From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Fri Jan 2 18:36:03 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Fri Jan 2 18:36:19 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Block Holder - Act Today! Message-ID: <495EC103.2010104@FirearmsCoalition.org> Just 2 items in this Alert: 1. Personal note and appeal from Jeff 2. Holder Confirmation Hearing scheduled for January 15!! Happy New Year!!! I hope you've enjoyed the holy days and gotten a bit of needed rest. As Mom commented yesterday when someone complained that their short vacation from work was not long enough: "Vacation? What's a vacation?" When you do the kind of work we do, it seems that there is no such thing as a day off. We did enjoy a nice family Christmas morning, (my 2-year old grandson really brought the Christmas spirit back to us this year) but by that afternoon she was busy processing mail from the last Hard Corps Report and trying to keep up with correspondence while I was working on new columns that were due and trying to build the coalition against the appointment of Eric Holder as Attorney General. It seems like there are always 5 or 6 other things that I need to be doing and I never can get around to all of them. I want to thank those who have provided financial support recently. Your contributions are all that allow us to continue in the fight, and continuing in the fight is all we want to do ? as long as we can do it effectively. Every dollar we receive from our friends and supporters makes a real difference to us and we appreciate each one. Unlike the Brady Bunch and the Violence Policy Center, The Firearms Coalition is solely supported by member contributions. We don't have billionaire sugar-daddies and don't receive grants from big "charitable" foundations. We rely on you. Contributors can rest assured that there are no exorbitant salaries being paid around here and no expensive junkets being taken. I'll just say that it's a good thing that I inherited my dad's Scottish penny-pincher gene or else it would be doubtful that we'd be able to keep going. If you haven't made a contribution recently, now's a great time to do so; we've made special deals with some of our friends to allow us to offer your choice of the documentary DVD; */In Search of the Second Amendment/* by Dave Hardy, the first book on the Heller decision; */The Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed/* by Alan Korwin and David Kopel, or Steve Halbrooks latest book; */The Founders' Second Amendment/*. With any contribution of $50 or more you can take your pick of the three titles. For a contribution of $120 or more you can have all three. Supplies are limited so don't wait. If we get a good response we will try to continue the offer, but there's no guarantee that we'll be able to so act now. Sarah Brady is telling Congress and the new President that you don't care any more and that any gun control law at all is OK with you as long as it doesn't include an all out ban on possession of all guns. She even has a poll claiming to show that a majority of gunowners support stricter gun laws and she's using that to convince Congress to push forward with her restrictive wish list. To battle this we need to pound Congress hard to let them know "/We ain't dead yet!/" That's why it's important that you act on the information below immediately! Congress is planning to hit the ground running in a few days. The new Congress will be sworn in on January 6 and the Senate Judiciary Committee has set a date of January 15 for confirmation hearings on Barack Obama's pick for Attorney General, Eric Holder. Gunowners need to be pushing members of the committee very hard to delay and block the confirmation. The Democrat members of the Judiciary Committee are all sworn enemies to the Second Amendment and are unlikely to be swayed at all by any firearms related arguments, but might hesitate to confirm based on Holders participation in the pardons of 16 Puerto Rican terrorists and billionaire financier and arms merchant Marc Rich. Any letters to Democrats should focus on those issues. On the Republican side, Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the committee has never been a friend to gun rights, but he owes his reelection to NRA support and has expressed concern over the pardon issues. Among the other Republicans, most are relatively reliable votes, but only Coburn has routinely taken a leadership role on Second Amendment matters. All of them need to be pressed hard to do everything they can to block the appointment. For more information about Eric Holder and why his appointment must be fought tooth and nail, go to our web site at www.FirearmsCoalition.org . I would also encourage NRA members to send letters to Chris Cox at NRA urging him to fight the Holder appointment with everything he's got. Remind him that a good fight over Holder could preempt much of the anti gun legislation being planned and keep us from having to fight numerous other battles. Remember that Chris works for you just like the politicians do. It's up to you to keep him and NRA moving in the right direction. If you know any NRA Directors, it's a good idea to be lobbying them as well. This is the type of fight that NRA tends to choose not to fight because it's not a likely winner and they want to preserve political capitol for more urgent matters. That would be a mistake. A good fight now, even in a losing cause, sends the message that the gun lobby isn't dead yet and builds much more political capitol than it expends. If NRA refuses to take the lead in the fight to stop the Holder appointment, the fight will be a fizzle and the result will be to increase the impression that the gun lobby is impotent ? emboldening our enemies and guaranteeing tougher battles in the future. Here is the current roster for the Judiciary Committee: *Democrats: * *Patrick J. Leahy* Chairman, D-Vermont *Edward M. Kennedy* D-Massachusetts *Joseph R. Biden, Jr.* D-Delaware *Herb Kohl* D-Wisconsin *Dianne Feinstein* D-California *Russell D. Feingold* D-Wisconsin *Charles E. Schumer* D-New York *Richard J. Durbin* D-Illinois *Benjamin L. Cardin* D-Maryland *Sheldon Whitehouse* D-Rhode Island *Republicans:* *Arlen Specter* Ranking Member, R-Pennsylvania *Orrin G. Hatch* R-Utah *Charles E. Grassley* R-Iowa *Jon Kyl* R-Arizona *Jeff Sessions* R-Alabama *Lindsey Graham* R-South Carolina *John Cornyn* R-Texas *Sam Brownback* R-Kansas *Tom Coburn* R-Oklahoma Keep in mind that Biden will not be serving and Kennedy says he is going to resign from the committee (after 46 years.) That means that there will be two new Democrats added to the committee and so far there has been no indication of who they might be. Right now the first priority is to hit the members of the Judiciary Committee asking them to delay, side-track, or outright kill the Holder nomination. The secondary priority is to hit the rest of the Senate. Anyone can lobby any Committee member so don't hesitate to send a note to each member. Short and to the point is best and I suggest making your point in the Subject line if you're sending e-mail. Below is a sample, for e-mail or snail-mail, appropriate for almost any Republican: Subject: Reject Holder Nomination Dear Senator Specter; I am writing to urge you to oppose the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General of the United States. Please do everything in your power to block Holder's confirmation. Mr. Holder has demonstrated extremely poor judgment, a lack of understanding of the Constitution, and a willingness to take questionable actions on behalf of the President. His appointment appears to be based more on political cronyism than on demonstrated skills and abilities. As Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, Mr. Holder actively worked to suppress information about the Waco tragedy. Later he played a key roll in the Elian Gonzalez fiasco, not only acting as the administration spokesperson, but apparently participating in the decision-making process which resulted in a Federal SWAT team's pre-dawn raid to seize the child at gunpoint and forcibly return him to Castro's Cuba. Mr. Holder's actions in both of those cases demonstrated a serious lack of judgment, a willingness to engage in duplicitous and deceptive rhetoric, and disrespect for justice and the rule of law. During his time in the AG's office and subsequently, Mr. Holder has consistently called for and endorsed stricter gun control laws and has espoused the theory that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right. This theory was rejected by all 9 Justices of the Supreme Court. Such a fundamental misconstruction of an enumerated constitutional right demonstrates a serious lack of understanding of the meaning and intent of the Constitution and the philosophy upon which this nation is founded. It also demonstrates an unhealthy distrust of his fellow citizens. The nomination of Eric Holder is an insult to every American gun owner and Senate confirmation would add real injury to the insult. At the close of the Clinton administration, Holder was instrumental in facilitating the presidential pardons of Marc Rich and 16 FALN terrorists. Holder's lack of judgment in these cases and his willingness to do President Clinton's bidding in these matters demonstrates a critical lack of personal integrity and backbone. Those pardons could scarcely be justified at the time and have since been shown to have been motivated by financial and political gain. Eric Holder has proven that he does not have the understanding, judgment, or personal integrity to responsibly manage the extensive authority of the Attorney General's office. Members of the Senate are tasked with overseeing the appointment of senior executives and ensuring that the positions are filled with the very best qualified candidates available. Mr. Holder does not meet this standard and should not be confirmed. Past AG nominees have been blocked for inadvertently using undocumented workers as domestic workers in their homes. Mr. Holder's failings far exceed such errors. I ask that you demonstrate your commitment to positive changes in Washington and your stated support for Second Amendment rights by doing everything in your power to block the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General. Please keep me apprised of your position and actions in this matter. Sincerely, Jeff Knox PO Box 3313 Manassas, VA 20108 ------------------------ I wrote a column to appear in Shotgun News on the subject of the Holder appointment, but if the Judiciary committee sticks to their planned schedule and no one places a "hold" on the nomination, the appointment could be confirmed before the magazine hits the newsstands. That makes it even more critical that everyone reading this take action today. *The first thing to do is to forward this Alert to everyone in your e-mail address book.* *Next,* modify the letter to make it your own, or just replace my name with your own and send a copy to each Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Their contact information can be found by clicking on their names at the following address: http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/members.cfm *Lastly*, send a similar note, but more personalized, to both of your Senators urging them to reject the Holder appointment. I would also encourage you to send a similar message to President-Elect Obama by using the web form available at this site: http://change.gov/page/content/contact/ Please take action now and please do what you can to support our efforts financially. We can't do it without you. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Knox Director, The Firearms Coalition -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090102/a0fb4783/attachment.htm From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Sat Jan 10 12:24:02 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Sat Jan 10 12:24:27 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Final Push Against Holder! Message-ID: <4968F5D2.3080100@FirearmsCoalition.org> *Action Alert from The Firearms Coalition* Three items: 1. Hearings on Holder just days away ? Action Needed! 2. Texas Needs Your Help. 3. Virginia ? Crime Commission meeting. *Hearings on Holder Confirmation just days away ? Action Needed!