Great Satan, Inc.

As noted in Tyler Montague’s post on Sonoran Alliance, there is quite a bit of debate about Arizona Senate Bill 1474.  SB1474 would allow Arizona concealed weapons permit holders to carry on state college campuses, rather than leaving their weapons in their cars, where the risk of weapons theft is high. The bill even allows campuses to prohibit firearms in buildings. If colleges wish to prohibit carry by law abiding citizens, they must provide a safe storage locker and appropriate signage.

ASU President Michael Crow, who opposes the bill, has threatened to waste millions of dollars on needless lockers, signs, and additional security if SB 1474 is passed. Wasting $13 million for a false sense of security might be a good reason to replace the president of a university, but Arizona should not allow itself to be blackmailed by threats of retaliatory wasteful spending.

A Warped Imagination

President Crow wants people to, “imagine a crowded college lecture hall in which one student pulls a handgun and fires a shot, then a dozen more students untrained in the use of firearms and how to handle potentially deadly situations all pull out their guns.”

Mr. Crow asks you to imagine, because such a tragic event has never happened. He also wants you to suspend reality and imagine that training is not required in order to qualify for a concealed carry permit. Despite Mr. Crow’s imagination, Arizona requires permit holders to have a minimum amount of training in weapons use and how to respond to, or avoid deadly encounters.

Mr. Crow also wants people to imagine that police SWAT teams will be shooting innocent students in order to “take out everyone with a gun.” This is an extremely absurd scenario! Arizona Department of Public Safety officers, Phoenix Police officers, Arizona Game and Fish officers, and virtually every law enforcement department in the state of Arizona regularly deals with armed, law abiding, Arizona citizens without killing “everyone with a gun.”

Campus Police Chiefs

Campus Police Chiefs were even willing to denigrate their own officers during testimony before an Arizona Senate committee. Some chiefs explained that studies show that 85% of shots fired during officer involved shootings miss their intended targets, while reinforcing the view that officers will recklessly kill innocents. I hope those Campus Police Chiefs were merely supporting their campus management’s hyperbolic opposition. Otherwise, those chiefs should be replaced and funds should immediately be allocated for training campus police so they have the same level of competency as the rest of Arizona’s Peace Officers.

Nationwide, more than 26 colleges with more than 70 campuses already allow concealed carry on campus. None have reported the problems that the opponents of SB1474 imagine.

Imagine Reality

Police cannot be everywhere, you are your own first responder.

Even ASU has noted a Department of Justice study that found: “About 3% of coeds are raped during each academic year. Over the course of 5 calendar years, including summers and vacations, 20-25% may be raped.” Even with this level of victimization, ASU President Michael Crow lobbies to keep students defenseless. Surely, rape disrupts the educational process more than a law-abiding gun owner ever could.

During the most recent school shooting at Chardon High School, an hour elapsed before the Lake County SWAT even arrived on scene.

At the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, the murderer’s spree went unchallenged for two and a half hours. As a result of “gun free zone” policies on the Virginia Tech campus, the murderer was able to kill students for 2.5 hours. He even had time to return to his room to reload, then go across campus to continue his spree completely unchallenged.

In December 2011, the first call to police about the most recent Virginia Tech shootings was made at around 12:30 PM. The SWAT team deployed to the student center at 2:34 PM and the campus was declared clear and safe at about 4:40 PM. Helpless and defenseless students waited fearfully for over four hours.

As Virginia Tech English Professor, Lucinda Roy noted after the December 2001 shootings in VT’s gun free zone:

“I feel our campuses are still vulnerable. Anyone can wander onto our campus at any time. I’ve had people wander into my classes I have no idea who they are, even since 2007.”

Is a Concealed Weapons Permit Good Enough?

DPS data shows that there are currently 163,425 concealed weapons permit holders in Arizona. From September 8, 1994 to February 26, 2012 only 1,115 permits have been revoked for any reason. Even if those revocations were just for the last year, the revocations would only amount to 0.68 percent of current permits. These revocations do not represent actual mishaps, and in some cases, a revoked permit may be reinstated.

