WhiteFeather
Regular Member
imported post
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
"The American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans' service
organization, strongly opposes specific provisions of H.R. 2640... that
would unilaterally abrogate the rights of certain service-connected
disabled veterans to own firearms, a right guaranteed by the Second
Amendment." -- Statement by the American Legion, Sep. 27, 2007
First, there was Gun Owners of America and a myriad of state gun
rights organizations.
Then, the Military Order of the Purple Heart weighed in.
Now, we've heard from the American Legion.
The list of groups in opposition to HR 2640 -- the Veterans
Disarmament Act -- continues growing, even while Senators in our
nation's capital are continuously being BOMBARDED by thousands
upon thousands of phone calls and e-mails from grassroots gun
owners like yourself.
In fact, your efforts have IMMENSELY STRENGTHENED the hand
of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). In an article entitled, "Coburn's
block may change strategy for gun bill," a Capitol Hill-based
newspaper reported this morning that frustration is building over
Coburn's "hold" on the legislation.
"We've tried to negotiate," Schumer said, adding that talks with
Coburn are "'not getting that far. We might have to bring it to a
vote."
But the newspaper article in The Hill stated that taking a recorded vote
on the Veterans Disarmament Act could "complicate its initially strong
prospects" of passage. As reported in The Hill:
"The National Rifle Association (NRA) supports the bill, which its
board member and House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) helped to craft, but the Gun Owners
of America (GOA) has backed Coburn and mobilized its grassroots
against the measure....
"Coburn also has objected to what he and the GOA -- which dubbed
the bill the 'Veterans Disarmament Act' -- believe is the risk of
inadvertently placing veterans treated for mental illness into the
background-check system, thus endangering their ability to buy a gun.
"The Military Order of the Purple Heart and the American Legion both
have backed Coburn's effort.
"But GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt said his group remains
opposed to the background-check system in general, viewing it as an
infringement on the civil liberties and privacy of gun owners. 'This
would be an objection we'd have even after all these [concerns of
Coburn's] are taken care of,' Pratt said."
On a side note: The Hill mentioned that, "Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
said he has received a high volume of contacts from constituents
alarmed about the bill's effect on gun buyers' rights."
Other sources have told GOA that Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) has also
gotten hit with a tremendous outpouring of opposition against the bill.
You will remember that both Senators Crapo and Bunning were two
of the senators specifically listed in our most recent alert. GOA would
like to THANK ALL OF YOU for your activism and support. You
guys are doing a great job... keep up the good work!
[Oh, by the way, here's a special note for you folks in Idaho. The
remainder of the Crapo quote in The Hill newspaper goes like this: "At
this point, I'm not holding the bill," Crapo said. "But that
doesn't mean I
won't."' Well, that's a great first step, but Crapo needs to join
up with
Coburn in putting a "hold" on the Veterans Disarmament Act. Keep up
the pressure, guys.]
ACTION:
1. The American Legion is already taking heat for its opposition to this
bill, as the Veterans Administration is blasting them behind the scenes.
We know that a large percentage of you are members of the American
Legion. So PLEASE GO TO YOUR LOCAL LEGION HALLS and
encourage your fellow legionnaires to get involved (and perhaps even
start receiving GOA alerts). The national office needs to see that
grassroots legionnaires are behind them so that they will continue to
stand firm in the face of the heat they're taking. If you need talking
points, see http://www.gunowners.org/netb.htm -- which is the GOA
special section on the Veterans Disarmament Act (HR 2640).
2. Continue to keep contacting your senators via the Legislative Action
Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA site.
The Hill newspaper says the Veterans Disarmament Act may come up
as early as next week. Coburn is pushing a package of
GOA-supported amendments that, taken together, will improve federal
law -- making things better than they are now. Senators need to hear
that this bill is an abomination, and that it is IMPERATIVE that they
support ALL OF THE COBURN AMENDMENTS.
With all that information taken into account. Why is the NRA supporting this bill???
