Full Transcript for What does the NRA do for hunters? ep.25

still remember there was an old wood burner in my grandparents' house, and then my grandpa's seat, and he'd sit there. 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.159 He had his Bible and he had his stack of magazines, and then he had his shop. 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:56.879 And those magazines were sitting there as a kid. 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:04.719 When I was literally learning to read, I'm guessing that some of those things were written by you, which is super cool to be here now for me. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.359 So back in the 90s, I got to write a lot more, right? 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.639 And uh even early 2000s, but kind of like you, I I grew up in a house. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.840 I'm a life member, of course, but uh with life members. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:15.840 So I knew when that magazine was coming. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.560 And so I'm not saying I ran home from school, but I walked fast. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:18.879 Yeah. 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.280 Because I wanted to read it and then put it away. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:23.919 And then I ended up running it for more than 20 years. 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:25.520 That's that's a super cool story. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.639 You've been you've been here forever and you did you did a lot of good things. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:36.000 I I want to know a little bit about the history of your writing because as an outdoor writer, um, you know, the the game has changed a bit. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:37.599 And that's one of the reasons we're here. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:43.360 It used to be magazines and you know, there was a limited number and everybody's writing. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:44.639 Now it's social media. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:46.479 And there's there's good and bad to that. 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:48.080 You can get out to the masses quickly. 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:51.840 We can get tens of millions of views off of these, this content we're making here today. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:58.479 But at the same time, there's kind of uh no barrier to entry, which does kind of lead to you down some bad paths sometimes. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.159 So, well, back in the 90s when you were writing, what were some of the things that you wrote about? 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.199 What were some of your favorite things that you got to write about back then? 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:06.479 Yeah, you know, it's funny. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:08.719 Um, uh I've always been an NRA employee, right? 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.759 I work for NRA members, and you get held to a certain standard. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:19.280 There are people that can write really controversial things uh that don't make any sense that they know aren't true, but they're doing it for attention. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.240 And I think we see that in the social media world now too. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:25.840 But mostly, Stephen, what I did is I took guns apart and wrote about them. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:32.639 Uh we have a section of the magazine that used to be called the dope bag, but that's where we would review guns and we would do it the same way every time. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:40.960 You know, uh we'd shoot pistols at 25 yards, rifles at 100, you'd shoot, you know, five consecutive five-shot groups, and then you'd go through and you'd do data and comments. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:51.120 You describe, you know, how the gun works, why it, you know, why you're reviewing it, and then what uh what what you learned, you know, what you liked about it within reason, uh, and non-by-line. 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:56.400 But then, you know, I started doing byline gun reviews, but uh, I think it was 1994. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:01.120 I wrote a story on uh a big anniversary for the Springfield Armory. 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:05.759 And uh that was that I think it was the 250th, 250th of the Springfield. 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:07.120 Was it 250th or 200? 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:07.919 220th. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:08.719 Something I can't even remember. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:10.319 Can't add, I'm an editor, right? 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:11.840 Um, so that was kind of cool. 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:21.199 So I've done uh everything from uh hunting stories in American Hunter to uh gun history stories, just straight hardware reviews, trend stories. 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:23.920 And it's funny how media changes. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:29.759 So here I am, hardcore magazine guy, sitting in my magazine guy at Ivory Tower, minding my own business, right? 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:34.959 And then we started American Rifleman Television in 2003 on the Outdoor Channel, still on every Wednesday night. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.079 Um, then I ended up writing a uh I became a blogger. 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:42.000 I was writing the Keefe report uh for AmericanRifeman.org. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:48.319 And so, and now we're sitting here in the NRA podcasting studio for uh at NRA headquarters. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:50.720 So, like you, I'm about to be a podcaster too. 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:57.839 Yeah, it it is things change and you gotta kind of get with the times, otherwise, nobody's gonna know who you are. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.040 Now, I found it really interesting. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:10.240 You said that you guys used to test guns because now, and this is kind of a technical question, but back in those days, do you guys uh NRA is a nonprofit, so you guys don't have sponsors. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:12.160 Well, like how does that work? 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:16.480 Because right now, like somebody goes to do a gun review, everybody questions it because they're sponsored. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:24.000 Like this podcast, my my whole my whole platform, we've avoided all sponsors for a reason because I don't want people to say, I don't want people telling me what to say. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:28.879 I've I've got a real problem with authority, which is why I love the Second

Amendment and the all of them, you know. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:32.000 I don't like people telling me what to do, but for better and worse. 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:33.600 But uh what what was that like? 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:34.959 Did you guys have sponsors for that? 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:36.240 And how did you guys keep objectives? 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:42.399 So we we so those magazines would go out to NRA members, and the only way you could reach them was to advertise in the magazine. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.279 So we would have paid advertisement uh in the magazines. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:54.399 Everybody from we used to have Ford and Chevy and but familiar people like Springfield Armory and Ruger and that sort of thing, they they actually buy ads in our magazines. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.360 And also we we do sponsorships on the television show. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:02.160 So this this this podcast world, this this social media world, it's a little different. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:10.800 Uh, but uh you know, if you're an NRA member, you know, you you you want to see, you know, Colt or Ruger or Smith and Wesson or Springfield on that back cover. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:11.360 All of them. 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:12.399 No, you definitely do. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:24.959 And this is something that uh when we were just talking with uh uh Doug Hamlin, he was talking about how you you guys have a section of your website that shows uh women basically what what women tend to like with guns, right? 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:26.959 And this I'm just using this as an example. 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.000 I you're not gonna be trusted. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:35.519 Like if if you're if you're doing things in a biased way, those sorts of things on social media come and go. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:39.279 I think that there's gun organizations out there that claim to be pro-Second Amendment. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:40.319 They will come and go. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.959 The NRA has been here for 155 years. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:45.680 And so can I want to kind of talk about the history of that? 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:46.079 Sure. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:47.839 Um, because you're the expert on this. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.480 I don't exactly know how it was started. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.680 I know that there was uh teaching people how to shoot, but what was the beginning of the NRA and how did it start? 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:01.439 Yeah, so it started in the offices of the Army and Navy Journal in Manhattan, and there were two uh former Union officers. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:02.160 One was William C. 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:04.639 Church, uh, the other was George Wingate. 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.199 And they saw that during the Civil War, they were firing a lot of rounds and not hitting a lot of guys. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:11.920 So the the the South actually outshot the North. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.920 I know you're an Ohio guy, nothing personal. 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.920 Um, but they Hey, we won, don't worry. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:16.959 Yeah, exactly. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:17.279 Right. 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:18.560 And we got some great guns out of it. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:19.040 Yeah, right. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:24.720 But no, so uh they were looking at the New York National Guard and they weren't training in marksmanship. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:30.879 And so uh they decided to form an organization to promote rifle shooting on a scientific basis. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:35.839 And that was the National Rifle Association of America in November of 1871. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.680 And NRA kind of grew from there. 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:43.519 It was really about uh marksmanship, but there's, you know, obviously you gotta train soldiers not to shoot each other either, right? 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:53.040 So there was some safety in the beginning, but mostly it was about using competition to make uh National Guardsmen and civilians uh better shots, better marksmen. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:54.800 And uh uh it grew. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:58.720 There was some uh we uh if you've ever heard of Six Five Creedmore, do you know where that name came from? 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:06.240 So it came from uh Creed's farm, which was a uh plot of land, that's where the NRA's first range was, Creed Moore. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:14.000 So when uh Dennis uh DeMille and the guys came up with the Creedmoor from Hornady, they kind of paid homage to that long-range marksmanship. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:18.639 They would shoot uh out to a thousand yards uh with iron sights, right? 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:19.199 No scopes. 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.120 There were some scopes, but nobody used them. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:23.279 And they would have big matches there. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:28.720 And you got to remember there's no radio, there's no TV, um, there's no Joe Rogan, right? 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:30.240 There's not even baseball yet. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:37.279 And so people would take the train out and watch uh these international matches that were occurring uh at Creedmore. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:43.519 That's crazy because the Creedmore, the 6'5 Creedmore is like the most made fun of gun that makes no sense to me. 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.039 Like it's at like I I know people are gonna they're gonna make fun of me for even saying this. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.200 I've I've shot weight on them, I can. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.159 I I happen to think quite a lot of the 6'5 Creedmore. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:53.440 It's a it's a good gun. 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:57.279 It's an inherently accurate cartridge and uh bullets are better. 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:59.519 So, you know, does it have limitations? 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:01.840 Am I going Cape Buffalo hunting with a 6'5 Creedmore? 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:03.200 No, I'm not an idiot. 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:05.360 Yeah,

