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NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT
Vol. 16,
No. 51 12/30/09 FBI Reports Huge Decrease In Murders
As Firearm, Ammunition And "Large" Magazine Sales Soar Last week, the FBI issued its preliminary 2009 crime report, showing that the number of murders in the first half of 2009 decreased 10 percent compared to the first half
of 2008. If the trend holds for the remainder of 2009, it will be the single greatest one-year decrease in the number of murders
since at least 1960, the earliest year for which national data are available through the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Also,
the per capita murder rate for 2009 will be 51 percent lower than the all-time high recorded in 1991, and it will be the lowest
rate since 1963 - a 46-year low. Final figures for 2009 will be released by the FBI next year. According to gun control supporter dogma - "more guns means more crime" - the number of privately owned firearms
must have decreased 10 percent in 2009. To the contrary, however, the number rose between 1.5 and 2 percent, to an all-time
high. For the better part of the last 15 months, firearms, ammunition, and "large" ammunition magazines have been
sold in what appear to be record quantities. And, the firearms that were most commonly purchased in 2009 are those that gun
control supporters most want to be banned - AR-15s, similar semi-automatic rifles, and handguns designed for defense. The
National Shooting Sports Foundation already estimates record ammunition sales in 2009, dominated by .223 Remington, 7.62x39mm,
9mm and other calibers widely favored for defensive purposes. Also indicative of the upward
trend in firearm sales, the number of national instant check transactions rose 24.5 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared to the first six months in 2008, the greatest increase
since NICS' inception in 1998. Through the end of October, NICS transactions rose18 percent, compared to the same period in
2008. More Guns Means More Crime? Hardly. In 2009, more guns meant less crime, in a very,
very big way. The Year In Review Here are some of the top stories we brought you in
the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert in 2009. With what will no doubt be a very busy 2010, we must redouble our efforts to ensure
we are prepared to meet the opportunities and challenges we will face next year. We will continue to provide you with
information in future Alerts to ensure our mutual success. (NOTE:
The next regular Grassroots Alert will be transmitted on Friday, January 8.) JANUARY: A federal lawsuit filed by NRA to challenge a San Francisco Housing Authority
ban on firearms in public housing is settled. Under the settlement, the agency will no longer enforce a 2005 rule
that prohibited the otherwise legal possession of guns and ammunition in public housing units. The City of San Francisco
later pays NRA $380,000 as reimbursement for legal fees. U.S. Representatives
Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), introduce H.R. 197-- the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of
2009"--a bill that would provide national recognition for valid state Right-to-Carry licensees.
FEBRUARY:
A three-judge panel of the
U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upholds an Oklahoma law allowing employees to store legally owned firearms
in locked, private motor vehicles while parked in employer parking lots. This decision upholds NRA-backed legislation passed in 2004. Just over five weeks after Inauguration Day, Attorney General Eric Holder announces that the Obama Administration will
seek to reinstate the expired federal "assault weapon" ban and impose additional restrictions. Holder said
that new gun control laws are needed because in Mexico, a country with a history of corruption and disregard for individual
rights, there's a shooting war going on between drug gangs and government troops, and some of the gangsters' guns have been
illegally purchased in the United States. The United States votes to adopt an amendment offered by Nevada Senator John Ensign (R), that seeks to protect the
Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens in the District of Columbia. The amendment, attached to S.160, the "D.C.
Voting Rights Act," seeks to repeal restrictive gun control laws passed by the District of Columbia's (D.C.) city council
in defiance of the landmark D.C. v. Heller Supreme Court decision. The vote margin was 62-36.
MARCH:
A federal district court in Washington,
D.C. grants anti-gun plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against implementation of the new rule allowing law-abiding citizens
to defend themselves by carrying a concealed firearm in national parks and wildlife refuges. NRA
files an appeal. In a letter to Attorney
General Holder, 65 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congressman Mike Ross (D-Ark.), express their opposition
to the reinstatement of the failed 1994 ban on semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines. These congressmen cite
numerous studies that proved the 1994 ban was ineffective, and they strongly urge Attorney General Holder to stop his effort
and instead focus on the enforcement of existing gun laws. NRA files a second amended
complaint in Dick Anthony Heller et al v. District of Columbia in U.S. District Court, asking the court to issue
a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent the D.C. Council from implementing laws that violate the Second Amendment
and from enforcing its prohibitions on the possession of commonly owned firearms.
