American Hunters and Shooters Association blogs

New Obama video for hunters and sportsmen.

Ray Schoenke — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:15:00 -0400

The Obama campaign released a video on gun issues. I think it's very good (and not just because I'm in it.)

The Obama campaign is fighting back hard against the NRA's campaign of lies and trying to get the message out to gun owners that Obama is on their side. I did a radio ad, which has been running in battleground states. And, I've been out on the campaign trail in Ohio and Colorado talking to a lot of gun owners who are Democrats. There are a lot of us and, this year, the Democratic ticket is talking to us about issues that matter to us, like conservation, public access -- and the economy. Because those issues affect us, too.

I'm heading out again next week to campaign for Obama.

Watch the Video:

NRA leaders put their economic interests before the economic interests of America�??s gun owners

Ray Schoenke — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:35:01 -0400

Yes, the NRA leaders put their economic interests before the economic interests of America's gun owners.

As widely reported, this year, the NRA is spending $40 million to defeat Barack Obama. But why? Obama isn't a threat to anyone's gun. But, John McCain is a threat to the economic future of most Americans.

The leaders of the NRA are very well paid - as are their legions of consultants. In the book, Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist, Richard Feldman documents the excessive salaries and cushy lifestyles of the NRA elite--they're doing very well for themselves, trust me.

In contrast, most Americans aren't.

I said that in the radio ad I did for the Obama campaign, which was running in battleground states. This year is different. In June, the Supreme Court made it crystal clear that our gun rights are finally protected by the United States Constitution.

Now, we need to protect our jobs, our environment, and our future. Don't expect any help from the current NRA leadership with any of that. They're only putting their interests first. If the NRA cared about gun owners, they'd be honest about the great victory for gun owners in the D.C. gun ban decision -- but they aren't. They're ignoring that case and playing their same old political games.

That's why I was so happy to see earlier this week that the United Mine Workers are fighting back. They get it:

Union leaders say a National Rifle Association film crew tried to coerce West Virginia miners into bad-mouthing Presidential hopeful Barack Obama on camera, and that the union plans a brief work stoppage in protest.

The United Mine Workers will call for the stoppage at Consol's Blacksville No. 2 mine next week, union President Cecil Roberts said Monday at a news conference with representatives of Obama's West Virginia campaign in Charleston.

Roberts said the union, which has endorsed Democrat Obama for president, is unhappy that Consol allowed the camera crew to ask miners leading questions about the candidate such as: "What do you think about losing your Second Amendment rights?"

"This, I think, is an attempt to try to twist the facts here," he said. "We're just hoping people aren't misled."

The NRA is spending millions to mislead people. Three independent sources-- FactCheck.org, CNNand the Washington Post, have found the NRA's ads misleading and false. The NRA is an embarrassment to the gun owners.

From his penthouse office to the private jets and the huge salary, the NRA's top honcho, Wayne LaPierre, lives very well. Wayne also has the luxury of spending millions from his members on lies in order to keep his job secure. But, gun owners can't let those NRA lies cost them their jobs. Not this time.

I'm committed to getting this message out. Last week, I was in Southern Ohio campaigning for the Obama/Biden ticket. I'll be on the road campaigning for Obama over the next couple days in Colorado and New Mexico. Gun owners can't afford to be fooled this year. And, we won't be.

NRA leaders put their economic interests before the economic interests of America�??s gun owners

Ray Schoenke — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:32:00 -0400

Yes, the NRA leaders put their economic interests before the economic interests of America's gun owners.

In contrast, most Americans aren't.

That's why I was so happy to see earlier this week that the United Mine Workers are fighting back. They get it:

Union leaders say a National Rifle Association film crew tried to coerce West Virginia miners into bad-mouthing Presidential hopeful Barack Obama on camera, and that the union plans a brief work stoppage in protest.

The United Mine Workers will call for the stoppage at Consol's Blacksville No. 2 mine next week, union President Cecil Roberts said Monday at a news conference with representatives of Obama's West Virginia campaign in Charleston.