you just gotta know what it's used for. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:07.919 Yeah, you don't hunt you don't hunt Cape Buffalo with a 22 either. 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:13.600 No, but no, it's sorry, that's that's just I I know that the the social media realm makes fun of that gun constantly. 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:15.440 For the life of me, I can't figure it out. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:19.519 And I've I've done it like before I ever shot one, I made some jokes because my friend has one. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:21.440 So I I get that it turned into a joke. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:29.919 But um, but yeah, so so the the NRA basically was started to to to teach people how to shoot because they were just not good marksmen. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.120 That's yeah, incredible. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:36.080 And and it wasn't just you know, the so America has always had a tradition of rifle marksmanship. 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:40.559 You have, you know, uh uh informal competitions, and then you had shoots and fests. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:42.399 So that goes back prior to the NRA. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:43.600 Prior to the NRA, yeah. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:52.559 You know, uh backwoodsmen would so for example, guys trying out for Daniel Morgan's rifle regiment uh during the American Civil War. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:59.679 You had to bring your own gun and you basically had to be able to hit a target about like that at at 200 yards, or you weren't considered eligible. 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:01.360 How do guys learn to shoot that well? 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:06.960 Well, hunting, uh, but also through through competitions, uh informal ones. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.519 So NRA's role continued to change. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:11.600 And uh uh we got very involved. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:19.120 Uh President Theodore Roosevelt, uh life member of the NRA, by the way, I heartily endorsed the programs of the National Rifle Association, wrote us a personal check. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:26.399 So we got more involved in marksmanship, but then we saw things that that that that needed to be done, things that weren't being done. 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:31.679 Um uh in particular, uh youth shooting sports, you know, youth competitions. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:40.559 Um Colonel Colonel Wingate was very active in New York public schools and they had rifle teams back in the 20s that that he had set up, the the the even the athletic league. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:43.200 Wingate, one of our presidents, set set all that up. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:48.960 But then we started so we started to have you know collegiate competitions and high school competitions. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:56.960 Uh, but also they started safety training because there was before NRA got involved, there was no formalized safety training in the United States at all. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.879 Uh another another area where there wasn't any formalized training was law enforcement. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:01.919

Uh we had a lot of law. 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:02.480 Really? 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:02.720 Yeah. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:04.399 We had a lot of law enforcement officers. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:10.159 There's some of them are our were our presidents, but there was no formal course of fire. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:14.720 There was no syllabus, there was no every department kind of did what they did. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:16.320 Some were better than others. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:25.039 And so starting really well, all people to NYPD, um sort of prototyping these courses to teach law enforcement how to shoot. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:25.759 Really? 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:26.960 That's that's super interesting. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:28.559 So the when when did it start? 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:29.919 When did the firearm safety start? 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:37.440 Because uh Hunt Second Amendment, if we want to keep the Second Amendment, especially in the social media age, we have to, as gun owners, be responsible. 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:47.120 Because every time something bad happens, we've got a a massive amount of politicians that will come out and just browbeat us because one bad thing happened. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:49.919 We're gun owners are held to such a high standard. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:54.000 If if we want to maintain our Second Amendment rights, we have we have to meet that standard. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:55.600 So when did that when did that start? 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:03.440 Yeah, so it really started uh the first programs I can find are in the uh around the teens that NRA was involved with and firearm safety training. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:08.159 And you have to realize, you know, criminal violence and firearm safety training are completely different things, right? 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:14.559 And so uh, you know, you start you start seeing it in the pages of Arms and the Man and American Rifleman. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.480 And then it gets it gets more formal. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:20.960 Then there's a training department, and then there's a youth department, there's a law enforcement division. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:35.279 And uh before World War II, we have we developed a pre-induction training program so that young men that were gonna serve in the military have already received basic marksmanship and training from the National Rifle Association before they'd hold up their right hand and swear in. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:35.919 Really? 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:37.120 That's that's super cool. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:49.679 So it's and this is something I kind of wanted to cover on this podcast is is basically kind of going through the history because I I was, you know, my I'll actually I'm gonna go a little off script here, but uh my family's been very involved in the NRA. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.200 My grandparents are lifetime members, were lifetime members before they passed away. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:13:02.480 And, you know, my grandma got grants from the NRA that gave money to her for air rifles that she helped teach shooting safety to to kids. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:07.840 Um, you know, so like I said, I read the magazines growing up, you know, so there's been a long history there. 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:14.320 What I want to kind of go from where it started to modern day now. 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:14.559 Okay. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:17.440 You guys have done all of these these cool programs throughout history. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.080 Is there anything else you want to touch on between like that time? 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:20.799 Oh, you know what? 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:21.759 There was something you mentioned earlier. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:22.399 Hunter safety. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:23.919 Yes, hunter safety. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:25.600 This is something I can't believe I forgot this. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:26.960 Yes, tell us about the hunter safety. 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:28.159 This is you guys are gonna love this. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:32.559 So so the cult the gun culture, right, for for our country was really through the pages of American Rifleman. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:37.360 And one of my favorite stories, it's it's it's done, I believe, in the 30s, about 31. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.360 It's called This Thing of Shooting Yourself. 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:51.279 And they have all these photos of people doing really stupid things, like crossing a fence with a shotgun pointed at you, or having your, you know, your your gun, you know, bolt closed as you're you know, going over a fence or waiting. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:55.120 And so NRA saw a need for hunter safety education. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:01.279 And it started really, uh, the program, you know, was written but then rolled rolled out in New York in 1949. 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.080 And that was the first hunter safety training in the United States. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:07.440 After World War II is the first hunter safety and that was NRA. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:09.039 That was NRA, yeah. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:14.720 And so uh NRA's, you know, all these things that NRA does, we continue uh to do. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:16.320 We still have law enforcement programs. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:17.840 Of course, we have youth programs. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.399 I'm so glad that NRA got to touch um uh your family and your grandmother. 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:27.759 Uh I don't know the era on that, but you know, we started the the Friends of NRA program with the local dinners. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:31.120 Half that money that's raised at those dinners stays in the state. 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:40.159 So if it was uh uh in Ohio, you know, and it was coming from NRA, uh, there's a good chance that could have been Friends of NRA dollars raised right in Ohio just for that purpose. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.159 That's that's what that program's for. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:48.080