When traveling outside of Arizona, an Arizona concealed weapons permit is recognized and accepted by 35 other states. This level of concealed weapons permit reciprocity suggests that our current permit training requirements are more than adequate to address public safety concerns, while allowing the individual the choice to pursue additional firearms training that fits their time, financial constraints, and training needs.

Clarity

President Crow’s imagination is unsupported by facts, which is why he cannot provide any incidents that substantiate his fears. Despite the claims to the contrary, Senate Bill 1474 allows people to protect themselves while addressing legitimate safety concerns.

People have a right to self-defense and a right to bear arms. Imaginary events are a completely inadequate reason to deprive law abiding adults of their constitutional rights. In this bill, Senator Ron Gould has addressed the concerns that were expressed about similar legislation last year. Senate Bill 1474 merely allows adult citizens, over 21, who have had firearms training, submitted to fingerprinting, and passed a criminal background check to qualify for, and obtain, a valid concealed weapons permit to lawfully carry when they set foot on the soil of a college campus. The same right they already have elsewhere in the state.

I hope you will join me in supporting S.B. 1474.

[Read more →]

Hunting Works for Arizona held a presentation and sporting clays shoot in December at Ben Avery Shooting Range Facility.  Hunting Works for Arizona (HWFA) was created to promote the economic partnership that exists within the hunting and shooting communities and the greater Arizona economy.

 

From the Hunting Works for Arizona webpage:

Our membership consists of businesses representing a cross-section of the Arizona economy. These include sporting retailers big and small, restaurant owners, hotel, motel and resort operators, gas stations and convenience stores, hunting and shooting organizations, chambers of commerce and of course all the taxpayers of Arizona (hunters and non-hunters alike) who benefit economically and aesthetically from the license fees, taxes, and jobs the hunting and shooting industry provides both directly and indirectly.

How much direct economic impact does hunting have in Arizona?

• $323 million in direct annual spending on lodging, food, gas, and gear.
• Creating 4,700 jobs with $107.5 million in salaries and wages.
• Paying $15.3 million in Arizona sales, fuel and income taxes.
• A more than $429.3 million total impact on the state economy.

 

 

HWFA Co-Chair and Arizona State Representative Jerry Weiers noted just how expensive it can be to hunt, due to planned and unplanned expenses, as he shared a few of his hunting stories.

Mark Thomas, Director of Communications for the National Shooting Sports Foundation addressed how intertwined hunters, sport shooters, hoteliers and even law enforcement officers are effected by anti-gun and anti-hunting efforts.

Mr. Thomas noted how the intent of lead ammunition bans was not for the safety of animals.  The lead ammo bans are a stealth attempt to stop all hunting, under the guise of helping the environment, despite the lack of any supporting evidence.  He also noted how a ban on lead ammunition would harm not only sport shooters, but law enforcement officers as well.  If lead is banned as an ammunition, our Police officers won’t be able to buy effective ammunition.  Unfortunately, almost any lead substitute for bullets would be unacceptable, as the substitute metal would violate the Federal law about mythical “cop-killer-bullets“.

Mr. Thomas also explained how Modern Sporting Rifles (AR-15s) are the hunting rifle choice of today’s returning war Veteran’s and how that is no different than how WWI Veterans chose the .30-06 1903 bolt action rifle for hunting, or how WWII Veterans chose hunting rifles chambered in .30-06 like the M1 Garands they carried during their service to our country.  He cautioned hunters that replacing the wood stocks of prior hunting rifles with plastic stocks didn’t change the function of the rifles.  AR-15 black rifles, referred to as “assault weapons” by major media outlets, are just similar to the weapons today’s Veterans used while serving, and would be the most logical choice of hunting rifles for today’s military Veterans.

 

After the presentations, it was time to hit the Rattlesnake Course at Ben Avery Clay Target Center.  The best way to describe Sporting Clays is, it’s like golf, only louder and more fun.

