NRA Leaders
Member Profile
John Sigler
Board Member
Biography
John Sigler served as the president of the National Rifle Association—which he has called “the most mainstream group in American culture today”—from 2007 to 2009. After leaving the NRA, Sigler became chairman of the Republican State Committee of Delaware. He is also a director with the Fifty Caliber Institute, an organization that attempts to downplay the danger posed to the public by civilian access to .50 caliber sniper rifles (a weapon invented by fellow NRA board member Ronnie G. Barrett). While the Fifty Caliber Institute claims that the organization is “helping to make our streets and nation safer,” the gun that the organization promotes has been criticized by many—including members of law enforcement—as a weapon too dangerous for civilian use. John C. Killorin, a former special agent in charge of the Atlanta field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), called the .50 caliber sniper rifle “a devastatingly powerful weapon against which most troops, most law enforcement, no civilians, have any means of defense.” Additionally, in 2005, U.S. Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) and 28 cosponsors introduced legislation that would have placed stricter regulations on .50 caliber sniper rifles by placing them in the same federal regulatory class as machine guns. The 50 Caliber Sniper Rifle Reduction Act found that, “The intended use of these long-range firearms…is the taking of human life and the destruction of materiel, including armored vehicles and such components of the national critical infrastructure as radars and microwave transmission devices, in addition 50 caliber sniper weapons pose a significant threat to civil aviation in that they are capable of destroying or disabling jet aircraft … The virtually unrestricted availability of these firearms and ammunition, given the uses intended in their design and manufacture, present a serious and substantial threat to the national security.” Prior to working for the NRA, Sigler had a career in law enforcement and the United States Navy.
All Statements (14 total)
- The group Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) filmed Sigler shooting live pigeons (which were launched from boxes) at the Philadelphia Gun Club in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Some of the birds that were not killed outright fell into the icy Delaware River, where they drowned. When Sigler spoke about "ethics" at a Delaware Firearms Law Seminar hosted by the Delaware Association of Second Amendment Lawyers on September 30, 2015, a SHARK activist, Stuart Chaifetz, attended and asked him about his killing of the birds. Sigler physically confronted Chaifetz and removed him from the room.
2015-09-30
- On August 27, 2012, Sigler spoke to NRA News host Ginny Simone from the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Sigler was serving on the Platform Committee at the convention and praised the language on firearms that was being developed. According to Sigler, the Republican plank at that point read as follows: "We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a right which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amendment. We acknowledge, support and defend the law-abiding citizens' God-given right of self-defense." Sigler added, "The support within the Republican Party, as represented by the 116 members of the Platform Committee, in their votes—you didn't hear anybody doing anything during the debates but upholding the Second Amendment and trying to make this statement stronger." Sigler told Simone that everything he wanted was included in the GOP statement on the Second Amendment. Sigler then endorsed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election, stating, "The Republican Party of today is not your grandfather's Republican Party ... It's a party dedicated to doing the right thing in restoring America to being first place in the world. We can argue, 'Yeah, we're still in first place.' Well, tell that to the Chinese ... This President has done so much damage to this country...all across the board ... We cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama."
2012-08-27
On November 8, 2011 Sigler, in his capacity as chair of the Delaware GOP, issued a statement about the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, which address increasing income disparity in America. Sigler was unhappy that the city of Wilmington, Delaware granted permits to protestors, writing, “I am very disappointed, but not surprised, that the City of Wilmington has allowed this so-called ‘occupation’ to go forward.” Additionally, Sigler claimed that the Occupy protest movement is tied to “selected radical and extremist causes, and certain left-wing organizations of questionable credentials.”
