SO YOU ACTIVLY SUPPORTED THE ANTI GUN GUY. YOU REALY THINK WE ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION. OBAMA WANTS SO BADLY TO TAKE GUNS AWAY AND WE KNOW IT. SO NICE TRY, I DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD YOU SAY. YOU ARE NOT REALY FOR OUR GUN RIGHTS AND YOU KNOW IT.

I cannot believe that your organization desires to copy the NRA by supporting open market of AK-47 cop-killer guns. No REAL hunter needs an AK-47 to kill a deer. Assualt weapons simple find a way to get into the hands of gangs and drug lords, thus threatening the lives of American law enforcement officers. Stop trying to justify assault weapons...no one needs them but drug pushers.

I hunt. I do not support the mindless idea that America needs a "militia" armed with assault weapons. We have the good men and women of the National Guard. Nuff said!

Obama didn’t pretend to be a gun owner, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t understand the concerns of sportsmen

The 2nd ammendment is NOT about hunting. It's about our right of self protection and our ability to keep the goverment from tyrany.

With the Supreme Court overturning the D.C. gun ban, our gun rights are secure and government confiscation is off the table. Now, we can actually talk about responsible gun laws, conservation, public access, global warming – and even the economy

Our rights are NOT secure. The minute the DC Ban was overturned, lawmakers were already working on new bans. There is no such thing as responsible gun laws. Laws like gun registration? You mean the same kind of registration the Germans required of the Jews before WW2? The same registration they used to confiscate all guns from Jewish people, then proceeding to wipe them out with the holocast?

Stop pretending to be a pro gun group. We all see through you're scam.

Ray,

This election was so NOT about guns!

It was purely about 3 things. Anti-Bush, anti-war and a tanking economy. 2010 sould be more telling.

I need help talking about the NRA that keeps trying to make out President Obama & Democrats as a communists begging to happen by trying to decimate our 2nd amendment rights. I am also part of a group of over 3,000 that are called Obama Mamas on Cafe Mom. Is your site the place to go for unbiased information on the NRA & gun rights laws? You have not responded to any comments so far except to send me a bumper sticker. Do I need to find another source of information? Here is one of the latest articles from the NRA referred to on voting central, http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=12135 . If I need to look elsewhere please let me know.

Please write something on the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009. I oppose in naturally as I am confident you do too. Please write something we can use before the NRA goes on the "liberals-want-to-take-your-guns" meme.

There is a piece on OpEd news. http://www.opednews.com/articles/One-assault-on-the-Constit-by-Paul-Crai...

I oppose it and I'm very glad you exist to counter the NRA.

C

Can you post information about any new legislation that has gunowners nervous?
This is what I am dealing and I need an answer for this post in a polling center.

Where do you stand on Gun Rights? This Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTq2NEUlhDE Shows a peaceful British demonstration about the loss of gun rights. Very Sad. This Link: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/show Shows what is about to happen to us. Even sadder.

Also, I got my sticker. Thank you. Please help out with the legislation concerns because I am not up to the translation. 2012 is right around the corner & the lies have continued. The above links were provided by an Obama supporter that is trying to find the truth. I guess that it convinced her that he was not going to support our second amendment rights. The President needs all our support to get this country back on track. It would be a shame to lose supporters because of twisted lies. Please help.

I'll be interested to see how long you stay committed to the President's agenda.

"With the Supreme Court overturning the D.C. gun ban, our gun rights are secure and government confiscation is off the table."

No the are not. The Second Circuit has ruled that Heller does nor bind the states. State in the Second Circuit are now completely free to create any regulation they can cram down peoples' throats. With a compliant Attorney General these states will be able to get Federal aid under the rules governing multi-jurisdictional task forces.

Confiscation still on the table but they'll probably let you keep your shotgun. For a while anyways.

We need to start taking away the NRAs position as the source of gun education. The AHSA needs to start offering courses that educate the public regarding the safe handling and use of guns. I am letting my NRA Instructor credentials lapse because I can't take the rest of their political package, but there is currently no effective substitute for the courses they offer. Is there any interest in developing a curriculum, training instructors and rolling out a new way to get educated regarding the safe handling and storage of guns?

I recieved this in an email and don't see anything on your sight about it. What do you know about this?

