Is CRPA worth joining again?

[jnojr]

I have to join some CMP-approved group for when these 1911s come around, but should it be CRPA? Last I paid attention, it was an old-boys club, then they were supposed to be cleaning up their act, then they tossed one or more CalGunners off of their Board and apparently went back to business as usual. What's the current scoop?

[Flintlock Tom]

I let my CRPA membership expire due to "suckage." I have not seen anything to change my mind.
Join Garand Collectors Association (GCA).
$25 per year, cool magazines and they notify the CMP for you.

[dchang0]

Their Firing Line magazine has gotten a lot better in the last year or so. Somebody there is competent in that regard. It may mean better outreach programs over the long run. Not sure how they're doing in terms of organized political action.

[JDay]

There will be no 1911s at the CMP during this administration. The bill says that the pistols "may be" transferred to the CMP not that they "shall be" transferred.

[readysetgo]

My friends...there has in fact been changes to CRPA in recent years. One of the biggest being the new president. Read some more about that here:

CRPA's New President... C.D. "Chuck" Michel

He responded directly:

Below is my entire letter, which I hope ya'll will read. Thank you to all CGNers who are re-engaging with CRPA. We are already making a lot of progress, and there is a LOT more to come. For example, CRPA is already putting out a lot more from me about what's going on in court, a lot more from Tom Pedersen about whats happening in Sacramento, and a lot more from Rick Travis about what CRPA is doing in the field. We will be posting those reports on CGN too.

I ask all CGNers to please give CRPA another chance as I work with the team to make the CRPA a more powerful RKBA advocate in California. You folks are the digital media masters, so please help us get the message out everywhere!


A Letter from the New CRPA President, C.D. "Chuck" Michel

Dear CRPA Member,

As the new volunteer President of CRPA, I thank you for being a part of the fight for our right to choose to own a gun for sport, hunting, or to defend yourself and your family. CRPA and its Board of Directors, tremendous staff, wonderful volunteers, and good friends at NRA have a renewed energy and are focused on making improvements so CRPA is more efficient and effective. You could feel the energy at the annual Gala. Even Steven Seagal stopped by to show his support!

Our future depends on involving all generations in the fun and challenging shooting sports, and on getting the truth out about the social utility of firearm ownership as a deterrent to crime. Technology has changed the way business is done, and especially the methods of communication. CRPA is now embracing these new technologies whole heartedly, incorporating new technologies into the way we do business daily, and using the social and digital media platforms to refine our message and get it out and counter the distortions of the mainstream media. Subscribe at the CRPA website (or choose the emails you receive at the bottom of this email), and please forward CRPA content on to your friends! “Share” CRPA, and be CRPA’s internet evangelists! Or contact the office, and volunteer!

You should already know that CRPA organizes and sanctions competitive shooting matches for adult and junior shooters, including Olympic training programs and state championships. CRPA is proud that CRPA competitors are among the best in the world. But while the legacy competitive shooting disciplines are a part of CRPA’s proud heritage and should never be abandoned, CRPA must shift more of its focus to new shooter recruitment, training, and getting more shooters out to the kinds of shooting events popular today. This is popular shooting’s future, so CRPA has created two new special committees; the Recreational Shooting committee to put on recreational and tactical shooting events, and the Training and Shooter Recruitment committee to promote new shooter recruitment, along with practical skills training and advancement initiatives for shooters of all levels.

CRPA will continue to work to preserve the traditional role of the citizen in conserving and preserving California’s natural resources through hunting. CRPA works with its own Hunters’ Rights Task Force, other like-minded groups, and coalitions like the Hunt for Truth Association to fight animal-rights extremists whose ultimate goal is to end hunting entirely. Groups like the Humane Society of the United States are pushing the California Fish & Game Commission to adopt their agenda of cutting off access to public lands, closing down shooting areas, and adopting an unbalanced conservation policy that protects predators at the expense of game. We have to stop this!

You know all too well that, especially in California, anti-gun-owner politicians and well-heeled lawyers for the gun ban lobby are working to eliminate your right to choose to own a gun for sport, hunting, or to defend yourself and your family. Anti-self-defense-civil-rights forces are using big money from huge liberal foundations and billionaire Michael Bloomberg to push their agenda in California so they can export it to other states. They are empowered by a sympathetic press that inappropriately demonizes those who choose to own a gun and distorts statistics to hide the fact that guns save lives and have great social utility. Our job gets tougher and tougher, but CRPA and NRA work together as a team in California to fight back.

Through its Sacramento and local legal and political advocates, CRPA works in the state capitol and in city halls throughout California to promote laws that protect these rights, and to oppose laws that infringe on these rights. Through its legal team, which I am proud to lead, CRPA is fighting in the courts to challenge unconstitutional or illegal gun bans and ill-conceived gun control laws, and provides guidance to California gun owners regarding their legal rights and responsibilities. The recent victory for shall issue in the Peruta v Gore case is just one example of CRPA’s efforts working with the NRA. Now we need to hold on to that victory, and to get another Second Amendment case to the Supreme Court so it can confirm that its decisions in the Heller and McDonald cases should be taken seriously by the lower courts.

Freedom isn’t free, unfortunately. So please help us do more to help you. Your CRPA membership and continued donations to CRPA and The CRPA Foundation are obviously critical. We cannot succeed without them. But we are all civil rights activists, so be active too! Read our bulletins and share those messages! Vote and get others to! Contact your legislators! Volunteer! Be a part of the fight! If not you, who?

I’m excited about the opportunity we all have to improve our great organization, and I appreciate your involvement and support.


C.D. “Chuck” Michel
CRPA President and General Counsel

Furthermore, CRPA's excellent lobbyist always gets high regards from every source I've heard it mentioned. This lobbying is critical and worthy of support in itself.

So in my opinion, yes, they deserve our support.

If for some reason you find them not to your liking, consider RWVA and Project Appleseed:

Join the RWVA!

The Revolutionary War Veterans Association is a non-profit service organization devoted to Liberty, the history of April 19, 1775, and the preservation of the America our Founders entrusted to us.

Benefits of joining:

- You help support an organization which helps keep traditional American history alive.
- Put your name in for rifles offered by CMP (like the M1 Garand). But you must be a member of a CMP-affiliated club. RWVA makes it easy with our low-cost Associate Membership.
- As a member of RWVA, you may order M14 & M1 Garand repair parts through the CMP. For a current list of parts, call the CMP Civilian Support Detachment at Port Clinton, OH at (888) 267-0796 or (419) 635-2141, or visit www.odcmp.com.
- Maintain eligibility to order a Garand every year. As a member of RWVA, you will be eligible to participate each year you are a member.
- If you are an RWVA Member you must also attend an Appleseed in order to purchase rifles/parts from the CMP. This is required by CMP as you must show the required marksmanship and safety skills needed to proficiently handle a rifle.
- The RWVA also offers a Range Membership for the North Carolina home range - home of Fred - Appleseed's founder. A range membership is available for $175 by calling 336 465 8178 - just ask for Fred. With a Range Membership you are part of our club's remarkable shooting program, featuring military popup targets out to 500 yards, rapidfire exciting events commemorating historical events in WW1, WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. You are invited to shoot with us - don't laugh - you never know when business or a vacation will bring you to or past our neighborhood at the right time.

Keep the faith!