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  • alledan
    URGENT ALERT!!!
    Dingell, McCarthy, Working on 'Compromise' Gun Bill

    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

    "The Gun Owners of America [has] already launched a public campaign
    to block the legislation that the NRA supports, warning that the
    proposal could 'block millions of additional, honest gun owners from
    buying firearms.'" -- Newsweek, April 24, 2007

    ACTION:

    1. It is imperative that you contact your Representative immediately
    and urge him to oppose the McCarthy/Dingell bill. A "compromise"
    [read: gun control] deal is in the works and all legislators --
    especially those who are pro-gun -- need to hear from gun owners
    right away.

    GOA members have received a mailing from us within the past week,
    asking them to send postcards to their U.S. Senators. It is
    IMPERATIVE that you mail those postcards in. We want to increase the
    heat on these legislators by deluging them with thousands of
    postcards. Now, once you've sent in those postcards, we would ask
    you to e-mail the specially-tailored message that is included below
    along with contact information.

    2. Please circulate this alert to all your pro-gun friends and
    family, and encourage them to take action as well.


    Wednesday, May 16, 2007

    Anti-gun Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) continues his assault on American
    gun owners.

    Dingell has been tapped by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to broker a
    compromise with Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) on H.R. 297, a gun control
    bill being pushed in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting.

    The bill provides about $1 billion to the states to "provide the
    National Instant Criminal Background Check System [NICS] with all
    records concerning persons who are prohibited from possessing or
    receiving a firearm... regardless of the elapsed time since the
    disqualifying event."

    As GOA has pointed out in previous alerts, this could lead to
    millions more Americans being included in the FBI's database of
    prohibited persons.

    Dingell, being a former NRA board member, is in a unique position in
    the Congress on Second Amendment issues. Despite the fact that he
    betrayed gun owners by supporting the Clinton semi-auto ban, he is
    still viewed on the Hill as one of the few pro-gun Democrats.

    So his support gives the bill the appearance of having the support of
    gun owners, when actually it is the most massive expansion of gun
    control in over a decade.

    McCarthy, of course, is the most notorious anti-gunner in the
    Congress. Her sitting down with Dingell to decide the fate of our
    gun rights is like two foxes deciding how to best guard the henhouse.

    To make matters worse, Dingell is in negotiations with the NRA to
    come up with a 'compromise' as quickly as possible.

    The NRA itself told Newsweek in an exclusive interview on April 24
    that the group "backs [the] proposed new legislation" in the House.


    Newsweek reported, "The NRA's position puts the group at odds with
    the Gun Owners of America, which has already launched a public
    campaign to block the legislation that the NRA supports, warning that
    the proposal could 'block millions of additional, honest gun owners
    from buying firearms.'"

    Politicians always seek to pass laws in the aftermath of a tragedy,
    as if one more law will stop evil people from doing evil deeds.
    Instead of passing more and more laws that ultimately will snuff out
    our liberty, we should consider repealing gun control laws that
    prevent citizens from defending themselves when a madman strikes.

    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 at 202-225-3121 or toll-free at
    1-877-762-8762.

    Pre-written letter

    Dear Representative:

    Gun Owners of America informs me that H.R. 297, a colossal gun
    control bill, is on the fast track. I strongly urge you to oppose
    this bill.

    The Virginia Tech tragedy, which Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is using to
    try to push this bill, highlights the failure, not success, of gun
    control.

    Instead of passing yet more laws that restrict my Second Amendment
    rights, Congress should consider repealing the failed gun control
    laws already on the books -- laws that increasingly result in
    law-abiding adults being disarmed just when they need their guns the
    most.

    Please oppose the McCarthy bill, H.R. 297, and let me know what you
    intend to do.

    Sincerely,


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

    "Live Fire" radio with Larry Pratt is broadcast by the Information
    Radio Network on Saturdays at 12:00 Noon Eastern. "Live Fire" is
    simulcast on the web at http://inforadionet.com and previous episodes
    are archived at http://www.soundwaves2000.com/livefire/ with a number
    of listening formats supported.

    Podcasts are now available!

    Recent guests, among many others, have included:

    * Bob Levy, attorney in Parker v. DC
    * Former Rep. Tom DeLay
    * Dr. John Lott
    * Col. David Hunt

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

    Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
    bounce back as undeliverable.

    To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
    http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
    address may also be made at that location.
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  • alledan
    "[The NRA's] blessing is required for any bill that enforces or
    creates gun laws." -- Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, July 27, 2007


    Wednesday, August 8, 2007

    It's truly amazing. You wouldn't think that something as
    controversial as gun control could fly through the House of
    Representatives, and then through a Senate committee without facing
    at least one recorded vote.

    But on Thursday of last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed
    the Senate version of the McCarthy bill by an unrecorded voice vote.