 

Arizona Representative David Gowan Shooting Sporting Clays

In addition to Representative Jerry Weiers, Arizona State Senator Rick Murphy, AZ State Representative Karen Fann, AZ State Representative David Gowan, Representative Debbie Lesko, and an aide to Congressman Paul Gosar attended the event.

Federal Ammunition provided the shotgun shells for the match.   Thank you Federal, Hunting Works for Arizona, and the awesome staff at Arizona Game & Fish for a great day at the range.

[Read more →]

Are you ready to shoot a practical pistol match?

Robb Allen over at Sharp As a Marble has a plan for his USPSA match on Sunday.  ExurbanKevin at Misfires and Light Strikes has a plan for his IDPA match on Sunday.   Mz. VRWC and I are participating in an IDPA Regional Match this weekend, called the South Mountain Showdown, at Phoenix Rod & Gun Club.  Surely, I have a plan for shooting this event, I think.   The plan has to be somewhere around here, now where did I leave it?

The plan, meticulously based on the only three IDPA club matches I’ve shot so far…is:

1. Muzzle safety – Don’t point the gun at anything I don’t intend to destroy, including my own body parts, or my match is over early (instant disqualification).
2. Maintain the 180 degree rule at all times – Don’t point the gun in a direction greater than 90 degrees to the left or right of the downrange berm (instant disqualification).
3. Only shoot has fast as I can accurately shoot – Any faster than that will waste ammo, time, and incur penalties.  (You can’t miss fast enough to win.)
4. Have fun and enjoy the experience.
5. Maintain a relaxed approach to fend off the Red Mist, facilitating quick and safe draws from concealment.

That’s it!  That is my plan for this match.

I know how to pull the trigger smoothly, line up the sights correctly, and how to be safe while handling firearms.  Any other “things” I could plan on doing would probably exceed the mental bandwidth available after the timer buzzes.

Watching other shooters fire at lightning speed can create tremendous performance anxiety.  At some point, you realize that you can only perform at the best of your abilities.  You need this realization to keep your competitors’ performance from inducing the Red Mist.

Many people focus on the hoped for outcome of the event, at the expense of those tasks that have to be performed to achieve that goal.  When those tasks are performed correctly, the sum of those tasks will equal the desired outcome, which is a winning performance.  My focus will be on managing the tasks I have control over.  If I do everything correctly, the result will be safe competition,  zero-down scores, and a good place in the results.

Now I just have to remember my plan…where did I put that plan?

[Read more →]

Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association (ASRPA) held their annual meeting and dinner Saturday, May 7th, in Phoenix and featured Mr. Otis McDonald, of McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court case fame, as the keynote speaker. ASRPA is the Arizona affiliate of the NRA, (essentially the Arizona arm of NRA) overseeing competitive shooting, training of juniors, and other firearms related issues in Arizona since 1909.

Motivational Speaker Beth Terry was an exemplary emcee for the evening, along with ASRPA President, Noble Hathaway. Noble’s lovely daughters, Ashley, Andrea, and Payne graciously assisted with the event and the fundraising raffles that were held throughout the evening.

 

Sandy Froman presents NRA 100 Years of Excellence Award

During the dinner, past NRA President Sandy Froman formally presented ASRPA with the 100 Years of Excellence award from the NRA. Mr. Hathaway was joined on stage by several past presidents of ASRPA to receive the award from Ms. Froman.

 

One of a kind Colt Single Action Army Pistol.

ASPRA President Noble Hathaway thanked the state legislators in attendance at the dinner for their part in making the Colt Single Action Army pattern pistol the official State Firearm of Arizona. He also apologized for the minor controversy they endured, and explained that the intent of the state firearm was only to help celebrate Arizona’s statehood Centennial in 2012.

 

Colt SAA Presentation to the lucky raffle winner by Rep. Judy Burges, Gary Christiansen, Rep. Carl Seel, Rep. Steve Court, Rep. Jerry Weiers, and Todd Rathner.

