Ten minutes after Suzanne Carson's husband left for work, she went back to bed with her 3-year-old daughter. Shortly thereafter, Carson heard a noise and went to check on her 4-year-old son sleeping down the hall. According to police, to Carson's horror she saw a man tampering with the back door. She loaded a gun and shouted at the man to stop. Unabated, the intruder forced the door open and began to enter. Carson fired a single shot, but the brazen suspect continued his advance. Two more shots, however, and the suspect recognized the folly of breaking into the home of an armed citizen, and he fled the area. Carson's husband had taken her shooting for the first time just a month prior. "I'm so proud of her for being able to protect herself and the kids.” he said. (WBIR YV-l 0, Knoxville, TN, 02/16/07)
A Miami attorney was exiting a parking lot after work when he was rushed by an armed robber with handcuffs in his pocket and wearing a ski mask. According to authorities, the attorney tried to race from the parking lot, but the security gate opened too slowly. His assailant aimed a pistol and, the victim believes, he tried to shoot but the gun malfunctioned. The victim retrieved a handgun from his glove box and fired several shots at his assailant, killing him. A second, hidden suspect also fled. (The Miami Herald, Miami, FL, 03/03/07)
Doug Magnus and his wife were startled by the sound every homeowner fears-a loud noise at the door during the midnight hour. Police say Magnus, armed with a firearm, went to investigate. Just outside the door, he encountered a man wearing a ski mask who fired several shots. Magnus returned a single round, killing his assailant. (The Times, Gainesville, GA, 01/23/07)
A homeowner heard a loud noise at the rear of his home and observed three men in hooded jackets, at least one of them carrying a handgun. According to authorities, he shouted for the intruders to leave but they ignored his plea and began forcing their way inside. But the resident wasn't going to let that happen. He fired two shots at the advancing men, and they fled the home. One suspect died and his former accomplices are in custody. The assistant prosecutor noted the seriousness of the matter: "Three men planned to do something in the house even after learning and hearing the homeowner was inside." (The Detroit News, Detroit, MI, 02/14/07)
Police say a burglar kicked in Joseph Patrick's basement door and began sifting through his belongings. Patrick, a much-liked neighbor and World War II veteran, was well over twice the intruder's age, but he had the great equalizer on his side: a firearm. Armed with a .32-caliber handgun, Patrick ordered the man to lie on the floor and spread his arms while he called police. When the intruder stood and made a move, Patrick fired a shot, hitting the man and causing him to flee. Patrick thought the suspect fled the home, but when police arrived the suspect bolted from a closet and into the arms of a responding officer. "I don't feel good about shooting that guy, but he broke into my home," explains Patrick. (Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Pittsburgh, PA, 01/27/07)
According to authorities, a homeowner armed himself and called 9-1-1 to report several males ringing his doorbell incessantly. While the homeowner talked to a dispatcher, the men hopped a gate and entered the backyard where they tried to enter the residence through a back window. The homeowner fired several shots, killing one of the suspects. The other men fled, and one was arrested shortly thereafter. At least one neighbor said he no longer felt as safe in his home, and he intends to make sure he's better fortified against criminal assault. "That makes me want to buy a gun now," he said. "I should buy one to defend my family. You have to be safe.” (Summerlin News, Henderson, NV, 01/26/07) |
That revelation on unfettered access to federal law enforcement "tracing data" came from a certified archenemy of the Second Amendment, VPC's legislative director, Kristen Rand. In a January 27,2007, National Journal article, Rand said of tracing, "It's just a gold mine of information for advocates trying to effectively target policy proposals" (emphasis added). As to what those "policy proposals" might mean for the Second Amendment, the magazine reported that Rand "noted that trace data helped policy makers target 'Saturday night specials' for legislative bans, and helped them to identify the guns included in the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons ... " (emphasis added). Tracing can only be twisted and misused to that end if there are no Congressional restrictions limiting access to "trace data" by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for legitimate use only. The magazine directly quoted Rand on the top priority efforts of Bloomberg's big-city, 1 SO-member cadre of mayors, their axis on Capitol Hill and their connection with the gun-ban lobby: "The primary legislative objective of the entire gun-violence-prevention movement is removing the trace-data limits ... ; she said. The magazine concluded that "Gun control advocates are urging lawmakers to hold hearings looking at ... the types of guns most often used in violent crimes. Such hearings, coupled with access to trace data, could provide the foundation for a new weapons ban similar to the 1994 ban that expired two years ago" (emphasis added). So if any of your less-savvy pro-gun friends might be lulled into believing that ending restrictions on public release of federal "trace data" is only about bigcity lawsuits against gun dealers (and it is that, too), tell them the real end game is about civil disarmament in America. What the entire gun-ban movement is pushing for is H.R. 1022, introduced by U.s. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). H.R. 1022. Yup. The number is right1 022-the same as Bill Ruger's highly popular firearm design, the ubiquitous little .22 Long Rifle self-loader. That handy .22 was labeled a "weapon of war" and an "assault rifle," ultimately banned, confiscated from licensed gun owners, and destroyed in Australia's confiscatory "buyback" program. Under the phony guise of an "assault weapons ban," H.R. 1022 would not only ban all manner of semi-automatic rifles by name, like the AR-1S and the Ruger Mini-14, but would give a future attorney general bureaucratic power to ban any ·semi-automatic rifle' and 'shotgun' ... originally designed for military or law enforcement use, or a firearm based on the design of such a firearm, that is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes as determined by the Attorney General.” The legislation says "shotgun," not semi-automatic or self-loading shotgun. Even if "semi-auto" were the black letter criteria, H.R. 1022 would cover every sporting semi-auto ever made-from the classic Browning A-S and the Remington Model 11, to the Remington 11-87 and the 1100, and Mossberg's self-loading series. Benelli, Beretta, Winchester, Browning-there is no name in shotguns that a future Janet Reno couldn't ban by decree. But the legislation does indeed simply say "shotgun; so it includes Winchester Model 12s, Remington 870s, Winchester 97s and even the rare Marlin 19s. Try double-barrel guns. If it is or looks like a shotgun ever procured for military or law enforcement use, it can be banned. But lest anybody think their "sporting guns" are safe from McCarthy's tracing based confiscation scheme, try this little loophole: “... a firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event" (emphasis added). The media will call this a ban on "weapons of war; or an "assault weapons ban; but H.R. 1022 is a ban on virtually every semi-automatic rifle and any shotgun in your gun cabinet. And the road to enacting this disastrous legislation is paved on the public release of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "tracing data" - VPC's "gold mine,” which NRA has stopped for five consecutive years. That gets us back to Mayor Bloomberg and his cohorts who have now teamed with two of the worst NRA "F"-rated gun banners in the U.S. House of Representatives-Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). These two radical gun banners head what Bloomberg calls his "Congressional Task Force on Illegal Guns." According to a press release on Bloomberg's Mayors Against Guns website, "Ending Federal Restrictions on Trace Data Will Be Mayors' Highest Priority" (emphasis added). Their target: the Tiahrt Amendment-legislation limiting access to gun tracing data collected by BATFE available exclusively to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies with a legitimate need. Named after its prime sponsor, U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), the protections against unwarranted "tracing data" use has been enacted for five years running as an Appropriations amendment. Allow- ing law enforcement use, it keeps that sensitive, classified information from "falling into the wrong hands" - like gun-ban mayors, greedy trial lawyers and people like VPC's Kristen Rand. BATFE-not to mention the Fraternal Order of Police-has consistently supported the Tiahrt Amendment and opposed release of trace data. BATFE has fought for years in the federal courts to keep those databases confidential because they contain information (such as names of gun buyers) that could compromise ongoing investigations and could jeopardize the lives of law enforcement officers. If you want to stop any gun ban now or in the future, it is imperative that gun owners everywhere understand that keeping the Tiahrt Amendment in place is a shield against all our guns becoming Bloomberg's "illegal" guns. Write, e-mail and call your U.S. senators and members of Congress. Tell them to support the Tiahrt Amendment and defeat H.R. 1022. Leave them no wiggle room to claim it is not about the Second Amendment. The Violence Policy Center has put that lie to rest. |
When it comes to defining the end game for New York City billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg's "all-fronts" war on gun ownership, which he claims is merely about "firearms tracing; look no further than the Violence Policy Center (VPC). That radical group cuts through the media's smoke and mirrors and says flat out that "tracing" is the basis for new gun bans now pending before Congress.
