NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT
Vol. 16, No. 50 12/18/09
Our efforts on the huge spending bill were rewarded with the restoration of a longstanding rider to protect M-1 carbines, M-1 Garands, M-14s, .22 caliber rifles, and others from being destroyed.With the holiday season upon us, and the end of the year fast approaching, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3326 -- the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010. With the passage of this bill, NRA-ILA wraps up its appropriations work for the year.
This language also includes a prohibition on the destruction of small arms ammunition and components, and a response to the short-lived concern over destruction of spent brass casings earlier this year.
Amtrak Update: As we reported in last week's Grassroots Alert, 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.
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 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 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.
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 comments 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 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!
Shooting ranges on public lands are few and far between in Colorado. In addition to the closure of Rampart, the Forest Service has closed its lands to recreational shooting near Boulder and on the Pawnee Grasslands, and large acreage closures have occurred west of Sedalia. The Forest Service is not planning for recreational shooting. Closures are imposed without opening new areas and needed improvements to existing areas, including the Rampart Shooting Range, have not been made. Recreational shooting is not being treated by the Forest Service in Colorado as a legitimate and valued recreational activity on forest lands.
Please send an e-mail in support of 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: Indianapolis Star Jumps on the Concealed Carry Permit Database Bandwagon! This week, the Indianapolis Star revealed its own gun database in an attempt to capitalize on the same misguided policy as the Bloomington Herald-Times. The Star's database is modified from a street-based catalogue of the number of permit holders in a defined area, to a demographic listing of Indiana ZIP codes, including the percentage of the population that are permit holders, as well as the their gender, race and age. However, such differences do not hide the paper's intent. The searchable database of law-abiding carry permit holders is included in the "Public Safety" section of the paper's website. The paper seems to believe that it's a matter of "public safety" for people to know how many lawful permit holders live near them. Apparently the Star thinks that law-abiding concealed carry permit holders are to be regarded with caution. It remains NRA's firm belief that media outlets abuse their First Amendment rights when they harass and demonize lawful citizens for exercising their Second Amendment rights. Please contact the paper and express your disapproval of the Star's treatment of law-abiding gun owners. For contact information and more information on this issue, please click here.
PENNSYLVANIA: "Lost or Stolen" Ordinance Passed in Borough of West Mifflin On Tuesday, December 15, by a vote of 6-1, the Borough Council of West Mifflin passed an ordinance that will require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within a 72-hour period or face fines and possible imprisonment. Councilman Richard Olasz was the sole dissenting vote. This law not only violates Pennsylvania's state preemption laws, but also turns law-abiding gun owners -- who have already been victimized by theft -- into criminals. Please contact the members of the Borough Council of West Mifflin TODAY and respectfully voice your opposition to the passage of this unwarranted, unjust and illegal ordinance. Contact information can be found here.
VIRGINIA: King William County Board of Supervisors Discuss Shooting Ordinance During its committee meeting on Monday, December 14, the King William County Board of Supervisors tabled discussion of a proposed ordinance that would ban the discharge of a firearm within 100 yards of a home or business. The Board plans further review of the issue and may possibly draft an ordinance at the January 2010 meeting. It is important that you contact your Board member today and request that they oppose any proposal. Such a proposal is unnecessary and detrimental to the rights of gun owners, sportsmen and land owners. To identify your Supervisor and to find their contact information, please click here.
NRA will be closing at noon on Thursday, December 24, and will
remain closed on Friday, December 25. Additionally, NRA will be closing at
noon on Thursday, December 31, and will remain closed on Friday, January 1.
remain closed on Friday, December 25. Additionally, NRA will be closing at
noon on Thursday, December 31, and will remain closed on Friday, January 1.
Because of this abbreviated schedule, we will not transmit the Grassroots Alert next week. We will transmit our annual "Year In Review" wrap-up Alert on Wednesday, December 30.
We will re-open on Monday, January 4, at 8:30 a.m., EST.
Please have a safe and happy Holiday season!
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