    The draft bill -- which is still unnumbered -- is being sponsored by
    the chairman of the committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Brady
    expansion provisions in this bill are identical to the ones in the
    McCarthy bill and would easily deny thousands (if not millions) of
    law-abiding citizens their right to own firearms.

    As mentioned in earlier alerts, the NRA and the Brady Campaign are
    both in favor of this legislation. In fact, the author of the House
    bill, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), has stated there is no way this
    bill could pass without the NRA's support: "The National Rife
    Association still wields tremendous influence in the halls of
    Congress," McCarthy said, "and their blessing is required for any
    bill that enforces or creates gun laws."

    The reason why some gun owners support the Leahy-McCarthy measure is
    they think the bill will make it easier for many Americans to regain
    their rights -- such as military veterans who have been
    illegitimately denied a firearm. What they don't realize is that
    this is a pie-in-the-sky promise.

    Veterans will have to find a pro-gun shrink that will certify that
    said veteran is not a danger to himself or others. (Question: Would
    you ever certify that someone you don't know could NEVER be a danger
    to himself or others?) They will then have to hire a good attorney,
    take the government to court and hope they can force the FBI to
    delete their names from the NICS system.

    It must be stressed that thousands of veterans have already been
    illegally banned from owning guns without being convicted of
    anything. Not only that, thousands more will have their names placed
    on the Brady list of banned buyers if this legislation passes. It is
    beside the point that they might be able to get their rights
    restored. They never should have lost them in the first place.
    Further, they will be forced to spend a lot of money to regain their
    gun rights -- rights which were unconstitutionally stripped by the
    Leahy-McCarthy bill.

    We've already seen that at the state level, getting your guns back --
    after being decreed a supposed danger to society -- is easier said
    than done. Consider what is ALREADY happening in California.
    University of San Francisco professor W. Michael Becker -- a licensed
    psychologist and attorney -- points out how in the Golden State, a
    gun owner can easily lose his guns if he's deemed to be a danger to
    himself and others. And while state law allows the gun owner to get
    his guns back (after he's no longer considered a danger), the
    retrieval process is by NO MEANS automatic.

    Becker says:

    It might be argued, that because there is the option of a hearing,
    the [California] law provides a reasoned avenue for that person to
    regain possession.... But there is a problem with the hearing itself.
    In order for the seized weapons to be returned, it is not the
    government which must show that the person is a danger to himself or
    others, but rather a judge (yes, only a judge, no jury) must be
    convinced by a preponderance of the evidence that the person will
    NOT be a danger to himself or others. What has happened to the
    "presumed" innocent (or in this case competent) until proven
    otherwise?... This is a dire reversal of our typical constitutional
    rights.

    The Leahy bill next goes to the entire Senate, but due to the fact
    that Congress is now in recess, don't expect to see any action on the
    bill until September.
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  • alledan
    IRS Moves to Threaten Second Amendment Newsletters, E-mail Alerts

    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, January 15


    The ink is barely dry on the Supreme Court's devastating decision in
    McConnell v. FEC -- the so-called campaign finance case that GOA was
    involved in. That decision severely restricted broadcast
    communications, thus making it more difficult for GOA to hold
    legislators accountable on Second Amendment issues.

    Now, the IRS is already leaping forward to expand the Court's ruling
    to include GOA newsletters, e-mail alerts, and other Second
    Amendment communications.

    Put out for comment on December 23, 2003 -- when, presumably, no one
    would notice -- proposed IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-6 creates a broad
    new set of ambiguous standards which groups like GOA must follow in
    order to avoid losing all or part of their tax-exempt status.

    Under the proposed Revenue Ruling, the IRS would create a vague
    "balancing test" to determine whether GOA communications would be
    "permitted" by the government.

    If the communication occurred close to an election, mentioned an
    officeholder who was running for reelection, and was targeted to put
    pressure on congressmen through constituents in each
    representative's district, all of these factors would push toward
    outlawing the communication.

    Although the McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection law was repressive
    enough, the proposed Revenue Ruling would go far beyond this
    anti-gun statute:

    * Unlike McCain-Feingold, the proposed Revenue Ruling would not be
    restricted to broadcast ads. Rather, it would apply to
    newspaper ads, e-mail alerts, newsletters, and other
    communications by organizations such as GOA.

    * Unlike McCain-Feingold, the proposed Revenue Ruling would not
    automatically exempt communications which occurred more than 60
    days prior to an election -- or which fell below a certain
    monetary threshold.

    * Unlike McCain-Feingold, the proposed Revenue Ruling would
    contain no fixed standards for compliance. Rather every GOA
    newsletter or alert would have to be published with the
    realization that the government, after the fact, could apply its
    vague criteria to determine that is was "impermissible."

