NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT

NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT
Vol. 16, No. 49 12/11/09

Bloomberg's Billions Buy Opinions
Understanding the Latest Anti-Gun "Poll"

Click here to vote in this week's poll.

This week, anti-gun New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released 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." Word Doctors' president is a pollster who has been reprimanded by the American Association for Public Opinion Research and censured by the National Council on Public Polls, and who says that the key to polling is "to ask a question in the way that you get the right answer."

At some other time in our nation's history, an organization like this would not have been commissioned to conduct a poll, and perhaps it would not even have existed. At a minimum, its poll would have been considered biased and rejected by every newspaper in the country.

But today, as the distinction between editorials and news has become blurred, information is treated so superficially that a catchy word or two is enough to get someone elected to public office, and some in positions of authority cannot conceive of the concept of shame.

U.S. House Approves Transporting Firearms In Checked Luggage On Amtrak: On December 10, the U.S. House of Representatives approved 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 was included along with several government agencies' appropriations bills in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010.

Anti-Gun Lunacy Abounds On Colorado College Campuses: The carrying of firearms on college campuses remains hotly debated these days. Recently, that debate has centered on two prominent Colorado universities.

Hunting Threatened In Mojave National Preserve: The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), in concert with the Sierra Club and other anti-hunting organizations, has filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission to ban most hunting in the Mojave National Preserve, including rabbit and varmit hunting. What hunting remains (resident game birds, deer, and bighorn sheep) would be restricted. The "Petition for Rulemaking Regarding Hunting in the Mojave National Preserve" blames hunters for the declining population of the desert tortoise, a threatened species under the state's Endangered Species Act. CBD filed a similar petition in 2003, but the Commission did not act on it. The Commission will likely consider the CBD's petition next week and could schedule a hearing on it early next year.

The NRA Online Advisory Panel: A few weeks ago, we launched a brand new service -- the NRA Online Advisory Panel -- a community of our most active and loyal supporters.

Help Defend Your Gun Rights One Click At A Time: We have a revolutionary yet simple tool that will allow you to stay connected to NRA-ILA and raise valuable contributions to defend our Second Amendment rights without spending a dime! It's the NRA-ILA Toolbar, and you can make a difference by downloading and using it.
NRA-ILA Grassroots Minute 12/11/09
Grassroots Minute

STATE ROUNDUP (Please note the only items listed below are those that have had recent action. For other updates on state legislation, please go to the state legislation section at www.NRAILA.org, and check each week's issue of the Grassroots Alert.")

CALIFORNIA: Hunting Threatened on Mojave National Preserve The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), in concert with the Sierra Club and other anti-hunting organizations, has filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission to ban most hunting in the Mojave National Preserve, including rabbit and varmint hunting. What hunting remains (resident game birds, deer, and bighorn sheep) would be restricted. The "Petition for Rulemaking Regarding Hunting in the Mojave National Preserve" blames hunters for the declining population of the desert tortoise, a threatened species under the state's Endangered Species Act. CBD filed a similar petition in 2003, but the commission did not act on it. The commission will likely consider the CBD's petition next week and could schedule a hearing on it early next year.

The petition contains the flimsiest of evidence that hunting in the preserve is the cause or even a contributing factor of the decline in the tortoise population. In fact, statistics confirm that vehicular traffic and increased tourism within the designated critical habitat of the tortoise have increased substantially since 1994 when the preserve was established. Those activities are believed to be the leading causes of tortoise mortality. Further, there is sufficient research to suggest that predation by ravens and coyotes are also taking its toll on this protected species. The objective of the petition is not to protect and enhance the tortoise population. Rather, it is an attempt by this coalition of anti-hunting organizations to permanently end hunting in the Mojave National Preserve. CBD was also behind the ban on the use of lead ammunition for hunting big game within the range of the California condor, and earlier this year, CBD attempted unsuccessfully to extend that ban to all game species.

Please take a few minutes to contact the commission and ask that they deny the petition. Please address and mail it to:

John Carlson, Jr., Executive Director
California Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street, Room 1320
Sacramento, CA 95814
fgc@fgc.ca.gov

Hunters are continually being harassed with restrictions on hunting and access to hunting areas for reasons not based on science. Please do not let CBD impose their pseudo-science on those who hunt in the Mojave National Preserve!

