Lowell Wilson heard a noise coming from the bedroom where his wife was resting and went to investigate. When he tried to open the door, a man closed it, so Wilson retrieved his gun. "My wife is blind, and she thought it was me [in the room];' he said. "He opened the door ... and stuck his head out. He said, 'It's cool, man. It's cool.’" But it was far from "cool.” Wilson shot the intruder, who fled with an accomplice. Police planned to charge the injured suspect after his release from the hospital. Wilson said he'll always feel safe in his home as long as he has something to use for protection. "I know I can take care of myself:' he said. (The Times News, Kingsport, TN, 03/11/06)
A pair of surprises occurred inside a Michigan residence in March. The first was on the part of the homeowner who awoke in the early morning hours to find a woman he didn't know counting his cash on the dining room table. The second was on the part of the intruder when the homeowner drew a handgun and detained her for police. The woman, wanted for writing bad checks, was arrested on suspicion of home invasion. (Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI 03/23/06)
According to authorities, a 29-year-old man entered the bedroom window of a sleeping 70-year-old Tom Ritter and his wife, and viciously stabbed Ritter with a knife. Ritter's wife, awakened by the commotion, fired one round from her revolver into the intruder's chest. Ritter was listed in stable condition. The suspect was under police observation in the intensive-care unit at another hospital. (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX, 03/26/06)
W hen a man heard his doorbell ringing incessantly, he ignored it in hopes that the person would go away. But, shortly thereafter, he heard a pounding at his back door; so he grabbed a firearm as a precaution and went to investigate. According to police, the man then saw someone trying to force his door open, and when he pulled back the window blinds, he saw an arm reach through a broken window. The homeowner fired one shot, striking his assailant in the chest. The would-be intruder ran around the front of the home, collapsed and died. (Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, 04/13/06)
Jason Goettsch knew something wasn't right when he saw a man in his back yard in the early morning hours, because it meant the prowler had scaled Goettsch's fence. According to authorities, Goettsch went into his back yard with a handgun, yelling that he was armed and had called the police. At first, he didn't see anyone, but when he walked around the corner of his home, the prowler appeared and swung a baseball bat at him. Goettsch shot his attacker twice, killing him. (The Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA, 3/14/06)
According to police, four young men intended to burglarize the home of an elderly couple. Two men wearing masks entered the home and woke up the couple. After a verbal exchange, the woman yelled to her husband to get his gun. The man was on his way when the suspects ran from the house, got in their car and fled the scene. The homeowners called 9-1-1, and the suspected burglars were apprehended shortly afterward. (Echo Press, Alexandria, MN, 04/19/06)
Dressed in black with socks on his hands and armed with a tire iron, a would-be robber certainly looked the part as he approached the southwest Houston home of 26-year-old Derriun Raney and knocked on the door. Police say that when Raney opened the door, the man struck him in the head repeatedly with the tire iron. Raney drew a pistol and fired several shots, striking his assailant in the stomach. The unidentified man died in the front yard. Raney suffered a cut on his head, but was otherwise uninjured. (Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, 04/15/06)
The same day in another Houston incident, police say two men armed with handguns approached Antione Reshad Carter as he arrived home. One ordered Carter to his knees and took his wallet and cell phone, while the other thug got into Carter's car. The man robbing Carter was threatening to kill him when the man in the vehicle shot at Carter, missing him. Then Carter took action, pulling out his pistol and killing the mugger, while the other man sped off in Carter's car, struck another vehicle and then fled on foot. (Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, 04/15/06) |
Repeated hundreds of times in the media, Bloomberg's big lie is summed up by a Christian Science Monitor article that c1aims:"Oespite tough gun laws against guns in many cities and states, lax Federal rules do not prevent the sale of handguns across state lines:' Nothing could be further from the truth. Start with the fact that any interstate sale of handguns outside' licensed Federal dealers is a crime. Then add to that the host of tough Federal felony provisions covering any aspect of criminal, black-market commerce-from acquisition through "straw sales;' to possession, to interstate transport, to illegal sales, to "gun trafficking" -already against Federal law in every corner of the nation. Bloomberg knows it. But enforcing Federal law against criminals involved in gun trafficking does not serve his purpose. All this is a ruse, pure and simple. In large measure Bloomberg's new national campaign against gun owners and the pro-Second Amendment majority in Congress is a colossal tantrum over the enactment of Federal restrictions on lawsuits designed to shut down the law abiding firearm industry. In spite of that landmark law forbidding such punitive, predatory legal actions, Bloomberg has pressed forward with his latest New York City lawsuit before Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein, who has ruled he will hear the case in spite of the lawsuit ban. This is the latest action before that judge, with major support from fellow billionaire George Soros, the Brady Center and the Violence Policy Center. In seeking retribution for the lawsuit ban by overthrowing the pro-Second Amendment congressional majority, Bloomberg would take great comfort in seeing NRA "F"-rated Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as Speaker of the u.s. House of Representatives and long-time gun confiscation advocate John Conyers (D-Mich.) as chairman of the all-powerful Judiciary Committee. The same would be true were Bloomberg to get his way with the u.s. Senate. It's not hard to imagine what his ideological mentors, Teddy Kennedy (O-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (O-N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would do were they to take control of the Senate Judiciary Committee. They would fill Bloomberg's legislative orders. Much is being made in the media about Bloomberg's Republican party affiliation. But in fact, media magnate Bloomberg, ranked as one of the richest men in the world, became a Republican only shortly before declaring his candidacy for mayor of New York City, an office he took after spending $87 million of his own funds. In buying his second term, he reportedly spent in excess of $84 million, with $34 million for broadcast ads alone. Until he ran for mayor, Bloomberg had been a lifelong leftist member of the party of gun-ban leaders - Al Gore, Chuck Schumer and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.)