U.S. Senate Set To Vote On Gun Control
-- Ask your Senator to oppose Clinton's anti-gun agenda
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
(Friday, May 7, 1999)-- It's been a busy week. You guys did an
outstanding job directing attention upon the Second Amendment
compromises occurring in Austin, Texas. Gov. George Bush's office
stated they received hundreds upon hundreds of phone calls and other
contacts from concerned gun owners. This sends a tremendous message
to a man who aspires to the presidency in the year 2000.
But now it's time to shift your focus from Texas to Washington, D.C.
As you well know, the Colorado tragedy has spawned a feeding frenzy
among the political left, and next week, gun control is going to be
the topic in the United States Senate. Debate over a juvenile crime
bill (S. 254) is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Your hard work last
year has resulted in the virtual sanitizing of this crime bill. But
the greatest danger now is that many Senators are planning to offer
anti-gun amendments-- many of them containing the President's
proposals.
Legislative contacts in the Senate have told GOA that some
Republicans are wilting. Some feel that they have to vote for
something; that they have to support some kind of gun control. So
it is important that you start contacting your Senators right away.
According to legislative and media sources on Capitol Hill, four
issues where Republican Senators could "buckle under" are the
following: imposing instant "registration" checks for private sales
at gun shows, banning the imports of large-capacity magazines,
banning young adults from possessing semi-autos, and holding parents
responsible for crimes that a minor commits with their firearm.
To make matters worse, former NRA first Vice President Neal Knox
reported in the Shotgun News (6/1/99) that the NRA might be willing
to consider extending the instant check to private sales at gun
shows. Knox writes that at the recent NRA convention in Denver:
"[NRA Executive Vice President Wayne] LaPierre clearly offered a
compromise with President Clinton's campaign to require 'Instant
Checks' on private sales at gun shows. He said: 'We will consider
instant checks at gun shows when, and only when, this Administration
stops demanding new gun taxes and stops illegally compiling the
records of millions of lawful gun buyers.'
"President Charlton Heston went even further this morning on ABC
'This Week' by saying he was 'in favor' of gun show background
checks if the government does not keep records on buyers."
If this is the NRA's official position, it will make it very
difficult for Senators to see that background checks are ALWAYS a
constitutional infringement, and to see that such checks will ALWAYS
give officials an opportunity to register gun buyers-- regardless of
how many "protections" are printed in the law.
[Note: USA Today also reported Heston's position on the young adult
gun ban (one of the amendments mentioned above that Republicans
might help pass). The paper reported today (5/7/99) that "NRA
President Charlton Heston says he supports a ban on juvenile
possession of semiautomatic assault weapons"-- or in other words, a
ban on any semi-auto Clinton deems is politically incorrect.]
Senate staffers have told GOA that Senators not only need to hear
opposition to gun control from the grassroots, but that Senators
need to hear what they can vote IN FAVOR of-- what they can support.
GOA has responded in the following manner:
Support a repeal of the School Zones Gun Ban. This law, prohibiting
the possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, has not
stopped kids from shooting up schools. But it does threaten to
penalize decent Americans like Joel Myrick of Pearl, Mississippi who
used his firearm to subdue a gunman in 1997. Good people should not
have to face the prospects of felony charges for defending the lives
of others. Consider how absurd such a ban would be if we applied it
to cars. More Americans die in cars than by guns every year. And
just recently, a nut in California intentionally ran over several
children on a play ground-- killing two. Should we now ban cars
within 1,000 feet of a schoolyard? Why are these suggestions absurd
when applied to cars, but not to guns?
HERE'S WHAT TO DO: Please contact your two Senators (202-224-3121;
see the GOA website for fax and e-mail info). Ask them to vote
against any and all infringements of the Second Amendment-- no
matter how "minor" the infringement may appear on its face. Ask
them to support a repeal of the Gun Free Zones law which punishes
law-abiding citizens for defending themselves-- and which does
nothing to keep guns out of the "wrong hands."
P.S. There is also a proposal being considered in some Senate
offices that would halt the march toward more gun control by
requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote in the U.S. Senate before
any gun control measure can be considered. It is unclear at this
time whether such a proposal has enough votes to pass. But such a
requirement would permanently destroy the effectiveness of HCI in
the Congress' most powerful chamber. Moreover, this requirement
would have ample precedent in the U.S. Senate, since currently
spending caps can be exceeded only if a Senate supermajority allows
it to happen. This should also pass Constitutional muster under
Article I, Section 5. While your Senator might not have heard about
this proposal yet, you can make him or her favorably predisposed to
it by mentioning your support of the idea.
P.P.S. Handgun Control, Inc. is also asking its members to call the
Senate. It's important that you show your Senators that there are
more of the good guys who support the Constitution.
**************
Did someone else forward this to you? To be certain of getting up to
date information, please consider subscribing to the GOA E-Mail
Alert Network directly. There is no cost or obligation, and the
volume of mail is quite low. To subscribe, simply send a message to
goamail@gunowners.org and include the state in which you live, in
either the subject or the body. To unsubscribe, reply to any alert
and ask to be removed.