The highlight of the evening was Mr. Otis McDonald’s very heartfelt and humble explanation of his journey to the Supreme Court. His story is one of a man who tried to make a positive difference in his neighborhood. He worked to get kids off the street and away from crime, but as his neighborhood declined and some of neighborhood kids turned to crime, Chicago banned handgun ownership. The Chicago ban left law-abiding citizens defenseless and vulnerable to criminals who defied the gun bans and terrorized the innocent. Mr. McDonald explained how he wasn’t trying to change the world, he was just standing up for what he felt was right.

I once heard Ken Blackwell say something to the effect that the Declaration of Independence states, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident’ as the Founders way of saying, ‘Any knucklehead should be able to understand this.’

Unfortunately, the knuckleheads in Chicago did not understand these truths. In passing the handgun ban in 1982, Chicago enabled the jewelry theft ring run by Chicago Police chief of detectives William Hanhardt, and the mob, ensuring the safety of the thieves. Hanhardt’s jewelry ring stole millions in the 1980s and 1990s, unopposed by their disarmed victims. The gun ban should have been named the Occupational Safety for Criminals Gun Ban. Mr. McDonald’s case was supported by an amicus curiae brief signed by 58 senators and 251 representatives, with more members of Congress signing than any amicus curiae brief in history.

 

Otis McDonald at the 102nd Annual ASRPA Dinner

He appeared surprised that people in a state with a Brady Campaign score of Zero would be so grateful for his efforts, but we understand how much he has done for securing our right to bear arms. The Supreme Court’s ruling will have a positive affect on gun laws and legislation for decades. Mr. McDonald appears to still be processing the full significance of his victory at the Supreme Court, where the court ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right of the individual to keep and bear arms.

Mr. McDonald acknowledged that this was just the beginning in the battle to restore even the most basic gun rights in the Chicago area, but he emphasized the role of the individual in determining the future. Throughout his talk, he spoke highly of his lawyer Alan Gura and of Alan Gottlieb, both of the Second Amendment Foundation and the enduring support of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

 

Otis McDonald Master Sponsors

It is amazing that ASRPA could persuade Mr. McDonald to speak to our group, and it was an honor for everyone in attendance to hear his story. It is rare to hear a victorious story of a hard fought battle to win such an important case. A case that signifies the first major national gun rights case the Supreme Court has heard since 1939’s United States v. Miller. Mr. McDonald’s message was clear – ordinary people can accomplish the extraordinary, just by following through on their beliefs and trying to make their part of the world a better place.

Otis McDonald Master Donor Medal – 102nd Annual Meeting of ASRPA 2011

 

Visit the ASRPA website to see more photos from the banquet, check out current shooting events, and to join ASRPA today.

 

I would also like to express my appreciation to the many members of AZCDL and the Arizona Game and Fish Department for their tireless support of the shooting sports in Arizona.

[Read more →]

Gunblogger Bob Owens, a writer for Bob’s Gun Counter and Confederate Yankee blogs, has put his money-where-his-mouth-is for what is right. Like many of us, Bob has been following the Congressional hearings into the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE, also known as ATF) critically flawed and “unconventional investigation” into weapons smuggling into Mexico. The “investigation” is known as Operation Fast & Furious, Project Gunrunner, and a few other names that obscure how broad the investigation’s failures actually are. Congressman Darrell Issa has referred to Operation Fast & Furious as “felony stupid”. Bob believes, like many others, that the operation wasn’t just stupid.

 

How unconventional was the investigation?

ATF, with the cooperation of the Department of Justice and other Federal agencies, decided that the best way to stop the flow of smuggled weapons from the United States into Mexico was to ship more weapons. A few thousand more weapons!

If you want the Cliffs Notes version, checkout John Stewart’s coverage of the Congressional hearings into Operation Fast & Furious, as his Daily Show assessment is far more honest than the outright partisan distortions by Arizona’s newspaper of record.

