Jamie Beyerle took fourth place in the Women’s 50m three position rifle at the ISSF World Cup. She’s the highest finish so far for an American shooter, and she’s from Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Category: Guns
Making It Harder
Robb Allen notes that it’s getting harder for the anti-gun message to find a safe haven. It’s about time, I think.
Kopel on Sotomayor
Dave Kopel discusses the new Supreme Court nominee’s likely views on the Second Amendment based on a very recent decision that Sotomayor played a role in coming out of New York. His analysis is fairly thorough, and he ends with this concern:
Judge Sotomayor’s record suggests hostility, rather than empathy, for the tens of millions of Americans who exercise their right to keep and bear arms.
Results of the NRA Board of Directors Election
In 2009, there were more eligible voting members of NRA than at any other time since I’ve started keeping detailed records of the votes. A total of 1,549,130 members were eligible either as life (or higher) members, or as consistent 5-year+ annual members. Here’s a breakdown based on a chart I posted earlier in the year that looks at whether or not NRA members really vote.
| Year | Ballots Cast | Ballots Not Cast | Ballots Sent |
| 2006 | 79,227 | 1,468,502 | 1,547,729 |
| 2007 | 99,785 | 1,443,256 | 1,543,041 |
| 2008 | 94,361 | 1,452,174 | 1,546,535 |
| 2009 | 93,472 | 1,455,658 | 1,549,130 |
As you can see, there was a slight decline in the number of ballots cast even though more members were eligible to vote, leaving us with only 6% of the eligible members returning a ballot at all.
This matters because the difference between the “last winner” and the “first loser” was only 725 votes this year. If you really care about a candidate, your vote and those of your shooting buddies can make a difference. (Even if a candidate loses, how well they place in the “loser” category often determines if members will support them in the election of 76th director that takes place at the Annual Meeting.)
With all of that said, our endorsed candidates did very well given the number of “celebrity” names on the ballot this year. Ronnie Barrett came in third, Robert Brown in seventh, Scott Bach in twelfth, Edie Fleeman Reynolds in thirteenth, Steve Hornady in fifteenth, and Joe DeBergalis in eighteenth. In fact, all of our endorsed candidates outperformed the new NRA president (Ron Schmeits) who came in at 19 – in the bottom third of candidates. Two of the candidates even outperformed the now past president and next president.
But many may be wondering about the status of George Kollitides, the candidate I raised questions about during the election given his lack of involvement. AR15.com leaders who endorsed him and came on to defend him appeared to be completely unaware that Kollitides wasn’t showing up for committee meetings. Well, he lost. In fact, he came in dead last – far beyond all of the other candidates.
| “Losing” Candidates | Vote Tallies | Difference from Previous Candidate |
| Donn DiBiasio* | 61,188 | 725 |
| Steven Schreiner | 60,688 | 500 |
| Robert Sanders** | 59,561 | 1,127 |
| Todd Walker | 57,130 | 2,431 |
| George Kollitides | 49,855 | 7,275 |
*Another Board member resigned after ballots went out, so Donn fills his seat.
**Robert was elected at the 76th Director.
As you can see, the members really smacked Kollitides down in the election. As I mentioned to someone at the Meeting, I don’t think the whole buying advertising in American Rifleman went over very well – it came off as trying to buy a Board seat. Considering what we know about his attendance, there’s little he could fall back on to counter that claim. Add in the Chrysler bailout, and there’s suspicion about him which I don’t think is completely misplaced since he, according to industry sources, never does interviews. If he refuses to talk to NRA members and their main media outlets, then who is he accountable to in the course of his service? It’s a fair question. Clearly, the members don’t think he answered it.
In other news, I am a little surprised by the performance of two “celebrity” Board members. Richard Childress won the final seat on the board, and John Milius came in just two spots above him. I would have expected that NASCAR (Childress) and Red Dawn/Rome (Milius) would bring them more votes.
Post Heller Crime in DC
It’s going down. Who would have guessed?
TSRA Highpower Rifle Championship
Texas State Rifle Association state championships here, and the winner here. It’s a sport I wish I had more time to participate in.
Defining Trespassing Down
If the Inquirer’s editorial board had their way, we’d call tresspassing overstaying your welcome:
The members of Heeding God’s Call also intend to bring their message to the pulpits of legislators’ home congregations. They hope that building grassroots support across the state will change some minds in Harrisburg.
The dozen activists who are scheduled to go on trial today may have overstayed their welcome at a gun shop. But their movement is decidedly welcome in this city and state.
What kind of people are these folks, who can’t get what they want from the legislature, so they go and disrupt a man’s business and try to destroy his livelihood. How is Colosimo’s to blame if a gun that was sold from his stop later turns up in a crime? Is a Ford dealer responsible for cars that later end up in a drunk driving accident?
Colosimo’s is a scapegoat — a convienent way for the powers that be who run Philadelphia keep deflecting blame for the fact that they are unwilling to remove criminals. The Philadelphia Inquirer is apparently only too happy to help.
Cowboy Action Shooting, PA States
Looks like Cemetery attended the PA State Shoot this weekend for Cowboy action. I would suggest that one should beware any man who carries his guns in a coffin gun case.
Which Groups Sell Your Information?
Interesting contrast between groups. A journalist working on a story about interest groups who sold information to telemarketers had his one dog join the NRA, and his other dog join HCI (now the Brady Campaign). Guess which group sold his information?
Bryan Miller’s New Project
Bryan Miller is speaking in a different language these days, trying to get churches involved in his lost cause of gun control:
Heeding God’s Call is adding a different religious voice to the national gun-control debate, which members say has been dominated for too long by conservative Christians opposed to firearms regulation.
The group has partnered with more than three dozen Philadelphia-area congregations — including Jews, Muslims, Quakers, Catholics and Protestants — to work against gun violence.
“Every faith tradition calls on its followers to be their brother’s keeper,” said organization co-founder Bryan Miller.
As comical as it might seem, Bryan is no doubt well aware that the lack of grass roots in the gun control movement is, at this point, limiting their ability to accomplish anything. To his credit, he’s trying to do something about that, and churches could very well prove to be fertile recruiting grounds. No doubt many religious folks know better than this, but all he needs is a handful, and there’s no motivator more powerful than being on a mission from God.
Those of us who can speak to religious people, in their own language, need to work to counter this, especially if Miller’s philosophy starts making its way into your own church.