NRA Statement on endorsement of Chet Edwards (D-TX)

NRA-ILA ^ | 8/12/2010 | Kaelan Jones

[Joe Brower]

Thank you for contacting NRA-ILA in regards to our endorsement of Chet Edwards.

We recognize and acknowledge that Congressman Edwards has disagreed with our positions on some important gun-related issues in the past. However, over the last eight years, he has worked closely with the NRA to significantly improve his voting record and, since 2002, has a near perfect record in support of gun rights.

Chet Edwards has supported the Second Amendment by signing:

The congressional amicus brief in support of the individual rights interpretation of the Second Amendment in the Heller case. CLICK HERE

The congressional amicus brief in support of incorporation of the protections of the Second Amendment to the states in the McDonald case. CLICK HERE

A letter, along with 64 of his House Democrat colleagues, to Attorney General Eric Holder calling on him to abandon any effort to reinstate the semi-auto ban. Read the letter here.

Chet Edwards has supported the Second Amendment in his committee activities:

Congressman Edwards was the deciding vote in the House Appropriations Committee to adopt the Tiahrt amendment (protecting firearms trace data from public disclosure) in June of 2003, and has voted pro-gun on every recorded vote in that committee since then.

As chairman of the Military Construction Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Edwards has been very helpful in securing funding to improve the housing at Camp Perry for the annual National Rifle and Pistol Championship.

Chet Edwards has supported the Second Amendment by voting:

For H.R. 5827, a bill to protect the Second Amendment rights of persons filing for bankruptcy.

For an amendment to H.R. 627 to allow right to carry in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.

For the Childers substitute amendment (Second Amendment Enforcement Act) to H.R. 6842 to restore the Second Amendment right to residents of our nation’s capital.

For H.R.5092 to reform and modernize the BATFE, and to protect the rights of FFL holders from unfair harassment.

For H.R. 5013 to protect the rights of gun owners during times of emergency by prohibiting the confiscation of lawfully possessed firearms, such as occurred following Hurricane Katrina.

For the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to prohibit bogus lawsuits against the firearms industry. (He voted for this bill in 2003 and again in 2005 when it became law, and voted against multiple amendments designed to weaken or gut this critical legislation.)

Five times to eliminate the ban on handgun ownership in Washington, D.C.

Against an amendment to H.R. 2862 to ban the exportation of .50 caliber rifles.

For H.R. 4635, to allow the training and arming of commercial airline pilots following the terrorist attacks on September 11.

Against an amendment to H.R. 2500 that would have mandated that records of lawful gun sales be kept by the federal government for at least 90 days.

Against passage of the Brady Bill.

Chet Edwards has supported our hunting heritage by voting:

For the Altmire amendment to protect hunting, shooting, fishing and trapping on land managed by BLM.

Against the Inslee amendment to ban polar bear trophy importation.

Against an amendment designed to prohibit the use of bait when hunting bear on public lands.

Against an amendment to prohibit the use of foreign development funds to be used to promote trophy hunting.

For H.R.1675, the Wildlife Refuge Act, to ensure that hunting and fishing would be permitted in the Refuge system.

For an amendment to H.R. 2929 to permit hunting on all lands in the Mojave National Monument in California.

For an amendment to H.R. 5503 to allow deer hunting in Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.

Chet Edwards has cosponsored the following pro-gun legislation:

Legislation in the 111th Congress:

H.R. 197 (National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act)

H.R. 442 (Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act)

H.R. 1074 (Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act)

H.R. 1684 (Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges Act)

H.R. 2296 (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act)

H.R. 5162 (Second Amendment Enforcement Act)

Legislation in previous Congresses:

H.R. 1399 (District of Columbia Personal Protection Act) in the 110th Congress

H.R. 4900 (BATFE Reform) in the 110th Congress

H.R. 2088 (Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act) in the 109th Congress

H.R. 5092 (BATFE Reform) in the 109th Congress

H.R. 5013 (Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act) in the 109th Congress

H.R. 5005 (Firearms Corrections and Improvements Act) in the 109th Congress

H.R. 800 (Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) in the 109th Congress

H.R. 3193 (District of Columbia Personal Protection Act) in the 108th Congress

Should you have additional questions or concerns feel free to contact us again.

Cordially,

Kaelan Jones

NRA-ILA Grassroots Division

(800) 392-2683

[Sans-Culotte]

R.I.P. N.R.A.

[Dead Corpse]

When you lie down with dogs, don’t be surprised when you wake up with fleas...

