Freedom’s On Fire!

There’s a raging fire burning in American politics right now, and your Second Amendment-protected right to keep and bear arms is quietly being shredded and used as kindling. Fortunately for all Americans who treasure liberty, there’s a monumental firewall standing tall between the flames of failure and freedom’s future—the 5 million members of the National Rifle Association.  We can shake our heads and watch everything we love about America slip away—including our Second Amendment rights and every other freedom we cherish. Or we can step forward—and shake our fists instead.

After seven years of President Barack Obama in the White House, we now live in a country where our values and heritage are being turned upside down, in a country where political leaders and the media are willing to tell any lie that advances their political agenda. 

Thanks to his refusal to prosecute violent criminals, Obama’s hometown of Chicago is awash in a sea of blood. But instead of putting thugs in jail, Obama points his cowardly finger at gun owners like you and me, who’ve never committed a violent crime and never will. 

When a radical Islamic terrorist killed four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn., last summer—servicemen who were disarmed and defenseless thanks to reckless gun control policies that have turned our military installations into “gun-free zones”—Obama’s billionaire backer Michael Bloomberg launched a campaign to blame honest, law-abiding Americans for this heinous crime.

And within minutes of the tragedy in Charleston, S.C.—where nine worshipers were murdered in church by a deranged, lone racist—Obama’s political machine was cranking out anti-NRA lies and trying to implicate you and me in this heinous crime. 

It’s crazy—and beyond anything we could have imagined a few years ago. Day by day, our country is being hijacked by liars and elites who believe in one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for you and me. 

They send their children to private schools surrounded by armed guards—then call me “crazy” when I demand the same protections for every other kid in this country. They send thousands of guns to Mexican drug lords—then blame the NRA and the Second Amendment when their irresponsible actions result in hundreds of deaths. They turn a blind eye to violent gangs who terrorize our cities with no fear of the police—then persecute honest citizens who defend their own lives.

Our news anchors lie to millions night after night, but decent people are afraid to speak their minds for fear of persecution from Obama’s weaponized IRS and other government agencies. And every horrific crime is another opportunity for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to tell more lies and point their fingers at the innocent. 

Everywhere I go, I hear good people telling me that our country is falling apart. That we’re losing our way of life. That Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wouldn’t begin to recognize this country today. Now, the future of everything we love about this country comes down to the outcome of one single election—and one choice that you and I must make today. Back in 1994, Michael Bloomberg wasn’t even a billionaire. Now, his personal fortune totals more than all the membership dues NRA has taken in over the past 144 years.

We can shake our heads and watch everything we love about America slip away—including our Second Amendment rights and every other freedom we cherish. Or we can step forward—and shake our fists instead.

If we make a commitment together to stand and fight and win right now, we can be the ones who decide the outcome of this presidential election—not Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or Michael Bloomberg. 

We’ve played the deciding role in presidential elections before. We have the track record. And if we can get them to the polls, we have the votes—with more than 50 million gun owners in the key battleground states where this presidential election will be won or lost. 

The moment you and I win the White House next year is the moment we can start taking our country back from those who want to regiment our lives and tell us how to think and feel. 

But it’s going to take a huge commitment from top NRA members like you—starting with your decision to extend your annual membership today, or upgrade your Life, Patron, Endowment or Benefactor membership to the next level of our leadership ranks. 

That brings me to an important point: Today I need to announce an important decision to you and to every NRA member. I’ve put it off for as long as I can, and it’s not a decision I’ve made lightly. But it’s the right decision for the NRA, and for the long-term survival of our freedoms. 

As of Jan. 1, 2016, we will be increasing NRA dues for the first time in more than 20 years. Our one-year dues rate will increase to $40 from $35, and the price of our multi-year memberships and Life, Endowment, Patron and Benefactor memberships will increase as well. 

Since taking the helm of NRA more than 20 years ago, I’ve always tried to stretch every NRA membership dollar as far as it will go. But not only have NRA dues dollars been deeply eroded by inflation for more than 20 years, but we now have to fight 24/7—on far more fronts than before—against enemies with deeper pockets than we’ve ever faced.

When we last increased dues back in 1994, most Americans still got their TV news from the “big three” networks. Now, we have no choice but to answer daily and nightly attacks from a dozen separate news channels around the clock. 

In 1994, most Americans had never even heard of the Internet. Now, politicians like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton can use the Internet to spread their anti-gun lies like wildfire in a matter of minutes—or instantly spin new attacks via email, Facebook and Twitter. None of us can win this election alone—but one by one by one we can and will make the difference.

Back in 1994, Michael Bloomberg wasn’t even a billionaire. Now, his personal fortune totals more than all the membership dues NRA has taken in over the past 144 years, and he could spend hundreds of millions of dollars in this presidential campaign to put Hillary Clinton over the top. 

And it takes far more money and effort to make our message heard at election time. In fact, House and Senate campaigns now cost three times what they did 20 years ago—and presidential campaign spending has increased five-fold. 

The bottom line is that, without this dues increase, we won’t be able to compete in the election a year from now, which will be the most expensive in American history and that could be the final defeat for the Second Amendment and every freedom we cherish. 

But before this increase goes into effect, I want you and my most loyal friends to have one more opportunity to extend your membership at the same discount rates we offered you at this time last year. If you’re an annual member, you can extend your membership for one, two, three or even five years—all at special prices that will never be repeated. And if you’re a Life, Endowment, Patron or Benefactor member, this is your chance to upgrade your membership to the next level at the lowest dues rates we’ve offered in years. 

To take advantage of the special offers we’ve reserved especially for you, simply click here and log in with your membership number from the mailing label on this magazine. No matter which of our discount offers you select, you’ll also receive a commemorative gift from NRA as a reminder of your role in saving freedom in the do-or-die elections one year from now. 

Please do it now. These special discounts and gift offers will expire at midnight Dec. 31, and our new rates will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2016. But even more importantly, NRA needs your help now to save our freedom, save our country and save our way of life. 

I’m asking you not to sit this one out. I need you to be with me on the tip of the spear by continuing your NRA support right now. None of us can win this election alone—but one by one by one we can and will make the difference. 

This is our fight. Our time. This is the moment when good people like you need to take the future into your own hands. We can take our country back. We can keep our guns. And we can keep our freedoms and the sacred right to defend our own lives. 

It starts with your decision to renew your membership or upgrade your membership today. Only NRA can protect your right to protect yourself. Only NRA can turn the tide against gun-banners who want to turn our country into a nanny state where only the government and criminals are allowed to have guns.

And you can make a difference—as well as lock in a great membership rate before the NRA dues increase on Jan. 1—by visiting NRA2016.org today. Thank you in advance for standing with me in the most important battle for freedom we’ll ever fight!