FROM THE EDITOR



	My last business trip of 1994 was the weekend following the 

elections to San Antonio, Texas.  My first of the new year will be to the 

SHOT Show in Las Vegas, a few weeks after you get this issue.



	I covered enough ground (or air) in 1994 to requalify for a 

deluxe frequent flyer program, even though I remain one of the world's 

worst air travelers.  If you see me in an airport next year, by all means 

flag me down, just don't startle me!



	But it's not so much the miles accrued that indicate a successful 

year, as what is accomplished in various places.



	If you've never visited San Antonio, by all means do so--it's a 

beautiful city that mixes history and tourism almost perfectly.  You can 

be walking through a mall downtown, exit, and find yourself confronted 

with the Alamo.  Or wander down the Riverwalk--a sort of floating Bourbon 

Street--and see signs of Texas' and America's rich past in the form of 

buildings and meandering streets allegedly built over cow paths.



	The Alamo is one of those rare, perfect historic spots.  Whatever 

may surround it falls away as you enter its walls.  You cannot fail to be 

moved by it, or rather, by what it represents-- the ultimate sacrifice 

for the ideal of freedom.  Those who died at the Alamo, whose names are 

written on its walls, knew they would die there, but their cause 

superseded their personal concerns.



	I was in San Antonio for the last Leadership Training conference 

(LTC) of the year--one of a half dozen or so held around the country by 

the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and 

the Second Amendment Foundation to train grassroots gun rights 

activists.  In the last four years, we estimate, about 4,000 local 

activists have attended LTC, gaining critical how-to information on 

everything from talking to the media and legislators to fund raising.  

Our 1995 tour is not yet set, but if we appear in a hotel ballroom near 

you, make the effort to spend the weekend with your fellow activists.



	The San Antonio LTC was attended by activists from around Texas, 

as well as a few attendees from Colorado and New Mexico.  As you might 

expect, everyone was in a pretty upbeat mood, just four days after the 

mid-term elections.



	Whatever else the elections demonstrated (and there is enough 

polling information out there to pinpoint the country's mood on just 

about everything), gun owners were able to claim almost total victory.



	USA TODAY wrote that 25% of te total electorate was made up gun 

issue voters, and fully one-third of the Republican vote.  so, gun owners 

made a significant difference is this election, and regardless of whether 

it is generally admitted elsewhere, sent a clear message to politicians 

and the media. (THE WASHINGTON POST put te GOP figure at 35%.)



	Most of those in San Antonio had "Remembered the Alamo" and made 

their principled stand--but with much happier results.



	Sue King, Executive Director of the Women's Shooting Sports 

Foundation and a member of the Board of the National Rifle Association, 

was one of the speakers.  (This was Sue's first appearance at the LTC.  

And, not withstanding her harrowing Friday evening drive with me in 

search of food, I hope not her last.)



	When Sue spoke Sunday morning she told the audience that it was 

women who had marched in Austin for a fair concealed carry bill in Texas 

last year, a woman who sponsored the bill...and a woman governor who 

defeated it.  With a newly elected governor who has in Sue's words, 

"looked me in the eye and told me he'd support it," fired up activists, 

including a lot of Texas women as committed as Sue, I'd rate the chances 

of a concealed carry law in Texas next year as very, very good.



	Not even a week after the elections, gun owners were already 

looking forward, weighing options, deciding strategies, all with the 

knowledge that they held the means to create their own destiny.



	In the 15 or so years I've been involved in this business, it may 

have been the first time I had seen gun owners totally on the offensive.



	As proud as Texans are of their fighting spirit, I suspect they 

are not the only ones ready, willing and, at long last, able to draw 

lines in the sand over their civil rights.  Craig Peterson of New 

Hampshire was in San Antonio, and he was already talking about the 1996 

presidential elections that kick off in his state.  Indeed, presidential 

candidates already seem to be lining the electronic highway, many of them 

with tickets to Manchester and Nashua in their hands.  I'm sure gun 

owners in Iowa and other states where there are early primaries and 

caucuses are similarly energized.  Just as I'm sure there are states in 

which gun owners new see a chance to staunch the hemorrhaging of their 

rights at the state and local level.



	It remains to be seen what will happen on the federal level.  The 

day after the elections, President Clinton drew his own line in the sand, 

saying he would work with Republicans a\on almost every issue, the 

semi-automatic firearms ban (which includes the 10 round magazine 

capacity limit).



	Should the new Congress choose to do so, they may challenge the 

President directly on any of these issues, but the President retains the 

ability to veto (and, without significant help from Democrats in the 

Senate, as well as every single Republican, a presidential veto is still 

a powerful tool.)



	It does seem unlikely that we will see new anti-gun federal 

legislation in the next two years, but the battle will be pitched over 

recapturing our rights.  We will probably also continue to see the power 

of an anti-gun president at work, through appointments and regulatory fiat.



