A New Attempt To Muzzle Gun Rights Groups

When you look at GOA’s year-ending report, you can see that your grassroots efforts had a tremendous impact upon the legislative process last year.

There is no doubt that you guys have made a difference.

That’s why GOA is so concerned about legislation currently pending on the Senate floor which would attempt to intimidate organizations like GOA that work with members and friends to pressure Congress to support the Second Amendment.

The legislation (S. 1) would regulate “grassroots lobbying” by requiring groups like us to monitor and report the amount of money we spend to exercise our First Amendment rights on behalf of gun ownership.

Suffice it to say that a government which can force us to monitor and report on our “grassroots” activity could just as easily force us to provide even more sensitive details of these efforts.

This could include demands for our membership list — that is, attempts to get REGISTRATION lists of gun owners’ names — and the specifics of communications with our friends!!!

Thankfully, there is an effort underway to knock out the most egregious parts of this bill, found in Sec. 220. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Robert Bennett (R-UT) are offering an amendment (Senate Amendment #20) — to be voted on later this week — that will knock out the S. 1 restrictions on grassroots lobbying.

That’s why we need your help right now.

The best way to keep from sliding down this slippery slope of unconstitutionality is to tell the government — now — to keep its nose out of our constitutional rights.

Just as the Second Amendment guarantees our right to keep and bear arms, the First Amendment protects our rights to petition the government for redress of grievances. And the power to regulate and monitor our grassroots activities on behalf of gun ownership is, ultimately, the power to destroy those rights.