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NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
Vol. 7, No. 42 10/20/00
HESTON�LaPIERRE�BAKER TOUR A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS
This week, NRA President Charlton Heston, NRA Executive Vice President
Wayne LaPierre, and NRA-ILA Executive Director James Jay Baker began a
three-day "Get Out The Vote" tour of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia�three states that could hold the key to securing victory for the
pro-Second Amendment community on November 7. The purpose of these rallies
was to encourage NRA members to help elect pro-gun, pro-freedom lawmakers
on November 7, and, judging by the turnouts and crowd reactions, the
events were overwhelming successes. The tour started on Tuesday in
Michigan with a morning stop in the Grand Rapids area, then moved on to
the Lansing area for a noon rally, and culminated with an evening event in
Flint. On Wednesday, the tour hit Pennsylvania, starting just outside
Pittsburgh, then moving to Hershey, where NRA was joined by Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Ridge (R), then ended in the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area. And
on Thursday, NRA's "Big Three" hit the Old Dominion, with stops in
Roanoke, Chesapeake, and Richmond. All told, approximately 20,000 NRA
members, along with their family and friends, attended the nine events,
and pro-Second Amendment lawmakers and candidates showed up to voice their
support for NRA and the pro-gun community. There may be more such tours in
the future, as the campaign season heats up to a fever pitch.
NRA-ILA's BAKER HAILS PASSAGE OF PITTMAN-ROBERTSON REFORM BILL
James Jay Baker, speaking of the passage of The Wildlife and Sport Fish
Restoration Programs Improvement Act, said, "This is a significant
legislative victory for America's sportsmen and women. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's neglect of its responsibilities, cavalier attitude
toward those paying into the trust funds, and lack of respect for the
purpose of the trust fund eroded sportsmen's faith that their tax dollars
were being spent wisely for the benefit of wildlife." Of importance to
hunters and other firearm owners are the Congressional reforms that have
been made to the management of the trust fund created by enactment of the
1937 Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. The reform bill reduces
the annual amount of administrative dollars that the Fish and Wildlife
Service receives; it prescribes what costs are allowable as administrative
expenses, and requires periodic audits of the Service and accountability
to the Congress for how those dollars are spent. U.S. Representative (and
NRA Director) Don Young (R-Alas.), and U.S. Senators Larry Craig (also an
NRA Director) and Michael Crapo (like Craig, a Republican from Idaho) were
the driving forces behind the passage of this bill in their respective
chambers of Congress. Congratulations are due to these lawmakers and NRA
members whose efforts led to this victory.
S&W'S SELF-IMPOSED WOES CONTINUE
British-owned Smith & Wesson (S&W), one of the oldest gun makers in
America, is facing increasingly difficult financial times. On Thursday,
S&W announced that it would be forced to lay off approximately 15% of its
employees, including some in management positions. The company said that
it is suffering, in part, because of a boycott of S&W products. S&W, of
course, is the only gun maker to surrender to the anti-gun extremists in
the Clinton-Gore Administration. Faced with the threat of reckless
lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry, most gun makers chose
to stand their ground, and present a united defense of their lawful
industry. S&W, however, signed on to what many in the pro-Second Amendment
community refer to as the "S&W Sellout" (see Special FAX Alert, 3/20/00)�a
capitulation to the Clinton-Gore Administration featuring then-S&W CEO Ed
Shultz as one of its primary architects. Shultz is no longer with S&W (see
FAX Alert, Vol. 7, No. 41), but it seems that the company continues to
suffer from his decision to try to appease the Clinton-Gore team. S&W
spokesman Ken Jorgensen stated that the company was still required to
follow the terms of the "S&W Sellout,"
but there is still disagreement between the parties involved as to what
the agreement actually means. According to an October 19 AP story,
Jorgensen said that S&W would work with government officials to "spell out
some �clarifications' in the accord," although he did not go into any
details. "Hopefully," he added, "that will be positive for everyone."
NRA-ILA Deputy Executive Director Patrick O'Malley told AP, "I would urge
Smith & Wesson to revisit ALL terms of this agreement." It is truly
unfortunate that many S&W employees are suffering financial hardship
because their bosses tried to appease a gun-hating administration. Now
that Shultz is no longer with the company, perhaps S&W will reassess its
decision to collaborate with the most anti-gun administration this country
has ever known.
SOCIAL ELITISTS TRY TO MASQUERADE AS A "GRASSROOTS" ORGANIZATION
A new group calling itself the Campaign for a Progressive Future has begun
running ads attacking pro-gun candidates for their support of our Right to
Keep and Bear Arms. The ads attempt to color the group as a "grassroots"
organization of concerned citizens. The reality, however, is quite
different. Most of the group's total of six donors, who have funded the
campaign in amounts as high as $500,000 apiece, are extremely wealthy
activists with a history of involvement in social engineering schemes and
supporting extreme causes that many Americans don't agree with, such as
the legalization of drugs. The "grassroots" organization includes in its
listing of officers, contributors, and recipients of its largesse a number
of Hollywood executives or former executives, law firms, political
consultants, media firms, and one rather noticeable political action
committee (PAC)�the "Million Mom March" PAC. For a listing of the officers
and supporters of the Campaign for a Progressive Future, please go to the
NRA-ILA website at www.NRAILA.org. If you do not have Internet access, you
can request information on this group by calling (800) 392-8683.
THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES�WITH ONLY 18 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY
As was noted in a previous FAX Alert (No. 7, Vol. 38), all NRA members and
Second Amendment supporters need to re-double their efforts to elect
pro-Second Amendment lawmakers on November 7. To reiterate the tasks
involved, they include: contacting your EVC, recruiting additional pro-gun
campaign volunteers, registering pro-Second Amendment voters, displaying
campaign yard signs, handing out campaign literature, and planning for the
last Get Out The Vote pushes and Election Day activities.
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