Roberts said the union, which has endorsed Democrat Obama for president, is unhappy that Consol allowed the camera crew to ask miners leading questions about the candidate such as: "What do you think about losing your Second Amendment rights?"

"This, I think, is an attempt to try to twist the facts here," he said. "We're just hoping people aren't misled."

NRA lies about Obama and ignores pro-gun Supreme Court ruling

Ray Schoenke — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:15:00 -0400

Last week, I spent some time in Southern Ohio on behalf of the Obama campaign. My mission was simple: To assure my fellow gun owners about Obama's gun record and to talk up the need to
focus on conservation:

"As a gun rights organization, we believe gun rights should be protected, and it's a right we feel strongly about," Schoenke said, adding he doesn't believe an administration under Barack Obama would decrease gun ownership rights.

"The Supreme Court has ruled the government can't take your guns away," he said. "Neither party is going to take your guns away."

One thing struck has me about the NRA's rhetoric this year: The NRA is ignoring that recent monumental Supreme Court decision in Heller v. District of Columbia, which finally held that the right to keep and bear arms is, in fact, an individual right. They are acting like it never happened. It's another lie -- a lie of omission. Here at American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), we filed an amicus brief in the Heller case. It was historic -- and the result we wanted.

It was widely asserted that the leadership of the NRA never wanted that case to move forward. Now, after gun owners won a stunning victory, the NRA hierarchy is essentially ignoring the result.

Reading through the NRA's anti-Obama mailings and watching the group's ads, one would think nothing has changed since the previous election. Every four years, the leaders of the NRA haul out the same old attacks against the Democratic presidential candidate. They don't let facts get in the way. Instead, Wayne LaPierre and his partisan cronies use their members' resources to launch the same old false partisan attacks.

This year, the ads and mailings against Obama from the NRA just don't hold water according to independent sources. Factcheck.org reported "A National Rifle Association advertising campaign distorts Obama's position on gun control beyond recognition." The Washington Post wrote "The NRA misfires on this one" and awarded the group "three Pinnocchios."

This year should be different. Gun owners got the critical ruling we've long sought from the U.S. Supreme Court by winning the D.C. gun ban case. Our gun rights are protected from Congress and the White House. But, the NRA is acting like that decision never happened and doesn't really count- but it did and it does-period! That's why the usual attacks won't work this year. Gun owners are more aware of what's really going on than the NRA leaders think. We know our gun rights now are safe, and now we want to secure our economy and protect our environment getting this country headed back in the right direction.

The leadership of the NRA is living in the past. They're doing a double disservice to gun owners who are fighting for the environment and fighting for their jobs. LaPierre needs a new act because this one has gotten really old. It might make his right wing friends happy, but it's failing the nation's hundred million gun owners miserably.

A Typical American Family on Guns: Figuring Out How to Work Together for Change

Ray Schoenke — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:10:00 -0400

I live in a fairly typical American family when it comes to guns. Let's just say my wife and I have different views. My wife doesn't hunt. She doesn't even like guns. But, she does appreciate my love for hunting and guns - and we share a deep commitment to preserving our environment. And, I accept that she was a financial supporter of the Brady Campaign. And, I also support her and respect her opinions. On guns, we're like James Carville and Mary Matalin - happily married, on different sides, but still respectful of each others' views.

Over the years, I've also learned that my family's marital division on guns is not uncommon. In fact, in my travels all over the country, first playing pro football and now hunting, I've heard the same thing, surprisingly, from many of the law enforcement guys I've met. A lot of their wives don't like having guns in their homes.

Now, I, like many of my fellow gun owners, feel a responsibility to improve our nation's policies on responsible gun ownership. While I know there is a constitutionally protected right to own a gun, there are limits. I don't believe a convicted felon gang-banger has that right.

