2008 Year in Review for Second Amendment Advocates
By NRA News, 12/31/2008 9:09:31 AM

Here are some of the top stories we brought you in the NRA-ILA
Grassroots Alert in 2008. With what will no doubt be a very busy 2009,
we must redouble our efforts to ensure we are prepared to meet the
opportunities and challenges we will face next year. We will continue
to provide you with information in future Alerts to ensure our mutual
success.

JANUARY:

The District of Columbia files its brief in District of Columbia v.
Heller. Nearly two dozen briefs are filed with the U.S. Supreme Court
by individuals and groups supporting D.C.'s bans on handguns, having a
gun assembled within the home, and carrying a gun within the home. The
U.S. Supreme Court schedules oral arguments in the District of
Columbia v. Heller case for March 18th.

H.R. 4900 - the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Reform and Firearms Modernization Act"-is introduced. H.R. 4900
represents the NRA's latest efforts to pass legislation that will make
it easier for lawful gun owners and dealers to comply with federal law
and regulations, while ensuring that those who break the law are
punished accordingly.

The District Columbia Court of Appeals finds that the "Protection of
Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" (PLCAA) blocks lawsuits under D.C.'s
"Strict Liability Act." FEBRUARY:

In his capacity as President of the United States Senate, Vice
President Cheney signs on to the congressional amicus curiae brief
affirming the individual rights view of the Second Amendment. Led by
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), the bi-partisan majorities of the
U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who sign the brief represent
the largest number of co-signers of a congressional amicus brief in
American history-55 members of the Senate and 250 members of the House
co-signed this brief along with Vice President Cheney.

After nearly five years of effort by NRA-ILA, the U.S. Department of
the Interior responds to the many requests for a change in its policy
on carrying and transporting firearms in national parks and wildlife
refuges. In a letter to the U.S. Senators who wrote him asking for
this policy change, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne directs Lyle
Laverty, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Game and Parks, to "develop and
propose for public comment by April 30, Federal regulations that will
update firearms policies on these lands to reflect existing Federal
laws (such as those prohibiting weapons in Federal buildings) and the
laws by which the host States govern transporting and carrying of
firearms on their analogous public lands."

The "Grassroots Minute" video component is added to the Alert.

MARCH:

The Supreme Court hears the Heller case. Most in the Supreme Court
chamber seem to agree that the Second Amendment protects an individual
right. The issues most in contention include the meaning of the words
"keep" and "bear," and whether the amendment protects the possession
of arms only during militia service or also for self-defense; whether
a total ban on handguns is a "reasonable" regulation of firearms;
whether restrictions on the right to arms should be subject to "strict
scrutiny," or legislatures or courts should be able to decide what is
"reasonable;" and what kinds of regulations would be "reasonable"
under the Second Amendment.

To allow easily access and the ability to navigate through all of the
detailed information we've compiled on District of Columbia v. Heller,
NRA-ILA unveils a new webpage-http://www.nraila.org/heller/-that
contains related articles and the dozens of amicus briefs filed in the
case.

A Gallup poll finds that an overwhelming majority of the United States
public-73%-believes that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of
Americans to own firearms.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) releases Ballistic Imaging, the
report of a committee it assigned to evaluate the feasibility,
accuracy, and technical capability of a possible national database of
so-called "ballistic" images from all new guns sold in the United
States. The committee considered dozens of factors, including the
uniqueness of images, the ability of imaging systems to capture
images, the odds against images in a database being matched with
cartridge cases and/or bullets found at crime scenes, the fact that
"there is a huge existing supply of weapons and ammunition that would
not be entered into the database," and the fact that criminals can
beat the system by using guns that do not leave brass at crime scenes,
such as revolvers. The committee concludes, "A national reference
ballistic image database should not be established."

APRIL:

A sad day for American gun owners; on Saturday, April 5, Charlton
Heston passes away. With his passing, NRA loses a past President, dear
friend, and fearless advocate, while America loses a great patriot and
the Second Amendment, a faithful friend. Two resolutions honoring Mr.
Heston-H.Res. 1091 by Congressman Don Young (R-AK), and S.Res. 512 by
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)-are introduced in the two houses of Congress.

Another new feature is added to the Grassroots Alert- a weekly
three-question poll that will help us better understand how our
readers feel about current events, politics, and the direction of our
cause and our country.

