Gun Owners Are Doing Quite A Job On Capitol Hill!
Grassroots Pressure Encourages Nine Congressmen to Switch Votes
-- Gun owners enjoy terrific victory, narrow defeat
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
ATTENTION: Please make use of the draft letter below to contact
your Representatives.
(June 29, 2000) -- First, gun owners came within an inch of gutting
the Clinton & Wesson agreement on Monday night. (See report and
action item below) Second, after getting bombarded by thousands of
angry activists, Representatives in the House voted on Wednesday
morning to leave gun rights activists and groups like Gun Owners of
America alone.
Three Votes Would Have Made the Difference on Hostettler Provision
Under increasing pressure from the grassroots, nine Congressmen
switched their earlier positions and cast their votes with Rep. John
Hostettler (R-IN). His amendment would have prevented the Justice
Department from enforcing any part of the Clinton & Wesson
agreement, thus effectively barring the Clinton-Gore administration
from unilaterally imposing gun control upon gun makers, gun dealers
and gun buyers.
Unfortunately, the Hostettler amendment narrowly failed by a vote of
201-196, partly due to the fact that many pro-gun Congressmen were
still out of town and not present for the vote. (Votes taken on
Monday will typically see many Representatives absent from the House
chambers.) The vote can be found at http://www.gunowners.org/cgv.htm under House (106-2).
Despite the narrow loss, Hostettler's office has told GOA that the
Congressman plans to offer his amendment again. The next vehicle
will be the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill which will probably
come to the floor after the July 4th recess.
ACTION: Please contact your Representative and ask him to support
the Hostettler amendment to the Treasury-Postal bill (which still
does not have a number). Your good work has already persuaded nine
Reps. to switch their votes. Keep applying the pressure! You can
contact your Rep. toll-free at 1-888-449-3511, or you can visit him
over the holidays while he is back in the district. For faxing or
emailing, see the Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA website.
Target List: Several Reps. Need to Feel More "Heat"
There are slightly more than 50 Congressmen in particular that need
to be taken to the woodshed for casting anti-gun votes. Most of the
NO votes against Hostettler's amendment were anti-gun Democrats.
But many NO votes were cast by compromising Republicans and
supposedly pro-gun Democrats.
Partial target list that includes 53 (of the 201) Representatives
who cast anti-gun votes AGAINST Hostettler on Monday. These Reps.
especially need to hear from you:
Bereuter (NE) Houghton (NY) Pryce (OH)
Bilbray (CA) Hyde (IL) Quinn (NY)
Boehlert (NY) Isakson (GA) Ramstad (MN)
Castle (DE) Johnson (CT) Rogan (CA)
Davis (VA) Kelly (NY) Ros-Lehtinen (FL)
Diaz-Balart (FL) King (NY) Roukema (NJ)
Dunn (WA) Kuykendall (CA) Saxton (NJ)
Ehlers (MI) LaTourette (OH) Shaw (FL)
Foley (FL) Leach (IA) Shays (CT)
Fossella (NY) LoBiondo (NJ) Simpson (ID)
Franks (NJ) McHugh (NY) Smith (NJ)
Frelinghuysen (NJ) McInnis (CO) Stupak (MI)
Gallegly (CA) Miller (FL) Sweeney (NY)
Ganske (IA) Northup (KY) Tancredo (CO)
Gilchrest (MD) Oberstar (MN) Upton (MI)
Gilman (NY) Obey (WI) Walsh (NY)
Greenwood (PA) Oxley (OH) Weller (IL)
Horn (CA) Porter (IL)
Target List (Continued)
Dishonorable mention goes to the Crime Subcommittee Chairman Rep.
Bill McCollum (R-FL), who missed the Hostettler vote on Monday.
Quite frankly, it was probably a good thing he missed it, since he
voted against Hostettler last week, thus helping to kill his
amendment. (That particular amendment sought to keep the Department
of HUD from enforcing the Smith & Wesson agreement.)
To ensure Rep. McCollum does not continue voting anti-gun, GOA
encourages ALL Florida gun owners to contact him over the holidays.
Since Rep. McCollum is running for Senate, he would certainly
appreciate hearing from ALL Florida gun owners at 202-225-2176.
House Retreats on Forcing Lobby Groups to Hand Over Activists' Names
On Wednesday morning, gun owners dodged a bullet when the House
backed away from its plan to force lobby groups like GOA to disclose
many, if not all, of its members' names. GOA alerted activists on
Monday about the impending vote on H.R. 4717. Subsequently, House
members and leaders came under intense grassroots pressure, and
thus, formulated a substitute bill (H.R. 4762) that only covered
so-called 527 organizations.