I also strongly believe we have to conserve the lands and game where we learned to hunt and shoot. Unfortunately, gun politics are dominated by the right-wing, extremist leaders of the NRA. Their intransigence to engage in any discussion with anyone who has ever disagreed with them on anything has had a detrimental effect on the hunting and shooting tradition.

The leaders of the NRA in no way represent my hunter friends and me. The advice I got from the wise people around me, like my wife, was to start talking about the people who felt the same way. There are a lot of them. That's why I started the American Hunters and Shooters (AHSA). We work to protect our guns and the lands we love, but without the rabid extremism of the NRA leadership.

At AHSA, we support the recent Supreme Court decision in Heller that proved we do have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms. That decision means we no longer have to engage in battles about the Second Amendment. Our side won. We have to use that victory as a platform to move forward to the bigger issues facing us today. That's the test for gun owners. The NRA leadership has failed that test. They want acrimony. It helps with fundraising.

At a time when gun owners need to focus on real issues, they're putting their personal partisan agendas first. You can see the proof of this in our report, RealHunters, RealConservation. There's also further proof from the NRA itself with a new vicious attack on Obama. With that group's current leaders, things will never change.

But, we can't wait for the NRA to change. Hunters and shooters have to make change happen. So just like I have to work out my gun issues with my wife, we need to find a way to put away partisan approaches to responsible gun ownership and to save the lands we love to hunt and shoot in.

Obama won't take your guns. Don't let the NRA tell you he will.

Ray Schoenke — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:02:37 -0400

Over the past weeks and months, I�??ve spent a lot of time talking to fellow hunters and shooters about Barack Obama, his positions on guns and his views about conservation, global warming and public lands. These issues are intertwined in this election and, from what I am hearing, hunters and shooters have an increasing sense that Obama gets it.

I�??m also seeing a lot more about this in the traditional media and from respected allies. Montana�??s Senator, Jon Tester, knows Barack Obama and has talked to him about the gun issue:

"I've got to tell you, I've talked to Barack. I think he understands the issue much better than before," Tester said in a conference callwith reporters from Denver. "I am one of those guys who likes my guns, to be honest with you."

AHSA exposes NRA support for Members of Congress with worst records on conservation

Ray Schoenke — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:30:00 -0400

Today, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) released a report, "Slash and Burn: Why Does the National Rifle Association Leadership Support Congress's Biggest Opponents of Conservation?" and an accompanying website: www.realhuntersrealconservation.com.

Our goal is to pull back the curtain on the ugly truth: The leaders of the National Rifle Association, who have long claimed to represent hunters and shooters, have instead overwhelmingly supported the biggest conservation opponents in Congress. We want America's 70 million gun owners, most of whom, like me, consider themselves conservationists, the opportunity to learn about the NRA's dismal record on conservation.

With research from the League of Conservation Voters and the assistance of former Congressman Pete McCloskey, we launched this effort today. In 2006, Rep. McCloskey recently worked to unseat one of the NRA's leadership's favorite anti-conservation critters, now former Congressman, Jim Pombo. Given Pombo's terrible record on conservation issues, McCloskey said that for the NRA to have give Pombo any money was "an outrage."

As the self-proclaimed "largest pro-hunting organization in the world," the National Rifle Association has long claimed to represent America's hunters and shooters in the fight to protect one of America's oldest traditions. The NRA's bylaws include an article setting a core goal "to promote and defend hunting...as a viable and necessary method of fostering the propagation, growth and conservation...of our renewable wildlife resources." But it turns out that its by-laws are just empty rhetoric.

AHSA's report reveals an ugly truth: The NRA's leadership is spending its members' money to support the campaigns of the biggest conservation opponents in Congress. Contrary to its stated goals and assurances to the hunting community, our unprecedented analysis shows that NRA's leadership overwhelming supports Members of Congress with the worst conservation voting records.

