Reports

DOD and ATK Back Down

ATK and DOD Reverse Course

Military Brass Destruction (again) Halted

The on-again, off-again program to destroy once-fired brass appears to be off with strong statements by both DOD and ATK that the apparent revival of the program was based on dated information and reaffirming the company’s commitment to the Second Amendment and its civilian customers.  The Defense Department meanwhile responded the halt in shipping brass into surplus channels was merely a review.
Small arms cartridge cases are identified as a sensitive Munitions List item and were held pending review of the policy relating to the category of items in which cartridge cases were included. Upon review, the Defense Logistics Agency has determined the cartridge cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for sale.
 
ATK responded to MSSA’s queries here:
and DOD Responded to NRA queries here:
Thanks to Ammoland for helping us stay current.

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 Knox Update

McDonald at SCOTUS

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Deciphering the Court

Deciphering Your Rights

By Jeff Knox

(Washington, DC, March 5) Oral arguments in the Supreme Court case of McDonald v. Chicago were an interesting show on March 2. (Read the Transcript here.)  Most of the Justices made their positions on applying the Second Amendment to the states – and what mechanism to use to do it – fairly clear from the outset.  Most observers agree that the Court will declare that states must recognize a fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

Continue reading McDonald at SCOTUS →

Chris's Blog

VPC and the Spock Theory

I recently discovered this in draft form.  It’s old, but not out of date.

Many years ago my father talked frequently about what he called “the Spock theory of government.”  No, not the pointy-eared Spock; Star Trek had not appeared on TV yet.  He was referring to Dr. Benjamin Spock, the baby doctor who wrote the standard Boomer parenting manual.  I doubt that Dad ever read Dr. Spock.  My well-learned habit of calling him “Sir” indicates that if he did, he didn’t act on many of the doctor’s theories. 

According to Spock (as understood by Neal), parents should “never punish a child for improper behavior, just keep harmful things out of his reach.”  The theory underpins Prohibition, both the Volstead Act of the 1920’s and the modern drug prohibition, and every gun control law.  The government, especially that portion of the government represented by the Democratic Party, sees itself as the parent of a fractious and unruly bood of children, also known as We the People.  African-Americans in particular fit in that category.  As evidence, I submit a “study” from Josh Sugarmann’s Violency Policy Center:

“blacks, like all victims of homicide, guns — usually handguns — are far and away the number one murder tool. Successful efforts to reduce America’s black homicide toll must put a focus on reducing access to firearms.”

 

Chris's Blog

Arizona Washington’s Birthday Match

Who would guess that the oldest continuously running rifle match in the country is the Washington’s Birthday Match in Arizona?  The match has run since 1892.  The famed National Matches at Camp Perry are a 20th Century invention, having only run since 1907.  The would-be historian in me wants to compile a record book to document it. 

I’ve seen what it takes to bring off an event like this:  It’s a lot of dang work!  Bill Poole, Highpower Chairman of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association has been making it look easy for years.  I know it’s not, and I appreciate it!

The Knox Update

Strategic Planning

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Effective Activist Politics

Lesson Six: Strategic Planning

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, February 4, 2010) It’s been awhile since I have written an installment of my Effective Activist Politics series, but this is one of the most important topics for activists and activist organizations to pay attention to so I’m adding it to the series.  If you’d like to read or re-read the other articles in the series they are available at www.FirearmsCoalition.org and also at www.GunVoter.org.

Every grass roots lobbying organization needs to schedule two strategic planning sessions every year.  The output of one is a legislative plan, and the other is a political action plan.

The legislative session should be held after elections and before the legislature convenes.  In most states, that will fall in December or January.  The political action planning session should be held as soon after the legislature adjourns as possible. Continue reading Strategic Planning →

The Knox Update

Swing for the Fences!

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Swing for the Fences!

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, January 28, 2010) In politics, like baseball, there is a time to bunt and a time to swing for the fence.  This year is ripe for home runs.  The political climate this year offers a unique opportunity for rights advocates to make major gains – both legislatively and politically.  To make those gains we need to pull out all of the stops and go big.

The election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts was clear proof that voters are unhappy.  Politicians who were already concerned about disgruntled voters are now terrified as they look toward the November elections.  Pundits and analysts can spin the Brown victory any way they wish but the facts are clear.  Voters are not happy with the way Democrats have exercised control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency.  The backlash won’t stop at congressional elections and the local politicians know it.  Many state legislators rode the wave of Democrat ascendancy to gain control of their state legislatures and as they watch that wave crashing on the rocks, they know they have a serious fight on the way this November. Continue reading Swing for the Fences! →

The Knox Update

A Lot of Work to Do

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

A Lot of Work to Do

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, January 14, 2010) I recently wrote about the need for preaching to the choir – too many of our own friends, family members, and fellow shooters are woefully uninformed about the fight for liberty.  A chance conversation in a hardware store this week really brought home just how much work there is to do beyond the choir room doors.  At the hardware store I got into a conversation with a fellow shopper.  As conversations with me tend to do, it wasn’t long before we were talking about guns and gun laws.  The fellow’s wife had joined the conversation by this time and while his reaction was troubling, her reaction was down right scary.

This was a nice couple in their 50’s, fairly conservative, into classic cars, and in the market for a .38 for home protection.  They were not loony-tune lefties by any means.  They also mentioned a good friend who owns many guns and reloads.  The conversation rolled along smoothly until the topic of “Uzi’s and machineguns” came up.  As you can imagine, it wasn’t me talking about “Uzi’s and machineguns.” Continue reading A Lot of Work to Do →

The Knox Update

NRA Board Elections 2010

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

NRA Director Elections 2010

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, February 18, 2010) It is time again to elect one third of the absurdly large Board of Directors of NRA.  Each year 25 seats come up for election for a 3-year term and then one of the runner-ups is elected to a 1-year term at the annual meetings.  This year 24 of the current directors are running for reelection and there are 7 non-incumbent nominees also running resulting in 31 candidates for 25 seats.

As usual, the field includes a number of big names and celebrities, all of whom are certain to win.  This category includes Bob Barr, Dave Butz, Richard Childress, Sandy Froman, Marion Hammer, Susan Howard, Karl Malone, Oliver North, Ted Nugent, and Don Young.

Normally Joaquin Jackson and Larry Craig would have made the shoo-in list, but Senator Craig’s highly publicized personal issues and Ranger Jackson’s televised comments suggesting that “assault rifles” should be restricted to 5 round capacity place their reelection in doubt.  While both of these men have served well on the board and I consider both to be personal friends, I would have preferred it if they had stepped aside to give someone else a chance to serve. Continue reading NRA Board Elections 2010 →

Reports

Iowa – Continued

The Iowa Controversy

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, January 15) The Iowa Legislature started their brief 2010 election year session last Monday and fortunately, as of Friday, January 15th, NRA had still not filed their concealed carry reform bill.  The NRA proposal first surfaced last November as a revolting collection of sloppily worded amendments to Iowa’s atrocious weapons laws. Thanks to the efforts of rights groups, including The Firearms Coalition and GunVoter.org, NRA made several revisions, improving their first proposal, yet still falling far short of a good bill.  NRA’s current offering could be a barely tolerable fallback, assuming a good bill wasn’t possible, but the current political situation argues for stronger demands.  While the latest version has a number of very good provisions, it also contains things that simply shouldn’t be there.  It boils down to something simple: how much poo should Iowa GunVoters eat? Continue reading Iowa – Continued →

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