A woman from retired preacher Bill Willis' church invited him to take a concealed-carry class with her. Though Willis had never been particularly interested in firearms, he agreed, obtaining his permit, purchasing a .22-caliber pistol and practicing with it regularly. Not long after, Willis' wife, Judith, woke him in the middle of the night and announced there was an intruder. Willis spotted the man darting into the bathroom and quickly retrieved his Walther P22. Police say he warned the suspect three times, "Come out with your hands up. I have a gun and I will shoot.” The man exited the bathroom and approached Willis, pretending to surrender, then pulled out a knife and viciously stabbed Willis' arm. Willis shot and killed the assailant. Deputies have temporarily seized Willis' pistol as evidence, but he purchased another. "It would be foolish not to be prepared.” he said. (The Greenville News, Greenville, SC, 09/12/07)

Yev Gerasimenko was taking his turn caring for his 4-day-old daughter while his wife rested. He was interrupted by loud knocks at the door and answered it to find two large men. One asked for someone Gerasimenko didn't know. "I said, 'There's nobody here by that name; and I shut the door as soon as I could,” he explained. That's when police say the biggest man took a running start and slammed into the door. Gerasimenko called for his wife to take their baby, lock herself in the bathroom and phone police. He loaded his 9 mm handgun and yelled for the man to leave, but he continued trying to breach the door. "I'm shouting, 'I have a gun! Why are you trying to break into my house? I'll shoot you if you don't go away,’" Gerasimenko recalled. But the suspect didn't heed the warning. Gerasimenko fired two shots, wounding the suspect and holding him for police." ... A gun in a good responsible citizen's hand is a blessing,” Gerasimenko said. (Statesman Journal, Salem, OR, 09/20/07)

The screams of his pregnant wife-a horrible sound-woke Roger Gilchrist from a dead sleep. He grabbed his gun and ran to the garage, where he discovered that his wife had driven in and stumbled upon a gun-wielding burglar. "Under the circumstances, with him having a gun and standing next to my pregnant wife, "m not going to wait and see what happens-I'm going to fire,” Gilchrist said. Police say the burglar shot first and Gilchrist returned fire, injuring the intruder. The suspect fled, but was apprehended shortly thereafter. "If [my husband] didn't have that gun, we would've both been dead,” said Gilchrist's wife. (Daily Press, Victorville, CA, 09/26/07)

College student John Erickson parked his scooter and was walking toward his house when a pit bull charged him in an unprovoked attack. "All of a sudden the dog grabbed my leg from behind,” he recalls. He swung his helmet at the dog, temporarily halting the assault but the dog recommenced the onslaught. Erickson, a concealed-carry permit holder, was forced to draw his 9 mm pistol and shoot the delinquent animal. His mother, Lyn, used to oppose her son's firearm ownership, but after the incident she noted, "Now I'm saying, 'I'm just so thankful he had a gun: I'm just so thankful because what would you do?" (Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 09/18/07)

Alana Holbrook awoke to a startling discovery: A man was standing just outside her master bedroom doorway. Police say that when the suspect saw her stir, he bolted out of sight. Holbrook woke her husband, David, who quickly armed himself with a 45-caliber pistol. David searched the residence, finding no sign of the burglar but noting several missing items. When he stepped onto his front porch, he found the prowler hiding in the bushes and held him at gunpoint for police. (St. Tammany News, Covington, LA, 08/29/07)

We Are Counting On You

For the last two years-the national media and their radical allies in Congress have hatched a long-term strategy on gun control to silence the NRA.

Their tactic: For now, lay low, and make Second Amendment supporters believe the gun-ban issue is dead. Lull less-savvy gun owners into believing there is no imminent threat to their liberty ... all to grease the skids for the election of the ultimate gun-banner to the White House-Hillary Clinton. At the same time, the major media and the gun-ban radicals have repeated the theme that Hillary is unstoppable. Invincible. Coronated. So, why bother fighting? Just submit, is their message.

If they succeed in fooling a crucial voting bloc in America to stay home and not vote next November, thus electing Hillary Clinton ... and if the gun-ban crowd keeps or strengthens its majority in the U.s. House of Representatives and U.s. Senate after the November 2008 elections ... the nation's firearm owners will pay a very dear price. We will be under siege as never before. Bank on it.

A large part of that step-at-a-time media strategy to elevate Hillary to the Oval Office has been to lock out the NRA from national news coverage and to thus marginalize and trivialize our great cause until it's too late.

The current step in the big media war on our freedom-giving the silent treatment to NRA's vigilance on all aspects of the firearm rights issue-came to an abrupt end on Sept. 21. The first "Celebration of American Values" event in Washington, D.C. saw all major presidential candidates who would seek NRA support, making their case before an assemblage of NRA Life members.

It was a class act, a historic and critically important political event so big that the media couldn't ignore it. With live and repeated C-SPAN coverage, millions of viewers watched and heard presidential candidates Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Duncan Hunter, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Bill Richardson, among others, face America, tell us where they stand on the Second Amendment and ask for support from voters who believe in the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

With that event and that broadcast, the media blockade of NRA was shattered.

This unprecedented event was covered by CNN, ABC, NBC, BBC, AP. T.V. Tokyo, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Washington Post, Gannett, National Review, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Newsday, Campaigns & Elections, Bloomberg.com, Politico.com, National Public Radio, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Time, Newsweek, and Christian Science Monitor-among many.

Over 64% of the 518 regional talk shows devoted one hour or more to discussing the event.

And coverage will continue to resonate in industry publications and general interest outdoor media like Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. Our "Celebration of American Values" event has taken on a long news life.

All of the candidates who participated understood one thing-the Clinton machine can be stopped.

And above all, they understand that it can happen when America's tens of millions of gun owners are energized with NRA members in the vanguard.

To that end, we are organizing a series of similar "Celebration of American Values" events by state. It is our goal that well before the November 2008 general election, gun owners in every state will meet candidates and hear what they have to say about our gun rights and how to protect our heritage of freedom.

Gun-owner attendance will be critical to the outcome not just in the battle for the presidency, but for who will control Congress, who will represent us in state legislatures and who will take their places as state governors.

Only with your presence, and participation by your families, friends and coworkers, can we make clear we expect political hopefuls to not only pledge their support but to keep their word on that support.

Americans of all political persuasions will hear the truth about the Second Amendment. And with your participation we can begin to reach the 146 million eligible voters who Gallup pollsters say live in households with one or more firearms.

With the coming elections, there are two names that the nation's firearm owning householders must keep in mind-Katrina and Hillary.

Katrina. We must never let our friends and neighbors forget the spectacle of peaceable ordinary householders in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans being disarmed at gunpoint by police and left with no protection against armed criminal predators.

Hillary. We must never forget that she was prominent among 16 U.S. Senators voting against the NRA supported federal law that banned any such gun confiscation from peaceable Americans during civil emergencies.

In this election-with Hillary Clinton's seething ambition to capture the White House-NRA members and our friends, families, coworkers and neighbors who make up America's tens of millions of gun owners, have the opportunity to once again become the most important single voting bloc in American politics.

When you hear from us about the NRA "Celebration of American Values" event in your state, please participate. We are counting on you