Senate Vote Is Good News For Gun Rights -- GOA thanks activists for sending thousands of e-mails to the Senate prior to vote 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 Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Gun owners won an important vote in the U.S. Senate this week, when more than three dozen senators stood with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma in his battle against Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Reid fell eight votes short on Monday of stopping Coburn, who has been using parliamentary maneuvers to keep anti-gun legislation (and pork) from coming to the Senate floor for votes. Sen. Coburn has placed a "hold" on more than 80 bills since January of last year -- including the bill which recently extended the National Parks gun ban to the Washington-Rochambeau trail. Under the rules, one senator may block the progress of an objectionable bill by issuing a "hold" -- a maneuver which prevents a bill from speedily moving through the legislative process. The frustrated dictator of the Senate (a.k.a. Reid) combined 36 of the bills which have come under Coburn's ire into a big omnibus bill and added all kinds of pork to entice senators into supporting the measure. Nevertheless, Reid still fell eight votes short of what was needed to defeat Coburn's holds. GOA wants to thank all of you who took the time during the last week to urge your senators to stand with Coburn! VETERANS DISARMAMENT UPDATE In other Senate news, Richard Burr's bill to repeal large parts of the Veterans Disarmament Act is gaining steam. The Republican senator from North Carolina introduced the Veterans Protection Act (S. 3167) after President Bush signed a gun ban into law this year -- a law which, among other things, disarms military veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD. The Burr bill, which now has 18 cosponsors, would protect the rights of military veterans and make it more difficult for the Veterans Affairs to deny them their Second Amendment rights. GOA members should have received their latest newsletter by now. This issue contains a key update on the Veterans Protection Act in the House (introduced by Rep. Virgil Goode) and answers frequently asked questions by gun owners such as: what should I do when I'm denied by the Brady Check and can I run a NICS check on myself? If you're not receiving the GOA newsletter, please go to http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm to get your members-only subscription today! ACTION: 1. Continue asking your two senators to stand with Sen. Coburn in defying the strong-arm tactics of Majority Leader Reid. Further to that, urge them to cosponsor Coburn's bill (S. 2807) repealing the gun ban in the National Parks. You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators the pre-written e-mail message below. 2. Make sure you check out the latest GOA newsletter and mail the enclosed postcards in support of the Veterans Protection Act if you have not already done so. Thank you! ----- Pre-written letter ----- Dear Senator: I was very happy to hear that the Senate stood with Tom Coburn and refused to vote for Harry Reid's pork-laden omnibus bill on Monday, July 28. I applaud Senator Coburn's efforts to return our government to a constitutional basis, and I hope that the Senate will act on his bill to repeal the National Park Service gun ban (S. 2807). Please stand with Sen. Coburn against the strong-arm tactics of Sen. Reid and support the repeal of the NPS gun ban. Sincerely, **************************** 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.
Posts Tagged ‘GOA’
Senate Vote Is Good News For Gun Rights
August 3, 2008Washington, D.C. City Council Ignoring Supreme Court Ruling
July 29, 2008Gun 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 Monday, July 28, 2008 In open defiance of the Supreme Court's decision striking down the Washington D.C. gun control law, the City Council passed an "emergency" law that keeps in place almost all of the law that was ruled unconstitutional. For example, though the Court ruled specifically that the city's ban on handguns violated the Second Amendment, most handguns still cannot be registered because D.C. bureaucrats classify semi-automatic pistols as "machine guns." Even Dick Heller, who brought the case against Washington's gun ban, was rejected when he tried to register his handgun because any "bottom loading" firearm is a "machine gun" according to the D.C. police. Similarly, while the Court found that "the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a "trigger lock" is unconstitutional, the city kept in place the "lock up your safety" law unless the resident is in immediate danger. The D.C. Council is thus rendering the Supreme Court victory for gun rights meaningless, while leaving residents defenseless. Congress needs to repeal the District's gun control law to ensure that the Supreme Court decision is not a hollow victory. According to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority and responsibility to govern the District. It can simply repeal the District's onerous gun law. Not surprisingly, however, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has no intention of allowing the D.C. gun ban repeal legislation to come to the floor, even though it is cosponsored by more than half of the members of Congress. To free the bill from the Speaker's death grip, Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) has filed a discharge petition to bring the bill directly to the floor. Rep. Souder needs 218 cosigners for the petition to be successful. There are currently 109 signers. There are not many days left in this legislative session, so it is vital that the discharge petition moves quickly. Please contact your representative and urge him or her to support the repeal of the D.C. gun ban and to sign the Souder discharge petition. You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Reps. the pre-written e-mail message below. ----- Pre-written letter ----- Dear Representative, The Washington, D.C. city council is making a mockery of the recent Supreme Court decision supporting the individual right to keep and bear arms. Though the Court ruled the city's handgun ban unconstitutional, DC is still making it illegal to own most handguns. The Court also ruled that the District's gun lock and gun storage law violates the Constitution, but under the city's new "emergency" gun law, firearms must be kept inoperable unless there is an immediate danger to residents. Representative Mark Souder has filed a discharge petition to bring a bill to repeal the District's gun laws to the floor for a vote. Please stand up for the Second Amendment and sign the Souder discharge petition. Sincerely,
National Park Service Gun Ban Expanding
July 23, 2008National Park Service Gun Ban Expanding
— 600-mile Trail to be added to NPS
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
ACTION: Urge your two senators to support S. 2619 — a bill introduced by
Sen. Tom Coburn — to repeal the gun ban on National Park Service lands.
