Kelly J
Regular Member
imported post
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gun Owners of America" <Gun_Owners_of_America@capwiz.mailmanager.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 12:58 PM
Subject: Congressional Leaders Moving To Pass Gun Control Without A Vote!
Congressional Leaders Moving To Pass Gun Control Without A Vote! -- McCarthy
bill would treat gun owners even worse than terrorists
Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102,
Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm
"Another gun rights group, the Gun Owners of America, is adamantly opposed
to the [McCarthy-Dingell] legislation. It said the measure would allow the
government to trample privacy rights by compiling reams of personal
information and potentially bar mentally stable people from buying guns." --
Associated Press, April 24, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
This is going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight. GOA continues to stand
alone in the trenches, defending the rights of gun owners around the
country. It's not going to be easy.
Gun control supporters want to pass gun control within the next couple of
weeks. And that's why, even if you took action earlier this week, you need
to do so once again.
All the gun haters (who have been keeping silent for a while) are now coming
out of the closet and into the open. Take the notoriously anti-gun senator
from New York -- Chuck Schumer. He has been very, very excited this week.
Recent events have given him a platform, and the excuse, to push legislation
that he had sponsored years ago -- legislation that never got through
Congress.
You see, Senator Chuck Schumer has been, in past years, the Senate sponsor
of the McCarthy bill (HR 297). And the recent murders at Virginia Tech have
given Senator Schumer the pretext he has been looking for. Appearing on the
Bill O'Reilly show earlier this week, Schumer did his best to make a
reasonable-sounding pitch for more gun control.
He told O'Reilly on Monday that while he and Rep. McCarthy had previously
worked together on this legislation, he now wants Congress to take up HR 297
quickly. "The Brady Law is a reasonable limitation," Schumer said. "Some
might disagree with me, but I think certain kinds of licensing and
registration is a reasonable limitation. We do it for cars."
Get the picture? First, he wants the Brady Law strengthened with the
McCarthy-Dingell-Schumer legislation. Then it's off to pass more gun
control -- treating guns like cars, where all gun owners are licensed and
where bureaucrats will have a wonderful confiscation list.
In the O'Reilly interview, Schumer showed his hand when he revealed the
strategy for this bill. Because it could become such a hot potato -- thanks
to your efforts -- Senator Schumer is pushing to get this bill passed by
Unanimous Consent in the Senate, which basically means that the bill would
get passed WITHOUT A VOTE.
This is a perfect way to pass gun control without anyone getting blamed...
or so they think. We need to tell every Senator that if this bill passes
without a vote, then we hold ALL OF THEM responsible. (Be looking for a
future GOA alert aimed at your Senators.)
On the House side, the Associated Press reported this past Monday that
"House Democratic leaders are working with the National Rifle Association to
bolster existing laws blocking" certain prohibited persons from buying guns.
Of course, there are at least three problems with this approach:
1. It's morally and constitutionally wrong to require law-abiding citizens
to first prove their innocence to the government before they can exercise
their rights -- whether it's Second Amendment rights, First Amendment
rights, or any other right. Doing that gives bureaucrats the opportunity to
abuse their power and illegitimately prevent honest gun owners from buying
guns.
2. Bureaucrats have already used the Brady Law to illegitimately deny the
Second Amendment rights of innocent Americans. Americans have been prevented
from buying guns because of outstanding traffic tickets, because of errors,
because the NICS computer system has crashed -- and don't forget returning
veterans because of combat-related stress. You give an anti-gun bureaucrat
an inch, he'll take a mile -- which we have already seen as GOA has
documented numerous instances of the abuses mentioned above.
3. Finally, all the background checks in the world will NOT stop bad guys
from getting firearms. As we mentioned in the previous alert, severe
restrictions in Washington, DC, England, Canada, Germany and other places
have not stopped evil people from using guns to commit murder. (Correction:
In our previous alert, we incorrectly identified Ireland as the location of
the infamous schoolyard massacre. In fact, it took place in Dunblane,
Scotland in 1996 -- a country which at the time had even more stringent laws
than we have here.)
McCARTHY BILL TREATING GUN OWNERS WORSE THAN TERRORISTS
HR 297 would require the states to turn over mountains of personal data (on
people like you) to the FBI -- any information which according to the
Attorney General, in his or her unilateral discretion, would be useful in
ascertaining who is or is not a "prohibited person."
