Mike
Site Co-Founder
imported post
Action Link to email the Senators from every state in which you live, work, or go to school: http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm
-----
Senator Coburn Goes On The Offensive
-- Asks Veteran Affairs to explain why they continue banning vets
from owning guns
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
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Senator Tom Coburn isn't going to go away quietly. As you know from
previous GOA alerts, the Republican Senator from Oklahoma has placed
a hold on the noxious legislation that is being pushed by Senator
Chuck Schumer of New York.
Because of his actions, the Veterans Disarmament Act (HR 2640 and S
2084) has been stalled in the Senate for a few weeks. But not
content to remain silent, Sen. Coburn sent a pointed letter to the
Department of Veterans Affairs, asking them to justify their actions.
Coburn states in his letter that the Veterans Affairs continues to
send the names of "approximately 1,000 additional veterans" to the
Department of Justice every month. According to the Congressional
Research Service, Coburn says, this has resulted in "approximately
140,000 Veterans" being added into the NICS background check system.
"This situation is concerning to me," he continues, "as the vast
majority of these veterans have committed no crime." Coburn
correctly notes that if these veterans should continue to own a
firearm, they could "unknowingly be in violation" of federal law.
Interestingly, Coburn notes that the VA gun ban for veterans is not
based on their being a "danger to him/herself or others" but rather
that they supposedly can't manage their own financial affairs.
Coburn ends his letter with a very pointed request: "I respectfully
request that you share with me your plans to prevent the release of
more veterans' names without due process."
That's the key: these brave souls are being denied their gun rights
WITHOUT DUE PROCESS. Some have claimed that this bill would provide
relief for those who are being unjustly denied. Of course, this is
very questionable since Congress has, since 1993, defunded the
ability of the BATFE to restore the rights of veterans and other
victims of gun control. (This is the result of a Chuck Schumer
amendment.)
Certainly, GOA would support avenues to provide relief. But the
Veterans Disarmament Act is not the vehicle to do this, since the
bill actually CHANGES federal law to LEGALLY BAN those 140,000
veterans from owning firearms. (1) Once the bill is enacted and
those veterans and other Americans are LEGALLY DISARMED, the bill
then provides some limited avenues for pursuing relief -- although
Americans will face an uphill battle as they will have to spend tens
of thousands of dollars pressing their case in court where THEY WILL
HAVE THE BURDEN of proving their innocence.
Even if these expensive court battles prove successful, they are
still not guaranteed to get their gun rights back. Sen. Schumer can
simply offer another amendment which prevents the FBI from removing
names from the NICS system, just as his 1993 amendment still defunds
the ability of the federal government to grant relief TO THIS DAY.
Sarah Brady Is Lobbying Hard For The McCarthy-Schumer Bill
It's no wonder that the Brady Bunch is plugging so hard for this
bill. Several news agencies have stated that passage of this bill
would represent the "first major gun control law in more than a
decade". (2)
Sarah Brady wants this bill bad. Her organization led a bunch of
Virginia Tech survivors to Chuck Schumer's office this week to get
media attention in favor of the Veterans Disarmament Act.
And she sent out an e-mail last week urging members to donate to her
organization, thus helping to get the McCarthy-Schumer bill passed.
"In July, the U.S. House of Representatives took a courageous first
step to keep guns out of the wrong hands by passing HR 2640, the NICS
Improvement Act," Brady said. "The Brady Campaign is working full
force to convince the U.S. Senate to pass this bill immediately."
Those who would disarm us are working hard to diminish your rights.
Have you written your Senators recently?
Footnotes:
(1) See GOA's extensive write-up on the Veterans Disarmament Act. By
going to http://www.gunowners.org/netb.htm on the GOA website, one
can read an analysis of the bill, plus see what others are saying
about it as well.
(2) "NRA, Democrats Team Up To Pass Gun Bill", CBSNews.com, June 13,
2007; and "House Tempers Background Checks for Guns," Associated
Press, June 14, 2007.
ACTION: Please use the letter below to contact your Senators and
urge them to join Sen. Coburn in putting a hold on the Veterans
Disarmament Act. You can use the pre-written message below and send
it as an e-mail by visiting the GOA Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm (where phone and fax numbers
are also available).
