Gun Rights Supporters:

GRNC volunteers struck a blow for the Second Amendment on Wednesday by delivering nearly 7,000 petitions demanding passage of constitutional carry via the currently stalled House Bill 189, “Freedom to Carry NC.” The bill is sponsored by stalwart pro-gun Rep. Keith Kidwell.

The target of our “affection” was Senator Phil Berger, President Pro Tem of the NC Senate and arguably the most powerful man in North Carolina. Regardless of what some politicians claim, no legislation moves in the legislature unless Phil Berger says so.

Taking your message to Phil Berger’s doorstep

Dozens of GRNC volunteers delivered 7,000 petitions to Senate leader Phil Berger because HB 189 stalled after Berger said:

“We have passed a substantial bill dealing with some concerns about the Second Amendment. We have done away with the pistol purchase permit which was the number one goal of many of the gun rights groups for a long period of time. I just don’t know if there is a need for us to delve into additional issues dealing with guns.” [Emphasis added]

GRNC president Paul Valone replied to Berger in an interview with Cam Edwards, of Townhall Media’s “Cam & Co.” by saying:

“I guess it's not a Bill of Rights anymore but a Bill of Needs, and the person who’s going to decide whether we ‘need’ constitutional carry or not is Phil Berger, self-appointed arbiter of needs.”

Sen. Berger is correct in claiming credit for repealing our Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit law. For that, we thank both Berger and all NCGA Republicans.

But the purchase permit repeal was only a start. Over generations, the fundamental civil liberty of carrying arms for self-defense without governmental permission has been stripped from us. This year, GRNC intends to win back that civil right!

We’ve heard excuses about Republicans in marginal districts; we’ve heard excuses that legislative rules prevent debating HB 189; we’ve heard House members claim the problem is the Senate, and Senate members claim the problem is in the House.

Let me tell you the same thing I told WRAL-TV, the N&O, and other news outlets at the press conference we held on Phil Berger’s doorstep:

I. Don’t. Care. We will accept no excuses.

Gun voters were in large measure responsible for giving Republicans a veto-proof supermajority. So, in the vernacular, “It’s time to dance with the one what ‘brung ya.”

Is Sen. Berger listening?

Sen. Berger, of course, declined to personally accept the demands of his constituents, instead delegating to a legislative assistant. But you may rest assured that the message got through loud and clear, particularly when you consider that later the same day, Berger answered media queries on the topic by saying:

“Constitutional carry is something that is worth talking about. We’ll talk with our members and see whether there is an appetite to move forward with it.”

If you are indeed listening, Senator Berger, I thank you. You say you want to talk it over with your “members?” We are the “members” who gave Republicans a supermajority.

So, Phil, let’s talk.

Legislative threats on the horizon

The day after GRNC’s press conference, Michael Bloomberg’s astroturf front, “Moms Demand Marxism” and their minions, Sen. Jay Chadhuri, and Reps. Marcia Morey and Julie Von Haefen, held their own presser, featuring anti-gun Sheriff Garry McFadden as their headliner.

They recounted the usual lies, of course, with one Marxist Mom even claiming 28 mass murders in North Carolina this year. (It was pretty funny to watch her squirm when a reporter asked for her source which, as expected, she was unable to provide.)

Speaking of chutzpah, how about this one? “We’re not against gun ownership,” said Sheriff McFadden, whom Grass Roots North Carolina is suing a second time for obstructing concealed handgun permits. (Something which, happily, bothers him so much that he mentioned it several times during the presser.)

In the blind irony so common among leftists, Moms Demand Marxism denounced permitless concealed carry while headlining the sheriff whose obstruction of concealed carry permits makes him a poster child for the law they oppose.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

But don’t laugh too hard. Anti-gun Rep. Marcia Morey said she plans to push a “discharge petition,” a parliamentary maneuver to force red flag gun confiscation out of committee and onto the floor for a vote. Needless to say, GRNC will vociferously oppose all such anti-gun efforts.

With your help…

In coming weeks, GRNC’s many volunteers will be full throttle…

• …not just pushing constitutional carry;
• …not just suing McFadden to ensure permit issuance is timely;
• …not just defeating Marcia Morey’s gun bans, but also…
• Organizing for the critical 2024 elections.

To continue delivering our 30-year history of legislative success, we need your help!

What you can do to ensure gun rights success:

• Subscribe to and monitor GRNC alerts: In coming days, we will be channeling your input to the politicians who need to hear it. To subscribe, click here.
• Volunteer: If you have the skills or motivation to do so, we need more volunteers. To volunteer, click here.
• CONTRIBUTE: Your membership dues, while much appreciated, are not enough to enable GRNC to continue kicking legislative tail. Unpleasant though it may be, I have to ask you to go to: grnc.org/join-grnc/contribute

As always, all-volunteer Grass Roots North Carolina vows to put your money to more efficient, effective use in defending your rights than any other group.

