Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
<br>8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
<br>Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
<br>
http://www.gunowners.org<br>
<br>
<br>(Tuesday, May 14, 2002) -- A national anti-gun group is waging a
<br>million dollar ad campaign around the country and in the nation's
<br>capital, hoping to influence congressmen to support a bill sponsored
<br>by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT).
<br>
<br>Sen. McCain, who is the group's poster boy, is threatening to offer
<br>his bill (S. 890) as an amendment to any one of a number of bills.
<br>S. 890 would ban private sales at gun shows unless the gun buyer
<br>submits to a registration background check.
<br>
<br>Even more ominous, the McCain bill would threaten the very existence
<br>of gun shows. S. 890 would impose a five-year jail sentence on any
<br>gun show organizer if a single attendee of the show were not
<br>notified of his obligations under the Brady law. Obviously, if this
<br>bill were passed, an organization would be foolish to even sponsor a
<br>gun show.
<br>
<br>The anti-gun group, Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), is sponsoring
<br>misleading ads that convey the message that cops support the McCain
<br>bill. "The 220,000 officers represented by NAPO call on Congress to
<br>pass the McCain-Lieberman bill," the ad claims.
<br>
<br>Of course, the ad makes no effort to show whether those 220,000 cops
<br>have been polled by the leadership of NAPO (National Association of
<br>Police Organizations). In fact, it is quite common for anti-gun
<br>police bureaucrats to use street cops as political pawns in support
<br>of gun control -- even when those front-line officers are 100
<br>percent against firearms restrictions.
<br>
<br>For example, supervisors in Arlington, Virginia, forced several
<br>officers to attend a Capitol Hill rally supporting a Clinton gun ban
<br>in 1994. The Washington Times reported that officers were told they
<br>could be disciplined if they did not comply with the order.
<br>
<br>By contrast, the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP)
<br>does poll its members every year on a wide variety of issues --
<br>including gun control. NACOP's polls consistently show that police
<br>overwhelmingly support the individual right to keep and bear arms.
<br>
<br>In its 1999 survey, the NACOP poll showed that a majority of police
<br>do not think that gun shows are a "major source for sales of illegal
<br>firearms to criminals." (In fact, a recent study by the Department
<br>of Justice bears out the fact that less than one percent of
<br>criminals get their firearms from gun shows.) In the latest NACOP
<br>survey -- which can be read at
http://www.aphf.org/survey.html on
<br>the internet -- ninety-three percent of police stated that any
<br>law-abiding citizen "should be able to purchase a firearm for sport
<br>or self-defense."
<br>
<br>
<br>ACTION: If you are a police officer, please contact your two U.S.
<br>senators and tell them that NAPO -- which is being featured in the
<br>AGS ads -- does NOT speak for you when it claims that cops support
<br>the McCain-Lieberman bill (S. 890). Likewise, if you know police
<br>officers, please urge them to also convey this message to their
<br>senators. Everyone else should ask their Senators to oppose McCain
<br>and Lieberman's attempt to end gun shows.
<br>
<br>You can reach the Senate at 202-224-3121 or call toll-free at
<br>1-877-762-8762.
<br>
<br>
<br>Big Victory Over Anti-gun ICC
<br>
<br>Many of you who receive GOA e-mails took action last month when we
<br>alerted you to the lurking dangers posed by the new International
<br>Criminal Court (ICC). Thankfully, the Bush administration announced
<br>last week that the U.S. was officially reversing the previous
<br>administration's decision to become a signatory to the ICC treaty.
<br>
<br>Some lawmakers are fuming at Bush's decision, but gun owners should
<br>be thankful. The court represents a dangerous threat to our
<br>national sovereignty and would most certainly work to contravene the
<br>Second Amendment rights of American citizens. Gun owners should
<br>still encourage their congressmen to cosponsor and vote for
<br>H.R. 4169, introduced by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). This legislation
<br>would make it very difficult for a future president to re-sign the
<br>treaty and submit it to the Senate for ratification.
<br>
<br>
<br>Bush Administration Stands For Individual Gun Rights -- Sort Of
<br>
<br>Many newspaper editors around the country are hopping mad about the
<br>Bush administration's recent declaration that the Second Amendment
<br>protects an "individual right." While this is VERY GOOD NEWS -- and
<br>represents a break with the previous Clinton administration -- gun
<br>owners should not start popping the champagne corks yet. The
<br>administration also stated that this individual right is subject to
<br>"reasonable" restrictions designed to prevent possession by "unfit
<br>persons" or to restrict the possession of firearms that are
<br>"particularly suited to criminal misuse."
<br>
<br>Well, let's see. Handguns are the "weapon of choice" for criminals.
<br>Does that mean that the government can pass "reasonable
<br>restrictions" upon handguns? And who is an unfit person? A pilot?
<br>A teacher? A law-abiding resident of Washington, DC? All three
<br>groups of people are currently considered "unfit" to carry firearms
<br>for self-defense most of the time.
<br>
<br>You see the problem? The administration's statement leaves the door
<br>open for boatloads of gun control. So on the one hand, the Bush
<br>declaration is welcome news. But on the other hand, it could be a
<br>case of 'one step forward, two steps back.'
<br>