Liberal support for this bill points out an interesting hypocrisy in their
loyalties: For six years, congressional Democrats have complained about the
Bush administration's efforts to obtain personal information on suspected
terrorists WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.
And yet, this bill would allow the FBI to obtain massive amounts of
information -- information which dwarfs any records obtained from
warrantless searches (or wiretaps) that have been conducted by the Bush
Administration on known or suspected terrorists operating in the country.
In fact, HR 297 would allow the FBI to get this information on honest
Americans (like you) even though the required data is much more private and
personal than any information obtained thus far by the Bush administration
on terrorists.
And all of these personal records would be obtained by the FBI with no
warrant or judicial or Congressional oversight whatsoever!!!
Get the picture? Spying on terrorists is bad... but spying on honest gun
owners is good. After all, this horrific intrusion on the private lives of
all Americans is presumed to be "okay" because it's only being used to bash
guns, not to go after terrorists and criminals who are trying to kill us.
As indicated in earlier alerts, this information could include your medical,
psychological, financial, education, employment, traffic, state tax records
and more. We don't even know the full extent of what could be included
because HR 297 -- which can be viewed at http://thomas.loc.gov by typing in
the bill number -- is so open-ended. It requires states to provide the NICS
system with ALL RECORDS that the Attorney General believes will help the FBI
determine who is and who is not a prohibited person. Certainly, an anti-gun
AG like Janet Reno would want as many types of records in the system as
possible.
The provision that would probably lead to the greatest number of 'fishing
expeditions' is that related to illegal aliens. Federal law prohibits
illegal aliens from owning guns. The bill requires all "relevant" data
related to who is in this country illegally. But what records pertaining to
illegal aliens from the states would be relevant? Perhaps a better question
would be, what records are not relevant?
ACTION:
1. Please take a moment to communicate your opposition to HR 297 -- even if
you already sent your Representative a note earlier this week. We have
provided a new letter (below) which provides updated information relating to
the battle we are fighting.
House leaders are talking about bringing up this bill soon. And Sen. Schumer
(in his interview with O'Reilly) even hinted at the fact that the bill could
come up WITHOUT the ability to offer pro-gun amendments -- such as a repeal
of the DC gun ban or reciprocity for concealed carry holders -- provisions
that could potentially serve as killer amendments.
Also -- oh yeah, this is going to upset you -- Senator Schumer told
O'Reilly, "I got to tell you, a lot of NRA people, they support this." Can
you believe that? Senator Schumer is claiming to speak for you! That's why
it's so important that you once again tell your congressman that Schumer is
wrong... that you're a supporter of gun rights who OPPOSES the anti-gun
McCarthy-Dingell bill.
2. Please circulate this e-mail and forward it to as many gun owners as you
can.
CONTACT INFORMATION: You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center
at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Representative the
pre-written e-mail message below. And, you can call your Representative
toll-free at 1-877-762-8762.
----- Pre-written letter -----
Dear Representative:
As a supporter of Second Amendment rights, I do NOT support HR 297, the NICS
Improvement Act. I hope that you will OPPOSE this bill and urge your party
leadership to either kill it outright or to allow other pro-gun amendments
to be offered (repeal of the DC gun ban, reciprocity for concealed carry
holders, etc.). In its current form, HR 297 will treat gun owners even worse
than terrorists, giving the FBI a mountain of private information on
law-abiding Americans like me.
How is it that, despite all the criticism over the Bush administration's
attempts to obtain personal information on suspected terrorists without a
court order, this bill would allow the FBI to obtain massive amounts of
information on ME -- information which dwarfs any warrantless searches (or
wiretaps) that have been conducted by the Bush Administration on known or
suspected terrorists operating in the country.
And all of this personal information would be obtained by the FBI with no
warrant or judicial or Congressional oversight whatsoever!!!
How is it that spying on terrorists is bad, but spying on honest gun owners
is good?
Again, I hope that you will oppose HR 297. Gun Owners of America will
continue to keep me informed on the progress of this bill. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Streaming Video Update
It's an ongoing process of getting permissions, obtaining source discs, and
formatting files, but we are continuing to post videos of GOA spokesmen on
television as they become available. Please stop by our streaming video
section at http://www.gunowners.org/svtb.htm to see what's new this week.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gun Owners of America" <Gun_Owners_of_America@capwiz.mailmanager.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 12:58 PM
Subject: Congressional Leaders Moving To Pass Gun Control Without A Vote!
