June Newsletter
MAY WORK PARTY
The rifle and pistol ranges were cleaned up. The target closet on the rifle range was cleaned and organized On the rifle range the steel targets were painted and 2MOA targets were placed at the 500 meter. The burn pile had been moved from the rifle range to the archery range earlier in the week so that did not need to be done.
JUNE WORK PARTY
Weather permitting – work will continue with the parking lot expansion, pistol range prep work, and burning the pile at the archery range.
ANNUAL ELECTIONS
The following nominations were accepted at the May Membership Meeting:
President…………………………John Way
Vice President…………………Bill Henderson
Secretary…………………………Marilyn Smith
Treasurer/Membership…..Earl Agee & Lurlyn Patrick
Member at Large…………….Walt Heller
There will be one more open nomination at the June meeting followed by the election of the new slate of officers.
REQUIRED RANGE ORIENTATION
The Board has approved the required range orientation for ALL new and renewing members. This range orientation will fulfill the requirement needed to maintain our non-profit status and insurance requirements for the coming year.
To assist all members in fulfilling the orientation requirement several classes have been scheduled for the month of June and there will be 23 classes are scheduled for June and, I am sure there will be several in July.
As of this newsletter, 58 people have completed the range orientation. All who complete the course will receive a range orientation completion card good for 5 years.
Classroom space will seat 12 people comfortably so please call or email me with the date/time you will be attending. My cell number is 541-270-0785 and email is newsletter.btrpc@gmail.com.
Why do I need to take this class? Well, first of all the General Membership rules indicate “all members must participate in a range orientation prior to being issued a gate key and using the ranges or facilities of the club.” That is the technical side of this issue. The most important issue is the serious safety issue complaints that were received between September and December. More issues have trickled in since then but it definitely was a rude awaking that steps needed to be taken to ensure the safety of everyone. If you have further questions or concerns, please let me know.
Lurlyn Patrick, Range Orientation Instructor
THE “NEW NORMAL” IN FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
by Garrett O’Leary, Associate Editor, NRA America’s 1st Freedom, posted on May 5, 2022
Just over two years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation and brought with it massive changes to life as we know it. In that time, firearms ownership soared, breaking records in 2020. This trend continued through 2021 to today; in fact, in April more than 1.35 million background checks were conducted for the purchase of a firearm, according to data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
As this trend has now continued for years, this is the “new normal” in firearms sales. The past two years provide “all the evidence needed to know that law-abiding citizens are turning out by the million each month to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” says to Mark Oliva, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) managing director of public affairs.
This April’s total is the third-highest on record, surpassed only by the two years prior. The new statistics show that there is a steady and sustained appetite for lawful firearm ownership in America. April’s figure continues the streak of more than one million background checks for the sale of a firearm for 33 months.
The NSSF-adjusted numbers are calculated by taking the raw number of NICS background checks conducted and subtracting those unlikely to be used in the purchase of a firearm to better reflect the number of Americans embracing this constitutional right.
Indeed, this has come to be a “new normal” as Americans have—and continue to—weather the long-term effects of COVID, as well as the egregious policies and proposals from the Biden administration, to exercise their freedom.