Gun Ban Lobby Thinks LaPierre's Departure Means End of NRA

On Friday, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced his resignation effective the end of January.  The Gun Ban Lobby could not contain their glee:

Wayne LaPierre’s resignation reflects the NRA’s moral & political bankruptcy. As a shadow of its former self, it can no longer block gun violence prevention with an unshakable grip on Congress. https://t.co/rKX86DrpsU

— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) January 5, 2024

But as Cam Edwards noted on Saturday, the anti-rights crowd doesn't understand the pro-rights movement:

The pro-Second Amendment movement has always been bigger than one organization, and it’s certainly larger than any one individual. Wayne LaPierre may have (and may still hold) the power within the NRA, but the power of the NRA comes from the millions of individual members. Even if the NRA were to disappear tomorrow there would still be millions of Second Amendment activists in the United States who would remain just as committed to the fight as they are today. Depending on the direction the NRA board takes going forward there’s every reason to believe that the organization can increase its membership and see donors return. But even if LaPierre’s resignation is just a case of “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” and the group continues to struggle, the broader Second Amendment community is robust and growing larger by the day.

Cam goes on to note that with a recent poll showing households with a firearm at an all-time high, as well as supermajority support for the Supreme Court's Bruen decision, it is more likely that those numbers spell the end of the gun ban agenda than LaPierre's exit signaling the end of the pro-rights movement.

NRA Stands Strong for Law Abiding Citizens

America's Gun Owners are under attack.  NRA's Wayne LaPierre speaks about what the NRA is doing to fight back.

An Urgent Election Message from NRA's Wayne LaPierre

On October 21st, NRA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre delivered an urgent message to America’s 100 million gun owners, declaring Hillary Clinton an enemy to the Second Amendment. “If, God forbid, Hillary Clinton is elected, she will launch an all-out war on the Second Amendment. She will come for your guns,” says LaPierre. “She will attack your right to carry. She will attack your most basic right to defend your family with a firearm in your home.” Before asserting that Hillary Clinton “dreams of twisting a knife into the heart of the one freedom that separates us from the rest of the world,” LaPierre hit the current administration saying, “Obama attacked you [gun owners] harder than he attacked ISIS …. He used the terrorism his own weakness and failures made possible to try to gut your right to shoot back at the terrorists he refused to kill.” In his passionate appeal, LaPierre called upon every American who supports the Second Amendment: “If you refuse to witness the self-destruction of the greatest nation the world has ever known, then join me … the only thing that can stop her is you.” Supporters are being urged to share the video using #SavetheSecond.

Senate Set for Showdown on Gun Control

The U.S. Senate is poised to take up four gun related proposals today as amendments to the Commerce Justice Science Appropriations bill today.  Added over the weekend is a "compromise" measure related to the so-called "Terrorist Watch List" offered by Maine's Susan Collins.  From the Wall Street Journal:

Any gun-control measure would need to overcome significant hurdles, including winning support in the Republican-controlled House.

Much of the latest attention has centered on a provision by the Senate’s No. 2 GOP official, John Cornyn of Texas, that would notify the Justice Department if someone on one of the terror watch lists, or someone who has been the subject of a terrorism investigation within the last five years, tried to purchase a gun.

That would trigger a court process in which the Justice Department would have 72 hours to demonstrate to a judge probable cause the weapon would be used in connection with terrorism. Democrats say that would be a high burden of proof in a short period of time. 

The NRA announced its support for the Cornyn amendment last week after Mr. Trump said he would like to meet with the organization. 

NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre, speaking Sunday on CBS, said the three-day delay “gives law enforcement the opportunity to go before a judge and prove their case.”

The NRA has suggested only people who could be arrested for terrorism should be blocked from purchasing a weapon. The group last year supported a provision similar to the latest Cornyn measure. NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker on Sunday said the group wants to ensure due process for people erroneously placed on the lists.