But uh yeah, no, we we have uh our women on target program that helps get women out to the range. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:52.559 Um, you know, we we have our NRA certified instructors, about 125,000 of them. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.120 We have our NRA certified law enforcement instructors. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:59.279 And one of the things that people think of when they think of NRA is they think of a guy in a suit. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:01.120 Well, that's that's not really the NRA. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:07.120 The NRA is your grandmother on the range teaching people safety and responsibility with firearms. 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:08.799 That that's the real NRA. 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:14.639 And I I think people miss that the this organization is made up by yeah, there are people that just, you know, send their check-in. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:18.399 But then there are people that live this in their daily lives, and I don't think they get enough credit. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:19.679 That's that's absolutely true. 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:23.519 And the first viral video we did was my grandma shooting a deer with a crossbow. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:24.559 It went crazy viral. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:30.559 And one of the things we talked about in there was my grandma and how it's like there's there's so many people like that out there. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:36.000 And one of the things that I do in the hunting space is like I'm looking into NGOs and all these grants and stuff. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:39.840 And there's so much wasted money when it, whenever there's government money involved, there's so much wasted money. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:40.720 It's ridiculous. 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:48.799 And there's, but there's so many good people that have gun clubs, that have, you know, hunting clubs that help kids get involved. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:50.240 And I'm always on here. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:54.559 And some of the most viral content I write about are some of these NGOs that are just wasting money. 00:15:54.720 --> 00:16:01.039 I mean, I I can pull up a grant application and show you where they they come in and go, hey, you know, this is the objective. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:03.679 And then when they get a grant, there's a thing called measurables. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:06.240 And the measurables will just be like, nah, we didn't do it. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:07.679 Like, didn't get it done. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:09.519 And it's hundreds of thousands of dollars. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:16.080 And at the same time, there's people in very um localized, in a localized way. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:20.639 You know, I have a friend, Dustin, who has this, this uh uh, he's got this, he's got this whole hunt club. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:24.000 He's taking kids pheasant hunting and teaching them shooting safety and all of that. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:29.200 You know, I see those things and I want to push more people, more money, more things like that there. 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:33.519 But when it involves money that's going to the government, it always seems to be wasted. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:40.480 But with the NRA, what I've seen is that those programs tend to get directly funded by these grants from you guys. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:42.480 And it's a much more efficient system. 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.080 And I've been thinking about this for a long time. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:48.559 How do we, how do we highlight the people that are that are that are overlooked? 00:16:48.720 --> 00:17:00.799 Um, and I want to team up with you guys on that because I'm sure you guys know, people like my grandma, that we could highlight and show, hey, these people are helping hunters, these people are helping Second Amendment on the ground doing the real work that everybody's missing. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:02.960 So I think the closer to the ground that you get, right? 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:08.720 We do have the national uh uh uh funds uh for you know through the Friends of NRA. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:13.839 But you like I said, half that money gets raised in the in the state, and half of that money stays in the state. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:18.960 So it's people in your state, there will be a state committee uh for in Ohio that makes the decision. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:21.359 Are we gonna fund this youth program? 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:23.279 Are we gonna fund this range expansion? 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.599 You know, are we gonna buy uh uh 22s for a Boy Scout camp? 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.839 You know, but the people in the state get to make that decision. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.359 That's that's that's that's awesome. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:35.039 And I I I love seeing the efficient use of money, right? 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.599 You know, and that's something that we don't see with our government. 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:42.799 And they'll they'll push a bunch of money into things and and it just it just doesn't ever it's always stolen. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.079 The grant the NGO scam that our government has drives me insane. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.559 I sit around most of my day just reading these grants and stuff. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.480 It did, it'll just like I just get angry. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:52.480 I'll call you know producer Aaron over here. 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:54.480 I I'll call my you gotta read this. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:55.440 Am I reading this right? 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:56.079 This is insane. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:03.759 But the NRA is spending that money in a way because we have to get the next generation to feel comfortable around firearms. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:10.079 Because what I've seen in in my family, because my wife comes from a family where they don't really, they they don't they don't shoot a lot, you know. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.160 Some of them have some guns, but they're not, they're not hunters. 00:18:12.240 -->

00:18:14.880 They don't, you know, that's not the culture they grew up in like I did. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:26.160 And when we're shooting some guns, we were shooting some clays one time, and the the her one cousin, he was uh, you know, he's he's a really smart guy, but he's looking at guns and he was like, man, I kind of want to shoot it. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.079 But you could tell he was like real standoffish. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:31.759 He was like, he was nervous because he'd never shot a gun before. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:40.240 The only way that people feel more comfortable with with firearms is to teach them how to use them safely. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:59.440 And if we don't do that, if the national fire, if the NRA isn't doing that, then I see the public pressure pushing against our Second Amendment rights even harder and more people being willing to vote for candidates that will just say, no, no, no, we don't, we don't like guns, we want guns gone and limit our Second Amendment rights. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:01.680 So I think that's a great thing you guys are doing with the next generation. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:02.319 Well, thank you. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:05.920 Yeah, no, I mean we we work closely with Boy Scouts, we are scouts. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:07.440 Um, sorry, I'm old school. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:13.359 Um, you know, with 4-H and Royal Rangers, and you know, we we have a youth department that that works with them. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:19.119 Uh, but also, you know, just uh we there's so many people that have that have grown up without firearms. 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.359 And, you know, we we live in a world where bad things happen. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:28.799 And so uh a big reason why people come to the National Rifle Association is because they want to defend themselves and their families, their homes. 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.400 Um, and we do it together. 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:37.359 You know, when you have millions of people on your side as opposed to just one person uh uh at a town hall, it it makes a difference. 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:37.839 Yeah. 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:40.240 So tell me a little bit about what you guys have going on now. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:47.359 I I I felt coming into this when we first got here this morning, I was like, man, I know, I know all this stuff about the NRA that most people don't know. 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:49.759 I know what they do with hunting, I know these other things. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:57.599 And after talking with you and with Doug, it was it was just like one thing after another that I had no idea the NRA does. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:09.759 Can you tell us about some of the current programs going on that that you that you think are are some of the more productive ones that are going on that people that are maybe hunters or Second Amendment advocates might not know the NRA is doing? 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:10.319 Yeah. 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:12.559 So

are are you talking about legislation we're fighting? 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.240 Uh let's we'll do legislation next. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:15.039 Okay, okay. 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:20.880 But yeah, no, so um uh, you know, one of the things that that I do is of course, you know, we communicate with our members. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:27.920 We we do the magazines, we do what we're about to do the podcasts, we we communicate, uh, but we try and tell people what's going on. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:33.359 And uh and sometimes I don't think we do a good job of of telling a story that's very familiar. 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:40.720 Uh again, uh we we we work with youth, we work with certified instructors that are bringing new shooters into the shooting sports. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.559 Um uh we work with law enforcement, uh, we have national matches. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:48.319 I mean, there uh there the NRE just has so many, so many touch points. 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:49.680 I'm not even sure where to go, Stephen. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.000 Well, yeah, you've I heard about the women stuff earlier, and we covered that with Doug, and that was something that was interesting. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:03.119 They're like, hey, we just got a bunch of women to start shooting, and instead of having guys, you know, like husbands being like, here, shoot my shoot my gun, they started shooting this the you know, what what do the women like? 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.640 You know, it's the 6'5 Creed more. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:16.720 Uh I'm just showing you So it's it's it's funny that you mentioned that because you know, we do American Rife from television, and I was just out at the Oklahoma City Gun Club, an NRA affiliated gun club, 100% membership of NRA. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:20.079 Uh and Susie Brewster, uh, I might get her name wrong. 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:20.880 I'm so sorry. 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:25.839 Um, she has been running a woman's on target event there for 27 years. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:33.279 And the event is free to the ladies, uh, NRA uh uh friends of NRA uh puts puts money into it to sponsor it. 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:40.559 But you some years they've had hundreds, sometimes they get like 80, but it's all kinds of women that had never touched a firearm before. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.480 And at every station they've got an NRA certified instructor. 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.119 And so women will go shoot a handgun for the first time. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:51.920 They'll they'll shoot an AR 15 for the first time, uh, they'll they'll shoot clays. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:55.039 Uh the it's really a magnificent thing. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:57.920 And uh it's all run by NRA volunteers. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.759 You know, I I I see the political. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.519 Wind shift, you know, all the time. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:05.680 I mean, if you think back to, you know, when I was a kid and I remember the the George H.W. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:11.599 Bush years, and then you had the Obama years, then Trump breaks onto the scene, then you have Biden, now Trump again. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:13.279 Like you see things change. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:18.960 And I've made this case in the political world in Ohio when I was talking with uh state rep Heidi Workman. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:22.240 You know, she was we're talking about, well, is how what's is this going to be a blue wave? 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:23.519 How bad are the numbers gonna be? 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:26.640 And this is before the election, so we'll see if I'm right or not. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:30.000 I said, you know, there's not, there's not swing voters like there used to be. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:36.240 I don't think that there's a lot of people that are pro-Second Amendment, that are pro, you know, like they want their AR-15. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.960 And then, you know, I'm working with the Vake's campaign. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.960 Obviously, this is a lot Ohio focused, but you know, like they're gonna support that. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:48.640 Okay, well, there's not a TV commercial that's gonna come out, and then people are gonna go, you know what? 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.200 I did like my Second Amendment rights. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:52.559 I'm gonna completely give them up. 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:54.559 I just don't see that happening anymore. 00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:56.720 We saw in 22 there wasn't a red wave. 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:58.799 I don't think there's gonna be a blue wave in 26. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:07.680 There will be to an extent, but it's but my my point is that uh people's political views change between the elections. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.640 They don't change in the two months leading up to the election. 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:11.920 I mean, maybe a little bit here and there. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:20.079 But the the the important thing if you want to get more pro-Second Amendment uh voters is to make more pro-Second Amendment voters between the elections. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:26.400 And that seems like what you're doing with this uh this this uh shooting range thing with the women that you're saying, hey, you know what? 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:30.000 Let's teach them to shoot so they're not voting based on the Second Amendment. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:36.240 Yeah, and and also they won't just believe a mainstream uh media report about what an assault weapon is. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:38.559 An assault weapon or why they should be banned. 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:40.400 It's like, well, wait a minute, I shot one of those. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.599 I I don't understand. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.319 So it it it this election, uh it's gonna be about turnout, I think. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:49.440 I uh and that's something that we've been very focused on. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:24:02.400 Uh and I don't know if you've heard about the NRA gun bus, uh,

