Posts Tagged ‘Senate’

Senate staffer says “gun grabbers were livid” and “DiFi was pissed”

March 25, 2013

On Friday, GOA asked you to contact your Senators and urge them to support the Lee amendment which would require Senators to muster 67 votes before adopting gun control legislation. You responded to the call, and the results were very encouraging.

The good news is that a majority of Senators supported the Lee amendment by a 50-49 vote. The bad news is, since the Senate rules requires 60 votes, the Lee amendment fell ten votes short.

Click here to see how your Senators voted on the Lee amendment.

Part of GOA’s strategy for defeating Harry Reid’s gun control bill (S. 649) has been to put Senators on record and force them to reveal where they stand on gun rights. Are they going to stand with us, or are they going to follow Obama down the road to further gun control restrictions and, therefore, require additional pressure from their constituents?

One high-level Senate staffer, commenting about the vote on the Lee amendment which took place at 4 a.m. Saturday morning, told GOA that, “The gun grabbers were livid when Senator Lee forced the vote. Mark Pryor looked nervous as hell, and DiFi [aka, Dianne Feinstein] was pissed.”

GOA’s strategy was realized twice Saturday when two key amendments were offered to the budget resolution — one amendment by Senator Lee, the other by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK).

Six Democrats and all but one Republican (Mark Kirk of Illinois) voted in favor of the Lee Amendment which would make S. 649 impossible to pass. Again, this is because the Lee amendment would have required anti-gun Senators to muster 67 votes (rather than a simple majority of 51 votes) before gun control could be adopted.

There were six “Red State” Democrats who voted Against the Lee amendment — Senators Mark Begich (AK), Tim Johnson (SD), Tim Kaine (VA), Mary Landrieu (LA), Harry Reid (NV) and Mark Warner (VA). Gun owners in these states should be sure to voice their displeasure with these Senators.

The other provision — an anti-UN treaty amendment offered by Sen. Inhofe — passed by a 53-46 margin.  53 senators, including eight Democrats, voted for the Inhofe amendment to kill the UN Arms Trade Treaty — a treaty that would impose gun registration and possibly even ban handguns and semi-autos, while creating a microstamping requirement that would be technologically impossible to comply with. You can see how your Senators voted on the Inhofe amendment here.

Anti-gun Mary Landrieu and Harry Reid voted wrong on both amendments — and even refused to join the eight Democrats who oppose the UN Arms Trade Treaty. This treaty could be self-executing and could, without further legislation, force the U.S. to implement gun registration and bans on semi-autos and handguns.

Gun owners in Louisiana and Nevada, you have some homework to do — Mary Landrieu and Harry Reid need to hear from you!

GOA will keep you updated on the status of Harry Reid’s gun control bill (S. 649), which will be voted on right after the Easter recess.

It would then appear that many of them are still STUCK ON STUPID!

 

We know, we know. We would prefer to prohibit any and all gun control, even if it had 100 votes…

March 23, 2013

We realize it’s short notice, but we wanted to alert you that, later tonight, Senator Mike Lee of Utah intends to offer an amendment to the budget resolution that would prohibit any gun control legislation which does not have a 2/3 vote in the Senate.

We know, we know. We would prefer to prohibit any and all gun control, even if it had 100 votes.

But if the Lee amendment is passed, the practical effect will be that gun control can never again pass the Senate.

Given the Armageddon-like fight which we are now engaged in in the Senate, achieving a gun-control peace for the rest of our lifetimes would be a good thing.

ACTION: Contact your Senators. Ask them to vote for the Lee amendment which would require a 2/3 vote for the Senate to impose any gun control.

You may Click here to use The Action Center, or you can call your Senators since time is short. The number for the Senate is 202-224-3121.

Obama’s gun control proposals: epic failure by the epic fail POTUS

March 16, 2013
  • Today, the Nut-Left Democrats on the Senate Judiciary voted to report the Feinstein gun ban –which could ban between 50% and 80% of guns and magazines in circulation today. It may not even get a majority in the Senate – much less the 60 votes needed to pass. And it is being pushed primarily to allow anti-gun Democrats from pro-gun states to pretend to be pro-gun.
  • Tuesday, the Judiciary Committee passed, by a 10-to-8 vote, the universal gun registry bill. Chief sponsor Chuck Schumer has been unable to achieve Republican support from anyone other than the anti-gun Illinois Republican Mark Kirk. Therefore, unless another Republican sells out at the last minute, we believe we can successfully filibuster this ill in the full Senate.
  • Tuesday, by a vote of 14-to-4, the Judiciary Committee also reported a Boxer bill that would increase, by $10 million, the funding for an existing school safety program. The money could be used for armed guards, as the NRA proposes, or it could be used for an anti-gun study. It is therefore neither inherently “pro-gun” nor “anti-gun.” We have said we would oppose proceeding to Boxer if it is a vehicle for votes on other anti-gun measures – but that we would not object to its passage, without amendment, by “unanimous consent.”
  • This brings us to the central battlefield: Last week, the committee reported, by a vote of 11-to-7, the Veterans Gun Ban, S. 54. The lone GOP vote in favor came from Chuck Grassley, who indicated he would oppose the bill on the Senate floor unless it was improved from the committee-reported version.
As we see it, the chief strategic objective is now to keep gun control votes from coming to the Senate floor by opposing the “motion to proceed” to any bill which is going to be used as a vehicle for gun votes.
That would certainly mean that senators should oppose moving to proceed to universal gun registries or the Veterans Gun Ban. But it also means that we oppose moving to proceed to so-called non-controversial bills, such as Boxer, if those bills are being brought up as a vehicle for anti-gun amendments.
ACTION: Click here to contact your senator. Ask him to oppose any motion to proceed – by filibuster if necessary – to the Feinstein gun ban, the universal gun registry bill, the Veterans Gun Ban (S. 54), or to any other piece of legislation being brought up as a vehicle for votes on these anti-gun proposals.

Reid & McConnell are reportedly about to change the Senate rules

January 23, 2013
It’s probably a harbinger of sell-outs to come.  But Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell is apparently about to conclude an agreement with Majority Leader Harry Reid which would sell out pro-gunners and decimate minority rights under the Senate rules.
This change could occur as early as Wednesday.  If enacted, it could handcuff pro-gun forces and keep them from defeating the most radical initiatives aimed at restricting our Second Amendment rights.
The first of two changes would allow Harry Reid -– and only Harry Reid –- to circumvent the hurdles that the minority could use to slow down a controversial gun control bill.
As you may remember from the fight over the anti-gun ObamaCare bill, the filibuster of the “motion to proceed” is the last point where pro-gunners can delay a bill before Harry Reid can bribe Senators and buy votes with deals like the infamous Cornhusker Kickback.
If Reid follows this procedure, McConnell could offer two “germane” amendments on behalf of Republicans.  But given the willingness of Democrats to destroy the Senate rules by brute force, you can expect them to drastically limit what amendments would be considered “germane,” thus restricting the ability of the minority to effectively filibuster an anti-gun bill.
The second Reid-McConnell amendment would make it virtually impossible to stop a bill from going to House-Senate conference committee.
Currently, if pro-gunners suspect that Democrats intend to take a tiny bill and write comprehensive gun control in a House-Senate conference, they can stop the bill from going to conference and require that it be bounced back-and-forth in an amendable form — what is known as ping-ponging — between the two houses.
But this Reid-McConnell change would allow Reid to force a conference to prevent the minority from, once again, stopping gun control legislation from being written in a conference committee and crammed down Senators’ throats on a take-it-or-leave it basis.
The bottom line?  Given that Harry Reid has consistently abused the Senate rules and locked Republicans out of the amendment process, why should McConnell reward him with this massive expansion of his powers?
And what does this say about the likelihood that McConnell will show any courage on the gun issue when it comes before the U.S. Senate?
The President and his allies in the Congress want to impose Universal Background Checks, among other things, upon every gun purchaser in America.  This would finally give gun grabbers the information they need to identify and register every gun buyer (whether the purchase was completed as a private sale or through a gun dealer).
Given that the Democrats in New York are trying to CONFISCATE guns from law-abiding gun owners, gun owners should rise with ONE VOICE in opposing any legislation or rules changes that would allow federal bureaucrats to register gun owners.
And more to the point, gun owners need to contact their Senators immediately and demand that they leave the Senate rules alone!
At the rate that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is going — if he concludes a deal limiting the use of the filibuster — it would not be surprising if a number of primary opponents emerge to challenge him.
ACTION:  Click here to contact your U.S. Senators immediately.  While you can contact them here through CapWiz, we would strongly encourage you to call your Senators and DEMAND that they leave the filibuster alone!
You can reach them by calling the U.S. Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121.  And, please call Sen. Mitch McConnell (202-224-2541) and tell him to make NO DEALS to limit the use of the filibuster.

