Author: OFF

MAYOR DOES HIS PART TO KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD.

After a short hiatus tending to important government affairs,(sorry for the commercials) Portland’s Mayor, Sam “the tram” Adams has released his proposals to combat “illegal gun crime” in the Rose City.

His proposed ordinances can be viewed here. (Please pay special attention to “Exhibit 2, page 1 of 1.” If you can make any sense of it, we would like to know how you did it.)

Sam’s proposals come on a day when the city he so artfully runs had some bad news, which came a few days after some other, well let’s say “troubling” news.

Sam’s proposals are at best, pathetic and incoherent, but the two parts that are of particular interest to gun owners are his attempt to regulate storage of guns (clearly illegal) and his attempt to “require” that stolen guns are reported to police. (Clearly stupid.)

It’s hard to imagine what they are thinking in City Hall. What legitimate gun owner wouldn’t report a stolen gun, and what illegitimate gun owner gives a rip about one more regulation?

We, of course, are struck by the somewhat inconsistent application of government intervention here.  Apparently, Sam plans to put the full force of his dynamic political machine behind defending these brilliant policies, but has no plans to question why pot growers are arming themselves. Hey, we’re live and let live, but whether we like it or not, persons who consume weed are forbidden by federal law from owning guns. So why are law abiding gun owners looking at new and probably unlawful restrictions on their rights without one word from Adams about the arms buildup in the ganja community?

As much as Portland has become a place for people too weird for San Francisco, we remain concerned for the many good residents of Portland who deserve better than another fiscal incompetent with an affinity for underage playmates who wants to attack gun owners for the failures of his administration.

Adams has scheduled a hearing on his proposals for November 18th. We’ll keep you posted.

2010 Election Update

A FRESH FACE FOR OREGON

The historic 2010 elections are now mostly behind us. While much of the country voted to restore some fiscal and political sanity, Oregon bravely bucked the trend.

With some notable exceptions, voters chose candidates who promised to end policies of massive government intrusions. In Oregon, Multnomah County Elections workers  Portland voters returned John Kitzhaber to the Governor’s mansion.

This was an amazing race. While Chris Dudley held a small lead through most of the campaign, Kitzhaber pulled out a last minute victory, as so often happens when the Multnomah County votes are discovered recorded.

What’s most interesting about this race is that Kitzhaber campaigned on his “experience” but left office last time admitting he could not do the job.

Based on his history, it is reasonable to assume that along with creating special exceptions for his beach house and sweetheart deals for his girlfriend, Kitzhaber will veto any bill that can, in any way, be perceived as “pro-gun.”  Anyone running a business will consider relocating, schools will continue to fail and unemployment will rise. The public employee unions will continue to benefit until the state runs out of productive people to tax. (Which, when you think about it, can’t take much longer.)

On the national level, there was one congressional race that was very close. That was the 5th Congressional District race between Scott Bruun and Kurt Schrader.

Schrader went to Washington with a record as a committed enemy of gun owners. He voted to decimate gun shows in Oregon and, as a Congressman, voted to shut down organizations like OFF. Schrader has been one of Nancy Pelosi’s most obedient servants, voting for bail-outs for billionaires and Obama’s health control. As you might expect, he was rewarded by an endorsement from the NRA who also sent thousands of dollars to Harry Reid who elevated two committed gun banners to the Supreme Court. Harry was victorious over his opponent Sharon Angle, a strong supporter of gun rights. Thanks NRA!

Ballot Measure 71 passed overwhelmingly, meaning the voters have decided that the legislature was not doing enough damage meeting every other year, now they will meet every year. The con job was that with the passage of this measure, the legislature would be better able to deal with the budget, but the new sessions won’t be limited to the budget. If you watched the fiasco in February’s “special” session you saw how bills that are not really understood or even read get rammed through with almost no citizen input.

