EDITORIAL

15^th Annual Clyde Howell

NRA Youth Shooting Sports Camp

David A. Lombardo

This year SAFER USA and the Illinois State Rifle Association will be hosting the 15^th Annual Clyde Howell NRA Youth Shooting Sports Camp. Held the first weekend of June which this year is May 31^st through June 2^nd, the shooting camp will have eighty kids ages 10 through 16 camping for the weekend at the ISRA range in Bonfield.

There are eight groups of ten campers each roughly divided by their age. Groups rotate through eight, two-hour blocks of instruction including .22 pistol, .22 rifle, AR-15, 20 gauge shotgun, black powder, archery and more.

Traditionally the camp has attracted significant donations. Food, ammunition, targets and monetary donations were always abundant and allowed us for many years to keep the camper registration fee at $100. Until three years ago we never had to purchase ammunition but over the past three years times have been tough and the donations dried up but the cost of the camp only increases. Three years ago we were forced to raise the registration fee to $135 but that's still not enough. We really don't want to increase it anymore or it becomes an event that only wealthier kids can attend.

During camp weekend the kids will shoot about 24,000 rounds of .22 ammunition, over 4,000 rounds of .223 ammunition, 4,000 rounds of 20 gauge shot shells, many cases of clay pigeons and more. We'll serve about 700 meals and give out over a hundred t-shirts and caps. In all, the camp costs significantly more than the  $13,000 in camper registration fees.

We're also looking for an adult volunteer to work as our camp registrar, and the donation of some equipment such as a restaurant size gas griddle and some kitchen supplies.

Now that the economy has begun to improve somewhat we'd like to ask you to help us with this year's youth camp. Any monetary or in-kind donation would be enormously appreciated and it's also tax deductible. The camp is run by SAFER USA Outreach Fund, an IRS 501C3 Not For Profit Educational Foundation. Help us develop our future shooters and voters, and use money that would only go to the government otherwise. It's a win-win situation.

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To donate equipment, food or ammunition call (815) 744-5487, for monetary donations you may donate on line via Paypal at https://saferusanfp.org/ or mail checks to SAFER USA Outreach Fund NFP, 1113 S. Raven Rd, Shorewood IL 60404

Gun owners could back part of Schumer's

plan says Korwin 
 

Sen. Charles Schumer, speaking about his proposed background-check bill, said, "The bill explicitly says there is no registration, explicitly says no confiscation." "It's good that Mr. Schumer put this on the table, it's a step in the right direction," Alan Korwin, author of Gun Laws of America, said. "The firearms community might accept this, in principle, with slightly different wording. It's a question of laws with teeth. What if, instead of saying 'no gun registration,' Schumer's bill said, 'Anyone who creates or attempts to create any sort of gun registration shall go to prison.' Think of it as constitutional comitatus law -- law with teeth that holds officials accountable, instead of laws that merely make statements (like Mr. Schumer's draft). The rewrite is modeled after our posse comitatus law that has worked so well for a century and a half. Similarly, instead of "explicitly" saying no confiscation, let it say, "Anyone who confiscates or attempts to confiscate firearms (or ammo or accessories) that the public bears shall go to prison, too. And pay serious fines." Mr. Schumer's noble assurance would be met.

Gun ban group seeks to hold Wall Street accountable for gun violence

Occupy The NRA (ONRA) is launching a long-term campaign to hold Wall Street firms accountable for their investments in gun manufacturers. Direct actions, in the Occupy tradition, begin on March 18th, against BlackRock, Cerberus and Owl Creek Asset Management. ONRA will push these firms to divest their stocks in gun manufacturers. "We believe these hedge funds have blood on their hands, and we will hit them where it hurts most: namely, their bottom line," said Aaron Black, Organizing Director, Occupy the NRA. "After the Sandy Hook massacre, we can no longer sit by and watch these greedy firms grow more prosperous off the backs of murdered young children." ONRA chose the firms because they either own millions of dollars of holdings in gun manufacturers' stock or bought stock as a direct result of the Sandy Hook massacre. Cerberus has one of the largest gun manufacturer portfolios amongst hedge funds. BlackRock is the biggest money manager holder of gun manufacturer stock at over $300 million worth of shares. It singlehandedly owns 5% of Smith & Wesson. Black is asking protestors to bring pots, pans, whistles, horns, etc. to make noise. If you'd like to make a little noise of your own, Black may be reached at 646-421-4045 or by email to elchanonblack@gmail.com.

Federal PUPS Bill a Threat to

Sporting Dog Owners

Animal rights organizations are once again pushing federal legislation that would greatly expand the number of dog owners regulated under the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The bills H.R. 847, sponsored by Reps. James Gerlach (R-PA) and Lois Capps (D-CA), and S. 395, sponsored by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and David Vitter (R-LA), are more commonly known as PUPS - the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act. These bills would regulate dog owners who sell more than 50 dogs in a year. The AWA regulations were written with the large dog breeders in mind and were not designed or intended for sporting dog or hobby breeders. "These bills would greatly expand the scope of the AWA and move it beyond regulating large wholesale dog breeders," said Evan Heusinkveld, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance Director of Government Affairs. "It would also set the stage for animal rights organizations to come back and lower the threshold until sporting dog owners who sell just one or two litters of dogs a year are regulated by the federal government. They won't quit until it is almost impossible to breed or own sporting dogs." Contact your U.S. Congressman and Senator and ask them to oppose H.R. 847 and S. 395. [Source: U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance]