Dear Missouri NRA Member:
You may have recently received a postcard from an organization purporting to represent the interests of hunters and sportsmen. This postcard is nothing more than a blatant deception intended to mislead Missouri's hunters and sportsmen. The organization that sent it, the American Hunters and Shooters Association Foundation (AHSA), is simply a front for a number of anti-gun groups. In fact, AHSA's leadership is so extreme that it supports banning guns, gun rationing, registration, and licensing. The postcard, which claims NRA opposes protecting public hunting lands from developers, is as absurd as AHSA's claims that it is a pro-gun organization.
A look at AHSA's Board of Directors reveals its true colors. Executive Director Bob Ricker is a failed gun-industry lawyer turned paid mouthpiece for the anti-gun lobby. Ricker was paid to give sworn testimony in New York City's baseless lawsuit against the firearms industry that attempted to hold gun manufacturers and dealers responsible for the acts of criminals. Board Member John Rosenthal founded the anti-gun Massachusetts state group "Stop Handgun Violence." He is also a former member of the Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI) board of directors. Board Member Ray Schoenke donated $5,000 to HCI and was rewarded by HCI for various other contributions by being named a major benefactor at their annual dinner. The list of AHSA board members with anti-gun associations goes on. As does the group's shameless attempts to pull the wool over the eyes of the public and pretend that it is pro-gun. (For more information, see Anti-gunners Don Camo as Elections Loom)
AHSA's latest attempt at masking its long-term anti-gun agenda is a postcard claiming that NRA puts the interests of land developers ahead of those of hunters, and is not interested in protecting public hunting lands. This is an ironic claim considering that one of NRA's top priorities in the most recent legislative session in Missouri was HB 2067, the "Hunting Heritage Areas Protection Act." This NRA-backed legislation is designed to protect Missouri's 100-year floodplains from development that would destroy some of the nation's finest wildlife habitat. (See Paving Waterfowl Paradise for more information) HB 2067 will help guarantee that future generations of hunters have access to critical hunting habitat.
No organization advocates more aggressively than your NRA for the expansion and preservation of hunting lands. This is why NRA has introduced No-Net-Loss of Public Hunting Land legislation throughout the country. It is why your NRA has fought government bureaucrats to protect and grow hunting opportunities in national forests, national parks, and wildlife refuges across the U.S. Our record speaks for itself. AHSA's record consists of nothing but the re-packaged anti-gun, anti-freedom message that people like Sarah Brady have been spouting for decades.
So next time AHSA, or any other group claiming to be
"pro-gun" or "pro-sportsman" claims it is looking out for your
interests and the NRA isn't, remember that enemies of the
2nd Amendment will not hesitate to camouflage their true
intentions. Because of that, we will continue to call these groups
what they are -- liars -- and keep you informed of who the true
friends or our Right to Keep and Bear Arms and hunting heritage
are.
POSTED: Friday, October 27, 2006