2012-08-27
On September 25, 2011, Sigler attended and spoke at a “Take Back Our State Event” hosted by controversial Delaware radio personality Bill Colley. Three days before the event, Colley published an op-ed on the WGMD website—which was cross-posted on the hate website Aryan Nation—in which he compared death penalty opponents to “the liberal women of another generation who believed crawling into bed with exotic peoples was mission work. It wasn’t necessarily because you believed in equality; it was because it was the liberal version of White Man’s Burden. Heck, Dr. Stanley Ann Dunham [President Barack Obama’s mother] traveled the globe linking up with ‘savages’ and civilizing them in the sack! Her efforts even created a President of the United States.” He added, “I’m exhausted with the lists of hyphenated Americans and the people insisting they deserve a reparations payment because 200 years ago, 300 years ago, 400 years ago a guy who looked like me was mean to someone who looked like them. Where does it end? You want a reparations cheque? Fine, we’ll issue it in the form of airline tickets. We’ll send you off to a peaceful ancestral home. Much of the planet remains a lawless killing ground. You won’t even have juries and appeals. Some night when you’re sleeping a fellow looking a lot like you will creep across the compound and hack you to bits with a machete. Why? Because some warlord promised an extra ration of bush meat or some jewels or first dibs on the surviving 8 year old female children and it’s the law in most corners of the world.” Colley also Tweeted that African-Americans would be lynched and homosexuals would be burned at the event. The Delaware Liberal wrote that Sigler’s attendance—in his capacity as the chair of Delaware GOP—gave an air of legitimacy to a “racist” event.
2012-08-27
During an interview with NRA News at the 2011 NRA annual meeting, Sigler said, “Our education system in this country is not [teaching children to become informed voters.] Our parents need to do that. That’s one of the things that the NRA does really well, without getting into partisan politics, but just educating as to the history of this country, and what it is that we as citizens have a responsibility—not just a right to do, but a responsibility to do.”
2012-08-27
In 2011, Sigler warned that there is a widespread effort amongst Democrats to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with the
popular vote. Sigler warned that using the popular vote to elect U.S. presidents “would lead to rule by tyranny.”2012-08-27
Sigler spoke to NRA News on September 30, 2010 in support of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010, a bill that increased the concealed carry privileges of retired law enforcement officers. He imagined a hypothetical scenario where, “If I have the right to carry, not just in my home state, but while I’m traveling, I could, if I needed to, stop that terrorist attack.” When asked if he had encountered any real-life situations where he wished he was carrying a concealed firearm, Sigler answered, “Probably about three or four months ago, I was coming around the corner, I had just come out of a store and was walking down the street, and ran face to face into a guy that I thought was still in jail. He posed no threat to me. But it came as a surprise. And guess where my hand went first thing? And it wasn’t there.” Speaking on the immigration issue, Sigler said, “It’s ridiculous. Every day that passes these folks down there find more and more reasons to hate America, when in fact they should be glad we’re north of their border.”
2012-08-27
In a September 18, 2010 appearance on “NRA News,” Sigler said, “You and I both know there are only two reasons to register [private firearms]: one is to confiscate and the other is to tax.”
2012-08-27
In the June 2009 edition of America’s 1st Freedom, Sigler wrote, “American firearm freedom is under attack on many fronts. Obama, Biden, Holder, Clinton Pelosi, Feinstein and other federal officials have evil designs on that freedom … They are all biding their time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike—and strike they will, unless we are united and prepared.”
2012-08-27
At a Second Amendment rights rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2009, Sigler proclaimed, “Gun registration leads to gun confiscation, as surely as thunder follows lightning.”
2012-08-27
In the October 2008 edition of America’s 1st Freedom, Sigler told hunters, “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Humane Society of the United States and other anti-hunting groups nationwide are working to kill off your traditions forever.”
2012-08-27
Sigler’s first “President’s Column” in the NRA’s America’s 1st Freedom magazine in May 2008 quoted from the opening lines of The American Crisis, a Thomas Paine work read to the Continental Army before the Battle of Trenton to encourage resistance against the British. Sigler compared Paine’s call for the Continental Army to oppose the tyrannical British monarchy to the need for NRA members to oppose the federal government, writing, “Right now, storm fronts are advancing within all three branches of government—executive, legislative and judicial—and threatening to combine into a catastrophe for your Second Amendment freedom.”