APRIL: U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Bob Bennett (R-Utah),
Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) introduce legislation (S.816) to restore the Second Amendment rights of
visitors in national parks and wildlife refuges (its companion bill, H.R. 1684 was introduced previously Congressman Doc Hastings
(R-Wash.)). On
ABC's "Good Morning America," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, "we [members of Congress] have to find some
level of compromise" on guns. She notes that the Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Heller, ruled
that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to guns. But, she said, "We want them registered."
Pelosi also uses the word "draconian" to describe legislation before Congress to reform D.C.'s gun laws. This
is followed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the Senate sponsor of the now-expired federal "assault weapons"
ban, saying on a CBS "60 Minutes" program that she is only temporarily holding off on introducing legislation to
reinstate the ban. "I'll pick the time and place. No question about it," Feinstein says. During an official visit to Mexico, President Obama announces his support
for Senate ratification of an inter-American treaty on firearms trafficking. In response, NRA Executive Vice President
Wayne LaPierre and NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox note, " .NRA knows that anti-gun advocates will still try
to use this treaty to attack gun ownership in the U.S. Therefore, the NRA will continue to vigorously oppose any international
effort to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding American gun owners." Anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) introduces S. 843, calling for massive new government
powers to register gun show customers, register gun owners, retain information on people who pass criminal records checks
when buying firearms, heavily tax both gun collectors and gun sales, and require gun show promoters to police gun show customers,
as if they were agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
MAY: Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduce S. 941- the
"Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act," representing the first
time such BATFE reform legislation has been introduced in the Senate. Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space
(D-Ohio), introduce its House companion--H.R. 2296. 375 staunch, pro-gun patriots attend the standing room only NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop, held in
conjunction with NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Phoenix--double the attendance from last year's workshop in Louisville.
U.S. Reps Peter King (R-N.Y.), Carolyn
McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Mike Castle (R-Del.), Jim Moran (D-Va.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (D-Ill.), and Chris Smith (R-N.J.)
introduce H.R. 2159, which would give "the Attorney General the authority to deny the sale, delivery, or transfer of a firearm or the
issuance of a firearms or explosives license or permit to dangerous terrorists. . . . if the Attorney General determines that
the transferee is known (or appropriately suspected) to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for,
in aid of, or related to terrorism, or providing material support thereof, and the Attorney General has a reasonable belief
that the prospective transferee may use a firearm in connection with terrorism." The legislation disregards traditional
ideas of due process, as well as the well-documented problems with the government's "terrorist watchlists." NRA-backed legislation to restore the Second
Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens in national parks and wildlife refuges passes in the U.S. House of Representatives
by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 279-147, and is signed into law. The legislation will take effect on February 22,
2010.
JUNE: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issues a proposed rule change that directly targets the
importation of "assisted opening" folding knives. (Read the proposed rule here.) The proposed regulations would designate all these knives as "switchblades" (despite the fact they do not fall
under the federal definition of "switchblades"), and would make them illegal for import into the United States.
The proposed change could affect all knives that can be opened with one hand. American gun owners celebrate the anniversary of the landmark D.C. v. Heller case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban and affirmed that the
Second Amendment protects an individual right.
JULY: Two-thirds of the nation's attorneys general file a "friend of the
court" brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of NRA v. Chicago and hold that the Second Amendment
applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. This bipartisan group of 33 attorneys general
agrees with the NRA's position that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms in
the home for self-defense, disagreeing with the decision recently issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit. The Senate unanimously passes
an amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act as part of the Homeland Security appropriations
bill. The amendment, authored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), changes the federal law under which CBP tried to redefine many common knives as switchblades. Gun owners and Second Amendment advocates earn a victory as the House Financial
Services Committee considers and adopts an amendment offered by Representative Tom Price (R-Ga.) to protect the Second Amendment
rights of public housing residents. NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre
and ILA Executive Director Chris Cox announce NRA opposition to Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nominations to the U.S. Supreme
Court, noting, "We believe any individual who does not agree that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right
and who does not respect our God-given right of self-defense should not serve on any court, much less the highest court in
the land. Therefore, the National Rifle Association of America opposes the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the position
of Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court." A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate votes in favor of an amendment offered by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and David Vitter (R-La.) to provide interstate recognition
of Right-to-Carry permits. The amendment to S.1390--the National Defense Authorization Act--would acknowledge that the
right to self-defense extends across state lines. Under this provision, an individual with a carry permit from his or her
home state, or who is otherwise allowed to carry firearm in his home state, could carry in any other state that issues permits.
AUGUST: On an appearance on " Meet the Press," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces that he will raise money to counter the influence of the NRA.
Bloomberg trumpets the meager 39 votes he was able to muster to squeak out a defeat of national Right-to-Carry reciprocity.