Obama's hypocrisy continues. Following on reports of his advocacy of a
law to shut down gun shops, and his hollow attempt at reassuring
pro-gun voters by telling them, "I have no intention of taking away
folks' guns," Obama then tells the Pittsburgh Tribune "I am not in
favor of concealed weapons," and that he favors ".reasonable,
thoughtful gun control measure[s].." A campaign "fact sheet" touts
Obama's support for sportsmen, claiming Obama "greatly respects the
constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms" (note the failure to
say "keep" and bear arms). But the "fine print" reads, "He also
believes that the right is subject to reasonable and commonsense
regulation."

The faux "pro-gun" group, American Hunters & Shooters Association
(AHSA) does what any pro-gun group would do (sarcasm intended)-they
endorse Barack Obama-American's most anti-gun presidential candidate.

MAY:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit delivers a major blow
to New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's lawsuit aimed at
bankrupting the firearm industry, by ruling that the "Protection of
Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" (PLCAA) of 2005 blocks the city's lawsuit
against a host of gun makers and distributor. Activist U.S. District
Judge Jack B. Weinstein announces he will allow New York City's
lawsuit against Adventure Outdoors, a Georgia gun store, to continue.

180 staunch, pro-gun patriots attend the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop,
held in conjunction with NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits in
Louisville, Ky.

After reports in the NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert, a North Carolina school
district backs off a decision that prevented a group of young
sportsmen and women from participating in the North Carolina Wildlife
Resources Commission Hunter Education Tournament.

JUNE:

On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court affirms, in a 5-4 decision, the
ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that the
Second Amendment protects a pre-existing, private, individually-held
Right to Keep Arms and to Bear Arms, without regard to a person's
relationship to a militia!

NRA files five lawsuits challenging local gun bans in San Francisco,
and in Chicago and several of its suburbs.

A Pennsylvania court sides with NRA and issues a permanent restraining
order against two of the city of Philadelphia's municipal gun control
measures enacted in April. The measures, banning so-called "assault
weapons" and restricting handgun purchases to one per month, violate
Pennsylvania's state preemption laws, passed by the state legislature
to maintain uniformity of gun laws.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) signs NRA-backed "Castle Doctrine"
legislation into law to expand the self-defense rights of law-abiding
citizens.

The NRA-supported "Open Fields Initiative" language is inserted into
the House and Senate passed 2008 Farm Bill. The original bills, SB
1502 and HR 2473, made up the Voluntary Public Access and Wildlife
Habitat Incentive Program to increase public access to private hunting
grounds.

NRA-ILA unveils its new "I'm a Bitter Gun Owner and I Vote!" yard signs.

JULY:

In the wake of the historic Supreme Court decision protecting an
individual right to possess firearms, the town of Wilmette, Illinois
repeals its handgun ban that has been on the books for almost 20 years.

Rather than closing the prescribed comment period as scheduled and
moving toward allowing law-abiding citizens to carry their
legally-owned firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, U.S.
Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva
(D-Ariz.), succeed in delaying the implementation of the final rule by
bullying the Department of the Interior (their respective
congressional subcommittees have oversight of national parks) to
extend the deadline for comments an additional 30 days.

AUGUST:

D.C.'s Mayor and City Council are sued again over the District's
thinly veiled attempt to continue its restrictions on firearm
ownership following the Heller ruling. The Supreme Court explicitly
articulated that handguns are constitutionally-protected, yet the
District's Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008 bans all
semi-automatic handguns and requires any firearm in the home to be
disassembled, unloaded, and secured by locking devices unless there is
an "immediate" threat of violence, even for innocuous purposes such as
cleaning.

The "Second Amendment Enforcement Act" (H.R. 6691) is introduced. This
NRA-backed legislation is needed to enforce the U.S. Supreme Court's
decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. The "Second Amendment
Enforcement Act" seeks to repeal the District's ban on semi-automatic
handguns; restore the right of self-defense by repealing the
requirement that firearms be disassembled or secured with a trigger
lock in the home; reform the current D.C. registration system that
requires multiple visits to police headquarters, ballistics testing,
passing a written test on D.C. gun laws, fingerprinting, and limiting
registration to one handgun per 90 days; and, create a limited
exemption to the federal ban on interstate handgun sales by allowing
D.C. residents to purchase handguns in Virginia and Maryland.

