Local News - Top Stories Updated 5/16/2012 Full listing of stories here

GOAL Sponsors 3rd Annual Cabin Fever Dinner Dance. This past Saturday night, May 12, 2012 GOAL was lucky enough to once again be a sponsor of the 3rd Annual Cabin Fever Dinner Dance held at the Ron Burton Training Village in Hubbardston MA. The event which raised money for New England Patriot – Matt Light’s Light Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, and the Ron Burton Training Village was a resounding success. GOAL President Jay Beard was a driving force in the event, ensuring it was well organized, and flawlessly produced. Jay was also the guest auctioneer and helped emcee the event. This was great as Jay on numerous occasions spoke of GOAL and our mission to protect and defend the Second Amendment Rights of the citizens of Massachusetts.

Martha's Vineyard women join a national trend to gun ownership. Jon Green, who conducts training classes in Northboro for the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), a state advocacy group, confirmed that many more women are signing up for training. "I'm seeing more and more of that," he said in a telephone interview. He said his six-student basic firearms safety course often include more women than men, which has not always been true. "Now I see it more and more," he said. GOAL also offers instruction programs in cooperation with other organizations. A prime example is the National Rifle Association's "Women On Target" programs.

Senator Brewer takes heat - stands for citizens & our basic right to defend ourselves from those that intend harm. State Sen. Stephen Brewer has the gun-control lobby fuming over his proposal for a “stand your ground” self-defense law Brewer’s bill removes all civil and criminal liability from people who use deadly force against their attackers in public, and it frees them from having to first try to escape the situation. The bill has 27 co-sponsors. “We’re not trying to return to Dodge City,” Brewer said. “Quite honestly, we’re Americans and we ought to be able to stand our ground. We stood our ground in Concord and Lexington, and we seem to be losing that.”

3/21/12 The Boston Globe: "A safer society with guns". By now there’s so much evidence that higher rates of gun ownership lead to lower rates of crime that it isn’t hard to fathom why fewer and fewer Americans want to ban handguns. According to Gallup, just 26 percent of the public now thinks the private possession of handguns should be illegal — that’s down from 60 percent half a century ago. Roughly 1 of every 4 Americans reports keeping a gun to protect themselves or their homes. Having a gun makes many people — for good reason — feel safer.

3/6/12 "NICS Bill" Has Public Hearing at State House. On March 6, 2012 the Joint Committee on the Judiciary held a public hearing on Governor Patrick's "NICS" bill H.3569 "An Act Relative to the Transmission of Firearms Background Check Information" The premise of the legislation is to bring Massachusetts in compliance with the latest Federal laws regarding the National Instant Check System. There are a lot of concerns with the legislation both with its premise and its actual language and clearly GOAL is not supporting it.

• GOAL's Legislation "An Act Relative to the Common Defense" Heard at State House

  February 8, 2012 Update:Room B-1 at the State House was capacity only and our bill was heard along with many others. GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace was in attendance and testified on behalf of the legislation.