The good news is the change in the Oregon legislature. With one or two seats still in play, it appears right now that the Oregon House is split in half. The Senate might be as well, depending on the final vote count in District 3, where Alan Bates has been the last minute beneficiary of a sudden “surge” of Democrat ballots. If the anti-gun Bates prevails, the Oregon Senate will be 16-14 Democrat. If his opponent wins, the Senate will likely be split evenly as well.

Having both Houses evenly split would be unprecedented. The last time anything like that happened, the Senate was evenly split in 2003. Picking a Senate President became quite a circus until the Republicans folded and allowed anti-gun militant Peter Courtney to assume the position, one he has held ever since.

While there are several races whose outcomes benefit gun owners, there is no question that the single most exciting victory we had was the removal of our number one target, House Rep Judy Stiegler.

Stielger, from Bend, was a freshman legislator who masterfully derailed several popular pro-gun bills while attempting to portray herself as a supporter of gun rights. We are very pleased to have been able to return Stiegler to private practice. For everyone who worked to send her home, we thank you. OFF, and many OFF members, supported her opponent Jason Conger. We suggest you drop Jason a note and congratulate him, and please remind him that as gun owners, we are expecting him to be a strong supporter of gun rights.

Sample message:

_________________________________

info@conger4oregon.com

Jason.Conger@MillerNash.com

Dear Jason,

As an Oregon Firearms Federation member and strong supporter of the Second Amendment, I want to congratulate you on your victory over Judy Stiegler.
Stiegler did more to damage gun rights in 2009 than any other legislator and we are pleased to see her returned to private practice.
Many of us, both in and outside your district worked to defeat her, and now as the new Representative from Bend, we are looking forward to your strong support for gun rights. Clearly with John Kitzhaber as Governor, you will have your work cut out for you.
Your continued commitment to gun rights will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
_________________________________

 

We are also very pleased to be able to announce (unless there is another surge of “discovered” Democrat ballots) the retirement of Martha Schrader, Senate district 20, who lost to OFF-supported Alan Olsen. During the campaign, Martha, (Kurt Schrader’s wife) attacked pro-gun Olsen for a 30 year old bankruptcy. Now that Martha will be returning to her Canby home, perhaps she will find time to pay the real estate taxes she and Kurt have, in the past, chosen to ignore.

2011 will be another uphill climb for gun owners. The election of John Kitzhaber means we will have to work harder than ever to protect our rights. While most of the country is trending towards liberty, Oregon has re-elected pro-bailout, pro-health control, anti-gun Ron Wyden to the US Senate and the failed ex-governor one more time.

With your help we will keep on doing what we have done since 1999, fighting. Buckle up, folks, it’s going to be an interesting ride.

Stiegler Loses It.

Judy Stiegler, the House Rep from Bend who was the driving force behind shooting down a bill that would have protected the privacy of concealed handgun license holders AND a bill to recognize the licenses from other states has produced a TV ad where she appears playing an accordion while surrounded by very young children.

That in itself would not be remarkable. Lots of politicians run cheesy ads. But in this ad, Oregon’s most anti-gun House Rep decorates her set with several long guns carefully arranged in the background as a subtle attempt to create a pro-gun persona.

Given Stiegler’s record, it’s particularly disconcerting to see her sending a message that leaving unattended firearms around a bunch of pre-schoolers is OK. No doubt Stiegler would be the first in line to make it a crime to do exactly that.  Stiegler has always been an enemy of gun owners, so this ad is just another example of the depths to which certain politicians will sink.

ELECTION TIME. A MESSAGE FROM OFFPAC

Election Time.

Dear Gun Rights Supporter,

The election is just a few short weeks away. I hope you are registered to vote, but if you are not, please make it a priority. The November election will surely be one of the most important in our lifetime.

As a reminder, the Oregon Firearms Political Action Committee has posted our candidate ratings here:

Neither of the major candidates for Governor responded to our survey. (We did receive a response from the Constitution Party Candidate Greg Kord who answered our survey 100%). We also received no response from the major party candidates for Senator.