When I became president, I identified three priorities: the courts, self-defense and building NRA's financial future. While NRA's focus traditionally has been elections and legislation, it is in the federal courts where the battle over the meaning of the Second Amendment will eventually be won or lost. Look at the recent decision in Parker v. District of Columbia. The D.C. Circuit Court, in a 2-1 opinion, struck down D.C.’s 31-year-old handgun ban, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, and that the right is not limited to service in the militia. This is a great victory for the Second Amendment but not a final victory. The District will likely appeal. Whether the Supreme Court takes this case, or waits for another, we are dearly moving toward a definitive ruling on the Second Amendment in our lifetime. I have emphasized the process by which federal judges are chosen because we are bound by their decisions. What can we do to ensure that our president nominates, and our senate confirms, jurists who will respect and protect our right to keep and bear arms? We should demand "originalist" judges who interpret laws in accordance with their original meaning. A Second Amendment victory in the Supreme Court requires that at least five of the nine justices understand and uphold the original meaning of the Second Amendment. Speaking of the Constitution, The George Mason University School of Law has established a new required course entitled "The Founders' Constitution: designed to educate students (future lawyers and judges) on the political principles underlying America's founding document. While other law schools are trending away from core courses and some Supreme Court justices are invoking international law to interpret the Constitution, George Mason is teaching what America's founding document actually means. Bravo to George Mason! The Parker decision effectively affirms the right of self-defense. The named plaintiff, Shelley Parker, lived in a high-crime area of Washington and was constantly harassed by drug dealers. But because of D.C.’s gun ban, she couldn't own a handgun in her home. Self-defense was my second area of focus as your president. I never thought about owning a gun until a man tried to break into my home. I know that many folks don't understand the personal and societal benefits of widespread gun ownership. That's why I have taken NRA's self-defense message to women's groups, universities, law schools, policy groups and other non-NRA audiences with positive results. I also appointed a special committee on Right-to-Carry, to study the laws in every state and make recommendations to improve the ability of ordinary Americans to avail themselves of this right. NRA needs resources to broadcast these empowering messages, which is why my third focus has been financial development. I appointed a President's Special Committee on Development, which has been working with NRA's new Office of Advancement to significantly enhance NRA's endowments to hand down our precious rights intact for future generations. I urge you to be a part of that. We need your help to deal with the opportunities and threats before us. With the new political climate, we are in an ongoing battle against every anti-gun scheme imaginable. The national media is increasingly anti-gun, and it takes money to get the truth out to the American people. We're also continuing to fight predatory lawsuits, big-city mayors, and U.N. efforts to abolish gun ownership through treaties. At the same time, there are fantastic opportunities before us. We are using alternative media like the Internet, talk radio and cable news to combat the media bias against gun ownership. We must extend more of our programs to inner cities, to women and to minority groups. And we must take the high ground in higher education, teaching the truth to our future leaders. Above all, we must get ready for the political showdown of 2008. We must ensure the next president is committed to upholding the Second Amendment, appointing supporters to key positions, fostering good gun legislation and rejecting any bill from Congress, or any treaty, contrary to the Second Amendment, and-unconditionally-to only nominate federal judges and justices who will be faithful to the text of the Constitution. I know we can do these things, because as your president I've come to know you and the incredible things you can accomplish. Before I go, there are many people to thank, people who believed in me and believed I could make a difference for this great Association. There are too many of you to mention individually, but you know who you are. Finally, I want to thank each and every NRA member. As I've traveled the country, you've been both my inspiration and reward. It was your spirit, enthusiasm, dedication and passion for the Second Amendment that made my job so rewarding. I know that NRA will always be strong and successful as long as you are on the front lines. The Founding Fathers had strong beliefs about how elected officials should serve their country. They believed that lawmakers should come from the ranks of the people, serve in government for a limited time, and then go home, to live under the laws they created while in office. So thank you for allowing me to rise from the ranks to serve as your president. While I may be going home, rest assured that I will still be out there beside you, fighting to protect and defend freedom for the next generation. God bless you, and God bless the NRA. |
It has been an honor to serve as your president for these past two years and I'm grateful for what I've been able to accomplish with your help.