Action Link to email the Senators from every state in which you live, work, or go to school: http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm
-----
Senator Coburn Goes On The Offensive
-- Asks Veteran Affairs to explain why they continue banning vets
from owning guns
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
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Senator Tom Coburn isn't going to go away quietly. As you know from
previous GOA alerts, the Republican Senator from Oklahoma has placed
a hold on the noxious legislation that is being pushed by Senator
Chuck Schumer of New York.
Because of his actions, the Veterans Disarmament Act (HR 2640 and S
2084) has been stalled in the Senate for a few weeks. But not
content to remain silent, Sen. Coburn sent a pointed letter to the
Department of Veterans Affairs, asking them to justify their actions.
Coburn states in his letter that the Veterans Affairs continues to
send the names of "approximately 1,000 additional veterans" to the
Department of Justice every month. According to the Congressional
Research Service, Coburn says, this has resulted in "approximately
140,000 Veterans" being added into the NICS background check system.
"This situation is concerning to me," he continues, "as the vast
majority of these veterans have committed no crime." Coburn
correctly notes that if these veterans should continue to own a
firearm, they could "unknowingly be in violation" of federal law.
Interestingly, Coburn notes that the VA gun ban for veterans is not
based on their being a "danger to him/herself or others" but rather
that they supposedly can't manage their own financial affairs.
Coburn ends his letter with a very pointed request: "I respectfully
request that you share with me your plans to prevent the release of
more veterans' names without due process."
That's the key: these brave souls are being denied their gun rights
WITHOUT DUE PROCESS. Some have claimed that this bill would provide
relief for those who are being unjustly denied. Of course, this is
very questionable since Congress has, since 1993, defunded the
ability of the BATFE to restore the rights of veterans and other
victims of gun control. (This is the result of a Chuck Schumer
amendment.)
Certainly, GOA would support avenues to provide relief. But the
Veterans Disarmament Act is not the vehicle to do this, since the
bill actually CHANGES federal law to LEGALLY BAN those 140,000
veterans from owning firearms. (1) Once the bill is enacted and
those veterans and other Americans are LEGALLY DISARMED, the bill
then provides some limited avenues for pursuing relief -- although
Americans will face an uphill battle as they will have to spend tens
of thousands of dollars pressing their case in court where THEY WILL
HAVE THE BURDEN of proving their innocence.
Even if these expensive court battles prove successful, they are
still not guaranteed to get their gun rights back. Sen. Schumer can
simply offer another amendment which prevents the FBI from removing
names from the NICS system, just as his 1993 amendment still defunds
the ability of the federal government to grant relief TO THIS DAY.
Sarah Brady Is Lobbying Hard For The McCarthy-Schumer Bill
It's no wonder that the Brady Bunch is plugging so hard for this
bill. Several news agencies have stated that passage of this bill
would represent the "first major gun control law in more than a
decade". (2)
Sarah Brady wants this bill bad. Her organization led a bunch of
Virginia Tech survivors to Chuck Schumer's office this week to get
media attention in favor of the Veterans Disarmament Act.
And she sent out an e-mail last week urging members to donate to her
organization, thus helping to get the McCarthy-Schumer bill passed.
"In July, the U.S. House of Representatives took a courageous first
step to keep guns out of the wrong hands by passing HR 2640, the NICS
Improvement Act," Brady said. "The Brady Campaign is working full
force to convince the U.S. Senate to pass this bill immediately."
Those who would disarm us are working hard to diminish your rights.
Have you written your Senators recently?
Footnotes:
(1) See GOA's extensive write-up on the Veterans Disarmament Act. By
going to http://www.gunowners.org/netb.htm on the GOA website, one
can read an analysis of the bill, plus see what others are saying
about it as well.
(2) "NRA, Democrats Team Up To Pass Gun Bill", CBSNews.com, June 13,
2007; and "House Tempers Background Checks for Guns," Associated
Press, June 14, 2007.
ACTION: Please use the letter below to contact your Senators and
urge them to join Sen. Coburn in putting a hold on the Veterans
Disarmament Act. You can use the pre-written message below and send
it as an e-mail by visiting the GOA Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm (where phone and fax numbers
are also available).