We cannot provide a recommendation on the Republican Candidate for Governor, who ignored several requests (including one, in person, on the Capitol steps) to respond to our survey, so we have no idea where he stands.

He did tell us he had responded to the NRA’s survey. But since you are not allowed to see those responses and since the NRA frequently supports anti-gun candidates like Harry Reid and Kurt Schrader (whom the NRA actually endorsed) we do not consider that meaningful.(Schrader’s opponent Scott Bruun has strong pro-gun record.)

The Schrader endorsement is interesting since he voted to criminalize private sales at gun shows, but since the NRA ignored that legislative battle maybe it should not be that much of a surprise. What it does mean is that the NRA is promoting a legislator who votes with militant anti-gun Pelozi virtually all the time. Schrader also voted in favor of the NRA approved “Disclose Act” which was intended to silence organizations like OFF.

While we cannot recommend either Dudley for Governor or Huffman for Senate since they simply refuse to take a stand on gun rights, we can tell you that their principle opponents, Wyden in the Senate race and Kitzhaber in the Governor’s race are openly and rabidly anti gun-rights.

OFFPAC strongly urges you to get involved in any way you can in the next few weeks. The outcome of the election will not only have a profound effect on your gun rights, it will determine who may provide your healthcare and how much more it will cost, how high your tax bill will go and how much more of your freedom will disappear in the next few years.

Please, if a candidate in your district has not made their positions clear, call them. Question them. And…vote.
For more information on OFFPAC please go here:

“DISCLOSE ACT” FAILS

The “Disclose Act,” which we warned you about yesterday, failed to reach the 60 votes needed to move forward, and while not dead yet, it seems unlikely that the bill will pass this session.

This bill, which had passed the House with the tacit approval of the NRA, would have silenced countless activist groups across the country.

Charles Schumer invoked images of shadowy foreign groups hijacking American elections, when in fact the bill was intended to silence groups like OFF, which, whatever else people want to call us, is neither “shadowy” nor “foreign”.

As expected, both Oregon Senators voted in favor of moving the bill forward (actually Oregon’s entire congressional delegation voted for this awful bill except for Greg Walden.)

The NRA cut a deal with Harry Reid to be exempted from the bill, throwing all other pro-gun organizations, local and national, under the bus. But in the end, we didn’t need them.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to contact Wyden and Merkley. They are among the most anti-liberty members of the Senate and they proved it again with this vote. But they still need to hear from you.

We’ll keep an eye on this, but with any luck it’s toast until after the elections when many of these clowns will have been “repurposed.”

NRA DARLING HARRY REID SCHEDULES VOTE TO GAG OPPONENTS.

The clock is ticking on the current Senate’s ability to ram its big government agenda down our throats, and now Harry Reid is trying one last time to silence groups like OFF while giving a free pass to the NRA with whom he cut a deal. (Reid had received almost $10,000.00 from NRA in the last two elections.)

The “Disclose Act” is scheduled for a vote tomorrow and it’s designed to protect the establishment while ending the ability of grass roots groups to engage in political speech.

Reid has scheduled a cloture vote on S. 3628, the DISCLOSE Act (which should be known as “the Establishment Protection Act”), for this Thursday.
Please contact Senator Jeff Merkley at (202) 224-3753 and Senator Ron Wyden at (202) 224-5244 right away and demand they OPPOSE DISCLOSE on every vote – including cloture.

This terrible and certainly unconstitutional legislation was tacitly approved by the NRA when they were given a “carve out” from it by Reid. The Democrats KNOW it’s unconstitutional and KNOW it will be overturned, but not in time for the upcoming elections, and that is their plan.

This bill will infringe on our members’ privacy and limit our ability to mobilize grassroots activists while exempting the NRA.

The big government supporters are scrambling to act before many of them lose their seats in November. They are trying to gag any organization that opposes them by lying to you about what this bill does. It’s not about “big corporations” it’s about groups like OFF, Gun Owners of America and activist organization across the country.