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
"The American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans' service
organization, strongly opposes specific provisions of H.R. 2640... that
would unilaterally abrogate the rights of certain service-connected
disabled veterans to own firearms, a right guaranteed by the Second
Amendment." -- Statement by the American Legion, Sep. 27, 2007
First, there was Gun Owners of America and a myriad of state gun
rights organizations.
Then, the Military Order of the Purple Heart weighed in.
Now, we've heard from the American Legion.
The list of groups in opposition to HR 2640 -- the Veterans
Disarmament Act -- continues growing, even while Senators in our
nation's capital are continuously being BOMBARDED by thousands
upon thousands of phone calls and e-mails from grassroots gun
owners like yourself.
In fact, your efforts have IMMENSELY STRENGTHENED the hand
of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). In an article entitled, "Coburn's
block may change strategy for gun bill," a Capitol Hill-based
newspaper reported this morning that frustration is building over
Coburn's "hold" on the legislation.
"We've tried to negotiate," Schumer said, adding that talks with
Coburn are "'not getting that far. We might have to bring it to a
vote."
But the newspaper article in The Hill stated that taking a recorded vote
on the Veterans Disarmament Act could "complicate its initially strong
prospects" of passage. As reported in The Hill:
"The National Rifle Association (NRA) supports the bill, which its
board member and House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) helped to craft, but the Gun Owners
of America (GOA) has backed Coburn and mobilized its grassroots
against the measure....
"Coburn also has objected to what he and the GOA -- which dubbed
the bill the 'Veterans Disarmament Act' -- believe is the risk of
inadvertently placing veterans treated for mental illness into the
background-check system, thus endangering their ability to buy a gun.
"The Military Order of the Purple Heart and the American Legion both
have backed Coburn's effort.
"But GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt said his group remains
opposed to the background-check system in general, viewing it as an
infringement on the civil liberties and privacy of gun owners. 'This
would be an objection we'd have even after all these [concerns of
Coburn's] are taken care of,' Pratt said."
On a side note: The Hill mentioned that, "Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
said he has received a high volume of contacts from constituents
alarmed about the bill's effect on gun buyers' rights."
Other sources have told GOA that Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) has also
gotten hit with a tremendous outpouring of opposition against the bill.
You will remember that both Senators Crapo and Bunning were two
of the senators specifically listed in our most recent alert. GOA would
like to THANK ALL OF YOU for your activism and support. You
guys are doing a great job... keep up the good work!
[Oh, by the way, here's a special note for you folks in Idaho. The
remainder of the Crapo quote in The Hill newspaper goes like this: "At
this point, I'm not holding the bill," Crapo said. "But that
doesn't mean I
won't."' Well, that's a great first step, but Crapo needs to join
up with
Coburn in putting a "hold" on the Veterans Disarmament Act. Keep up
the pressure, guys.]
ACTION:
1. The American Legion is already taking heat for its opposition to this
bill, as the Veterans Administration is blasting them behind the scenes.
We know that a large percentage of you are members of the American
Legion. So PLEASE GO TO YOUR LOCAL LEGION HALLS and
encourage your fellow legionnaires to get involved (and perhaps even
start receiving GOA alerts). The national office needs to see that
grassroots legionnaires are behind them so that they will continue to
stand firm in the face of the heat they're taking. If you need talking
points, see http://www.gunowners.org/netb.htm -- which is the GOA
special section on the Veterans Disarmament Act (HR 2640).
2. Continue to keep contacting your senators via the Legislative Action
Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA site.
The Hill newspaper says the Veterans Disarmament Act may come up
as early as next week. Coburn is pushing a package of
GOA-supported amendments that, taken together, will improve federal
law -- making things better than they are now. Senators need to hear
that this bill is an abomination, and that it is IMPERATIVE that they
support ALL OF THE COBURN AMENDMENTS.
With all that information taken into account. Why is the NRA supporting this bill???