The Pima County Republican Party publicized the raffle in its online newsletter last week, under a headline that read: “Help Pima GOP get out the vote [...]]]> The Republican Party in the county where a deadly Arizona shooting rampage took place is drawing criticism for its decision to raffle a gun to raise money for get-out-the-vote efforts.

The Pima County Republican Party publicized the raffle in its online newsletter last week, under a headline that read: “Help Pima GOP get out the vote and maybe help yourself to a new Glock.”

Jeff Rogers, chairman of the county’s Democratic Party, called the raffle a “stunning lack of judgment and sensitivity” given that the weapon is the same make used in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson, the Pima County seat. The shooting spree left six people dead and 13 wounded, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The handgun being raffled is a Glock 23. The one used in the Tucson shooting was a Glock 19, the Arizona Daily Star reported.-[source]

Gov. Susana Martinez received perfect scores on recertification for her concealed-carry permit over the weekend in Las Cruces. She scored 100 percent with both .38- and .45-caliber handguns, her staff said.

Martinez’s permit to carry a concealed handgun, originally obtained in 2009, was extended for another two years.

She was [...]]]> New Mexico’s pistol-packin’ governor is a sure shot.

Gov. Susana Martinez received perfect scores on recertification for her concealed-carry permit over the weekend in Las Cruces. She scored 100 percent with both .38- and .45-caliber handguns, her staff said.

Martinez’s permit to carry a concealed handgun, originally obtained in 2009, was extended for another two years.

She was a district attorney and a Republican candidate for governor when she first went through training and qualified to carry a concealed weapon. Her spokesman, Greg Blair, said Martinez’s personal and professional experiences motivated her to arm herself.

Not only was she a prosecutor, but her husband, Chuck Franco, was undersheriff of Dona Ana County.

“Since she and Chuck both made careers out of taking on dangerous and violent criminals, she decided to get her concealed-carry permit for personal protection, especially when traveling alone or at night on the campaign trail,” Blair said.

As governor, Martinez has a security detail, but she still chooses to carry a weapon, Blair said.

One of Martinez’s Republican colleagues, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, has also carried a handgun.

Perry last year used his laser-sighted pistol to shoot a coyote that he said was threatening his dog during a morning jog near Austin.-[source]

The proposal sponsored by Republican Sen. Steve Southerland of Morristown was moved to the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday after passing the Senate Judiciary Committee 8-1. [...]]]> A measure that would exempt handgun permit holders from criminal background checks to buy weapons is one of two gun bills advancing in the state Senate.

The proposal sponsored by Republican Sen. Steve Southerland of Morristown was moved to the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday after passing the Senate Judiciary Committee 8-1. The companion bill is awaiting a vote in the same committee in the House.

The other proposal sponsored by Republican Sen. Mike Bell of Riceville states that it’s not an occupational hazard for employers to allow workers with handgun permits to carry their weapons at work. The measure is headed for a full Senate vote after also passing the Senate Judiciary Committee 8-1.-[source]

The House voted 48-8 Wednesday in favor of the bill, which already has passed the Senate.

If the bill passes, Wyoming still would continue to offer concealed-carry permits for citizens [...]]]> Wyoming residents could carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill that has cleared its first hearing in the state House of Representatives.

The House voted 48-8 Wednesday in favor of the bill, which already has passed the Senate.

If the bill passes, Wyoming still would continue to offer concealed-carry permits for citizens who want to carry their guns in other states under reciprocal agreements. The permit system requires police background checks for applicants.-[source]

Gun advocates argue that doing so could help put a quick end to threats like the one posed by a University of [...]]]> Texas already lets lawmakers bring guns into the Capitol. And the governor sometimes jogs with a loaded pistol. But should people be allowed to carry concealed weapons onto college campuses?

Gun advocates argue that doing so could help put a quick end to threats like the one posed by a University of Texas student who fired several rounds from an assault rifle Tuesday before killing himself.

