It`s that time again. Election Day is just days away. In nearly half the states, early voting has already begun.
The stakes are enormous and the outcome will define the debate over our Second Amendment rights for years. Every other year we get an opportunity to send a message to Washington that can`t be ignored.
What message do you want to send? Do you want to tell the politicians that you`re happy with the way things are going? That you want them to continue with business as usual? Then ignore the elections and don`t bother to vote. That`s precisely the message sent by everyone who believes that voting is too much of a chore, or that one vote won`t make a difference.
But if you`re ready to send a message that you`re fed up and ready to do something about it, you belong in the voting booth on Nov. 2.
And you should take along the Political Preference Chart (PPC) you`ll find in the center of this magazine. Months of preparation have gone into these charts to tell you which candidates in your state and district deserve ?your vote. The candidates have been assigned letter grades from "A" to "F." The candidates identified in bold ?have earned the official endorsement ?of the NRA Political Victory Fund ?(NRA-PVF), the Second Amendment Seal of Approval.
At the federal level, receiving our highest rating means several things. It means opposition to a ban on virtually all deer hunting ammunition. It means support for Right to Carry and for making your state carry permit valid nationwide. It means opposition to bans on semi-automatic firearms, and support for overturning local restrictions that deny the Second Amendment rights of Americans who live in cities such as Washington, D.C. In a U.S. Senate race, it means a candidate will oppose efforts to restrict our rights under a United Nations treaty.
The endorsement does not mean that the candidate is a member of a particular political party. Nor does it mean that the candidate follows a particular political ideology. There are strong supporters of the Second Amendment in both the Republican and Democratic parties. The successful defense of the Second Amendment is not a partisan exercise. Party control ?of the levers of government changes with the political tides, but the long-term mission of protecting our rights does not.
This election will define the next ?two years of the Obama administration. We need solid majorities in both chambers of Congress to repel any assault on our rights.
Our freedom is also at risk before the highest court in the land. We have won two major victories in the past two years, with the Heller case in 2008 and this year in McDonald v. Chicago. But both of these victories came by the thinnest possible margin, in 5-4 votes. The dissenting justices have made it clear that they would erase the Second Amendment if given the chance.
No ruling is permanent and all precedents can be overturned. If a vacancy on the Court occurs, the president has demonstrated that his next nominee could join the four dissenters in tearing down our recent victories. Only the Senate can hold him back. And only you can choose who will serve in the next Senate.
Are you ready to send a message to the politicians? It should be clear to all that there are many reasons for turning out to cast an informed ballot in this year`s critical contests.
The Political Preference Chart in this magazine tells you what you need to know. All of the same information is on our Political Victory Fund website at www.nrapvf.org. Spread the word and tell your friends. And on Nov. 2, please Vote Freedom First.
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