Biden, Bloomberg Describe Second Amendment Supporters with Vulgarities and Slurs

What is it with the elitist political class and their insulting, arrogant, even vulgar comments about gun owners and others who live in Heartland America? It’s been going on a long time and continues to this day, even though it gets gun control supporters nowhere.

In 1985, then-New York governor Mario Cuomo said that people who oppose mandatory seat belt laws are “hunters who drink beer, don’t vote, and lie to their wives about where they were all weekend.” A few years later, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy–of Chappaquiddick infamy–accused the NRA of being in an “unholy alliance” with drug pushers, because we opposed legislation to ban general-purpose semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15.

Then, in 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama said that Americans who live in small towns “get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Now, with the November elections approaching, the task of motivating anti-gun voters by telling them that they’re smarter and more cosmopolitan than we are is being taken up by Vice-President Joe Biden and America’s self-absorbed, self-appointed national nanny, Michael Bloomberg.

“Why Not One? Why Not Zero?” Gov. Christie Vetoes N.J. Magazine Ban

On Wednesday last week, New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie (R) vetoed legislation that would have banned the possession of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Such magazines are most commonly used in handguns and general-purpose semi-automatic rifles kept for defensive purposes.

Gov. Christie, who more than a year ago urged people to act like “grown-ups on this issue,” appeared to question the intellectual and emotional maturity of gun control supporters who pushed for the magazine ban. “This [ban] is the very embodiment of reform in name only,” Christie said. “It simply defies common sense to believe that imposing a new and entirely arbitrary number of bullets that can be lawfully loaded into a firearm will somehow eradicate, or even reduce, future instances of mass violence.” Christie added, “I will not support such a trivial approach to the sanctity of human life.”

Gun-Confiscating Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

As we reported in October 2008, after a lengthy legal battle over the unconstitutional confiscation of lawfully owned firearms during Hurricane Katrina, the City of New Orleans agreed to settle a lawsuit initiated by NRA. A permanent injunction was issued against the city, and then-Mayor Ray Nagin. The Second Amendment Foundation assisted NRA in the legal battle against Mayor Nagin and the City of New Orleans.

Judge Carl J. Barbier presided over the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Judge Barbier signed the permanent injuncation against the City of New Orleans. The city admitted the firearm confiscations carried out by Nagin were unconstitutional and illegal.

Check, Please! Chicago Once Again Learns an Expensive Lesson About the Second Amendment

While litigants generally bear their own costs in the American legal system, certain provisions of federal law allow parties who prevail in “proceedings in vindication of civil rights” to be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees. NRA has once again used these provisions to recoup attorney’s fees from the City of Chicago. You would think that Chicago’s disarmament-focused politicians would have learned their lesson after being court ordered to pay NRA over $600,000 in legal fees for work done by NRA attorneys on McDonald v. City of Chicago. Nevertheless, Chicago has once again been court ordered to pay NRA’s legal fees, this time $940,000 for work on Illinois Association of Firearm Retailers v. City of Chicago (formerly Benson v. City of Chicago). That case challenged the prohibition on lawful gun sales within the city. As noted earlier this week, this brings Chicago’s recent total for NRA legal fees to over >.5 million.

Participation Needed in Extended Comment Period for Multiple Sales Reporting Requirement

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) recently published a notice in the Federal Register that the comment period for the “Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Certain Rifles” has been extended for 30 days. As we initially stated when the comment period was opened, we urge everyone affected by this ill-conceived reporting requirement to provide comments. For more information on the many problems posed by the reporting requirement, please see NRA-ILA’s comments on the extension of the reporting requirement.

NRA Statement on Sportsmen’s Bill

NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox issued the following statement this week:

“The National Rifle Association is disappointed that the bipartisan Sportsmen’s bill has fallen victim to Sen. Harry Reid’s political agenda. By refusing to allow a reasonable amendment process, Sen. Reid effectively killed this legislation – a bill with substantive measures that would have enriched America’s hunting and sporting heritage.

Anti-Gun Group Disagrees with Calif. DOJ About Crime Trend; Group’s Gun Control Scorecard Deserves Failing Grade

Firearm-related deaths have decreased in California since the early 1990s, but the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (LCPGV) and the state’s Department of Justice don’t agree about the reasons why.

The LCPGV is an anti-gun activist group, so as reflexively as a squirrel burying nuts, it claims California’s firearm-related deaths have decreased because of gun control. “The state’s comprehensive and cogent gun laws place California at the forefront of gun violence prevention,” making it a “model” for the nation, the group argues.

U.S. House Passes Appropriations Bill Containing a Pro-Gun General Provision

We reported last month on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approving the FY15 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The bill then moved on to the floor of the U.S. House where, on Thursday, July 10, it was passed by a vote of 253-170. The bill contains a pro-gun general provision offered by Representative Tom Graves (R-Ga.) in committee. Rep. Graves’ amendment would prohibit the use of funds to implement or enforce regulations that prevent law-abiding Americans from carrying firearms on property managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The NRA would like to thank Rep. Graves for offering this important amendment. We will continue to keep you updated as the process moves forward.

Update on Proposed Ban on the Domestic Sale of Ivory and Importation of Elephant Trophies

In recent Grassroots Alerts, we addressed the Obama Administration’s proposal to ban the trade and sale of legally owned ivory within the United States (click here to see the initial alert). The NRA supports efforts to stop poaching and the illegal trade of ivory. However, banning lawfully-owned domestic ivory will have no impact on elephant poaching in Africa. On the contrary, such a ban would affect only honest, law-abiding Americans by making their possessions valueless. Please see this New York Times article highlighting the broad spectrum of people who will be harmed by the ban.

Ask Your U.S. Rep. to Oppose Wide-Ranging Gun Control Bill–H.R. 4783

Last week we reported that U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, had introduced what he is calling “the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014.” In truth, we noted, the bill — H.R. 4783 — is largely composed of gun control measures that mirror, and supplement, acts being pursued in the states by the likes of Michael Bloomberg and his “Everytown” gun control cabal.

Ask Your U.S. Representative to Cosponsor and Support “The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013”

The “Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013” (H.R. 2959)–introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah)–would allow any person who is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law and who has a valid concealed firearm permit, to carry a concealed handgun in any state that issues its own residents permits to carry concealed firearms. Persons carrying a handgun in another state pursuant to H.R. 2959 would be subject to the laws of that state with respect to where concealed firearms may be carried. Similar legislation to H.R. 2959 passed the House in 2011 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 272-154.

Does Your Candidate Make the Grade?

In the coming days and weeks, the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) will continue to announce endorsements and candidate ratings in hundreds of federal and state primary races. You need to be fully informed in order to make a sound decision. For up-to-the-minute information on NRA-PVF candidate grades and endorsements, and to see what you can do to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, please visit the NRA-PVF website: www.NRAPVF.org.