NRA Members Must Oppose Sotomayor
by Sandy Froman

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s first nominee to the
U.S. Supreme Court, has a narrow view of the Second Amendment that
contradicts the Court’s landmark decision in District of Columbia v.
Heller. A heated debate has started in the U.S. Senate over her
opposition to the right to keep and bear arms. This issue, which has
decided the fate of presidential elections, could also decide her
nomination. Gun owners, and especially the members of the National Rifle
Association, must aggressively oppose Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation to
the Supreme Court.

On June 24, senators began speaking on the floor of the Senate
expressing grave concerns over Judge Sotomayor’s Second Amendment
record. Senator Jeff Sessions R-AL, the Ranking Member of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, pointed out that although her record on the issue
is “fairly scant,” she has twice stated that the Second
Amendment is not
a fundamental right. Senator Sessions also noted that in Second
Amendment and other constitutional cases, Sotomayor’s analysis of
important constitutional issues has been lacking suggesting “a troubling
tendency to avoid or casually dismiss difficult Constitutional issues of
exceptional importance.” Sotomayor’s view on the Second Amendment
clearly reflects an extreme anti-gun philosophy, and some Democrat
senators from pro-gun states are justifiably nervous.

Last year, the Supreme Court held in Heller that the Second Amendment
guarantees the right of individual Americans to keep and bear firearms.
But that ruling was a fiercely-contested, 5-4 split decision. Justice
Kennedy joined the four conservatives on the Court to make the majority,
with the four liberal justices writing passionate dissents about how the
Second Amendment does not apply to private citizens.

Bluntly speaking, the Second Amendment survived by a single vote. Had
one justice voted differently, the Second Amendment would have been
erased from the Bill of Rights forever. Today in the Supreme Court, the
right to bear arms hangs by a single vote.

The next question the Supreme Court will decide is whether the Second
Amendment is a “fundamental right” that applies to cities and
states,
thus preventing them from restricting gun rights. Even the liberal
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held earlier this year in Nordyke v. King
that the Second Amendment is a fundamental right, yet Judge Sotomayor
disagrees.

When Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, it
belied his flowery rhetoric about respecting our constitutional gun
rights. Out of almost 200 federal appeals judges in this country, Judge
Sotomayor is one of only six to weigh in (after the Heller case) to hold
that the Second Amendment only limits federal actions. If your state or
city chooses to ban all guns or take away the ones that you already have
in your home for hunting and self-defense, Sonia Sotomayor says the
Constitution can’t help you.

This position becomes all the more radical when it’s revealed how she
reached this conclusion. Only six judges have denied gun rights against
the states. Of these, three did so in a recent Seventh Circuit case, NRA
v. Chicago, writing a detailed opinion that the Second Amendment doesn’t
apply to the states because they thought an old 1800s Supreme Court case
tied their hands on the issue, and they commended the case up to the
Supreme Court after long and scholarly consideration. Judge Sotomayor
and two of her liberal colleagues, however, wrote only a single
paragraph on the whole issue when deciding their own New York case,
Maloney v. Cuomo. In one paragraph, she said the Second Amendment gives
people no rights at all when it comes to state or city laws. She gave no
explanation, and made no call for Supreme Court action.

Then we find that this has been a consistent belief for Sotomayor. In a
case before her in 2004, she and her colleagues concluded that there is
no fundamental right in the Second Amendment but provided no substantive
analysis to justify this conclusion. Throughout her career, Judge
Sotomayor’s record is one of consistent opposition to the private
ownership of firearms.

America has almost 90 million gun owners who value their rights. And of
these, no one does more to protect the Second Amendment than the four
million members of the National Rifle Association.

I served as an officer of the NRA for nine years, including a two-year
term as president. I saw NRA members turn the tide on Election Day 2000
to defeat Al Gore. We fought again to help defeat John Kerry in 2004. We
can do the same with Sonia Sotomayor, if we call our U.S. Senators and
tell them to vote against this anti-gun judge. No fewer than fourteen
Democrat senators have solid records on the Second Amendment, and we
must urge them to oppose this nominee.