 

How did Bob Owens lay it on the line?

Bob has extensively covered scandals like the death of Marine veteran Jose Guereña at the hands of the Pima County SWAT team, as well as extensively covering Operation Fast & Furious, Project Gunrunner. This time, he has filed a written request with the Federal Government’s Office of Special Counsel, requesting the appointment of an independent Special Prosecutor to investigate the failed operation that lead to the deaths of at least three U.S. law enforcement officers, as many as 150 Mexican law enforcement officers, and possibly thousands of Mexican citizens.

 

Why would you call that laying it on the line?

Well, Bob is presumably a gun owner, who is certainly in the United States, petitioning his government to seek redress in a case of government wrong-doing. A wrong-doing that at a minimum is:

• Negligent “felony stupid” that deserves jail time for responsible parties.
• A blunder caused by an abuse of political power used to pursue an anti-gun agenda “by any means necessary”
• Or at worst, corruption of U.S. government officials that we could only imagine happening in Mexico.

Whatever the level of corruption, it is so important that Attorney General Eric Holder and other high ranking officials have risked Contempt charges by refusing to turn over documents and otherwise cooperate in the Congressional investigation.

 

Our hats are off to you!

We here at GreatSatanInc.com salute Bob in taking a stand against this horrific injustice, perpetrated by government officials who allegedly serve the citizens. When the stakes are this high, it takes courage to stand up for what is right. May God bless you and keep you safe, Bob. You are doing the right thing!

 

 

[Read more →]

A bill to make the Colt Single Action Army revolver the symbolic state firearm of Arizona has stalled in the Arizona House of Representatives. Naming a state firearm won’t cost the state a dime, but it is an important element of Arizona’s history as it relates to the Arizona Centennial celebration. This is a one time only opportunity to celebrate our first 100 years of statehood. As noted by the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission, the Arizona’s Centennial provides Arizona and its citizens an opportunity to showcase the “state’s beauty, history and future”.

How was the Colt SAA Selected?

The Colt Single Action Army revolver (Colt SAA), also known as the
Peacemaker, was suggested by the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association (ASRPA), after a survey of more than 3,000 respondents chose the Colt SAA as the gun most representative of Arizona’s history. ASRPA’s Arizona lobbyist, Todd Rathner, then contacted Colt to see if they would support and help achieve the official designation.

What Is ASRPA?

The Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association was founded in 1909 to oversee competitive shooting and firearms training in the state. ASRPA has played a crucial role in Arizona’s history, that continues to this day:

• In 1910, The Arizona Rifle Team designed and used a flag when they attended the National Matches at Camp Perry. This flag was adopted as the state flag in 1917. (source ASRPA presentation)

Does This Firearm Represent Arizona?

One of two guns widely acclaimed for winning the West, the Colt Single Action Army revolver was widely used by settlers, farmers, ranchers, miners, and the Arizona Rangers for self-defense and law enforcement. It was also carried by the Arizona Rough Riders*. It has been suggested that a Ruger product would be appropriate, since Ruger has a significant manufacturing presence in Prescott. However, Ruger’s Old West style guns began production in the 1950s and are actually based on the Colt Single Action Army design, which leads us back to having the Colt Single Action Army revolver designated as the state firearm.

What Will It Cost the State?

It won’t cost Arizona a single copper penny. It’s really hard to imagine how passing a no-cost bill like SB1610 would be too much for some lawmakers, when you consider the controversial bills that have been passed this year. Speaker of the House Kirk Adams pushed through a structurally balanced budget, a rollback of the state’s excessively spendy health insurance program (ACCCHS), as well as major pension reform. The House tackled contentious issues that desperately needed to be addressed, led by someone willing to take the heat.

What Now?

The Arizona House has worked many late nights this session, tackling difficult, contentious, and controversial issues for the State.  Hopefully, with the busy schedule, they just haven’t had time to update the voting calendar with the date SB1610 will be heard on the House floor.

