NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 21, No. 29 07/25/2014 Colorado's Experience Soundly Refutes Common Anti-gun Talking Point Last month, while addressing a group of Colorado sheriffs, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper spoke on the topic of the state's 2013 measure outlawing almost all private transfers of firearms. According to the Denver Post, Hickenlooper told the sheriffs, "I think we screwed that up completely... we were forming legislation without basic facts." A new Associated Press report examining Colorado background check data in the first year of the new law proves the accuracy of Hickenlooper's statement, and should (although likely won't) end the repetition of an already discredited anti-gun background check factoid.  The report states that the Colorado Legislative Council, an offshoot of the state legislature that is tasked with analyzing legislation, estimated that 420,000 additional background checks would be conducted in the two years following the new private sale restrictions. This led the Colorado legislature to allocate $3 million to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to handle the anticipated increase. won't) end the repetition of an already discredited anti-gun background check factoid.  However, the AP notes, "officials have performed only about 13,600 reviews considered a result of the new law -- about 7 percent of the estimated first year total." The article goes on to state, "In total, there were about 311,000 background checks done during the first year of the expansion in Colorado, meaning the 13,600 checks between private sellers made up about 4 percent of the state total." READ MORE >> Sneak Peek at NRA All Access' Episode 4 MORE VIDEOS >> Watch the New NRA Trigger the Vote Ad MORE VIDEOS >> Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Releases Candidate Questionnaire Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a multi-billionaire. According to Forbes, he is the 16th richest person in the world.  There's nothing wrong with being one of the richest people on the planet, but it doesn't mean you get to dictate how others lead their lives. Apparently, Bloomberg believes he is in a position to tell everyone else--especially gun owners--what's best for them and how to run their lives. He believes in the superiority of the elite over individual liberty and responsibility. He believes we have to be told everything--from what to eat, to how much soda we can put in a cup. He wants to be the country's nanny, and yet he doesn't know enough about the country to understand that most Americans don't travel primarily by taxi or limo and that roads are a common feature of metropolitan areas, outside of New York City and Hollywood. READ MORE >> Boston Police Commissioner: I Say Who Needs a Gun! Writing for a majority of the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, which recognized an individual right under the Second Amendment to possess firearms for self-defense, Justice Scalia observed: "The very enumeration of the right takes out of the hands of government … the power to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the right is really worth insisting upon."  Nevertheless, Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans expressed his support this week for a provision in the House version of a Massachusetts gun control bill that would give local law enforcement officials discretionary power to decide who may acquire licenses to own shotguns and rifles. This provision was stripped from the State Senate version of the bill. Under current law, local law enforcement officials already have discretion over who is issued a license to own a handgun. READ MORE >> Appellate Court Upholds Privacy Law, Tells Anti-Gun Doctors to Take a Powder In a victory for gun owners who pay to visit doctors for medical care, and not the political opinions of their physicians, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld Florida's Firearm Owner's Privacy Act. This law was passed after an escalating series of events in which patients were harassed or denied access to services because they refused to be interrogated by their doctors about their ownership of firearms. The case, Wollschlaeger v. Governor of Florida, vindicated Florida's attempt to protect patients from being forced to divulge personal information that is irrelevant to their own medical treatment. READ MORE >> Beretta Leaves Maryland, Finds Welcome Reception in Tennessee The large-scale exodus of gun manufacturers from states inhospitable to the Second Amendment continued this week, with Beretta USA announcing that it would be moving its Maryland operation to Gallatin, Tennessee. In doing so, Beretta joins firearms and firearm parts manufacturers such as Remington, Kahr Arms, PTR Industries, Sturm, Ruger & Company, and Magpul Industries, all of which have either quit states hostile to gun owners, or chosen to expand their operations in more friendly locales. Beretta's move is poised to cost the so-called "Free State" millions in investment and 160 jobs. READ MORE >> NRA Freedom Action Foundation's "Trigger the Vote" Voter Registration Campaign The NRA's Freedom Action Foundation (NRA-FAF) recently announced the kickoff of its 2014 "Trigger the Vote" voter registration campaign, and also unveiled its captivating new ad, "Father and Son." The campaign once again enjoys the support of Honorary Chairman Chuck Norris, and will soon be releasing exclusive new videos featuring Norris that can't be seen anywhere else. READ MORE >> Check NRA-PVF's Grades & Endorsements Before You Go to the Polls In the coming days and weeks, the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) will continue to announce endorsements and candidate ratings in hundreds of federal and state primary races. You need to be fully informed in order to make a sound decision. For up-to-the-minute information on NRA-PVF candidate grades and endorsements, and to see what you can do to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, please visit the NRA-PVF website:www.NRAPVF.org. READ MORE >> Take Action on Proposed Ban on the Sale and Trade of Ivory In past Grassroots Alerts, we addressed the Obama Administration's proposal to ban the trade and sale of legally owned ivory within the United States (click here to see the initial alert).  The NRA supports efforts to stop poaching and the illegal trade of ivory. However, banning lawfully-owned domestic ivory will have no impact on elephant poaching in Africa. On the contrary, such a ban would affect only honest, law-abiding Americans by making their possessions valueless. Please see this New York Times article highlighting the broad spectrum of people who will be harmed by the ban. READ MORE >> Show Your Support: Order Your NRA-ILA Yard Signs Today! It has been estimated that well-placed campaign signs can account for four percentage points on Election Day. Think back to the 2000 presidential election, where 537 votes in Florida separated George W. Bush from Al Gore, and four percentage points seems like a landslide! While you are focused on the November 4 election, some gun owners may not be aware of what's at stake for the future of the Second Amendment on Election Day. READ MORE >> Students for Concealed Carry to Hold National Conference Students for Concealed Carry is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprising over 43,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that they enjoy virtually everywhere else. READ MORE >> NRA Family Insights: How to Handle Squib Loads and Hangfires The gun went bang...sort of. You know something's not right, and you know you need to fix it safely. But how? Acclaimed Gunsite instructor Il Ling New is here to help. READ MORE >> Ask Your U.S. Rep. to Oppose Wide-Ranging Gun Control Bill--H.R. 4783 Last week we reported that U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, had introduced what he is calling "the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014." In truth, we noted, the bill -- H.R. 4783 -- is largely composed of gun control measures that mirror, and supplement, acts being pursued in the states by the likes of Michael Bloomberg and his "Everytown" gun control cabal. READ MORE >> Ask Your U.S. Rep to Cosponsor and Support "The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013" The "Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013" (H.R. 2959)--introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah)--would allow any person who is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law and who has a valid concealed firearm permit, to carry a concealed handgun in any state that issues its own residents permits to carry concealed firearms. Persons carrying a handgun in another state pursuant to H.R. 2959 would be subject to the laws of that state with respect to where concealed firearms may be carried. Similar legislation to H.R. 2959 passed the House in 2011 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 272-154. READ MORE >> CALIFORNIA: Time to Put Pressure on the Legislature Again CALIFORNIA: Pleasant Hill City Council to Consider Proposed FFL Zoning Ordinance on Monday after Unanimous Negative Recommendation by City Planning Commission COLORADO: Hickenlooper Keeps Close Ties with National Figures Driving an Extreme Anti-Gun, Anti-Sportsmen Agenda FLORIDA: Report: Discrimination against Gun Owners by Insurance Companies FLORIDA: Alert: Who else does the Florida Sheriffs Association want to control? FLORIDA: Alert! A Cut Dog Barks KENTUCKY: Comprehensive Pro-Gun Reform Legislation Takes Effect Tomorrow LOUISIANA: Gearing Up for 2014 Elections MISSOURI: Gun Owners Prevail in Missouri Supreme Court – Amendment Stays on Primary Election Ballot on August 5 MONTANA: Gearing Up for 2014 Elections NEVADA: Lawsuit Filed Against Anti-Gun Ballot Initiative NEW JERSEY: Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Expanding Hunting in Great Swamp NWR NORTH CAROLINA: Gearing Up for 2014 Elections WASHINGTON: Gearing Up for 2014 Elections