Ms. Collins’s proposal, which could be released Monday, is expected to call for a ban on sales of guns to terrorism suspects who appear on either the government’s “no-fly list” or on a separate “selectee list” that requires additional screening at airports. Individuals could appeal the decision blocking the purchase of a firearm, and be awarded attorneys’ fees if successful. Federal authorities would also be notified of any gun purchases by an individual who had been on the “no-fly list” or “selectee list” over the prior five years, allowing the FBI to put the person under surveillance. 

“I am optimistic that I can put together a coalition,” Ms. Collins said Sunday on NPR.

The WSJ noted that the Collins amendment does not include a provision that actually allows law enforcement to stop a terrorist and take them off the street as the Cornyn measures purportedly allows.

The Hill details other proposals on the calendar:

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who faces a difficult reelection bid, has also introduced his own proposal, though it's been disavowed by Democrats. 

The Senate will also debate two background check proposals. 

A measure from GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley Chuck GrassleyWeek ahead: Senate to vote on gun control measures This week: Senate showdown over gun controlWhite House makes last-ditch plea for opioid fundingMOR (Iowa) would reauthorize and provide funding for the National Instant Background Check System (NICS), provide incentives to share mental health records and bolster federal record sharing. 

The Senate will also take a procedural vote on a proposal from Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (Conn.), Chuck SchumerCharles SchumerThis week: Senate showdown over gun controlDems push vulnerable GOP senators on gun controlSenate schedules Monday votes on gun controlMORE (N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) to expand background checks. 

Their proposal would require — with a handful of narrow exceptions — a background check for the sale and transfer of any gun.

All of the amendments will require a super majority of 60 votes to advance.

VSSA Live Stream of Wayne LaPierre Speech to CPAC

VSSA will live stream the CPAC speech of NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre at 1:00 PM today.

UPDATE: Wayne LaPierre will speak at approximately 1:25 PM.

Obama: I'm Not Going to Take Anyone's Guns Away

That's what he said in his remarks to the IACP as reported by The Hill:

“Some of you are watching certain television stations or listening to certain radio programs, please do not believe this notion that somehow I’m out to take everyone’s guns away,” he told the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

“Every time a mass shootings happens, one of the saddest ironies is suddenly the purchase of guns and ammunition jumps up because folks scared into thinking that, ‘Obama’s gonna use this as an excuse to take away our Second Amendment rights,’” he added. “Nobody’s doing that."

"We’re talking about common-sense measures to make criminals don’t get them, to make sure background checks work, to make sure that we’re protecting ourselves.”

He went on to claim that his proposals would protect the lives of law enforcement and held up Chicago's gun laws as the reason that national laws should be tightened, but did not mention that Chicago is one of America's most dangerous cities even though it has some of the nations most restrictive gun laws.  Obama and the gun ban lobby counter that most of the guns used in crime in the windy city come from out of state.  But a quick look at ATF trace data indicates that is simply not true.  Illinois is the largest source state for firearms used in a crime and traced in Illinois.  Even when you add up all of the other states, about half of the firearms traced originally came from Illinois.

Obama also included what has become his standard line about gun sales:

“It is easier for a lot of young people in this city, and in a lot of your communities, to buy a gun than buy a book,” he said. “It is easier in some communities to find a gun than to find fresh vegetables in a supermarket. That’s a fact.” 

The NRA immediately responded to Obama's remarks with this video from Wayne LaPierre:

Jim Shepherd: Hillary Gives NRA Last Word

The Shooting Wire's Jim Shepherd ended today's edition with a wrap-up of the NRA Annual Meeting and started with a pronouncement that something that happened hundreds of miles away from Nashville may do more to unite the NRA's membership than the upbeat positive event that just ended:

As the one hundred and forty-fourth annual meeting of the National Rifle Association wrapped up in Nashville, Tennessee's Music City Center yesterday, one of the most galvanizing actions for the NRA's membership took place hundreds of miles away.

With Hillary Clinton's virtual announcement of her formal candidacy for president, the NRA and the many Second Amendment groups in attendance finally have the face of the anti-gun movement firmly fixed in their political sights. As the parade of potential Republican presidential candidates rolled (slowly) across the stage on Friday, many of them took pointed shots at President Obama's record, but others took advantage of the opportunity to let the NRA faithful in attendance know they were ready for "Madame Clinton" when her apparently inevitable other shoe was once again digitally tossed into the ring with considerably less invective than a rumored ashtray was passed to her husband in the White House.