• Taunton Marksmanship Unit takes National Championship in Junior 3-Position Air Rifle! Massachusetts and GOAL were well-represented this weekend out in Port Clinton, Ohio, as the CMP held their National Air Rifle Competitions at Camp Perry.
• 1/3/12 Officials scramble in wake of Needham hunting incident. Needham prohibits discharging a firearm on town land but not bow-hunting. Fitzpatrick said the town has not granted anyone permission to hunt with a bow on its land, but was unsure if such hunters needed the town’s permission, meaning bow hunters may be in a gray area.
• "An Act Relative to Habitual Offenders"11/17/11 Update.the House version does not contain any threats to lawful gun owners and is absent of the wire tapping language that concerned us in the senate version.
• S.1182 “An Act Relative to the Safety of Law Enforcement Officers.” Courts Disarming Law Enforcement. Yet another problem facing law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth is a growing number of state and local courts that are forcing them to disarm before entering the court room.
• 12/23/11 U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Clinics Shooters Last week members of the Army Marksmanship Unit ran two 2-day pistol clinics. Sponsored jointly by GOAL and each host club
• E-FA10 Issue GOAL has received a letter from EOPS/FRB in regard to the use of paper FA10 forms. They wanted us to know that going forward, the only accepted paper form will be the "official" numbered 3-part forms.
• H.3700 “An Act Relative to the Licensing of Firearms for Persons 70 years of Age or Older This bill has started moving through the legislative process. The bill was filed by Rep. Pignatelli in an attempt to correct yet another poorly written piece of Massachusetts gun laws.
• H.2400 "Youth Hunting Act" Still needs some help! Part of this bill has already passed in this years state budget, (reducing the fee for an FID card down to $25 for anyone under 18
• 10/28/11 An Act Repealing the Ban On Modern Sporting Arms. GOAL’s legislation filed by Rep. George Peterson to repeal the ban on modern sporting rifles is still held up in the House Committee on Rules.
• The Romney Record. A Look at Governor Mitt Romney's Record as Governor of Massachusetts as it Relates to the Gun Owners and Sportsmen of Our State
• 2011 Shoot-B-Q: A Great Time Had By All, Thanks Harvard Sportsmen's Club! Food-Firearms-Fun, what's not to like?
• 2011 Crushing Clays A Great Success, Thanks N. Leominster R&G! 47 Junior Shooters put on a fantastic display of marksmanship!
• Boston City Council Holds Gun Knife Control Hearing The testimony and statements heard during the public hearing were frighteningly reminiscent of past gun control hearings.
• Range Grants Available from MA DFW. Great for improving your clubs Hunters Ed program etc...
• More Local News Here

National News: Top Stories Updated 5/4/2012 Full listing of stories here
"Fast & Furious - BATFE - Obama Administration Scandal 5/4/12 Issa releases blistering memo supporting Holder contempt citation. House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa has issued a blistering memorandum detailing his case for issuing a Contempt of Congress citation against Attorney General Eric Holder for the Justice Department’s stonewalling and cover-up on the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. The memorandum alleges that, “For over a year, the Department has issued false denials, given answers intended to misdirect investigators, sought to intimidate witnesses, unlawfully withheld subpoenaed documents, and waited to be confronted with indisputable evidence before acknowledging uncomfortable facts.”
4/19/12 House Passes ‘Sportsmen’s Heritage Act’ The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, hailed today’s passage of the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 (H.R. 4089). The bill passed the House with a 274-146 vote. Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), the bill combines four legislative priorities that will expand recreational hunting, shooting and fishing opportunities and also reaffirms existing law and heads off determined bureaucratic efforts to deny hunters and shooters from using traditional ammunition. This important legislation is supported by more than 35 national conservation and sportsmen’s groups. “NSSF thanks Rep. Miller for his exceptional leadership in helping to expand access and opportunities for sportsmen and in protecting and preserving America’s hunting and shooting heritage,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “We look forward to seeking passage of the bill in the Senate.”
4/19/12 Firearms Industry Helps Lead Economic Recovery; New Study Shows Growth in Jobs, Taxes Paid and Sales. Earlier today, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, released a newly commissioned report detailing double-digit gains in jobs and other data showing the industry has been a leader in the nation’s economic recovery. The report can be viewed at http://nssf.org/impact. Firearms industry members were briefed on such remarkable statistics as the 30.6 percent increase in jobs between 2008 and 2011, a 66.5 percent increase in economic impact and a 66.5 percent increase in federal taxes paid by industry companies. Armed with the good news of the report and recognizing that jobs and the economy are of major importance in the November elections, industry executives are scheduled to meet today with elected officials during the NSSF-sponsored Congressional Fly-In.
“Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act” Introduced in U.S. Senate For the second time in as many weeks, a national Right-to-Carry reciprocity bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. On March 20, U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced Senate Bill 2213, the “Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.” NRA strongly supports this measure. Under this self-defense bill, an individual who has met the requirements for a carry permit, or who is otherwise allowed by state law to carry a handgun, would be authorized to carry a handgun in any other state that issues such permits or does not prohibit concealed carry, subject to the laws of the state in which it is carried. Click Here To Follow the progress - For Full Text of HR.822 Including the Amendments. Click Here for facts about H.R.822. Click Here for more information about the amendments
President Obama - Second Amendment Issues 5/8/12 Obama Administration threatens veto over important NRA-backed provision!It comes as no surprise that the Obama Administration put out a Statement of Administration Policy saying that President Obama’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto H.R. 5326. (FY2013 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill). To see the statement, please click here. Apparently, one of the reasons the President would veto H.R. 5326 is because of a NRA-backed general provision preventing funding for the new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting and registration plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). On Thursday, April 26, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations approved this general provision offered by Congressman Rehberg (R-Mont.), by a vote of 30-19. Without this funding restriction, the BATFE could continue to circumvent the will of Congress by collecting information on multiple-sales of long guns by Executive Branch mandate and then, centralizing records of thousands of Americans’ gun purchases, without any legal authority. Please contact your member of Congress and tell them to leave this important provision in the bill. You can contact your member of Congress at (202) 225-3121 or by email. Click here for more on the Obama Administration

