We’re now just 12 months out from the critical 2024 elections. While that may seem far in the future, as president of this association, I urge you: If you care about your firearms, your Second Amendment freedom to own them, and your ability to defend yourself and your family, there is no more important task you face right now than to make a plan today to protect them.
President Joe Biden continues attacking your right to arms with every means at his disposal. Scarcely a week goes by without him calling for an outright ban on the most popular semi-automatic firearms in America. When Biden can’t get his bans through Congress, his White House unilaterally tries to impose them through executive orders, federal regulations and abusive reinterpretations of existing laws and regulations.
Since Biden took office, hundreds of U.S. gun dealers have had their Federal Firearms Licenses revoked under new “zero-tolerance” policies punishing paperwork errors and other innocent oversights. In July, they blocked funding for archery and hunting education in American schools because it supposedly included “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.” In August, they pushed new ATF regulations that would ban many, if not all, private sales of firearms between law-abiding adults. The list goes on.
Meanwhile, in left-leaning states, governors and state legislatures are passing laws that effectively render meaningless the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 landmark Bruen decision, which said that states cannot arbitrarily deny the right to carry without a good reason. They’re also passing new laws that circumvent the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act—so that they can blame the U.S. firearms industry for violent crimes and sue gunmakers out of business.
Throughout all of it, these anti-gun politicians have 24/7/365 support from their allies in the legacy media and social media. They parrot the lies. They suppress stories that tell the truth about our rights. They “demonetize” pro-gun voices or censor them into silence. Taken together, the propagandists of the press and self-appointed gatekeepers of social media constitute a speech-police steamroller straight out of Stalin’s dreams or Orwell’s nightmares.
There’s not enough room in this column to go into all the schemes and stratagems they’re using to crush your Second Amendment freedom, but let me say this: Next November’s elections are absolutely crucial to stopping them.
NRA members like you instinctively understand that firearm freedom is the canary in the coal mine, and that, in the words of St. George Tucker, “Wherever the right of the people to keep and bear arms is under any color or pretext whatsoever prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction.” That’s why your role in this fight is crucial.
Now, given Biden’s age, the many scandals swirling around the White House, his leftist agenda and the unpopularity of his gun-ban zealotry, you might think that his chances of re-election—assuming he runs—are slim. But the fact is, only five American presidents over the past century have been defeated in their re-election bids.
Next November, voters will elect the next president and vice-president, U.S. Senators in 34 states, the governors of 11 states, state attorneys general in 10 states, statehouse legislators in 44 states and all 435 members of the House of Representatives.
I want to see the NRA and gun owners nationwide play a pivotal role in next year’s elections, just as we did in the elections of 1994 and 2000. Here’s how you can do your fair share:
Go to triggerthevote.org/register-to-vote to make sure your vote can be counted.
Go to nraila.org/sign-up so we can reach you with the most up-to-date information about elections and legislation in your hometown.
Consider becoming an NRA-ILA FrontLines Activist Leader (FAL) or get in touch with your local FAL by going to nraila.org/grassroots/find-your-frontlines-activist-leader.
Help fund the crucial communications that can make a decisive difference on Election Day by contributing to the NRA-ILA Political Victory Fund (PVF). Although contributions to PVF aren’t tax-deductible, you can rest assured that your donations will directly and exclusively fund powerful election efforts.
If you do nothing else, make it your personal priority to ensure you’re registered to vote and to recruit at least one new NRA member. Numbers speak louder than anything else to politicians, and the greater our numbers, the louder our voice. Securing our God-given freedoms is sure to take all the voices and votes that we can muster.