Yet another mayor, Village of Walton Hills, Ohio Mayor
Marlene Anielski (R), resigns her membership from Bloomberg's mis-named Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) coalition.
Mayor Anielski informs the Buckeye Firearms Association of her decision, reporting that she had not realized the real agenda
of MAIG. In fact, she reported, she and her husband are NRA Life Members! On August 6, by a vote of 68-31, the full Senate votes to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate
Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
SEPTEMBER: Garen Wintemute, of the University of California (Davis), releases another of his "studies"
in favor of gun control. His new piece is called "Inside Gun Shows: What Goes On When Everybody Thinks Nobody's Watching."
"Gun shows" are just the hook, however. While repeating gun control supporters' mantra about the need to run
instant background checks on people who buy guns from private parties at gun shows, Wintemute admits important factors that
undercut his goal. First, he notes that straw purchases - the very purpose of which is to thwart the background checks he
pretends to be concerned about - "are a major source of crime guns." Second, he admits that "The proportion
of all gun sales nationwide that occurs at gun shows is relatively small" and that "most sales at gun shows involve
licensed retailers," who are already required to perform background checks.
During consideration of H.R. 3288 (the FY 2010 Transportation--Housing and Urban Development appropriations
bill), the Wicker Amendment is adopted, to allow the transportation of firearms on Amtrak trains.
OCTOBER: The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the landmark Second Amendment case of McDonald v. Chicago.
The case will address the application of the Second Amendment to the states through either the Due Process clause or the Privileges
or Immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.),
join forces with U.S. Representatives Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and Mike Ross (D-Ark.), in filing a joint, pro-Second Amendment
amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief before the Supreme Court in the McDonald v. Chicago case.
The so-called Bi-National Task Force on Rethinking the United States-Mexico
Border produces a report, which, among other things, calls for re-imposition of the federal "assault weapon" ban
of 1994-2004, saying it would improve security in both countries. The "border-rethinking" group has been put
together by the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations. The group consists mostly
of former U.S. and Mexican officials and journalists, none of them currently elected by the people of the U.S. or Mexico to
make policy on these issues.
The U.S. Senate and House pass crucial
legislation that will protect pocketknives used by tens of millions of Americans. The amendment will block CBP's earlier proposed
policy change and keep pocketknives from being classified as illegal switchblades.
NRA files a complaint in the Superior Court of Washington State against the City of Seattle,
asking the court to enjoin and declare invalid a recently enacted parks and recreation administrative policy that prohibits
firearms in parks, community centers and other city-owned buildings. Other plaintiffs in the case include state correctional
officers and private citizens, as well as the Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation.
NOVEMBER: The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund's (NRA-PVF) endorsed candidates for statewide
office in Virginia--Bob McDonnell (R) for governor, Ken Cuccinelli (R) for attorney general, and Bill Bolling (R) for lieutenant
governor--win handily in the November 3rd general election. Additionally, 98 percent (58 out
of 59) of NRA-PVF-endorsed candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates win their respective races.
On November 16, the NRA files its brief with the U.S. Supreme Court as Respondent in Support of
Petitioner in McDonald v. City of Chicago. The NRA brief asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that the Second Amendment
applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
In another transparent attempt to undercut the Second Amendment, Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun
group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, alleges that the multiple murders that took place on Ft. Hood recently could have been
prevented by changes in federal gun laws.
DECEMBER:
The U.S. Supreme Court schedules oral arguments in the McDonald v. City of
Chicago case for Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
New York City mayor Michael
Bloomberg's MAIG releases the findings of a "poll" conducted by a political consulting firm called "The
Word Doctors," whose slogan is "It's not what you say, it's what people hear." The pollster claims the
results of his misleadingly worded questions show that NRA members and gun owners support restrictive gun laws; he fails to
highlight results that show strong opposition to other measures, and serious concern about the Obama administration's future
plans on the issue.
The U.S. House of Representatives approves an NRA-backed
amendment, introduced by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), to allow Amtrak travelers to transport firearms in checked baggage
where checked baggage service is available. The Wicker amendment isincluded along with several government agencies'
appropriations bills in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010.
U.S. House of Representatives passes H.R. 3326-the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010.
NRA's efforts on the huge spending bill were rewarded with the restoration of a longstanding rider to protect M-1 carbines,
M-1 Garands, M-14s, .22 caliber rifles, and others from being destroyed. The language also included a prohibition on
the destruction of small arms ammunition and components, passed in response to the short-lived concern over destruction of
spent brass casings earlier this year.
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