Free Republic

National Rifle Association Virginia - -(AmmoLand.com)- As I noted in last month’s column, the 2009 Virginia elections will be ground zero for our grassroots activities this year. Not only will these elections determine the future our of our gun rights in Virginia, but they will also be used as a barometer for the 2010 elections. If two recent events I attended in Virginia Beach are any indication, we are well positioned this year in Virginia to remind politicians running in 2010 that those who oppose the Second Amendment do so at their own political peril! On July 16, my Virginia...

Walking the jam-packed aisles of Virginia's biggest gun show, Richard Begay carried a .30-06 Sauer hunting rifle and a hand-lettered cardboard sign on his back asking $1,199. < snip > The question of how much to regulate the sale and possession of guns has always been a dividing line in Virginia political contests. This year's gubernatorial candidates -- former attorney general Robert F. McDonnell (R) and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D) -- both have extensive pro-gun records. But the campaign is unfolding at a turbulent and uncertain time in the nation's debate over guns. One unresolved issue in Virginia,...

The National Rifle Association said Thursday it will count the Senate vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as part of its influential legislative score card on how members of Congress stand on gun-rights issues. The NRA opposes her, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another powerful lobby not prone to siding with the White House on every issue, endorsed Judge Sotomayor Thursday. The politically potent gun-rights group said it is concerned about Judge Sotomayor's stance on Second Amendment rights and her rulings as an appellate judge, including one upholding a New York law that barred a man from...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   New York: Status of Anti-Gun Bills Uncertain as Balance of Power Changes in Albany   Monday, June 08, 2009   Please Continue Checking Your Email and www.NRAILA.org for UpdatesOn Monday, June 8 two Democrats, State Senators Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) and Pedro Espada (D-Bronx), switched parties to caucus with the Republicans.  This change allows the Republicans to take control of the New York State Senate.  As of now, the legislature is in upheaval and we are unsure of the status of firearm related bills, including the micro-stamping bill (Senate Bill 4397A). Please hold your calls and...

With congressional Democrats divided on gun issues and the Obama administration steering clear of the topic, gun rights advocates have bagged new legislative trophies this year and are taking aim at additional targets. The National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America have an ambitious to-do list. They are preparing to: •Weigh in on Obama’s nomination of federal appellate court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. •Advance a proposal by Sen. Richard M. Burr , R-N.C., to ensure that veterans are not wrongfully denied the right to bear arms. •Stave off attempts to close the so-called gun show...

Virginia State Senator Creigh DeedsOn Tuesday June 9th, 2009, the Democratic Primary will be held in the great Commonwealth of Virginia. The Democratic candidates vying for their party’s nomination to run for governor are former Democratic National Committee chairman and Clinton insider Terry McAuliffe, State Delegate Brian Moran and State Senator Creigh (pronounced CREE) Deeds. Because of the significant gun rights issues raised by these particular candidates, OpenCarry.org has taken the unprecedented step of endorsing Delegate Moran in the Democratic primary and encouraging Republicans, Libertarians and Independents to cross the aisle and vote in the Democratic primary. How is this...

On Tuesday June 9th, 2009, the Democratic Primary will be held in the great Commonwealth of Virginia. The Democratic candidates vying for their party’s nomination to run for governor are former Democratic National Committee chairman and Clinton insider Terry McAuliffe, State Delegate Brian Moran and State Senator Creigh (pronounced CREE) Deeds. Because of the significant gun rights issues raised by these particular candidates, OpenCarry.org has taken the unprecedented step of endorsing Delegate Moran in the Democratic primary and encouraging Republicans, Libertarians and Independents to cross the aisle and vote in the Democratic primary.

According to some authors, in 1940 when Prime Minister Winston Churchill learned through radio intercepts that the Germans planned to bomb the city of Coventry, Churchill is believed to have disallowed advanced scrambling British fighters because it might tip off the Germans that the Allies had broken their codes. Churchill's alleged behavior in this instance was strategic - more concerned about winning the war than winning any immediate battle. . . . Ask yourself: How would Churchill vote on Tuesday?

Virginia's Democratic Primary is five days away, and the three-way race for the party's governor nomination is tight. Gun rights advocates don't typically engage in democratic politics. However, Northern Virginia-based "opencarry.org" is encouraging its members, republican, independent, and libertarian, to go vote in the Democratic primary and cast their vote for Brian Moran. During his time in the House of Delegates, the website says Moran had what they call a pro-gun record. That includes votes to allow concealed handguns in school parking lots and to preempt all local gun control laws. They say that "pretty good" record is far superior...

Did you know Virginia is an open primary state? Yup, it is - you can vote in anybody's primary you want. That means that since the Republican party is handling their state office party candidate nominations this year by convention, every registered voter in Virginia might as well crash the Democratic party primary on June 9th! . . . A vote for Moran is therefore the best strategic vote for gun owners for two reasons. First, because a Moran vote is more likely to defeat McAuliffe than a vote for Deeds. And second, a vote for Moran sends traditionally pro-gun...

