroots News Minute” video, please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPOCKm_Wh1Q
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.)
IOWA:NRA to Pursue Aggressive Agenda During Iowa’s 2011 Legislative Session!
Thanks to your support in the November 2010 elections, over 80 percent of the NRA Political Victory Fund’s (NRA-PVF) endorsed candidates were elected to the Iowa legislature. The gain in pro-gun legislators will greatly improve Iowans’ ability to continue to support a pro-gun agenda and build on the momentum from last session when Iowa joined the vast majority of the states with passage of its shall-issue Right-to-Carry law in 2010. On Monday, January 10, 2011, Iowa’s 84th General Assembly will convene and NRA, with support from Iowa Firearms Coalition, Iowa Sportsman’s Federation, and other pro-gun activists, will pursue an aggressive agenda to make Iowa a leading pro-Second Amendment state. Please click here to see the issues your NRA plans to address this year in the Hawkeye State.
NEVADA: Plan for Ruby Lake NWR of Importance to Waterfowl Hunters The public is being asked to share its ideas with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on what should be included in the new management plan for Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Ruby Lake is a 40,000 acre refuge established in 1938 and supports the largest population of nesting canvasback ducks west of the Mississippi River outside Alaska, and is a vital waterfowl nesting area. The refuge offers waterfowl hunting and recreational fishing. The plan will guide management of this refuge for the next 15 years. The deadline for public comments is December 28th and comments can be emailed to [email protected]. Please include “Ruby Lake CCP” in the subject line of the message. Further information may be found at http://www.fws.gov/rubylake/ or you may call 775-779-2237. It is important that waterfowl hunters engage in the planning process in order to ensure that hunting opportunities are secured for the future at Ruby Lake.
NEW JERSEY:Flawed “Handgun Purchaser ID Card” Legislation Passes Committee, Referred to Another Senate Committee On Monday the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee favorably reported S2190 from committee and referred the bill to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. Sponsored by State Senator Fred Madden (D-4), S2190 directs the State Police to establish a “handgun purchaser identification card” which would permit the sale, transfer and delivery of handguns between cardholders and retail dealers only. S2190 would not eliminate the current paper form of “permit to purchase” but would create a bifurcated system run by the State Police in which paper permits would still be issued for some transactions, including private transfers, which could not be made with the new card. The legislation has other troubling aspects, including use of an undefined, subjective standard to qualify for the new card (applicants must somehow prove themselves to be persons “of good character and good repute in the community in which they live,” a vague standard found elsewhere in New Jersey gun law that is in need of reform). Please encourage the members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to either amend S2190 or hold it until the issues and concerns of gun owners can be properly addressed. Contact information can be found here.
OHIO:House Votes to Discharge Two Pro-Gun Bills! On Wednesday, December 8, the House of Representatives voted to discharge Senate Bill 239 and Senate Bill 247 from the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. Both bills will now be taken up by the House in the near future. Senate Bill 239, sponsored by State Senators Shannon Jones (R-7) and Tim Shaffer (R-31), would eliminate the current confusing standards for carrying a firearm in a motor vehicle. In addition, the proposal would also allow permit holders to carry firearms for self-defense in restaurants that serve alcohol, provided they are not consuming alcohol, thus eliminating another “victim zone” in Ohio. Senate Bill 239 is a critical step forward to help assure that Ohio permit holders or permit holders from other states are not arrested for accidentally carrying their firearms in a prohibited manner. Senate Bill 247, introduced by State Senator Jason Wilson (D-30), would clarify Ohio’s statutes for the restoration of firearm rights and bring them in line with Federal law. Please contact your State Representative TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to support SB 239 and SB 247 when the bills come up for final passage. Contact information for your State Representative can be found by clicking here.
UTAH: Management Plan Being Prepared for Public Land in Southwest Utah The Bureau of Land Management is preparing a new Resource Management Plan for 2.1 million acres of public land located in the Great Basin region of southwest Utah in Beaver, Iron, and a small portion of Washington County. The public is invited to comment on issues of interest and concern regarding land and resource allocations and levels of resource use. Recreational opportunities, like hunting and shooting, will be an important topic of consideration in the planning process. For sportsmen who depend on access to these public lands for hunting, shooting, or other kinds of recreation, it is important for you to become involved in the planning process. Comments on the first phase of planning are being accepted until December 27th and can be sent to [email protected]. Further information can be found at http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/cedar_city.html or by calling 435-865-3011.
