NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits Kicks Off Friday in Dallas
Visit Industry Members, Attend Classes, Vote for the Board of Directors
The 147th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits (NRAAM) begins its four-day run today at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, with exhibits running Friday, May 4 through Sunday, May 6.
More than 80,000 attendees are expected to turn out to visit with over 800 exhibitors from the shooting and hunting industries. The exhibits aren’t the only draw, however, with numerous other events on the schedule, including seminars, banquets, musical performances, the annual meeting of members, and the Leadership Forum featuring speakers such as President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Ted Cruz, Benghazi survivor Mark Geist, Dana Loesch, social media hotshots Diamond & Silk, as well as many others.
The NRAAM is free to all NRA members and their families (including spouses and children under 18 years old), although there are paid ticketed events, so be sure to check the schedule for details of specific events.
To keep track of exhibitors you want to visit, events you want to attend, and more, you can download the official NRAAM mobile app for Android and iOS.
Firearm Policy at NRAAM
A perennial question surrounding the NRA show is whether or not attendees can carry their personal firearms at the show, either openly or concealed. The NRAAM website states that “During the 2018 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, lawfully carried firearms will be permitted in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and the Omni Dallas Hotel in accordance with Texas law. When carrying your firearm remember to follow all federal, state, and local laws.”
So, yes, you can carry your firearm, BUT… Due to the attendance POTUS and VPOTUS at the NRA-ILA Leadership Conference, the U.S. Secret Service will be responsible for event security at this portion of the event in the Arena at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. As such, firearms and firearm accessories, knives or weapons of any kind will be prohibited in the Forum prior to and during his attendance. For more details, check out the Secret Service notice. Continue reading
Vice President Pence to Speak at the 2018 NRA-ILA Leadership Forum
The National Rifle Association (NRA) Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) today announced that Vice President Mike Pence will keynote the annual NRA-ILA Leadership Forum on Friday, May 4, in Dallas, Texas. The event kicks off the 2018 election cycle and will feature a powerful lineup of pro-freedom speakers.
NRA-ILA executive director, Chris Cox, says of Pence’s appearance, “It’s an honor to have Vice President Pence address our members in Dallas. He is a lifetime supporter of the Second Amendment and he has a long a record of fighting to defend our freedoms. Now more than ever we need principled people in public office who will fight to defend the Constitution. Our members are excited to hear him speak and thank him for his leadership.”
Both the NRA and President Trump, who has appeared at previous Leadership Forums during the NRA Annual Meetings, have taken heat recently for their support of certain gun control measures, such as placing restrictions on firearm accessories including bump-stocks, which the ATF had previously determined did not fall under their purview.
The NRA-ILA Leadership Forum takes place Friday, May 4, 2018 from noon to 3PM. The lineup of speakers includes NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre; NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox; Hon. Mike Pence, Vice President; Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas; Sen. John Cornyn, Texas; Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas; Gov. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska; Rep. Richard Hudson, North Carolina; Mark Geist, Benghazi Survivor; Diamond & Silk, Social Media Personalities; Dana Loesch, NRA Spokesperson; Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA Founder.
More details are available on the NRAAM website. While the NRAAM is free to attend for current NRA members and their immediate family, the Leadership Forum requires an additional paid ticket.
NRA Statement on Massachusetts Gun Ban Ruling
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action released the following statement today regarding the Massachusetts Federal District Court’s ruling in the case of Worman et al v. Baker:
“Like all law-abiding Massachusetts gun owners, the NRA was extremely disappointed that the court upheld Massachusetts’s ban on many of the most popular firearms in America. Even more disturbing was Judge Young’s assessment that the ‘AR-15’s present day popularity is not constitutionally material’ and that ‘Justice Scalia would be proud’ of this ruling.
“It is outrageous that Judge Young is taking advantage of the fact that Justice Scalia is unable to refute such a claim. Justice Scalia’s position on the question of whether the AR-15 is protected by the Second Amendment is clear. In the 2015 Friedman v. City of Highland Park case, Justice Scalia joined a dissent which stated that the decision by millions of Americans to own AR-style rifles for lawful purposes ‘is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons.’ As long as politicians and judicial officials continue to flout the law in order to advance a political agenda, the five million members of the NRA will be here to hold them accountable.
“While the plaintiff’s attorneys are reviewing their options those of us here at the NRA will be here to assist in any way possible.”
Second Amendment Foundation Reports 1200% Spike in Members, Donors from Young Adults since Parkland Murders
And several GunLink members are proud to count ourselves among newly-upgraded SAF members. With the constant onslaught of attempts to further restrict gun rights, we believe that all firearms owners, patriots, and other supporters of the United States Constitution must band together to fight back to limit and eliminate government infringements of the basic human rights proscribed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Join the Second Amendment Foundation here, join NRA here, and check out other RKBA organizations here. If there ever ever was one, now is the time to present a united front against further infringements.