[tbpiper]

whatever party controls the House dictates the overall agenda

Good point to bring up. The NRA seems to be intrested in protecting their particular 'room' ignoring to fact that the whole house is on fire.

[jazminerose]

Who are the good ones? The ones who didn’t vote for health crimes? They had permission from Pelosi to keep them out of trouble at home. She had enough votes without them.

Name the good ones, oh please. I’d love to know.

[Oldpuppymax]

So will the NRA be supporting Hussein in 2012? After all, he said he was pro gun rights too, and we KNOW he wouldn’t LIE!!!! I dropped my membership a month ago after the last sell-out of the American people by the NRA.

[cohutta]

The money I used to sent to the NRA will now go conservative causes.

[jazminerose]

The only way to determine how “good” any dem is: check their voting records. What percentage of the time did they vote as dictated by Pelosi or Reid?

Don’t believe any crap that comes out of their mouths. Look at the percentages.

[Joe Brower]

"When you lie down with dogs, don’t be surprised when you wake up with fleas..."

You know me better than that. The question here is, does the NRA? Or perhaps they are a bit more tied into what's going on that we here on FR?

[Joe Brower]

"So will the NRA be supporting Hussein in 2012?"

Will you?

[Joe Brower]

"The money I used to sent to the NRA will now go conservative causes."

Glad to hear it. How much money, and to whom?

[MrB]

There are no pro-freedom democrats.

Simply by being in that party you are declaring your belief in “rule by the elite”.

[TheOldLady]

There’s nothing wrong with supporting the NRA in terms of the lobbying work they do.

But to take their lead in who to vote for... that’s pure folly.

Joe, if they were truly apolitical, would they be endorsing anyone? Why lose conservative support by endorsing dems? Vice-versa?

You're swimming against a huge torrent here, man. So many staunch conservatives hold the NRA endorsement in high, precious regard. It's quite understandable if they go ballistic over the NRA's tossing it to a dem who may after all be lying with their record as well as with their words, given the state of "our" dem elected representatives.

Keep Rules for Radicals in mind at all times.

[Frantzie]

Hey F-T - don’t post vanity messages and spam if you do not want to get a responses. If you do not like the responses then tough luck.

The NRA sucks after Heston stepped down do to his health. They support Hairy Reed’s pork barrell gun range scam in Nevada.

Director John Milius, who I used to like, is on the NRA board and signed the petition supporting child rapist Roman Polanski.

[Dead Corpse]

If anything, this is more evidence of an extremely myopic political sense on the NRA’s part.

[Joe Brower]

"in this state, having an “R” in back of one’s name ain’t no gaurantee, either."

That goes for every state in the union, unfortunately.

Something folks here seem to conveniently forget.

[Texan Tory]

“Name the good ones, oh please. I’d love to know.”

Sorry, I actually don’t know of any good ones, I’m merely suggesting the possibility that there might be some. There are not nearly enough good republicans either. It is a sad commentary on the democrat party that the best democrat I can think of is Alvin Greene, and the democrats are treating him as a joke candidate.

[Joe Brower]

"Hey F-T - don’t post vanity messages and spam if you do not want to get a responses. If you do not like the responses then tough luck."

What on Earth are you babbling about? What vanity message? And who is F-T?

If foaming at the mouth won elections, November would already be over. For you, anyway.

[Joe Brower]

"If anything, this is more evidence of an extremely myopic political sense on the NRA’s part."

Hard to tell. As always, I'm sure there is more going on here than we are aware of. It would be good if more folks here were calling the NRA asking them what their thinking is.

[Monterrosa-24]

“...Here in Illinois, once you get south of I-80, the political complexion of the state changes dramatically...”

But downstate there were some across-the-board hardcore conservative Republicans too. Alabama had nobody as conservative as the Crane brothers when they were in and today we don’t have anybody as conservative as Congressman Roskam of Illinois.

There is not one single conservative or moderate Democrat in all of the Illinois delegation to the US Congress. And there is not one liberal Republican in the Illinois delegation (The ACU ratings are pretty representative of a wide range of votes cast).

[Dixie Yooper]

If Nancy Pelosi needs this guy's vote on a anti-gun law, she will get it. Democrats are only allowed to vote contrary to the party line when the party already has enough votes to win. Case in point, Bart Stupak(D)Michigan. The NRA knows this, but is still trying to lead it's membership astray just like the AARP on the healthcare bill. The NRA is not a public run organization, but a private lobbyist association run by the same jerk that made the “Jack-Boot-Thugs” comment back when GHWB was in office. There is something wrong going on here. Something more than the NRA kowtowing to keep their museum sign up on I-66.