I Strongly Disagree!! -UR
You Guys are Having a Tremendous Impact!
-- More calls needed to save our greatest weapon for
killing gun control
Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
The headline says it all: "Support falters for the 'nuclear
option.'" That was the headline people read in The Washington Times
on March 23.
The article explained how support is fading for eliminating one of
gun owners' greatest legislative weapons -- the filibuster.
On April 3, the New York Times cited the work that Gun Owners of
America is doing in opposing any change to the Senate rules that
would do away with the legislative filibuster.
"In a setback for supporters of the change," the Times wrote,
"Gun
Owners of America... argue[s] that changing the rules to prevent
filibustering nominees would lead to the elimination of legislative
filibusters, which conservatives have relied on to protect gun
rights."
It's true. As recently as last year, pro-gun forces used a
filibuster threat to keep the semi-auto ban from being placed on the
Department of Defense authorization bill. And in the near future,
GOA may be working with pro-gun Senators who would use filibuster
threats to keep gun control amendments off of the gun makers'
protection act.
ENDING FILIBUSTERS = MORE GUN CONTROL
Soon, the showdown will arrive on whether to abolish the U.S. Senate
filibuster in order to expedite the confirmation of seven judicial
nominees. As you may remember, in the absence of the filibuster,
should the Democrats ever gain control of the Senate, there would be
nothing to stop:
* Reenactment of the semi-automatic ban;
* Enactment of the .50 caliber ban;
* Enactment of the gun show ban;
* Enactment of the lock-up-your-safety trigger lock mandate;
* And much, much more.
Now, the anti-filibuster advocates are responding to our arguments
that the abolition of the filibuster will make comprehensive gun
control and registration inevitable. Their answer? "We don't
care."
ENDING FILIBUSTERS: BOTH LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL
Six months ago -- when this battle started -- filibuster opponents
were erroneously raising the possibility that the legislative
filibuster could be saved. But no more.
Majority Leader bill Frist (R-TN) -- already campaigning for
president -- toured New Hampshire last month with the following
message:
"All of you know the story of the filibusters, the obstruction and
the list of bills we were obstructed on.... Filibusters don't create
jobs. Filibusters don't fix government problems.... [D]emocrats
don't have to agree... [b]ut they do have an obligation to come to
the table, to allow us to vote."
In other words, there is an OBLIGATION -- in Frist's words -- for the
Democrats to stop filibustering LEGISLATION and letting the
Republicans have votes on their legislative agenda.
Notice that we're no longer just talking about ending filibusters of
JUDICIAL nominations. Now we're talking about doing away with
filibusters of LEGISLATION.
ENDING FILIBUSTERS -- IT'LL COME BACK TO "BITE US"
Here's the rub: When liberal, anti-gun Democrats get back into power
and they want to push comprehensive gun bans, gun owners will be the
ones using the filibuster to stop the Brady Bunch's legislative
agenda.
We have done this numerous times over the past 20 years. And yet,
without the legislative filibuster, the "tyranny of the majority"
will run roughshod over gun owners' rights.
Unfortunately, there are many Republicans who can't foresee what the
future might hold. Disgraced Frist aide Manuel Miranda, fired for
rifling the Democrats' computer files, explained on an April 1st
radio broadcast that the Republicans would continue to control the
Senate -- so there was no need (he felt) to worry about the
consequences.
But regardless of who controls the Senate in years to come, Miranda
said in an earlier (Valentine's Day) article in Human Events: "[I]t
is hard to imagine what single piece of legislation conservatives
fear so much that it overcomes concern for the independence of the
judiciary."
Really! How about the registration of all gun owners. How about the
banning of firearms that are currently in American homes. How about
_____________. (You fill in the blank!)
Is it really worth trading away one of our most potent weapons, just
to get judges that may or may not be pro-gun? Remember, seven of the
nine current Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican
Presidents. Do we have seven pro-gun votes on the Court? How about
seven, even remotely conservative justices on the high court?
We're not even close.
That's why throwing away our legislative arsenal is so dangerous.
The truth is, votes on the Bush administration's judicial nominations
could be forced by strict enforcement of the Senate rules. GOA has
explained how this can be done to legislators and their staffs in the
Senate.
But filibuster opponents feel this would be "too hard" -- compared
with the "simple" procedure for repealing the Senate rules in one
fell swoop.
We realize the Senate filibuster is a tough issue. It is hard to
understand. And many of our good friends -- who haven't used the
filibuster like we have -- don't see why we need it.
But believe us when we say this: If the filibuster is abolished, we
have lost one of our most important weapons against comprehensive gun
control.
ACTION: Another volley of calls and emails is now needed to save the
legislative filibuster. Here’s what needs to be done:
1. Forward this alert to as many people as you can!
2. Please contact your senator immediately. Ask him to oppose the
"nuclear option" and leave the Senate filibuster rules
intact. We're
making headway. But we need to redouble our efforts in these last
days.
You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators a
pre-written e-mail message.
3. See if your Senator is listed below. This target list indicates
Senators who especially need to hear from you. They are either
uncommitted or could easily switch to our side if enough gun owners
contact them. So please make sure you get friends and family to get
in touch with the following:
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
John McCain (AZ)
Richard Lugar (IN)
Jim Bunning (KY)
Mitch McConnell (KY)
Susan Collins (ME)
Olympia Snowe (ME)
Thad Cochran (MS)
Chuck Hagel (NE)
John Sununu (NH)
Mike DeWine (OH)
George Voinovich (OH)
Tom Coburn (OK)
James Inhofe (OK)
Gordon Smith (OR)
Arlen Specter (PA)
Lamar Alexander (TN)
John Warner (VA)
----- Pre-written message -----
Dear Senator:
Increasingly, proponents of the "nuclear option" are making
it clear
that the demise of the legislative filibuster is the inevitable
result of their proposal.
This means that a vote to tamper with the filibuster will make
comprehensive gun control inevitable.
Please do not open this can of worms.
Please oppose the "nuclear option."
Sincerely,
****************************
Streaming Video Update
GOA has recently updated the streaming video section of our website.
At
http://www.gunowners.org/svtb.htm you will find numerous
television interviews of GOA spokesmen, all available free of charge.
Recent controversial topics include school shootings, the impact of
the Terrorist Watch List on law-abiding gun owners, and National ID
Cards. Of course, new TV appearances will continue to be added
regularly.
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