Mark Mason of Edgewater will have an extra Merry Christmas this year, as he is the winner of the lastest CSSA raffle for a new Taurus Millenium Pro 9mm pistol. Thanks to all who supported this raffle, and look for new raffles after the first of the year.
Congratulations to Wes Redfield of Denver, winner of the CMP M1 drawing held Sept. 8. Tickets for the current CSSA raffle (drawing in December) for a Taurus Millennium Pro pistol are still on sale for $2 or 3 for $5.
Congratulations to Ryan Edwards of Brighton, winner of a CMP M1 Garand in CSSA’s raffle held December 29. Thanks to all who supported CSSA in this raffle and look for more raffles coming later in 2009!
Congratulations to David Sumner of Brighton, winner of an Olympic Arms AR-15 carbine in the CSSA Raffle drawing held September 26, 2008. Our thanks to all who supported CSSA in this important fundraiser. Look for more great raffles in the coming months, including our current raffle for a CMP M1 Garand.
Don Gilmore of Castle Rock was the winner of a CMP M1 Garand in the Jan 2008 raffle drawing. Thanks to all who supported CSSA in purchasing tickets. Watch your email and the CSSA website for upcoming raffles.
Congratulations to Kathy Stockert of Loma, CO, winner of the Olympic Arms Carbine Raffle April 2007. And a big THANKS! to all who supported CSSA in this important fundraiser.
Thursday 01 July 2010
NRA ATTACKS AND FALSE INTERNET RUMORS ONLY SERVE TO AID GUN CONTROL FORCES
Those who support and defend our First Freedom are cautioned to be wary of spreading false internet rumors and attacks on NRA. It is important to remember that the NRA is the oldest civil rights and firearms rights organization in the world and has always been the chief driving force in protecting the Second Amendment. Assertions to the contrary are simply false and can usually be traced back to organizations of questionable commitment to, and with no track record of advancing, the cause of firearms rights, including those directly hostile to the right to keep and bear arms.The following is a statement from NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox regarding false allegations about NRA-ILA and the Kagan Supreme Court nomination:Wednesday, June 30, 2010The NRA has received a number of questions about blog posts that claim I issued a “gag order” to NRA board members on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is absurd and wrong. This claim shows complete ignorance of how the NRA operates. NRA staff, including everyone (myself included) at the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, work for the NRA Executive Vice President, who in turn works for the NRA board, which in turn is elected by NRA’s voting members.
Under the NRA by-laws, NRA-ILA has "sole responsibility to administer the legislative, legal, informational and fund raising activities of the Association relating to the defense or furtherance of the right to keep and bear arms, in accordance with the objectives and policies established by the Board of Directors.” To carry out that mission, NRA-ILA strives to ensure that the NRA’s positions are clear and based on the most accurate information possible.
The confirmation of a Supreme Court justice is not to be taken lightly. That’s why, when Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement in April, I sent an e-mail to NRA board members and staff stating that with the critical case of McDonald v. Chicago still pending before the Court, “it is very important that NRA not comment on Justice Stevens nor engage in speculation on potential successors.” Similarly, when the President nominated Solicitor General Kagan to the Court in May, I sent a message to the NRA Board pointing out her lack of a judicial record; noting that NRA-ILA was reviewing all available information; and stating that “it is important that we all refrain from commenting until we know more about Kagan’s views regarding the Second Amendment.” Again, I referenced the fact that NRA has a case pending before the Court.When Ms. Kagan was nominated, little information on her record was available. More recently, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library has released an enormous volume of documents from her time in the White House. NRA-ILA staff has reviewed these carefully and they raise serious concerns. As we said last week:What we've seen to date shows a hostility towards our Right to Keep and Bear Arms, such as her role in developing the Clinton Administration's 1998 ban on importation of many models of semi-automatic rifles; her note mentioning the NRA and the Ku Klux Klan as “bad guy” organizations; and her comment to Justice Marshall that she was “not sympathetic” to a challenge to Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban.Respect for the Senate confirmation process requires that a nominee be given the opportunity to explain his or her position on critical issues affecting gun owners. That’s why the NRA has been working with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to make sure she is thoroughly questioned on these issues. Once the hearings are complete, the NRA will announce its position on her confirmation.This is exactly the approach the NRA took last year when we opposed the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. Early in the process, we expressed our serious concerns about her record. We announced our opposition after her confirmation hearings ended without evidence that she would properly respect our fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms and apply it to the states. Her dissenting vote in McDonald v. Chicago confirmed that our position was correct.Unfortunately, false Internet rumors are far too often repeated as fact. Rest assured, however, that the NRA is fully committed to representing the interests of our members and all gun owners in this process and defending the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, as we do in all legislative, legal and political arenas.
