It's that time of year again! The Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club is excited to welcome new Purdue students, and welcome back old friends. Purdue has a vast wealth of exciting organizations to get involved in, and while you're exploring your options, we entreat you to check out the Rifle and Pistol Club. We've got something to offer everyone, whether you're on the fence about firearms and want to learn more, or you're an experienced competition shooter. We've got the right people, the right gear, and the right environment for you to have a great time becoming a safe, confident shooter.

We know you're busy, so we've got a couple of opportunities over the next few weeks to learn more about the club and get involved:

Boiler Gold Rush - Look for our club table at the BGR sports nights outside the CoRec, Monday Aug. 18th and Tuesday Aug. 19th from 8:00pm - 11:00pm. Bring some questions, some friends, and an open mind!

Callout - Every club has one, but ours is the best. Why? You get to SHOOT! You'll spend an hour learning about the club and firearm safety, then an hour on the range. Bring a pen. There's a whole lot more info on the Callout Page.

NOTE: The callout is listed incorrectly in the Mortar Board. It is in fact Monday the 8th, not Friday the 5th.

We're looking forward to another great year of shooting at Purdue, and we'd like you to be a part of it. If you have any questions, there's a lot of information available on our website, or please feel free to email any of our officers. We'll do our best to answer you quickly and helpfully. If you can't make it to the callout, just show up to any regularly scheduled practice, and we'll get you started then.

BOILER UP!

The 2008-2009 officers have been updated on the officers list page. As always, please feel free to direct your questions and comments about the club to any of the officers on that list. You'll probably get a faster response than if you use the Contact the Club page.

2008-2009 Rifle and Pistol Club Officers
President Diane Barney	Vice President Corey Foster
Treasurer Andrew Lowe	Secretary Daniel Murzyn
Armorer Chris Moreland	Armorer Danny Malone
Armorer Dan Hixson	Webmaster Tom Herbert
Rifle Team Captain Matt Mordasky	Pistol Team Captain Thomas Jordan
Club Advisors
Advisor and Pistol Coach Darren Cooper	Rifle and Pistol Coach Bill Mayor

The club website forums will be unavailable as we work on transitioning to a new version of the software. Thanks for your patience.

Update 2/7/08: The new version isn't mature enough for our purposes yet, so we'll continue to use the old one for the time being. The only change is that new registrants to the forum require the blessing of an admin before they can post; we're sorry for the inconvenience, but the inevitable flood of ads and spam that come with running any community online got to be too much.

PRPC members and any interested parties:

We normally refrain from posting about political issues, or generally anything that could end up being divisive for our members or prospective members. However, an issue has come up that dwarfs quite possibly any issue, past or present, in the struggle over American firearms rights, and we'd like your help.

Text of the 2nd Amendment: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Background: Firearms are illegal in Washington, DC. Someone sued the government for infringing on their 2nd Amendment rights. The government argued that the right to bear arms is a "collective" right, i.e. only applies to the militia (which in modern interpretation effectively means National Guard). Gun owners argued that the 2nd Amendment protects an "individual" right, where "people" in addition to "People" (in the collective, government sense) can keep and bear arms.

The gun owners won. The government appealed to the US Supreme Court. Their decision is pending.

Implications: It should be obvious from the explanation above what's at stake. A ruling in favor of only a collective 2nd amendment right would be an immediate disaster for legal gun ownership in the US - possibly paving the way for stricter firearm regulation, or eventual prohibition in its entirity.

This ruling will be a landmark on the scale of Brown v. Board of Education, unless the Supreme Court cops out on a technicality. They tend to do stuff like that. But if they do render a final decision, it will be a far-reaching legal precedent that could only be overturned by another Supreme Court ruling.

What We're Asking: US Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) has created an online petition in support of the 2nd Amendment (www.savethesecond.com). This isn't some guy sitting on his couch making petitions because he can; this is a US Congressman staking his career on supporting a favorable Supreme Court ruling on an issue with too many technicalities, hard feelings, and rhetoric on each side.

All we ask is that you look over the petition, consider its text, and sign it if you agree.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Welcome back from winter break!

Our spring semester callout will be held Monday, January 14; see the callout page for more details. If you'd like to give shooting sports a try, build on your previous experience, or even compete against other schools, our club is the place to be, and our callout is the best way to get started. All Purdue students are welcome to attend. Bring a friend!

No experience is necessary, and all the equipment is provided. Please bring a pen and money for ammo ($1.50/box of 50).

If you would like to join but can't make it to the callout, don't sweat it. Just show up any Monday night at 7:00 pm sharp for normal practice, and someone will be available to get you started.

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We're also looking to fill three officer positions for the second semester:
Secretary
2 Armorers

If you're an existing member, or even a motivated new member with the time, desire, and ambition to serve the club in a greater capacity, then we need your help! No former officer experience is needed; we'll train you! Cautious, safety-minded confidence in handling/servicing firearms is a huge plus in a potential armorer. If you're interested in any of these positions, talk to an officer at the callout.