Official
NRA Bio
Media Appearances
NJ Bear Hunt
Quotes
Jersey City Gun Ban Defeated!
Lawsuit to Stop Arrests of Armed Travellers
Legal Win
Stings Anti-gun Schools
NH CCW Expanded
MN CCW Restored
Re-Election
Flyer
Home
|
News & Briefs
is the official magazine of the Association of New Jersey Rifle &
Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC). News & Briefs talked with Scott
Bach in 2003, before his first NRA Board election run, to find out more
about his background and plans for serving on the NRA Board:
N&B: How long have you been involved in
shooting activities?
Bach: About 33 years. I was taught to shoot long guns at age 7 by my
father, who was a National Guard Sergeant. In my early twenties, a
friend taught me to shoot handguns in the mountains of Montana. I
decided to buy my first handgun in the 1980's, after an unprovoked
assault on a wooded New Jersey trail by a drunken motorist. Since then I
have become an avid shooter and collector of pistols, rifles and
shotguns.
N&B: How did you become involved in the gun
rights movement?
Bach: It's kind of a personal story. For many years, I was a
"closet" gun owner, living my life below the radar in the
liberal anti-gun mecca of New Jersey. That changed after a profoundly
painful breakup of an extremely serious relationship with a woman who flat out refused to
accept my interest in freedom, firearms, and the Second Amendment. In
relinquishing love in favor of freedom, I realized that freedom was the
higher value in my life, and having paid an ultimate price to uphold
that value, I could no longer remain quietly in the shadows. My
convictions intensified deeply, and I began devoting time to activism
and advancement of the Second Amendment cause in the public arena.
N&B: What sparked your interest in running
for the NRA Board?
Bach: Actually, I was recruited by certain persons in the NRA
leadership. For the past several years I have been attending NRA board
meetings and have served as a member of two NRA committees. I'm already
involved in the organization in a number of ways, so it seemed a natural
transition to move toward board membership. I will continue to serve
whether I'm elected or not.
N&B: What do you see as the most critical
issues facing the NRA today?
Bach: I see four major challenges: (1) winning the cultural war and
changing public perception of NRA and gun owners; (2) defeating anti-gun
legislation and advancing pro-gun legislation; (3) growing membership to much higher levels to insure our future strength; and
(4) promoting firearms ownership and tradition to youth, women and
minorities to insure the future of our cause.
N&B: What can individual Association
members do to help?
Bach: Success does not depend on someone else. It depends on each and
every one of us. Our strength is a large and vocal membership that is
not afraid to stand up and be counted. Ultimately, it is a battle of
will and persistence. We must persist no matter what, and use setbacks
to strengthen our resolve and drive us to greater action. Call your
legislator. Write your newspaper. Talk to your neighbor. Send emails.
Take someone shooting. Get every gun owner and freedom-lover you know to
register to vote. Above all, keep going, no matter what. Truth and
persistence will always prevail in the end.
|