-whose election campaigns he has actively and financially supported since he switched parties, Recently, the New York Post reported that he could have influence on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's re-election campaign saying, "many political insiders have speculated he'll cross party lines to endorse her.” Republicans, especially those who make up the pro-Second Amendment majority in Congress, should recognize this powerful adversary as one who would destroy what they stand for and remove them from positions of leadership. As part of the urban mayors' litigation and political war on gun rights, the Brady Campaign is a Bloomberg adjunct, with another anti-Second Amendment politician, former Fort Wayne, Ind., Mayor Paul Helmke taking the helm of that gun-ban group. As with Bloomberg, the media has been smugly repeating the fact that Helmke is a Republican. In terms of safeguarding Second Amendment rights, NRA is and always has been politically bipartisan. We support Democrats, and we support Republicans. The only thing that counts is performance. And Helmke, like Bloomberg, is an "F" many times over. Like our successful fight to keep globalist gun-ban billionaire George Soros from buying the White House for John Kerry in the last presidential election, Bloomberg's war on our Second Amendment rights can only be won by ordinary Americans standing up against an elitist who believes his money can buy anything -including our Freedom. This coming election is key to saving our rights from his clutches. Register to vote. Vote early if you can. Get your friends to vote for pro-Second Amendment congressional and senatorial candidates. Make sure that the members of Bloomberg's dream team-the F-Troop-don't become his powerful water-carriers. |
A few months ago when I warned about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's declaration of war on the Second Amendment, his demands for more gun control were just that. But today-with rapidly growing support from other urban mayors, suburban blue-state elites and an unquestioning media blitz - Bloomberg's campaign has grown to a full-blown attempt to overthrow the pro-Second Amendment majority in Congress this November.
If you are reading this, you are probably an NRA member. And if we have not met, I want to thank you for your loyalty -perhaps a lifetime of loyalty-to NRA. Thank you for standing up for Freedom. I encourage you to become more involved in NRA programs and to take pride in the great programs you help make happen. I also have a personal favor to ask. Have you ever thought about what your membership and support mean to NRA? Whether you are an annual member, a Life member, have upgraded to one of the higher categories of membership or contribute in addition to your membership dues, you may not realize how important your support is to the survival of the shooting sports and preservation of the Second Amendment-the ultimate insurance policy on America's freedom. Let me give you some examples: Do you know what your membership and support mean to the parents whose daughter takes NRA's Eddie Eagle Gun Safe Program at her elementary school? She learns if she sees a gun at a playmate's house, she should "Stop. Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult:' For more than 10 years, this lifesaving lesson has been taught to more than 18 million children and may be responsible for saving thousands of children from death or serious injury. Do you know what your membership and support mean to the law enforcement officer taking an NRA-sponsored Patrol Rifle Course? That course helps officers hone their skills and improves the odds that they will survive an encounter with a violent, armed criminal. Or what it means to the inner-city woman who boards the bus after work, heading to the community center to attend an NRA Refuse To Be A Victim seminar? By learning how to design a personal safety strategy to suit her particular lifestyle, that awareness and skill might just someday save her life. How about the Boy Scout who shoots an airgun or .22 rifle for the first time? More than 40,000 scouts were exposed to NRA shooting programs at last year's Fort A.P. Hill Boy Scout Jamboree, and tens of thousands more scouts learn NRA safety and marksmanship at local events and camps. Do you know what your membership and support mean to the disabled veterans who shoot in the United Spinal Association/National Rifle Association Air Rifle League and know that their service to our country is not forgotten? What about the more than 1.2 million youngsters who have participated in NRA's Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) since its inception 20 years ago? When a young person learns to be a safe, responsible hunter, he or she is more likely to develop a lifelong appreciation for wildlife and to carryon our American hunting tradition. Do you know what it means to the 5,000 women, mostly novice shooters, who attended NRA's Women On Target instructional shoots last year? They learned two fundamental facts about shooting that it's safe and incredibly fun. Do you know what your membership and support mean to the thousands of NRA volunteers (perhaps including you) who contribute their time and talents to NRA? Whether teaching an Eddie Eagle Gun Safe class, stuffing envelopes at a pro-gun candidate's campaign office, registering competitors for the National Matches at Camp Perry or teaching basic shooting skills as an NRA-certified firearm instructor, volunteers are the lifeblood of the NRA-without you, NRA would not be able to reach out to every corner of America with our award winning firearm safety, marksmanship and educational programs. NRA just celebrated its 135th Annual Meeting in Milwaukee. I hope you were there! (Mark your calendar now for the 136th Annual Meeting in St. Louis from April 13 through 17,2007.) NRA has been part of the fabric of America since the end of the Civil War. It's your continuing membership and support that will keep NRA strong for the next 135 years. And now that favor I'd like you to do for me: Although I attend many shooting events in my travels as NRA President, I'm usually there to speak, not to shoot in the event. To tell you the truth, I miss the shooting part. So please, do something for me this summer. When you are sighting in your new rifle, practicing for that action-pistol match, checking out the sporting clays range that just opened or just out plinking with your trusty .22 rifle, shoot a few extra rounds for me. And be sure to hit the target! |
In representing NRA around the country, I shake hands with thousands of NRA members. Usually the first thing members say is, "Thank you for what you do for NRA.” And I usually respond by saying, "I want to thank you for supporting NRA with your membership and donations."