NRA Political Victory Fund chairman Chris W. Cox needs a brain transplant

In the August issue of American Rifleman, NRA PVF chairman Chris W. Cox takes up a whole page article titled Making Endorsements Count to explain the myopic single-issue viewpoint behind the NRA endorsement of certain political candidates. Mr. Cox doesn't mention the NRA support for Nevada Democrat Sen. Harry Reid but he does say he has received letters and emails from NRA members who had questions about "some of our endorsements". I'll bet he has received a few letters and I'll bet a lot of those letters were also telling him the writers were resigning their memberships or not renewing them as I have done and have been told many others have also. Here is my story about my 42-year membership in the NRA that I ended on July 2, 2010.

They say that most young people are not very conservative when then become adults, so I must have been an exception to the rule. In 1960, when I was 20 years old, the minimum voting age was 21. As a Catholic I was impressed with the background of John F. Kennedy and would have voted for him in 1960 if I could. My high esteem for this Democrat was soon shattered when he abandoned the Cuban freedom fighters after the Bay of Pigs invasion and left them without the air support he had promised them. That single act of treachery left Cuba solidly in the hands of a Communist dictator ever since. My self-awakening to patriotic causes didn’t occur until I saw the famous endorsement speech given to presidential candidate Sen. Barry Goldwater by Ronald Reagan in 1964 and from that day I have been a staunch conservative Republican.

On December 9, 1968 I became a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. In the mid-1970’s, when I was most active in politics, I began to notice some editorial writings in the NRA monthly magazine American Rifleman attacking people who were involved in conservative groups. I wrote the NRA and complained about the misguided logic of these attacks and received a response that convinced me this group was being run by some intellectual snobs. Since my dues were paid up I decided to just keep the magazine and ignored their slanted opinions.

When Charlton Heston became the Executive Vice President of the NRA the slant of the opinions in American Rifleman became a lot more conservative and my interest in the NRA perked up again. On December 9, 1996, I elevated my membership to Endowment level and followed that with Patron level in 2003 and finally in 2008 to Benefactor level, the highest paid membership level. I also became a frequent contributor to the NRA-ILA (Institute for Legislative Action) and the NRA-PVF (Political Victory Fund).

Following the 2008 elections I learned that after America was fooled by the news media into electing  Barack Hussein Obama, an inexperienced, left wing candidate with strong anti-American feelings, the NRA had actually endorsed 53 Democrats for Congress and with the support of the NRA 52 of them were elected giving complete control of our government to a single party. And with that control the Democrats went on a power-crazed frenzy destroying American values and bankrupting our economy. That news forever changed my views about the NRA and I began to watch and read everything they did. These so-called pro-gun Democrats that the NRA had supported have joined other Democrats into ramming through Congress the most pro-socialist, outright marxist legislation in our nation’s history. These same Democrats have supported and voted for administrative appointments that consistently oppose our 2nd Amendment rights. In spite of the two recent Supreme Court rulings that clarified the right of citizens to own a gun, these same Democrats have proposed several pieces of legislation to deny these very rights. Under the Democrats conservative Americans have been declared potential domestic terrorists by the Dept. of Homeland Security and legislation has been written to deny anyone who appears on terrorist watch lists the right to own a gun. The NRA had clearly shot itself in the foot but they seem to want to ignore the consequences of their mistaken endorsements.

On May 9, 2010 I wrote the NRA Political Victory Fund chairman Chris W. Cox, about the following story that appeared in Newsmax, a foremost conservative news agency.

NRA Still Loves Harry Reid

The National Rifle Association has a record of supporting far more Republicans than Democrats, but there’s one powerful Democrat who has a not-so-secret admirer in the NRA — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The NRA hasn’t officially endorsed Sen. Reid, who is facing a tough re-election battle in Nevada, but the gun rights group “really loves” Reid, an NRA insider tells Newsmax.

