Monthly Archives: March 2020

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Gun stores in Rhode Island are seeing a surge in demand for firearms and ammunition amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gina Raimondos order closing all entertainment and recreation facilities also applies to gun ranges, her office confirmed Monday, sparking concern in an industry thats already primed to push back on government regulations.

Frank Saccoccio, the president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment Coalition, said the order closing gun ranges would deprive new gun owners of one way to learn how to handle their firearms safely. The group was reaching out to the governors office Monday.

Its a public safety disaster, said Saccoccio. You cant have that.

Raimondos order goes into effect as of 5 p.m. Monday, and also applies to businesses like salons, tattoo parlors and cinemas.

Raimondo has also given police in the state 30 days, instead of seven, to do a local background check on gun buyers. But many towns are still turning around those background checks in eight to 10 days, Saccoccio said. Others are doing it in 12. Buyers dont have to wait all 30 days to get their guns if the local background check comes in sooner, Saccoccio said.

There is a huge surge in demand for guns, Saccoccio said. Saccoccio said gun shop owners are enforcing rules on keeping people farther away from each other as they wait in ever-increasing lines out the door. Inventory is running low as more shipments come in.

Big Bear Hunting and Fishing in Glocester is only letting two people inside the store at a time, co-owner William Willy Wayz said.

Were being inundated, Wayz said via telephone as he tried to get a handle on inventory. One of the biggest problems that all the gun shops in Rhode Island are having -- hold on one second. How many you got? Five? Thats it? Sorry, its my UPS driver -- were all having problems with supply and demand.

Wayz and other gun shop owners say that people are realizing, amid the coronavirus pandemic, that they have to take their safety into their own hands. Its not just the usual customers who are coming in; in fact, theyve probably all stocked up already, Wayz said.

I have people that pull into my parking lot with Bernie Sanders stickers on their car that never would have bought a gun, Wayz said. I bought all this food and this toilet paper, how am I going to protect myself?

Every day, the line builds up outside the door; many people are wearing face masks and shop workers are wearing gloves, Wayz said. Sales are up about 300%, Wayz said.

Other states have closed all non-essential businesses. New Jersey does not consider gun shops an essential business, and theyve been ordered to close, according to NJ.com.

That has not come to pass in Rhode Island.

There are a lot of people who think this type of store is essential, Wayz said. Survival is essential, self-defense is essential.

Linda Finn, the executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said that reports of increasing gun sales were concerning to her group.

I think this sort of idea that society is unraveling and people need to take things into their own hands is a myth the gun lobby likes to keep perpetuating, she said.

In her estimation, bringing a gun into your home under those circumstances is actually endangering your family more than its protecting your family.

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Gun-rights advocates protest closure of shooting ranges in R.I. - The Providence Journal

IDENTILOCK Firearm Trigger Lock

United States -(AmmoLand.com)-Sometimes, when legislation is targeting your Second Amendment rights, it doesnt necessarily come in the form of a ban or licensing and registration. Sometimes, the worst infringements are those that literally make it impossible for people to exercise their Second Amendment rights in one way or another without risking arrest (and worse).

It could be anything from closing land used for hunting. It could be a noise ordinance that shutters the range you went to for years. It could even be something as simple as making it impossible to defend yourself without entering a state of legal jeopardy.

This last item is what HR 4080, the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act, that is the third part of a three-bill package introduced by Sheila Jackson Lee (the others are HR 4081 and HR 4082), does to Americans who are exercising their Second Amendment rights. In a very real sense, it makes having your firearm ready for perhaps its most important role personal protection in your home a federal crime.

Loyal AmmoLand News readers can see for themselves in the text of the legislation. Literally the only safe harbor to avoid prosecution for having a firearm in your home be stolen and misused is to have your firearms and ammo secured, unloaded, and separately, in a safe certified by the Attorney General while the firearm itself is locked with a trigger lock certified by the Attorney General.

How viable is that firearm as an option for self-defense? The short answer is that the firearm is NOT viable. But if you dont render the firearm non-viable as an option, you could face 20 years in prison. Felons in possession of firearms only face a maximum of ten years under 18 USC 922 and 18 USC 924. Jackson Lees proposal is worse. If you do get convicted, the Attorney General keeps the firearm and ammo at your expense.

There are no provisions for the return of the firearm and ammo. Eventually, the expenses will just mount until you decide to give it up. Which is part of the idea. The other nasty provision is that one self-defense scenario that has emerged at times can also lead to that 20-year sentence.

Like HR 4081, the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act, this bill is named for a victim of the Santa Fe High School shooting. Again, Sheila Jackson Lee wants to try to deflect criticism from those with legitimate objections to this legislation.

The fact is that there are laws on the books punishing the theft of firearms. There are laws that handle those who willingly hand over firearms to felons and other prohibited persons. HR 4082 simply attacks the right to self-defense. Second Amendment supporters should contact their Representative and Senators and politely urge them to defeat this bill.

