new email alerts for 2005
some archive mail below
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(Thursday, September 6, 2001) -- They're baaack!
Yes, the Congress is back, and our liberties are under
fire once
again.
You will remember that in July, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)
offered an
amendment to force the FBI to keep gun buyers names for
at least 90
days. After you guys contacted your Representatives, the
Moran
amendment failed miserably by a vote of 268-161.
Now, Mr. Anti-Freedom himself -- Democratic Senator Chuck
Schumer of
New York -- wants to require the FBI to register gun buyers.
Attorney General John Ashcroft recently reduced the registration
period to 24 hours, but Schumer & Co. want to ratchet
that time
period back up to at least 90 days. Sen. Schumer is reportedly
looking to offer his amendment to the Senate's
Commerce-Justice-State budget bill (S. 1215).
Gun owners should ask their Senators to vote AGAINST the
Schumer
amendment. Obviously, the best answer would be for Congress
to
repeal the unconstitutional Brady registration law. Short
of that,
Congress should enact the original Smith amendment which
passed the
Senate by a 69-31 vote in 1998.
The Smith language calls for the "immediate destruction"
of ANY and
ALL information that might help identify lawful gun buyers.
Moreover, the bill specifically authorizes private individuals
to
sue the FBI for registering gun owners and specifically
offers to
compensate them for legal fees when they sue the FBI.
ACTION: While the Senate could vote as early as today
on this
amendment, it probably will not get to it until at least
next
Tuesday. Please use the prewritten text below to help direct
your
comments to your Senators. You can call your Senators at
202-224-3121. To identify your Senators, as well as to
send a
message via e-mail, see the Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA website.
----- Pre-written message -----
Dear Senator:
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is planning to offer an amendment
forcing the FBI to violate the privacy of thousands upon
thousands
of law-abiding Americans. The Senator wants the FBI to
keep the
names of decent gun buyers for at least 90 days.
I urge you to oppose this amendment should Sen. Schumer
offer it to
the Commerce-Justice-State bill (S. 1215).
I think the Senate should reenact the Smith amendment
from 1998 --
an amendment which passed by a 69-31 vote. His language
required
the "immediate destruction" of ANY and ALL information
that might
help identify lawful gun buyers.
Gun Owners of America will be keeping me updated on this issue.
____________________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 13, 2001) -- The House of Representatives
shot down
the Incumbent Protection Bill yesterday by a vote of 228-203.
Victory came from a surprising corner of the House... from
the
supporters of the bill itself! Nineteen Republicans joined
209
disgruntled Democrats who could not agree on the rules
for debating
the anti-gun legislation.
The supporters couldn't agree on the rules because they
couldn't
agree on the specifics in the bill.
According to the Associated Press this morning, the Republican
leadership crafted a rule for debate that would force "separate
votes on killing a dozen late-hour changes" that the
sponsors of the
bill wanted to incorporate. The sponsors had asked that
the package
of changes be considered as a whole.
Democrats were furious with the terms of debate, so they
voted to
sink their own bill. But there's even more good news. As
stated by
Salon magazine yesterday, the math on this bill shows the
anti-freedom forces have been losing a war of attrition
over the
years: "On the other side of the aisle, 54 Republicans
supported
the bill in 1999, and 61 in 1998." But yesterday,
only 19
Republicans supported the Incumbent Protection Bill, a
total
decrease of almost 70 percent in three years.
"This victory should encourage gun owners,"
said GOA Executive
Director Larry Pratt. "Your activism is important.
It does make a
difference, and our rights would be in greater jeopardy
if you
remained silent."
The Incumbent Protection Bill would squelch the ability
of groups
like GOA to report on a candidate's record during a campaign.
The
anti-gun bill has now been put off indefinitely, and House
Speaker
Dennis Hastert (R) said he had no plans to bring up Incumbent
Protection in the near future. Hill watchers predict the
bill could
be dead for the legislative session. Although House Minority
Leader
Dick Gephardt (D) says he might turn to a discharge petition
which
would force the Incumbent Protection Bill to the floor
for a vote if
Representatives can garner 218 signatures.
Please stay tuned. GOA will keep you abreast on further
developments with this anti-gun legislation.
___________________________________________________________-
August 7, 2001
Dear GOA members and supporters,
Even before all the redistricting opportunities arrive
next year,
gun owners have the chance now to pick up a true pro-gun
leader in
the House of Representatives.
President Bush has appointed Arkansas Rep. Asa Hutchinson
to head up
the Drug Enforcement Agency. There will be a special election
in
early October to fill the vacancy he leaves in the U.S.
House of
Representatives.
Arkansas state Senator Gunner DeLay (a cousin of U.S.
House Majority
Whip Tom DeLay of Texas) has announced his candidacy to
fill the
vacancy left by Hutchinson.
Sen. DeLay has a proven record of standing up for the rights
of gun
owners in the Arkansas Senate. He twice has voted for concealed
carry of handguns for Arkansans. One of those votes was
to remove a
gun free zone from the law that, of course, only made it
safe for
criminals in parks and restaurants, not for parents concerned
about
protecting their children.
DeLay also filled out his GOA candidate questionnaire
100%
correctly.
Amazingly, former state Rep. Jim Hendren, another candidate
in the
race, actually voted against concealed carry, and for criminal
safe
zones. Not surprisingly, he has refused to send in his
GOA
questionnaire.
There is a very clear difference between these two legislators
based
on their records.