-- Ask your Senator to oppose Clinton's anti-gun agenda
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
(Friday, May 7, 1999)-- It's been a busy week. You guys did an
outstanding job directing attention upon the Second Amendment
compromises occurring in Austin, Texas. Gov. George Bush's office
stated they received hundreds upon hundreds of phone calls and other
contacts from concerned gun owners. This sends a tremendous message
to a man who aspires to the presidency in the year 2000.
But now it's time to shift your focus from Texas to Washington, D.C.
As you well know, the Colorado tragedy has spawned a feeding frenzy
among the political left, and next week, gun control is going to be
the topic in the United States Senate. Debate over a juvenile crime
bill (S. 254) is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Your hard work last
year has resulted in the virtual sanitizing of this crime bill. But
the greatest danger now is that many Senators are planning to offer
anti-gun amendments-- many of them containing the President's
proposals.
Legislative contacts in the Senate have told GOA that some
Republicans are wilting. Some feel that they have to vote for
something; that they have to support some kind of gun control. So
it is important that you start contacting your Senators right away.
According to legislative and media sources on Capitol Hill, four
issues where Republican Senators could "buckle under" are the
following: imposing instant "registration" checks for private sales
at gun shows, banning the imports of large-capacity magazines,
banning young adults from possessing semi-autos, and holding parents
responsible for crimes that a minor commits with their firearm.
To make matters worse, former NRA first Vice President Neal Knox
reported in the Shotgun News (6/1/99) that the NRA might be willing
to consider extending the instant check to private sales at gun
shows. Knox writes that at the recent NRA convention in Denver:
"[NRA Executive Vice President Wayne] LaPierre clearly offered a
compromise with President Clinton's campaign to require 'Instant
Checks' on private sales at gun shows. He said: 'We will consider
instant checks at gun shows when, and only when, this Administration
stops demanding new gun taxes and stops illegally compiling the
records of millions of lawful gun buyers.'
"President Charlton Heston went even further this morning on ABC
'This Week' by saying he was 'in favor' of gun show background
checks if the government does not keep records on buyers."
If this is the NRA's official position, it will make it very
difficult for Senators to see that background checks are ALWAYS a
constitutional infringement, and to see that such checks will ALWAYS
give officials an opportunity to register gun buyers-- regardless of
how many "protections" are printed in the law.
[Note: USA Today also reported Heston's position on the young adult
gun ban (one of the amendments mentioned above that Republicans
might help pass). The paper reported today (5/7/99) that "NRA
President Charlton Heston says he supports a ban on juvenile
possession of semiautomatic assault weapons"-- or in other words, a
ban on any semi-auto Clinton deems is politically incorrect.]
Senate staffers have told GOA that Senators not only need to hear
opposition to gun control from the grassroots, but that Senators
need to hear what they can vote IN FAVOR of-- what they can support.
GOA has responded in the following manner:
Support a repeal of the School Zones Gun Ban. This law, prohibiting
the possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, has not
stopped kids from shooting up schools. But it does threaten to
penalize decent Americans like Joel Myrick of Pearl, Mississippi who
used his firearm to subdue a gunman in 1997. Good people should not
have to face the prospects of felony charges for defending the lives
of others. Consider how absurd such a ban would be if we applied it
to cars. More Americans die in cars than by guns every year. And
just recently, a nut in California intentionally ran over several
children on a play ground-- killing two. Should we now ban cars
within 1,000 feet of a schoolyard? Why are these suggestions absurd
when applied to cars, but not to guns?
HERE'S WHAT TO DO: Please contact your two Senators (202-224-3121;
see the GOA website for fax and e-mail info). Ask them to vote
against any and all infringements of the Second Amendment-- no
matter how "minor" the infringement may appear on its face. Ask
them to support a repeal of the Gun Free Zones law which punishes
law-abiding citizens for defending themselves-- and which does
nothing to keep guns out of the "wrong hands."
P.S. There is also a proposal being considered in some Senate
offices that would halt the march toward more gun control by
requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote in the U.S. Senate before
any gun control measure can be considered. It is unclear at this
time whether such a proposal has enough votes to pass. But such a
requirement would permanently destroy the effectiveness of HCI in
the Congress' most powerful chamber. Moreover, this requirement
would have ample precedent in the U.S. Senate, since currently
spending caps can be exceeded only if a Senate supermajority allows
it to happen. This should also pass Constitutional muster under
Article I, Section 5. While your Senator might not have heard about
this proposal yet, you can make him or her favorably predisposed to
it by mentioning your support of the idea.
P.P.S. Handgun Control, Inc. is also asking its members to call the
Senate. It's important that you show your Senators that there are
more of the good guys who support the Constitution.
**************
Did someone else forward this to you? To be certain of getting up to
date information, please consider subscribing to the GOA E-Mail
Alert Network directly. There is no cost or obligation, and the
volume of mail is quite low. To subscribe, simply send a message to
goamail@gunowners.org and include the state in which you live, in
either the subject or the body. To unsubscribe, reply to any alert
and ask to be removed.