Grassroots activists get the credit for shooting down the original
bill. "We just couldn't get it [passed]," said Rep. Amo Houghton, a
New York Republican who wrote the bill. "It had too many people
with too many pieces that they hated."
Make no mistake. Even the substitute bill sacrifices constitutional
freedoms on the altar of campaign finance reform. H.R. 4762 passed
easily since it only covered those political organizations that are
formed under Section 527 of the tax code. (There are relatively few
527s in existence.) The 527s are political organizations that
primarily affect elections by running issue ads and making political
expenditures without advocating the defeat or election of a
particular candidate.
H.R. 4762 quickly moved to the Senate where it passed this morning
on a 92-6 vote. The bill would force 527s to disclose any
contributor who gives more than $200, and to report any expenditure
of more than $500. Gun Owners of America will not be affected by
the legislation as passed by the House and Senate.
----- Pre-written Message -----
Dear Representative:
I was disappointed to see that the Hostettler amendment to H.R. 4690
(the Commerce-Justice-State bill) failed on June 26. That amendment
is desperately needed to rein in an executive department that is out
of control. I understand that there will be at least one more
opportunity to vote for this amendment since Rep. Hostettler plans
to offer it to the Treasury-Postal funding bill.
The Hostettler amendment will prevent the Clinton-Gore
administration from enforcing the recent Smith & Wesson agreement.
That agreement is not just limited to S & W. This terrible
agreement would also regulate and restrict the sales of guns made by
Beretta, Browning, Ruger, etc.
Furthermore, the Clinton-Gore administration imposed this gun
control upon dealers and gun buyers without the consent of Congress.
Since when can the President act like a legislature?
The Clinton administration has no business imposing gun control upon
the nation through agreements that are extorted from the gun
industry. It is shameful that the administration uses the threat of
lawsuits to implement far-reaching gun control agreements.
I hope you will support the Hostettler amendment to the
Treasury-Postal funding bill when it comes to the floor. Please let
me know what you intend to do. Thank you.
Sincerely,
**************
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.
Grassroots Pressure Encourages Nine Congressmen to Switch Votes
-- Gun owners enjoy terrific victory, narrow defeat
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
ATTENTION: Please make use of the draft letter below to contact
your Representatives.
(June 29, 2000) -- First, gun owners came within an inch of gutting
the Clinton & Wesson agreement on Monday night. (See report and
action item below) Second, after getting bombarded by thousands of
angry activists, Representatives in the House voted on Wednesday
morning to leave gun rights activists and groups like Gun Owners of
America alone.
Three Votes Would Have Made the Difference on Hostettler Provision
Under increasing pressure from the grassroots, nine Congressmen
switched their earlier positions and cast their votes with Rep. John
Hostettler (R-IN). His amendment would have prevented the Justice
Department from enforcing any part of the Clinton & Wesson
agreement, thus effectively barring the Clinton-Gore administration
from unilaterally imposing gun control upon gun makers, gun dealers
and gun buyers.
Unfortunately, the Hostettler amendment narrowly failed by a vote of
201-196, partly due to the fact that many pro-gun Congressmen were
still out of town and not present for the vote. (Votes taken on
Monday will typically see many Representatives absent from the House
chambers.) The vote can be found at http://www.gunowners.org/cgv.htm under House (106-2).
Despite the narrow loss, Hostettler's office has told GOA that the
Congressman plans to offer his amendment again. The next vehicle
will be the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill which will probably
come to the floor after the July 4th recess.
ACTION: Please contact your Representative and ask him to support
the Hostettler amendment to the Treasury-Postal bill (which still
does not have a number). Your good work has already persuaded nine
Reps. to switch their votes. Keep applying the pressure! You can
contact your Rep. toll-free at 1-888-449-3511, or you can visit him
over the holidays while he is back in the district. For faxing or
emailing, see the Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA website.
Target List: Several Reps. Need to Feel More "Heat"
There are slightly more than 50 Congressmen in particular that need
to be taken to the woodshed for casting anti-gun votes. Most of the
NO votes against Hostettler's amendment were anti-gun Democrats.
But many NO votes were cast by compromising Republicans and
supposedly pro-gun Democrats.
