http://www.gunowners.org/a062600.htm
The House is expected to begin debating H.R 4717, the Archer-Houghton "Full and Fair Political Activity Disclosure Act of 2000" -- a bill that turns out to be neither full nor fair.
H.R. 4717 would force affected organizations (like GOA) to release many, if not all, of the names and addresses of their members to the IRS -- a requirement which is blatantly unconstitutional. Many years ago, the state of Alabama had tried to get the names of NAACP members, but its attempts were beaten back by the Supreme Court in NAACP v. Alabama (1958).
Despite this obvious precedent, this bill is now targeting so-called 501(c)(4) lobbying organizations -- groups like GOA and NRA-ILA -- which cannot receive tax-deductible contributions from the public. In contrast, there are many liberal foundations that are set up as 501(c)(3) organizations -- groups like the Million Mom March Foundation which are limited in the amount of direct lobbying that they can do. Even so, these foundations can still spend up to $1 million per year in direct lobbying and conduct voter education campaigns while still receiving
tax-deductible contributions.
The House is expected to begin debating H.R 4717, the Archer-Houghton "Full and Fair Political Activity Disclosure Act of 2000" -- a bill that turns out to be neither full nor fair.
H.R. 4717 would force affected organizations (like GOA) to release many, if not all, of the names and addresses of their members to the IRS -- a requirement which is blatantly unconstitutional. Many years ago, the state of Alabama had tried to get the names of NAACP members, but its attempts were beaten back by the Supreme Court in NAACP v. Alabama (1958).
Despite this obvious precedent, this bill is now targeting so-called 501(c)(4) lobbying organizations -- groups like GOA and NRA-ILA -- which cannot receive tax-deductible contributions from the public. In contrast, there are many liberal foundations that are set up as 501(c)(3) organizations -- groups like the Million Mom March Foundation which are limited in the amount of direct lobbying that they can do. Even so, these foundations can still spend up to $1 million per year in direct lobbying and conduct voter education campaigns while still receiving
tax-deductible contributions.