RAM into law the new Feinstein Gun Ban, and ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds

January 22, 2013

I’m worried Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may be about to cut a deal with Harry Reid . . .

. . . that’s why I need you to TAKE ACTION at once.

You see, Reid may still be just a few votes short of the 51 he needs to break Senate rules and use the “nuclear option” to destroy the Senate filibuster.

But if McConnell cuts a deal with Reid to deliver the votes he needs, he’ll have cleared a path for the passage of Barack Obama’s Gun Ban Plan.

Please CLICK HERE to send Mitch McConnell an email demanding he not cut a deal with Harry Reid to gut the Senate filibuster.

For Freedom,

Dudley Brown
Executive Vice President

www.NationalGunRights.org/

 

Musings After Midnight–I’ll see you in the war: Civil War II–Notes on the coming calamity to restore the Constitution

January 13, 2013

Good morning, dear Patriots, and welcome. The news is dire and the time is short. So, let’s get right down to business.

It is my firm belief that civil war is now inevitable and imminent in America. As with the two world wars of the early 20th century, this will be “Civil War II“–which addresses issues the first Civil War failed to address.

Never before in modern history has there been so much talk even among elected government officials that we stand on the cusp of “insurrection,” “a revolutionary uprising,” and a “war between citizens on our own soil.”

Yet here we are. Even Charles Krauthammer, who is not given to hyperbolic engagement in hysterics, stated that if the Obama Administration proceeds with its gun control plans, there will be insurrection.

And a trusted friend of mine who has significant friends and contacts both inside and outside the government has indicated that war is near and that many militia groups are now poised to fight it. “Let’s get this over and done now so our children and grandchildren won’t have to,” is the sentiment being expressed.

If it were only the gun issue plaguing the current ruling class, civil war probably could be avoided with a simple step or two to back off draconian new gun control laws and gun bans, abandoning plans to register ammo purchases, and focusing instead on sensible security measures for the nation’s children. Guns are used to protect the president, congressmen and senators, government officials, banks, money, and Hollywood stars.

Why not the children?

The answer is simple. To seriously protect the children the leviathans would have to admit that ordinary citizens need the unfettered right to keep and bear arms, as our Founders guaranteed in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This they are not willing to do. In their warped world view the people are not to be trusted with guns. Only the elites, the rich, the political ruling class, and the police and military should have access to guns.

King George and the British could not have said it better in the days leading up to the Revolutionary War in 1776.

But guns are not the only issue that has led America to the brink of civil war.

This president has told too many lies, exhibited too much unbridled arrogance, and overstepped the Constitutional limits on his power too often on a number of issues to be let off the hook. So have his enablers in Congress, most of whom are Democrats, although a few Republicans have helped him as well.

Fact 1: Obama won reelection with barely over 50% of the vote. His opponent won over 49% of the vote. This is hardly a “mandate.” He does not have a blank check. But he acts like it. He thinks he is King. He acts like a dictator in the tradition of Hitler and Stalin who should be given anything he wants. He is like a big baby who never grew up and is sitting in his high chair banging on the table throwing tantrums. Any American president who displays such qualities does not deserve the office. He should be forcibly removed.

Fact 2: Obama lied to Speaker John Boehner on the debt negotiations. He told him in good faith prior to the election that he would compromise on his demands for tax increases, and accept four dollars in spending reductions for every dollar in tax increases. After the election, Obama changed the goal posts in mid stream. No longer would he settle for $800,000 in tax increases, but he demanded 2.7 trillion in tax hikes. And he insisted that any spending reductions be put off until later.

This is not a quality of good leadership, trustworthiness, or moral integrity. He is unfit for the office. In a different era he would be likened to a sleazy card shark on a Mississippi river boat. While some may admire such a person’s ability to outmaneuver opponents using dishonest tricks of the trade, is this a quality we admire or want in a president? Really?