Next year, the Supreme Court is likely to take up NRA v. Chicago, which
will decide whether the Second Amendment applies to states and cities
like it does the federal government. This case is as important as
Heller, and will massively impact gun rights forever.

We already know where Judge Sotomayor stands. It’s time to tell the
Senate, “Vote No! on Sonia Sotomayor.”

Hunters Helping Hunters, Inc. currently has an opening on the Board of Directors
for the Vice President of Fundraising. The candidate must be able to dedicate at
least 20 hours per month towards fundraising activities and commit to a 3-year
term. Hunters Helping Hunters, Inc is a not-for-profit, 501c3 organization and
all Board of Directors are made up of people who volunteer their time and energy
to fund this charity.  Board members of HHH do not receive salaries or any other
compensation for their work. If interested, please send request for copy of the
Job Description and questionnaire to kzeringue@tx.rr.com.

Please pray for John. He was one of our Life Hunters this past season. He is having a very hard time right now. You can go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnreynolds to learn more about John.

Thanks and God bless,

David

Semi-Automatic Rifle Ban

 
Would Reduce Jobs, Not Crime

Firearms Industry Reminds Congress
to Respect Second Amendment Rights

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Responding to Attorney General Eric Holder’s comment yesterday that the Obama Administration will attempt to reinstate a ban against semi-automatic rifles, the National Shooting Sports Foundation reminded Congress and all Americans that such a ban would cause jobs to be lost in a difficult economy, have no effect on reducing crime and would deprive millions of law-abiding sportsmen and gun owners of their Constitutional right to own the firearm of their choice.

Holder made his comments in connection with criminals supplying illegal guns from the United States to drug dealers in Mexico.

“The problem of criminals breaking the law to acquire firearms and illegally smuggling them across the border is not remedied by legislation that would violate the rights of Americans to own semi-automatic firearms,” said Steve Sanetti, president of NSSF, the trade association of the firearms industry.

“These types of firearms, which are erroneously called ‘assault weapons,’ are used by millions of Americans for hunting, sporting and personal defense purposes,” Sanetti added. “We can only conclude that certain officials are waiting for any politically advantageous excuse to announce the intention to seek a new ban on sporting rifles, a ban that would break the president’s campaign promise to gun owners that ‘I’m not going to take away your guns.’”

The industry and firearms owners were understandably outraged by Holder’s comments yesterday, and today even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed away from the idea of a new gun ban. “On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” said Pelosi, surprisingly taking the position of pro-gun advocates.

Holder’s use of the inaccurate term “assault weapons” is one that is deliberately used by gun-ban advocates to create confusion between legally sold, semi-automatic rifles and look-a-like, fully automatic military versions. While the civilian version of these rifles may resemble their military counterparts, the civilian rifle fires only one round with each pull of the trigger. Additionally, these rifles fire ammunition calibers no more powerful than traditional-looking sporting arms. Civilian access to fully automatic machine guns has been severely restricted since 1934.

Studies show that the ban against sporting firearms, known as the Assault Weapons Ban, that was in place from 1994 to 2004 did not reduce crime. Furthermore, there has been no increase in crime involving these types of firearms since Congress allowed the ban to expire.

A ban on sporting firearms also would have a severe effect on jobs and the economy. Sales of semi-automatic rifles have been strong over the last several months — overall sales of firearms have increased as much as 42 percent — and have allowed companies in the firearms industry to withstand, to some extent, the downturn in the economy.

“These semi-automatic rifles are the most popular rifle in America today and they are largely behind the recent increase in firearms sales,” said Sanetti. “This is a bright spot in our economy and has helped save jobs in our industry.”

Since the election last November gun owners have feared the Obama Administration would seek legislation that would infringe on their Second Amendment rights. “It appears gun owners’ fears were well-founded given Attorney General Holder’s comment that the Obama Administration will seek new restrictions on gun owners. A new gun ban would fly in the face of last year’s Supreme Court decision in the Heller case that reaffirmed the Second Amendment right of all Americans to keep and bear arms,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel.

