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Archive for the ‘gun rights’ Category

Brat Likely to Be Next Congressman from 7th District

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , on August 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

That’s the summation of this article from yesterday’s Richmond Times Dispatch.

Since at least 1996, no Democrat has carried the 7th District in a statewide race for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general or U.S. senator — with the exception of former Gov. Mark R. Warner’s 2008 Senate victory over Republican Jim Gilmore.

And if you are looking for the last time the 7th District had a Democrat as a congressman, you have to go back to the 70″s.  That doesn’t mean gun owners should take this for granted.  Dave Brat‘s opponent, Jack Trammell, doesn’t even address the Second Amendment as one of the important issues on the campaign web site.

November 4th will see two elections taking place at once for the 7th District, a special election to replace Congressman Eric Cantor, who steps down today, and then the general election contest.  Brat and Trammell face off for both and there will be a Libertarian on the General Election ballot as well.

 

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NRA-ILA Gets Behind Gillespie in Virginia Senate Race

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on August 15, 2014| 1 Comment »

I got this mailing piece from NRA-ILA yesterday:

GillespieNRAILA2 GillespieNRAILA

It’s clear that incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Warner’s support for both of Obama’s anti-rights Supreme Court nominees and his vote for Manchin/Schumer/Toomey cost him his previous “A” rating and any chance of an endorsement for re-election.

Please contact the Gillespie campaign today and take some time to volunteer in your area.  You can find a campaign office near you by clicking here.

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Did DC Police Chief Throw Gun Ban Lobby Under Bus?

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 1, 2014| 1 Comment »

Yesterday, the Washington Post had this article where District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier said she isn’t worried about law abiding citizens being able to carry firearms in the District, but being able to provide security for the dignitaries and special events in the area.  One has to ask, if she isn’t worried about law abiding citizens using firearms to commit crimes, why would she worry about them being a security threat?  It also appears the chief may have come off the gun ban reservation with her comments about law abiding citizens carrying firearms not being a criminal threat.  That’s not what we usually hear from those wanting to restrict our rights.

Lanier also questioned the position that armed citizens have a deterring affect on crime:

“When Heller came out in 2008, people said, ‘Oh, street crime’s going to go down.’ Well, Heller only allows you to have a handgun in your home, and guess what happened? Burglaries went up. So I don’t know that there’s any valid debate on the crime side. My one focus, really, now is going to be security of our dignitaries in those really highly sensitive large events.”

NRA News’ Cam Edwards talked about this yesterday (and suggested was throwing the gun control crowd under the bus) and he said when he went back and looked at the numbers, he had to wonder what the chief was talking about because while robberies were higher in the first part of 2008 than they were for the same period in 2007, the Heller decision did not come out until June of 2008, and the final robbery numbers for ’08 were lower than the final numbers for 2007.  He said they were also lower in 2009 than in 2007.  While robberies did spike in 2010, they went down again in 2011 and were lower than 2007.

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Jack Trammell, Sacrificial Lamb Thrust Into a Real Campaign

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Thanks to the Wall Street Journal Washington Wire Blog, we get a little glimpse of the 7th Congressional District Democrat candidate Jack Trammell.  Until Tuesday, he was operating a one man campaign with a homemade web site that gave just a information about his background:

Mr. Trammell, 50 years old, wrote on his original campaign website about admiration for John F. Kennedy, the fact that six of his family’s seven children are currently in college and that he lives on a farm at the intersection of a local highway and a river.

But that all changed Tuesday night with Cantor’s unexpected loss:

He launched a new website that is a cookie-cutter version of campaign splash pages. It has a form to collect email address and make a contribution. There’s a three paragraph biography. “He was an active worker on both Clinton campaigns in Kentucky … he also worked for the Dukakis campaign.” And it links to his bare-bones social media presence.

“When we saw the opportunity that Tuesday night’s vote presented to us we chatted with him about helping him revamp his website,” Robert Dempsey, executive director of the Virginia Democratic Party, said. “We were able to offer him some helpful suggestions.”

You can bet with support for both Clinton and Dukakis, Trammell is not going to be campaigning as a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.

What once was expected to just be another sacrificial lamb put up against a well established incumbent is now a campaign where he is equal to his opponent – a little known individual with even less experience raising money.  We already know that the state Democratic Party is on board for Trammell and you can bet the national Democrats will join soon.  The question is, will the NRCC step in to provide the necessary fundraising assistance to help Brat hold this R+10 district.

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NRA-PVF Updates 7th District Challenger Rating

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on June 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has posted an update to the candidate rating for 7th District GOP challenger Dave Brat.  Last week the web site noted  a “?” by Brat’s name, indicating that he had not returned his candidate questionnaire.  The campaign challenged that assessment, even to the point of a Brat supporter contacting this EVC.  That individual was directed to have the candidate or his campaign to call NRA Federal Affairs.  Apparently that occurred as today, the NRA-PVF web site now indicates that Brat has an “AQ” rating, meaning the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire indicates he is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment but does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues.  The GOP Primary is June 10th.

