Shooters Committee on Political Education
The Presidents Report
SCOPE has been very active so far in 2010. Many of you joined us in Albany on January 12th for the Sportsmen & Outdoor Recreation Legislative Awareness Day. Gun owners and sportsmen from all over the state came by car and bus load to make their voices heard by the anti-gun legislators in Albany. SCOPE was joined by other organizations; The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, The New York State Conservation Council, The Conservation Alliance of New York, and The Safari Club just to name a few. Some have estimated that over twenty five hundred gun rights activists crowded the well of the Legislative Office Building (or LOB) to hear speakers, headlined by NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, but also including SCOPE president Ken Mathison and NYSPRA president Tom King. I cannot remember that many gun owners in the capitol for a single event. I’m sure it has been a long time since it has happened. Gun owners were certainly heard in Albany that day.
The SCOPE PAC has been very active this year. We have attended fund raising events for several legislators who are supporters of the rights of gun owners in New York, including Senator William Stachowski and Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, both of whom shared our legislator of the year award in 2009. We also supported legislators who are active SCOPE members such as Assemblyman Jack Quinn and Senator Dale Volker and solid Second Amendment supporters such as Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and Senator Michael Ransenhofer. The SCOPE Political Action Committee allows us to support the people who support the rights and interests of our members. SCOPE member dues cannot by law be used for these purposes, only donations to the SCOPE PAC. You can help support pro-gun legislators by donating to the SCOPE PAC. Send your donations to SCOPE PAC, PO Box PO Box 12711, Rochester NY 14612.
In addition to serving as the new president of SCOPE I have been working as the chairman of the Firearms and Ammunition Committee for the New York State Conservation Council (NYSCC). SCOPE has been an active contributing member of the council for a number of years now and NYSCC members and representatives look to SCOPE for leadership on gun related issues and legislation. The NYSCC committee meetings were held at Herkimer Community College on March 13th. The meetings were primarily to review and consider positions for NYSCC resolutions. SCOPE Legislative Director William Gibson also serves on the committee.
The NYSCC committee business being completed I continued on to Albany and spent several days meeting with members of the New York State Senate. Our legislative director has produced a comprehensive document detailing SCOPE’s position on most of the pending gun related legislation. These position papers were printed and mailed to every member of the New York State Senate. During my visit I reviewed our positions with influential members of the senate and provided their offices with complete package that contained both printed and electronic copies of all of our official position papers. These position papers are available at the SCOPE web site's Legislative page.
In April we were back in the capitol again to attend the 3rd annual Breakfast for the Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus. This event was sponsored in part by the National Wild Turkey Federation. Assemblywoman Ginny Fields is the Chairwoman of the caucus and under her leadership the caucus has been growing in membership and influence every year. This year’s event was the largest and best attended yet. SCOPE was one of many sportsmen’s organizations present but was credited by more of the speaking senators and assemblymen with raising their awareness, and keeping the gun owners interests at the forefront, than any other organization. SCOPE Chairman of the Board of Directors, Budd Schroeder was repeatedly recognized for his years of service to New York’s gun owners and sportsmen.
In addition to attending the breakfast, we spent two days walking the halls of the capitol building and the legislative office building, visiting law makers to make sure SCOPE members interests are well understood and represented. We were joined in our efforts on Tuesday the fourteenth by advocates from the NYSCC. It was the NYSCC’s annual March on Albany. By coordinating with other organizations we are able to increase our influence in Albany.
We were back in the capitol on April 26th. Myself, Legislative Director Bill Gibson, Erie County Chapter Chairman Gerry Cumbo, and Budd Schroeder met with the Assembly Minority Conference to brief them and prepare them to debate against the anti-gun bills we expect to see sent to the floor to be passed in the assembly. One of these bills has since passed. A6468C is the micro stamping bill. It is now in the senate codes committee as S6005A. Contact your senators and ask them to oppose this bill.
We remained in Albany overnight and were back at the capitol the new morning to meet with more legislators including Assemblyman Steve Hawley. I joined Steve for a taping of an interview on “Assembly Calendar”. The show has been copied to YouTube and can be seen on our SCOPE Facebook page. By the way if you haven’t joined yet our Facebook page is a great way to keep up to date and network with other gun owners and SCOPE members.
May has also been a very busy month, another trip to Albany for more legislative visits and a full days training class for the Legislative Retrieval System, a computer access system that allows us to better track bills and proposed laws. After that it was down to Charlotte North Carolina for the NRA convention. Somewhere in between all of this I’ve been trying to run a business. It certainly all keeps me very busy.
We are currently working on updating our SCOPEny.org web page. Watch for a newer look and improved functionality coming soon. Another project we have been working on is an e-mail list for instant communication with our members. If we have a valid e-mail address for you then you should have gotten a message from us already. If you haven’t and you want to get our e-mail news an alerts send an e-mail toscope.newyork@gmail.com. Include your full name, county, and e-mail address. This list is constantly being updated however at the present time only about one third of our membership is signed up.
It is one of our primary objectives to improve communication with our members and keep them better informed. In the past at times we have not done such a good job of that and some of our members were left wondering what exactly SCOPE is doing for them. Better communication will also improve our grassroots effectiveness and enable us to mobilize our membership to make us that much more effective. Keep informed. Get active and stay active. And the more members we sign up, the more effective we will be. Sign up your family, friends and neighbors. Until next time, keep your powder dry.
Stephen J. Aldstadt, President
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About S.C.O.P.E.
The Shooter’s Committee on Political Education was founded in 1965 by a group of firearms owners in western New York. SCOPE is a civil rights organization focused on the protection and preservation of the right of firearms ownership as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
It does not align itself with any political party nor does it endorse any candidates for elective office. Our function is to counter assaults on the right of firearms ownership. This entails providing legislators and executives with timely and accurate information to support sound decisions.
SCOPE's Mission Statement
SCOPE'S Mission:
SCOPE’s purpose is to maintain the right of individuals to own and use firearms for lawful purposes. Inform members about antigun/gun owner legislation.
Stop antigun/gun owner legislation in New York State. Educate the public on the positive aspects of firearm ownership, and their Second Amendment rights.
What is S.C.O.P.E.
SCOPE is a New York State Not For Profit Volunteer Organization dedicated to the preservation of the Second Amendment Rights for New York Citizens.
SCOPE will oppose, with all its resources, any proposal that is not based on sound technical grounds or that infringes on the rights of firearms owners for the purpose of promoting a political philosophy, advancing a social theory, or as an emotional response and is not based on clear Constitutional grounds.