Since the tragic mass shooting at a Florida high school last month resulted in efforts to restrict firearms ownership by young adults, the Second Amendment Foundation has experienced a 1,200 percent increase in the number of 18- to 20-year-olds joining or supporting the organization, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb reported today.
“We normally don’t get that many members or donors in that age group,” Gottlieb noted, “since the gun rights movement typically trends toward older Americans. But the 18- to 20-year-olds have never been specifically targeted before, and they are obviously alarmed. This influx of young Americans into the gun rights movement is important, not just to respond to the current gun control threat, but as the movement has gotten older, it is encouraging to see so many young adults getting involved in support of Second Amendment rights. Continue reading
The Enemy Within – Marion Hammer’s Revised NRA History
On January 15, Marion Hammer, NRA past president and a current member of both the Board of Directors and Executive Council, published an outrageous editorial on Ammoland Shooting Sports News warning of current and past threats to the NRA, and listing a slate of candidates she supports for the upcoming NRA Board of Directors election.
Marion is free to endorse any Board candidate she likes. But in her endorsement she can’t rewrite history to suit herself, nor can she expect to cast aspersions on the motives of good people without challenge
In her screed, Ms. Hammer carefully avoids naming names, but anyone who has been paying any attention at all to NRA politics – past and present – knows exactly whom she is referring to.
She begins with muddy praise for the stalwart NRA members who staged a revolt at the NRA Members’ Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1977. It was the night when the members wrested control of the NRA from a hidebound and self-perpetuating management and put the Association on the road to being the premier defender of the human right to armed self defense. Then she jumps forward to 1997 to talk about an attempted “coup” by a group of “dissident malcontents,” but fails to mention that both actions were staged by many of the same people, and for many of the same reasons.
I put “coup” in quotes in the second instance because the group that she claims was staging the “coup” was actually the duly elected Officers and Directors attempting, unsuccessfully, to exercise their fiduciary responsibility against actions by paid staff and key contractors with multimillion-dollar contracts.
The 1997 fight was not a coup; it was a mutiny.
In contrast to Cincinnati, the prize in 1977 was not the heart, soul, and destiny of the NRA, but control of the organization’s checkbook and prudent management of its resources. The goal in both instances was to give the members control over their NRA. The 1997 action included First Vice President Neal Knox, Second Vice President Albert Ross, and a majority of the NRA Board of Directors.
But, history is written by the victors, so the attempts of the Board of Directors to demand fiscal accountability from their hired staff was later reported as a “coup.”
The core issue was how the NRA’s PR company, Ackerman McQueen, was drawing millions of dollars a month from the organization and improperly controlling NRA staff. The Board directed Wayne to sever ties with Ack-Mac, and Wayne promised to do so, then claimed to have done so, by bringing in a new PR company called Mercury Group. The “new” PR company turned out to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Ack-Mac, with all of the same players in all of the same positions, still bleeding the association of the same millions of dollars. Continue reading
ATF Seeking Public Comments on Bump Stock Regulations
Consumers, Retailers, and Manufacturers Asked to Weigh in on Machine Gun Classification
Presumably prompted almost exclusively by (or, at least, jumping at the “convenient” excuse of) their use in the October 1, 2017 attack on Route 91 Harvest Festival concert in Las Vegas, the BATFE is now seeking comments from the public regarding new regulations, potentially including reclassification as machine guns, on firearm accessories known as bump stocks.
Share your Comments with the ATF Now
In the wake of the attack, which has since spawned no shortage of conspiracy theories thanks to the dearth of officially released details, there was a brief initial outcry calling for increased regulation before quickly fading from the news. Some of those calls even came from unexpected sources, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and businesses who make their money by renting fully automatic firearms to tourists.
Now, the Department of Justice is contemplating a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would interpret the statutory definition of “machinegun” in the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) to clarify whether bump stocks, fall within that definition. Before issuing such an NPRM, the Department and ATF are soliciting comments from the public and industry regarding the nature and scope of the market for these devices, giving citizens the opportunity to weigh in on the topic.
The request for comments was published in the Federal Register, and can be seen here (excerpts are below). Comments can be left via the regulation’s page on the Regulations.gov website or left directly here. Gun Owners of America have produced a summary of their two main points: that 1) Bump Sstocks do not fall within the definition of “machine gun” under the NFA and 2) ATF has no Constitutional or legal authority to ban or regulate bump stocks.
Share your Comments with the ATF Now
Below are excerpts from the Request for Comments in the Federal Register: Continue reading