Wyden and Merkley are among the most anti-liberty Senators in the country. But they still need to know where you stand.
Please contact Senator Jeff Merkley at (202) 224-3753 and Senator Ron Wyden at (202) 224-5244 right away and demand they OPPOSE DISCLOSE on every vote – including cloture.

Portland’s Mayor …Pathetic Media Whore

Portland’s disgraced Mayor, and self admitted liar, Sam Adams, having apparently run out of teen boys to “mentor” has turned his sights (such as they are) on firearms.

In a press release issued today, timed so most local pro-gun talk show hosts had wrapped up for the week, Adams proposed sweeping new anti-gun regulations for the City of Portland.

Adams, whose predilection for underage lovers follows in the footsteps of Neil Goldschmidt (a mentor of anti-gun extremist Ginny Burdick) is asking for comments on his proposals, which would violate Oregon law. The law follows:

166.170 State preemption. (1) Except as expressly authorized by state statute, the authority to regulate in any matter whatsoever the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, storage, transportation or use of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition, is vested solely in the Legislative Assembly. (2) Except as expressly authorized by state statute, no county, city or other municipal corporation or district may enact civil or criminal ordinances, including but not limited to zoning ordinances, to regulate, restrict or prohibit the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, storage, transportation or use of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition. Ordinances that are contrary to this subsection are void. [1995 s.s. c.1 §1]

In his press release, Adams actually brags about being a “founding member” of New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” an organization that is comical in its mindless pursuit of new gun restrictions each time their heavily restricted cities has a shooting…in spite of their gun restrictions.

(UPDATE 8.27.10:
Apparently, even THAT’S a lie, in typical Adams fashion. See here and here.

We think it’s safe to say that this latest PR stunt will backfire, just like everything else this sorry, freedom-hating loser has done.  But anything can happen in Portland. So keep your powder dry.

ADDED 8.23.10

On the other hand, some of Sam’s proposals just might pass. He wants gang bangers to have a “curfew” and be forbidden from certain neighborhoods, most likely their own.

It’s both comical and pathetic to think shootings in Portland are going to be stopped by telling criminals to go to bed earlier and not cross the street, but it’s probably legal. We say, “have at it Sammy.”

FUNDING ARRIVES FOR “MENTAL HEALTH” LEGISLATION

As you know, in the 2009 legislative session, OFF supporters fought hard to defeat the passage of  HB 2853.

This bill forced Oregon into compliance with a Federal law that was pushed by a coalition of the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to ban firearms.  (HR 2640)

The purpose of the Federal Legislation was to centralize mental health records so they could be used to deny firearms purchases. At the time, the excuse used by both the NRA and Brady Campaign to ram this through was the Virginia Tech shooting. However, had this law been in effect at the time of that massacre, it would have had no effect whatsoever.

Although we were able to force the Oregon legislature to amend the bill 10 times, in the end it did pass. However, its implementation was dependent on sufficient funding which until now, did not exist.

Yesterday we received this letter stating that the funding was now available. Neither the folks at the Psychiatric Security Review Board, nor the Oregon State Police have been able to tell us how much of the funding came from the state and how much came from the Feds, (both of which, of course, are flush with cash.)

Update. Since this alert was first issued, we have received the following details about funding from the Oregon State Police:

“I don’t want to over complicate the answer to your question, but it’s first important to note that HB 2853 was primarily focused on mental health related record information and the creation of Oregon’s relief program. Our federal grant (NICS Act Record Improvement Program, referred to as “NARIP”) applies to all aspects of NIAA compliance. I’ll try to break it down accordingly.

Our 2009 NARIP grant award was in the amount of $770,849. Out of the full award, $543,663 went to State Police for record reconciliation work; $117,424 went to the Oregon Judicial Department for record reconciliation work; and, $109,762 went to the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) for record reconciliation work ($32,677) and their newly established Gun Relief Program ($77,085).

On the state funding side of your question, during the February special session, the Oregon Legislature added $227,377 in General Fund to the PSRB’s budget for the current biennium. The funds were provided specifically to implement the relief program requirements of HB 2853.”

Background checks all to often lead to improper delays and denials. But in recent years, the State Police have improved their response to persons who have been denied because of erroneous criminal information. In most cases, these errors can be resolved with a phone call.

This law would require persons who have been denied for “psychiatric” reasons to appear before the “Psychiatric Review Board” to try to get their rights restored. At no time during the lengthy hearings on this bill, or now, has anyone explained how the “Psychiatric Review Board” plans to address the dilemma of false information being included in their database, or how a person whose information was incorrect and had moved out of Oregon could address this problem.

Another victory for the National Rifle Association.

For the second part of Oregon Politico’s report on firearms, click here.

MORE MUCKRAKERS PILE ON.

A “reporter” for the Salem “Statesman Journal” is demanding ALL information of concealed handgun license holders.

Stacey Barchenger has contacted several sheriffs demanding “information about all people with concealed handgun licenses in Marion County, including all fieldsthat are part of the CHL applications.” (Emphasis added.)

This particular demand makes it clear that Barchenger is seeking not only names, addresses, phone numbers and references, but also the social security numbers of any license holder who disclosed it.

In Barchenger’s demand letter, she says “Please understand that we seek these records for the purposes of public interest, and we hope that the spirit of openness in Oregon government will prevail.”  However Barchenger has refused to disclose the reason for the demand, and while making her demands “in the spirit of openness,” doesn’t even allow people to see the contents of her “twitter” page.

Most sheriffs are making good faith efforts to protect the privacy of license holders, but like hyenas in a feeding frenzy, we fully expect the “press” to use the recent court decision in Jackson County as an excuse to divulge sensitive information.

It’s essential that we do all we can to make sure legislation is passed in 2011 to guarantee the privacy of CHL holders. In the meantime we suggest that you contact Barchenger and let her know that having a CHL does not make a person newsworthy and that you expect to have your privacy respected.

Stacey Barchenger
Statesman Journal
280 NE Church St.
Salem, OR 97301
503-399-6610
sbarchenge@statesmanjournal.com

http://www.facebook.com/sbarchenger?ref=search

MySpace – www.myspace.com/11962605

OFFPAC Alert

CHL INFO TO BE MADE PUBLIC, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

Please help us retire Judy Steigler and elect Jason Conger.

As you may have heard, the Jackson County Sheriff has lost his battle to protect the private information of concealed handgun licensees.

The Medford Mail Tribune has demanded, and now will receive, the names, addresses, phone numbers and occupations of license holders in Jackson County. They may also demand this same information for the entire state, as can anyone, “newspaper,” “reporter” or thief. (Many applicants included their Social Security numbers. It is not at all clear if these will be available as well.)

This info was demanded so the Tribune could “out” as many teachers as possible after the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation funded a lawsuit to protect the rights of a Medford teacher.

Most sheriffs have taken steps to safeguard this information from future snooping, but those efforts have not yet faced legal scrutiny. So for now, if you are a license holder, your privacy is very much in jeopardy.

There is no reason this information should be available to the public. These are not records of “government activity” as has been falsely claimed by the “Tribune” and the ACLU. These are records of private information, extorted by the state in order for Oregonians to exercise what should be a right. There is no more a need for this information to be in the public domain than should be your tax records.

In 2009, House Rep’s Kim Thatcher and Jeff Barker introduced HB 2727 to make this data private. The bill had broad bipartisan support and seemed to be a sure thing, until House Rep Judy Steigler (D Bend), stepped in to torpedo it.  Later Steigler blamed voters who strongly supported the bill for its failure! Steigler was also responsible for the death of a bill in 2009 that would have had Oregon recognize other states’ concealed handgun licenses, a bill that was strongly supported by the Oregon Sheriffs Association.

In 2011, CHL privacy legislation will almost surely be reintroduced. But we need to do all we can to make sure Steigler is not around to kill this important bill. That’s why OFFPAC is asking that you do all you can to help return Steigler to private practice and replace her with someone who respects gun rights.