About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics, and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

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Below the Radar: The Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is laying off employees and reducing salaries across the board in the largest personnel shake-up since the non-profit organization ousted its president at the annual meeting of members in 2019.

In a note that was distributed via email to the board of directors and executive council Monday afternoon, CEO Wayne LaPierre announced that his organization "faces extraordinary challenges resulting from COVID-19" and must institute several workforce adjustments, including "the elimination of certain positions," imposing a four-day workweek for hourly employees and 20 percent pay reductions across the board "while maintaining current workloads."

The email, relayed to the board by the NRA's general counsel, John Frazer, was obtained by Newsweek.

In response to a request for comment about whether LaPierre himself would be subject to the belt-tightening, the organization's outside counsel, Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, said in a statement that "salary adjustments announced today apply to all levels of the organization."

"In addition, some senior staff members are voluntarily taking deeper cuts," the statement added.

LaPierre's compensation rose by 57 percent in 2018, the most recent year for which tax filings are available, to $2.15 million.

Though LaPierre cited the COVID-19 outbreak as the chief reason for the personnel changes, the announcement comes during an undeniable cash-crunch at the gun-rights group. Tax filings show that in 2018, the NRA's net assets declined by nearly $9 million to $16 million, their lowest levels in six years.

It was not immediately clear how the COVID-19 outbreak would impact the NRA's bottom line. In 2018, contributions, transfers, gifts, grants and member dues comprised around 80 percent of the organization's revenues.

The NRA was recently forced to announce that its annual meeting of members, set to take place in Nashville, Tennessee, in mid-April, would no longer be able to convene.

"We sincerely regret the need for this action," the group said in an earlier statement. "We were ultimately guided by our responsibility to help ensure the safety and well-being of our NRA members, guests, and surrounding community."

On Monday, LaPierre struck a similar tone, acknowledging that his organization had to "address immediate financial challenges and... plan for long-term impacts to ensure the viability of our organization."

"Unfortunately, these changes will necessitate the elimination of certain positions on either a temporary or, in some cases, permanent basis," he added.

The staffing reductions will be effective Sunday and schedules were adjusted to ensure "the maintenance of benefits eligibility" for hourly employees.

"Although we are unable to predict how long these pay-related adjustments will remain in effect, or the long-term financial impacts of COVID-19, they are intended to be temporary," LaPierre's note continued, further encouraging affected employees to "contact any germane state or federal agency to determine eligibility for any additional aid."

Laid off NRA employees will be among the hundreds of thousands of Americans in recent weeks who have suddenly found themselves in one of the worst economic contractions in U.S. history. The Department of Labor reported that in mid-March, unemployment claims spiked to 281,000, the highest level since 2017.

Monday's statement from the Brewer firm noted that the COVID-19 epidemic and its accompanying nationwide lockdown have "caused a major disruption to our fundraising activities."

"Based on state or local restrictions and guidance from public health authorities, we have been forced to cancel all Friends of NRA banquets across the country, other planned events, special programs, gun shows, recruitment stations, and various other streams of expected income," the statement added.

The coronavirus outbreak represents just the latest fiscal crisis for the NRA, whose flagging finances amid an ethics and governance scandal have required the organization to take steps to shore up its balance sheet. The Trace has reported, for example, that free coffee was eliminated at the group's headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.

The NRA and its charitable foundation are currently being investigated by the attorneys general for New York and the District of Columbia over alleged violations of their tax-exempt status, which requires that no insider derive a personal benefit from non-profit assets.

Critics have accused the NRA of engaging in profligate spending, a claim that was bolstered by the organization's former president, Lt. Col. Oliver North, who has fallen out with the NRA, as has its former public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen.

The three have since become entangled in a legal morass spanning multiple states, with accusations of deception and betrayal playing out in various lawsuits. North wrote in a letter during the final days of his tenure as president that invoices from the Brewer firm, the NRA's outside counsel, were "draining NRA cash at mindboggling speed."

During the first quarter of 2019, the firm was being paid nearly $100,000 per day for its legal services. Brewer's defenders have noted that the NRA's voluminous litigation has racked up significant wins, including against the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco for policies targeting gun-rights supporters.

Turnover at the NRA in recent months has jeopardized its ability to remain among the country's most politically influential organizations; and the fact that 2020 is an election year will only amplify the consequences of Monday's announcement. The NRA spent a record $55 million on the 2016 presidential election, $30 million of which went to supporting then-candidate Donald Trump.

Eight directors on the group's board have resigned since last May.

During a period of months in the fall of 2019, after a pair of especially gruesome mass shootings, the NRA was put on the defensive, pressured to demonstrate its continued political leverage during a time when many gun-rights supporters have become disaffected with the group. There appear to have been some moderate successes: The New York Times reported that the group secured concessions from Trump in a private phone call just as talk of new gun controls on Capitol Hill appeared viable for the first time in years.