Fact 3: Obama wants to be able to increase the debt ceiling any time he wants, in any amount he wants, without the approval of Congress. Congress resisted that one, but now comes word that he will likely use the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to seize the power to be absolute dictator over the debt and spending. The amendment has never been used in such a fashion in U.S. history. But my sources say he is willing to go down that trail, opening up a plethora of legal challenges that will be tied up in the courts for years. In the meantime, Obama will spend the nation into complete bankruptcy with nobody in Congress or the Courts to stop him. They have shown they don’t have the guts.

Patriots have the guts. He must not be allowed to do this, period.

Fact 4: Now that he has been reelected, Obama is appointing the most radical rejects he can find to top cabinet posts. John Kerry at State? Chuck Hagel at Defense? Jack Lew at Treasury? These are absolute clowns, buffoons who should not be serving anywhere in government at all. Each lie through their teeth. They are anti-military, anti-Jew, and anti-fiscal responsibility. And he expects the Senate to roll over and approve these lightweight Leftwing nutcases to the government. Woe be unto us if he gets to nominate new Supreme Court justices.

Republicans had best get in block mode and deny to Obama anyone and everyone he nominates. His choices exhibit a lack of competence and a deep disdain for America and its Constitution. This is why any Supreme Court nominee he sends to the Senate must be BLOCKED, even if it means tying up the Senate in endless filibusters. At all costs he must not be allowed to get whoever he wants in these important offices.

Fact 5: Obama is threatening to use the “executive order” to accomplish what Congress denies him…an abuse of the original intent of the executive order. This would amount to an outright dictatorship that bypasses elected officials in Congress. Such an act in matters of clear Constitutional precedent indicating the need for due process would amount to tyranny, a high crime under the Constitution, and punishable by whatever the Congress deems appropriate, up to and including the death penalty.

Will our castrated Republican leadership do anything about it if Obama goes down this path? I doubt it. That means only one thing, and you know what I am talking about…a citizen posse that will make arrests according to the terms of the 10th Amendment and others. Perhaps it is also time for the citizens to empower the Citizen Grand Jury, given that the judicial branch of government is failing in its duty to uphold the Constitution. The 10th Amendment, thus, gives THE PEOPLE the power to take action in such a circumstance.

Thus, while the gun issue is the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, there are a number of issues driving the current unrest in the heartland of America. In short, we have had quite enough of Barack Obama and all who enable him to take unlawful and unconstitutional actions, and that includes Democrats in Congress, the Courts, and even 50% of our fellow citizens. Our patience has run thin with you for your willful ignorance, your willingness to sell your soul for a government payoff, your lack of basic values and common decency, and your practice of incessantly violating time-honored Constitutional principles that put clear limits on government and how far the “majority” can go. Unalienable rights are not subject to a majority vote.

I fully expect, therefore, that war will break out on our own soil in 2013, unless something drastic is done to reign in the arrogance of Obama and the Washington ruling establishment. These people must be stopped by the process that has been put in place to do so, or else the citizens will take matters into their own hands.

The official line in the sand is the gun issue. And thus, I have some definitive declarations that need to be considered by the powers that be before they go off on an unconstitutional rampage on the rights of the people.

1. We will not comply with any new gun control law.

2. We will not turn in any firearm that you suddenly decide to be “illegal.” They are illegal only in your own delusional minds.


3. In the event you limit ammunition or require us to register to get it, we will create the biggest black market in the history of the world. We can make our own ammunition.


4. We will not comply with any new gun bans. We can make our own guns as well, even the type you wish to take from us.


5. The attempt to gain entrance to our homes to confiscate our guns and ammunition will be considered an act of war. We will not comply. Be prepared to kill us if you do such an asinine thing in what is supposed to be a FREE country. But then, also be aware that you will pay a heavy price for perpetrating such tyranny.


6. We will never fire on tyrannical government personnel first. But if we are  fired upon first, you had best be prepared to live with what follows. War is hell.


7. Never again will we allow you to perpetrate a Waco, Texas massacre on citizens merely for trying to practice their religion, though unpopular. And we will never again allow you to pull a Ruby Ridge without swift, severe consequences.


One hundred million citizens own and keep 300 million firearms of various types. Do you honestly believe you have a chance to overwhelm us? Even if only three percent of the 100 million engage in battle, that’s three million citizens — nothing to sneeze at.

