Election Day 2012 is right around the corner - what are YOU doing to ensure Obama is a one-termer?

by Joe DeBergalis

You may think November 6th — Election Day 2012 — is off in the distant future. Maybe you think there's plenty of time before anyone needs to worry about getting that new voter registration card, or that it will be a long while before you need to start educating your friends and family about their pro-gun allies running for office. But Barack Obama and his anti-gun supporters have no such illusions. Since the day after his first victory, his allies have been working to put their man back into office, this time free to attack gun rights without the need to worry about reelection.

On the campaign stump, Obama has heeded the advice of many in his party, who were sick of repeated shellackings from gun owners, and who rightly perceive gun control as toxic to their political fortunes. But a quick glance at his record in the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Senate, as well as his actions as President, make clear to any gun rights supporter the danger of a second term.

Since Obama took office, his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has attempted to ban importation of popular defensive and hunting shotguns, has required multiple sales reporting on ARs and other popular semi-automatic rifles, and has run a deadly gun-smuggling operation with the goal of pushing new gun controls. This, along with a past that includes support for handgun bans, registration and licensing, and microstamping—as well as a promise made to Sarah Brady to pursue gun control "under the radar" — should be enough to send a chill up any gun owner's spine.

That's why the NRA Freedom Action Foundation is continuing the Trigger the Vote Campaign that helped make the 2010 midterm elections a boon for gun owners. Chaired by Chuck Norris and with a forthcoming ad starring NRA board member, actor and former Marine Corps drill instructor R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey, the nonpartisan campaign is aimed at getting as many pro-gun voters as possible registered in time for November 6th. Considering "The Gunny's" experience motivating this nation's finest, along with gun owners' reputation as a powerful voting bloc for swinging elections, nothing short of a major victory for gun rights should be expected.

And we'll need a record effort, because control over the executive branch and its many agencies isn't the only thing at stake this fall. Gun owners also have a chance to build upon a strong pro-gun majority in the House and to work towards a filibuster-proof pro-gun majority in the Senate.

Most vividly illustrating the need for a strong congressional pro-gun voting bloc is H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act. The bill swept through the House this fall with a large bipartisan majority of 272-154, but as history shows, getting through the Senate will be much trickier. Last time the legislation came up for vote in the Senate in July of 2009 it garnered 58 votes, just two votes short of a filibuster proof majority.

Not to be overshadowed are vital statewide elections. Gun rights have been on the march in most states, but hard work from gun owners will be needed for that to continue, and to reverse the anti-gun trend that has gripped states like New York and California. At stake will be the ability to make constructive improvements with Castle Doctrine and Right-to-Carry laws, as well as the ability to fight off attacks on gun rights like the California legislature's increased restrictions on carrying handguns or the New York Assembly's repeated attempts at a microstamping law. Perhaps with enough energy and votes, this could even be the year gun owners correct the national disgrace that is Illinois' complete ban on exercising the right to carry outside your home or business.

Four years of Obama is more than enough for gun rights supporters. To make sure Obama doesn't leave us with a legacy of new gun control, please visit www.triggerthevote.org and the website for NRA's Political Victory Fund, www.NRAPVF.org, to make sure you, your friends and family are registered to vote with plenty of time to spare. And in the coming months stay glued to NRAPVF.org and NRAILA.org for the information you'll need to help motivate others and organize for a victory for gun rights in November.

Joe DeBergalis is an NRA Board of Directors member up for re-election, the 2005 NRA-ILA "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year" award recipient, the vice president of operations of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, NRA-ILA EVC (election volunteer coordinator), regional director of Ted Nugent's United Sportsmen of America, administrator for AR15 forum, NRA certified instructor and a Law Enforcement professional.