2012-08-27
In an August 2006 column for America’s 1st Freedom, Sigler suggested that America was heading towards “the old European model, where police power answer to ‘the crown,’ and where the people often live in fear of criminals on one side and government officials on the other.” He also asked NRA members to demand that their local law enforcement officials sign a pledge swearing that they will never participate in firearm confiscation campaigns.
2012-08-27
On August 25, 2012, in an interview for Delaware Online, Sigler stated, “A supermajority of Democrats in the [Delaware] House and Senate have made it very difficult in some of those races for any Republican, or any person, to logically believe they could win.” He also accused the General Assembly’s Democratic leadership of using the legislative redistricting process that followed the 2010 U.S. Census to pad registration numbers in their incumbent districts, stating, “That’s called gerrymandering. I would be very concerned if a Republican candidate came to me and said ‘I can win in that district despite 70 percent registration against me.’”
2012-08-27
Statements by Category (14 total)
Sources [1]
Sources [1]
Sources [1]
Sources [1]
On November 8, 2011 Sigler, in his capacity as chair of the Delaware GOP, issued a statement about the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, which address increasing income disparity in America. Sigler was unhappy that the city of Wilmington, Delaware granted permits to protestors, writing, “I am very disappointed, but not surprised, that the City of Wilmington has allowed this so-called ‘occupation’ to go forward.” Additionally, Sigler claimed that the Occupy protest movement is tied to “selected radical and extremist causes, and certain left-wing organizations of questionable credentials.”
On November 8, 2011 Sigler, in his capacity as chair of the Delaware GOP, issued a statement about the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, which address increasing income disparity in America. Sigler was unhappy that the city of Wilmington, Delaware granted permits to protestors, writing, “I am very disappointed, but not surprised, that the City of Wilmington has allowed this so-called ‘occupation’ to go forward.” Additionally, Sigler claimed that the Occupy protest movement is tied to “selected radical and extremist causes, and certain left-wing organizations of questionable credentials.”
On September 25, 2011, Sigler attended and spoke at a “Take Back Our State Event” hosted by controversial Delaware radio personality Bill Colley. Three days before the event, Colley published an op-ed on the WGMD website—which was cross-posted on the hate website Aryan Nation—in which he compared death penalty opponents to “the liberal women of another generation who believed crawling into bed with exotic peoples was mission work. It wasn’t necessarily because you believed in equality; it was because it was the liberal version of White Man’s Burden. Heck, Dr. Stanley Ann Dunham [President Barack Obama’s mother] traveled the globe linking up with ‘savages’ and civilizing them in the sack! Her efforts even created a President of the United States.” He added, “I’m exhausted with the lists of hyphenated Americans and the people insisting they deserve a reparations payment because 200 years ago, 300 years ago, 400 years ago a guy who looked like me was mean to someone who looked like them. Where does it end? You want a reparations cheque? Fine, we’ll issue it in the form of airline tickets. We’ll send you off to a peaceful ancestral home. Much of the planet remains a lawless killing ground. You won’t even have juries and appeals. Some night when you’re sleeping a fellow looking a lot like you will creep across the compound and hack you to bits with a machete. Why? Because some warlord promised an extra ration of bush meat or some jewels or first dibs on the surviving 8 year old female children and it’s the law in most corners of the world.” Colley also Tweeted that African-Americans would be lynched and homosexuals would be burned at the event. The Delaware Liberal wrote that Sigler’s attendance—in his capacity as the chair of Delaware GOP—gave an air of legitimacy to a “racist” event.
During an interview with NRA News at the 2011 NRA annual meeting, Sigler said, “Our education system in this country is not [teaching children to become informed voters.] Our parents need to do that. That’s one of the things that the NRA does really well, without getting into partisan politics, but just educating as to the history of this country, and what it is that we as citizens have a responsibility—not just a right to do, but a responsibility to do.”