The citizen militia in the 1770s defeated the most powerful army in the world at the time — the British army that presided over a worldwide empire.

And don’t think that Civil War I is any indication of government power in this. The situation was entirely different. Southerners at the very outset were in a weakened position. Poverty was rampant. They were at a clear disadvantage.

This time, it won’t be one region of the country pitted against another region. Patriot gun owners live in all 50 states, and the three percent are scattered throughout America. That means that if you are in Maine or Massachusetts, your neighbor may be one of the three percent who will fight you and the federal jackbooted government thugs.

And if any one of us is arrested, murdered, or harmed in any way in order to make an example of us, you had best beware and be prepared to go into hiding. Three million angry gun owners will rise up in defiance of your deadly tyranny and teach you a lesson that will go down in history as a definitive moment in our nation.

These words of mine are meant to force the powers that be to think twice and pause indefinitely before they embark on any action that will culminate in such violence in our streets. Mine is but a warning, a word to the wise. You need to know what’s coming. And you need to rethink your current course of action.

We are dead serious. We are not going to allow you to blame us for what one idiotic, crazed lunatic does illegally with guns he obtained illegally. Do something to actually secure the schools rather than widow dress with a red herring (gun control and bans), and address the problem of the criminals and the lunatics. But leave the rest of us the hell alone. Or else…

SOURCE

Anthony Martin is certainly one of the most talented writers of our day, and that is just one reason why The Liberty Sphere has had a sidebar link here for years!

 

Civil War or Revolution?

January 12, 2013

It all became academic when the big government authoritarians decided that the time was ripe to disarm those that they laird it over. Mob rule, also known as political correctness and democracy has raised it’s populist ugly head against our republic. The Bill of Rights means nothing any longer. Sure, the current debate is about the Second Amendment but that’s simply a cover. Just look at how the entire Bill of Rights has been whittled away over the years with the blessings of the Supreme Court.

The electorate in general no longer respects the oath taken to protect and defend the Constitution. Rather they by and large do their best to chip away freedom and liberty since the don’t have the courage to force a Constitutional Convention. Cut the lies and admit that what their doing is no less than the commission or treason. Legal definitions be damned! No more squirming around by better than thou attorney types call it what it is.

How many as a percentage brought about freedom from the British? I have read that it was as low as three percent up to twenty percent. The point being that it was not very many. There are a lot more now, and those people are angry, very angry.

While many of the treasonous leaders of these not so United States are plotting the over through of the foundations that made this nation the envy of the world others are quietly forming actual militia’s with the full blown intention of destroying those that wish to destroy the enemies those that prefer freedom. Not simply the outlaws in the Senate and House of Representatives but organizations such as the  Southern Positive Law Center as many groups that hate liberty.

An actual civil war or full full blown revolution is about to unfold. The neo- conservatives and neo-communists will the ones that will to be the ones that brought the blood baths. People are sick of talk and negotiation that just chips away the rights and liberty that belong of the people.

Time will tell to be sure when it comes to just will happen.

 

McCain may be working to stab us in the back, and what else is new..?

January 4, 2013
Whether the Semi-Auto Ban Passes May
Depend on What Happens to the Senate Rules

McCain may be working to stab us in the back

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is still trying to rig the Senate rules so that President Barack Obama can get his anti-gun and anti-Constitution agenda passed.

But first, here’s some good news.

GOA activists like yourself are having an impact!

Prior to the New Year, the reports coming out of Washington, DC indicated that Senator Harry Reid was going to nuke the filibuster on the first day of the new Congress (which would have been yesterday).

But Politico, which is one of the official papers of Capitol Hill, reported yesterday that Reid still doesn’t have the votes — despite having a Democrat majority.

The Politico headline blared:  “Reid expected to Postpone Filibuster Rule Change:  May buy time for a bipartisan bill.”

This is somewhat good news, as it means that Reid still can’t cram a rules change down our throats, limiting the ability that pro-gun Senators have to filibuster (or kill) anti-gun legislation.

But here’s the bad news:  Reid is working on a “compromise” where certain RINO’s like John McCain will help Reid do his bidding.

What’s at stake?

Well, The Blaze reported yesterday that Vice President Joe Biden “guaranteed” to ailing Boston Mayor Tom Menino that sweeping gun control legislation would be passed by the end of January.