The NRA's campaign contributions, endorsements and ratings of Members of Congress expose the organization's strong anti-conservation bias. Despite their lofty bylaws and forest friendly taglines, the NRA is standing by silently as its allies in Congress are helping to destroy America's wilderness.

Hunting is an American tradition that depends on conserving America's wilderness and wildlife. To fully enjoy our rights and heritage, hunters and shooters deserve leadership that will protect our guns and our land. America's hunters are beginning to ask whether anyone in Washington recognizes that.

The American Hunters and Shooters Association, unlike the NRA, is dedicated both to protecting the gun rights of Americans and preserving America's hunting heritage through conservation and responsible wildlife management. We understand the crucial relationship between protecting our rights as gun owners and protecting the lands we love.

For the three million NRA Members who are tired of seeing their $25 dollar contributions wasted by an NRA leadership supporting anti-conservation Members of Congress and Wayne LaPierre's $900,000 salary, we offer a different choice. And, for 77 million gun-owning Americans who are not Members of NRA, we invite you to join an organization that is steadfast in protecting our Second Amendment rights, conserving our environment, and will support common sense efforts to keep guns away from criminals.

America's hunters and shooters should no longer stand by the NRA because it's clear the NRA has long stopped standing up for them. And by the way, I don't fly on private jets and my salary is a dollar a year. I can also outshoot Wayne LaPierre and I'll gladly challenge to him a wild hunt. That's a challenge I look forward to, but I won't hold my breath that he'll ever take it.

Time for the NRA Members to Stop Lying About Obama

Ray Schoenke — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:30:02 -0400

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is right:

As for Obama, Schweitzer said, "He ain't going to take your gun away. He ain't ever going to take your gun away."

Obama doesn�??t want to take your gun away. But, that won�??t stop the very partisan leaders of the NRA from lying about Obama. That�??s how those NRA leaders operate these days. They put partisan interests over the best interests of America�??s hunters and shooters. There�??s a reason the NRA has right wing leaders like Grover Norquist and David Keene on its board. They�??re more interested in conservative political victories than the interests of America�??s gun owners.

Let�??s be honest: The recent Supreme Court case on the D.C. gun ban established once and for all that individuals have the right to keep and bear arms particularly for self-defense. The issue has been decided. No one is going to take anyone�??s gun away.

In the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama had the chance to vote for gun confiscation. He voted against it. Even before the Supreme Court ruling, Obama was very clear that he viewed the Second Amendment as an individual right.

But that doesn�??t stop the NRA�?? p.r. machine from trying to gin up their members to send money & defeat Obama. Ben Smith at the Politico found a host of distortions of Obama�??s record in a recent NRA email, noting that the email "included a wallet card listing what the NRA claims are Obama's positions on guns, though they are not in fact his campaign positions, and in many cases it seems flatly to contradict them. The NRA claims Obama wants to bar the use of firearms for home defense and ban the manufacture and sale of handguns. How the group reaches those conclusions is unclear."

Unclear is a nicer way of saying not true.

A new poll shows strong support for Obama among sportsmen. This may be "surprising" to some, but not to me:

Few hunters are pining for a day in the woods with Barack Obama but a surprising number of sportsmen say they�??ll vote for him �?? far more than backed Al Gore or pheasant-hunting John Kerry.

According to a Congressional Sportsmen�??s Foundation poll to be released Wednesday, John McCain leads Obama by a 45 to 31 percent. That�??s only about half the 27-point edge respondents say they gave George W. Bush over Kerry four years ago and far short of the 65-to-15 percent margin gun owners gave to Bush over Gore in 2000.

The poll of 1,009 hunters and fishermen, conducted by Braun Research between July 10 and July 24, could be a reflection of McCain�??s up-and-down relationship with gun advocates and suggests the presumptive GOP nominee has not yet persuaded a core Republican constituency.

This poll confirms that the days of the NRA�??s leaders calling the shots are over.

I�??m the president of a gun rights group, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), a lifelong hunter and a committed conservationist. Those three go together.