• 1/13/12 Gun Control Activists Fire Squib Loads On Monday, Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence—previously known as the National Coalition to Ban Handguns— penned an item for the very left-leaning Huffington Post website, deriding media reporters for writing articles that say gun sales are booming.
• Three More Wins for Gun Owners H.R. 2055—the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012—has been passed by the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and has been sent to the President for his expected signature.
• NRA to Fight Proposed Obama Administration Ban on Recreational Shooting on Public Lands.Fairfax, VA -- The National Rifle Association (NRA) will fight the proposal by the Obama administration and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to drastically restrict recreational shooting opportunities on public lands.
• U.S. allows import of 86,000 M1 rifles from Korea. Washington has agreed to allow the importation of M1 Garand rifles from Seoul
• U.S. House Passes NRA-backed National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Legislation The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an important self-defense measure that would enable millions of Right-to-Carry permit holders across the country to carry concealed firearms while traveling outside their home states

• A Tough Year for Gun Control’s Brady Campaign. Nevertheless, last June, Brady Vice President Dennis Henigan misrepresented ATF data by declaring that 70% of all Mexican cartel guns came from U.S. gun stores. He did not mention that that most came from ATF, FBI, and DEA smuggling
• Twelve Big Wins for Gun Owners. The final conference report on the combined Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS) and Transportation/Housing/Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bills—also known as the “Mini-Bus,” was passed by both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and has been signed into law.
• Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Schumer Registration and Rights Denial Bill. On Tuesday November 16, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) S. 436.
• NRA Files Protest Letter in Opposition of BLM's Resource Management Plan for Recreational Shooting Ban. The National Rifle Association has filed a letter protesting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final resource management plan
• Scott Brown Does Not Support 2A Rights Will Vote Against H.R. 822. Call his office today, (202) 224-4543 Ask for the support he promised when we helped him attain his office.
• Congress Moves Closer to Restoring a Key Second Amendment Freedom. As of today, 49 states have laws in place that permit their citizens to carry a concealed firearm
• Record-Low 26% in U.S. Favor Handgun Ban. A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people.
• US defends gun sale reporting requirement in court Gun store owners in southwestern border states argued in federal court Tuesday that the Obama administration cannot require them to report when customers buy multiple high-powered rifles.
• Editorial: Liberal Courts Still Gunning Against Second Amendment Rights. Does the Second Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense extend outside the doorway of our homes?
• New rules on firearms leaving the EU. The new EU regulation will give effect to the United Nations Firearms Protocol (UNFP) which aims to combat the illicit manufacture and trafficking of firearms
• Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act Introduced. The bill allows for the interstate sale of firearms and removes several antiquated and unnecessary restrictions imposed on interstate firearms transactions.
• More National News Here

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