but we literally had a a bus uh left here from the parking lot, drove out to Montana, and I think it's done 67 or 70 stops all across the country. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:07.759 It's it's ending up in Texas, because that's uh we've got a pro-gun candidate there and an anti-gun candidate there. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:18.960 So that and so but all all the to a grassroots effort to get people to turn out and vote and realize that in every election, the Second Amendment's on the line, depending on who you send to office. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:21.680 Well, we saw that under the the Obama years. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:27.839 Even when he didn't, and this is something I think a lot of people don't realize, Obama didn't pass any anti-gun legislation. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.519 But what he did was he used the power of the bureaucracy. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:31.920 Absolutely. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.480 And he said, Hey, we're gonna put all these rules on you. 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:36.240 And this is not how America is supposed to be. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:37.440 But it is. 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:38.319 This is where we're at. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:40.240 We have rules, not laws anymore. 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.160 We have rulers, and that's I mean, the whole founding of this country was against us. 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:46.480 But we're here, so we got to deal with it. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:52.000 When someone like Obama gets in place, gets put in charge, well, now you're gonna have more anti-gun rules. 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:55.920 They're gonna say, hey, you can't have this, you can't have that, and they somehow get away. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:03.119 And we need we need something to fight against that, uh, legislatively, electorally, and just uh culturally. 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:19.200 And I want to know, I uh we talked kind of about culturally, what what you guys are doing, but um from a legislative perspective right now, what do you see as some of the bigger things that the NRA is working on currently that we can expect to see over the next couple of years? 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.880 Yeah, so uh through the United States Congress, things are very hard, right? 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:26.559 You have to get 60 votes uh to pass something uh in the Senate. 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:28.960 Uh, but there's a lot of things that we can do on the state level. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:35.680 We we have the one big, beautiful bill pass removing uh the tax uh on suppressors and short-barreled rifles. 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:38.720 Well, a lot of state laws haven't caught up with those yet. 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:50.720 So even though uh at this point you don't you, you know, there's there's all this going on based on the Jensen case, um uh, but you know, the state law still says refer to the National Firearms Act. 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:59.119 So, you know, we're trying to trying to get uh the legislation through states that that actually have an electoral process as opposed to, for example. 00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:01.839 And so you're gonna see a lot a lot more of that. 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:03.119 That's that's awesome. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:07.440 So one of the things, uh like like you said, you have to get 60 votes to pass anything. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:13.119 And it's I'll say the Democrats are they they will hold up anything that's that's pro two way. 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:22.160 Um you it it sometimes feels frustrating, I think, to voters to say, hey, we elected Donald Trump and we wanted to get our way. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:22.400 Right. 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:28.319 But like even if you look at the you know, the the voter ID laws, like it's 90%, everybody agrees with it. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:30.000 But you can't get anything passed. 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:35.519 I think that's where the the the frustration is amongst voters that thought they were gonna get more wins. 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:36.720 Yeah, no, it's funny. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:43.279 When I grew up um there's a a scholastic uh commercial called I'm just a bill, only a bill, trying to make my way up Capitol Hill. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:46.319 And I I wish every American would sit down and read that. 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:49.200 And there we have a system of checks and balances. 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:53.279 Um and yeah, would would I like national reciprocity tomorrow? 00:26:53.519 --> 00:26:54.240 Absolutely. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:55.759 Uh do we have the votes for it? 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:56.640 No, we don't. 00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:58.799 Uh, but there are things that we that we can do. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:00.240 You talked about rulemaking. 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:04.000 You know, our staff on the Institute for Legislative Action, and we haven't even gone there. 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:12.400 Uh, our lobby uh lobbying arm, uh, they have some of the best attorneys in the in the world, and they look at every one of these rules and they make appropriate comments. 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:20.400 They look at every draft piece of legislation and say, well, this genius just banned the 1860 Henry rifle with this stupid bill. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:38.400 So, I mean, we're we're we're watching that uh not only on the national level, but in every state to see what the the this proposed legislation means, to see what this rule means and what kind of comment needs to be uh added in there to make sure that everybody understands, well, this is what it says, and this is what it will do. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:45.039 So one thing the NRA does and is you know, you guys have access to the people in charge. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:52.559 Like you guys can like uh, you know, Doug Hamlin said that just uh a couple hours ago, he goes, I've I've met with the president numerous times. 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:56.480 When they did pass the one big beautiful bill, how involved were you guys in that? 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:03.759

Because it seemed like a really strategically smart thing to take away the tax to make it like I'm assuming you guys are pretty involved in this. 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:06.559 Because it it wasn't it was not here's the thing. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:07.839 This is what people don't realize. 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.680 This was a clever political move. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:12.400 It wasn't, it wasn't just that you guys got something put in a bill. 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:22.640 It was a clever political move to say, hey, we're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna kind of do something over here, and we're just gonna take the tax down to zero, and then we're gonna go to the courts, and now boom, it's done. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:27.200 And now we can have suppressors, which by the way, are safety equipment. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:27.680 They are. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:30.000 And so tell me about how the NRA was involved in that. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:39.680 Yeah, so I don't want to give up any trade secrets, and I was not involved in the negotiations, but we do have an extremely competent federal affairs staff at the Institute for Legislative Action. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.440 And they work with health staffers. 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:46.160 Uh, they they they work directly with the senators and and the representatives. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:53.519 Uh, and yeah, I mean, this was this was going to be a positive outcome if we could get that uh through the process. 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:59.200 And, you know, it was only a simple majority because it was um uh a budget bill. 00:28:59.279 --> 00:28:59.440 Yeah. 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:03.839 And so that that was an opportunity that our s our people saw and started working on. 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:10.559 And, you know, a lot of groups like to take credit uh for uh the the zeroing out of the tax. 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:14.000 There were there were groups that worked with us and groups that did not. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:14.400 Yeah. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:16.960 Well, you guys have access to the people in power. 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:19.599 That's what I've that's what I'm so impressed with about the NRI. 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:25.039 And this is what I because my platform has grown like massively, like really quick over the last year. 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:33.680 And sometimes I'm I I look at what I'm doing in the hunting space and go, well, okay, I can be an online content creator and I can get million, hundreds of millions of views. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:36.880 We get we get over a quarter billion views a month on average. 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:46.160 We're so I have people watching me, but if I don't get any real tangible wins, and this is why I interviewed Vivek, it wasn't just about Second Amendment stuff. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:48.400 It was like, hey, I want a constitutional right to hunt fish in Ohio. 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:51.920 You know, I want, you know, the open fields doctrine or like this is what I want. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:53.920 I'm gonna, I'm gonna come in and interview you. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:55.039 I'm gonna give you a platform. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:57.920 How can I take this and get a real tangible win? 00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:00.079 The way to do that is to be in the room. 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.240 Yeah, you got to be in the room with these politicians. 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:07.519 That's like I work with Hunter Nation on the hunting side and the NRA on the pro 2A side. 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:15.119 You guys get in the room with senators, and you can't get anything done if you're not in their ear because the whole political process is an influence game. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:18.799 I know people that aren't involved, it might bore them to death to hear about it. 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:23.440 But it's it really is who's around these people and how can we get something done. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:29.359 The NRA, I think, and I know you said there's other groups that helped, clever move to get us the the. 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:30.480 I mean, you guys got it. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:32.240 I I give you guys tons of credit on this. 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:40.720 I think that it's important to give you guys a lot of credit because it wasn't just, hey, we put in a bill that you get to have, you know, suppressors finally. 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:43.759 It was, hey, we got to move here, then a move here. 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:45.519 It's a game of chess in in Washington, D.C. 00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:46.079 Absolutely. 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.400 And you guys checkmated them on this. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:52.160 So it when you when you look at the the history of gun legislation, right? 00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:56.160 Gun control act is 1968, NRA wasn't terribly involved. 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:58.480 The Institute for Legislative Action was formed. 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:02.400 We got McClure Volkmer in 86, Firearms Owners Protection Act. 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:04.559 Didn't it wasn't a perfect bill, obviously. 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:14.480 But um then, you know, we had the the the Brady bill, which uh NRA worked behind the scenes to get that into a national instant crap criminal background check bill. 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:16.720 Then you had Bill Clinton's assault weapons ban. 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:22.319 Well, we got a sunset in there uh because we were working with Oh, you got that was I was that that was NRA. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:30.400 That 10-year sunset, uh, we worked with uh uh pro-gun senators and congressmen on both sides of the aisle. 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:34.799 The one of the most difficult things is there aren't a lot of pro-gun Democrats anymore. 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:39.599 There, there's there just aren't that many Democrats that are willing to stand up for the Second Amendment. 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:48.720 Uh but then, you know, I think the next big shift was um the Bruin decision,

