Posted on 09/05/2006 2:14:42 PM PDT by neverdem
Not much is happening in Congress this year that deals with the issue of firearms, and the National Rifle Association is fine with that.
For the longest time, the NRA stood in the crosshairs of some of Washington's nastiest legislative battles -- from assault weapons bans to handgun waiting periods. Sometimes the gun lobby won and sometimes it lost. But the fights were always agonizing.
Lately, the NRA has taken a lower profile in the nation's capital and has been turning its attention instead to places where it regularly wins without much hassle: state legislatures. Like a growing number of lobby groups that have tired of the expense and ugliness that congressional dustups often bring, the NRA has shifted its staffing and grass-roots pressure to passing laws at a more local place.
"The closer we get back home, the stronger we are," said Wayne R. LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA. Passing laws in Washington, he said, "is harder."
"The NRA has figured out where they have a unique advantage," agreed Peter S. Hamm, communications director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the NRA's chief nemesis. "Their power at the state level is formidable."
Which isn't to say the NRA is invincible there. In certain large, highly urbanized states, such as New York and Massachusetts, the gun lobby doesn't fare as well nor does it try as frequently.
Nonetheless, its string of accomplishments in state assemblies is long and impressive. It successfully lobbied for laws that give citizens the ability to carry firearms in 23 states in the past 12 years, including Kansas and Nebraska this year. It has also legislated the right of gun owners to stand firm and use deadly force in the case of a dangerous attack in 15 states, 14 of them this...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Any time you'd like to turn some attention on the Politburo in Sacramento, CA, it'd be appreciated.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Anytime they can do something in Maryland would be appreciated as well.
I'm hoping I don't have three years left in Maryland though.
NRA Bump
"But the NRA has clearly been emphasizing state-level legislating for a while. Since 2000, it has increased by a third the number of its lobbyists who concentrate on state and local government affairs, to 36 from 27."
IMHO, it appears they are going after the low hanging first before trying to crack the hard nuts.
Wyoming: House backs no gun permits paperless concealed carry
And another.
If the Dems manage to take over Congress, this is the calm before the storm.
Hawk1976 wrote:
> I'm hoping I don't have three years left in Maryland though. <
Why not come on over here to Virginia? No more waiting periods. And no more once-per-month
limitations if you're a CCW permit holder.
We're not yet as gun-friendly as Vermont and Alaska, but we're getting there -- thanks to
NRA's very effective Richmond lobbying!
I'm hoping for much further weat or down south. I'm originally from Florida and would like to settle in the mountain west or rural south.
> I'm hoping for much further west or down south. I'm originally from Florida and would like to settle in the mountain west or rural south. <
Hey, Virginia's got it all:
We've got mountains out west (ever been to Highland County VA?), we've got a VERY RURAL south (just drive along US 58 from Danville to Suffolk), we've got ocean surf and sand (Virginia Beach), and we've got a very succssful NRA lobbying operation in Richmond.
On top of all that, we're within commuting distance of you Maryland folks.
What more could anybody want?
Sometimes the gun lobby won and sometimes it lost. But the fights were always agonizing.
Only because people like Peter S. Hamm don't know how to read and comprehend the Constitution.
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