The differences are even clearer now that the campaign
has gotten
under way. In defending his vote for criminal safe zones
in
restaurants, Hendren said, "Alcohol and firearms don't
mix." No
matter to Hendren that in the states that permit such concealed
carry, there is no problem of concealed carry permittee
shootouts in
restaurants.
Gun owner rights have become the issue in this campaign.
I hope you
will send a check for as much as you can to Gunner DeLay
for
Congress and send it to the campaign office. The address
of the
campaign is: Gunner DeLay, 1713 South D Street, Fort Smith,
Arkansas
72901.
You can donate online by going to http://www.gunnerdelay.com
and clicking on Contributions (you can also view Sen. DeLay's
voting
record on gun issues there).
This is a safe Republican seat. The winner of the primary
is almost
certain to become the next congressman. By all accounts,
Jim Hendren
will pour more than two hundred thousand dollars of his
own money
into this race. That's why it's vital for gun owners to
get behind
Gunner DeLay now. We need a genuine pro-gun leader to come
from
such a district.
____________________________________________________-
(Thursday, July 19, 2001) -- The expected shoot out occurred
yesterday in the House of Representatives. Earlier this
week, Gun
Owners of America alerted you to possible amendments that
would be
offered to the Commerce-Justice-State bill (H.R. 2500).
Well, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) offered his amendment requiring
the FBI
to keep gun buyers' names for 90 days. Thankfully, the
House
listened to grassroots gun owners and shot down the Moran
amendment
by a vote of 268-161. You can see how your Representative
voted by
going to
http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2001&rollnumber=244
on the internet.
Other Representatives came forward with gun-related amendments
as
well. And in almost every case, Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman
Frank Wolf (R-VA) used his official influence to kill each
one.
(The one amendment he "allowed" was an anti-gun
amendment offered by
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas. More on this below.)
Here's a
summary of what happened yesterday:
FBI Retention of Gun Buyers' Names
As mentioned above, the House defeated the Moran amendment
which
sought to keep information on gun owners for 90 days. Attorney
General John Ashcroft wants the FBI to keep gun buyers'
names for
only 24 hours.
One member, Rep. Brian Kerns (R-IN), wanted to offer an
amendment
that would have prohibited the FBI's "retention of
any information"
resulting from an instant background check. After having
drafted
his amendment, Kerns announced on the House floor that
he would not
offer the provision -- a decision made in deference to
Chairman
Wolf.
Putting a Halt to Global Gun Control
There were two attempts made to stop the U.S. from participating
in
global gun control. The UN has been meeting during the
past two
weeks to discuss gun restrictions that every nation should
follow.
Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) offered an amendment
specifying that no U.S. funds could be used to implement
gun control
recommendations adopted at the UN gun control conference.
But
Chairman Wolf stood up and "assured" Rep. Bartlett
that his concerns
could be taken care of without enacting legislation. As
a result,
Rep. Bartlett withdrew his amendment.
However, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) was not to be denied. He
offered an
amendment to pull the U.S. out of the United Nations and
cited the
current gun control conference in New York as reason enough
to
boycott the international gun control organization.
"There have been explicit proposals made at the United
Nations to
have worldwide gun control," Paul said. "No,
they are not taking
guns away from the government. They are taking guns away
from
civilians. If anybody understands our history, they will
know that
taking guns from civilians is exactly opposite of what
the Founders
intended."
Despite the fact that Chairman Wolf spoke against his
provision --
and despite the fact that the Democratic leadership spoke
against
him as well -- Rep. Paul insisted on putting everyone on
record.
His amendment failed, but you can see how your Representative
voted
by going to
http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2001&rollnumber=245
on the internet.
Chairman Was Only Crying "Wolf;" Supports Lock-up
Your Safety
Programs After All
Well, it turns out the powerful subcommittee chairman
(and GOA
D-rated) Rep. Frank Wolf was not opposed to every gun amendment,
and
in the end, allowed one anti-gun provision to be tacked
onto the
bill by a voice vote.
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) offered the amendment to
protect the
ability of states to keep pushing "lock up your safety"
trigger lock
initiatives. For example, in her home state of Texas, the
administration funded the give-away of thousands of trigger
locks --
although about 20,000 of them were recalled after defects
were
discovered.
Many observers expected Wolf to rise and speak against
the Lee
amendment, in the same way he had worked against so many
others.
Instead, Wolf said, "I rise to simply say that we
accept the
gentlewoman's amendment." The anti-gun amendment then
passed
without a recorded vote.
GOF Educating Americans on the Dangers of Trigger Locks
Gun Owners Foundation has produced a Public Service Announcement
(PSA) and is now distributing the video to thousands of
TV stations
around the country. The PSA explains what happened in California
last year, where two children died -- they were pitchforked
to death
by a crazed drug addict -- because a resident in the home
could not
access the household firearms in time. The guns were locked
up in
deference to California state law.
Consider how another attack ended differently. Just a
few months
prior to the pitchforking tragedy, a San Francisco man
survived an
attack because he disregarded the California law effectively
requiring him to lock up his guns.
A.D. Parker woke up one night and was confronted by a
thug with a
tire iron. Thankfully, Mr. Parker had not locked up his
guns. He
didn't have to fiddle around in the dark, looking for a
trigger lock
key or remembering a combination. Parker simply had to
grab his
gun, point it, and shoot the intruder. That is why A.D.
Parker is
still alive today.
GOF has produced two versions of the PSA -- one with the
grandmother
of the slain children (mentioned above), and one with Sheriff
Richard Mack. Those who wish to contribute to this important
public
safety project can call 703-321-8585 or visit
http://www.gunowners.com/psatext.htm on the GOF website.