Armatissimi e liberissimi,

F. Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Executive Director, Rights Watch International
Host, Guns, Politics and Freedom

Author, Rules for ANTI-Radicals: A Practical Handbook for Defeating Leftism

P.S. Yes, it’s an election year, and there will be all sorts of politicians looking for your money. But $250, $100, $50 or even $25 to GRNC is an investment in your rights.

Certain phony gun groups just want your money. By contrast, as an all-volunteer organization, Grass Roots North Carolina needs your TIME. You see, the gun rights movement has a problem: Many of our active volunteers are getting a little long of tooth. To keep the vibrancy and peddle-to-the-metal effectiveness GRNC has managed for three decades, we need fresh blood.

No, you don’t have to be young; and no, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon. Whether young or “seasoned;” whether skilled or willing to learn – GRNC needs your help.

If you can devote just a little time to GRNC, YOU’LL BE DOING OUR NATION, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOURSELF A GREAT SERVICE.

Why? Because it was volunteers just like you who:

• Passed concealed carry;
• Passed concealed handgun reciprocity (making your permit good in 37 states);
• Passed Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground;
• Expanded concealed carry into parks, restaurants, public assemblies, and even educational property (limited);
• Repealed our Jim Crow pistol purchase permit law; and
• Killed every significant gun control bill introduced in the past three decades.

But to continue that string of successes, we need people willing to take just a few hours each month to make it happen!

Volunteer areas needed:

• Gun Show Team: When people ask me whether GRNC has meetings, I say: “We can either spend time, money and energy preaching to each other, or we can get the word out to the world.” At most of NC’s major gun shows, GRNC volunteers distribute legislative alerts and other information crucial to the gun rights movement. Beyond willingness to talk to others, no particular skills are needed. This is a great way to start out, getting your feel for the organization and where you best fit. Many of our board members started with gun shows.

• Legislative Action Team (LAT): If you live near Raleigh (or even if you don’t), consider volunteering at the NC General Assembly, where YOU can tell politicians what they must do in order to stay in office. (And yes, that is how grass roots mobilization succeeds). By volunteering for the LAT, YOU get to pull the levers of power. Again, beyond willingness to dress nicely and speak with people, no particular skills are necessary. (Willingness to pi$$ off a politician is a plus.) We will teach you everything you need to know … and what we teach will surprise you.

• Microsoft Office skills: If you have basic skills in Microsoft Office, particularly Word or Excel, you can volunteer from home by helping to conduct mailings, candidate evaluations, and other vital tasks. Again, we need people who operate from home. You may operate individually, in ad hoc working groups, or with other teams.

• Web Design Team: Many of GRNC’s most vital communications come from our website. If you are familiar with Joomla CMS, we need you! (Some knowledge of HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL is a plus.) The website team is critical to getting out timely information to gun rights advocates, voters, the media, and the public.

• Administrative Team: GRNC also needs additional volunteers at our Raleigh office to process memberships, organize mailings (e.g. candidate surveys), and much more. FYI, you will be working for a Director of Administration who personally led the chants by pro-gun demonstrators that overwhelmed one of Michael Bloomberg’s little “demonstration in a can “Astroturf” rallies.

• Media Management Team: If you like public speaking and can do it clearly and succinctly, the Media Management Team is for you. We give you full backup, including talking points, press releases, and a media management seminar.

• Alerts & Communications Team: You like to write and think you’re pretty good at it? Then alerts and communications might be right up your alley. You will write time-critical legislative alerts targeting politicians with thousands of irate voters.

How to apply

• To apply:

1. Send an email to DirectorOfDevelopment@GRNC.org; or
2. Send a message via GRNC’s website contact form and select “GRNC president” as the recipient; or
3. Call GRNC at 877-282-0939 and follow the prompts for “time-critical media inquiries.”

• Please supply 4 things:

1. Your name;
2. Your full contact info (email, cell or home number, mailing address);
3. Your area of interest, if any; and
4. A sentence or two telling why you are interested in the gun rights movement. (Sorry, but gotta keep the spies out.)

What YOU get out of the deal

Beyond the satisfaction of knowing you are part of the solution – not the problem – you get the opportunity to work and socialize with the best damned gun rights volunteers in the country, some of whom have been with GRNC for three decades. Even people who don’t have fixed jobs, but instead perform “ad hoc” tasks get to enjoy the camaraderie of GRNC’s (slightly jaded) email leadership network.

Oh, and if you like, you may get the “insiders” view of gun rights politics – something which will give you skills you never even knew you needed. The skills you learn will be valuable for HOAs, clubs, zoning and ordinance fights, city councils, and more.

If you can help, even with just a few hours per month, Grass Roots North Carolina needs you! To steal from the WWII poster of “Rosie the Riveter,” with your help (and only with your help) …

… “WE CAN DO IT!”