WY: Force Politicians to take a stand

WAGCEVP

New member
2000 Candidate Contact Drive

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

September 30, 2000


Dear Wyoming gun rights supporter:

The future of your right to keep and bear arms is in your hands.

Enclosed is a contact roster for the candidates running for election
to the state legislature, and possibly other state offices, in your
state. Please take a little time to contact your candidates using
the provided pre-written message.

Now is the time to get them to answer the Gun Owners of America 2000
State Candidate Survey program.

GOA sends surveys to candidates running in the General Election on
November 7, 2000. Right now these candidates are seeking your
support, but in many cases they won't answer specific questions
about specific issues.

Many politicians still believe it is good politics to stand with
Sarah Brady, Bill Clinton and Al Gore in opposition to your 2nd
Amendment rights. Let these anti-gun politicians know they should
apologize for doing so and stand up 100% for your gun rights.

Remind them that protecting your gun rights is both good policy and
good politics. The best time to do this is while they are listening
to their constituents and seeking support.

Of course, most compromisers and anti-gun politicians seek to hide
their "spots."

Here are some things to consider:

* Some have answered the survey with mixed results by taking some
anti-gun stands on specific proposals. Others have answered
100% pro-gun.

* Some have outright refused to answer because they're hostile to
your gun rights.

* Some are just ignoring your gun rights by not responding to the
GOA survey.

* Some are incumbents who answer pro-gun but try to downplay past
anti-gun votes.

But right now your direct contact is the kind of grassroots "heat"
that will force many fence-sitter candidates to "see the light" and
answer or "fix" bad answers.

You see, even now President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and
anti-gun advocates in the media are working to seize the power to
control, and eliminate, your gun rights.

They are actively lobbying your candidates to support their agenda.

The anti-gunners plan to stop or reverse concealed carry reform.
Others are scheming to take the Brady "instant check" registration
system of all firearms to the next step -- toward gun rationing and
full-blown registration: serial numbers, licensing, and mandatory
bureaucratic training with yearly taxes and fees. Then they'll go
for confiscation.

However, when you put the heat on politicians they see the light.
That's where the Gun Owners of America State Candidate Survey
program comes into play.

The biggest problem for many gun owners is getting a straight answer
out of the politicians on where they stand and how they plan to
vote. Experience shows time and again that in an election year,
politicians listen more carefully to their constituents.

That's why it is so important you contact your candidates and insist
they answer the GOA candidate survey.

Here's what I need you to do:

1. Look up your candidates on the roster below-- especially
Senate and House. It will have contact information.

2. Next, use the pre-written message to aid in contacting them.


Note: If you don't know your district(s), you can look them up at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm in the GOA Legislative Action
Center. Simply click on Guide to States, and enter your zipcode as
directed. (Also, the Election 2000 section contains additional
information about candidates, such as websites, fax numbers, and
sometimes e-mail addresses.)

If your candidate(s) says he has answered 100% for your rights --
great! Soon GOA will be sending you the actual results with the
answers of the candidates for your inspection. (In case you are
wondering, the NRA has an official policy that its candidate surveys
are not to be shown to their members.)

Please act right away. Time is short, and your candidates are
forming the details of their positions on gun control as the media,
anti-gun activists and party "hacks" lobby them to sell out your gun
rights for campaign contributions and sympathetic news stories.

Sincerely,

Dennis Fusaro
Director of State Legislation

State-level survey questions

1. Do you oppose "one-gun-a-month" laws that limit purchases of
firearms by law-abiding citizens?

2. Should state law continue to prohibit localities from placing
limitations on the rights of citizens to purchase, possess, or carry
firearms?

3. Would you oppose legislation mandating no-safety zones designed
to ban open or concealed carry for self-defense and forcing honest
citizens to be disarmed?

4. Would you oppose legislation that would require that firearms
purchased by private citizens be registered with law enforcement and
tracked by a centralized record system administered by government
agencies?

5. Do you oppose legislation banning the manufacture, sale or
possession of semi-automatic firearms?

6. Do you oppose legislation banning the manufacture, sale or
possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines?

7. Do you oppose laws that would take away the rights of 18-20
year-olds to possess a firearm?

8. Do you oppose laws that allow persons who are shot by a
properly-working firearm to sue firearms manufacturers and/or
firearms sellers (strict liability)?

9. Do you oppose laws that would ban the sale of a privately owned
firearm at a gun show unless it is reported and registered with
government bureaucrats?

10. Do you oppose government licensing to buy a gun?

11. Do you oppose computerized "instant" background check
legislation since it centrally registers gun sales and gun owners?

12. Would you oppose government mandated use of trigger locks or
other such hazardous "safety" devices which have the effect of
making it difficult, if not impossible, to have a gun available to
defend your home and family?

13. Would you oppose legislation that bans firearms ownership due
to simple misdemeanors, and therefore unfairly targets and
victimizes legal gun owners?

14. Would you support Vermont-style legislation, which would
eliminate all requirements to pay fees and register gun owners and
simply allow law-abiding citizens to carry firearms openly or
concealed (at the individual's discretion) for any reason except
for the commission of a crime?
 
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