Gun Owners Alliance The R E S T of the Story! "A no-compromise Gun Lobby for the Nation!"

There has been a serious development in the relationship between our Council and the NRA. In late September, we received a letter from the Sacramento office of the NRA terminating our status as an NRA representative. The given reason was that the past presidents have refused to sign the bylaws required by the NRA. I immediately responded to the letter, by fax and mail, explaining that we have a new president and board and quested a copy of the latest bylaws so we can review and discuss them. That was sent six weeks ago, and we have received no response. Larry Rankin, past president, sent a letter to Jim Baker, the new head of the ILA, detailing the communication with Sacramento and requesting a copy of the bylaws. At this date we have received no response from him either.

I have sent a letter to Mr. Baker, requesting a copy of the bylaws. In this letter I stated that if we do not receive a response from his office by November 30, that we will consider our relationship with the NRA terminated.

Although we have a dated copy of the bylaws, it has a number of requirements that the past presidents have found unacceptable. Among the objections: ability of the NRA to dismiss any board member for no reason, requires the Council to support only the candidates endorsed by the NRA, and forbids affiliation with any other organization.

It is the considered opinion of many on the Board that the bylaw issue is merely a smoke screen. The real target of this action is former president Larry Rankin. Larry ran for the national board of the NRA this year. He, along with several other candidates, was forced to sue the NRA to force them to abide by their own bylaws and treat the candidates evenly and fairly. You may recall the advertisements in the Hunter and Rifleman that urged the membership not to vote for a list of candidates. It is the height of arrogance for an organization that does not abide by their own bylaws to banish us for not agreeing to them. Furthermore, the Santa Maria Members Council has been given NRA/ILA responsibility for our area and they have not signed the bylaws either!

The Board will make a final decision on this matter at our next meeting, Dec. 2, 1998. It is likely that we will not hear from NRA/ILA, in that case we will have no choice but to become an independent organization. If we do receive an updated copy of the bylaws, we will discuss them and vote on whether to sign them or not.

If we part company with the NRA, there will be minimal changes in the way our organization operates. We have had little contact and even less support from them for quite some time. We will look to become affiliated with other organizations that will not demand the ability to micro-manage our affairs and continue to defend our gun rights on local, state and federal levels.

I ask the membership to understand that we did not quit the NRA, they quit us! We have worked diligently, for over four years, to prevent the anti-gun forces in this area from pushing their agenda through the city and county. We have pushed for the Eddie Eagle program to be adopted in our schools. We supported maintenance of the East Camino Cielo shooting area. We brought "Refuse to be a Victim" to Santa Barbara. Our group supported pro-gun candidates for all elections and sponsored the first Friends of the NRA Banquet in Santa Barbara. Through all of this, our Council has always conducted itself in a responsible and respectable manner, without the interference of big brother NRA. We will always continue to do it, as long as we have the support of the membership.

The Board welcomes your input on this matter. Please don’t hesitate to share your feelings about this or any other matter. Remember, it is your Council. We also ask for suggestions for a new name, if we become independent. I suggest Santa Barbara Gun Owners Alliance.

Contact us by mail at SBNRA, P.O. Box 21353,