True sportsmen and women, those of us who spend time in the outdoors, know we need a president who is looking out for our interests. We haven�??t had one for the past eight years. At a time when hunters and shooters are worried about issues like protecting wildlife habitat so we can have something to hunt,improving hunting access, keeping roadless lands roadless, reforming the 136-year-old mining law, preventing the selling off of public lands, and many other conservation issues threatening the future of hunting; the leadership of the NRA is engaged obvious distortions of the truth.

And, the NRA is dealing with its own brewing scandal. Before Wayne LaPierre casts anymore aspersions on Barack Obama, he needs to come clean about the NRA�??s involvement with his own spying scandal.

Yes, while gun owners have been looking for leadership, the actual leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) has become enmeshed in a spy scandal worthy of the Nixon administration.

In the weeks since Mother Jones revealed that the NRA had a hired a private investigation firm to hire a spy to join the board of their opposition, the NRA has refused to answer any questions about their secret tactics. It�??s sickening that Wayne LaPierre won�??t come clean about revelations that showed they hired a spy to infiltrate the gun control groups. There are serious allegations of misconduct �?? with possible legal ramifications -- being asserted against the leadership of the NRA and American gun owners deserve answers. Yet, the silence from the NRA in the wake of the allegations against them is deafening. If the NRA used its members' dues to pay for a spy in the gun control movement, there could well be violations of federal and state laws. The members of the NRA deserve a modicum of honesty and integrity on the part of their leaders. America's gun owners are waiting.

America�??s gun owners also deserve honest answers about Obama�??s record. If the choice is listening to Governor Brian Schweitzer or Wayne LaPierre/Grover Norquist and the less than honorable NRA leadership, I�??ll trust Schweitzer any day.

On Obama, NRA members aren't buying the NRA's tired old spin

Ray Schoenke — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:34:43 -0400

Sure, the leaders of he National Rifle Association (NRA) are going to spend $40 million dollars of their members�?? money in a campaign against Senator Barack Obama. But, we may have reached a tipping point on gun policy and gun politics. Because, according to CQ Politics, even the NRA�??s own members aren�??t buying the anti-Obama spin:

The National Rifle Association (NRA), for example, has struggled to convince members that McCain is the candidate most supportive of gun rights. After the NRA sent out an e-mail last month attacking Obama, the group was surprised by the backlash it received. "Amazingly, some people still don't believe Obama is radically anti-gun," a follow-up message sent the next week said. "Some have gone so far as to claim that NRA was actually misrepresenting Obama's anti-gun positions."

It is time for a change in the gun debate.

NRA members know their gun rights are safe. In the recent D.C. gun ban case, Justice Scalia, who, believe me, the gun lobby really wanted to write that critical decision, found that we do have a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. But, in language that is consistent with the view of most gun owners, Scalia, "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited." That�??s not a surprise to most of us.

I run a progressive gun rights organization, the American Hunters and Shooters Assocation (AHSA). We welcomed the Scalia�??s decision. The Court made it clear that most guns are now safe from government confiscation. That�??s also the position of Barack Obama. He voted against gun confiscation in the Senate and supports an individual right to keep and bear arms. That�??s why I endorsed Obama �?? he gets it. That�??s also got the NRA worried. The group�??s top political honcho, Chris Cox, told CQ Politics a couple weeks ago:

Rather he�??s concerned about a pro-Obama campaign launched by one of the NRA�??s newest rivals, the American Hunters and Shooters Association. Started by former Washington Redskins lineman Ray Schoenke and former NRA lawyer Bob Ricker in 2005 in an effort to forge a middle ground on gun issues, the group endorsed Obama in April �?? saying that he, more than Republican John McCain , is likely to preserve the pristine wilderness areas where hunters like to go.

Cox and his colleagues at the NRA should be concerned. Gun owners are ready to move on and to hear from AHSA.