We’re hoping they will pass this bill on Monday, so the passage can be applauded at Senator Sylvia Allen’s Patriot’s Day celebration at the Arizona Capitol on Tuesday.

[Read more →]

Michael Bane, in his efforts with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), is seeking ways to maintain and grow the shooting sports. One of his discussions has included the need for more shooting ranges to allow more people to safely enjoy the shooting sports in a safe and responsible environment.

Ben Avery Arizona Shooting Range Facility and Rio Salado Sportsmen’s Club are world class shooting ranges. Our Arizona Game & Fish department receives no funding from Arizona’s general fund, yet Ben Avery has a five-star rating from the National Association of Shooting Ranges and is the first government facility to receive this designation.

The Goldwater Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona has a new commercial pushing the Arizona legislature to “fix it’s spending priorities” by confiscating the full $800,000 in shooting range maintenance money budgeted by Arizona Game & Fish Department. Arizona has budget problems due to overspending. When politicians run out of tax money to spend, they often look to raid successful programs. An increase in the state sales tax has been proposed, but the Institute advocates raiding a self-sustaining agency’s funds, gutting an effective program and reducing it to the mediocrity of other government programs.

How do they get the tax money to operate?

While the average person has no idea how the outdoors are managed in Arizona, most of us paying user fees and membership dues to shoot at Arizona’s acclaimed ranges know that our money goes directly to the maintenance of those ranges, as well as wildlife management. In fact, many people buy fishing licenses, hunting licenses, and game stamps just for the purpose of supporting the activities of the Arizona Game & Fish Department.

Even if you don’t buy hunting or fishing licenses, when you purchase firearms and ammunition, you pay Federal Firearms and Ammunition Excise Taxes of 10% for pistols, 11% for rifles and bow hunting equipment, and 11% for ammunition. The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, established this tax and requires that the funds collected are placed in a special trust by the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Department of the Interior. This money is then distributed back to states in matching grants for wildlife conservation, wildlife management, habitat restoration, wildlife research, hunter education, and shooting ranges.

One of the conditions on Pittman-Robertson funds is that states are prohibited from diverting hunter license fees:

(States shall) make laws governing the conservation of wildlife, shall have assented to the provision of this chapter and shall have passed laws for the conservation of wildlife which shall include a prohibition against the diversion of license fees paid by hunters for any other purpose than the administration of said State fish and game department…

Smart politicians knew that some day, a state pinched for money would view outdoor sporting programs as a cash cow they would milk to death, using sporting monies to cover up for excessive spending on other programs. Fortunately, our outdoor user fees are protected by both State, and Federal laws.

How does it work without State tax revenues?

Arizona Game and Fish is a self-supporting, “business-model” agency, generating it’s own funding for survival, unable to feed off of tax dollars in Arizona’s General Fund. The model is based on the same “user pay, user benefit” model that is the basis for the Pittman-Robertson Act. Arizona Game & Fish must provide excellent services to outdoor sporting enthusiasts, or close up shop, just like any other business.

If our Game & Fish department doesn’t provide proper wildlife management or charges too much for hunting license, hunters will go elsewhere or quit the sport, depriving the department of funding. If they neglect the shooting ranges, users will find other places to shoot, taking their money with them. In other words, they have to sing for their supper to get funds from shooters, hunters, anglers, boaters, and OHV owners through licenses, user fees, and motorboat and OHV gas taxes.

Arizona Game and Fish needs participants in outdoor activities to pay user fees, so that they can get those matching grant dollars from the Pittman-Robertson Act, as well as similar Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act funds from taxes on fishing gear. The Federal funds returned to Arizona by these two programs increased the Game and Fish budget by $20,885,600 in 2009. Every customer Arizona Game and Fish gains will generate significantly more funding than just the use fee. Each loss of a customer magnifies the loss wildlife management funds. The result is in a government agency that treats the people that fund it as customers, instead of subservient peasants.