Also, please urge them to stand with Sen. Coburn against the strong-arm
tactics of Majority Leader Reid, who is trying to silence Coburn and thwart
his pro-gun agenda.
You can skip to the bottom and use the pre-written letter below to contact
your two senators right away. Or, you can first read the following alert to
better understand the battle Sen. Coburn is embroiled in and how Sen. Reid
is trying to use his position as Majority Leader to trample Coburn (and the
Second Amendment).
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
On July 10, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to designate the
Washington-Rochambeau Trail, which stretches 600 miles from Rhode Island to
Yorktown, Virginia, as a National Historic Trail. Such a designation would
place the trail under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior and the
National Park Service, thus subjecting the Washington-Rochambeau to the
current NPS gun ban.
Carrying firearms on land controlled by the NPS is prohibited, even if the
state in which the land is located allows firearms. The only way you can
legally have a firearm anywhere on National Park land currently is by having
it unloaded and inaccessible, such as locked up in your trunk.
While the Interior Department recently (after seven years of foot-dragging)
proposed new rules to partially reverse the gun ban, they have not yet taken
effect. If and when they do go into effect, most gun owners would still not
be allowed to possess firearms on these lands because, among other problems
with the rule, open carry would remain prohibited. Congress still needs to
take action to make the gun ban repeal complete and permanent.
Before the bill passed the House, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) filed an amendment
with the Rules Committee to protect the Second Amendment on the trail. His
amendment would have required that state and local laws govern firearms
possession and carrying on the trail. The Rules Committee changed that
language and made it apply only to hunting.
Rep. Bishop denounced the Committee during debate on the measure, pointing
out that the committee “did not defend all of the Second
Amendment, only the
so-called hunting rights, which is not, not the purpose of the Second
Amendment.”
Rep. Bishop made a motion to send the bill back to committee with
instructions to restore the pro-gun language. His motion narrowly failed,
211-202.
The bill (H.R. 1286) now heads to the Senate where the situation is much
more complex. Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has been a leader on repealing the NPS
gun ban. Sen. Coburn previously introduced a bill (S. 2619) to rescind the
ban, but it remains bottled up by senate leadership. Earlier this year,
Sen. Coburn entered into a so-called unanimous consent agreement with Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid to get a vote on his repeal language, but Sen.
Reid reneged on his promise and blocked the vote.
Sen. Coburn remains committed to forcing a vote on killing the NPS gun ban,
and Sen. Reid seems equally committed to blocking that vote. Reid’s most
recent maneuver to silence Coburn is to introduce (as one measure) a package
of bills that Coburn has held up on constitutional grounds. Rolling many
bills into one, loaded with pork and pet projects to dole out to a variety
of senators, is a transparent attempt to erode the widespread support Sen.
Coburn has among his colleagues.
If Reid is successful in passing so many bills at one time without debate,
the ability of individual senators to force deliberate consideration and
roll call votes on important legislation will be threatened.
The reason each state has two senators is stop large population centers
(such as an unholy alliance of NYC, Chicago and Los Angeles) from dictating
their will upon the rest of the country. Historically, the rules of the
Senate have always allowed any individual senator to keep the full body from
acting in an unconstitutional manner.
If other senators allow Reid to act as the dictator of the senate, Coburn’s
ability to stop the expansion of the NPS gun ban will be severely
threatened.
Unless Sen. Coburn’s effort is successful in repealing the gun ban, the 600
mile Washington-Rochambeau — which encompasses parts of major thoroughfares
such as I-95 — will become yet another Second Amendment infringement zone
effecting hundreds of thousands of gun owners up and down the East Coast.
CONTACT INFORMATION: You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center
at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators the
pre-written e-mail message below. And, you can call your Senators at
202-224-3121 or toll-free at 1-877-762-8762.
—– Pre-written letter —–
Dear Senator,
Senator Tom Coburn is leading the fight against the National Park Service
gun ban.