Frankly, Steigler has done more to damage progress on gun rights in Oregon than even Ginny Burdick, whose efforts to attack gun owners have been almost exclusively failures except when she had millions in out of state money and the help of John McCain. (2000’s Measure 5)

If you live in Steigler’s district, obviously, you can vote against her, but no matter where you live, you can help her opponent Jason Conger.

Remember, the laws are made by legislators whether they are in your district or not. We believe substantial progress would have been made in 2009 except for the actions of Steigler and we hope you will help us replace her.

Conger has answered our survey 100%. OFFPAC is asking that you consider the most generous donation you can make to help send Judy home and elect Jason Conger. You can ute directly to Conger’s campaign here.

No doubt we will see months of analysis of this lengthy SCOTUS decision.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that Chicago’s handgun ban is unconstitutional and remanded the case back to a lower court
If you want to read it yourself, click here.

NRA BACKED FREE SPEECH GAG PASSES HOUSE

After several hours of debate, (some of it fairly comical) the US House has passed HR 5175, the Democrat’s latest effort to protect the incumbent majority.

While pretending that the purpose of the bill is to prevent evil “corporations” from buying elections, it ignores the fact that most grass roots advocacy organizations, like Oregon Firearms Federation and dozens of other pro-gun groups, are corporations.

As you know, the National Rifle Association will be exempt from the bill as a result a deal they cut with the Democrats in power.

Representative Dan Lungren of California stated that Republicans were not even allowed to see the final version of the bill until yesterday.

Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia (who once openly worried that Guam might “capsize” if too many US Troops were stationed there) stated that the bill must pass to prevent Republicans from getting elected.

There is no question that the bill is unconstitutional. The Democratic majority and the NRA know this, but the fact that this bill would almost certainly be struck down does not matter.

The purpose of this bill is to help the Democrats stay in power through the next election. The NRA’s complicity is unforgivable.

No surprises here. All 4 Oregon House Democrats voted in favor of the NRA approved, free speech gag bill, HR 5175:

Blumenauer
Schrader
DeFazio
Wu

Oregon’s only Republican, Greg Walden voted “no.”
A complete vote count is available here.

GUN OWNERS TO BE “OUTED”

After a lengthy legal battle the Oregon Appeals Court has ordered the Sheriff of Jackson County to turn over the names, addresses and phone numbers of concealed handgun license holders to the Medford Mail Tribune newspaper. You can read the decision here.

The paper demanded the names in an effort to “out” teachers who had CHL’s.

The paper initiated their demands after a local teacher was harassed and threatened by the Medford School District when they learned she had a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

In an effort to learn the names and addresses of other teachers who had CHL’s, they demanded that Sheriff Winters turn over the personal information of CHL holders to the newspaper.

Winters refused and the Tribune sued him to get this personal information. The lower courts decided that the Tribune should have the names, which they would be free to publish.

Winters continued to refuse to disclose the sensitive information and the case was appealed.

The Appeals Court has ruled in favor of Bob Hunter, the Tribune’s editor. Now the Tribune is free to disclose the names, addresses and occupations of CHL holders in Jackson County.

In 2009, Representative Kim Thatcher introduced a bill to protect this information, understanding that Oregon’s “open records” law was intended to keep the records of the government’s actions available, not the records of law-abiding Oregonians who are compelled by law to share their private data in order to exercise a “right”.

Her bill, which had over 40 co-sponsors, was shot down by the intervention of one Bend House Rep, Judy Stiegler, who, after torpedoing the bill with amendments that essentially gutted it, blamed voters for the bill’s failure.

On another note, it is possible that the NRA-sanctioned “Disclose” bill may be up for a vote as soon as tomorrow. This bill would silence almost every pro-gun group, except the NRA, who have promised not to oppose it as long as they are “carved out” of its mandates.