* Today is the 10th of January. The Judiciary Committee hearing on Holder's confirmation is set for next Thursday, the 15th. Opposition to Holder?s confirmation continues to grow and we need it to reach a crescendo next week. The Firearms Coalition has received confirmation from Gun Owners of America that they are sending out an alert urging their members to get involved and they are actively seeking to testify at the hearing. Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has also spoken out against Holder?s confirmation. The Heritage Foundation has illuminated some additional skeletons in Mr. Holder?s closet and numerous grassroots Second Amendment, privacy rights, and other liberty focused organizations have joined in the call for Barack Obama to withdraw Holder?s name from consideration or for the Senate to reject the nomination. Beginning Monday we need to flood the Senate Judiciary Committee members with calls and e-mails. We want to generate a wave of objection which hits the committee members before the hearing so here is what we?re asking you to do: *ACTION ITEM: *** 1. Whether you have already done so or not, write e-mail messages to every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and to your two senators and send those messages at least once Every Day from now until the hearing on Thursday. It can be the same or a different message each day, that doesn't really matter, but be sure to make your position clear in the "Subject" line; something like "No Holder," "Reject Holder," or "Oppose Holder" should be in the subject line of every e-mail because it is likely to be all that the staffer stuck on e-mail duty will read before jotting a hash-mark in the "Opposed" column of a tally-sheet and moving to the next message. Messages themselves should be short and clear, something like: ?Dear Senator, Reject the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General. He has demonstrated a serious lack of understanding of, and respect for the Constitution of the US and is an exceedingly poor choice for the office.? 2. Place phone calls to all of the committee members and your two senators on Tuesday during your lunch period. If your time is limited, prioritize; call the Republicans on the committee first, then the Democrats, then your own two senators. If you run out of time, you run out of time, but make as many calls as you can. (Set the alarm in your cell phone to remind you. Go ahead set it now; I'll wait.) 3. Copy this call to action and re-post it on every blog, forum, and bulletin board you can find. Contact information for the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee can be found here: *http://akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/2009/01/contacting-senate-judiciary-committee.html* While it is extremely unlikely that we can muster enough votes to block this appointment in a straight up or down vote, we should definitely be able to generate enough support to stage a long filibuster and draw attention to Mr. Holder?s shortcomings. Once Holder?s record is before the public and his credibility put in question, it is likely that he will withdraw from consideration (at the quiet request of Mr. Obama) and another name will be offered. Such a victory is not a pipe-dream. We can achieve it and in doing so send a loud message to Obama and Congress that we are not to be taken lightly or dismissed. Even if we fail to block the appointment, if we succeed at damaging Holder?s credibility, we help our cause and still send the message that we are ready for a fight. And when your opponent knows you are ready and willing to fight, he is less likely to rush in. That is what we need to achieve with this action and to do that, we must all do our part. *Texas** Needs Your Help!* Our friends over at OpenCarry.org have been leading a valiant fight to restore the right to open carry in the six states where such is currently completely prohibited, particularly Texas and Arkansas. In Texas they have been running ad campaigns on billboards, taxis, and on the radio, informing people about the situation and urging legislative action. The Advertising is Working! They are successfully raising awareness and getting more and more people involved. Unfortunately they have run into a cash crunch and are urgently needing extra help right now. If you have been involved in the fight for gun rights for any length of time you know that it is unprecedented for one organization which depends on contributions to urge contributions to another organization ? it simply isn?t done. The competition for your dollars between organizations is friendly but fierce and none of us can afford to be sending you and your money to another group. But ? I know the folks at OpenCarry.org and I strongly support what they are doing. They?re filling an important niche and doing it well. I also know that they are being responsible with the money they receive and making every dollar go as far as possible. We need your support as much as ever, but if you can afford to give a little extra to help pay for the advertising in Texas, I encourage you to do so. You can learn more by going to www.OpenCarry.org. *Virginia Crime Commission Meeting* For those of you who live in Virginia, the Virginia Crime Commission is meeting this Tuesday and will be deciding whether to recommend that the Legislature consider a ?gun show loophole? bill in this session. Such legislation has failed repeatedly in the state legislature and little has changed to suggest that it wouldn?t fail again, but the anti-rights forces are mustering to try and force it back into consideration once more. Virginians are urged to contact the Crime Commission immediately and let them know that you strongly oppose any further consideration of this useless and intrusive legislation. The Crime Commission can be reached via e-mail at: vsccinfo@vscc.virginia.gov ------------------------------------ This Alert is sent as a free service of The Firearms Coalition. To receive our bi-monthly newsletter, the Knox Hard Corps Report, send your name and mailing address to info@FirearmsCoalition.org or drop a note to The Firearms Coalition, PO Box 3313, Manassas, VA 20108 The Firearms Coalition relies on support from readers like you to continue our efforts. If you have not recently contributed to The Coalition, please consider doing so. Contributions can be made through our web site at www.FirearmsCoalition.org, via mail at the above address, or by credit card over the phone at 703-753-0424 during regular business hours, Eastern time. Thank you for your support and concern for our Second Amendment rights. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Knox Director, The Firearms Coalition -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090110/37cb462d/attachment.htm From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Sun Jan 11 11:36:41 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Sun Jan 11 11:37:05 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Knox on Gun Talk Today! Message-ID: <496A3C39.5000508@FirearmsCoalition.org> Sorry for the late notice. I will be talking with Tom Gresham on his nationally syndicated radio program "Gun Talk" today (Sunday) at 2:00 Eastern. For information about stations carrying "Gun Talk" go to www.GunTalk.com Some stations offer live streaming of the program so you can listen on your computer. The primary topic will be the battle to block Eric Holder from becoming Attorney General. Jeff From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Thu Jan 29 23:23:23 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Thu Jan 29 23:23:45 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Vote on Holder Scheduled for Monday! Message-ID: <49829CDB.5030402@FirearmsCoalition.org> *Holder Vote Monday! Immediate Action Required! * The vote on confirmation of anti-rights extremist Eric Holder to be Attorney General of the United States is scheduled for Monday, 2/2 in the U.S. Senate. The Attorney General has broad powers regarding firearms regulations and enforcement of federal firearms laws. Having an anti-gun activist like Holder in such a critical position would be very bad for gunowners. I am urging everyone to write and call their Senators to ask that they vote against confirmation of Holder and that if there is a filibuster, that they support the filibuster. Eric Holder has many problems from his days as Janet Reno's deputy, but his biggest problem should be his unconstitutional position on gun ownership. Anyone seeking more information about Holder's activities against the Second Amendment can find it at our web site: www.FirearmsCoalition.org Activists can reach Senators by going to the Senate web site at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm The vote is scheduled for Monday so immediate action is needed! Call and send web-messages and ask all of your family and friends to do the same. Please forward this e-mail Alert to everyone you know and post on forums and bulletin boards. If you had this Alert forwarded to you, please sign up for The Firearms Coalition Alerts by going to: http://www.firearmscoalition.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=40 Yours for the Second Amendment Jeff Knox Director, The Firearms Coalition -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090130/f7f12ceb/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Fri Mar 6 11:03:23 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Fri Mar 6 11:03:35 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Update - NRA Endorsements Message-ID: <49B1656B.9070804@FirearmsCoalition.org> The Knox Update >From the Firearms Coalition *NRA Board Candidate Endorsements * By Jeff Knox (March 5, 2009) Every year about this time the NRA sends out ballots and voting information to all of their members eligible to vote (Lifetime and 5 consecutive year Annual Members.) Each year we look at the candidates and offer our suggestions on which candidates we think will serve the best interests of the membership. Here are those recommendations for this year in alphabetical order: Scott Bach, John Burtt, Joe DeBergalis, Owen Mills, Don Saba, Bob Viden. We recommend that members vote for no more than 6 or 7 candidates because the fewer candidates you vote for, the more weight your votes hold. To read the full article and see how we decided who to endorse, go to: http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org ** NOTICE ** This e-mail represents a new practice here at The Firearms Coalition. We have always tried to keep the traffic on this Alerts List to a minimum, but have had complaints from folks who prefer more frequent contact just to know they're not missing anything... I guess you just can't please everyone - But we're going to try. Almost every week we write a new article for publication in Shotgun News and various other places. We are going to start sending introductions to those articles, like the one above, to the Alerts List as we finish them. That means you should hear from us almost every week. Each of these introductions should be very brief with a link back to our main web site. If there is an imminent threat that you need to be aware of, I will make that clear in the "Subject" line of the Alert and the Alert will contain all of the critical information, otherwise it will always be labeled "Update." I am really interested in knowing what you think of this idea. I don't want to over-load your in-box or become a nuisance, but we do want to keep you informed and connected. Please just reply to this, or any future e-mail from us, and let us know how this works for you. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Jeff Knox Director The Firearms Coalition -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090306/b5cd714d/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Mon Mar 16 12:38:14 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Mon Mar 16 12:38:35 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Weekly Knox Update Message-ID: <49BE9C96.3090905@FirearmsCoalition.org> Three items for this weeks update: 1. Rights Activists Shooting Themselves in the Foot 2. No More Land for Gun Banning NPS 3. You Are a Radical Extremist and a Potential Terrorist (because you're a good citizen) *The Myth of Mandatory Training* (March 12, 2009) Rights activists are shooting themselves in the foot whenever they advocate for mandatory training for concealed carry, and they?re shooting themselves in the foot a lot lately. There is absolutely no question that all gunowners, especially those who choose to carry in public, need to take their responsibilities seriously and seeking out quality training is just the beginning of the responsibility. But legislating training is a seriously bad idea. If it is reasonable and prudent to mandate training for concealed carry, why would it not be reasonable and prudent to mandate training for open carry? If that is reasonable, what about mandating training for anyone wishing to even own a firearm, and mandatory training for anyone who lives in a home with a firearm? If mandatory training makes sense, then what is the argument against mandatory storage requirements? The bottom line is that firearm safety is a matter of personal responsibility and that responsibility can not and should not be legislated by government. Personal responsibility is, by definition, personal. The idea of mandatory training stems from the huge and disturbing assumption that the people have no common sense of their own and must be led to sensible behavior by the government. To read the entire article, go to the following link: http://www.firearmscoalition.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=360&Itemid=37 or just go to our home page at: http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org ************************ *No More Land to National Park Service * There is a major lands bill pending in the US House which would add a bunch of land to the National Park Service. The bill has already passed the Senate and has come up a couple of times in the House only to be beaten back by gunowner's objections. As long a the National Park Service maintains its anti-gun policies and regulations they should not be given authority over one more square inch of US soil. Contact your Representative and tell them to oppose S.21 - No more land to the NPS until they adopt gun regulations similar to those of the National Forest Service and BLM. Gun Owners of America has taken the lead on fighting this legislation. More information can be found at their web site: http://www.GunOwners.org *********************** *You Are a Dangerous Extremist!* A state-sponsored law enforcement "intelligence" organization in Missouri has apparently produced a document vilifying virtually anyone who disagrees with the government about taxation, gun rights, the Federal Reserve, or any other Constitutional issue. The report leaps from assumption to assumption with the ease of the most adept conspiracy theorist and concludes that since neo-Nazis, skin-heads, and the KKK tend to oppose taxes, support the Second Amendment, and question government authority, everyone who does any of those things is automatically suspect as a racist extremist and a potential terrorist. Read more here: http://www.firearmscoalition.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=359&Itemid=1 or just look for the story on our home page at: http://www.firearmscoalition.org Please forward this information to people who should be interested and post it on your favorite forums and bulletin boards. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090316/2d355c47/attachment.htm From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Mon Mar 16 13:39:10 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Mon Mar 16 13:39:30 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Correction: S-22, not S-21 Message-ID: <49BEAADE.5010808@FirearmsCoalition.org> In the Update just sent out I erroneously referred to the omnibus lands bill as S-21. That is incorrect. The correct bill number is S-22. Please contact your Representatives and tell them to oppose S-22 and any other bill which would put any more land under the control of the National Park Service. From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Mon Mar 30 17:36:53 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Mon Mar 30 17:37:16 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Knox Update Message-ID: <49D15795.10002@FirearmsCoalition.org> The latest Knox Update is now posted at http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org. Readers from Iowa should pay special attention as there is information about events in the Iowa legislature used as an example in this piece. Training Politicians The Republican Party lost big in 2006 and lost even bigger in 2008. They didn't lose because of opposition to the war in Iraq. They didn't lose because of the floundering economy. They didn't even lose because of a "culture of corruption." Those were symptoms and side issues. The reason Republicans lost, and continue to lose, is because they have failed to keep their promises, live up to their stated beliefs, and they have provided little reason to their base to get excited about keeping them in office... Read more here. *Also in the News:* Democrat Governor Tim Kaine has shafted Virginia gunowners again by vetoing three pro-rights bills. The legislature will decide whether to override the governor's vetoes in a few days so action is needed right away to push Senators to vote right on these bills. Virginians can easily send an automatic e-mail through the Virginia Citizens Defense League web site at http://www.VCDL.org. Maryland also has some important legislation teetering on the edge of a knife. One Senator - Frosh (D-Montgomery County) has locked up an important civil liability exemption bill for the past several years - even though the legislation has passed overwhelmingly out of the House. Perhaps the Fact that Senator Frosh is a civil litigator and defense attorney is part of the problem. More information is available at: http://www.marylandshallissue.org There's more going on around the country so be sure you're connected with a good, active grassroots group in your state to keep you up to date on state and local issues. Please invite others to sign up for this e-mail list and remember that anyone who sends a contribution and signs up for our newsletter, the Knox Hard Corps Report, is eligible to receive a copy of AIMI e-Book Home, firearm inventory software from Coloseum Software - a $99.95 value - absolutely free. Current subscribers who refer a new member are also eligible for the software so please help spread the word. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090330/034d99c1/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Fri Apr 3 12:06:53 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Fri Apr 3 12:07:11 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] The Knox e-Update Message-ID: <49D6503D.4070106@FirearmsCoalition.org> Three Items of Note: 1. The Truth About Guns in Mexico 2. Range Protection: Don't let noise open the door 3. First Responders: Are you a Volunteer Security Guard? *The truth About Mexican Crime Guns* The often repeated statistic that 90% to 95% of guns seized in Mexico are traced back to the U.S. is an outrageous distortion. The actual statistic is more like 17% and even that might be exaggerated... Read the whole story at http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org *Range Protection: The Noisy Wheel Gets the Shaft* (April 2, 2009) Range protection is a hot topic these days and it's becoming more important every day. Urban sprawl continues to envelope ranges and traditional shooting areas, pushing shooters farther and farther out to engage in their sport and training. Developers build houses closer and closer to established ranges and soon the new residents are complaining about the noise. While much of the emphasis in range protection has been focused on passing laws shielding ranges from noise complaints, such laws only provide limited protection and can give ranges a false sense of security... Read the whole story at http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org *VSGAA Back on Track* Last year we launched a new organization called the Volunteer Security Guard Association of America. Unfortunately we got backed up with the election and other matters and the VSGAA languished in limbo... Until now. We're finally moving forward with our plans for a group dedicated to the idea of armed citizens as first responders. The first membership certificates and cards went out in the mail last week and we're ready to begin recruiting new members. You know that America's first line of defense against criminals, terrorists, and other threats is the armed citizen. You know that America's last line of defense against criminals, terrorists, invasion, and tyrants is the armed citizen. The media was quick to label Jeanne Assam as a "volunteer security guard" when she successfully defended her fellow church members from a murderous assault. If the media wants to call armed citizens "volunteer security guards," we'll play along. Join VSGAA today. Visit http://www.VSGAA.org /Please support the efforts of The Firearms Coalition with any donation you can afford./ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090403/1ffc2bc5/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Wed Apr 15 11:38:08 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Wed Apr 15 11:38:24 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Important Knox e-Update Message-ID: <49E61B80.8020507@FirearmsCoalition.org> Apologies if this is a repeat... We had an e-mail server problem and many people did not receive this update yesterday. In this update: Paranoia and Hoplophobia 1. The Obama Administration's Paranoia 2. Dealing with the Skewed Perspectives of Hoplophobes 3. NRA Voting Deadline Upon Us - VOTE! 4. Next Knox Hard Corps Report in the Works Sign Up Today and Receive $99.95 Firearms Inventory Software. YOU'RE All Terrorists - Again Last month a Missouri State Police sponsored report equated support for the Constitution, Ron Paul, or unborn babies to terrorist threats. The outcry over this outrageous game of connect the dots - Nazi skin-heads support gun rights therefore supporters of gun rights agree with the views of Nazi skin-heads - was immediate and unequivocal, but here we go again; this time from the federal Department of Homeland Security. In a 10-page report the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division of the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the FBI, has once again defined anyone involved in such things as opposition to illegal immigration, opposition to abortion, or opposition to restrictions on firearms as members of the "radical extremist right. The report is titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" and it particularly warns about the recruitment of returning military veterans into extremist groups. You will hear more about this in the coming days and weeks. For now you can read it yourself at http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org EQUIPPED to be a Killer (April 9, 2009) There is a funny story about a woman who rowed her husband's boat out for a little solitude. While she was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine a Park Ranger pulled up alongside and asked to see her fishing license. When she told him she didn't have one he said that he was going to write her a ticket because, even though she was just sitting in the boat reading, there was fishing equipment in the boat. The woman replied that she wanted to charge the Ranger with rape then because, even though he was just sitting in his boat talking, he had all of the necessary equipment. Unfortunately, in the real world, the woman's quick wit would probably not get her out of the ticket and might cost her more charges, but there is a truth in this story that deserves careful consideration... Read the whole story at http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org NRA Elections Ballots for NRA Directors must be received by NRA by April 26. If you haven't mailed your ballot yet, be sure to look at the related articles at http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org and http://www.GunVoter.org NEXT Newsletter We are in the process of preparing the next Knox Hard Corps Report newsletter. If you sign up now you will receive this issue and new subscribers AND Existing Subscribers Who Refer Them will receive AIMI e-Book Home firearms inventory software from Coloseum Software - a $99.95 value. Sign up today and get your friends to sign up too. Please be sure to forward this update to everyone in your address book! If you received this as a forward and would like to subscribe to the Knox e-Update for free, just go to http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org and click on "Subscribe to FC Alerts" in the main menu on the left. Knox - The most trusted name in the fight for your rights.I From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Fri May 22 19:17:38 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Fri May 22 19:17:57 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Knox e-Update Message-ID: <4A174EB2.1040503@FirearmsCoalition.org> In this update: Progress and Possibilities 1. A Call to Arms: National Training Week 2. National Park Gun Ban Repealed - Eventually 3. Neal Knox Book Scheduled for July 4 Release 4. Olofson Appeal Rejected 5. Relief for Veterans on the Way 6. Hard Corps Report Celebrating 25 Years 7. Sign Up Today and Receive $99.95 Firearms Inventory Software *Attention** **Ranges** and Clubs: A Call to Arms!