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NRA-PVF Endorses Cantor, Wittman in June 10th Primary

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , on May 30, 2014| 1 Comment »

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has posted the endorsements for the June 10th primaries in Virginia and has endorsed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the 7th Congressional District and Congressman Rob Wittman in the 1st Congressional District for the June 10th Republican Primary.  Cantor received the NRA-PVF highest rating of “A+” and Wittman received an “A” rating.  Cantor’s opponent, Dave Brat, had a “?” by his name, indicating that Brat apparently did not return his NRA candidate questionaire.    It is unknown why Brat would not have returned his questionnaire given he is running as the Tea Party supported candidate.  Wittman’s opponent Anthony Riedel received a rating of “AQ” indicating a pro-gun candidate whose rating is based solely on the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire and who does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues.

In the 8th Congressional District Democrat Primary, gun owners have no choice from which to choose.  All of the  candidates either received a ? or an “F”.  One of the “?” candidates however is former Lt. Governor Don Beyer.  He was no friend to gun owners as Lt. Governor and when he was a candidate for Governor in 1997, was the darling of the gun ban crowd.

The NRA has what is commonly referred to as an “incumbant friendly” endorsement policy:

NRA has an incumbent-friendly policy that dictates our support for pro-gun incumbents seeking reelection. It is important that we stand with our friends who stand with us in Congress or the state legislature through their actions. Of course, should a pro-gun challenger win his election, and stay true to support for our gun rights, then he will be the beneficiary of this policy when seeking re-election.

Our endorsement is not given lightly; it is something that is reserved for those candidates who meet certain criteria and something that must be earned.

Virginia gun owners in the 7th District have a true friend in Congressman Cantor.  While a member of both the House of Delegates in the General Assembly and the House of Representatives in Congress, Cantor has a voting record supporting our 2nd Amendment freedom.   In the 1st Congressional District, Wittman likewise has a voting record supporting our rights going back to his days in the General Assembly’s House of Delegates.

Please note the NRA is a single issue organization and is only concerned with the issue of our 2nd Amendment Rights.  In the 7th Congressional District, the intra-party contest between Cantor and Brat has come down to who is the most conservative.  Brat’s supporters believe Cantor has abandoned his conservative principles on issues such as spending and immigration.  Cantor has tried to paint Brat as a “liberal college professor” because of his serving as one of former Governor Tim Kaine’s economic advisors.  NRA would likely tell Brat supporters upset that the organization endorsed Cantor that none of those concerns were considered in their endorsement.  Obviously NRA does not lobby on the issue of immigration or federal spending.  Their issue is the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and on that issue, Both Cantor and Wittman have been our friends.

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They Lied

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Not gun related but it is election related and includes Virginia Senator Mark Warner.  This morning Jim Geraghty shared the below video as part of his Morning Jolt daily newsletter.

Obamacare is unpopular even in Virginia and “Mr. Bipartisan” Mark Warner could  take hits in is poll numbers if he is hammered enough with ads like this either by outside groups or the eventual GOP opponent.  The GOP will pick its candidate at the state GOP convention in early June.

Warner looked unbeatable going into this year’s election until former RNC and VAGOP party chairman Ed Gillespie jumped in the race.  If the GOP doesn’t commit suicide at its convention in June, the election could end up being a close race.  Despite his claims of bipartisanship, Warner has voted with Obama on almost every issue.  He also voted for the Manchin/Schumer/Toomey amendment to the 2013 gun ban legislation that would have criminalized private transfers of firearms.  For 13 years Warner has tried to cultivate a pro-gun persona.  One vote in 2013 likely changed all of that.  He wasn’t endorsed in 2008 but had an “A” rating from the NRA based on the fact he signed a number of pro-gun bills as governor.  His opponent in 2008 was former Governor and NRA Board Member Jim Gilmore, who also had an “A” rating.  We’ll see what the 2014 rating will be after having voted for Manchin as well as two anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, votes that the NRA scored.

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Anti-Gun Georgia Legislator Hosting Firearm Training

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The article is here.  Your reaction to the headline of the linked article and the text of the article might lead you to believe this is a pro-rights legislator who is offering a great service to his constituents.  You have to listen to the audio of the radio interview to find out he is the typical anti-rights legislator spewing misleading statistics like, “if you have a gun in your home you are more likely to injure yourself or a loved one than an intruder.”

Having said that, he is at least providing the opportunity for folks interested in, or who may have just purchased a firearm, to get some basic training.

 

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2014 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on April 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Last weekend was the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Indianapolis where over 75,000 NRA members attended making it the 2nd largest atttendance in the 143 year history of the organization.  Besides a lot of great products on display, some new membership promotional videos featuring some of the NRA’s new commentators.  NRA is making some great outreach to women with these new resources.  And with market research showing that as much as a third of all new gun owners are women.  That’s a smart idea.

 

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More Anti-Gun Moves by Terry McAuliffe

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , on April 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

On Friday, in my role as VSSA Legislative Director, I had the opportunity to speak with Cam Edwards on NRANews’ Cam and Company about Terry McAuliffe’s latest anti-gun changes to legislation passed by the 2014 General Assembly, as well as Internet troll Mike Dickinson.

 

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