Rocky Mountain Gun Owners has paid an $8,450 fine for failing to file spending reports for mailers it sent last year targeting candidates in heated Jefferson County Republican Party primary campaigns.
“I’m afraid many gun-grabbers believe the best way to wipe the Second Amendment off the books is to GUT the First,“ RMGO director Dudley Brown said in a recent fundraising letter peppered with underlined and bold text – hallmarks of an email temper tantrum.
Brown, whose frenzied fundraising strategies drum up millions for RMGO, argues that paying the fine was a necessary evil in his larger strategy – suing the “gun grabbers” in the federal government whom he fears want to create a “national gun registry.”
See, federal courts wouldn’t hear his case until the Colorado case was wrapped up.
He writes in a very long fundraising letter:
[J]ust recently, we were informed that the Courts were flat-out REFUSING to take the case, claiming the charges in Colorado were still “pending.”
In other words, they were just going to sit on their hands until the Colorado state case was resolved!
Of course, seeing that case through would have forced the National Association for Gun Rights to spend months and tens of thousands of dollars. And even if you and I had emerged victorious in the end, it would have had virtually no impact nationally.
With these new so-called “electioneering” restrictions popping up in states all over the country — and even being considered by the FEC ahead of the 2016 presidential race — fighting this out in state court would only drain precious resources… and get us nowhere.
That’s why, just weeks ago, I instructed our attorneys to call the Federal Court’s bluff by paying off the $8,900 in Colorado fines, ending our state-level fight. Then, just days ago, we filed our counter-assault in Federal Court.
As I mentioned, I believe our attorneys’ moves now have the Federal Courts backed into a corner.
I don’t believe the Federal Courts will have any choice but to take our lawsuit. And if I can fully fund it, I’m more confident than ever that you and I could win a major victory.”
The state fine stems from a complaint filed by nonprofit watchdog Colorado Ethics Watch.
“Our success in this case shows once again that bullies will fold if you stand up to them,” said Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro.
Photo Credit: Frankieleon, Creative Commons. Flickr.
