In The News
LIVE from the NRA Annual Meetings!
Be sure to tune in to Tom Gresham's Gun Talk this Sunday, April 15, when I'll be broadcasting live from the NRA Annual Meetings in St. Louis, Missouri. There's a lot happening, and we'll be talking about it with the people making the news!
New Effort to Boost NRA Numbers
I'm writing this on Friday morning, before sunup, with a full day ahead here in St. Louis. At 11:30am local, I'll be in a meeting with industry leaders to discuss an ambitious plan to increase the membership of the NRA. I participated in a conference call with key firearms media people two weeks ago about this, and the news is about to break. The crux of the issue is the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, and its restrictions on our First Amendment rights. That law prevents the NRA from contacting anyone who is not a member after a cutoff date 60 days prior to the national election next year. That makes it imperative that the NRA have the largest membership roll possible when that cutoff kicks in.
The national elections, and particularly the Presidential election, of 2008 will be critical. The gun banners are coming out of the woodwork, but even worse, many gun banners are now claiming to support the Second Amendment, and some are claiming to be hunters. Don't be fooled.
I'll have the latest, up-to-the minute news on this breaking story this Sunday. Wayne LaPierre, Executive V.P. of the NRA and Chris Cox, head of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action are scheduled to be on the show on Sunday. Make sure you are there, too!
Lots of New Guns!
Ruger has introduced a truckload of new guns, including a Ranch Rifle in the 6.8 SPC cartridge and SP101 revolvers with Crimson Trace Lasergrips. There are many others, and we'll have the hot news on the show Sunday. Winchester ammo announced a "green" cartridge, for hunters, which doesn't use lead. Hmmm. Maybe something in copper? No comment from Barnes Bullets -- makers of an entire line of high-performance all-copper bullets. Tune in Sunday.
Last night (Thursday) I attended the banquet for the NRA Foundation, and watched good friends Pete and Frank Brownell making contributions left and right. The only problem was figuring out how to get that whitetail antler chandelier in the truck for the drive back to Iowa! Seriously, Brownells was the major sponsor of the event, along with Brunton. If you run into Frank, be sure to ask what he bought at auction that he is donating to the NRA Whittington Center. It does not go bang!
The buzz at the show continues to be the news about Remington being purchased by Bushmaster, and speculation is running high that the guys in green will quickly be in the black rifle business. Think government contract.
Personal Defense TV now on DVD!
A lot of you have asked for this, and it's finally here. The first season (13 episodes) of Personal Defense TV is now available on DVD. If you are wondering why you are not seeing it on Outdoor Channel now, it's because we run the 13-episode series twice, for a 26-week run, then go on hiatus for 26 weeks. We begin shooting new shows next week, and the new series will begin airing in October. To order your DVDs of the first season, visit https://newstore.primediamags.com, or call 800-260-6397.
Share Gun Talk with your Friends
If you know people who should be listening to the radio show, but who are not, do them a favor and tell them to tune in. Not only can they listen on local radio stations, but they also can tune in on XM radio (channel 166), and they can download the show in MP3 form (for iPods or for play on any computer) at http://guntalk.libsyn.com/ or they can subscribe to the show through Apple's iTunes Store. Share the fun! For a full lineup on where to hear the show, visit www.guntalk.com/listen.
Wanna do something for gun rights and have fun at the same time? Introduce someone to shooting. It's fun!