How sweeping?

A quick look at Feinstein’s semi-auto ban legislation suggests that up to 75% of all handguns currently in circulation would be banned, along with as much as 50% of all long guns.

Depending on its configuration, the AR-15 you already have would probably be treated like a machine gun.  You would have to be fingerprinted, background checked by the FBI, and undergo a six-month license application process to keep it.  And when you die, the government will seize it.

If you don’t get an NFA license, you can expect the SWAT teams to descend on your house.

But, you ask, how could such rabidly anti-gun legislation ever get past Congress?  Well, legislators could simply follow the path they took on the fiscal cliff, where they bludgeoned a minority of Senators into accepting several, coerced short-cuts in regard to the Senate rules.

However, these forced short-cuts would now become mandated and set in stone if Harry Reid & Co. get their way.

Under one new “compromise” being floated on Capitol Hill, the Senate would change its rules so that it could pass a gun ban with only 50 votes (plus the vote of Vice President Joe Biden).  Or legislators could write the gun ban in a House-Senate conference committee on a “must-pass” bill, employing a tactic that is frequently used to pass controversial legislation.  Democrats like West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, Nevada’s Harry Reid, and Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey — who will not have to run for reelection for a while — will cast “courageous” votes for this gun ban.

And it will hit the House with enormous momentum — momentum which House Speaker John Boehner (who has already called for a dialogue on gun control) may not have the courage to resist.

But the first step will be to demolish the Senate rules so that gun control only requires 50 votes — or so that gun control can be inserted in a House-Senate conference report on a must-pass bill.  And this is where John McCain comes in.

GOA working with Senator Rand Paul to preserve the filibuster

McCain was irritated at Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who worked with Gun Owners of America on a variety of pro-gun issues that slowed down his defense funding bill.   So McCain would not lose any sleep if his rules “compromise” diminished our ability to kill anti-gun legislation in the future.

McCain is now working with Leftist anti-gun Senator Carl Levin on a series of rules changes to make gun control a lot easier to pass.

The first McCain-Levin rules change would make it impossible to fight — what’s known in Washington as — the “motion to proceed.”  Remember ObamaCare?  Our last real shot to kill ObamaCare was by filibustering the “motion to proceed” to that anti-gun legislation.  Once the motion was adopted, the bill became amendable and Harry Reid could play “let’s-make-a-deal.”  So this change would eliminate our last real opportunity to set up a roadblock and keep anti-gun legislation from even being considered.

The second McCain-Levin rules change would make it easier to add gun control to a bill in conference.  Currently, senators can block a House-Senate conference from considering an anti-gun bill.  But if the McCain proposals are adopted, a “must-pass” bill could be sent to conference … amended in conference with a draconian gun ban … and then sent back to the House and the Senate on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.

McCain will try to tell you that that inserting a gun ban into a bill that is sitting in a House-Senate conference would be outside the “scope of conference.”  But that would be a lie, because as any Senator knows, “scope of conference” rules are never followed.  For example, the Gramm-Rudman spending guidelines were written in conference from the ground up.

The third McCain-Levin rules change would block any amendments except for those offered by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell or Floor Manager John McCain.  All other senators would be left out in the cold.

This McCain-Levin package must be stopped.

We are currently working with Senator Rand Paul, who is planning to offer a GOA-originated amendment requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate before any anti-gun measure can be passed.

We know.  We know.  If it were up to us, gun control would not be able to be passed with 100 votes.  But we need to propose something which will pass the Senate.

So we need your help in opposing the McCain package and supporting the Paul amendment.

ACTION:  Click here to contact your Senators.  Demand that they (1) oppose the McCain-Levin package to make gun control easier to pass, and (2) support the Rand Paul amendment to require a two-thirds vote to enact gun control.

 

Harry Reid Prepares to Annihilate Second Amendment, what next freedom of expression..?

January 3, 2013

“Our Founders intended the Senate to be a body where legislation was slowed down and subject to improvement through extended debate and amendment. [Harry] Reid’s proposed ‘reforms’ would remove two of the most fundamental rights traditionally reserved to all Senators — to freely debate and amend legislation. I shall not stand for that.” — Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)

On Election Day last November, several Democrat Senators were campaigning for reelection in pro-gun states.  And in order to get their constituents’ votes, they promised fealty to the Second Amendment.