Partial target list that includes 53 (of the 201) Representatives
who cast anti-gun votes AGAINST Hostettler on Monday. These Reps.
especially need to hear from you:
Bereuter (NE) Houghton (NY) Pryce (OH)
Bilbray (CA) Hyde (IL) Quinn (NY)
Boehlert (NY) Isakson (GA) Ramstad (MN)
Castle (DE) Johnson (CT) Rogan (CA)
Davis (VA) Kelly (NY) Ros-Lehtinen (FL)
Diaz-Balart (FL) King (NY) Roukema (NJ)
Dunn (WA) Kuykendall (CA) Saxton (NJ)
Ehlers (MI) LaTourette (OH) Shaw (FL)
Foley (FL) Leach (IA) Shays (CT)
Fossella (NY) LoBiondo (NJ) Simpson (ID)
Franks (NJ) McHugh (NY) Smith (NJ)
Frelinghuysen (NJ) McInnis (CO) Stupak (MI)
Gallegly (CA) Miller (FL) Sweeney (NY)
Ganske (IA) Northup (KY) Tancredo (CO)
Gilchrest (MD) Oberstar (MN) Upton (MI)
Gilman (NY) Obey (WI) Walsh (NY)
Greenwood (PA) Oxley (OH) Weller (IL)
Horn (CA) Porter (IL)
Target List (Continued)
Dishonorable mention goes to the Crime Subcommittee Chairman Rep.
Bill McCollum (R-FL), who missed the Hostettler vote on Monday.
Quite frankly, it was probably a good thing he missed it, since he
voted against Hostettler last week, thus helping to kill his
amendment. (That particular amendment sought to keep the Department
of HUD from enforcing the Smith & Wesson agreement.)
To ensure Rep. McCollum does not continue voting anti-gun, GOA
encourages ALL Florida gun owners to contact him over the holidays.
Since Rep. McCollum is running for Senate, he would certainly
appreciate hearing from ALL Florida gun owners at 202-225-2176.
House Retreats on Forcing Lobby Groups to Hand Over Activists' Names
On Wednesday morning, gun owners dodged a bullet when the House
backed away from its plan to force lobby groups like GOA to disclose
many, if not all, of its members' names. GOA alerted activists on
Monday about the impending vote on H.R. 4717. Subsequently, House
members and leaders came under intense grassroots pressure, and
thus, formulated a substitute bill (H.R. 4762) that only covered
so-called 527 organizations.
Grassroots activists get the credit for shooting down the original
bill. "We just couldn't get it [passed]," said Rep. Amo Houghton, a
New York Republican who wrote the bill. "It had too many people
with too many pieces that they hated."
Make no mistake. Even the substitute bill sacrifices constitutional
freedoms on the altar of campaign finance reform. H.R. 4762 passed
easily since it only covered those political organizations that are
formed under Section 527 of the tax code. (There are relatively few
527s in existence.) The 527s are political organizations that
primarily affect elections by running issue ads and making political
expenditures without advocating the defeat or election of a
particular candidate.
H.R. 4762 quickly moved to the Senate where it passed this morning
on a 92-6 vote. The bill would force 527s to disclose any
contributor who gives more than $200, and to report any expenditure
of more than $500. Gun Owners of America will not be affected by
the legislation as passed by the House and Senate.
----- Pre-written Message -----
Dear Representative:
I was disappointed to see that the Hostettler amendment to H.R. 4690
(the Commerce-Justice-State bill) failed on June 26. That amendment
is desperately needed to rein in an executive department that is out
of control. I understand that there will be at least one more
opportunity to vote for this amendment since Rep. Hostettler plans
to offer it to the Treasury-Postal funding bill.
The Hostettler amendment will prevent the Clinton-Gore
administration from enforcing the recent Smith & Wesson agreement.
That agreement is not just limited to S & W. This terrible
agreement would also regulate and restrict the sales of guns made by
Beretta, Browning, Ruger, etc.
Furthermore, the Clinton-Gore administration imposed this gun
control upon dealers and gun buyers without the consent of Congress.
Since when can the President act like a legislature?
The Clinton administration has no business imposing gun control upon
the nation through agreements that are extorted from the gun
industry. It is shameful that the administration uses the threat of
lawsuits to implement far-reaching gun control agreements.
I hope you will support the Hostettler amendment to the
Treasury-Postal funding bill when it comes to the floor. Please let
me know what you intend to do. Thank you.
Sincerely,
**************
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.