Under current law, college buildings in Texas are gun-free zones. But that did not stop Colton Tooley from darting along a street near the university’s clock tower Tuesday, shooting off an AK-47. He then entered a library and shot himself. No one else was hurt.-[source]

The spokesman is Bill Ames, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of [...]]]> The Harry Reid campaign has released a campaign ad attacking Sharon Angle as “crazy” for warning that “If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking towards those Second Amendment remedies.”

The spokesman is Bill Ames, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of Nevada and a self-described “member of the NRA and a Republican.” Says Ames:

“What she’s actually talking about is armed resistance….That kind of talk is dangerous and way too extreme.”-[source]

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is pleased to announce the endorsement of Sharron Angle for U.S. Senate .  Angle is running in a three-way primary for the right to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November.

Sharron Angle is just the kind of “change” Washington [...]]]> Gun Owners of America endorses Sharron Angle in Nevada

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is pleased to announce the endorsement of Sharron Angle for U.S. Senate .  Angle is running in a three-way primary for the right to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November.

Sharron Angle is just the kind of “change” Washington needs right now.  Over her eight years in the Nevada legislature, Sharon stood 100% in favor of the Second Amendment and was a steadfast leader in protecting the constitutional liberties of all Nevadans.

Harry Reid, on the other hand, is trampling all over the Constitution.  In addition to pushing the massive, anti-gun Obamacare bill through the Senate, Reid has helped to secure the confirmations of President Obama’s left-wing radical nominees to the highest positions of power.

For instance, Sen. Reid voted to confirm Eric Holder to the position of Attorney General.  Holder was the point man for gun control initiatives such as the Brady bill and the semi-auto ban under President Clinton. 

Almost immediately after his confirmation, Holder called for the reinstatement of the Clinton gun ban.  Holder also coauthored an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing in favor of the complete gun ban in the District of Columbia. 

Sen. Reid secured the confirmation of Cass Sunstein as the new “regulatory czar,” despite the fact that Sunstein stated that he believes hunting should be banned.

The top legal advisor at the State Department, Harold Koh, also received Reid’s support.  Koh advocates bringing the U.S. into conformity with a draconian global gun control agenda.

And the newest Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, could not have advanced if Sen. Reid had objected.  Indeed, Sen. Reid voted for this anti-gun radical, who had ruled as an Appeals Court judge that a complete gun ban by a state would be constitutional.

As Majority Leader, Reid could have objected to any and all of these nominees and insisted that the president put forth men and women who respected the Second Amendment.

Sen. Reid also was the architect of the Senate’s passage of the anti-gun government takeover of health care.  For over a year, GOA had warned that a federal database of Americans’ medical records, accessible to the government gun police—the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE)—could lead to the disarming of innocent Americans.-[source]

The ad splices together glamour shots of Gorman, a state senator, with her firing off rounds in the Arizona desert.

“This year a lot of folks think this is our best shot at changing Congress,” the narrator of the [...]]]>

Arizona Republican congressional candidate Pamela Gorman shoots four separate firearms, including an automatic rifle, in her latest ad.

The ad splices together glamour shots of Gorman, a state senator, with her firing off rounds in the Arizona desert.

“This year a lot of folks think this is our best shot at changing Congress,” the narrator of the ad says. “Course that all depends on the caliber of our candidates.”

The ad then cuts from a shot of Gorman standing with her hair blowing in the wind to her firing a Thompson submachine gun.-[source]

Fox 41 was the only camera crew [...]]]> Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul reached out to gun advocates in Louisville Saturday. He is trying to shore up support from a major voting bloc. Fox 41 talked exclusively with Paul in a television interview about guns, political support and his strategy for moving past the backlash against his campaign.

Fox 41 was the only camera crew allowed into the Gun Show at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center, where we talked to U.S. Senate Candidate Rand Paul, about the road to November.

Paul can be seen on his campaign website shooting an automatic weapon. The lifetime NRA member and Gun Owners of America advocate says he is a proud defender of the Second Amendment.-[source]