(Tuesday, February 15, 2000) -- Capitol Hill insiders have told Gun Owners of America that House Speaker Denny Hastert (R-IL) would like to push the anti-gun crime bill out of the conference committee before the Easter recess.
Because this is an election year, the Speaker wants to get this gun bill "behind him" before the Congressional races heat up this Fall.
It is imperative that you contact your Representative and Senators now, and remind them that this crime bill is more about gun control than crime control.
You will remember that GOA members and activists have been on the front line of opposition to this bill. But because of the long Congressional break that included the Christmas holidays, many Congressmen have not heard from you, the constituents, on this issue for quite some time.
Now is the time for your elected representatives to hear from you again!
ACTION: Please clip and send the letter below to your Representative and Senators. You can get contact info for your legislators on the GOA website. You can also call them toll-free at 1-888-449-3511; or reach them at 202-225-3121.
Dear
As long as the anti-gun crime bill (H.R. 1501) remains in a conference committee, I hope that you will let House and Senate leaders know that this bill should NEVER see the light of day. Consider just some of the problems with this bill.
The Senate version of the crime bill -- and the likely conference report -- would ban the private sale of firearms at gun shows unless the gun buyer submits to a government-registration background check. The Senate language could also implement greater gun owner registration, since the bill includes a new requirement that could give the government the serial numbers of firearms gun owners have recently purchased.
The bill would allow federal bureaucrats to slap an indirect tax on firearms purchasers at gun shows by letting them impose higher fees on gun show promoters -- fees which, of course, get passed on to the buyers.
The bill limits self-defense with lock-up your safety requirements. And it opens the door to BATF harassment of gun owners by committing $40 million to increasing the presence of that agency -- not to investigate murders, violent felonies, or crimes of violence, but to pursue firearms "offenses" (such as record keeping and other innocuous errors by otherwise law-abiding Americans).
I hope you will totally oppose this anti-gun crime legislation. Please let me know what you intend to do.
Sincerely,