For those of you who are delegates to the GOP Convention this weekend I would like to remind you who VCDL PAC has endorsed for statewide office. GOVERNOR ----------------- We have not made an endorsement for Governor as there is no competition at this time for that race. LT GOVERNOR ---------------------- VCDL PAC Strongly Endorses Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling as the GOP nominee for reelection as Lt. Governor ATTORNEY GENERAL -------------------------------- VCDL PAC Strongly Endorses Sen. Ken Cuccinelli as the GOP nominee for Attorney General VCDL members have always been strong supporters of the election process in the Commonwealth of...

In politics, conventional wisdom can be slow to die, even when the so-called wisdom is neither true nor wise. So I was reminded on a recent visit to Capitol Hill, when I asked several lawmakers and senior members of their staffs to explain the Democrats’ timidity about standing up to the National Rifle Association by pressing needed measures to curb gun violence. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama tossed cold water a few weeks back on Attorney General Eric Holder’s well-founded enthusiasm for reviving the assault weapons ban that Congress and the Bush White House let expire in 2004....

The strong Election Day showing for Democrats signals stronger support for “sensible gun laws” in this country and a “significant setback” for the National Rifle Association, a gun control group said Tuesday night. The Brady Campaign issued a statement even before Sen. Barack Obama was declared the winner, saying the political environment is better than it’s been in years for “progress on gun violence prevention.” The NRA spent millions on ads during the campaign, warning that Sen. Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history. But according to the Brady Campaign, the NRA failed to deliver its...

Nelson Rising, chairman of Tom Bradley’s 1982 campaign for California governor, still remembers the phone call. Bradley called him shortly after 4 a.m. on a long Election Night, when it was clear Bradley had lost to Republican George Deukmejian. “You were right,” Bradley told Rising a bit wearily. With those words, Bradley, the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, acknowledged that a political mistake had cost him the governorship. And, despite all the theories that the election produced a “Bradley effect” that could hurt black candidates such as Bradley — and, a quarter-century later, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama — the...

By Sandy Froman Senator Barack Obama says he will respect gun owners, but campaign talk is cheap. What gun owners must know before they vote is that Obama promises to appoint a U.S. Supreme Court that will eradicate the Second Amendment from the Constitution. On June 26, in the case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held in a split 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment secures a right to keep and bear arms for private citizens, and struck down the D.C. law that banned all handguns and readily-usable firearms, even in your own home. That decision turned on a...

STEVENSVILLE, Mont., Oct. 31 (UPI) -- The namesake of Montana-based Cooper Firearms has been asked to resign as president of the company after he expressed support for Barack Obama. The company said it asked Dan Cooper, founder and part owner of Cooper Firearms, to resign as president after he voiced support for the Democratic Illinois senator's bid for president in a USA Today interview published Tuesday, USA Today reported Friday. "Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper,"...

In speech after speech, Barack Obama has claimed he would "uphold the Second Amendment." Mr. Obama, of course, is a polished speaker who says "words matter." But records matter more. And while Mr. Obama is short on experience on most issues, he's long on anti-gun votes and even longer on rhetoric. Now's a good time to review both. One of Mr. Obama's first statements on the issue really said it all. During his first run for the Illinois Senate in... --snip-- But in 2005, he voted for a ban on all but the smallest rifle ammunition used for hunting (or...

“Well I, I, I, I continue to, I continue to, uh, uh, support a ban on concealed carry laws.”I did not know that.Really, I didn’t know that Barack Obama wants to outlaw CCWs (concealed weapons permits). I thought that I’d followed this campaign closer than most, but this one got right by me. For the record, I myself hold a State of Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License, having subjected myself to a background check, paid the fee (and renewal fees) and demonstrated proficiency and responsibility with personal firearms. Hell, there was a time some years ago when I was...

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a rally in Lancaster, Pa., on Sept. 4. He strongly denied that he had any intention of taking away anyone's shotguns, rifles or handguns. (Associated Press) The nation's gun owners have the presidential election in their sights. Some are up at arms about the prospect of future gun legislation should Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama win the White House. Others are beefing up their personal arsenals, skittish that firearms could become scarce or too expensive in the near future. "If the economy is down, and gun sales are up, it shows...

WAYNE COUNTY - The individual right to keep and bear arms, and whether that right deserves restrictions, has caught John McCain and Barack Obama paradoxically fighting for gun control laws in the past. Today, they are cheerleaders of the Second Amendment, according to public statements. Wayne County gun owners and the national gun lobbies, however, have mixed feelings - and some fears - on the day when either the Democrat or the Republican takes the White House. Will they take my guns, some of my guns, or no guns? Peter Snyder, a life-long Republican and hunter from Lake Ariel, does...