Patrick, on November 6, Democrat Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Bob Casey (PA) and Jon Tester (MT) all won their respective elections.  These seats, among others, were crucial to helping Harry Reid return to the top post in the Senate.

But only a month after the election returns were tallied, the Senate — under Majority Leader Harry Reid’s control — is now crusading to implement:

* Gun bans on semiautomatic firearms and magazines;

* An effective ban on gun shows;

* A ban on private gun sales, without going through a gun dealer; and,

* Changes in the Senate rules which would allow them to ban guns with a mere 50 Senate votes.

This last proposal is particularly insidious.  Gun grabbers are not going to be able to get 60 votes to break a Senate filibuster of gun control.  But, with the help of fake “pro-gun” Senate Democrats, they may be able to get 50.

So the question of whether Senate Democrats will need 50 votes or 60 votes will determine whether gun control -– and much of Obama’s agenda -– will be slammed through and passed into law.

This brings us to the “nuclear option.”

This is a trick which anti-gun Democrats intend to use the first day of the Senate session in order to obliterate the Senate rules and clear the way for 50-vote passage of gun control.

Your senator’s vote on the “nuclear option” may be the most important gun-related vote he casts during the 113th Congress.  It may be the difference between whether Obama can secure Senate passage of gun bans, magazine bans, gun show bans, and bans on private gun sales.

Anti-gun Democrats will try to tell you that the Senate is just following its precedents.

But that’s a bald-faced lie.  As Democrats made clear during the Bush administration when the Republicans were contemplating the “nuclear option,” the nuclear option has been threatened, but the trigger has never been pulled.

Anti-gun Democrats will try to tell you that the “nuclear option” can only be invoked on the first day.

That’s a lie.  Senate Rule 5, Paragraph 2, provides that the Senate rules continue from one Congress to the next, unless changed by 67 votes (needed to break a filibuster of rules changes).  If the Senate can use brute force to obliterate Rule 5 by 50 votes, it can use brute force to obliterate any rule at any time by 50 votes.

This is a major vote that will have huge ramifications for our republic.  Our gun rights are just one of the many freedoms that are on the chopping block right now.  And if Harry Reid can squelch his opposition by nuking the filibuster, it will be the first step towards completely obliterating our Constitution.

ACTION: Click here to contact your Senators and tell them that the vote on the “nuclear option” will be the most important gun control vote of the 113th Congress.  Urge them to vote AGAINST changing the Senate rules.  Tell them to vote AGAINST the “nuclear option.”

 You may also phone the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.

SOURCE

 

It’s Back: Free Speech is just fine, as long as you agree with them! DISCLOSE ACT

July 19, 2012

 

Anti-gun Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) really does not want gun owners’ voices to be heard in Washington, D.C.

 

Anti-gun Democrat leaders have scheduled a vote for Monday, July 16, on the so-called DISCLOSE Act.

 

You may recall that the DISCLOSE Act passed the House in 2010 but died in the Senate after an intense lobbying effort by Gun Owners of America and other groups.

 

The bill coming to the floor on Monday, S. 3369, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, puts severe and unconstitutional limits on GOA’s ability to hold individual congressmen accountable in the months leading up to an election.

 

Instead of protecting the most important type of speech protected by the First Amendment — political speech — this bill would force groups like GOA to “disclose” the names of donors in certain political advertisements.

 

Since Gun Owners of America is not willing to disclose its membership lists to the Federal Election Commission, we could be prohibited from running radio or TV ads exposing a federal candidate’s voting record during the election season.

 

This is just another attempt by pathetic, anti-gun politicians like Harry Reid to save their jobs before the political earthquake in November strikes. Indeed, if GOA candidates are victorious in Senate races in November, Harry Reid will no longer be the Majority Leader.

 

And, as has been the case so often with Reid, there have been no committee hearings to debate the merits of the bill, thus the American people have no opportunity to see just how egregiously DISCLOSE violates the Constitution. In fact, the bill was introduces less than a week ago.

 

Please urge your Senators to protect ALL of the Bill of Rights. Remind them that your ability to protect the Second Amendment relies on the safeguards of the First Amendment.

 

ACTION: Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose the DISCLOSE Act. You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center to send your Senators a pre-written e-mail message.