Subject: Congressional Measure - Guns (HR 45)

To: Hunters Heritage Council

Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 7:36 AM

Subject: Congressional Measure - Guns (HR 45)

The attached bill (HR 45) was introduced in Congress on 9 Jan 2009. Mandates licensing for all gun owners.

a.. You would have to carry a photo ID firearms license.

b.. A training class would be required to be licensed.

c.. Disclosure of your storage method would be required for a license.

d.. A thumb print would be required for a license.

e.. Every sale would have to be recorded by the federal government.

f.. If you move, and don't tell an Attorney General within 60 days, you are a criminal.

g.. If a firearm is stolen and you don't report it, you are a criminal.

h.. There would be no grandfathered firearms.

i.. If you do not obtain a license and report every firearm you currently own, you are a criminal.

j.. There would be a license fee and a fee for the "services" provided at purchase time.

k.. Licenses would be required to be renewed every 5 years.

Got an opinion? Better let your Congressman or Congresswoman hear from you about this bill - and all of your friends - and come to think of it all of their friends as well.

Greetings Ray Schoenke and all members of A.H.S.A.,

It's way past time for a middle-of-the-road, responsible and rational approach to gun ownership issues and I think the A.H.S.A. is the answer. I'd like to see it supplant the radical N.R.A. as the nation's primary group advocating this fundamental right. I think that a lot of average American's have avoided getting involved based on the N.R.A.'s horrid record and intransigent stances. My father taught me to target shoot when I was in kindergarten and basic gun safety was stressed very clearly. I grew up with "plinking" as a regular activity and later obtained a Winchester Model 75 Match rifle, an antique double barrel shotgun, a 30/40 Krag, a mint, un-fired 8mm Mauser and a .50 caliber Hawkins black powder muzzle loader which I have used in Civil War reenactments. My brother collected an incredible variety of antiquarian firearms, including an 11mm Model 1871 Mauser used in the Franco-Prussian War and a Civil War Signal cannon. I'm sure the A.H.S.A. has a roster of owners and collectors who are proud of our heritage and history of private gun ownership, but feel that the N.R.A. is not the answer. How do we move that dissatisfaction toward ensuring that the A.H.S.A. gains the upper hand to become America's primary group advocating for our 2nd Amendment rights? Tell a friend, e-mail them and spread the word... there's finally a group that represents us! Thank you. Jack

QUOTE from AHSA webpage: "...when we looked at the two candidates running for president, we saw clearly that only one of them "got it," and that was Barack Obama... he is a constitutional scholar who agrees that gun ownership is an individual right, and he knows that guns are viewed differently in different parts of the country."

I don't know about you, but to me, that sends up a big, RED warning flag.

The Second Amendment MUST ALWAYS receive the same protection as ANY of the other nine in the Bill of Rights. It would seem that a true constitutional scholar might know this.

I wonder which other amendments to the Bill of Rights does Obama find objectionable and subject to different interpretation depending on locality?

We know what is correct: An American citizen MUST be guaranteed the same protections enumerated in The Bill of Rights no mater what state, city or county he resides in.

If a town in Mississippi decides that women "don't really need the right to vote," would Obama find it objectionable?

If a small Texas town decides that the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure "isn't needed anymore," would Constitutional scholar Obama agree with them or seek to overturn it?

QUOTE from Factcheck.org: "It would be fair to characterize Obama as voting to uphold enforcement of local gun bans, even in cases where the banned weapons were used in self-defense."

And what were the weapons that were banned in the Hale DeMar case? Handguns.

It seems that, in Obama's view, an American's right to own a handgun is NOT protected. Obama voted to prosecute a homeowner who was burglarized and robbed, because the weapon he chose to defend his life with had been unconstitutionally banned by a small town, liberal city council.

Obama will likely prove himself to be the most anti-gun and anti-constitutional President in the history of America. He is far from attaining the status of "Constitutional Scholar."

Ray:

I can appreciate your enthusiasm for the environment and hunting. Where I disagree with you is on President-Elect Obama's voting record while a US and State Senator in Illinois. Time and time again he voted against concealed carry laws and gun ownership laws. There is information that has demonstrated that Mr. Obama would like to ban pistols as well. This would take away the rights of honest citizens to carry and to defend themselves, their property and their families. That is the concern of many gun owners and I hope that you are correct about Mr. Obama, but I fear that you are not.