COLORADO: Support Needed to Re-Open Rampart Shooting Range! Following an accidental shooting last July, the Forest Service closed the very popular and heavily used Rampart Shooting Range on the Pike National Forest. In its nearly 20 year history, Rampart had never before experienced a shooting-related injury or fatality. Rampart is the only free public range in El Paso County and receives 40,000 visitors a year. The Service called the closure a "time-out" in order to assess whether the design of the range was a factor. An investigation determined that the range was not a factor in the accident. Safety experts have said that the accident could have happened at any range. But after it closed Rampart, the Forest Service devised a scheme to keep the range closed permanently.

The Forest Service has listed requirements that must be met before it will reopen Rampart. There is no timetable for meeting these requirements and likely no money to cover costs. The most significant issue is the requirement of requiring full time supervision. Most ranges on federal lands operate without supervision and this requirement could place all such ranges in jeopardy. Rampart Range is in need of improvements which were identified more than two years ago. Such improvements can be addressed and implemented with the range reopened. The Forest Service has said that it could take up to five years before Rampart is reopened, but there is no guarantee that it would reopen Rampart in that timeframe or at any time in the future.

NRA has been working to get Rampart Range reopened since the day it was closed, but we need the help of Colorado hunters and shooters to show the Forest Service and your elected officials that the federal government cannot continue to close public lands to recreational shooting, and certainly not without replacing those areas lost with other areas of the same or great value. Rampart Shooting Range is an important resource for the shooting community along the Front Range. There is no incentive for the Forest Service to reopen Rampart unless the shooting sports community demands it!

Please send a letter of support for the immediate reopening of Rampart to: Tom Tidwell, Chief of the Forest Service, at ttidwell@fs.fed.us, and copy your letter to Senator Mark Udall at senator_mark_udall@markudall.senate.gov, Senator Michael Bennet at http://bennet.senate.gov/contact/, Congressman Doug Lamborn at CO05ima@mail.house.gov, and Governor Bill Ritter by clicking here. Please stress that keeping the range closed is not supportable by the investigative report; that the closure has robbed the shooting community of a valuable resource; and that needed improvements to the range can be planned and implemented without closure.

INDIANA The Herald-Times Online Thinks Gun Owners are Stupid, Paranoid, and Easily Manipulated! The editors of the Bloomington Herald-Times apparently don't like the feedback they've received in response to their online gun database. Writing on December 7, Herald Times Editor Bob Zaltsberg feigns surprise and takes offense at being targeted in similar fashion as they chose to target lawful gun owners. They paint NRA as irrational and suggest we are erroneously attacking the press while they continue to misrepresent the facts regarding their online gun database, telling gun owners and concerned citizens they don't have their facts straight while attempting to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the public outrage they alone deserve. To learn more and to find how to contact the paper and their advertisers, please click here.

MICHIGAN: Important Pro-Gun Bills Waiting to be Considered! On Wednesday, December 2, House Bill 5302 and House Bill 5303 were not brought up on the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives as previously expected. It is now expected that these bills will be brought up in the coming weeks and we need all the help we can get to get them passed. HB5302, introduced by State Representative Paul Opsommer (R-93), and HB5303, authored by State Representative Joel Sheltrown (D-103), would prohibit employers from firing employees who safely and lawfully store their firearms in locked vehicles. Please continue to contact your State Representative and politely urge them to vote in favor of HB5302 and HB5303 without any weakening amendments. Contact information for your State Representative can be found by clicking here.

PENNSLYVANIA: Borough of West Mifflin to Consider "Lost or Stolen" Ordinance
On Tuesday, December 15, at 6:30 p.m., the Borough Council of West Mifflin will consider a proposal that would require gunowners to report lost or stolen firearms within a 72-hour period or face fines and possible imprisonment. This law would not only violate Pennsylvania's state preemption laws, but would also turn law-abiding gun owners, who have already been victimized by theft, into criminals. The meeting will be held on the second floor of the West Mifflin Municipal Building located at 3000 Lebanon Church Road in West Mifflin. If you're planning on testifying, please contact the Borough Office at 412-466-8170. Please contact the members of the Borough Council of West Mifflin TODAY and respectfully urge them to oppose this unwarranted, unjust and illegal ordinance. Contact information can be found here. If you are able, please attend this meeting to show your support for the Second Amendment and, if possible, speak against this ill-conceived proposal.