* **July 4 marks the inauguration of a new event, National Training Week. National Training Week is an opportunity for experienced shooters and gunowners to share their knowledge with newcomers. During the week between July 4 and July 11, ranges and gun clubs all over the country will host events and offer special deals geared to new shooters. If your local range or club is not planning something special for National Training Week, why not? Participation can be as elaborate or as simple as your resources allow. Many commercial ranges are offering free gun rentals and inviting local certified instructors to make themselves available for some basic instruction. Private clubs are opening their gates to the public and asking members to bring a few extra guns they don't mind sharing. Some stores are offering ammo specials and some are teaming up with local clubs to offer free ammo to new shooters, and "demo" guns to let people try different ones. If you're a gun dealer and you haven't been approached by your local club seeking your support and assistance for this national event, take the initiative and reach out to them to encourage them to get involved. .. _*Read more here*_ National Park Gun Ban Repeal Signed and Delayed Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is pledging to attach his National Park gun ban repeal amendment to every bill that comes through the Senate until the repeal is enacted. This after President Obama and the Interior Department declared that the repeal passed and signed into law this week will not go into effect for another 9 months. The delay is based on the fact that the underlying bill, a credit card reform measure, has a delay built into it to allow credit card companies to adapt to the new rules. The National Park Service need no such adjustment period, particularly since a similar regulation was adopted last year and then set aside by a federal judge. It is clear that the Obama administration is forcing the delay out of spite toward gunowners and the "gun lobby." The Coburn amendment is actually a substantial improvement over the regulatory reform adopted by the Bush administration late last year. Under the Bush administration regulations only licensed concealed weapons were permitted in the parks, but under the Coburn amendment National Parks and Wildlife Refuges fall under the laws of the states in which they are located just as Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands have done for decades. Neal Knox Book Scheduled for July 4 Release The long awaited compilation of many of Neal Knox's best and most useful writings is finally at the printer's and will soon be available for delivery. Chris has worked hard to put together a good selection of Dad's works to provide readers with a sense of where the fight for our rights has been and where it's going. We should have an order form on the web site soon. See the *cover copy here* . *The Ammo Drought** * (May 6, 2009) Where has all the ammo gone? That's a common refrain these days and not just in a few places, but all across the country. The answer is simple and complicated, but it's not part of a nefarious plot hatched up by Washington politicians. Ammo supplies got thrown out of kilter as a result of military action in Iraq and Afghanistan and several former Warsaw Pact nations transitioning to NATO caliber arms. Some sources of military surplus ammo have been drying up under a UN agreement to "de-militarize" (read destroy) surplus ammo rather than let it into the open market. During the same period the costs of metals for components, particularly lead and copper, started climbing... _*Read more here* _ Olofson Appeal Rejected by 7th Circuit David Olofson's appeal of his conviction for illegally transferring a machinegun was rejected by the Federal Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit on May 1. The court took Olofson's challenges one by one and rejected each as not having been a clear factor in his conviction. Those arguments, when considered together should have been sufficient to give Olfson a new trial at a minimum, but the court took the arguments in a progression which, as each argument was dismissed, made the next argument irrelevant. The decision is a travesty which once again proves that our court system is not about justice, but rather about technicalities and traditions. So David Olofson remains in a federal facility while his baby daughter and two other children know him more from pictures than presence - just because he loaned out a rifle that malfunctioned. This decision by the 7th Circuit is just simply wrong. To read *the court's decision click here. * *Relief for Veterans on the Way* A veteran protection bill has bee favorably referred out of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and is now pending action by the full Senate. The bill, sponsored by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), makes it clear that only veterans who have been found to be a danger to themselves or others are subject to having their right to arms revoked. The bill goes on to require that anyone who's rights were revoked without such a legal finding must have their rights immediately restored. The NICS Reform Bill passed last year was supposed to accomplish many of the same goals of this new legislation, but these reforms have not been seen and veterans continue to be denied their rights without any semblance of due process. Senator Burr is optomistic about the bills chances of navigating through both houses and across the President's desk - especially in light of the Coburn Amendment repealing the National Parks gun ban. Write your Senators and ask them to cosponsor and support S-669 the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act. *25th Anniversary of The Firearms Coalition Coming Up* If you didn't receive the March/April issue of /The Knox Hard Corps Report/, don't be left out; it's still available. The next issue is being scheduled to hit on July 4, the 25th Anniversary of /The Knox Hard Corps Report/ and The Firearms Coalition and we're planning something special for that issue so if you aren't currently a subscriber, contact us right away to be sure you don't miss it. Always stay up to date with the latest news and analysis by maintaining your financial support to The Firearms Coalition. We can set up an automatic contribution to draft off of your credit card monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or annually. Just let us know what works best for you. * * *Coloseum Software Promotion Still in Effect* Our friends at Coloseum Software are still allowing us to offer their home firearms inventory software, eBook Home, as a premium for new members and supporters who sign up for automatic contributions. This software normally sells for $99.95, but you can have it by sending a contribution and signing up as a new member of the Firearms Coalition, for getting a buddy to sign up and contribute, or for setting up an automatic contribution of as little as $5 per month. We can only keep fighting if you keep helping. Please make a contribution today. Contributions can be made through our web site or by mail to PO Box 3313, Manassas, VA 20108. Please post this update on your favorite forums and forward it to all of your liberty-minded friends. To subscribe or un-subscribe to Knox e-Updates, or any other service of Neal Knox Associates, just go to our web site at: www.FirearmsCoalition.org Knox e-Updates are a free service of Neal Knox Associates The most trusted name in the fight for rights for over 25 years -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090522/d2d1ad0f/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Thu Jun 11 22:05:35 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Thu Jun 11 22:06:22 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Urgent Action Request Message-ID: <4A31D40F.3060305@FirearmsCoalition.org> I don't usually do this, but letters need to be in the mail within the next week or so. The following alert from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is urgent and time sensitive. It is a long letter so I'll summarize: US Customs and Border Protection has decided to reverse some past decisions and redefine what constitutes a "switchblade." Under their new definition just about any folding knife could be considered a switchblade - especially knives designed to be easily opened with one hand - like the one in your pocket. Most state and local laws base their own definition of a switchblade on Customs' definition so if Customs tightens up their definition it could easily result in tighter state and local laws as well and you could suddenly be committing a felony for crossing a state line with that same handy little knife you've been carrying for years. Domestic manufacturers could also have their businesses seriously disrupted. CBP was doing this kinda quietly and only allowed for a 30-day window for comments from the public - written on paper and sent to them through the US Mails. The deadline for their receipt of comments is June 21 (which is a Sunday so the real deadline might be June 20.) [By the way I am scheduled to guest-host Tom Gresham's Gun Talk radio program on the 21st so be sure to tune in.] We are encouraging people to submit comments to CBP telling them not to create all sorts of potential problems by trying to solve a problem that isn't a problem at all. We also ask that you start pinging on your Senators and Representative demanding that they rein in CBP and then fix the issue permanently by repealing the useless ban on switchblades. (Legislators just shouldn't be allowed to watch West Side Story.) KnifeRights.org is the lead organization in this and they have sample letters at their web site - linked below. I think the hype in the following is a bit heavy, but this is important none the less and I hope everyone will take immediate action. Jeff The U.S. Government Is Trying To Take Away Your Pocket Knives! SAF and CCRKBA Joins with Knife Rights The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms have joined with Knife Rights to help fight this unwarranted knife grab by Customs. Alan Gottlieb CCRKBA Chairman noted, "we stand with Knife Rights in their support of Americans' right to own and carry the knives of their choice." And, just a reminder, the Second Amendment doesn't say "Firearms," it says "Arms," and knives are clearly covered. The U.S. Government is after your Pocket Knives! In a sneak attack, U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would also include all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives! U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) on May 21st proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposed new rule would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its new broad definition of a switchblade could also include one-handed opening knives and could be easily interpreted to cover most other pocket knives, even simple old-fashioned slip-joints. At this point, one-hand opening and assisted opening knives are 80% of U.S. knife sales. For most knife companies, they represent all or the majority of their product lines. These are the knives Americans take with them to work and to play everyday. *Note, please, that CBP's interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act forms the basis for national, state and even local law and judicial rulings in many cases. This ruling by CBP is NOT limited to just imports. This WILL affect virtually everyone who carries a pocket knife, no matter the type!