USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Hello AmmoLand News readers my name is Joel Friedman and I am a current NRA Board Member seeking re-election to the 2018 NRA Board.
I have been a Benefactor Member of the NRA for 20 years. I’ve been proud to serve on the NRA Board of Directors since 2002. I have served on the Grassroots committee since 1997 and have had the pleasure of seeing this department become a very real and successful part of the fight for our 2nd Amendment rights. I also serve on the Clubs and Associations committee where we are able to help state associations on a local level fight for our rights. I am also on the outreach committee which is involved in bringing into the NRA people of different ages, genders and races – a critical part of the fight for our 2nd Amendment rights.
Look back through the various posts – not from me, but about me – on forums and gun blogs. There are supportive threads on Calguns.net from 2011, 2013 and 2014. PA Gun Blog published supportive articles in 2011 and 2012 after we talked in Pittsburgh about the battle for California. And I’m very proud to have the endorsement of volunteers from the NRA Members’ Councils of California, like Ken Takahashi of Forward Assist Training – the group that organized the NRA America’s Rifle Challenge at Burro Canyon a few weeks ago.
Make no mistake – the groundswell of support from the grassroots members is the single most important factor in the recent successes of NRA and the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) – where I am also a board member. I’ve spent three decades working at the state and local level to defend, exercise and expand the Second Amendment rights of Californians. As a founding member of the all-volunteer NRA Members’ Councils program in California and as part of the NRA Grassroots Committee, I have seen time and time again the impact that a conversation, phone call or email can have on a legislator or bureaucrat who may be on the fence about a particular gun vote.
As an example, while California certainly has passed a number of awful gun laws, the grassroots opposition – which is organized in very large part by the NRA and its volunteers – has defeated so many times more bills that would have become law.
While I now call Nevada home, I remain actively involved in the fight in California where, in recent weeks, the Angeles Shooting Ranges in Los Angeles County and others have suffered catastrophic fire damage. As a grassroots activist and NRA Foundation trustee, I am looking for ways the NRA can help the ranges rebuild and reopen so shooters in California will once again have a safe outdoor range to enjoy without having to drive for hours to find it. Ensuring that the shooting sports are protected is equally important in our ongoing fight for our 2nd Amendment rights.
There is still a huge mountain to climb in restoring the Second Amendment in states like California, New York, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey – and that’s why this election for the NRA Board of Directors is so important! You have a vote to cast this February and you need to pick a candidate who not only understands what is at stake right now, but understands where we have been and where we need to go. We need a board member who attends every Board meeting, considers every single vote and issue, and fights relentlessly for OUR rights as well as our shooting sports! I have been and promise to continue to be that person.
Please… VOTE FOR JOEL so I can continue fighting for our rights! Thank you!
Sincerely;
Joel Friedman
Perhaps a bit off point, apologies for that, however the following is of some possible import. Re BATFE ” new regulations”, such as they might be regarding Bump Stocks, it seems as if the position, staying within the bounds of polite conversation, the position taken by the NRA might be considered questionable. In any event, the public comment period runs through 27 January. In case I might have missed notification, which I doubt, has the NRA distributed to it’s members any sort of alert re the soon to be ended public comment period. If not,why?
Do you refute NRA’s and Marion Hammer’s call for ATF to revisit their previous classification of “Bump Fire” stocks and any other device that is an “accelerator”? Do you agree that we should all work to repeal GCA ‘68 and the NFA?
I served with Joel as a fellow board member on the ‘California Rifle & Pistol Assoc.’ board of directors. I know Joel personally and have a great deal of respect and admiration for everything he does for us as gun owners. He is a true believer in 2A rights and ‘walks the walk’ when it comes to being a true warrior in the battle for our gun rights. He is the real deal. Not only is he a tireless fighter for our rights, he’s also a highly successful business man and a true patriot who believes in America and who… Read more »