	Shifts of power in many states will also have a chilling affect 

on new anti-gun legislation, and may aid efforts at the local level to 

take back lost rights, or, in the case of states like Texas, achieve long 

sought after new rights.



	But none of this will happen without continued pressure from the 

constituents of all levels, of politicians--local, state and federal.



	It will not happen unless gun owners keep their eyes on the prize 

and not at just which party is in power.  We should remember that the 

Republican victory of 1994 also included the re-election of anti-gun 

Republicans, like Jack Quinn of New York and the defeat of pro-gun 

Democrats, Like Jolene Unsoeld of Washington State.

	

	Unless gun owners continue to be identifiable as 25% (or more) of 

the electorate, we are doomed to repeat the Alamo scenario without the 

victory of San Jacinto.



	This so-called "off year"--1995--is critical for those concerned 

with their gun rights.  It is in this new year we can deliver on the 

promise of the 1994 elections.



	If you are not refistered to vote, make that your New Year's 

resolution (the only one that's likely to be easy to keep).  If you can 

think o one even remotely plausible excuse not ot be a registered voter, 

stand in front of a mirror and say to your reflection, "People die for 

this right in other countries."



	If you're feeling resolute, or are already registered, make it 

your mission to register at least one other voter with the promise that 

you will accompany this person to the polls in November.



	But being registered to vote is like owning a gun you don't know 

how to sue--it's not going to save you in a critical situation.  You need 

training and determination to save yourself in both personal and 

political gun fights.



	Get involved in local politics and stay involved.  Not every 

candidate will win, and not every candidate will ever have a practical 

application for a position on gun rights the first time he or she is 

elected to office.  But the potential is there--tomorrow's school board 

member or county clerk is 1996's congressional new face; today's governor 

is player in the next round of presidential politics.



	Stay involved, even if it costs you a few hours a week that you 

don't think you have.  If, after a little time invested in your political 

party of choice, you're not seeing the kind of candidates you could 

happily support, run for something yourself.  Maybe not governor first 

time out, but there are plenty of ballot slots that go begging because 

the weaker party doesn't feel it's worth fielding a candidate.  by 

volunteering, you can make it worth it.  do not forget that anti-gunners 

like Rep. Mel Reynolds of Illinois handily won reelection because he was 

literally unopposed--in spite of the fact that he is under investigation 

on some particularly unpleasant sexual charges.



	And don't forget to keep your newly elected representatives from 

forgetting who elected them--and why.



	Stay (or get) involved in gun clubs, state and local gun rights 

groups and the national groups.  Practice voting by filling out your 

ballot for the NRA board of Directors when it comes this spring.  You are 

eligible to vote if you are either a life member or have been an annual 

member for five or more years.  Practice it again by voting for director 

and officers of your club--or better et filling one of those positions 

yourself.



	Don't ever forget that the other side in the gun rights debate 

will be energized by the elections, too.  We have not seen the last of 

the likes of Sarah Brady, Josh Sugarmann and Michael Beard, or those who 

do their legislative bidding.  It's time to draw the line in the sand and 

stand firmly on one side, vowing to defeat those who would try to cross it.



	With good news on the political front, I would expect to 

encounter an upbeat group of manufacturers, wholesalers and dealers in 

Las Vegas at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in January.



	Many of them, despite the record-setting sales generated by 

jittery consumers attempting to outrun bans, have been biting their nails 

with the rest of us wondering, "What next?"



	We should have reports for you in the coming months on what will 

be available to you.  Unable (at least until something is done about the 

magazine capacity limit) to build "bigger," I would expect to encounter a 

lot of "better" from the industry.



	Browning's expected introduction of the Women's Shooting Sports 

Foundation Sporting Clays shotguns (previewed in W & G in November) 

signals continued industry interest in the burgeoning women's marketing.



	We may not see a lot of product designed solely for women, but 

the last few years have shown that manufacturers have not forgotten the 

significance of their women customers.  You'll continue to see 

responsiveness to women gun owners at all levels of the market, and, just 

maybe, pants designed for women hunters.



	But like other arenas, it's up to you to stay in the game.  If 

there are products or services missing, you need to get involved and put 

pressure on manufacturers ot provide what you want.



	Like politicians (and I do not mean to defame any of the fine 

folks in firearms industry) they respond to their constituents demands.



	Similarly, dealers pay attention to their customers 

(constituents)--those who support them and not the person who comes in 

only rarely.



	Lobby both the manufacturers and your local dealers to provide 

those items you'd most like to see, keeping in mind that the dealer cannot 

sell you what hasn't been made, and that the manufacturer won't make what 

he/she can't sell.



	Women have made a big difference in the firearms industry in the 

last ten years and we can continue to do so, by making the most of our 

enfranchisement.





Peggy Tartaro

Executive Editor