* CBP came up with this absurd proposal and then tried slipping it into their regular notices, apparently hoping nobody would become aware of until too late. They provided for only the minimum 30-day comment period, and there's no email comments allowed. Just yesterday CBP rejected numerous requests for an extension to the unduly short comment period. Obviously, they'd just as soon not hear from us. We're intending to disappoint them in that. CBP's proposal would have effects far beyond that suggested in the title of the proposal, "Proposed Revocation Of Ruling Letters And Revocation Of Treatment Relating To The Admissibilty [sic] Of Certain Knives With Spring-Assisted Opening Mechanisms," which would be bad enough even if it only did that. However, this proposal would likely make it illegal for the estimated 40 million law-abiding Americans who own and carry pocket knives to do so. It would also cost this country dearly in destroyed businesses, lost jobs and ruined families. Thousands of jobs and billions of dollars would be lost. CBP clearly appears to not have considered the consequences of this unnecessary, inappropriate and even illegitimate action. Since CBP is not required to consider the effects of their actions, only Congress or the courts can rein them in. If left to the courts, the industry and our rights will be devastated and America will lose much, regardless of who wins the legal fight. The definition of what is a switchblade has been clear and settled for the most part since the Federal Switchblade Act was passed in 1958 and has been reaffirmed by many years of legal decisions. The Act is very clear that a switchblade must have an activating button on the handle. Without a button, it is not a switchblade and this has been upheld by numerous cases on many levels over the years. CBP's convoluted reasoning in their proposal to reach back beyond the law and to expand their regulatory purview by rationalizing "intent" as justification for this new interpretation is a stretch, at best, and illegitimate at worst. It simply doesn't meet the common sense test. CBP's reaching beyond the clear language of the Act in making this proposal is particularly questionable and irreconcilable because it flies in the face of virtually unanimous recent state court rulings (including several cases in California, Texas, Illinois and Michigan) where the issue of assisted-opening knives has already been decided in favor of the existing clear interpretation, that they are not a switchblade. They cherry-picked a few bizarre and untypical rulings from New York state from some years ago to provide support for their proposal, ignoring the many more recent rulings. Beyond that, their significantly expanded interpretation of gravity and inertia knives, also included in the Act, would clearly make one-hand opening pocket knives illegal and according to industry sources, 80% of pocket knives sold today are one-hand or assisted openers. Beyond even that clearly excessively broad seizure of authority, we know from past unfortunate experience in many cases over the years that this sort of misinterpretation leads to potential abuse by law enforcement where even the most simple and innocuous Boy Scout folding pocket knife can be opened one-handed by use of dangerous and unsafe tricks, so that these too would be covered under this expanded federal definition. This ruling would therefore make almost all pocket knives subject to being considered switchblades. The impact of this CBP ruling would go far beyond just imported knives because this "agency determination" will be used by domestic courts and law enforcement to determine what is a "switchblade" under both federal and state laws. Many states do not themselves define switchblades and simply rely on the federal definition and interpretation, which is only found in rulings by CBP. Since interstate commerce in switchblades is prohibited, except under very limited conditions, simply driving across a state line with a pocket knife in their possession would make someone a federal felon. Knifemaking in the U.S. has enjoyed a renaissance in the past decade or two as the genius and innovation of American knifemakers, designers and manufacturers has created a booming and vital American industry with thousands of exciting new knife designs that improve the function, utility and safety of the lowly pocket knife, one of man's oldest and most useful tools. Millions of Americans have responded to this innovation, creating a vibrant industry. For the most part these are family owned businesses that are American success stories, the core of America's economic strength. This proposal by CBP would destroy all that for no good reason. That's a heck of a stimulus package. The knife industry tells us they employ nearly 24,000 Americans and have a nearly 6 billion dollar annual impact on our nation's economy. Those are very conservative numbers. If this proposed ruling is allowed to stand, thousands of jobs will be lost at the direct cost of billions of dollars. That doesn't even begin to cover the enormous cost to the country of those that would become unemployed, the ruined businesses, foreclosed homes, years of litigation by both industry against CBP and who knows how many criminal trials and appeals as law-abiding Americans fight this abusive attempt to take away their knives, as well as many other devastating unforeseen effects of this ill-considered proposal. Thousands of American citizens lives would be ruined. Millions of Americans would be impacted. The cost would be tragically huge, more so because it is neither necessary, nor desired by the vast majority of Americans. Knife Rights www.KnifeRights.org is the organization that is heading the grassroots effort to stop Customs' pocket knife grab. We are supporting their efforts to safeguard our rights. As they point out, the Second Amendment doesn't say "Firearms," it says "Arms." Clearly the founding fathers expected that knives would be included. Knife Rights has provided Model Letters to make it easy for you to make your feelings known. We are in for the fight of our lives to save our Pocket Knives. We can only win if you do your part. You have to write! We need your help to make an impression on CBP. They figured that they could slip this by everyone with little notice. We need to let CBP know that they are not going to get away with it; that we noticed and we are not happy and that we will not stand by while they take away our pocket knives. *We need you to write CBP NOW! Their June 21, 2009, deadline is fast approaching and these letters must go via postal mail (or Fedex/UPS) and be RECEIVED (not postmarked) by that date. Click below for a Model Letter you can send to CBP. You MUST write TODAY!* http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29 or http://tinyurl.com/q7w8tm However, the reality is that CBP isn't required to listen to our demands, but they do have to answer to Congress. After you send a letter to CBP, giving them notice they are not going to sneak this by us, the next step is to inundate Congress with emails and letters. If you want to be free to carry your pocket knives in the future, you need to write your Senators and Representative TODAY! Click below for a Model Letter you can send to Members of Congress. Only your efforts will stop this and save our Knife Rights! http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29 or http://tinyurl.com/qqvmns Help us stop this ill-conceived effort by Customs before it puts thousands of more Americans out of work and destroys one of Americas oldest industries, causing great harm to our nation and many American families. Help us stop these faceless, heartless bureaucrats from destroying our essential American freedoms. This nation has many more important issues that need our attention and energy in this time of crisis. *NOW IS THE TIME WE MUST DO BATTLE! WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE.!* *GET ON YOUR COMPUTERS AND SEND THESE LETTERS and EMAILS.!* *Write Customs & Border Patrol NOW!* http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29 or http://tinyurl.com/q7w8tm *Write your Senators and Representative TODAY!* http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=29 or http://tinyurl.com/qqvmns *DO IT NOW! DO IT TODAY! DON'T WAIT!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ < Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family > Copyright ? 2009 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All Rights Reserved. Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms James Madison Building 12500 N.E. Tenth Place Bellevue, WA 98005 Voice: 425-454-4911 Toll Free: 800-426-4302 FAX: 425-451-3959 email: InformationRequest@ccrkba.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090612/af4961e3/attachment.htm From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Fri Jun 19 23:55:35 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Fri Jun 19 23:56:11 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Update Message-ID: <4A3C79D7.80408@FirearmsCoalition.org> As we prepare to celebrate 25 Years of the Knox Hard Corps Report and the Firearms Coalition, and the release of our new book, /*Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War*/, we're absolutely swamped with too much to do and not enough time, technology, or money to get it all done. I have been remiss in not getting these updates out as promised and I apologize. Here's a quick look at the headlines from our web site. If the links don't work from e-mail, please go to http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org and follow the stories from there. As you read these stories, please consider making a contribution to The Firearms Coalition to help us keep bringing you the news and analysis you need to be effective activists. Thanks for your support and your commitment to our rights. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Knox Knox to Guest-Host "Gun Talk" June 21 Jeff Knox, Director of The Firearms Coalition will be filling in for Tom Gresham as host of "Tom Gresham's Gun Talk" radio program this Sunday, June 21. "Gun Talk" is heard on over 50 radio stations around the country and is available live on the internet. To learn whether "Gun Talk" is available on a station near you or to listen over the internet, go to the_* "Gun Talk" home page by clicking here. *_ *The ATF Software Company?* (June 17, 2009) About a year ago, James LaMonte, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Coloseum software, was ready to release an innovative software package. He had a client in Idaho, Red's Trading Post, who wanted to install the software to reduce the number of minor errors on 4473's and other federally mandated records. But ATF rejected the variance request and asked for more information about the software. They issued conflicting opinions, and generally held up the process for several months before finally requesting a meeting with LaMonte. If ATF wouldn't approve dealers to use the software, Coloseum's run would be a short one so LaMonte agreed to the meeting. When they met, ATF assured LaMonte that they were not working with any other software developers and that any information he shared about his program would be held in the strictest confidence. They said they needed more detailed information before they could grant the requested waiver to Red's or any other dealer wishing to use Coloseum's products. An ATF employee was assigned as liaison between ATF and Coloseum, studying Coloseum's software, asking lots of questions, and implying that open cooperation would lead to ATF support for Coloseum's products. After several weeks of this, ATF called another meeting with Coloseum to discuss the release of the software. At that meeting, LaMonte learned that ATF wasn't working with other companies, they were developing their own software for filling out 4473's and the ATF employee who had been studying Coloseum's software was the head of ATF's development team... _*_*Read the Story*_ *_ */ Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/* *A new book from the Knoxes* * *July 4, 2009 marks the 25^th anniversary of The Firearms Coalition and our bi-monthly newsletter /The Hard Corps Report/. It also marks the release of a long overdue book, /Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/. Dad always wanted to write a history of the gun rights movement and it turns out that he had already done so in his columns and articles while the history was being made. Now, thanks to a lot of hard