Consider this. The bill is in response to a Supreme Court ruling stating that much of the “McCain Feingold” anti free-speech bill is unconstitutional.  After that ruling, the Democrats in Congress sought to once again silence anyone who opposed an incumbent.

The NRA signaled their opposition to this bill until a deal was made to exempt them. They then agreed not oppose the bill, throwing all other pro-gun organizations under the bus. That much is not at issue. What continues to amaze us is that the NRA says they were very vocal opponents of “McCain Feingold” yet they are now the biggest cheerleaders for John McCain’s reelection.

McCain was part of a three million dollar campaign to cripple gun shows in Oregon. Does this make sense to you?

HR 5175 Delayed, Not Deceased.

“We did what was in the best interests for the NRA and the Second Amendment, and we would do it again. We do not take positions on bills that do not affect us.”

That was NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam quoted in “Politico” discussing HR 5175, a bill that would allow free speech for the NRA and cut out almost everyone else.

HR 5175 is a blatantly unconstitutional bill that would end free speech for countless organizations and was opposed by the NRA until they cut a backroom deal with Democrats in Congress. NRA would be “carved out” of this bill and the NRA would slink away and end any opposition to it. All other pro-gun organizations, including other national and all state-wide groups would be silenced, with the NRA’s tacit blessing, and the NRA would be assured of a monopoly on political speech before elections.

Of course, just like much of McCain Feingold, this bill, if passed, will be overturned by the courts. But not before the next election, and that is exactly what the anti-gun majority is planning for. The bill is intended to protect people like NRA darling Harry Reid for one more election cycle.

Since the NRA cut this shameful deal they have been working overtime to spin, and yes, lie about the bill, their positions and their intentions.  Start with their letter to Congress here.

Notice how they describe this bill: “This unnecessary and burdensome requirement would leave it in the hands of government officials to make a determination about the type and amount of speech that would trigger potential criminal penalties.”

Yet when offered their few pieces of silver, the NRA said “fine with us” and of course “we’d do it again.”

The NRA’s Chris Cox says “there is no legitimate reason to include the NRA in H.R. 5175’s overly burdensome disclosure and reporting requirements.” But smaller, less well funded organizations should be included.

In their column called “Setting The Record Straight On The “DISCLOSE Act” The NRA may have inadvertently done just that. There, they state “Consequently, congressional leaders announced they would exempt us from its draconian restrictions on political speech. If that happens, we will not be involved in final consideration of this bill in the House. If it doesn’t, we will strongly oppose the bill. ”

In other words, this is by everyone’s estimation a horrible bill, but as long as the NRA get’s its “carve out” they will not oppose it.

NRA’s first vice president, David Keene writes this “I consider such restrictions to be not only repugnant, but blatantly unconstitutional, an opinion shared by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and Institute for Legislative Action Executive Director Chris Cox”  and “The so-called “DISCLOSE ACT” is a horrible piece of legislation designed to do exactly what you suggest. It would require advocacy groups to run a regulatory gauntlet designed to make it very difficult for many of them to play the role for which they were formed and is both bad policy and flies in the face of recent Supreme Court decisions.”

And yet, the NRA, in spite of their own descriptions of this bill as “horrible” have withdrawn an opposition as long as they are not included. So state-wide groups from coast to coast will be left spinning in the wind with the blessing of the NRA, because they were exempted from something THEY call  “repugnant.”

We know there are some who will defend the NRA under any circumstances. Whether it be their joining the Brady Campaign  to pass HR 2640, the anti-gun “mental health” bill or Charlton Heston’s radio proclamation that American citizens have no right to own military style firearms. But we firmly believe that this action by NRA is inexcusable.

If only the richest organizations deserve free speech then our Constitution is truly a relic. If the NRA is ok with that, then those of their members who are not , should let them know.

HR 5175 was pulled from the schedule last week. That was a certain, but very temporary victory for liberty and the Constitution. But it is far from dead. With the exception of Greg Walden, all of Oregon’s congressional delegation are in the pocket of Nancy Pelosi. It would be far more productive in the short time we may have before this bill returns to contact NRA and demand they oppose HR 5175.