New York State Rifle and Pistol Association versus Bruin. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:50.079 Well, there are two other cases. 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:55.119 There was the Heller decision, which was huge in D.C., then you had the McDonald decision that took Heller across the country. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:32:04.400 Uh but Bruin changed the landscape because now um there there has to be some uh a good reason to restrict Second Amendment rights. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:08.079 Second Amendment rights aren't second-class rights anymore after the Bruin decision. 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:14.640 And these things that we're seeing across the country, like assault weapons ban being struck down in New Jersey. 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:18.160 I mean, these that that that's something that's been been building since the 90s. 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:22.160 We've been trying to get to the point where that bad legislation will no longer apply. 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:24.640 So and we have a big case coming up uh next year. 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:35.359 It's not necessarily NRA's plaintiff, um, but but but we're all in when it comes to uh a ban on hardware where the government can tell you how many rounds should be in your magazine. 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:36.160 It's so crazy. 00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:40.160 No, it is, and and uh and and what kind of rifle you can own. 00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:42.160 Look, I know about rifles, I know how they all work. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:43.920 They pretty much work one of three ways. 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:48.079 And just because one looks scarier does not mean it's any more dangerous. 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:48.480 Yeah. 00:32:48.720 --> 00:33:01.200 Um, so yeah, no, we're there are our people, you know, you have to remember that uh the professionals at the Institute for Legislative Action, when they walk into a room, it's not just a guy who's good at his job. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:05.920 Walking into that room is every NRA member with him because that's who he's representing. 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:15.680 Yeah, and that's I think that's a powerful thing for people to remember is that if you are uh an NRA member, when they walk into the room with these people, uh you you're there, you're helping support that. 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:19.599 Now, the one one thing I I want to kind of backtrack just a tiny bit. 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.480 Uh Bill Clinton, I don't remember how this process worked. 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:24.400 Was it the assault weapons ban that happened? 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:32.079 And then the after that the Republicans took over, and Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton at one point said, the NRA is the reason that I lost the house. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:32.960 Absolutely, yeah. 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:38.799 That's a powerful statement that the president goes, hey, listen, I'm losing power because of these guys. 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:39.519 Yeah. 00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:44.319 So um that was a very uh deliberate decision on Bill Clinton's part. 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:48.240 Uh he wanted this legislation and he held his caucus to account. 00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:53.359 There are a lot of Democrats that had absolutely no interest uh in voting for that bill. 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:55.039 And they warned Bill Clinton. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:34:00.400 It's like, look, if if you if you make us do this, Newt Gingrich is the next speaker of the House. 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:02.400 And that is exactly what happened. 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:06.799 And I must say, uh, guns are why Al Gore lost his home state. 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:15.199 One of my favorite clips ever is uh Charlton Heston holding holding a flint lock above his head, and he goes, From my cold dead hands, Mr. 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:15.840 Gore. 00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:18.719 And so he there's no Gore presidency. 00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:19.760 Thanks to the NRA. 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:20.400 Incredible. 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:23.039 Yeah, so you guys do have a massive amount of influence. 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:24.559 I think most people realize that. 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:32.320 I I don't think that I I just I I see where we we started off talking about this with media and how it's changing, and I see just some of these gun groups. 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:33.360 I just am not a fan of. 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:37.519 And I I look at I try to look at who is in the room with the powerful people. 00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:39.360 That's kind of what I wanted to get at there. 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:43.920 Now, I I I do want to say, now we're here at NRA headquarters. 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:45.119 You have the museum here. 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:48.880 We went down to the vault where you know, like the public doesn't go down there, like you open up. 00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:50.239 I mean, it's a legit like vault. 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:52.719 They had to put in the twist the code and then everything. 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:54.000 And there's alarms and sensors. 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:55.920 Oh, yes, there's alarms and sensors everywhere. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:56.559 Open it up. 00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:59.360 And we've got some crazy videos that we're gonna be posting about that. 00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:04.960 Now, when people come here, there's there's can they just come here and do the tour of the museum? 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:06.239 Like what's that, what's that like? 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:10.239 Yeah, so the museum is open every day except Christmas from nine to four. 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:14.400 Um, and we've had a National Firearms Museum of some sort since 1935. 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:17.760 Uh the one we have here uh built in the 90s continued to expand. 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:19.440 We have the Peterson collection. 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:21.760 Um, you don't you don't have to make an appointment. 00:35:21.920 --> 00:35:27.199 Uh there are uh curators and and some volunteers that will give tours, but mostly it's self-guided.

