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NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS VOLUME 27, NUMBER 30

NEWS   Member Spotlight: Meet the student who was harassed for posting a picture with his firearm

Austin Tong was an average college kid working on his degree from Fordham University in New York City when, last week, he posted a couple pictures on Instagram that made him the target of an irrational Internet mob and a scurrilous university investigation. The pictures he posted – which nearly got him kicked out of school – were of a retired police captain who was recently killed by looters, and one of him holding an AR-15.

NEWS   Everytown’s Hail Mary

At least, that’s what Everytown did. A Politico reporter used FBI NICS data acquired by Everytown to claim “Blocked gun sales skyrocket amid coronavirus pandemic.” The claim in the article is that the number of people denied the ability to purchase a firearm through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has, well, skyrocketed. The title and the first line of the article are pretty similar.

NEWS   Virginia Shows that State Firearms Preemption is Essential

Much like the rest of the country, Virginians have been buying firearms at a tremendous pace. According to data from the Virginia State Police, there was a 158 percent increase in firearm transactions in June 2020 when compared with June 2019. This came after a nearly 100 percent increase in May 2020 over May 2019. Moreover, research from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, as well as anecdotal reports, suggest that many of these transfers are to first-time gun buyers.

NEWS   This is What Keeps America Free

In response to a public expression of lawful political speech, “safety officers” come to the person’s home at midnight to interrogate him. He is accused of intimidation, making threats, hate crimes, and disorderly conduct. He is found guilty and his punishment includes exclusion from the community, suspension of his academic privileges, a ban on taking leadership roles in campus organizations, mandatory meetings with appropriate officials to learn about correct ways of thinking and speaking, and the presentation of a formal written apology, to be submitted in draft form “for approval.”

NEWS   Everytown Continues Billionaire Fundraising

News broke this week that former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA franchise, Steve Ballmer, has donated $7 million dollars to Michael Bloomberg’s gun control umbrella group, Everytown for Gun Safety.

STATE GRASSROOTS ROUND-UP

	Connecticut Connecticut: NRA Monitoring Upcoming Special Session
	Virginia Virginia: Arlington Considering Gun Ban Tomorrow Virginia: Special Session to Convene August 18th

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