Arizona Game and Fish also holds an Outdoor Expo every year to introduce people to Arizona outdoor recreational activities they otherwise would never have the opportunity to try. Mz. VRWC learned the basics of shooting at the 2009 Expo and has worked diligently to pay for the experience by buying quite a few guns, buying ammo, becoming a range member, and paying for training at Arizona shooting ranges.

One of the amazing things that happens with a model like this is, people voluntarily pay money to Game and Fish, when they could just as easily spend their money elsewhere. In fact, non-profit organizations hold auctions and other fundraising activities to help fund outdoor activities through additional matching grants and gifts, as well as providing volunteers for activities like shooting range maintenance.

The Arizona Elk Society, the NRA Foundation, the Friends of NRA groups, and numerous other groups raise money and provide grants to Game and Fish for wildlife management, hunter education, gun safety training, shooting range maintenance and construction. How many other government agencies provide services so valuable that recipients happily donate their own time and money back to the agency?

What happens if a state takes outdoor sports money away?

If the state starts raiding the Game and Fish money, most likely we would lose all of the $20,885,600 Arizona receives through the Pittman-Robertson Act and Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act. Additional state taxes would need to be raised in order to carry out Federally mandated wildlife management and restoration activities. Shooting ranges would probably close due to disrepair and safety issues, while law enforcement departments would have to build their own shooting ranges, or forgo firearms training for officers.

Nonprofit and private donations of time and money to the Game & Fish would probably disappear too. Here’s a few examples of recent grants and donations that would probably disappear:

The Tonto Rim Sports Club Jim Jones Shooting Range received a $11,500, as a gift from the Zane Grey Committee’s Friends of NRA, for range repairs and improvement. March 16, 2010

Arizona Game and Fish Department offered a $25,000 grant for improvements at the Elzy Pearson Rifle Range in Casa Grande, provided matching funds were raised. Friends of NRA provided the matching $25,000.

Arizona Friends of the NRA (National Rifle Association) and the NRA Foundation recently awarded the Arizona Game and Fish Department $16,000 in grant funds to purchase shotguns and small caliber rifles, which will be used by certified instructors to teach firearm safety and introductory target shooting programs to youth. March 14, 2008

Volunteers put in more than 500 hours to refurbish the High Power Rifle Range at Ben Avery Shooting Facility

Arizona has received 235 grants from the NRA Foundation totaling $1,533,073 from 1992 to 2007.

Why should a state fund a shooting range?

Under the Arizona model, the State doesn’t fund shooting ranges, they merely approve, or disapprove, the budget plan created by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. The users, along with non-profit organizations pay for the ranges. A great reason for a state to encourage the development of shooting ranges is the creation of multi-use facilities for law enforcement training, civilian marksmanship training, hunter education, and competition use. Shooting competitions and firearms training attract tourist dollars too.

One way our state reduces the tax burden is through the sharing of the shooting ranges with law enforcement. If we didn’t share the ranges, each municipality would spend millions to create a shooting range for each law enforcement agency. Under our system, the Tempe Police pay a modest fee to use the Rio Salado Sportsmen’s Club shooting range for officer firearms training, practice, and firearms qualification testing. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office uses the Ben Avery Arizona Shooting Range. Public ranges in Tucson are used by the Tucson Police, US Border Patrol, and by the military.

President Ronald Reagan stated it best on the 50th Anniversary of Pittman-Robertson when he said, “Those who pay the freight are those who purchase firearms, ammunition, and, in recent years, archery equipment.” These shooting range facilities provide wonderful public services, placing no financial burden on disinterested taxpayers, while improving public safety and recreational opportunities. I’m proud of the service, accomplishments, and effectiveness of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. I believe they are a model government agency that should be emulated elsewhere, whether to increase outdoor recreational opportunities, or to build additional shooting ranges without unfairly burdening people who would never use the facilities.

For additional information on how Pittman-Robertson funds are used for Range Development, please see http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/pitmann.asp

The Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act taxes fishing gear and provides matching grants in the same fashion for managing state fishing programs.

[Read more →]