We've been down this road before where we focus on defeating Hillary Clinton and ended up with someone as bad if not worse.  In 2008 most anyone would have said that Clinton was going to be the Democrat nominee. She had the early start, the popular (among Democrats at least) former president husband, and it looked like she could not be beat.  Sound familiar?  So you can excuse me when I heard a focus on Hillary at Friday's NRA-ILA Leadership Conference as maybe just a little bit of déjà vu.


With no other announced candidate on the Democratic side of the race, it makes sense to focus on the known.  There is talk however that former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley may jump in an that he would possibly run to Hillary's left (as if that is possible).  His record on Second Amendment issues are just as bad.  Let's hope this year, if there ends up being a competitive Democratic primary race, we will get the word out on how each of the candidates stand on our issue.  Because, as more than one person has noted, the more people who see Hillary, the less they like her.

Wayne LaPierre at CPAC (Live Stream 1:20 PM EST)

VSSA will be live-streaming Wayne LaPierre's speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) today at 1:20 PM EST.


This will play the speech live when it happens and then play as a recording after the event.  Click on the graphic to play video.
UPDATE: From the CPAC Facebook page: **IMPORTANT SCHEDULING NOTE** The CPAC schedule is running 30 minutes late. Stay tuned for more updates.

Why Morton Kondracke is Right and Wrong about Wayne LaPierre and Michael Bloomberg

Over the weekend, columnist Morton Kondracke wrote two posts on Roll Call's Pennsylvania Avenue blog, one titled  Why Wayne LaPierre is Right and Michael Bloomberg is Wrong, and the second was reversed, Why Michael Bloomberg is Right and Wayne LaPierre is Wrong.  When you get past the unnecessary name calling  in the first:

Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Association are obnoxious, paranoid and intimidationist...

And the second post:

The National Rifle Association is paranoid... 

Kondracke seems to find more to like about what Wayne LaPierre has said than Michael Bloomberg. From the post about why Wayne LaPierre is right:

Specifically, LaPierre was right to say that the best response to horrors like the Newtown school massacre would be to increase the presence of armed guards at schools. There already are armed guards and metal detectors at many inner-city schools prone to violence — not to mention, at airports, the U.S. Capitol and every other federal building in Washington. Why not at schools?

And this was Kondracke's most suprising (and refreshing) admission:

I’d go even further in LaPierre’s direction: Encourage every school to have at least one staff member (teacher, assistant principal or cop) who’s armed and trained to use a gun to respond to an attack. The guns should be well-secured, for sure, but it certainly would be a deterrent to a would-be killer to know he’s not hitting a completely “soft” target.

Kondracke is a moderate to liberal (though I would not call him a full fledged liberal) commentator.  The fact that he has stated LaPierre (and by extension the NRA) is right to suggest that school personnel should have the option of being armed is quite a move in our direction considering he is in favor of most of the gun control proposals floating around.

So let's take a look at that second post.  Even in that one, he found more common ground with the NRA than with Bloomberg.  For instance, citing columnist David Brooks:

“Past efforts to control guns have not dramatically reduced violence,” he added. “The Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Brady Act of 1993 and the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 all failed to reduce homicides significantly.” He cited studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arizona State University and the University of Cincinnati.

Where he does agree with Bloomberg (other than on criminalizing private sales on firearms and ammunition magazine bans) was on the Mayor's controversial "Stop and Frisk" policy.  Citing Manhattan Institute Fellow Heather McDonald, he writes how the policy has saved the lives of minorities in New York, who make up the vast majority of homicides in the city.

If Kondracke really understood the issue, he would know that those magazines holding more than ten rounds are quite standard in a number of handgun models as well as a number of semi-automatic rifle models. As for those background checks on private sales - it's is not parinoid to oppose the creation of a national gun registry which Obama's DOJ says would be required to make it effective.  The only thing that a list is good for is to assist with collecting banned firearms, as it has been used for in states that have required registration of certain firearms, then later banned those very same firearms.