00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:36.079 So when when you walk in, um, you know, when you come in and um, you know, right through the doors, uh well, you see the guard on the way in, obviously. 00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:40.800 Uh 2,300 guns on display, but also with context, telling you what those guns are. 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:44.719 Uh guns from famous people, like we have a Ronald Reagan Flintlock. 00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:45.280 That's cool. 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:49.920 We have we have we have a Fowler that was a presentation gun from Napoleon, right? 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:58.800 So, you know, uh we've got a gun that uh went through France Francisco Franco, Herman Gehring, Dwight Eisenhower, and General Pershing, right? 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:00.079 So I'll tell you that story. 00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:02.960 But um, you know, it's it's free to the public. 00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:05.199 Uh, and you know, you're you're more than welcome. 00:36:05.360 --> 00:36:09.119 But nine to four, uh, right here in Fairfax, Virginia, right off I-66. 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:10.880 Uh, it's really a national treasure. 00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:17.840 I mean, there there's some and what it does is it tells the the story of of uh firearms freedom and the American experience. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:25.599 I mean, we've got guns from all over the world, but uh the the guns used by GIs during World War II, the guns used by Minutemen. 00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:28.880 We have guns that we know were used during the American Revolution. 00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:33.840 Uh, and we kind of tell the history of technology and and really a lot of it is also the history of freedom. 00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:37.280 Yeah, well, the Second Amendment is what protects our freedom. 00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:47.519 Now, I it wanted I wanted I wrote an entire book on the Second Amendment, and it was uh it was a few years ago, you know, it's a 110-page book. 00:36:47.599 --> 00:36:50.880 It's called A Complete Guide to Constitutional Gun Control. 00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:58.000 Okay, so I went through all of the all of the laws that were ever passed, and I said, you know, well, which how are these you know constitutional? 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:03.199 And in in 110 pages, it's just a blank book. 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:07.199 It's just, yeah, you can make money in some crazy ways in 2026. 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:08.480 I really did that. 00:37:08.639 --> 00:37:10.000 It's available on Amazon. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:12.000 I did the same thing. 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:15.360 It was called a A Deep Look into the Mind of Joe Biden, which is also a blank book. 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:17.199 Uh, I'll just leave that out there for people. 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:23.280 You guys can uh yeah, but but you know, the the Second Amendment's pretty clear, but it's gone through a history. 00:37:23.519 --> 00:37:34.719 There's there's been a lot, I've been reading a lot of Second Amendment books, and it hasn't always been looked at as positively as I get, I think, in in our direction as it is today. 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:42.800 There were time periods where they didn't look at they didn't look at the Second Amendment as being for the ordinary citizen. 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:43.039 Right. 00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:44.880 And we went through a big part of that. 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:49.039 And and in the books I was reading, uh, it talked about the NRA's involvement in that. 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:56.559 I want, you know, before we get off the history thing here, I figured you're the one guy that I know that might be able to answer this because it's a little bit of a technical question. 00:37:56.800 --> 00:37:58.079 What was the NRA's involvement? 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:05.840 And can you tell me about how like the time periods where we said, hey, well, you know, the the the it's not for the ordinary citizen, you know, there's the militia thing. 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:06.639 Can you explain that? 00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:08.480 Because I I've read the book, but I still am a little confused. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:18.000 No, it's it's interesting because the militia um, you know, started in places like they still essentially have uh militias in other uh parts of the world. 00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:28.480 But once you got into sort of the National Guard era when you had, you know, governmental involvement beyond uh uh the local government, it it started to get a little confusing. 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:31.440 Uh because, you know, who are the uh militia? 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:32.639 It's it's the people. 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:37.920 Uh it's uh, you know, that we actually have the Militia Act of 1791, tells you exactly who the militia are. 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:42.719 Um and what's funny is it's everybody's in the militia except for some government officers. 00:38:42.960 --> 00:38:43.360 Yes, yes. 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:44.880 That was one of the best things I read in this book. 00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:54.559 And uh so um, you know, the United States, as it grew and and expanded, uh, you know, the threats became different. 00:38:54.719 --> 00:39:00.000 The threats of 1776 weren't the threats of 1820, and then you end up with the Civil War. 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:05.440 Um and uh then you you no nobody's really talking about the Second Amendment. 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:08.159 Um and it's just a right that was just assumed. 00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:09.920 I mean, everybody knows what it means, right? 00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:10.400 Read it. 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:11.119 It means what it means. 00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:12.320 Yeah, I have a whole book on it. 00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:13.840 Yeah, yeah, of course you do. 00:39:14.159 --> 00:39:24.719 But then uh you started to see um uh some laws, um, you know, early laws were mostly about please don't carry buoy knives and stab each other, right? 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:28.000 And then then they they they would yeah, good law, yeah.

00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:30.400 But then they would uh expand that to arms. 00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:35.519 And there's, you know, frankly, a racist history to gun control, uh disarming African Americans. 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:45.920 And then you start getting into the 20th century, and you have things like the Sullivan Law in New York, uh, which wanted to keep guns out of the hands of immigrants and people that weren't part of the political power structure. 00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:49.280 And so there wasn't really anybody to challenge it. 00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:51.679 That that wasn't NRA's role then. 00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:59.920 And you you see uh increasing gun control really culminating up in the 1960s, uh, where you end up with the Gun Control Act of 1968. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:07.599 And, you know, the NRA's narrative about uh what the Second Amendment is and what it protects, very clear all the way through our history. 00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:10.880 Um but it it wasn't a national issue. 00:40:11.119 --> 00:40:14.719 And after the Gun Control Act of 1968, it became a serious national issue. 00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:17.280 Is that when the NRA kind of jumped into the political fight a lot more? 00:40:17.599 --> 00:40:21.599 So they they they you know the the NRA didn't really have a lobby until 1975. 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:27.280 You know, we our our our directors and our officers would, you know, have quiet chats and that sort of thing. 00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:30.719 But there wasn't any actual like grassroots action. 00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:32.320 Well, there was grassroots action. 00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:34.880 We would say, this is a bad bill, write your congressman. 00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:36.079 Our members would write in. 00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:46.079 And then uh the the the landscape had changed and we needed to be more politically active uh in the in the 70s, and we ended up getting some serious wins. 00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:50.719 Um, but it was kind of clawing our rights back, clawing back bad regulation. 00:40:51.039 --> 00:40:55.519 Yeah, because the NRA of today is is different because I've obviously 155-year history is going to be huge. 00:40:55.679 --> 00:41:05.519 You know, it started out as you know, teaching people to shoot, went into safety, got into, you know, and then you know, and then eventually got into the political side of it, you know, what is that, 50 years ago. 00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:10.159 Um now more active because we were always talking about it, but we weren't actively involved. 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:26.079 Well, then that's what I had said before is that you know the way to preserve the Second Amendment was to make sure that everybody's shooting guns, everybody's shooting guns, they're not gonna be able to take them, like because we're all gonna vote in a way that's not and that's I think I think that that is something that's at least as important as what you guys do politically. 00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:30.800 Because if if well, maybe maybe not anymore, but back in the day it definitely was. 00:41:31.039 --> 00:41:34.800 If we have everybody shooting guns, everybody's comfortable with guns, everybody has guns. 00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:36.079 They're not taking guns. 00:41:36.239 --> 00:41:38.400 Like it's unpopular, and you're gonna get unseated. 00:41:38.719 --> 00:41:41.039 And those people in Washington love power. 00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:42.000 They love power. 00:41:42.159 --> 00:41:44.239 And if they think that this is a gun, an issue. 00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:49.519 I mean, Barack Obama didn't really try to do anything outside of his, he didn't try to pass any sort of bills. 00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:52.079 No, he had other authorities, you know. 00:41:53.119 --> 00:41:53.920 Oh, did it die? 00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:55.679 Yeah, uh plug that in over there. 00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:56.079 It's fine. 00:41:56.159 --> 00:41:56.800 Just keep recording it. 00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:58.480 It's gonna be. 00:41:58.559 --> 00:41:59.199 Yeah, it's fine. 00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:00.559 Okay, um, yeah. 00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:02.480 Sorry, technical difficulty. 00:42:02.800 --> 00:42:03.119 It happens. 00:42:03.440 --> 00:42:04.079 Just unplug that. 00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:04.320 Yeah. 00:42:04.960 --> 00:42:07.039 I actually meant to do that and just plug it into the other one. 00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:10.960 We we we we we were like a golden retriever going after squirrels here, aren't we? 00:42:12.159 --> 00:42:12.800 Yeah, yeah, I know. 00:42:12.880 --> 00:42:15.199 I I have so many questions because that's what I said. 00:42:15.280 --> 00:42:18.239 Uh I was like, man, I gotta like redo my questions here. 00:42:18.639 --> 00:42:25.760 Yeah, um, you know, I asked some the Doug and um you guys when when I saw that that thing down in the basement was just so incredible. 00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:27.760 I didn't realize how much stuff you guys had here. 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:34.159 Well, yeah, no, I mean it's it's got kind of uh uh it's a collection that's been and we can talk more about it. 00:42:34.320 --> 00:42:38.000 And you know, I'll take you guys through the museum and you can get some viral stuff in there, you know. 00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:38.400 Yeah. 00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:42.559 Like like guns that were actually probably used to kill red coats, got a couple of those. 00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:43.360 That's cool. 00:42:43.599 --> 00:42:44.719 Yeah, yeah. 00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:46.800 Did you turn it on, Aaron? 00:42:47.039 --> 00:42:48.400 Is it plugged back in? 00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:50.000 Okay, perfect. 00:42:50.159 --> 00:42:51.199 Yeah, sorry about that. 00:42:51.360 --> 00:42:52.639 Little technical difficulties. 00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:55.920 We'll wrap it up here in just a second because I got so much stuff. 00:42:56.159 --> 00:43:04.719 Uh so so one thing I want to do uh before we end, because obviously this is election season, uh, with with uh endorsements.

