McCarthy Gun Grab Is Dead,Thanks to your hard work,

Vitter Amendment Becomes Law,

McCarthy Gun Grab Is Dead

-- Thanks for all your hard work!



"Oh s---! We got a lot of postcards and e-mails from GOA members."
-- As stated by a Congressional office to GOA


Thursday, October 5, 2006

Thanks to your hard work, gun rights have taken two steps forward in
recent days.

The quote above shows the reaction from one Congressional office in
response to the number of postcards and e-mails that GOA members sent
in response to the McCarthy gun grab (HR 1415).

GOA members let their Representatives know they didn't want an
expansion of the Brady Law, and the activism paid off handsomely.
The bill is dead for now.

But first, there is the Vitter-Jindal Emergency Protection
legislation that we asked you to support in July.


EMERGENCY PROTECTION MEANS NO MORE GUN CONFISCATION

You will remember that in the wake of Hurricane Katrina last year,
federal and local police stole firearms from New Orleans residents in
the name of "keeping the people safe." To combat this, GOA has
worked this year in several states (including Louisiana) to
specifically outlaw this type of activity.

GOA also worked for the enactment of this legislation at the federal
level, and in July, the Emergency Protection language overwhelmingly
passed both houses of Congress.

After the Senate vote, one office told GOA: "They [the Senators]
obviously got your message loud and clear. It was the most lopsided
gun vote I have ever seen."

The vote was lopsided... and it was significant as well. The
Emergency Protection language makes it illegal for federal agents to
confiscate firearms during an emergency or major disaster.

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) thanked GOA for its efforts in pushing
his amendment. The GOA effort "was a huge help, and it was very
effective," Vitter said. "I look forward to working on many other
issues with GOA."

The Vitter-Jindal amendment is now on the President's desk -- as part
of the Homeland Security appropriations bill -- where it awaits his
almost certain signature.


BRADY EXPANSION IS DEAD

Then there was the defeat of the McCarthy gun grab. This was an
uphill task, as early on, the bill was expected to easily pass the
House of Representatives.

But GOA members and activists overwhelmingly responded to our
internet and postal alerts over the August recess, resulting in
untold thousands of postcards and e-mails being dumped on
legislators' desks.

The resulting tidal wave of grassroots opposition has buried this
bill as legislative offices on Capitol Hill have told GOA, "We've
heard your postcards and e-mails loud and clear!"

It's a good thing those postcards and e-mails were sent by you, too,
because GOA was the only Second Amendment group in Washington
opposing McCarthy's attack.

The House Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on HR 1415
earlier last month. At that time, the committee reported two
firearms-related bills to the floor of the House -- but they
specifically passed over the McCarthy bill (even though it was
scheduled to come up for a vote).

Gun Owners of America opposed the McCarthy bill, as it would spend
nearly $1 billion dollars to further prop up the unconstitutional
Brady Law. Of the 35 cosponsors, 34 are rated "F" on GOA's
scorecard... the remaining one is rated "D."

What has been surprising is how close this bill has come to being
passed under congressional leadership that claims to be pro-gun. It
already passed the House once, in October of 2002, but was killed in
the senate when GOA teamed up with former Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) to
block the bill.

Thanks again for all your hard work. You have reminded the
Congressional leadership that they should leave the McCarthy gun ban
alone and that it's "good politics" to pass pro-gun amendments like
the Vitter-Jindal bill.

Thank you!


****************************

GOA IN THE MEDIA

GOA spokesmen have already started addressing the recent school
shootings in the media. GOA also encourages its members to write
letters to the editor making the following points:


1. No amount of gun control would have stopped Charles Carl Roberts
from acquiring guns to commit his atrocity. Roberts had a clean
record and would have passed any and every background check.

2. So-called "gun free zones" (such as school zones) never stop bad
guys from taking guns into a restricted area. In fact, statistics
show that the jurisdictions that ban guns tend to be the same areas
with the highest murder or crime rates (Washington, D.C., England,
etc.).

3. The only school shootings that have been stopped prematurely were
ended because law-abiding citizens had guns -- such as in Pearl
Mississippi (1997) and at the Appalachian School of Law (2002), where
faculty and students were able to bring their own defensive firearms
to bear. For this reason, 85% of the American public find it
appropriate for a principal or teacher to use "a gun at school to
defend the lives of students" to stop a school massacre (Research
2000 Poll).

*******


[link to www.gunowners.org]





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