Marine Veteran, 2nd Amend Activist, Trucker John Cushman has died
Former Marine, President of a New York gun rights and BOD Member of the NRA, John Cushman was a tireless fighter for the 2nd Amendment. According to an SOF Veteran friend, John was the only one that could reach those NYC downtown.
John L. Cushman founded Sportsmen’s Association for Firearms Education, Inc. (SAFE) in New York State . He created a legal defense fund to fight perceived abuses in handgun licensing laws in lower New York state. He was inducted into New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame in 1998.
One of John’s latest of many messages as President of SAFE:
The single greatest threat to our Constitutional rights to own and use firearms in America is Joe Biden-Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. The single greatest safeguard against his and his parties agenda is an educated and engaged voter in the voting booth, and that is you. “Joe Biden blatantly called the firearm industry ‘the enemy’ from the debate stage. His agenda to restrict the lawful means for Americans to exercise their Second Amendment right is a grave danger to our God-given rights and our civil liberties. All Americans must understand the unconstitutional overreach he would enact to obliterate firearm businesses across America.”
The Biden-Harris gun control agenda would not only prevent law-abiding citizens from owning and using guns in a lawful way but also stamp out firearm retailers and deny their customers the ability to shop online and purchase firearms, which can only be transferred by the retailer to the customer in a face-to-face transaction after a mandatory FBI background check. A Biden-Harris administration would end the online sale of ammunition and all gun parts, eliminating the right Americans have enjoyed since the founding of our nation to make and assemble their own firearm. They claim to support “gun safety” but want to make it difficult if not impossible for gun owners to repair their own firearms. Lastly, Biden and his running mate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) would ration (limit) the exercise of the Second Amendment by restricting law abiding Americans to purchasing just one firearm a month which is National Registration of all firearms by law-abiding citizens. This is a constraint of which has never been considered and would never be tolerated for any individual right contained in the Bill of Rights.
More than 5 million Americans purchased a firearm for the first time in 2020, based on a National Shooting Sports Foundation retailer survey. Fully 40 percent of these new gun owners are women. The largest increase of any demographic is among African-Americans, which skyrocketed 58 percent over 2019. To date, more than 13.8 million background checks have been completed for the sale of a firearm, surpassing 2019’s full-year total of nearly 13.2 million.
We at SAFE Inc. strongly oppose these unconstitutional proposals of the Biden-Harris campaign and encourages all Americans to vote on Election Day to protect their Second Amendment rights. Moreover, we strongly urge all gun owners and future gun owners to support all candidates of the Republican Party because we need to take control of the Congress as well as the US Senate. President Trump absolutely needs to be re-elected so that laws reinforcing the firearms rights of lawful citizens can and will be passed with the full support of the entire Congress and Senate. With a Republican majority of the Congress and US Senate in power we can finally pass laws that restore the rights of citizens such as the right to self defense without having to retreat. Laws can be passed that would indemnify a self defense shooting so that family members of a criminal cannot sue you in a civil court.
Gun Control on All Fronts. From banks that no longer lend money to businesses that manufacture semi-automatic rifles, to the AMA’s latest anti-gun statements, the gun control crowd is using every means possible to spread anti-gun propaganda. Make no mistake about it, the AMA’s latest announcement has the potential to target millions of law-abiding gun owners nationwide. If they can’t succeed through conventional political means, gun controllers will storm into the boardrooms and halls of civil society instead.
Wells Fargo Bank refuses to bend to teachers union’s anti-gun demands. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions, urged Wells Fargo to cut all ties with the National Rifle Association and all other gun clients with which the bank is affiliated. “We are heartened by the many companies and corporate leaders that have taken steps to end this gun epidemic and promote gun safety measures,” AFT president Randi Weingarten wrote in a letter to Wells Fargo CEO, Timothy Sloan. “We applaud the firms that have reversed their policies around gun sales and military-style assault weapons since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that stole 17 lives. “We hope Wells Fargo will consider such measures,” Weingarten continued. “We were alarmed to read in multiple media reports that your bank ‘has been the largest backer, by far, of two of the biggest publicly traded gun companies in the U.S.’ and has provided financial support for the National Rifle Association.”
However, Sloan didn’t budge, but responded to Weingarten in a letter, saying, “We believe that the best way to make progress on the complex issues concerning gun violence is through the political and legislative process in which all citizens have the opportunity to participate.”
Wells Fargo evaluates the bank’s relationships with gun manufacturers to ensure each company adheres to all state and federal laws before accepting them as customers. “When dealing with the safety of our families, children, and other issues of this magnitude, there are no easy or satisfying solutions,” Sloan wrote. “In fact, as I have publicly stated, I do not believe that the American public wants banks to decide which legal products consumers can and cannot buy.”
Wells Fargo helped 1,600 AFT families with home financing in 2017. The bank also raised its Neighborhood LIFT program (down payment assistance) allowable median income to 100 percent for teachers as a way to express gratitude for what they do their communities.
AFT claimed in its letter that NRA leadership “has launched shameful personal attacks on educators and the student survivors of mass shootings.” The union also requested information on the bank’s financial dealings with the NRA, specifically about lines of credit and fees collected from business transactions.
“We’re issuing Wells Fargo an ultimatum,” Weingarten said in a statement. “They can have a mortgage market that includes America’s teachers, or they can continue to do business with the NRA and gun manufacturers. They can’t do both.”
John was a long time friend. The last time we saw him was before the lockdowns. He was proud of being a trucker and being on the road where he was proud to inform those he interacted with of the importance of the 2nd Amendment.. The job took s tough toll on him, on the roads and sitting for hours and days. His back gave out and he suffered, but took his suffering like a tough warrior with his wife always by his side. R.I.P. John