Sources [1]
In 2011, Sigler warned that there is a widespread effort amongst Democrats to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with the
popular vote. Sigler warned that using the popular vote to elect U.S. presidents “would lead to rule by tyranny.”
Sources [1]
Sigler spoke to NRA News on September 30, 2010 in support of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010, a bill that increased the concealed carry privileges of retired law enforcement officers. He imagined a hypothetical scenario where, “If I have the right to carry, not just in my home state, but while I’m traveling, I could, if I needed to, stop that terrorist attack.” When asked if he had encountered any real-life situations where he wished he was carrying a concealed firearm, Sigler answered, “Probably about three or four months ago, I was coming around the corner, I had just come out of a store and was walking down the street, and ran face to face into a guy that I thought was still in jail. He posed no threat to me. But it came as a surprise. And guess where my hand went first thing? And it wasn’t there.” Speaking on the immigration issue, Sigler said, “It’s ridiculous. Every day that passes these folks down there find more and more reasons to hate America, when in fact they should be glad we’re north of their border.”
Sigler spoke to NRA News on September 30, 2010 in support of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010, a bill that increased the concealed carry privileges of retired law enforcement officers. He imagined a hypothetical scenario where, “If I have the right to carry, not just in my home state, but while I’m traveling, I could, if I needed to, stop that terrorist attack.” When asked if he had encountered any real-life situations where he wished he was carrying a concealed firearm, Sigler answered, “Probably about three or four months ago, I was coming around the corner, I had just come out of a store and was walking down the street, and ran face to face into a guy that I thought was still in jail. He posed no threat to me. But it came as a surprise. And guess where my hand went first thing? And it wasn’t there.” Speaking on the immigration issue, Sigler said, “It’s ridiculous. Every day that passes these folks down there find more and more reasons to hate America, when in fact they should be glad we’re north of their border.”
In a September 18, 2010 appearance on “NRA News,” Sigler said, “You and I both know there are only two reasons to register [private firearms]: one is to confiscate and the other is to tax.”
Sources [1]
In the June 2009 edition of America’s 1st Freedom, Sigler wrote, “American firearm freedom is under attack on many fronts. Obama, Biden, Holder, Clinton Pelosi, Feinstein and other federal officials have evil designs on that freedom … They are all biding their time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike—and strike they will, unless we are united and prepared.”
Sources
At a Second Amendment rights rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2009, Sigler proclaimed, “Gun registration leads to gun confiscation, as surely as thunder follows lightning.”
Sources [1]
In the October 2008 edition of America’s 1st Freedom, Sigler told hunters, “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Humane Society of the United States and other anti-hunting groups nationwide are working to kill off your traditions forever.”
Sources
Sigler’s first “President’s Column” in the NRA’s America’s 1st Freedom magazine in May 2008 quoted from the opening lines of The American Crisis, a Thomas Paine work read to the Continental Army before the Battle of Trenton to encourage resistance against the British. Sigler compared Paine’s call for the Continental Army to oppose the tyrannical British monarchy to the need for NRA members to oppose the federal government, writing, “Right now, storm fronts are advancing within all three branches of government—executive, legislative and judicial—and threatening to combine into a catastrophe for your Second Amendment freedom.”
Sources
In an August 2006 column for America’s 1st Freedom, Sigler suggested that America was heading towards “the old European model, where police power answer to ‘the crown,’ and where the people often live in fear of criminals on one side and government officials on the other.” He also asked NRA members to demand that their local law enforcement officials sign a pledge swearing that they will never participate in firearm confiscation campaigns.
Sources [1]
On August 25, 2012, in an interview for Delaware Online, Sigler stated, “A supermajority of Democrats in the [Delaware] House and Senate have made it very difficult in some of those races for any Republican, or any person, to logically believe they could win.” He also accused the General Assembly’s Democratic leadership of using the legislative redistricting process that followed the 2010 U.S. Census to pad registration numbers in their incumbent districts, stating, “That’s called gerrymandering. I would be very concerned if a Republican candidate came to me and said ‘I can win in that district despite 70 percent registration against me.’”