00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:05.039 Yeah. 00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:08.320 Um so how does the NRA go about endorsing candidates? 00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:09.199 Do you guys have a questionnaire? 00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:10.000 What's that what's that process? 00:43:10.239 --> 00:43:11.679 So it's more than just a questionnaire. 00:43:11.920 --> 00:43:19.280 And so we we have uh lobbyists in every state, and plus our federal affairs lobbyists that uh do the House and the Senate. 00:43:19.360 --> 00:43:23.440 Um and our our lobbyists are are actually the ones giving the grades. 00:43:23.599 --> 00:43:32.719 And uh they will look at your voting record, and we have a research and information division in Isla that that that also keeps track of of what things people say and things people do. 00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:38.559 And so uh the best rating you can get is an A plus rating uh or a solid A rating. 00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:42.320 Um and you know that's that's that's based on hard votes. 00:43:42.480 --> 00:43:46.400 Now, if it's a candidate that doesn't have uh a voting record, what do you do? 00:43:46.559 --> 00:43:48.559 Well, that's when the questionnaire goes out. 00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:51.599 And some candidates take it very seriously, uh, some don't send it back. 00:43:51.679 --> 00:43:59.679 So sometimes you'll see, you know, because we we rate every House and uh and state senate race, we rate every um uh federal race. 00:44:00.880 --> 00:44:04.800 And if you get a question mark, that means that whoever was just going to send the questionnaire back. 00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:15.519 If it's got like an AQ or a BQ or you know, that's based upon um uh what they what what they say, uh asked about specific legislation. 00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:18.400 Uh and anybody who gets an F, they truly deserve it. 00:44:18.719 --> 00:44:22.639 So there's there's Republicans that don't come through for gun owners. 00:44:22.800 --> 00:44:27.679 And and I've I've this was something that I tried to articulate to Vivek when I was talking to him about hunting stuff. 00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:36.159 I said, you know, there's there's a politician that's gonna say, hey, you know, I'm gonna I support you, I support what you're talking about, I'm on your side. 00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:41.039 And then there's a politician that says, I'm gonna use my political weight and throw it behind this issue. 00:44:41.199 --> 00:44:41.280 Right. 00:44:41.519 --> 00:44:44.079 So do you guys uh take that into consideration? 00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:46.000 Like how does how does how do you calculate that? 00:44:46.320 --> 00:44:48.719 So again, that's that's not the business I'm in here. 00:44:48.800 --> 00:44:57.840 Uh but if somebody's truly a leader on our issues, uh a bill sponsor, uh, and and carrying the weight of the Second Amendment uh for our members. 00:44:58.079 --> 00:45:05.679 When when we do our write-ups, when we do our endorsements, when we send the postcards, we send, I don't even know how many

postcards get sent. 00:45:05.760 --> 00:45:09.360 Uh, we always highlight, especially people who are willing to lead on our issue. 00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:09.920 Okay. 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:10.960 That's that's important. 00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:14.400 Then the other side of that, we've been let down by Republicans. 00:45:14.480 --> 00:45:16.719 You know, there's good and bad Republicans, good and bad Democrats. 00:45:16.800 --> 00:45:16.960 Yep. 00:45:17.119 --> 00:45:21.039 What what what do you do when those Democrats or those Republicans let you down? 00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:24.880 They're like, hey, we're gonna be this pro sect, and then they aren't, because we ran into that in Ohio. 00:45:25.039 --> 00:45:28.000 Do you I think a lot of people just go, oh man, well, that's still my vote. 00:45:28.159 --> 00:45:28.800 It's still my vote. 00:45:28.880 --> 00:45:30.239 It's it's better than the Democrat. 00:45:30.320 --> 00:45:31.280 Is there any what do you guys do? 00:45:31.599 --> 00:45:36.639 Yeah, so they'll they'll they'll adjust the grade accordingly, uh, and they'll make it the endorsement accordingly. 00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:47.360 So uh one one of the things that that is a reality, especially in in the House, is you know, you need the majority to get the speaker, you know, Speaker Johnson. 00:45:47.440 --> 00:45:52.320 You need the uh majority to get the Senate majority leader that you want instead of you know Chuck Schumer. 00:45:52.719 --> 00:46:02.800 So um, you know, that that's uh uh usually on on things like that we we we tend to stay out, uh but that's a strategic decision made by the institute, guys, not me. 00:46:03.119 --> 00:46:03.280 Okay. 00:46:03.440 --> 00:46:08.719 Because that's that's something that in the social media age, people are like, hey, you left me out, and then they'll get all mad at you. 00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:14.320 Like and and there's there really is uh uh politics is is somewhat of a game. 00:46:14.639 --> 00:46:17.039 And it's it's it's a difficult game to play. 00:46:17.199 --> 00:46:25.280 And this is what I highlighted earlier that the NRA did very well was with the with with the one big beautiful bill, it was an end around, it was a chess move that got us what we wanted. 00:46:25.360 --> 00:46:25.760 Yep. 00:46:26.320 --> 00:46:34.159 That's kind of what I'm getting at here, because we can just sit online and complain all we want, but I want to know who's giving us real wins. 00:46:34.400 --> 00:46:36.079 And I'm seeing that from the NRA. 00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:39.519 I want to touch on one last thing before we before we end here. 00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:41.360 Um litigation. 00:46:41.519 --> 00:46:44.639 So one of the biggest problems that we have, you know, you gotta you gotta sue, right? 00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:51.599 The Second Amendment's clear when they when these states and everybody tries to put a gun law in place, you have to sue to play defense against these people. 00:46:51.840 --> 00:46:55.519 It's harder to play offense in in this game, but you can play defense through the courts. 00:46:55.679 --> 00:46:58.400 Um, we're all getting more aware of that, I think, now. 00:46:59.119 --> 00:47:03.599 I was just told you have 60 lawsuits currently going around going on. 00:47:03.760 --> 00:47:06.079 Like what is that is that a normal number? 00:47:06.159 --> 00:47:07.119 Is it higher lower? 00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:07.599 What do you guys think? 00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:17.920 Uh we also have have uh uh uh really uh a force multiplier, Joe Greenley, uh our legislative uh director for the Institute for Legislative Action. 00:47:18.159 --> 00:47:20.559 Guy is brilliant, and he is he is fast. 00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:25.679 And so that's that's not even including the amicus briefs uh that he's filing. 00:47:25.920 --> 00:47:32.719 And so, yeah, and the the the thing about NRA and lawsuits is you know, let lots of people talk about suing. 00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:36.400 Uh then you know they they send out you know their social media posts. 00:47:36.719 --> 00:47:38.559 Did they did they have a good plaintiff? 00:47:38.800 --> 00:47:44.480 Because you know, we partner with some of the other groups uh because the legisl the litigation is expensive. 00:47:44.639 --> 00:47:50.480 But usually it's it's NRA providing a lot of the legal horsepower, but also um uh the plaintiffs. 00:47:50.559 --> 00:47:52.320 There are they tend to be our members. 00:47:52.559 --> 00:47:58.320 And so um, you know, these lawsuits, uh especially taking them all the way to the Supreme Court, they're expensive. 00:47:58.400 --> 00:47:58.719 Yeah. 00:47:58.960 --> 00:48:04.239 And uh when you know, when when we have to fund that much litigation, yeah, that's tough. 00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:08.639 I mean, you guys probably gotta be spending massive amounts of money on litigation. 00:48:09.039 --> 00:48:09.760 We uh we are. 00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:12.000 I I'm not the guy that can tell you that number. 00:48:12.159 --> 00:48:13.920 Um I can find you the guy that can. 00:48:14.000 --> 00:48:14.239 Yeah. 00:48:14.480 --> 00:48:21.599 But uh it's it's something that's important because you know we we try and protect freedom uh you know in elections. 00:48:21.760 --> 00:48:26.239 And if elections don't go the way they should, well, that doesn't mean freedom went away. 00:48:26.559 --> 00:48:26.719 Yeah. 00:48:26.880 --> 00:48:28.639 It means that you got to fight for it in the courts. 00:48:28.800 --> 00:48:30.000 That's what that's what sucks. 00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:31.360 But I mean it is the reality. 00:48:31.760 --> 00:48:32.400 Yeah, it is. 00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:36.239 But we we've uh really there was a lot of scholarship uh done. 00:48:36.400 --> 00:48:46.880 Some of it was funded by NRA, uh, that that got us to where we are, to that got us to uh Scalia's decision on um uh the Heller case, and then McDonald, and then Bruin. 00:48:47.039 --> 00:48:51.280 And there's gonna