The Village of Morton Grove, Illinois agrees to a stipulated dismissal
of a NRA lawsuit challenging the village's gun ban. A new town
ordinance recognizes the right to private handgun ownership, bringing
an end to NRA's lawsuit against the village. Morton Grove completely
repeals its ordinance banning handguns and agrees not to replace it
with any direct regulation other than to adopt existing state laws.

AHSA makes the ridiculous argument that NRA is anti-hunting because
NRA does not support the same candidates that Sierra Club and other
environmental groups support.

The problem is, these groups rate candidates on their radical
environmental record, not on their support for hunting or for gun
owners' rights. In fact, the politicians endorsed by the Sierra Club
are a "Who's Who" of the most anti-gun politicians in American
history. Gun-ban advocates like Barack Obama, John Kerry, Charles
Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Frank Lautenberg, Jack Reed,
and Teddy Kennedy have all been endorsed by the Sierra Club. Since
Teddy Kennedy wants to ban almost all ammunition used by hunters in
America, it is impossible to see how the Sierra Club is supporting
hunters by endorsing him.

SEPTEMBER:

The U.S. House of Representatives votes to approve the NRA-backed
"Second Amendment Enforcement Act" by an overwhelming bi-partisan vote
of 266-152.

NRA-PVF launches a comprehensive and very informative Web
site-GunBanObama.com-to serve as a resource for the facts on Barack
Obama's anti-Second Amendment stance. The FBI releases its crime
report for 2007 and, once again, gun control supporters take it on the
chin. "More guns means more crime?" Only in anti-gunner "La-La Land."
Violent crime has fallen as the number of guns has increased 4.5
million a year. There are more gun owners, owning more guns than ever
before, and violent crime is lower than anytime since Gerald Ford
became president!

A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan and the
University of Maryland finds "no evidence that gun shows lead to
substantial increases in either gun homicides or suicides. In
addition, tighter regulation of gun shows does not appear to reduce
the number of firearm-related deaths."

The study-"The Effect of Gun Shows on Gun-Related Deaths: Evidence
from California and Texas" (http://www.closup.umich.edu/research/
workingpapers/papers/gunshows-sept08-final.pdf ) - compares gun deaths
between 1994-2004 in two states with large numbers of gun shows
annually: California, which has the greatest restrictions on gun
shows, and Texas, which has none. OCTOBER:

In an open letter to our nation's gun owners, hunters, and sportsmen,
Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) Executive Director Richard
Pearson, whose credentials include deep involvement in the firearm
rights movement for more than 40 years, including serving as the chief
lobbyist for the ISRA for the past 15 years, uses his personal
experiences to highlight Barack Obama's true stance on the Second
Amendment.

The New Jersey Senate votes 32 to 6 to pass S802, legislation that
authorizes bow hunting on Sundays during the respective deer season
dates set by the State Fish and Game Code. Pennsylvania's governor
signs House Bill 1845 into effect. HB1845 is an omnibus legislative
package that contains a number of pro-gun provisions for Pennsylvania
gun owners.

Among the provisions is an "Emergency Powers" reform measure
prohibiting any government agency from confiscating firearms during a
state of emergency, such as occurred in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Other important provisions include: establishing the lawful carry of a
concealed firearm in state parks; funding for the acclaimed "Don't Lie
For The Other Guy" program administered by the National Shooting
Sports Foundation (NSSF); and an emergency permitting system for
concealed carry licenses for individuals who are under immediate threat.

NOVEMBER:

Barack Obama is elected President and immediately begins to disrespect
gun owners with a number of staff appointments. Potential
Administration employees are asked, "Do you or any members of your
immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and
registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please
also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the
cause of any personal injuries or property damage."

The extremist animal "rights" group, the Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS) once again calls for a nationwide ban on lead
ammunition, saying that studies by the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) and the North Dakota Department of Health prove that game shot
with lead ammunition poses a health threat to those who consume it.

DECEMBER:

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), through the National Park
Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announces the final
amended version of its changes to rules on carrying of firearms in
national parks and wildlife refuges. DOI's move will restore the
rights of law-abiding gun owners who wish to transport and carry
firearms for lawful purposes on most DOI lands, and will make federal
law consistent with the state law in which these public lands are located.

'''For more information, log onto http://www.nra.org