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			    GENERAL-RKBA Digest 315
Topics covered in this issue include:
  1) FAXALERT: NRA... It Keeps Winning and Winning... by NRA Alerts 
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Topic No. 1
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 18:16:19 -0500 (EST)
From: NRA Alerts 
To: general-rkba-real.nra
Subject: FAXALERT: NRA... It Keeps Winning and Winning...
Message-ID: 
                         NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
           11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA  22030
    Phone: 1-800-392-8683 * Fax: 703-267-3918 * GROOTS@NRA.org
Vol. 4, No. 47                                           11/21/97
              NRA...IT KEEPS WINNING AND WINNING...
     Journalist Jeffrey Birnbaum seems to have figured out what
many of his colleagues have never been able to: NRA's political
strength is not determined by our financial statement, but by the
statement our members make when they go to the polls.   In a
report in the December 8 edition of Fortune magazine, Birnbaum
ranked NRA 6th on what he calls "Washington's Power 25," the most
influential special interest groups in America today.  But unlike
others who have grudgingly admitted NRA's ability to represent
our members' interests, Birnbaum did not reach his conclusion by
simply examining the amount of money spent in the legislative and
political arenas.  Instead, he talked with the policy makers in
Washington - members of Congress, their staffs, and White House
officials - and asked them what worked, what didn't, and what
organizations they listened to.  What these insiders told
Birnbaum will undoubtedly surprise many NRA critics who always
seem to write off our success as a direct result of the size of
our bank account.  Among the lobbying tactics that work:
delivering the straight facts to lawmakers, mobilizing grassroots
action, and getting along with legislators and their staff.  In
fact, 5 of the 10 most influential groups on the list "were
propelled there on the strength of their long-established
grassroots networks."  Interestingly, Fortune also found that NRA
didn't make the "most loved" or "most hated" list of either
political party, which is a clear rebuke to those who have
claimed NRA has become too friendly with one party at the expense
of the other.  Handgun Control Incorporated (HCI), on the other
hand, was found to be "loved" by Democrats in general and "hated"
by members of the GOP.  
     Maybe we should send a copy of the Fortune article to
journalists who covered the recent anti-gun ballot initiative in
Washington state, or I-676.  In an article on the editorial page
of today's Wall Street Journal, Brent Bozell and Tim Graham of
the Alexandria, Virginia-based Media Research Center look back at
the strange difference between the media's pre- and post-election
coverage of I-676.  For instance, the New York Times said I-676
would "test the NRA," and there was "no bigger battle in 1997"
for NRA.  Tom Brokaw of NBC News called I-676 the result of
"grass roots anger."  And ABC's Judy Mueller echoed the hopes of
anti-gunners everywhere when she claimed just days before
election day that "If this measure wins in this gun friendly
state, it could spell trouble for the NRA elsewhere."  But when
the votes were tallied and it was clear that the people of
Washington had overwhelmingly rejected I-676, the press was
nowhere to be found.  And those reporters who did bother to
mention the defeat of I-676 claimed, not surprisingly, that NRA
had somehow bought the election.  No credit at all was given to
the hard work of the thousands of volunteer activists who led the
fight against I-676.  "In their post-election briefs," write
Bozell and Graham, "the national media gave no emphasis to the
NRA's stunning come from behind victory."  Bozell and Graham hit
the nail right on the head when they wrote of the lack of post-
election coverage: "after spending years labeling a group as
'extreme,' 'radical' and the like - how to explain 71%
landslide?...Backed by majority support in just about every
region of the country, the NRA is just like the Energizer
Bunny...[it] keeps going and going, and winning and winning."    
                GUN BAN GROUP ATTACKS EDDIE EAGLE
     "Critics Say NRA Uses Safety Campaign to Lure Children,"
blared a New York Times headline (Nov. 19, p. A 24 ) of a story
detailing a new "study" by the gun ban group, the Violence Policy
Center (VPC), criticizing NRA's award winning Eddie Eagle gun
safety program.  The VPC's study would be laughable if it wasn't
so patently false and offensive.  For the anti-gun lobby to
criticize NRA, that has spent $100 million over the past eight
years on gun safety, demonstrates that the anti-gunners will
stoop to the lowest of lows to further their gun ban agenda. In
its claims, the VPC preposterously accuses NRA of promoting the
program to boost future gun sales!  As anyone familiar with the
program knows, since its inception in 1988, the Eddie Eagle
program's life saving message has reached 10 million
schoolchildren and has been taught by more than 500 law
enforcement agencies nationwide -- including the FBI!  Rest
assured, NRA will not sit idly by while the VPC attacks one of
our most effective gun safety programs -- a program which,
incidentally, has received numerous accolades and awards, and has
led to a reduction in the number of accidental gun  fatalities
among children.  In fact, NRA President Marion Hammer and
Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre  have directed legal
counsel to explore a number of options NRA may have.  The
questions the media should be asking are, what have groups like
VPC done and how much have they spent on firearms safety and
education.  We believe the answers to those questions would be
far more telling than the outrageous conclusions of this latest
ruse of a "study."   Members are encouraged to write their local
papers and spread the word about the effectiveness of NRA's Eddie
Eagle gun safety program and call the opponents of gun safety on
the carpet!
                 ARMY MARKSMANSHIP UNIT PRESERVED
     Last week, informed sources notified the NRA that a letter
was sitting on the U.S. Army Chief of Staff's desk to deactivate
the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit as of December 1,1997.  The U.S.
Army informed us today that the action to kill the USAMU has been
rescinded.  This quick turn-around was due, in part, to NRA
members, who came through in this crisis with flying colors and
hundreds of e-mails and phone calls to the Army.  NRA wishes to
thank its members for their assistance for this unit that has
historically done missions that no one else could undertake.  It 
is the only reservoir of marksmanship knowledge in the Army and
is the home of some of the world's greatest shooters.
                       A LOOK AT THE STATES
MASSACHUSETTS: The House has delayed voting on S.1985 (the semi-
auto ban) until January.  Your phone calls, letters, faxes, and
e-mails got the House's attention.  Please contact Gun Owners
Action League at 508/393-5333 to find out how you or your club
can help defeat S. 1985.  
MICHIGAN: On Tuesday, November 25, a special general election
will be held in State Senate District 12.  In this race, NRA-PVF
has endorsed Dave Jaye.  Please go to the polls on Tuesday, and
support Dave Jaye for State Senate, and encourage your family,
friends, and fellow gun owners to vote as well.
=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org
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End of GENERAL-RKBA Digest 315
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