Important Vote Affecting Gun Rights Tomorrow
-- House to decide if government can glean gun owners' names from
certain lists
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org
This alert posted on the web at: http://www.gunowners.org/a062600.htm
(Monday, June 26, 2000) -- The Hostettler amendment to gut the
Smith & Wesson agreement is scheduled to be voted on tonight.
Having said that, there is a threat looming on the horizon -- a
threat that may materialize in the House as early as tomorrow.
The House is expected to begin debating H.R 4717, the
Archer-Houghton "Full and Fair Political Activity Disclosure Act of
2000" -- a bill that turns out to be neither full nor fair.
H.R. 4717 would force affected organizations (like GOA) to release
many, if not all, of the names and addresses of their members to the
IRS -- a requirement which is blatantly unconstitutional. Many years
ago, the state of Alabama had tried to get the names of NAACP
members, but its attempts were beaten back by the Supreme Court in
NAACP v. Alabama (1958).
Despite this obvious precedent, this bill is now targeting so-called
501(c)(4) lobbying organizations -- groups like GOA and NRA-ILA --
which cannot receive tax-deductible contributions from the public.
In contrast, there are many liberal foundations that are set up as
501(c)(3) organizations -- groups like the Million Mom March
Foundation which are limited in the amount of direct lobbying that
they can do. Even so, these foundations can still spend up to
$1 million per year in direct lobbying and conduct voter education
campaigns while still receiving tax-deductible contributions.
All this to say: H.R. 4717 applies to 501(c)(4) organizations but
not to 501(c)(3) organizations. Thus, this bill regulates GOA and
NRA, but not anti-gun organizations such as the Violence Policy
Center, the Million Mom March Foundation or HCI's Center to Prevent
Handgun Violence.
Unfair? You bet it is. But the bigger issue is the threat this
bill poses to the Constitution. This bill, sponsored by retiring
Representative Bill Archer (R-TX), will allow Republicans to claim
they have "done something" about campaign finance reform. But in
doing so, they're blowing holes in the Constitution. The Supreme
Court correctly noted in the NAACP decision that forcing groups to
disclose their members' names to the government would "constitute
a[n] effective restraint on freedom of association."
It goes without saying that an activist who sends a check to GOA to
help protect his Second Amendment rights doesn't want his name being
registered with the IRS as a gun owner. And for that reason, GOA
will fight this bill "tooth and nail." And if this bill were to
become law, GOA would not comply. We would fight it in court, and
exhaust every possible resource, because we are not going to turn
over our members' names to the IRS.
This underscores why it is SO VERY IMPORTANT that we defeat this
bill in the Congress! GOA would rather spend its members' dollars
defending 2nd Amendment freedoms, as opposed to spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars fighting 1st Amendment battles in court.
ACTION: Please ask your Congressman to OPPOSE H.R. 4717, the
Archer-Houghton Political Activity Disclosure Act. Tell them the
government has no business keeping tabs on who you're associating
with. Moreover, this kind of legislation is dangerous as far as gun
ownership is concerned. The registration of gun owners could very
well be the first step towards confiscation in the future.
Tell your Congressman to vote NO on H.R. 4717. Please call him
toll-free at 1-888-449-3511.
**************
Do not reply directly to this message.
To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web.
------------------
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
-- House to decide if government can glean gun owners' names from
certain lists
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org
This alert posted on the web at: http://www.gunowners.org/a062600.htm
(Monday, June 26, 2000) -- The Hostettler amendment to gut the
Smith & Wesson agreement is scheduled to be voted on tonight.
Having said that, there is a threat looming on the horizon -- a
threat that may materialize in the House as early as tomorrow.
The House is expected to begin debating H.R 4717, the
Archer-Houghton "Full and Fair Political Activity Disclosure Act of
2000" -- a bill that turns out to be neither full nor fair.
H.R. 4717 would force affected organizations (like GOA) to release
many, if not all, of the names and addresses of their members to the
IRS -- a requirement which is blatantly unconstitutional. Many years
ago, the state of Alabama had tried to get the names of NAACP
members, but its attempts were beaten back by the Supreme Court in
NAACP v. Alabama (1958).
Despite this obvious precedent, this bill is now targeting so-called
501(c)(4) lobbying organizations -- groups like GOA and NRA-ILA --
which cannot receive tax-deductible contributions from the public.
In contrast, there are many liberal foundations that are set up as
501(c)(3) organizations -- groups like the Million Mom March
Foundation which are limited in the amount of direct lobbying that
they can do. Even so, these foundations can still spend up to
$1 million per year in direct lobbying and conduct voter education
campaigns while still receiving tax-deductible contributions.
All this to say: H.R. 4717 applies to 501(c)(4) organizations but
not to 501(c)(3) organizations. Thus, this bill regulates GOA and
NRA, but not anti-gun organizations such as the Violence Policy
Center, the Million Mom March Foundation or HCI's Center to Prevent
Handgun Violence.
Unfair? You bet it is. But the bigger issue is the threat this
bill poses to the Constitution. This bill, sponsored by retiring
Representative Bill Archer (R-TX), will allow Republicans to claim
they have "done something" about campaign finance reform. But in
doing so, they're blowing holes in the Constitution. The Supreme
Court correctly noted in the NAACP decision that forcing groups to
disclose their members' names to the government would "constitute
a[n] effective restraint on freedom of association."
It goes without saying that an activist who sends a check to GOA to
help protect his Second Amendment rights doesn't want his name being
registered with the IRS as a gun owner. And for that reason, GOA
will fight this bill "tooth and nail." And if this bill were to
become law, GOA would not comply. We would fight it in court, and
exhaust every possible resource, because we are not going to turn
over our members' names to the IRS.
This underscores why it is SO VERY IMPORTANT that we defeat this
bill in the Congress! GOA would rather spend its members' dollars
defending 2nd Amendment freedoms, as opposed to spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars fighting 1st Amendment battles in court.
ACTION: Please ask your Congressman to OPPOSE H.R. 4717, the
Archer-Houghton Political Activity Disclosure Act. Tell them the
government has no business keeping tabs on who you're associating
with. Moreover, this kind of legislation is dangerous as far as gun
ownership is concerned. The registration of gun owners could very
well be the first step towards confiscation in the future.
Tell your Congressman to vote NO on H.R. 4717. Please call him
toll-free at 1-888-449-3511.
**************
Do not reply directly to this message.
To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web.
------------------
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!