Last week, the University of Colorado Board of Regents voted 5-4 to appeal the Colorado Court of Appeals April ruling in Students for Concealed Carry on Campus v. CU Regents which declared the CU concealed carry ban illegal. The COA held that the 2003 Colorado Concealed Carry Act did not provide an exemption for CU or any other public college/university, and thus CUs ban on licensed concealed carry was contrary to state law. Colorado State University rescinded a planned gun ban on its campuses in wake of the COA decision.
CU will now prepare a petition for writ of certiorari to the Colorado Supreme Court, asking it to review and reverse the COA. If three of the seven justices on the Supreme Court vote to grant the writ, the matter will be briefed and argued before the Court, likely sometime next year.
This is a good opportunity to remind Colorado gun owners and those who believe in the inalienable right of self-defense that CU Regents are elected officials—DID YOU FIND OUT YOUR REGENT’S POSITION ON FIREARMS RIGHTS AND SELF-DEFENSE BEFORE YOU VOTED FOR HIM/HER? Remember that when you vote this November. And remember that the winner of the Governor’s race will likely select several new Colorado Supreme Court Justices during his term. DO YOU KNOW THE CANDIDATES’ POSITIONS ON YOUR FIRST FREEDOM? Remember to vote…and Vote Freedom First!
BILL IMPROVING “DENY-ON-ARREST” SIGNED BY GOVERNOR
HB10-1411, sponsored by Rep. Mark Waller (R-15), was signed by the Governor last week. This bill will improve the decade-long policy of indefinitely denying firearms purchases merely because a person’s record shows a past criminal charge or arrest with no record of adjudication. Under the new law, if CBI denies a purchase based only on an arrest/charge in a case that is no longer pending before the courts, the buyer has thirty days to appeal the denial to CBI, which must then determine within thirty days whether or not a disqualifying adjudication has in fact occurred. Absent confirmation of a disqualifying adjudication, CBI would be required to rescind its denial of the purchase. This bill improves the current scheme by placing the burden on the state, not the purchaser, to confirm ineligibility and puts a specific time limit on how long the state can prevent the completion of a firearms purchase. Before Rep. Waller introduced and obtained bi-partisan support for his bill, the former “deny-on-arrest” policy was in danger of becoming permanent with the passage of HB10-1391.
Please call Rep. Waller (303-866-5525) and express your thanks for his efforts in improving the firearms purchasing process for Colorado gun owners.
NRA Message Re: Hillary Clinton And The UN Arms Trade Treaty Rumor
Friday, May 28, 2010
We continue to receive numerous inquiries regarding UN international treaties, and their impact on our Second Amendment rights. The latest rumor making its way around the Internet claims that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton actually signed a UN small arms treaty.
Contrary to this widely circulated e-mail, Hillary Clinton has not signed any small arms treaty. She could not have done so, in fact, because no such treaty has yet been negotiated.
As we noted in an update from last November, the UN Arms Trade Treaty will be drafted between now and 2012, and even if signed, would not take effect in the U.S. until it was ratified by the Senate.
Please rest assured that, as we said in November, NRA will be actively involved in this process and will oppose any treaty that would attempt to impose limits on our Second Amendment rights. In the meantime, we urge gun owners to follow this issue in NRA's magazines and NRA-ILA's Grassroots Alerts. We also urge gun owners not to circulate misinformation on this issue.
U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision to Protect Hunting Media
Friday, April 23, 2010
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal animal cruelty law so broadly written that it would criminalize the distribution of hunting videos and magazines under many circumstances. The 8-1 ruling in U.S. v. Stevens is a big win for NRA, and for hunters across America. A brief submitted by NRA was cited in the majority's opinion.
