AHSA exposes NRA support for Members of Congress with worst records on conservation

Today, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) released a report, "Slash and Burn: Why Does the National Rifle Association Leadership Support Congress's Biggest Opponents of Conservation?" and an accompanying website: www.realhuntersrealconservation.com.

Our goal is to pull back the curtain on the ugly truth: The leaders of the National Rifle Association, who have long claimed to represent hunters and shooters, have instead overwhelmingly supported the biggest conservation opponents in Congress. We want America's 70 million gun owners, most of whom, like me, consider themselves conservationists, the opportunity to learn about the NRA's dismal record on conservation.

With research from the League of Conservation Voters and the assistance of former Congressman Pete McCloskey, we launched this effort today. In 2006, Rep. McCloskey recently worked to unseat one of the NRA's leadership's favorite anti-conservation critters, now former Congressman, Jim Pombo. Given Pombo's terrible record on conservation issues, McCloskey said that for the NRA to have give Pombo any money was "an outrage."

As the self-proclaimed "largest pro-hunting organization in the world," the National Rifle Association has long claimed to represent America's hunters and shooters in the fight to protect one of America's oldest traditions. The NRA's bylaws include an article setting a core goal "to promote and defend hunting...as a viable and necessary method of fostering the propagation, growth and conservation...of our renewable wildlife resources." But it turns out that its by-laws are just empty rhetoric.

AHSA's report reveals an ugly truth: The NRA's leadership is spending its members' money to support the campaigns of the biggest conservation opponents in Congress. Contrary to its stated goals and assurances to the hunting community, our unprecedented analysis shows that NRA's leadership overwhelming supports Members of Congress with the worst conservation voting records.

The NRA's campaign contributions, endorsements and ratings of Members of Congress expose the organization's strong anti-conservation bias. Despite their lofty bylaws and forest friendly taglines, the NRA is standing by silently as its allies in Congress are helping to destroy America's wilderness.

Hunting is an American tradition that depends on conserving America's wilderness and wildlife. To fully enjoy our rights and heritage, hunters and shooters deserve leadership that will protect our guns and our land. America's hunters are beginning to ask whether anyone in Washington recognizes that.

The American Hunters and Shooters Association, unlike the NRA, is dedicated both to protecting the gun rights of Americans and preserving America's hunting heritage through conservation and responsible wildlife management. We understand the crucial relationship between protecting our rights as gun owners and protecting the lands we love.

For the three million NRA Members who are tired of seeing their $25 dollar contributions wasted by an NRA leadership supporting anti-conservation Members of Congress and Wayne LaPierre's $900,000 salary, we offer a different choice. And, for 77 million gun-owning Americans who are not Members of NRA, we invite you to join an organization that is steadfast in protecting our Second Amendment rights, conserving our environment, and will support common sense efforts to keep guns away from criminals.

America's hunters and shooters should no longer stand by the NRA because it's clear the NRA has long stopped standing up for them. And by the way, I don't fly on private jets and my salary is a dollar a year. I can also outshoot Wayne LaPierre and I'll gladly challenge to him a wild hunt. That's a challenge I look forward to, but I won't hold my breath that he'll ever take it.

Comments

[Mark0]

Mr.Schoenke,

I visited the website you have linked to in this article: American Hunters and Shooters Association.

The site has several pages attacking the NRA, denouncing the NRA, calling for people to pull their support from the NRA.....

But when I looked for information of actual interest to American hunters and shooters, I found very little.
Practically none, in fact.

Mr. Schoenke, there are already in existance several groups with websites and agendas attacking the NRA, and those groups have not historically been friends of conservation, nor of Americans interested in huntering and shooting sports. Where have you called for people to pull support from those groups? Where exactly do you denounce them?

I see the NRA supporting the rights of hunters and law-abiding gun owners.
Where has your group supported the right to keep and bear arms (aside from the hollow print on that website)?

I see the NRA members in the Eddie Eagle program instructing youth on gun safety.
I see the NRA sponsoring personal safety and handgun safety training classes being offered by trained personel at NRA sponsored venues. I see the NRA supporting law enforcement through training, hardware, and sponsored LE-only shooting activites.

I can see the NRA standing for my right to keep and bear the arms which I use to hunt, as well as for personal defense.

Where do I look to see actual contributions you have made to support Americans interested in conservation and hunting, and safe and responsible shooting?

[Thirdpower]

Hey Ray,

While you're at the convention, why don't you talk to a few people about why a hunter was arrested just because he was legally transporting his firearms?