Live Stream of Wayne LaPierre Speech at CPAC

Twisting Words to Make a Point

Virginia Tech shooting survivor and gun control advocate Colin Goddard has an Op/Ed on CNN's web site calling for colleges to remain self-defense free zones.  To his credit, Goddard begins the piece by listing the main failures in the system that allowed Virginia Tech to happen - Tech failed to notify students of the original shootings earlier that morning (previously cited by USDOE as a failure on Tech's part), weaknesses in the mental health system in addressing Cho's problems, and the courts, who failed to appropriately note a judge's ruling that could have prevented Cho from purchasing his firearms.  But, he eventually gets around to what he and his employers at the Brady Campaign view as the real culprit in the mass shooting, and indeed most mass shootings - the lack of background checks on private firearm sales, especially those at gun shows.

Goddard finishes his OP/Ed by pulling a 12 year-old quote from Wayne LaPierre out of context to make his point - that if the head of the NRA says there should be zero-tolarance for guns at schools, then carry on college and university campuses is a bad idea.

The head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, said it well after the Columbine tragedy in 1999: "We believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. That means no guns in America's schools, period ... with the rare exception of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel. We believe America's schools should be as safe as America's airports. You can't talk about, much less take, bombs and guns onto airplanes. Such behavior in our schools should be prosecuted just as certainly as such behavior in our airports is prosecuted."

Never mind that LaPierre was talking about K-12 schools.  College students are adults and most states require concealed carry permit holders to be 21, meaning most students would be juniors or seniors before they would even qualify.  The point is, if a 21 year-old is able to carry concealed if they are anywhere else other than a college campus, then why not allow that same person to do so on campus?

Mike Adams had different message last week over on Townhall.com.  He later talked about his article, Full Metal Yellow Jacket ,with NRANews host Cam Edwards:



Adams' message is, keeping law abiding students disarmed makes them a sitting duck at the mercy of any criminal that they may happen upon.

Texas is currently considering allowing concealed carry on it's college and university campuses. Goddard says proponents of carry on campus have not explained how such a law would be enforced and states that adding carry on campus will complicate how police deal with an active shooter on campus. What Goddard does not say is we have a model for college carry - Utah. There have been no incidents on the campuses in that state. Nor have there been any problems right here in Virginia on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College.

Texas has the votes to pass the legislation and Governor Perry has said he would sign the bill. Arizona may also consider college carry during its legislative session. Bills in Virginia so far have never gotten out of committee. My guess is once we have more states with successful college carry, Virginia may well join the list of those allowing carry on campus.

NRA Freedom Event is Underway

The #NRA Freedom Event at the #AnnualMeetings is in full swing and wow what a crowd. It is pretty clear why they decided to d0 away with the annual banquet. This type of venue offers an opportunity for many more people to attend. Tonights keynote speech will be given by talk show host Glenn Beck. I am sure he will have the crowd on their feet. Wayne LaPierre is kicking things off now.

There is a Sickness in Our Country

That is the theme of Wayne LaPierre's speech. Part of that sickness is Washington's political class failing to enforce current laws or secure our border. A film clip from the NRANEWS staff detailed how the ranchers on the border are protecting their homes and families because the federal government won't.

Wayne talked about the huge number of illegals crossing the border have a criminal record. He then detailed how Arizona passed their own version of federal law to combat the drug cartel kidnappers and killers that are crossing the border. And the Washington political elites are now attacking Arizona for doing what the elites refuse to do.

Wayne talked about rancher Robert Krentz that was killed on his ranch. He was an NRA member as are members of his family. Wayne introduced them to the crowd.

While immigration is not our issue, LaPierre tied it all together by day selective enforcement of immigration laws is tied by selective enforcement of other criminal laws.

After talking about how selective enforcement of the law has made Albany, NY and California less safe.

The sickness he alluded to in the beginning is how not enforcing the law makes us less safe and less secure.

Live Blogging American Values Forum

I am going to try and cover as much of the American Values Forum as possible. There is still so much that still remains to be seen in the exhibit hall. Next year's Annual Meeting will be in Charlotte North Carolina so it will be so easy for Virginia gun owners to experience this great event.