    For example, when GOA learned that an anti-gun rider had been placed
    on a Defense authorization bill in September 2000, GOA alerted its
    members to this provision which would have allowed the Dept. of
    Defense to confiscate and destroy any military surplus item that had
    ever been sold by the government.

    M1 Carbines, 1903 Springfields, Colt SAAs, uniforms, ammo, scopes --
    and much more. All these privately-owned items could have been
    confiscated and destroyed by the feds.

    GOA generated a groundswell of nationwide opposition against the
    confiscation attempt. But we especially targeted our focus on the
    Senate Armed Services Committee.

    The message evidently got through, as the Committee Chairman's
    office called GOA to discuss this problem after he received hoards
    of calls, postcards and e-mails from our members. The provision was
    removed, and Second Amendment rights were preserved.

    But had this IRS regulation been in effect in 2000, the agency
    (which then was under Clinton's control) could have RETROACTIVELY
    punished GOA, stating that our activity would have been
    impermissible if just one of the targeted Senators had been facing
    reelection!

    This new regulation would allow lawmakers to load up gun bills prior
    to an election, secure in the knowledge that GOA won't be able to
    let you guys know about them in time.

    GOA has formally lodged a protest with the IRS regarding this
    expansion and abuse of power. To read the GOA comments, go to
    http://www.gunowners.org/fs0403.htm on the web.

    It is imperative that this rule be defeated!


    ACTION: Contact your congressmen. Ask them to write the IRS and
    demand that it withdraw proposed Revenue Ruling 2004-6. You can
    contact your Representative and Senators by visiting the Gun Owners
    Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm
    to send them a pre-written e-mail message.

    Your Representative and Senators must submit their comments to the
    IRS by January 26.



    Pre-written message

    Dear

    The proposed IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-6 is an abomination.

    It would put the government in charge of determining whether a broad
    range of newsletters, alerts, and other communications would be
    "allowed" by organizations such as Gun Owners of America and the
    National Rifle Association.

    Unlike McCain-Feingold -- which was bad enough -- the proposed
    Revenue Ruling would not be limited to broadcast ads. It would have
    no monetary threshold. And it would not be automatically
    inapplicable to communications which occur over 60 days before a
    general election.

    Please write the Internal Revenue Service by January 26, 2004 and
    ask it to withdraw this ill-consider ruling. When submitting your
    comments to the IRS, please address your letter to the attention of
    Judy Kindell, T:EO:RA:G, 1111 Constitution Ave NW,
    Washington, DC 20224.

    Sincerely,


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

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    Mindspring / Earthlink, and Southwestern Bell / Prodigy -- just to
    name a few -- have all given money in the past to Sarah Brady. Now,
    there is an ISP dedicated to gun rights and the sporting life. Plus
    a portion of your monthly fee will be donated to GOA. By switching
    to Outdoors Unlimited, you move money away from the Brady Bunch and
    to the fight for the Second Amendment. Check out
    http://www.outdoorsunlimited.net and consider switching your
    Internet service today.
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  • sig232
    If this is the legislation to insure that the NICS has the data included that was mandated then it just needs to be written in a way to make sure inocent folks are not included.

    This is to make sure that people that have been admitted to a mental institution are not allowed to buy guns. I don't think crazy people should be able to buy guns either, that was what NICS was all about, that and to keep criminals from buying guns.

    This legislation is the result of the recent incident that occured at VT. 33 killed! A similar incident in Australia was responsible for citizens losing their rights to semi-auto pistols and rifles and pump rifles and shotguns.

    The NRA many times gets involved to offer assistance in writting legislation to insure that people like McCarthy don't just toss everything in but the kitchen sink. We want gun experts writing gun legislation if the majority insists that it be done.

    Thats how they get labled as compromising. If they back away and don't help and take the "no new gun laws" position they will not get the chance to correct many of the mistakes when legislation is written by people who know nothing about guns. To then label the NRA with owning that legislation is inapproporate!

    GOA is not happy because they are a small organization of less than 500,000 members and they were not included.

    I support both organizations and wish they could all just "get along" and work together to slow this massive gun regulation movement that is sweeping America at this time.
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  • spanielsells
    I'm sorta of the opinion that if McCarthy is sponsoring it, it must be a bad idea.

    Along the same lines of if Schumer is sponsoring it, it must be a bad idea.
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  • sig232
    quote:Originally posted by spanielsells
    I'm sorta of the opinion that if McCarthy is sponsoring it, it must be a bad idea.

    Along the same lines of if Schumer is sponsoring it, it must be a bad idea.



    I agree, but Republicans are not pushing gun control in the House or Senate so look at the list of anti-gun democrats and see if you can find many that you would feel comfortable with!! Its real scary!
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