Congressional Leaders Moving To Pass Gun Control Without A Vote! -- McCarthy
bill would treat gun owners even worse than terrorists
Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102,
Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm
"Another gun rights group, the Gun Owners of America, is adamantly opposed
to the [McCarthy-Dingell] legislation. It said the measure would allow the
government to trample privacy rights by compiling reams of personal
information and potentially bar mentally stable people from buying guns." --
Associated Press, April 24, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
This is going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight. GOA continues to stand
alone in the trenches, defending the rights of gun owners around the
country. It's not going to be easy.
Gun control supporters want to pass gun control within the next couple of
weeks. And that's why, even if you took action earlier this week, you need
to do so once again.
All the gun haters (who have been keeping silent for a while) are now coming
out of the closet and into the open. Take the notoriously anti-gun senator
from New York -- Chuck Schumer. He has been very, very excited this week.
Recent events have given him a platform, and the excuse, to push legislation
that he had sponsored years ago -- legislation that never got through
Congress.
You see, Senator Chuck Schumer has been, in past years, the Senate sponsor
of the McCarthy bill (HR 297). And the recent murders at Virginia Tech have
given Senator Schumer the pretext he has been looking for. Appearing on the
Bill O'Reilly show earlier this week, Schumer did his best to make a
reasonable-sounding pitch for more gun control.
He told O'Reilly on Monday that while he and Rep. McCarthy had previously
worked together on this legislation, he now wants Congress to take up HR 297
quickly. "The Brady Law is a reasonable limitation," Schumer said. "Some
might disagree with me, but I think certain kinds of licensing and
registration is a reasonable limitation. We do it for cars."
Get the picture? First, he wants the Brady Law strengthened with the
McCarthy-Dingell-Schumer legislation. Then it's off to pass more gun
control -- treating guns like cars, where all gun owners are licensed and
where bureaucrats will have a wonderful confiscation list.
In the O'Reilly interview, Schumer showed his hand when he revealed the
strategy for this bill. Because it could become such a hot potato -- thanks
to your efforts -- Senator Schumer is pushing to get this bill passed by
Unanimous Consent in the Senate, which basically means that the bill would
get passed WITHOUT A VOTE.
This is a perfect way to pass gun control without anyone getting blamed...
or so they think. We need to tell every Senator that if this bill passes
without a vote, then we hold ALL OF THEM responsible. (Be looking for a
future GOA alert aimed at your Senators.)
On the House side, the Associated Press reported this past Monday that
"House Democratic leaders are working with the National Rifle Association to
bolster existing laws blocking" certain prohibited persons from buying guns.
Of course, there are at least three problems with this approach:
1. It's morally and constitutionally wrong to require law-abiding citizens
to first prove their innocence to the government before they can exercise
their rights -- whether it's Second Amendment rights, First Amendment
rights, or any other right. Doing that gives bureaucrats the opportunity to
abuse their power and illegitimately prevent honest gun owners from buying
guns.
2. Bureaucrats have already used the Brady Law to illegitimately deny the
Second Amendment rights of innocent Americans. Americans have been prevented
from buying guns because of outstanding traffic tickets, because of errors,
because the NICS computer system has crashed -- and don't forget returning
veterans because of combat-related stress. You give an anti-gun bureaucrat
an inch, he'll take a mile -- which we have already seen as GOA has
documented numerous instances of the abuses mentioned above.
3. Finally, all the background checks in the world will NOT stop bad guys
from getting firearms. As we mentioned in the previous alert, severe
restrictions in Washington, DC, England, Canada, Germany and other places
have not stopped evil people from using guns to commit murder. (Correction:
In our previous alert, we incorrectly identified Ireland as the location of
the infamous schoolyard massacre. In fact, it took place in Dunblane,
Scotland in 1996 -- a country which at the time had even more stringent laws
than we have here.)
McCARTHY BILL TREATING GUN OWNERS WORSE THAN TERRORISTS
HR 297 would require the states to turn over mountains of personal data (on
people like you) to the FBI -- any information which according to the
Attorney General, in his or her unilateral discretion, would be useful in
ascertaining who is or is not a "prohibited person."
