Battle Lines Forming in the Senate
-- Senator Bob Smith forces colleagues to decide between God or gun
control
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
(Tuesday, July 27, 1999) -- What does one do when outgunned by the
other side? Call for Divine help of course.
Senator Bob Smith (I-NH), who is fighting a lonely battle in the
U.S. Senate, has done just that.
It still appears that on this Wednesday, Smith will force a showdown
between two different approaches to fighting crime: one that
emphasizes the role of the Ten Commandments and prayer (the House
crime bill) and one that imposes even more gun control (the
Gore-Lautenberg version passed in the Senate).
Smith's parliamentary maneuvering resulted in yesterday's expected
vote being cancelled-- thus leaving the ultimate showdown for later
this week.
On Wednesday, the Senate will vote on whether to shut down Smith's
filibuster of a "substitute" embodying the language of the Senate
anti-gun crime bill (S. 254).
If Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) are successful
in overcoming Smith, then they will replace the House crime bill
(H.R. 1501) with the anti-gun Senate version.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT SENATORS VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE SMITH FILIBUSTER.
The Smith filibuster is the ONLY thing keeping the anti-gun S. 254
language from advancing in the legislative process.
Senators Lott and Hatch want to take the gun control language in S.
254 and substitute it into the House crime bill. The House bill
contains language reaffirming the role of the Ten Commandments and
prayer in public schools; prohibiting the release of dangerous
criminals solely on the basis of prison conditions; and recognizing
the role of media violence, the impact of certain music, and lack of
school discipline in tragedies such as the one which occurred at
Columbine.
The House bill is not a perfect bill, but one can see the
interesting dilemma that Senator Smith has put his Senate colleagues
into.
As Smith is framing it, Senators must decide between choosing
morality (in the House bill) or choosing a Senate bill that contains
the Al Gore/Frank Lautenberg gun control provisions-- including one
that would almost certainly put gun shows out of business (see
Talking Point #4 below).
As far as Second Amendment rights are concerned, the ultimate
yardstick is to STOP S. 254 AND THE "SENATE SUBSTITUTE" THAT
EMBODIES IT!!! Thus, the message gun owners can relay to their
Senators is that for every crime bill vote that arises in the next
couple of weeks, they should always vote against the anti-gun Senate
language.
HERE'S WHAT TO DO:
* Please call both of your Senators toll-free at 1-888-449-3511.
You can also call them using the Capitol Switchboard at
202-224-3121. Ask your Senators to vote in support of the Smith
filibuster and to vote AGAINST the S. 254 language at every point
along the way.
* Please forward this message to as many interested people as you
can.
* Many of you have already sent numerous faxes and e-mails to
your Senators, and we thank you for that. But at this late date, it
is imperative that we flood their offices with phone calls.
TALKING POINTS (Gun control in the Senate bill, S. 254):
1. Young adult gun ban. This ban, introduced by Senator John
Ashcroft (R-MO), could severely punish parents who allow their kids
to even touch a so-called semi-automatic "assault weapon." While
the amendment allows for certain exemptions, there are some
imponderable questions which NO senator could answer, but which a
parent would have to answer in order to avoid incarceration.
For example: What is a "semiautomatic assault weapon"? The
definition, plus exemptions, takes up six pages of fine print in the
U.S. Code. While a gun manufacturer will pay handsome salaries to
attorneys to decipher such convoluted definitions, it will be
considerably harder for a parent to determine which of his family
firearms are so-called assault weapons, and suspect under this
provision.
2. Extending the ban on moderate-capacity magazines. This
provision, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would ban
the importation of any magazine that can hold over 10 rounds-- no
matter when the magazine was manufactured.
3. Hatch-Kohl "Lock-up your safety" requirements. Senators Orrin
Hatch (R) and Herb Kohl (D) introduced this amendment which forces
gun sellers to include trigger locks with every handgun sold.
4. Banning private sales of firearms at gun shows. This amendment
offered by Sen. Lautenberg of New Jersey would ban private sales at
gun shows-- sales between two PRIVATE individuals-- unless the buyer
first submits to a background registration check. Under this
provision, even displaying a firearm at a gun show, and subsequently
transferring that gun to a non-dealer (if it is displayed with a
notice that it is for sale), will result in a two-year prison
sentence-- five years for the second violation.
This amendment would also impose a series of restrictions and
requirements upon gun show promoters-- requirements that would
almost certainly put gun shows out of business. For example, this
Lautenberg provision allows gun show promoters to be imprisoned for
two years for failure to notify EVERY attendee of his legal
requirements. Finally, this provision grants BATF open-ended
inspection authority to harass vendors at gun shows, and explicitly
gives BATF the right to keep a gun owner registration list for up to
90 days.
**************
Cheaper Than Dirt donates a percentage of your total order to GOA if
you use http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/goa.htm to enter their online
store.
**************
Did someone else forward this to you? To be certain of getting up to
date information, please consider subscribing to the GOA E-Mail
Alert Network directly. There is no cost or obligation, and the
volume of mail is quite low. To subscribe, simply send a message to
goamail@gunowners.org and include the state in which you live, in
either the subject or the body.