Even as tea partyers rallied against Reid in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., on March 27, Reid was joined by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre at the official grand opening of a $60 million shooting range Reid helped build north of Las Vegas.

“I know how you worked,” LaPierre said to Reid at the opening. “[This] would not have opened without the work of Sen. Reid.”

Reid’s re-election campaign describes LaPierre as “one of the senator’s supporters,” according to CNN.

Since his election to the Senate in 1986, Reid has consistently voted to protect the rights of gun owners and manufacturers:

    * In 1993, he was 1 of only 8 Democrats to vote against an assault weapons ban.
    * The following year he voted in favor of a bill preventing third-party lawsuits against gun manufacturers and distributors when their weapons are used illegally.
    * He voted against legislation that would have made it a federal crime to keep a gun unlocked and loaded for personal protection in the home.

The NRA sent a letter to its members in July 2009 stating that “for many years, Harry Reid has been supporting our Second Amendment rights in the U.S. Senate.”

At the opening of the shooting range, Reid donned ear plugs to test out his 12-gauge shotgun, Politics Daily reported. After the ribbon cutting, he autographed shell casings.

The NRA continued to justify their support for anti-gun Sen. Harry Reid. Then they gave Harry Reid a two page story in American Rifleman heaping praises upon him for helping get federal funding for a shooting range in Nevada.

MY NEW EX-NRA LIFE MEMBER HAT.

On July 2, 2010 I sent the following letter of resignation to:

Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President
National Rifle Association
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

Dear Sir,

Single-issue organizations such as the NRA have a moral responsibility to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions. While you can argue that no other issue is of any concern to your organization’s goal of helping candidates get elected who claim to support the 2nd Amendment, you must be held responsible for what happens after those candidates are elected. Your actions in 2008 have resulted in every gun-owner in America now being threatened by the most anti-gun political party in the history of our nation. Now the Democrats you helped to get elected and take control of Congress have been on a power-crazed rampage ever since waging war against the Constitution. If you think the Supreme Court decisions upholding the 2nd Amendment is any guarantee of our rights then you haven’t paid attention to what Attorney General Eric Holder has proposed. Our only hope of stopping them hinges on electing this year more conservative Republicans.

One single act by the NRA in the mid-term elections in 2010 has pushed me to the point of submitting my resignation in the NRA after 42-years as a Benefactor level Life Member. In the state of Nevada you have by-passed a solid pro-gun conservative Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Sharron Angle, in favor of another Democrat with a questionable anti-gun history. Shame on you. Enough is enough!

Erick Erickson, has compiled a record of Harry Reid’s anti-gun voting record and I quote from his article on the web site Red State.com

NRA Now Leans Toward Endorsing Harry Reid
Below are just a few of the votes that demonstrate Reid’s longstanding hostility to guns and the Second Amendment. Not included in this list is the long list of consistent and active support for anti-gun nominees to the Federal Judiciary and to high level cabinet posts. The reason I did not include anti-gun nominees is because he supported every last one of them.

June 28, 1991. Vote No. 115. Voted for a 5 day waiting period for handgun purchases.

October 21, 1993. Vote 325. Voted to eliminate the Army Civilian Marksmanship Program. Only the most fringe anti-gun Senators voted for the amendment.

November 19, 1993. Vote 385. Allow states to impose waiting periods over and above the 5 days waiting period required under the Brady Bill.

November 19, 1993. Vote 386. Voted to eliminate he 5-year sunset in the Brady Bill.

November 19, 1993. Vote 387. Voted to close off debate on the Brady Bill.

November 19, 1993. Vote 390. Voted to close off debate on the Brady Bill.

November 20, 1993. Vote 394. Voted for the Brady Bill, which imposed a 5-business-day waiting period before purchasing a handgun.