Liberal support for this bill points out an interesting hypocrisy in their
loyalties: For six years, congressional Democrats have complained about the
Bush administration's efforts to obtain personal information on suspected
terrorists WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.
And yet, this bill would allow the FBI to obtain massive amounts of
information -- information which dwarfs any records obtained from
warrantless searches (or wiretaps) that have been conducted by the Bush
Administration on known or suspected terrorists operating in the country.
In fact, HR 297 would allow the FBI to get this information on honest
Americans (like you) even though the required data is much more private and
personal than any information obtained thus far by the Bush administration
on terrorists.
And all of these personal records would be obtained by the FBI with no
warrant or judicial or Congressional oversight whatsoever!!!
Get the picture? Spying on terrorists is bad... but spying on honest gun
owners is good. After all, this horrific intrusion on the private lives of
all Americans is presumed to be "okay" because it's only being used to bash
guns, not to go after terrorists and criminals who are trying to kill us.
As indicated in earlier alerts, this information could include your medical,
psychological, financial, education, employment, traffic, state tax records
and more. We don't even know the full extent of what could be included
because HR 297 -- which can be viewed at http://thomas.loc.gov by typing in
the bill number -- is so open-ended. It requires states to provide the NICS
system with ALL RECORDS that the Attorney General believes will help the FBI
determine who is and who is not a prohibited person. Certainly, an anti-gun
AG like Janet Reno would want as many types of records in the system as
possible.
The provision that would probably lead to the greatest number of 'fishing
expeditions' is that related to illegal aliens. Federal law prohibits
illegal aliens from owning guns. The bill requires all "relevant" data
related to who is in this country illegally. But what records pertaining to
illegal aliens from the states would be relevant? Perhaps a better question
would be, what records are not relevant?
ACTION:
1. Please take a moment to communicate your opposition to HR 297 -- even if
you already sent your Representative a note earlier this week. We have
provided a new letter (below) which provides updated information relating to
the battle we are fighting.
House leaders are talking about bringing up this bill soon. And Sen. Schumer
(in his interview with O'Reilly) even hinted at the fact that the bill could
come up WITHOUT the ability to offer pro-gun amendments -- such as a repeal
of the DC gun ban or reciprocity for concealed carry holders -- provisions
that could potentially serve as killer amendments.
Also -- oh yeah, this is going to upset you -- Senator Schumer told
O'Reilly, "I got to tell you, a lot of NRA people, they support this." Can
you believe that? Senator Schumer is claiming to speak for you! That's why
it's so important that you once again tell your congressman that Schumer is
wrong... that you're a supporter of gun rights who OPPOSES the anti-gun
McCarthy-Dingell bill.
2. Please circulate this e-mail and forward it to as many gun owners as you
can.
CONTACT INFORMATION: You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center
at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Representative the
pre-written e-mail message below. And, you can call your Representative
toll-free at 1-877-762-8762.
----- Pre-written letter -----
Dear Representative:
As a supporter of Second Amendment rights, I do NOT support HR 297, the NICS
Improvement Act. I hope that you will OPPOSE this bill and urge your party
leadership to either kill it outright or to allow other pro-gun amendments
to be offered (repeal of the DC gun ban, reciprocity for concealed carry
holders, etc.). In its current form, HR 297 will treat gun owners even worse
than terrorists, giving the FBI a mountain of private information on
law-abiding Americans like me.
How is it that, despite all the criticism over the Bush administration's
attempts to obtain personal information on suspected terrorists without a
court order, this bill would allow the FBI to obtain massive amounts of
information on ME -- information which dwarfs any warrantless searches (or
wiretaps) that have been conducted by the Bush Administration on known or
suspected terrorists operating in the country.
And all of this personal information would be obtained by the FBI with no
warrant or judicial or Congressional oversight whatsoever!!!
How is it that spying on terrorists is bad, but spying on honest gun owners
is good?
Again, I hope that you will oppose HR 297. Gun Owners of America will
continue to keep me informed on the progress of this bill. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Streaming Video Update
It's an ongoing process of getting permissions, obtaining source discs, and
formatting files, but we are continuing to post videos of GOA spokesmen on
television as they become available. Please stop by our streaming video
section at http://www.gunowners.org/svtb.htm to see what's new this week.