Wayne LaPierre is kicking off the forum and speaking now.

Governor "Fast Eddie" Rendell and Wayne LaPierre Debate

Sunday's Face the Nation featured a continued discussion of the "Assault Weapons" ban for a good portion of the show. First White House advisor David Axelrod said now is not the time to take the focus off the economy to push for a renewal of the ban. Then Pennsylvania Governor "Fast Eddie" Rendell debated Wayne LaPierre on the subject. Even Rendell agreed that while he wants to see the ban renewed, he agreed with the President (and Senator Diane Feinstein) that now is not the time to bring this issue up.

So, even though the media keeps pushing the issue, we know that while the President does not want to touch this issue with a ten foot pole right now, you can bet that at such time as the economy turns around, President Obama will most certainly try and find some way to bring this issue to the front burner.

Fast Eddie hasn't changed any of his talking points in a decade. He makes the comment during the debate "Who needs an 'assault weapons'? Not hunters, not Olympic shooters." Later when trying to get LaPierre to agree to handgun rationing he asks, "Who needs more than 12 guns in a year?"


Watch CBS Videos Online

Second Amendment Under Fire

Wayne LaPierre was on Fox News' Glen Beck program last night to talk about the renewed assault on the Second Amendment, this time because we (the USA) need to do something to help the Mexicans to reduce crime in their country.

NRA Endorses McCain/Palin

This from the NRA-PVF web site:

Fairfax, VA. - The National Rifle Association's (NRA) Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, and NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) Chairman Chris W. Cox are traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa., Springfield, Mo., Colorado Springs, Colo. and Reno, Nev. today for a series of press conferences endorsing Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin for President and Vice President respectively in the November 4 election.

"John McCain has more than two decades of pro-gun and pro-hunting votes in Congress. He has stood time and again to preserve our Second Amendment freedom and our rich hunting heritage," said LaPierre. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin have earned the NRA-PVF's endorsement and we will encourage gun owners, hunters and anyone who values freedom to vote McCain-Palin on November 4."

"NRA members and gun owners will not allow Barack Obama to hide his radical record of opposition to our constitutional rights," said Cox. "Obama has voted to make self-defense with a firearm in the home illegal, has voted to ban the most commonly owned hunting shotguns, has voted to ban commonly owned hunting ammunition, and has supported a 500% tax increase on guns and ammunition. We will remind voters every single time he pretends that his anti-gun record doesn't exist."

John McCain voted for the landmark Firearms Owners Protection Act and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, opposed the failed Clinton Gun Ban, and voted against mandatory waiting periods, national gun registration, and bans on hunting ammunition. He also signed the historic congressional amicus brief in the case of Heller v. District of Columbia, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms -- a brief that Senator Obama refused to sign.

Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin is a hunter, gun owner and NRA Life Member. Gov. Palin has been a consistent and outspoken supporter of the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen.

Members of the media are invited to attend these significant events. Locations and times of events are as follows:
Pittsburgh, Pa. - 8 A.M. EDT
Radisson Hotel
Pittsburgh Green Tree
101 Radisson Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205

Springfield, Mo. - 11:15 A.M. CDT
University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center
333 John Q. Hammons Parkway
Springfield, MO 65806

Colorado Springs, Colo. - 2:15 P.M. MDT
Radisson Hotel Colorado Springs
1645 North Newport Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80916

Reno, Nev. - 5:30 P.M. PST
Grand Sierra Resort
2500 East 2nd Street
Reno, NV 89595

Delegate Dave Nutter to Host Second Amendment Bar-B-Q

Delegate Dave Nutter and special guest Wayne LaPierre for a barbecue dinner saluting our Second Amendment rights. Don't miss this great opportunity to celebrate the Second Amendment and support one of its most stalwart defenders, Delegate Dave Nutter!

For tickets or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please contact the Nutter campaign.

When: Thursday, October 2 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Where: The Plantation at Sunnybrook 7342 Plantation Road Roanoke, Virginia

If interested, please RSVP by calling (540) 267-5431. This event is being held by the Friends of Dave Nutter Campaign.