August 25, 1994. Vote 294. Voted to close off debate on the Clinton Crime Bill, which contained the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”

August 25, 1994. Vote 295. Voted for the Clinton Crime Bill, which contained the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”

April 17, 1996. Vote 64. Voted to expand the statute of limitations for paperwork violations in National Firearms Act from 3 years to 5 years.

June 27, 1996. Vote 178. Voting to destroy 176,000 M-1 Garand rifles from World War II, and 150 million rounds of 30 caliber ammunition, rather than giving them to the Federal Civilian Marksmanship program.

September 12, 1996. Vote 287. Voted to spend $21.5 million for a study on putting “taggants” in black and smokeless gunpowder.

September 12, 1996. Vote 290. Voted to make it a Federal crime to possess a gun within 1,000 yards of a school.

May 12, 1999. Vote 111. Voted to give the Treasury Department expansive new authority to regulate and keep records on gun shows and their participants, and criminalize many intrastate firearms transactions.

May 13, 1999. Vote 116. Voted to ban the importation of ammunition clips that can hold more than 10 rounds.

May 14, 1999. Vote 119. Voted to criminalize internet advertisements to sell legal firearms in a legal manner.

May 18, 1999. Vote 122. Voted to for Mandatory triggerlocks.

May 20, 1999. Vote 133. Voted to create new Federal regulation of pawn shops handling of guns.

May 20, 1999. Vote 134. Voted to give the Treasury Department expansive new authority to regulate and keep records on gun shows and their participants, and criminalize many intrastate firearms transactions. The vote was 50-50, with Vice President Gore casting the tie-breaking vote.

May 20, 1999. Vote 140. Voted for the Clinton Juvenile Justice bill, which contained a package of gun control measures.

July 29, 1999. Vote 224. Voted to close debate on the Clinton Juvenile Justice bill, which contained a package of gun control measures.

February 2, 2000. Vote 4. Voted to make firearms manufacturers and distributors’ debts nondischargeable in bankruptcy if they were sued because they unknowingly sold guns to individuals who used the gun in a crime. 68 Senators voted against Reid’s position, including 17 Democrats including Bryan of Nevada.

March 2, 2000. Vote 27. Voted to say that school violence was due to the fact that Congress “failed to pass reasonable, common-sense gun control measures” and call for new gun ownership restrictions on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings.

March 2, 2000. Vote 28. Voted to say that school violence was due to the fact that Congress “failed to pass reasonable, common-sense gun control measures” and call for new gun ownership restrictions on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings (reconsideration of vote 27).

March 2, 2000. Vote 32. Voted to use Federal taxpayer funds to hand out anti-gun literature in schools and to run anti-gun public service announcements.

April 6, 2000. Vote 64. Voted for a gun control package including new onerous restrictions on gun shows.

April 7, 2000. Vote 74. Voted against an amendment to provide for the enforcement of existing gun laws in lieu of new burdensome gun control mandates.

May 16, 2000. Vote 100. Voted to commend the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures.

May 17, 2000. Vote 102. Vote to overturn the ruling of the chair that the Daschle amendment (commending the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures) was out of order.

May 17, 2000. Vote 103. Voted against an amendment stating “the right of each law-abiding United States citizen to own a firearm for any legitimate purpose, including self-defense or recreation, should not be infringed.”

May 17, 2000. Vote 104. Voted for an amendment commending the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures.

February 26, 2004. Vote 17. Voted for mandatory triggerlocks.

March 2, 2004. Vote 25. Voted for Federal regulation of gun shows.

July 28, 2005. Vote 207. Voted for mandatory triggerlocks.

March 5, 2009. Vote 83. Voted against a ban on the United Nations imposing taxes on American citizens after France and other world leaders proposed a global tax on firearms.

I strongly urge every current member of the National Rifle Association to join me in resigning their membership in the NRA and to join the real pro-gun group Gun Owners of America. This is no time to play politics with the future of our country. I also urge you to support the campaign of Sharron Angle for U.S. Senate in Nevada. The time to Take Back America, is NOW.