Where's the indignation on that?

[muffinman2]

Why are you people so scared to death of the NRA? They only have 3 or 4 million members. I'd concern myself more with the other 80 million gun-owners in this country, if I were you.

And this 'any gun, for anyone, at any time' stuff is a lot of BS propaganda, put forth by hysterical types like the BC.

[Willbill]

“The American Hunters and Shooters Association, unlike the NRA, is dedicated both to protecting the gun rights of Americans....”

If this is true than why is AHSA supporting a presidential candidate that:

Voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry?

Wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Ban on Sport Utility Rifles?

Voted to ban almost all rifle Hunting and Sport shooting ammunition?

Endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition?

Endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership?

Voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people
who use firearms in self-defense?

Supports gun owner licensing and gun registration?

Opposes sensible Right to Carry laws?

Supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park,eliminating almost every gun store in America?

Favors a ban on standard capacity magazines?

Supports mandatory waiting periods?

Supports one-gun-a-month handgun purchase restrictions?

Supports a ban on inexpensive handguns?

Supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under age of 21?

http://www.nraila.org/obama

http://www.nraila.org/issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=232

http://www.nrahuntersrights.com/

NRA and conservation.
http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx

Ray, the more you talk the more you prove that you are neither pro firearms freedom or pro conservation.
Huffington Post, you gave AHSA free advertising here. Will you give Wayne LaPierre equal time?

[djkrlsn]

I was wondering about that myself--but then again the gun control crowd likes distracting those that are truly in the middle from the gun control deceptions.. Ray Schoenke has donated far more money to the Brady Campaign and the VPC than he has spent fighting to protect the Second Amendment and promoting hunting related conservation efforts

[Thirdpower]

"The American Hunters and Shooters Association, unlike the NRA, is dedicated both to protecting the gun rights of Americans and preserving America's hunting heritage through conservation and responsible wildlife management."

Oh, to funny.
So where's the AHSA's equivalent to the Whittington Center? It's Youth Hunter Education program? Safety Training programs? Range development programs? etc.

Oh, right. Nowhere. What Ray neglects to mention is the fact that his "income" is $1/year because the AHSA is primarily supported by him and his anti-gun cohorts and NOT by membership.

[Karlitos]

"The American Hunters and Shooters Association ... is dedicated ... to protecting the gun rights of Americans..."

Shoenke, with all due respect, you are exposed, washed-up. You support the Brady Campaign, a group that in no way, shape, or form, protects guns rights. At every turn, they work to criminalize gun ownership, and spent much money and effort on an amicus brief (in Heller) that would have stripped fundamental rights from all Americans.

You can't fool enough of the people, enough of the time, for it to matter. Your days of fooling folks are over.

Reflects well on you, Huff Post, for taking this guy seriously.

[GoingBust]

The NRA is a civil rights organization, not a conservation organization. As such, expect them to spend the majority of their time promoting civil rights, not conservation. Your criticism of them is as off base as if you were criticizing PETA for not worrying more about social security. That's an important issue, but not a PETA issue.
It should be noted that the AHSA is not really a conservation organization either. This can easily be seen because it doesn't really conserve anything, it simply spends the majority of their time criticizing the NRA. The AHSA is transparently an anti-civil rights organization, founded and funded by people with a long history of anti-civil rights lobbying.
Ducks Unlimited and the Safari Club are conservation organizations. If you support conservation, I suggest you join them.

[seatea1967]

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for this article!

As a gun owner myself, it makes me crazy to see most gun owners fanatically supporting an organization that works so hard against the best interests of most of its members. "Any gun for anyone anywhere at any time" is not a political stance that has any traction except among fanatics any more than "No guns for anyone no matter what" is.

Supporting these right-wing idiots just because they'll pass laws to let an 8 year old or a former felon carry an Uzi into a bar is not a wise stance, IMO.

[djkrlsn]

MIght I suggest that you look up Project Exile before coming out with that "any gun for anyone anywhere at any time". Project Exile is a program currently in Virginia that is supported by the NRA that extends the sentence of criminals caught with guns. And in terms of your claim that the NRA supports felons packing Uzis into bars--you have been hanging out with the gun control folks for too long.

[Vurz]

My family all hunt and fish and we stopped being NRA members a long time ago. The NRA has been a worthless organization for years.

[Duke1225]

You mean the NRA doesn't care about living things? Shocked...I'm shocked I tell you.