The other concern that I and many gun owner's have is an all out ban on so called "Assault Rifles" and limiting magazine capacity in semi-automatic pistols.

Assault rifles make up less than 1% of all gun related crimes, but they have been and are being vilified by the left. I am an AK-47 owner and like to use it for target shooting along with hunting. It will be a shame when the Obama Administration bans these weapons.

Thank you for letting me post a comment on your site.

John Stevens

Ray,
I would love to have you call in to my outdoor radio show sometime and have you say the things that I find in my email. I can't just read them myself. Please advise if you are willing to make the call-in to WGCL 1370 AM in Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University).

I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks,
Don Jordan
Member OWAA since 1973

Thank you, Ray, for making a difference! I'm not a gun owner and support tougher gun laws that keep families and communities safe but respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, sportsmen and hunters. I know the NRA represents only 3-4% of gun owners, and I also know their agenda and actions misrepresent and mischaracterize gun owners, subsequently wrongfully portraying the image of the "gun nut" for many non-gun owners. Most Americans believe gun ownership is a constitutional right but most also support tougher gun laws that prevent gun violence -- there is an achievable middle ground there. Keep up the good work!

Great blog Ray, thanks. As a gun owning Democrat, it is reassuring to have AHSA and its clear, rational voice in the field and in DC. Gun owning Republicans and others too will benefit from the even-handed message of AHSA, keep it up.

The NRA doesn't represent a lot of our interests yet I think their contribution to safety and youth porgrams has been good. It seems that the NRA's softening influence on Capitol Hill as a pro-gun lobby is due to its polarizing and pandering to the ultra-right. That subset of the conservative voters is shrinking in number and not representative of today's shooting public at large. Continuing down that negative road, NRA will not help the tens of millions of sport shooting enthusiasts.

The broad demographic of gun owners needs a bi-partisan voice and not the ranccorous rhetoric of a few ultra-conservatives. The Constitution and its rights are for everyone not just a few. As you continue to build support for AHSA, reach out to groups of bi-partisan legislators who would be supportive of safe, lawful and accessible sport shooting activities.

Well, I'm glad to hear that you're talking about responsible gun laws.

So we're not going to hear anything more about the 'assault weapons' ban? We won't see more about high magazine capacity being evil?

You're going to push for shall issue conceal carry laws country wide?

Awesome. I like the sound of that.

Okay, the election is over...

Can we stop talking about Obama and the NRA and start focusing on some conservation, and improvements for hunters and shooters.

Thank you!

Since you emailed this to me I'll have this much to say about it, the 2nd Amendment makes no mention of hunting. Historically at the time of ratification hunting was noted as a side benefit. Specifically a SIDE benefit.

The hunting utility of any of my firearms is Constitutionally not anyone's business, since the 14th A. included all under its protection.

Since I am a left wing Democrat and a part of the Party structure my vote was a foregone conclusion with the Supreme Ct decision but please don't blow smoke up my tail pipe about my firearm friends. The second you can show me crime statistics that show "assault weapons" as significant I might actually want to hear about them, otherwise it is political horse shit and if you are knowledgable at all about firearms you know that as well.

Ray,
Thanks to your efforts and the AHSA thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen here in Ohio stopped buying into the NRA's fear machine. The personal visits and radio spots you made were essential to showing that there was another choice. A choice that was rooted not in fear but told in a positive way . Conservation and how we are going to leave this great land to our grandchildren so they can hunt and fish 50 years from now really hit home here in Ohio. I live in rural Eastern Ohio in Coshocton County and the fact that we saw you personally visit our county 3 times was really great. I enjoyed the fun we had watching you bust some sporting clays at Turkey Hollow Sporting Clays.

The jobs are leaving our area in droves. The pawn shop in town is full of guns that were sold buy owners who thought feeding the family or paying a light bill was more important than that firearm, I believe we now have someone in Washington who will address all of our real concerns like the Economy and Conservation of our hunting lands and waterways. I also know in my heart that contrary to what the fear factory says we also have a President that believes in my 2nd Amendment Rights. Thanks again for what you are doing and if you ever get out this way call me and we will go gets some ducks.