Representative Darrel Issa (R-CA) has ramped up his often repeated threat to charge Attorney General Eric Holder with Contempt of Congress over the DOJ’s stonewalling in the Fast & Furious investigation by publicly circulating a draft Contempt resolution.   True to form, Holder is shrugging off the threat and it looks unlikely, even if the resolution is formalized and passed, that it will make Holder responsive and accommodating to congressional investigators.  Contempt charges from Congress are rarely filed, and even more rarely passed for further action.  The last time Congress passed one of these resolutions was against Carl Rove in 2008.  That citation, from the House Judiciary Committee, was never taken up by the full house, cooperation was never obtained, and it, and another Contempt citation from the previous year against two other Bush staffers, is still in litigation.  At least this draft resolution does an excellent job of spelling out the specifics of the Fast & Furious case and points out the major flaws of the operation.

Read the full draft resolution and Rep. Issa’s explanatory memo by clicking here.

http://www.firearmscoalition.org/images/news/update-on-fast-and-furious-with-attachment-final.pdf

Knox Endorses  Heil in NRA Elections

     As magazines containing ballots for the 2012 NRA Board of Directors Election have been arriving in people’s mail boxes over the past week (if you got a ballot, you’re eligible to vote – if you didn’t you aren’t) I have been receiving requests for guidance as to which candidates I feel are worth supporting.
This year I am only endorsing one candidate, Maria Heil, and asking voting members of NRA to cast ballots with only Mrs. Heil’s name marked.  While I do not know Mrs. Heil personally, she comes highly recommended by friends whose opinions I deeply respect.  I think Mrs. Heil would be a diligent worker for our rights as gun owners – and as NRA members – within the Board of Directors.  I believe she would bring some much-needed new energy to the board.
     While there are several incumbent directors up this cycle who I think have done a good job of serving the members, I am disinclined to offer endorsements.  I believe all of those good directors will easily win reelection without my help – or yours – and every vote cast for someone else dilutes any vote cast for Maria Heil.  This technique is called “Bullet Voting” – voting for only one or a few candidates rather than an entire slate.  The 25 candidates with the highest number of votes win seats.  Since there are only 31 candidates running, attempting to vote for a full slate invariably boosts the chances of another candidate bumping your favorite out of a seat.  Just one vote difference can cost a seat.

Continue reading NRA Elections 2012 →

Would the Real Dave Vann Please Stand Up…

By Jeff Knox

I wasn’t surprised to see the name David Vann in one of David Codrea’s always excellent Gun Rights Examiner columns. Dave Vann has been a good friend and fellow freedom fighter for decades. But then I read David Vann’s suggestions for responding to the threat of campus shootings and I knew there was something very wrong in the world. This Dave Vann was advocating for the banning of all handguns, because they’re “made to kill people.”

Obviously this was a different Dave Vann. This Dave Vann is not a retired police officer with an addiction to advanced firearms training and a deep abiding interest in, and knowledge of, firearms, criminology, US History, and the Constitution. This Dave Vann is a creative writing teacher in San Francisco who has written a somewhat sympathetic book about the 2008 Northern Illinois University murderer, and is so mistrustful of his fellow US citizens that he spends most of his time in New Zealand. (Someone might wish to educate Mr. Vann about the widespread gun ownership in that island nation.)

Continue reading Dave Vann →

ATK and DOD Reverse Course

Military Brass Destruction (again) Halted

Immediate action needed!

Halt destruction of military brass!

The following important release from our good friend Gary Marbut needs your immediate attention.  Once-fired military brass is being destroyed again and this time the enemy is in our own industry.  ATK Techsystem, manufacturers of powder and ammunition is buying up brass from base commanders and destroying it to keep it off of the civilian market.

This scheme is going to need consumer response and congressional intervention to stop it.

Please help to spread the word.  Repost this article and link back to it at www.FirearmsCoalition.org, and contact friendly Senators and Representatives asking that they join efforts to require the DOD to sell brass for reloading rather than burning tax dollars to shred it.  Thanks to our good friend Gary Marbut of the Montana Shooting Sports Assocation.

Military Cartridge Brass Destruction 2010 – Round 2

by

Gary Marbut, President, Montana Shooting Sports Association

The cure that was arranged by Montana Senators Baucus and Tester to fix the intended military destruction of once-fired cartridge brass last year appears to be suffering from a fatal end-run.

Interested persons will remember that a year ago, helpful intervention by Montana’s senators persuaded the Department of Defense to rescind a fresh DoD directive to military installation commanders requiring them to destroy once-fired brass prior to selling it at auction into the civilian marketplace for ammunition reloading and other purposes.

Continue reading DOD and ATK Back Down →

The Supreme Court has released the transcripts of the oral arguments in McDonald v. Chicago.  Available here (directly from the Court) or from our site here.