While the Interior Department recently (after seven years of foot-dragging)
proposed new rules to partially reverse the gun ban, they have not yet taken
effect. If and when they do go into effect, most gun owners would still not
be allowed to possess firearms on these lands because, among other problems
with the rule, open carry would remain prohibited.
Senator Coburn is the sponsor of a bill, S. 2619, to make the gun ban repeal
complete and permanent. I urge you to become a cosponsor of this
legislation.
In addition, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has used unprecedented
procedural maneuvers to silence Dr. Coburn and to keep this bill or a
similar amendment from coming to the floor of the Senate. Please stand with
Sen. Coburn against the strong-arm tactics of Sen. Reid and support the
repeal of the NPS gun ban.
Sincerely,
****************************
Olofson Relief Fund
David Olofson has been subjected to a gross miscarriage of justice.
What happened to Olofson could happen to any American who owns a
semi-automatic firearm.
He was convicted of knowingly transferring an unregistered machine gun
— a standard semi-auto rifle which fired two three-round bursts and
then jammed. Gun owners call that a malfunction. The federal government
calls it an easy way to get a felony conviction. Olofson was sentenced
to 30 months in federal prison.
David Olofson is an information technology professional with a wife,
three children and a mortgage. Until his conviction, he was also in the
National Guard.
The Olofson Relief Fund has been set up to allow concerned Americans to
help the Olfoson’s make their mortgage and (their one) car payments
while Dave is unable to work.
If you decide to contribute to the Olofson Relief Fund, your credit
card will be charged monthly for the amount you have indicated. This
will continue until Olofson is out of prison — or you notify us to
discontinue the charges.
Gun Owners of America is acting as the agent for the fund. All moneys
collected will be transferred regularly to the mortgage and car loan
holders.
To make a monthly contribution, go to:
http://www.gunowners.org/olofson.htm
To read about this case in greater detail, see:
http://www.gunowners.org/op0850.htm
That recall was pretty well publicized. If anyone has a copy of it in an old magazine please contact Gun Owners of America. Similar things have happened over the years with 1911 model pistols when the sear became worn, as well as Marlin Rifles and just about every semi-Auto that has ever been produced.
Rogue Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
June 8, 2008Rogue Agency at it yet again! These people need to just go away. As presented in an earlier posting, any legitimate work that they do would better be placed in the hands of the FBI.
Rep. Bill Sali To Government Agency:
“Always Think Freedom”Representative Bill Sali is introducing a bill to send a message to
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(BATFE) that freedom still means something in this country.As part of its Asset Forfeiture training program for agents, the
BATFE ordered 2,000 Leatherman tools inscribed with the words
“Always Think Forfeiture.” The program urges agents to focus
on seizing private property.Rep Sali believes the agency should be thinking ‘Freedom,’ not
‘Forfeiture.’ The Idaho Republican complained about the program
and recieved a letter from Acting ATF Director Michael Sullivan,
who apologized for the “confusion” over the issue.While Rep. Sali appreciated the apology, he said that, “My
constituents deserve to know the truth about this marketing program,
which has been interpreted by many Idahoans as anti-gun and
anti-private property.”The agency halted distribution of the tools in the face of public
outcry, but “[t]he fact remains that the ATF thought it was OK to
think ‘Always Think Forfeiture’ instead of focusing on
protecting our constitutional rights,” Sali said.In a letter to his fellow Congressmen, Sali noted that “the inscription
raises serious concerns to law-abiding citizens as to the intent of an
ATF agent who is performing investigations, particularly with
respect to law-abiding gun owners.”Rep. Sali plans to introduce the ‘Always Think Freedom’ bill
sometime next week. The bill will prohibit the agency from
making purchases of tool kits “on which any reminder of
forfeiture appears.”Action: Please urge your Representative to become an original
cosponsor of the “Always Think Freedom Act.”You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Rep. the
pre-written e-mail message below.—– Pre-written letter —–
Dear Representative:
I urge you to become an original co-sponsor of Rep. Bill Sali’s
“Always Think Freedom” bill, which will be introduced shortly.As part of its Asset Forfeiture training program for agents, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ordered 2,000 Leatherman tools inscribed with the words
“Always Think Forfeiture.” The program urges agents to focus
on seizing private property.The agency, which has been the frequent subject of
congressional inquiry into its heavy-handed law enforcement
tactics, should focus on protecting our Constitutional rights.Rep. Sali’s bill will simply prohibit the agency from making
purchases of tool kits “on which any reminder of forfeiture
appears.”Please support this bill by signing on as an original
cosponsor.Sincerely,
Seems like the folks that brought us Ruby Ridge, and Waco will never learn.
Conservative Libertarian Outpost 