John M. Snyder

John M. Snyder (? – October 22, 2017) was a United States gun lobbyist, known to some supporters as "the dean of Washington gun lobbyists."[1][2]

John M. Snyder
Other namesJ. Nicholas Cannon (pseudonym)
OccupationPolitical Lobbyist
Known forCitizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Life

A former seminarian, Snyder held a degree in political science.[3] He began working as a gun lobbyist after eight years working for the National Rifle Association of America (NRA),[4] as editor of American Rifleman magazine.[5] According to Snyder, he registered as a gun lobbyist before the NRA had its own operation lobbying the Capitol.[3] In the early 1970s, he helped to found the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).[3][4][6]

Since 1979, Snyder has sent annual, controversial Christmas cards to the President, Pope, members of Congress, and the U.S. media,[7][4][8] featuring images combining Christian and Christmas-related symbols with guns, which received some media coverage.[7][5][8]

Saint Gabriel Possenti Society
Main article: Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

In 1987, Snyder founded the Saint Gabriel Possenti Society to promote public recognition of Gabriel and to lobby for Gabriel's designation by the Vatican as the "patron saint of hand gunners".[5][9]

According to the society, Gabriel's marksmanship and proficiency with handguns allegedly saved the village of Isola del Gran Sasso from a band of 20 marauding bandits in 1860. This refers to a story mentioned in one biography of the saint,[10]: 93  though the author admitted that some of the accounts in his book were invented to "enliven" the story.[10]: 3  No account of the event is present in any other independently researched biographies. Moreover, in 1860, at the time of the alleged incident, Gabriel was in the later stages of tuberculosis, which would have made such strenuous exercise impossible.[11]: 37 

John McCaslin wrote that presidential candidate Pat Buchanan pledged to Snyder, "when I get to that White House, I'm gonna take that medallion you gave me—the patron saint of hand-gunners, Gabriel Possenti—and I'm gonna hang that in the Oval Office right along with Robert E. Lee's pistol!"[1]

See also

References
  1. McCaslin, John (2004). Inside the Beltway. WND Books. p. 134. ISBN 9781418551698. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  2. "On card, Santa's aim is true". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 2014-12-20. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
  3. Clines, Francis X. (April 7, 1996). "Capitol Sketchbook;Lobbyist Finds Saintly Cause in Gun Control Fight". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.(subscription required)
  4. King, Wayne (December 17, 1987). "Washington Talk: The Gun Lobby; Decking the Halls With Factional Fighting". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015.(subscription required)
  5. Murphy, Tim (February 27, 2013). "The Quest to Make This Lizard-Sniping Italian the Patron Saint of Handguns". Mother Jones. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  6. Dave Workman (October 27, 2017). "Gun Rights Champion John Snyder Passes". thegunmag.com. Second Amendment Foundation. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019.
  7. "Pistol-packin' Santa angers lawmaker". Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Associated Press. December 21, 1979. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  8. "Angels, Santas tote guns and greetings". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. December 23, 1989. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  9. Aaron Schrank (April 10, 2013). "Meet the 'Catholic NRA'". religionnews.com. Religion News Service. Archived from the original on April 22, 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  10. Poage, Godfrey (1977). Son of the Passion: The Story of Gabriel Francis Possenti, the New Patron of Catholic Youth for the Universal Church. St. Paul Editions. ISBN 9780819804587.
  11. Jude Mead, John Carberry (1985). St. Gabriel Passionist: A Youthful Gospel Portrait. Editrice l'eco di S. Gabriele. OCLC 15505231.
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