be more and more cases that are that that they just build upon each other. 00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:54.960 And and that's that's because you know we did we did the work ahead of time. 00:48:55.119 --> 00:49:06.639 Uh these scholars uh unearthed the you know the historical tradition and and the the the facts uh of what the founders and and what others thought about freedom and the second amendment. 00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:09.360 And thankfully that information's out there and it's being used. 00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:10.559 I I love to see that. 00:49:10.719 --> 00:49:18.960 And that's the thing that I like about the NRA that I've kind of learned since being here is that you guys are on the cultural side, you're on the litigation side, you're on the legislative side. 00:49:19.119 --> 00:49:20.239 You have to hit all of that. 00:49:20.400 --> 00:49:20.800 Absolutely. 00:49:20.960 --> 00:49:27.280 And you know, the one place you guys aren't really at is the social media side, which is why you guys invite me to be like, hey, come on down here. 00:49:27.360 --> 00:49:29.760 This guy's getting crazy views, he supports you guys. 00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:31.599 Like, let's let's get on board with this. 00:49:31.679 --> 00:49:35.039 And and I I love to see how the NRA is stepping up. 00:49:35.199 --> 00:49:37.920 Um, obviously, we're in the NRA podcast studios. 00:49:38.000 --> 00:49:40.159 This is gonna be, you're gonna have a podcast soon. 00:49:40.400 --> 00:49:41.440 So people check it out. 00:49:41.519 --> 00:49:45.440 I mean, if you're into guns, which most a lot of Americans are, sure. 00:49:45.760 --> 00:49:47.920 We're gonna what can we expect on that podcast? 00:49:48.000 --> 00:49:50.320 Is there anything you can tell me about the kind of the setup of it? 00:49:50.800 --> 00:49:54.079 So uh you guys got here before, you know, even all the parts were here, right? 00:49:54.400 --> 00:49:58.559 And uh uh, but you know, we're we're gonna talk about what's going on with the Second Amendment. 00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:10.320 Uh we've got uh our staffers from American Rifleman and American Hunter that want to have industry guys on and and say, you know, get a get the guy who owns TriStar or the marketing director from Springfield, what's going on there? 00:50:10.480 --> 00:50:12.719 Uh I'll be doing a little bit of a history component. 00:50:12.880 --> 00:50:21.280 And then we'll also have people uh from NRA, volunteers, staffers, and even regular members to talk about what NRA is and what it does. 00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:27.840 And so one of the things we've been doing the work, we just haven't been telling people properly about everything that we do. 00:50:28.159 --> 00:50:36.559 Well, that's the one thing I've noticed since I've been here is like I've I had no idea as somebody that knows a lot more about the NRA than most people because of the history with our family. 00:50:36.800 --> 00:50:39.119 I had no idea how much you guys were still doing. 00:50:39.199

--> 00:50:40.960 And I think that's incredible. 00:50:41.119 --> 00:50:53.519 I'm always looking, and I touched on this earlier, for organizations that are doing really good work in the hunting industry and you know, trying to find like who's spending money, who's actually getting real tangible wins. 00:50:53.679 --> 00:50:56.719 The NRA has a long history of getting those. 00:50:56.880 --> 00:51:03.679 I mean, we have presidents, you know, like I said earlier, pr President Clinton going, hey, listen, the NRA is the reason I don't have power anymore. 00:51:03.840 --> 00:51:06.800 And I mean, that says a lot about you guys historically. 00:51:06.960 --> 00:51:14.480 And I think you guys are gonna be around for another 155 years fighting for our Second Amendment rights, and we need that in this country more than ever. 00:51:14.719 --> 00:51:21.840 And I really appreciate what you guys are doing here, and I hope that this helps, I hope this helps inform people of all of the things you're doing. 00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:33.199 Like I said, cultural, legislative, and uh litigative, you you you have to be hitting all these areas or we will lose our second amendment rights because if we miss one, yeah, they're they're they're gone. 00:51:33.360 --> 00:51:33.840 They're gone. 00:51:33.920 --> 00:51:34.880 And you're doing all of them. 00:51:35.199 --> 00:51:35.440 Yeah. 00:51:35.519 --> 00:51:39.360 So for for your viewers, listeners, most important thing you can do is get educated. 00:51:39.519 --> 00:51:43.360 Get educated on where your candidates stand uh on the on the second amendment. 00:51:43.599 --> 00:51:44.800 Do you guys have something like that on your podcast? 00:51:44.960 --> 00:51:45.920 Like on your website where they're gonna be able to do that. 00:51:46.079 --> 00:51:46.719 We absolutely do. 00:51:46.880 --> 00:51:48.639 NRAPVF.org. 00:51:48.800 --> 00:51:54.559 Okay that will give you grades for everybody running for office in this country for at the state level and above. 00:51:54.960 --> 00:52:00.079 And so NRA PVF or just uh NRA Isla uh or NRA voter guide. 00:52:00.159 --> 00:52:01.599 Just you know, Google it. 00:52:01.760 --> 00:52:03.440 Um we we did the work. 00:52:03.599 --> 00:52:09.679 You know, we we we have our our our staff look these people in the eye and uh and see where they really stand. 00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:10.559 That's awesome. 00:52:10.719 --> 00:52:11.760 I really appreciate your time. 00:52:11.920 --> 00:52:14.159 We're gonna go do a tour of the museum. 00:52:14.320 --> 00:52:15.920 I can't wait to get after that. 00:52:16.000 --> 00:52:18.079 Uh we've got some shooting to do later. 00:52:18.239 --> 00:52:19.760 Uh we what was the gun you brought? 00:52:19.920 --> 00:52:21.519 You put the um your elephant gun. 00:52:21.599 --> 00:52:24.639 Your um the So I've got a 450 Nitro Express. 00:52:25.119 --> 00:52:26.480 And uh hold on. 00:52:26.559 --> 00:52:27.519 Just hold on, Steven. 00:52:27.840 --> 00:52:28.480 Hold on tight. 00:52:28.719 --> 00:52:30.559 Okay, that that video is gonna come out soon. 00:52:30.719 --> 00:52:34.960 It's gonna, I feel like that's gonna, you know, leave my shoulder a little sore, but technique. 00:52:35.280 --> 00:52:35.840 All about technique. 00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:37.679 Yeah, I've been learning that since I don't know. 00:52:37.760 --> 00:52:39.280 That that's a big gun. 00:52:39.840 --> 00:52:48.800 But uh Mark Keefe with the NRA, the again, you are the uh public affairs and editorial director. 00:52:48.960 --> 00:52:49.840 I appreciate your time. 00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:53.840 I appreciate you guys having us out here, and I appreciate everything the NRA has done. 00:52:54.000 --> 00:53:01.199 It's uh for my family and for hunters and anglers, well, especially hunters and and just people that love the Second Amendment and freedom across the country. 00:53:01.280 --> 00:53:02.159 So I really appreciate your time. 00:53:02.239 --> 00:53:02.800 Thanks for coming on. 00:53:03.039 --> 00:53:04.079 Thank you, Stephen.