For more information, visit:
http://nssf.org/media/FactSheets/Semi-Auto_Background.cfm

http://www.mcall.com/sports/outdoors/all-c1_outdoors.6749221jan17,0,3228637.story

By Dave Ehrig

Special to The Morning Call

January 17, 2009

Camp Compass founder and Allentown Trexler Middle School teacher John Annoni finished second in a national online poll for his efforts in bringing the outdoors to inner-city youth.

Annoni, though, came away with the first prize of $1,000 for his organization thanks to a stunning gesture made by the winner at the awards ceremony Thursday in Orlando, Fla.

The winner, Randy Luth of Minnesota, said that there was someone else more deserving of the award, presented by Outdoor Life Magazine.  ”My wife and I have decided to match the award for John Annoni and his kids at Camp Compass. His work is truly remarkable and deserves everyone’s support,” Luth said at the podium at the ceremony.  Luth was the top vote-getter in a poll of 25 nominees that drew more than 10 million votes.  This second banquet drew attention to ”25 people who were great examples of the innovation and hard work happening in the outdoor community,” said Todd Smith, editor of Outdoor Life.

The magazine named 25 people from throughout the nation as its most influential in hunting and fishing for 2008.  Annoni, a sixth-grade math and science teacher at Trexler in the Allentown School District, is the founder of Camp Compass Academy, a conservation curriculum that has earned federal recognition for his program introducing inner-city youth to the outdoors. Surprised, Annoni walked to the podium Thursday to cheers and applause from the other honorees and their families.  ”This will give us some equipment to get the kids through the next year, ”Annoni said when asked about the gift from Luth. ”Our programs depend on the donations and kindness of others in the outdoors industry. But it really is an honor to have the kids at Camp Compass recognized like this.”  In 1994, Annoni started a conservation curriculum that grew into Camp Compass Academy.

The banquet was at the annual SHOT Show (Sport, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show).  Luth was honored for helping to change national opinion about service rifles, the so-called assault weapons whose federal ban was lifted by Congress in 2004. Luth’s company, DPMS Firearms, builds AR-15 rifles. With grassroots support from gun manufacturers, retail vendors and hunters, he earned 53 percent of the online votes, followed by Annoni with 36 percent.

Copyright © 2009,

The Morning Call

This morning while listening to The Big Show with John Boy and Billy,  I learned of a outdoor mentoring program being supported by a pro golfer.    The program is called Camp Compass and the golfer is Boo Weekley.

. . . West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and his wife presented a $35,000 check to the Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) program. The funds were made possible by entry fees, sales of banquet tickets and other streams of revenue in conjunction with the second annual Governor’s One Shot Whitetail Hunt. The money will be used to help offset the HHH program’s costs of processing and distributing the venison, donated by generous hunters, to food pantries, soup kitchens and needy families across the state.

This is another reason I plan on moving to West VA when my kids get out of school….. Thanks Governor!

I wanted to send you this email and see if you might know any disabled hunters that would like to get outdoors for some “fresh air and sunshine”. Our Disabled hunting program is called “DreamHunts”. We are an outdoor ministry and disabled hunting program. We have a special project called “Hunts For Heroes” for our nations combat injured veterans and wanted to see if you knew of any disabled vets that would like to come? We will also have mobility challenged civilians as well.
 
Our main goal is to help those disabled hunters that would otherwise not have the opportunity to get to the hunting woods this season. While many disabled hunters are involved in the hunting and shooting sports on a regular bases, our primary focus and consideration is on those hunters that do not get to experience nature and hunting as they did prior to a life changing disabiliy or injury.
 
 Our tentative plans for a 3 day disabled hunt in Clayton Alabama (Barbour County near Eufaula) are for January 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th. Hunters will arrive Friday the 17th and get settled in and familiar with the camp set-up and  rules. We will furnish a place to sleep (please bring sleeping bags and pillows) and some good home-style country cooking is on the menu. The hunters will be hunting from ground blinds (4-wheelers are not permitted in the hunting property).Transportation will be furnished to and from the stands for insurance purposes. For more details any disabled hunter can contact me at the number below.
 
We appreciate your help and encouragement.
 
 
Bill Burns Director
DreamHunts Disabled Hunting Programs
“Hunts For Heroes Project”
904.502.4238
dreamhunts@bellsouth.net