work by my brother Chris, it is finally about to be released. (See the *cover copy here)* As we prepare for the book's July 4 debut, we thought it appropriate to reprint the story of Neal Knox's personal rights epiphany. Chris chose this story as the prologue to the book and we offer it now to remind us all just what we're fighting for. *The Belgian Corporal* by Neal Knox In the summer of 1955, I was a young Texas National Guard sergeant on active duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. A corporal in my squad was a Belgian-American named Charles DeNaer. An old man as far as most of us were concerned, being well over thirty, Charley commanded a certain amount of our respect, for not only was he older than the rest of us, he had lived in Belgium when the Germans rolled across the low countries by-passing the Maginot Line on their way into France. He had seen war. One soft Oklahoma afternoon, sitting on a bunk in the half-light of an old wooden barracks, he told me his story... _*Read the Story *_ *Third-World Policing in Nation's Capital* (June 11, 2009) News reports were somewhat conflicted, but information suggests that officers of the federal Park Police, members of a special, FBI managed, "Safe Streets" taskforce, responded to a report of a "man with a gun," in the Trinidad neighborhood of the District of Columbia at about 8:30 on a recent Monday evening. Witnesses say that the suspect ran into an alley where the plain clothes officers caught him, but a moment later he broke free and tried to run, at which point the officers opened fire, mortally wounding the fleeing suspect in the back. A gun was found at the scene. This is the same neighborhood in DC where Metro Police have been setting up roadblocks requiring people to prove residency or a "valid reason" before entering the neighborhood. It seems that local and federal authorities think they're operating in a third-world country rather than the nation's capital... _*Read the Story*_ http://www.FirearmsCoalition.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090620/bc6775af/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Fri Jul 3 19:20:55 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Fri Jul 3 19:21:30 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Knox e-Update Message-ID: <4A4EAE77.3010601@FirearmsCoalition.org> News from The Firearms Coalition Celebrating 25 years of service to the cause of Liberty and 233 years of our nation's Declaration of Independence! Happy Independence Day! In this issue: 1. Buy "Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War" Now! 2. Harold Fish Wins Appeal 3. Bid on a unique piece of Neal Knox & Charlton Heston memorabilia 4. Latest column - Politics 5. Financial Support Needed The First 25 Years Arming the Grassroots with Knowledge On July 4th 1984, Neal Knox officially launched The Firearms Coalition with the first edition of our newsletter, the Hard Corps Report. For more than 25 years, we have been keeping serious rights activists informed and armed with timely and accurate information and analysis, while giving them a voice in Washington and representing their interests on Capitol Hill. Thank you for letting us serve you. -- The Knox Family, Neal Knox Associates, and The Firearms Coalition --------------------------------- */Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/* *//* Now Available! *Order your copy today!* **July 4, 2009 marks the 25^th anniversary of The Firearms Coalition and our bi-monthly newsletter /The Hard Corps Report/. It also marks the release of a long overdue book, /Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/. Dad always wanted to write a history of the gun rights movement and it turns out that he had already done so in his columns and articles while the history was being made. Now, thanks to a lot of hard work by my brother Chris, it is finally about to be released. (**Order Here!* *) Harold Fish Conviction Overturned AZ Legislature Passes Retroactive Self-Defense Law The Arizona Court of Appeals has thrown out the conviction of Harold Fish and chastised the judge who tried the case. Fish was the retired school teacher who shot a man who charged at him swinging his arms and yelling threats. Fish was convicted of Second Degree Murder in 2006 and has spent the intervening three years in an Arizona State Prison. The Appeals Court ruled that Fish should have been allowed to introduce evidence of his attacker's violent past and the vicious histories of the man's dogs which triggered the tragic event. (Read more at www.FirearmsCoalition.org) Own a Unique Piece of History Charlton Heston Celebrity Shoot Vest Signed by Neal Knox! The Firearms Coalition and the Knox family have donated to a fundraising auction to benefit the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA). Our donation: An official Charlton Heston Celebrity Shoot shooting vest with Neal Knox's signature on the left sholder and a copy of the new book; Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War signed by Chris Knox (and any other Knoxes you might want.) Back when Neal was Vice-President of NRA he attended the Heston shoot and bought several vests as gifts for the family. He also bought a few extras which he signed with the intention of donating them to charity auctions. Before that could happen, Heston bumped Neal out of the VP slot and the vests were left in the back of a closet. Recently discovered, this rare and unique treasure will go to the highest bidder in support of POMA. To see the vest and place a bid, go to the _*POMA auction on GunBroker.com by clicking here.*_ *Politics is Simply Complicated* The surprise introduction and passage of a pro-rights amendment attached to a credit card bill this spring could be a hopeful sign of things to come. In a beautiful bit of political surgery, Dr. Tom Coburn, Republican Senator from Oklahoma put forward an amendment repealing the troubling National Parks firearms ban. Coburn's amendment was far superior to the new regulations adopted by the NPS toward the end of last year. Those minor improvements were short-lived though as they were halted by an activist judge worried about the "environmental impact" of law-abiding park visitors possibly possessing guns. Under the Coburn Amendment, National Parks and Federal Wildlife Refuges assimilate the firearms laws of their host states just as National Forest and BLM units have done without serious problems for decades. Once Senator Coburn was able to introduce the amendment, there was little opponents could do to stop it because too many of their colleagues are from districts full of GunVoters and Senators didn't want to go on record supporting any gun ban. The bill passed with Senator Coburn's amendment by a vote of 90 to 5. (_*Read the Article*_ ) *We Need Your Help!* *The Firearms Coalition is Facing Unexpected Expenses.* Those who have been with The Firearms Coalition for any length of time know that we try to keep our fund raising efforts low key and unobtrusive. If you appreciate what we do and want to help, we appreciate the support. That has always been enough to keep us going. We don't send out desperate pleas for assistance... normally. But right now we are facing some serious cash-flow issues. Taxes are up, revenue is down, many of our regular contributors are struggling in the current economy and we have infrastructure issues which must be addressed now. It seems we have put off necessary maintenance on our headquarters building in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, for too long. Now we must address these issues or the costs will spiral out of control. The base cost has been estimated at a minimum of $5672.00 and that could go up rapidly once we start looking under the surface. While this is not a break-the-bank expense, it is un-budgeted and must be paid for with funds raised above and beyond our regular income. We understand that times are tight for many of you, but we ask that those of you who can help please do so now. Every little bit makes a difference and is appreciated. Three ways to contribute: The Support page at www.FirearmsCoalition.org Mail to: The Firearms Coalition, Box 3313, Manassas, VA 20108 Phone: 703-753-0424 during regular business hours Eastern time. Contributions to The Firearms Coalition are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Please forward and repost this message freely - with credit given. The Firearms Coalition www.FirearmsCoalition.org ? 2009 Neal Knox Associates -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090703/ae735bd4/attachment.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Tue Jul 21 00:36:08 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Tue Jul 21 00:37:34 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Action Alert! Message-ID: <4A6561D8.2050107@FirearmsCoalition.org> *Your Immediate Action is Needed! * *Tell Senators "Yes" on Right to Carry Reciprocity* A Right to Carry Reciprocity Amendment will be voted on in the Senate Today or Tomorrow and You need to tell your Senators how to Vote. As we reported in the latest Knox Hard Corps Report, The political climate is actually ripe to make pro-rights progress - particularly through the Senate - so GunVoters need to pushing hard and guiding their Senators in the ways of righteousness. Senate offices are being deluged right now with calls and e-mails about the Sotomayor confirmation and "Healthcare Reform," along with calls and notes from GunVoters about the Reciprocity Amendment so you might not ever reach a live human. Whether you get a person or a machine, tell them your name and your city and then tell them that you absolutely want Senator whoever to vote for the concealed weapons reciprocity amendment from Senators Thune and Vitter. In e-mail messages put something like; "Support Concealed Carry Reciprocity" in the subject line and in the body say something simple like; "As someone who is very active in politics in the state, I urge you to support the 'Thune-Vitter Right to Carry Reciprocity Amendment' so I can have the means to defend myself and my family wherever I go - and so I can work for your reelection rather than your defeat in your next campaign. No response to this message is necessary. Your vote will be my answer." *"NO" on Sotomayor* After you have called both of your Senators and left them both e-mail messages regarding Right to Carry Reciprocity, call them back and tell them to Vote NO on the confirmation of anti-rights, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Tell them that a vote for Sotomayor is a vote against gunowners and against the Republic. The Firearms Coalition will track, record, and report these votes and we will remember them come election time. Judge Sotomayor's complete lack of respect for the Constitution, particularly the Second Amendment, and her clearly racist and sexist views make her eminently unqualified for a seat on the highest court in the land. *Hoplophobia Defined* (July 16 2009) Recent rights victories in the Senate have caught the attention of the hoplophobes and they're not happy. I received the following "URGENT ACTION ALERT" from the inappropriately named "Freedom States Alliance" this afternoon and I couldn't think of a better way to explain the level of irrationality and ignorance which defines hoplophobia than to do exactly as they asked and pass the "Alert" on just as they wrote it (typos and all.) While I sometimes complain about the over-hyping and exaggeration engaged in by some of our brethren in the rights movement, our guys can't hold a candle to the outrageous fear-mongering of these hoplophobes. Be sure to contact your Senators and Harry Reid and tell them not to surrender to irrational fears. You might also consider making a donation to The Firearms Coalition to help us counter this nonsense. -- JAK _*(Click here to read this ultimate example of Hoplophobia)*_ *Appeal to the Supreme Court* (July 9, 2009) This fall, when the Supreme Court begins its next session, one of the questions they are likely to address is the "incorporation" of the Second Amendment to apply to the states. Most Americans would be surprised to learn that their constitutional rights are only selectively recognized as applicable to state and local government, but that is the case. While there might have been some understanding regarding the application of the finer details of the first 10 amendments, the fundamental rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights were clearly intended and universally recognized to apply to all authorities at every level of government, but the Supreme Court shifted that understanding with several rulings culminating in decisions bolstering Jim Crow laws in the South after the Civil War. Two famous cases clearly illustrate the shift: In /Dred Scott v. Sanford/, Justice Taney declared that blacks could not be citizens of the United States in part because citizenship "*/would give to persons of the negro race, ...the right to enter every other State whenever they pleased, ...the full liberty of speech in public and in private upon all subjects upon which its own citizens might speak; to hold public meetings upon political affairs, _and to keep and carry arms wherever they went_./*" _* (Read the rest of the article)*_ It's a busy time in Washington as Congress races toward their traditional August recess. The politicians will then be heading home where you will have an opportunity to meet with them and let them know what you like and don't like about the job they're doing. Once the recess is over Congress will be back and more frantic than ever to look important and "get things done." Even if the things they do are opposed by a majority of the public and they haven't quite had an opportunity to read through the bills they'll be voting on... Through it all, we'll be here making sure you get the important news when you need it, and we'll be pushing the better of the Congress-critters to keep advancing the pro-rights agenda. Without your support, we can't keep fighting and reporting. We can't pay the bills with good internet vibes. We need your financial assistance. A donation of just $5 can make a difference and a donation of $20 or more gets you a free download of Coloseum Software's AIMI eBook Home, a firearms home inventory system and a $99.95 value. A contribution of $50 or more and you get your choice of Second Amendment books or DVD from Dave Hardy, Stephen Halbrook, and Alan Korwin and Dave Kopel. With a $500 contribution, dealers can get the software to automate all of their inventory and manage compliance matters including Form 4473 and other forms. That software lists for $1795, but when you contribute $500 or more to The Firearms Coalition, Coloseum will give you the software for free! That's a great deal for you and for us and we appreciate Coloseum for making the offer. Go to www.FirearmsCoalition.org and make a generous contribution now. Remember that the new book, /*Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War*/, is now available for order and immediate shipping. To order the book, go to www.TheGunRightsWar.com or take the shortcut by going to www.NealKnox.com. Your contributions keep us in the fight. Please help if you can. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Knox -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090721/6fa74ef3/attachment.htm From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Sun Sep 6 12:55:48 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Sun Sep 6 12:57:36 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Knox e-Update Message-ID: <4AA405B4.3020604@FirearmsCoalition.org> They're Back! -- Almost. Congress is about to return from their August Recess - a time when they are supposed to go home and spend quality time with their constituents. Did you get an opportunity to let them know what you think of their performance over the past 8 months? Between major maintenance projects here at our top-secret, suburban Virginia headquarters compound (that we call Ft. Knox,) tracking and reporting on Congress, the President, and the Courts, dealing with some critical family issues (grandson Ty is back home where he belongs!), and getting the latest /Knox Hard Corps Report/ in the mail, this has been a very busy recess. September is shaping up to be just as hectic with the big 9/12 rally on the National Mall, Congress back in session, and people beginning to pay attention to the critically important elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and special elections around the country. Throw in a promised trip to the beach for Ty and "Ma-Ma" (with complimentary high-speed internet service at the hotel so "Pa-pa" can still do his work) and the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference in Saint Louis on the 26th and 27th, and this month starts looking down right crazy. Here's what's in this /Knox e-Update/: 1. It's the Vote! -- Voting isn't the Only thing, but it is Everything. 2. Conflation to Coalition -- Attacks are coalescing the Right. 3. Sorry Sotomayor -- Latinos should be embarrassed at the suggestion she's the best they have to offer. 4. Buy the Book -- A shameless plug for /*Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War*/. Order a copy! 5. Defining Firearms -- Put a serial number on that shoestring and pay $200 'cause it's a firearm!? 6. Reciprocity Amendment Fails by 2 Votes -- Attention focuses on 2 Republican "Nay's" but there's more to the story. 7. What You're Missing -- Shameless plug for the */Knox Hard Corps Report/*. 8. We Need Your Support -- What is our information and activity worth to you? *Voting is Everything* When football legend Vince Lombardi famously gathered his team to talk about fundamentals, he went to the most basic level: "Gentlemen," he said, "this is a football." Like Coach Lombardi, I want to get back to basics. In politics, just as in football, "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." When it comes to effective political activism that quote needs to be turned around; "Voting isn't the only thing. Voting is everything." While there are many important things that rights organizations and activists do, it all boils down to the one thing: The Vote. The vote is both the object and the instrument of political power and if we can't wield it effectively, all of our other efforts are useless. The ultimate objective of the gun rights movement is to win legislative victories to keep politics and politicians away from our guns. To achieve this goal, organizations like The Firearms Coalition must do three things: Recruit, Inform, and Activate. The three are symbiotic, each feeding the other. In its simplest form it translates to: Build a List of names, Tell them What's Going On, and Encourage them to... _*(Read More) *_ *Conflation to Coalitions* *There is power in cooperation* The growing dissatisfaction of more and more citizens with the direction of our government and our nation presents a recruiting opportunity for rights activists. We are already being grouped together with these folks as objects of ridicule for the talking heads on the television so why not put their conflation to good use? Here?s how negative conflation works: Some neo-Nazis and KKK?ers oppose taxes, government control of healthcare, and gun control. Some ?fringe groups? like ?Sovereign Citizens,? the Constitutional Militia movement, the Minuteman project, and ?Birthers? (those who question Obama?s U.S. birth and his eligibility to serve as President,) have some members who have ties with groups like neo-Nazis and KKK?ers. Some of these avowed racist people and groups agree with and participate in such things as the ?Tea Party? protests and the protests which have been taking place at Town Hall meetings around the country. Therefore, all of the people at the Town Hall protests and all of the people at the Tea Party protests, and all of the people who support, encourage, or agree with the people at these protests, along with all opponents of high taxes, supporters of the Second Amendment, advocates for constitutional government, and opponents of government-controlled healthcare are painted with the broad brush of racism, anti-Semitism, and wild conspiracy theorists, and are declared to be radicals with ?ties? to neo-Nazis and the KKK... _*(Read More)*_ *Disappointed with Sotomayor* The confirmation of extreme leftist (and unimpressive jurist) Sonia Sotomayor to a seat on the Supreme Court is bad news to supporters of the Constitution in general and the nation's gunowners in particular. Judge Sotomayor has demonstrated throughout her career on the Federal Appeals Court bench that she has much more regard for her own "feelings" and "sensibilities" than she has for the Constitution or even court precedent. Judge Sotomayor has repeatedly dismissed important constitutional questions out of hand, with no constitutional review and total disregard for established precedent or accepted principles of jurisprudence. Judge Sotomayor has made clumsy attempts to conceal this cavalier behavior behind flawed and incomplete citation of precedents which fall far short of supporting her decisions. What's worse, she has routinely been supported in her disingenuous practices by one or more of her colleagues in the Second Circuit where she has served for the past 15 years. As Federal Appeals Courts standardly operate with three-judge panels, Judge Sotomayor's erroneous decisions could only prevail if one or both of the other judges on the panel agreed..._* (Read More)*_ *History* *Matters* */Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/* *is History* * * Most readers of this column knew my late father, Neal Knox, as a Washington lobbyist and gun-rights hard-liner. And most of you also know that his family - particularly my brother Jeff and I, along with our mother Jay - continue the work he started with The Firearms Coalition. But in my travels, I've been dismayed to discover that many of "our guys" - from shooters at the range to industry types at the trade shows - don't really know or understand who Neal Knox was and what a significant impact he had on their rights. More importantly, they don't know or understand the history of the fight which has brought us where we are today. Imagine a west-bound wagon train with no one among them who had ever forded a river with a wagon or crossed a difficult mountain pass. */Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/* is the journal of an experienced guide and wagon master. He wasn't perfect and he wasn't always right, but he had a good compass and was always trying to move in the right direction. _*Click here to read the full story.*_ _***Click here to Order Your Copy!* **_ *Defining Firearms* (July 30, 2009) When a New York City police officer caught a .32 caliber slug in his ribs last week, Mayor Mike Bloomberg was quick to question how the career criminal and convicted felon was able to obtain the gun. I'm afraid that the question is going to lead to attempts at broader restrictions on more items in New York and elsewhere because it's possible that the gun involved in the shooting might not be a firearm. That might not make much sense, but firearms laws generally don't. Depending on when the gun was made and/or whether the cartridges is considered "obsolete," a .32 caliber revolver might not be legally considered a firearm and might not be illegal for a felon to purchase or possess. On the other end of the spectrum, a plastic bottle cap can be a firearm as can a shoestring. Under federal law, a firearm is either a device which expels a projectile by means of a controlled explosion (with certain exceptions,) or it is a full-auto, a silencer, or certain parts thereof. Antique guns, muzzle loaders, and guns chambered for "obsolete" cartridges are not considered "firearms" by the feds or most states. Such guns can be legally purchased and possessed by convicted felons in most places. Whether the "really old" gun involved in the recent wounding of the NY officer turns out to be a firearm under federal and NY law or not, Bloomberg is probably going to go ballistic when his lawyers start explaining the possibility of it not being one. _* Click here to read the full story.*_ /National Reciprocity Falls Short by 2 Votes/ Lugar and Voinovich only Republican Nay's. An amendment which would have required basic reciprocity for concealed carry permits between states - forcing states to honor permits from other states - failed to receive the 3/5ths majority needed for passage by a mere two votes on Tuesday. The measure, sponsored by Senator Thune of North Dakota, needed 60 votes for passage, but only received 58. Many Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, voted in favor of the amendment while Richard Lugar of Indiana and George Voinovich of Ohio were the only Republicans to vote against the measure. Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey voted for the amendment while NRA A-rated former Republican, now Democrat Arlen Specter voted against it. Former A-rated NY Representative, now Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined her new mentor Chuck Schumer in opposing the measure as did McCaskil of Missouri and Bingaman of New Mexico. *To see a complete listing of all Senate members and their votes on this amendment, _click here._ * *If you're not Subscribing to the Knox Hard Corps Report*, here's a sample of what you're missing in the current edition: * Rediscovering the Constitution: Getting the Congress to obey the Law. * High Court: Jail time for hunting pictures and Second Amendment in the Court. * Self-defense in NY: No criminal charges, but the civil action could be devastating. * The Second as First: Open carry as free speech. * Ratings Don't Compute: The complexities of grading politicians. The Newsletter should be in subscribers' mailboxes by Monday. If you subscribe today you can get your first copy by the end of the week. Subscribing is easy; just visit www.FirearmsCoalition.org and click on "Support Our Work." Any contribution activates a subscription. We ask for a contribution of at least $20 to cover our basic costs of printing and mailing. You can also subscribe by sending a check to PO Box 3313, Manassas, VA 20108 or by phone by calling Area Code 703 and number 753-0424 during business hours. *We can only keep supporting your right to arms if you support us.* The Firearms Coalition is funded almost exclusively by individual contributors and every dollar makes a difference in our ability to operate effectively. If you find value in our information, please pass it on to your friends and if you haven't made a contribution lately, please consider doing so now. We appreciate your support. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Knox The Firearms Coalition P.S. If you haven't ordered your copy of Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War yet, what are you waiting for? Order today at www.NealKnox.com! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090906/5cdc07e1/attachment.htm From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Mon Sep 7 09:29:47 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Mon Sep 7 09:31:35 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Don't Sweat the SSL Warnings Message-ID: <4AA526EB.5060200@FirearmsCoalition.org> SSL Warnings --Don't sweat it Some have complained that links in the last Knox e-Update generated a Security Warning. Don't worry about that warning. It does not mean that we or you have been hacked or are at risk, it just means that the security system is not recognizing the the links properly. If you receive the warning when you click on one of the links, you can either just click through to tell your system that it's OK and set up an exception (so your computer knows it's OK and won't ask you again,) or you can simply remove the "s" from "https:" in the address bar. Sorry for the inconvenience and confusion. This is just one of those little quirks of the internet caused by us making the site more secure. Please be sure to attach this notice if you are forwarding or reposting our e-Update to your friends and forums. Thank you for your support and understanding. Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Knox -- Now available! Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War A compilation of the best of Neal Knox's writing from 35 years in the trenches. http://thegunrightswar.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090907/131526c6/attachment-0001.html From AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org Sat Sep 19 12:51:17 2009 From: AlertsList at FirearmsCoalition.org (Firearms Coalition) Date: Sat Sep 19 12:53:14 2009 Subject: [Fcalerts-list] Knox e-Update Message-ID: <4AB52825.2010102@FirearmsCoalition.org> Knox to Host Gresham's /Gun Talk /Sunday This Sunday, September 20, Jeff Knox, Director of The Firearms Coalition, will once again guest host on Tom Gresham's popular */Gun Talk /*radio program. The program airs from Noon to 3:00pm Eastern time every Sunday on radio stations around the country and satellite radio as well as live streaming over the internet and downloadable poscasts. To find a station near you or to download the audio, go to _*www.GunTalk.com.*_ Senate Tells Amtrak, "No Guns, No Money." Shenanigans in play! (Washington, DC, Update September 18, 2009) The US Senate has voted 68-30 in favor of a measure which would deny $1.6 Billion taxpayer dollars for the beleaguered Amtrak passenger train system unless they change their "No Guns" policy. Since the Madrid commuter train bombing in 2004 Amtrak has maintained a policy of no guns or weapons on their trains - even locked in checked baggage. The amendment passed by the Senate today was sponsored by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) says that Amtrak must accept checked baggage containing firearms or starter pistols as long as the passenger declares the firearm at the time of check in and the gun is unloaded and locked in a hard-sided case. The measure also provides for the lawful transport of ammunition in checked baggage. Opponents raised objections based on the cost of implementing the liberalized regulations, but those arguments rang hollow and the measure passed easily. Now for the shenanigans: Even though the amendment passed easily - with a few surprising (and suspicious) votes in favor - this is not a done deal. Since the Senate version of the underlying appropriations bill is now different from the version passed in the House, there must be a Reconciliation Conference to bring the two versions into line. For a conference, both houses select a number of representatives who are supposed to go sit down together and hash out their differences, settling on a final bill they believe will be acceptable in both houses. That version of the bill is then sent to the floors of the House and the Senate where it receives an up or down vote. No amendments are accepted for a reconciled bill. _* (Read More and see Vote Count)*_ *Reading** - and Rating - Congressional Votes* As we reported in our bi-monthly newsletter, /The Knox Hard Corps Report/, voting records, especially those for final passage, don't tell the full story of where our elected servants stand on a particular issue. And the fact is that those servants occasionally take pains to conceal their true position from the people who sent them to office. This year's poster boy for obfuscated voting is Senator Mark Pryor a second-term Democrat from Arkansas. In the July Senate vote for nationwide concealed-carry reciprocity, Pryor first voted against the measure but then, when Republicans Lugar of Indiana and Voinovich of Ohio cast their votes against their party line, he changed his vote to a nominally pro-gun vote. _* (Read More)*_ *History* *Matters* */Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/* ** * * Most readers of this column knew my late father, Neal Knox, as a Washington lobbyist and gun-rights hard-liner. And most of you also know that his family - particularly my brother Jeff and I, along with our mother Jay - continue the work he started with The Firearms Coalition. But in my travels, I've been dismayed to discover that many of "our guys" - from shooters at the range to industry types at the trade shows - don't really know or understand who Neal Knox was and what a significant impact he had on their rights. More importantly, they don't know or understand the history of the fight which has brought us where we are today. Imagine a west-bound wagon train with no one among them who had ever forded a river with a wagon or crossed a difficult mountain pass. */Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War/* is the journal of an experienced guide and wagon master. He wasn't perfect and he wasn't always right, but he had a good compass and was always trying to move in the right direction. _*Click here to read the full story.*_ _***Click here to Order Your Copy!* **_ *GRPC 2009 - September 25, 26, and 27 in St. Louis, MO. * Both Chris and Jeff Knox will be speakers at the 2009 Gun Rights Policy Conference being held this year at the Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center in Saint Louis, Missouri next weekend. The event is free and it is an excellent opportunity to meet committed gun rights activists and leaders from all over the country. Hosted each year for the past 2+ decades, GRPC is the single biggest gathering of leaders of the gun rights movement in the country. Representatives from every serious national rights organization are always in attendance as are state, regional and grass roots leaders from every corner of the U.S. as well as many foreign countries. Nowhere else can activists listen to, talk to, and share information with such a stellar group. Along with formal presentations, there are informal gatherings scheduled where activists can network with each other and spend time getting to know the folks that are working for them at the state, local, national, and international level. While I have been a regular participant and speaker at GRPC for many years, as Dad was before his death, this will be the first conference at which Chris and I will both be presenting and we're excited about the opportunity. We're also excited about meeting many of you there. I always come away from GRPC with new ideas, and many new friends. The Gun Rights Policy Conference is absolutely free and attendees receive a free stack of some of the most important books currently available on the rights issue. For more information about GRPC or to register, visit the Second Amendment Foundation's web site at www.SAF.org. Chris and I hope to see you there next weekend. * Now is the time to build and grow. * I understand that money is tight and concern is high as the challenges come at us from many directions. The Firearms Coalition is facing those challenges too and working to keep our operations effective and relevant as we face these uncertain times. Along with our primary web site at www.FirearmsCoalition.org, our newsletter, /The Knox Hard Corps Report/, and these e-Updates, we also have created www.GunVoter.org to help collect and disseminate information about candidates, politicians, and their activities. We also produce our regular commentaries for /Shotgun News/ magazine and other outlets and have just agreed to provide a column for the USPSA's official journal, /Front Sight/ magazine. All of those activities take time and or money and none of them generate direct income for The Coalition or for us. All of these activities are solely contributor supported. We and The Firearms Coalition are paid based on the value you the readers see in our products. If you don't support us, we simply can't continue to exist. If you have not contributed to our efforts lately, please consider making a contribution now. Even just $5 can make a difference so please contribute today. If you can't make a monetary contribution, please contribute by sharing our information with your friends who support the right to keep and bear arms. To make a contribution, go to www.FirearmsCoalition.org and click on "Support Our Work." Yours for the Second Amendment, Jeff Jeff Knox Director, The Firearms Coalition *P.S. Please forward this e-Update to your friends and shooting buddies, and please consider making a contribution to support our work.* Note: Our internet hosting company experienced some technical difficulties yesterday, but we believe everything is back up to full capacity today. If you experience any difficulties, please let us know. * Registered members of the GunVoter community are automatically subscribed to this Alerts List and a confirmation notice delivered. Anyone not wishing to subscribe to the list can easily remove themselves by following the instructions at the bottom of this e-Update. * The last e-Update contained links which caused some to receive security warnings. That issue should be corrected in this edition. If you run into any problems, security warnings, or dead links, please let us know. -- JAK The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, the most trusted name in the rights movement. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailapp.modwest.com/pipermail/fcalerts-list/attachments/20090919/cc9dc321/attachment.html