My guess is the NRA�??s members aren�??t listening to the NRA leaders because those leaders have become too entrenched in partisan politics. They�??re still fighting battles from the seventies and eighties. That may be good for fundraising, but it�??s not doing much for hunters and shooters.

For years, we�??ve heard endlessly about the NRA�??s lobbying strength. But, what do they do with all their perceived power? They're not working on issues that matter to hunters. The NRA leaders aren�??t fighting to protect the Roan Plateau from drilling. The NRA leaders aren�??t fighting global warming. The NRA leaders aren�??t fighting to protect public access. That�??s why this year is different.

Sure, Senator Obama isn't going to be perfect. But, in the new world of gun policy -- which includes public access, conservation, global warming -- we know he�??s on our side. That�??s more than we can say about the leaders of the NRA.

On Gun Policy, Time for Balance -- Finally

Ray Schoenke — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:26:00 -0400

I wanted to share an op-ed I wrote for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. My main point is that the recent Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment provides a chance to finally move forward on issues that impact hunters and shooters. My organization, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), is a gun rights organization, but we believe in a balanced approach. It's time to change the extreme politics that mark the debate over American's gun policy:

The National Rifle Association wants to relive the past and plans to spend $40 million to campaign against Sen. Barack Obama. For the NRA, it is a desperate attempt to remain relevant in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Washington, D.C., gun law case, District of Columbia v. Heller.

The gun lobby wanted Justice Antonin Scalia to author the long-awaited decision in Heller, but when he did, he confirmed what I and most gun owners have long believed: Citizens have an individual right to keep and bear arms, not only as members of organized militias, but that right is not unlimited.

According to Justice Scalia, "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited." He went on to say, "Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."

Those aren't the words of a gun-control advocate; they were written by one of the most conservative justices on the bench. They undermine the NRA's all-or-nothing approach which has been so damaging to the gun debate for so long.

My organization, the American Hunters and Shooters Association, filed an amicus brief in support of Heller and against the District of Columbia's outright ban on the possession of handguns. We applauded the Supreme Court ruling.

The Heller decision signals that the gun debate in this country no longer includes the NRA's extreme right-wing position of allowing unlimited access to any gun by anyone. The court also made it clear that most guns are now safe from government confiscation. Policy makers can craft responsible and appropriate measures to ensure guns do not fall into the wrong hands or get carried into the wrong places.

This thoughtful approach by Justice Scalia is shared by the vast majority of the nation's 80 million gun owners and by Mr. Obama, who supports an individual right to own a gun but says, "The notion that somehow local jurisdictions can't initiate gun safety laws to deal with gang bangers and random shootings on the street isn't born out by our Constitution."

With Scalia's ruling, it is time to move on. We're ready to do that. So is Barack Obama. As a law professor, Obama believed the Second Amendment conferred an individual right. He also knew that right wasn't absolute. Obama is on the right track for other issues of grave concern to America's hunting community, like global warming. Unfortunately, the leaders of the NRA have chosen partisan politics over protecting our environment:

Earlier this year, 670 hunting and fishing organizations, including the hunters and shooters association, became actively engaged in the fight against global warming. We see the effects firsthand. Hunters like me can tell you that the ducks are coming later and later every year.

The NRA was absent. In fact, NRA leaders actively undermine the efforts of hunting and fishing groups. NRA board member Grover Norquist, through his group, Americans for Taxpayer Reform, co-sponsored a conference for self-proclaimed global warming "skeptics."

At the hunters and shooters association, we aren't going to spend $40 million on tired partisan politics. What we spend goes to actually protecting your right to have a gun, to be safe in your home and to have a place that isn't polluted to hunt and fish. The voices of ordinary hunters and shooters are finally being heard.

Mr. Obama isn't perfect, but he believes the Second Amendment confers an individual right to own a gun, although he doesn't think it protects "gang bangers." This position, plus his commitment to protecting our natural resources and our hunting and shooting heritage, makes sense to me and millions of other responsible gun owners.