"The NRA condemns animal cruelty. However, hunting and depictions of hunting are not animal cruelty. This excessive law would have imposed felony penalties for creating, possessing or selling mainstream hunting images. Therefore, we are pleased that the Supreme Court ruled against this overbroad law," said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox. "Indeed, NRA publications like American Hunter, the largest-circulation all-hunting magazine in the world, could have been in jeopardy if this law was upheld."
Anti-hunting extremist organizations like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) were the primary advocates for the deliberately overreaching language in Congress and its main defenders in Court. HSUS's intentions should have been apparent from the beginning. Before becoming president of the organization, Wayne Pacelle said, "The definition of obscenity on the newsstands should be extended to many hunting magazines." And, this is precisely what the law the Court struck down did.
"American hunters and sportsmen are our country's true conservationists. It is offensive that those who work hardest for the preservation efforts of wildlife in this country are grouped with those who commit actual animal cruelty," concluded Cox. "Fortunately, the Supreme Court chose the First Amendment over Pacelle's radical agenda, and the overruling of this law prevents the unwarranted punishment of ethical hunters and outdoor media in the United States."
Colorado Sportsmen Are Being Pushed from the Denver Area’s Last Remaining Training Ground for Hunting Dogs!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Please Stand Up and Make Your Voices Heard!
Significant acreage in Chatfield State Park and Cherry Creek Park near Denver was originally designated for hunting dog training making these parks vital assets to the sporting dog community for many years. Colorado sportsmen and women are now being pushed out of these hunting dog-training areas with plans to convert them to dog parks that would prohibit most training activities. These areas are the only public place to train sporting dogs in the region. If the area is fully converted to a dog park, then NO place will be left for hunters and sporting dog enthusiasts.
The Colorado State Parks Board has developed management plan alternatives that are clearly biased against sportsmen who have traditionally used the area. In its news release justifying its plans, concerns are raised over public safety conflicts from unruly dogs as well as detrimental impacts on habitat. Hunting dogs generally have the fundamental obedience training necessary to obey their owner and not interfere with others in these public places. Conversely, many family dogs do not exhibit the basic obedience necessary for control in a public place which can create safety concerns and conflicts with other users. Habitat damage is surely due to the increased traffic of the dog park crowd and allowing their dogs to roam freely over every square inch of the land. The hunting dog community has protected these parks for many years and tried to leave as little impact on the natural environment as possible in order to ensure it mimics actual hunting terrain.
Chatfield State Park has a comment form with three alternatives listed. Alternative B provides the best protection for the sporting dog community, which segments approximately 24.5 acres for training out of 75 total acres.
Please go to the following link and submit comments in support of Alternative B:
It would also be appropriate to convey your displeasure with the general plan to significantly reduce the area for hunting dog training. There are many dog parks already in the area along with miles of sidewalks for the non-hunting community to use.
Cherry Creek Park also has three alternatives, but none of the alternatives provide adequate protection for sporting dog training.
Please go to the following link and voice your concern over the exclusion of training areas for hunting dogs:
Your voice is essential to protect Colorado’s great sporting dog heritage! A proper place to train hunting dogs is becoming harder to come by around the country and the remaining land must be preserved. Do not allow this blatantly anti-hunting action by the Colorado State Parks Board to stand without a fight!
COURT OF APPEALS KEEPS CASE AGAINST CU CONCEALED CARRY BAN ALIVE
The Colorado Court of Appeals has reversed the El Paso County District Court’s dismissal of a lawsuit by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus against the University of Colorado and it’s ban of concealed carry on its Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs campuses. More than a year ago, the Students’ suit was dismissed by the District Court for failing to assert a cause of action for which the Students were entitled to relief under the law. In its reversal of the District Court, the Court of Appeals held that the uniform Colorado Concealed Carry Act and the corresponding pre-emption law provided adequate grounds on which the Students could sue. The COA rejected CU’s claim, favored by the District Court, that CU could exempt itself at whim from state law pertaining to firearms, finding that if the General Assembly had intended to exempt public colleges and universities from the concealed carry law it could have and would have done so (the law does in fact exclude concealed carry in public secondary schools grades K-12). Another important holding of the COA was that previous appellate court holdings that Robertson v. Denver (1994) declared that firearms possession/ownership was not a fundamental right in Colorado misinterpreted the holding of the Colorado Supreme Court in that case, and that Robertson also did not hold that laws limiting/restricting firearms ownership were subject to the easy-to-pass “rational basis” test. In the instant case, the COA reminded that, per Robertson, state restriction on firearms must be a reasonable exercise of the state’s police power to act in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare. The court alluded that outright bans of all firearms likely exceed state authority under this standard, where in restrictions in Robertson were limited to specific types of firearms.