-- Senator Bob Smith forces colleagues to decide between God or gun
control
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
(Tuesday, July 27, 1999) -- What does one do when outgunned by the
other side? Call for Divine help of course.
Senator Bob Smith (I-NH), who is fighting a lonely battle in the
U.S. Senate, has done just that.
It still appears that on this Wednesday, Smith will force a showdown
between two different approaches to fighting crime: one that
emphasizes the role of the Ten Commandments and prayer (the House
crime bill) and one that imposes even more gun control (the
Gore-Lautenberg version passed in the Senate).
Smith's parliamentary maneuvering resulted in yesterday's expected
vote being cancelled-- thus leaving the ultimate showdown for later
this week.
On Wednesday, the Senate will vote on whether to shut down Smith's
filibuster of a "substitute" embodying the language of the Senate
anti-gun crime bill (S. 254).
If Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) are successful
in overcoming Smith, then they will replace the House crime bill
(H.R. 1501) with the anti-gun Senate version.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT SENATORS VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE SMITH FILIBUSTER.
The Smith filibuster is the ONLY thing keeping the anti-gun S. 254
language from advancing in the legislative process.
Senators Lott and Hatch want to take the gun control language in S.
254 and substitute it into the House crime bill. The House bill
contains language reaffirming the role of the Ten Commandments and
prayer in public schools; prohibiting the release of dangerous
criminals solely on the basis of prison conditions; and recognizing
the role of media violence, the impact of certain music, and lack of
school discipline in tragedies such as the one which occurred at
Columbine.
The House bill is not a perfect bill, but one can see the
interesting dilemma that Senator Smith has put his Senate colleagues
into.
As Smith is framing it, Senators must decide between choosing
morality (in the House bill) or choosing a Senate bill that contains
the Al Gore/Frank Lautenberg gun control provisions-- including one
that would almost certainly put gun shows out of business (see
Talking Point #4 below).
As far as Second Amendment rights are concerned, the ultimate
yardstick is to STOP S. 254 AND THE "SENATE SUBSTITUTE" THAT
EMBODIES IT!!! Thus, the message gun owners can relay to their
Senators is that for every crime bill vote that arises in the next
couple of weeks, they should always vote against the anti-gun Senate
language.
HERE'S WHAT TO DO:
* Please call both of your Senators toll-free at 1-888-449-3511.
You can also call them using the Capitol Switchboard at
202-224-3121. Ask your Senators to vote in support of the Smith
filibuster and to vote AGAINST the S. 254 language at every point
along the way.
* Please forward this message to as many interested people as you
can.
* Many of you have already sent numerous faxes and e-mails to
your Senators, and we thank you for that. But at this late date, it
is imperative that we flood their offices with phone calls.
TALKING POINTS (Gun control in the Senate bill, S. 254):
1. Young adult gun ban. This ban, introduced by Senator John
Ashcroft (R-MO), could severely punish parents who allow their kids
to even touch a so-called semi-automatic "assault weapon." While
the amendment allows for certain exemptions, there are some
imponderable questions which NO senator could answer, but which a
parent would have to answer in order to avoid incarceration.
For example: What is a "semiautomatic assault weapon"? The
definition, plus exemptions, takes up six pages of fine print in the
U.S. Code. While a gun manufacturer will pay handsome salaries to
attorneys to decipher such convoluted definitions, it will be
considerably harder for a parent to determine which of his family
firearms are so-called assault weapons, and suspect under this
provision.
2. Extending the ban on moderate-capacity magazines. This
provision, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would ban
the importation of any magazine that can hold over 10 rounds-- no
matter when the magazine was manufactured.
3. Hatch-Kohl "Lock-up your safety" requirements. Senators Orrin
Hatch (R) and Herb Kohl (D) introduced this amendment which forces
gun sellers to include trigger locks with every handgun sold.
4. Banning private sales of firearms at gun shows. This amendment
offered by Sen. Lautenberg of New Jersey would ban private sales at
gun shows-- sales between two PRIVATE individuals-- unless the buyer
first submits to a background registration check. Under this
provision, even displaying a firearm at a gun show, and subsequently
transferring that gun to a non-dealer (if it is displayed with a
notice that it is for sale), will result in a two-year prison
sentence-- five years for the second violation.
This amendment would also impose a series of restrictions and
requirements upon gun show promoters-- requirements that would
almost certainly put gun shows out of business. For example, this
Lautenberg provision allows gun show promoters to be imprisoned for
two years for failure to notify EVERY attendee of his legal
requirements. Finally, this provision grants BATF open-ended
inspection authority to harass vendors at gun shows, and explicitly
gives BATF the right to keep a gun owner registration list for up to
90 days.
**************
Cheaper Than Dirt donates a percentage of your total order to GOA if
you use http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/goa.htm to enter their online
store.
**************
Did someone else forward this to you? To be certain of getting up to
date information, please consider subscribing to the GOA E-Mail
Alert Network directly. There is no cost or obligation, and the
volume of mail is quite low. To subscribe, simply send a message to
goamail@gunowners.org and include the state in which you live, in
either the subject or the body.