But questions remain about whether the group can retain its unrivaled political influence in Congress, where a sitting U.S. representative, Don Young (R-AK), also serves on the NRA's board. Top officials at the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), its lobbying arm and connection to Washington D.C., departed last year. One of them, Chris Cox, the division's former top lobbyist, was mentioned in a lawsuit against North, where he was accused of participating in a conspiracy to oust LaPierre.

David Lehman, NRA-ILA's general counsel who had been filling in for Cox amid the staffing deficit, left in August.

"Over the years, we've weathered more tough times than most," LaPierre concluded in his note Monday. "But we will rise from this stronger and well positioned to lead the fight to protect our Second Amendment, the First Amendment, and all our constitutional freedoms during the crucial upcoming elections and for years to come."

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The National Rifle Association is Laying Off Staff, Cutting Salaries and Reducing Hours Amid COVID-19 Outbreak - Newsweek

It was a busy week with the usual work in the legislature and because of issues arising as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

One example, I had been working with a healthcare provider to get insurance payments for telemedicine and reached out to the Insurance Commissioners office. They helped in solving the problem and the Governors latest Executive Order (EO) also addressed the issue. Together we can and do make a difference.

To mitigate spread of the virus, the Governor has issued seven Executive Orders so far:

EO 20-03 declares a state of disaster, providing availability of additional resources.

EO 20-04 prohibits mass gatherings of 50 people or more and lists exclusions.

EO 20-05 directs and orders Kansas utility and internet providers to not disconnect services for non-payment and lists the types of services included.

EO 20-06 directs and orders all financial institutions to suspend initiating any mortgage foreclosures, evictions or judicial proceedings.

EO 20-07 closes all K-12 public and private schools until 5/29/2020, while continuing meal programs, childcare, online learning opportunities, and other exceptions.

EO 20-08 expands availability of telehealth medical services.

EO 20-09 removes or lessens certain motor carrier rules and regulations if participating in relief or restoration efforts as a result of the virus.

It is not unprecedented for the legislature to pass a resolution extending the Governors authority during a state of emergency while the legislature is not in session. What appears to be unprecedented about House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 5025 was the authority and length of time that was proposed. During senate debate, three amendments were offered and passed. The first was to decrease the length of time turning over legislative authority to the Governor, changing the date from Jan. 25, 2021 to May 1, 2020. The second amendment was to protect the sale of ammunition (firearm sales are protected by statute). I offered the third amendment to protect us from government overreach. It had several provisions including, but not limited to protecting private property and protecting local government funds from being swept. The HCR passed the Senate 37 Yes to 2 No votes with the amendments. I voted yes. After conference committee negotiations, the final product changed the third amendment somewhat but it does help protect our freedoms with oversight by the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC), a committee made up of legislative leadership and the Governor, reviewing governing actions when the legislature is not in session. The CCR HCR 5025 passed unanimously.

As President Reagan one said, Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic yes. Yes we can in a constitutional way that protects our freedom - thats why you have me here.

Take ownership of your situation and actions. When growing up, I said a person made me mad. My Mom responded, they didnt make you mad, you chose to be mad. Lets choose to be optimistic and respectful of others. Stay safe.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your 12th District State Senator.

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Senate closes week with flurry of action - The Ottawa Herald

Gov. Phil Murphys executive order to close all non-essential retail business has forced gun dealers, who were experiencing a spike in sales amid the anxiety surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, to shut down.

On Saturday, the online service used to process background checks for firearm dealers, the New Jersey National Instant Criminal Background Check System, told stores they can no longer process requests.

Per Executive Order 107, (Murphy) is ordering the residents of New Jersey to stay home, directing all non-essential retail businesses closed to the public, a notice on the online system states. At this time, the order includes New Jersey Firearms State Licensed Dealers.

The order does not specifically name gun dealers as a non-essential business. However, it also doesnt list them among those deemed essential, such as liquor stores, office supply shops and grocery stores.

In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker in his executive order considered firearm and ammunition suppliers and retailers an essential business for purposes of safety and security.

New Jersey gun owners and Second Amendment advocates take issue with Murphys position on firearm dealers.

Gov. Murphy surrounds himself with armed guards, said Alexander Roubian, president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society. Clearly he understands the benefit of the Second Amendment. Why is his life more valuable?

Roubian pointed to the spike in gun sales in recent weeks as proof why these businesses should be considered essential.

When the police have no legal obligation to protect citizens, which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, yes, any person would believe gun stores that sell many tools for self-defense is extremely essential, he said.

NJ Advance Media reported Thursday that gun shop owners were working long hours to keep up with demand.

It has been relentless, said Joe Hawk, the owner of Guns & Roses in Toms River.

Hawk said he was fielding calls from desperate customers asking what he had in stock.

Theyre not even asking the price, he said.

Kyle Sherman, a co-owner of Shore Shot Pistol Range in Lakewood, reported last week having his busiest day in years. On Sunday, he said he can live without selling guns, but would still like to provide ammo.

I consider us essential business because we not only supply everyday citizens with ammunition and firearms, he said, but also local retired and active police officers.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Gun dealers are not considered an essential business, and theyre not happy about it - NJ.com