The case has now been remanded (returned) to the District Court for reinstatement of the Students’ claims. CU can request a rehearing in front of the entire Court of Appeals, or can request review by the Colorado Supreme Court.
HOUSE JUDICIARY APPROVES PERMANENT “DENY-ON-ARREST”
HB10-1391, sponsored by Rep. Joe Rice (D) and co-sponsored by four anti-gun Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, was approved by the Committee Monday on a 6-5 vote. This bill would prevent the expiration of Colorado’s “Deny-on-Arrest” policy and make it permanent. The only Democrat dissent was Rep. Sal Pace, who also recently voted in favor of a bill that would improve Colorado’s “Make My Day” law. CSSA President Tony Fabian testified against the bill, pointing out several flaws in the reasoning and concerns of the bill’s proponents, including the sponsor’s false claim that the bill was necessary to continue background checks for firearm purchases in Colorado. The bill now goes to the House floor for final vote.
Everyone in Colorado’s firearms community knows someone who has been unfairly victimized by this unfair, unjust and unconstitutional law. Please call your state representative at 303-866-2904 and strongly urge them to oppose HB10-1391, as it infringes on the rights of all law-abiding Colorado gun owners.
Have you or someone you know ever been denied a firearms purchase because bureaucrats failed to maintain accurate and updated records? Over the past ten years, thousands of law-abiding Colorado citizens have been denied their Constitutional right to lawfully purchase a firearm thanks to Colorado’s policy of “deny-on-arrest,” which means that a record of a criminal charge alone is sufficient to prevent a person from purchasing a firearm. That’s right…if you have ever been charged with an offense that was reduced or dismissed, and the court failed to note that in the state criminal record database, you can be prevented from purchasing a firearm until you, not the state, proves that you are in fact eligible to possess a firearm! It is you, not the state (which was responsible for maintaining accurate records in the first place!), who must bear the cost and inconvenience of correcting the record. In some cases, this may be impossible due to lost or destroyed records. It’s not constitutional, it’s not fair, and it’s NOT RIGHT! “Deny-on-arrest” was scheduled to expire July 1 of this year, but anti-gun Democrats in the Colorado legislature have other ideas…
HB1391, sponsored by anti-gun Democrats in the General Assembly, would make “deny on arrest” PERMANENT! The unconscionable and unconstitutional policy of denying firearms purchases by persons whose criminal records are incomplete, the worst anti-gun legislation ever forced upon law-abiding Colorado gun owners, is set to expire in three months—but Democrat gun-control advocates in the General Assembly want to make it PERMANENT! Thousands of regular folks, perhaps even yourself, have had to spend months and thousands of their hard-earned dollars to correct/complete records that the State should have maintained in the first place just so they could purchase a firearm. ONLY IN COLORADO ARE GUN PURCHASERS PRESUMED GUILTY UNTIL THEY PROVE THEIR OWN INNOCENCE TO CBI—under federal law it is the burden of the government to establish that a purchaser is ineligible to possess a firearm if the purchaser’s criminal records are unclear or incomplete. The right to own a firearm is guaranteed by both the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions—why do citizens have to spend their own time and money to exercise that right? We all know someone who has been victimized by this egregious law—maybe even you yourself. Please call/write/email your state legislator (directory at www.leg.state.co.us ), especially the representatives listed below on the House Judiciary Committee where the bill will first be heard, and strongly but respectfully urge them to oppose any background check bill that continues “deny on arrest!” DON’T LET THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONTINUE TO TRAMPLE ON THE RIGHTS OF LAW-ABIDING COLORADO GUN OWNERS!
Support the future of the shooting sports and have a great time doing it — attend a Friends of NRA Banquet near you! For a schedule of Colorado banquets: SHIFT-CLICK HERE
CU REGENTS VOTE TO APPEAL REVERSAL OF HANDGUN BAN
Advertisement