You can reach the NRA at (800) 392 8683. or by e-mail at:
ILA-CONTACT@NRAHQ.ORG.

or contact their officers here:

Ronald L. Schmeits, NRA President:
Home: 18 Private Rd #2001ST, Raton NM 87740, (575) 445-5836, (575) 445-2080 fax
Office: International Bank,200 S 2nd Street, Raton NM 87740-3908, (575) 445-2321

Charles L. Cunningham, Director, NRA-ILA Federal Affairs:
4864 Oakcrest Drive, Fairfax VA 22030
703-352-3245, 202-651-2570

David A. Keene, NRA 1st Vice President:
5602 Dawes Ave, Alexandria VA 22311-1102, 703-671-5602

James W. Porter II, NRA 2nd Vice President:
215 21st St N # 1000, Birmingham AL 35203-3710, (205) 322-1744

The NRA’s shameless sellout of gun owners and the US Constitution continues. HR 5175, a bill to cripple free speech is fast tracked for passage in the US House and the NRA’s “do what you want to the girl just don’t hurt me” approach gets worse every day.

You can listen to Wayne LaPierre’s bumbling, contradictory explanation of this contemptible roll-over here.

You can read about this bizarre and dangerous stand the NRA has taken here, here and here.

You can contact your Congressman using this website. You can make it short and sweet. NO ON HR.5175.

If you are an NRA member, you can contact them, but we will tell you what they will say and in fact, even have said on their outgoing message if you call them. The craven double talk follows:

We appreciate some NRA members’ concerns about our position on H.R. 5175, the “DISCLOSE Act.” Unfortunately, critics of our position have misstated or misunderstood the facts.

We have never said we would support any version of this bill. To the contrary, we clearly stated NRA’s strong opposition to the DISCLOSE Act (as introduced) in a letter sent to Members of Congress on May 26 (click here to read the letter).

Through the courts and in Congress, the NRA has consistently and strongly opposed any effort to restrict the rights of our four million members to speak and have their voices heard on behalf of gun owners nationwide. The initial version of H.R. 5175 would effectively have put a gag order on the NRA during elections and threatened our members’ freedom of association, by forcing us to turn our donor lists over to the federal government. We would also have been forced to list our top donors on all election-related television, radio and Internet ads and mailings—even mailings to our own members. We refuse to let this Congress impose those unconstitutional restrictions on our Association.

The NRA provides critical firearms training for our Armed Forces and law enforcement throughout the country. This bill would force us to choose between training our men and women in uniform and exercising our right to free political speech. We refuse to let this Congress force us to make that choice.

We didn’t “sell out” to Nancy Pelosi or anyone else. We told Congress we opposed the bill. As a result, congressional leaders made a commitment to exempt us from its draconian restrictions on free speech. If that commitment is honored, we will not be involved in the final House debate. If that commitment is not fully honored, we will strongly oppose the bill.

Our position is based on principle and experience. During consideration of the previous campaign finance legislation passed in 2002, congressional leadership repeatedly refused to exempt the NRA from its provisions, promising that our concerns would be fixed somewhere down the line. That didn’t happen; instead, the NRA had to live under those restrictions for seven years and spend millions of dollars on compliance costs and on legal fees to challenge the law. We will not go down that road again when we have an opportunity to protect our ability to speak.

There are those who say the NRA has a greater duty to principle than to gun rights. It’s easy to say we should put the Second Amendment at risk over some so-called First Amendment principle – unless you have a sworn duty to protect the Second Amendment above all else, as we do.

The NRA is a bipartisan, single-issue organization made up of millions of individual members dedicated to the protection of the Second Amendment. We do not represent the interests of other organizations. That’s their responsibility. Our responsibility is to protect and defend the interests of our members. And that we do without apology.

Note. You can view and track HR 5175 here.

You can read an analysis of the bill here.