2000 -- The Year In Review

NRA-ILA FAX ALERT

(800) 392-8683

Fax: (703) 267-3918

Vol. 7, No.52

11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030

12/29/2000

2000 -- The Year In Review

Here are some of the top stories we brought you in the NRA-ILA FAX Alert over the past year. We look forward to providing you with timely stories in 2001. Incidentally, next year will mark the eighth year for the NRA-ILA FAX Alert! Remember to inform your fellow NRA members, family, friends, and fellow firearm owners of this free Alert so they can receive it as well! Visit NRAILA.org if you'd prefer to receive it by e-mail instead.

JANUARY: The year kicked off with Bill Clinton's State of the Union address, where, right out of the box, he renewed his calls for licensing and registration, the development of "smart" guns, and passage of the Lautenberg Amendment to ban gun shows. Thankfully, due to your efforts, none of these egregious proposals, nor any new federal gun control legislation, passed in the 106th Congress!

FEBRUARY: A flurry of lawsuit-related activities: Part of Chicago's reckless suit against the gun industry was dismissed and NRA lent support to a suit against Cincinnati, claiming the city's suit against firearm manufacturers violated "good government" laws. In February, we also brought you the news that U.S. Representative (and NRA Director) Don Young (R-Alaska) had introduced H.R. 3671 -- a bill aimed at ending the gross abuse and mismanagement of funds used to administer the Pitman-Robertson Trust Fund.

Rep. Don Young

MARCH: As Spring approached, Bill Clinton again took to the offensive, telling NBC's Katie Couric that your NRA was "...against anything that requires anybody to do anything as a member of society that helps to make it safer." Not to be outdone, a special FAX Alert highlighted Al Gore's attack on NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre. Gore claimed on ABC's"This Week" that there was a "...sickness at the very heart of the NRA." March also marked the month where Smith & Wesson signed the now infamous "S&W Sellout" with the Clinton Administration.

APRIL: Volume 15 of your FAX Alert brought welcome news that U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis ruled that a BATF program designed to force Maryland firearms dealer Valley Gun of Baltimore to hand over records on firearm transfers was a violation of the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act.

MAY: Two gatherings in May were the order of business. First, the numerically-challenged "Million" Mom March, held on Mother's Day. And then, NRA's Annual Meetings in Charlotte, which saw a record-setting 52,000 attendees. (NRAWinningTeam.com 2000 Annual Meeting report)

JUNE: Hypocrisy abounded as it is revealed that one of Rosie O'Donnell's bodyguards applied for a permit to carry concealed in Connecticut. Oral arguments in U.S. v. Emerson -- a key Second Amendment case -- begin.

Graphics by CrossCircuit.com

JULY: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in National Rifle Association of America, Inc., et al. v. Janet Reno that the FBI is not prohibited from maintaining an "Audit Log" on law-abiding gun purchasers who have cleared a National Instant Check System (NICS) check. The House passed its Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations bill, with an amendment by U.S. Representative Virgil Goode (I-Va.), prohibiting certain federal agencies from granting or withholding firearms contracts on the basis of gun makers' agreement to arbitrary "codes of conduct" set by federal bureaucrats.

AUGUST: Cincinnati's reckless lawsuit against lawful gun manufacturers was dealt another blow when the Court of Appeals for the First District of Ohio unanimously upheld last year's lower court ruling dismissing the Cincinnati suit. Your NRA-ILA FAX Alert gets a make-over, as the current "column-style" format is implemented. The change was prompted by a suggestion by a fellow NRA member.

Judge Winkler

SEPTEMBER: A startling, yet not all together surprising, revelation is brought to light in a "Special" FAX Alert, as we provided you with a copy of U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman's letter, where he confirms the Clinton-Gore Administration's belief that law-abiding citizens have "no personal constitutional right, under the Second Amendment, to own or to use a gun."

Waxman

OCTOBER:NRA's election activities kick into high gear, with a series of "Get Out the Vote Rallies" in six states, with attendance totaling upwards of 50,000!

NOVEMBER:The story of the month -- the presidential election that wouldn't end! For almost the entire month of November, the nation holds its breath, anxiously waiting to see who will become the 43rd President of the United States. NRA mobilizes its members as never before -- delivering approximately 20 million votes nationwide.

DECEMBER: Freedom and the rule of law prevail, as on December 12, the U.S. Supreme Court delivers a ruling, that in effect, confirms George W. Bush President-elect, making all of our efforts during the campaign season well worth it!

Have a safe and happy New Year!