NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT: Vol. 21, No. 40 10/10/2014 NICS Checks Show Gun Purchases Strong in 2014 New numbers reported by the FBI suggest that Americans may be buying firearms at a slightly higher rate in 2014 than they did in 2012, following a record number of checks during the "surge" brought on by President Barack Obama's re-election in November 2012 and his subsequent campaign for gun control. Because Americans bought guns at an unusually high rate in 2013, some commentators have compared the 2013 numbers to those in 2014 and on that basis claimed that gun purchases are in serious decline. However, that's like saying that a professional football team's offense is waning, because after racking up 30 points in the first quarter and 40 points in the second quarter, it has scored only 24 points in the first eleven minutes of the third quarter. READ MORE >> MSNBC and States United Blame NRA for Ebola Crisis MORE VIDEOS >> Next Week on NRA All Access: History of Air Guns | Impact of Friends of NRA MORE VIDEOS >> Just What Everyone Wanted: More Piers Morgan Honestly, we're not kidding about this. Just last week, we were thinking that the great 20th century American songwriter Johnny Burke could have had today's gun control supporters in mind when he wrote some of the lyrics for Swinging on a Star. And this week, as if to prove the point, The Hollywood Reporter published an op-ed by Piers Morgan insisting that gun control opponents are "idiots," repeating Everytown's false claims about school shootings, and saying that he doesn't regret being a "barroom bore" about gun control. READ MORE >> Researchers Assail Everytown and FBI Shootings Reports The "Everytown" anti-gun group's Analysis of Recent Mass Shootings is "riddled with errors," and the FBI's Study of Active Shooter Incidents is "flawed," according to researchers at the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC). CPRC is led by noted gun control researcher and former chief economist with the United States Sentencing Commission, John R. Lott, Jr. In The Myths About Mass Public Shootings, CPRC concludes that contrary to Everytown's claim, mass public shootings have not increased significantly in recent years. Everytown, CPRC says, greatly exaggerated the number of mass shootings, failed to adequately research each of the crimes it included in its report, and failed to correctly distinguish public shootings from those of other types. READ MORE >> Home Defense is a Family Affair Involve the whole family in your emergency preparedness plans—you won't regret it. To look at the issue of home defense as a matter of only dealing with bad guys is to fail to understand the matter. While protecting your home and family from crooks is certainly important, it is equally important to have a home-defense plan that covers fire, natural disaster and any other situation that might affect the safety of your loved ones. Building the home-defense plan should involve the entire family. READ MORE >> Shaneen Allen to Keynote N.J. State Association Annual Banquet Shaneen Allen will be the featured speaker at the NJ State Association annual meeting banquet on Saturday evening, October 18, in Edison, New Jersey. She will also be joined by Ginny Simone of NRA News, and gun rights attorney Evan Nappen. The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) is the official NRA State Affiliate in New Jersey (www.anjrpc.org). READ MORE >> NRA Candidate Ratings Now Posted! Tuesday, November 4 is Election Day! Your NRA Political Victory Fund has rated and made endorsements of pro-gun/pro-hunting candidates in the upcoming federal and state elections. These candidate ratings can now be found at the NRA-PVF website. Before casting your vote in the general election on or before November 4 depending upon early voting in your state, please visit this site to learn who will best protect your Second Amendment rights and hunting heritage.  Be sure to encourage your family, friends, fellow gun owners and sportsmen in your state to support and vote for pro-gun/pro-hunting candidates on or before Tuesday, November 4. READ MORE >> Think Nationally, Act Locally With NRA-PVF's grades and endorsements now posted, you are able to find out which candidates in your area support our rights. For some of you, there may be numerous contested races in your state or district. For others, this may not be the case.  With the national importance of electing a pro-gun majority to the U.S. Senate and strengthening our support in the House, every gun owner must be actively involved with our grassroots campaign efforts--regardless of whether your state or district features a "high profile" race. READ MORE >> CALIFORNIA: Governor Brown Needs to Hear Your Opposition to Four Pending Anti-Gun Bills CALIFORNIA: Three More Anti-Gun Bills Signed into Law Today and One Anti-Gun Bill Vetoed COLORADO: Expanded Hunting Opportunities Offered in Plan for San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex COLORADO: Bloomberg Already Sets His Sights on Next Year's Legislative Session CONNECTICUT: State Representative Rob Sampson Receives Award for His Commitment to Upholding the Second Amendment CONNECTICUT: TIME CHANGE: Come participate in a discussion on "Crime, Guns and Race" LOUISIANA: Stand and Fight with NRA for the 2014 General Elections MAINE: Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Opposes Referendum Based on Forty Years of Research MICHIGAN: House Judiciary Committee Expected to Vote Tomorrow on House Air Gun Reclassification Bills MONTANA: Election Day 2014 Will Be Here Before You Know It NEW JERSEY: Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Expanding Hunting in Great Swamp NWR NEW JERSEY: Shaneen Allen to Keynote State Association Annual Banquet NEW YORK: Sportsmen's Association for Firearms Education presents the 2014 Firearm Civil Rights Conference NORTH CAROLINA: NRA Needs You for the 2014 Elections! VERMONT: Anti-Gun Group Throwing Money Around VIRGINIA: Virginia Beach City Council Draft 2015 Legislative Agenda to Include Anti-Gun Legislation Recommendation WASHINGTON: With Election Day on the Horizon, NRA Needs You to Stand and Fight WASHINGTON: State Republican Party Opposes Anti-Gun Initiative 594