(Monday, February 6) -- Good news! Your phone calls are helping us get key supporters in the House. The momentum to add the gun ban repeal as an amendment to one of the crime bills is gaining. It is a good thing that you guys are pushing for the vote now. A House staffer told GOA on Friday that the Republican leadership has already pushed the gun hearings back from March to May. This means that a vote on a stand-alone gun bill would come even later than that. Imagine, the crime bill provisions are not even passed yet, and they're already pushing our agenda back to an even later date! (Note: the stand-alone gun bill would also contain a mandatory minimums provision.)

The House staffer also told us that the leadership is having "problems with the scheduling" and they "really don't know" when things are going to come up. (Again, this means our stand-alone gun bill could come up even later. The Democrats are really slowing things down.) Further complicating matters, a Senate staffer told GOA that after polling the entire Senate, he has discovered there are clearly not enough votes to pass a stand-alone ban repeal.

This Senate spokesperson told us that it is imperative that we get the repeal measure attached to the crime bill now. If we keep our eggs in just one basket -- the stand-alone bill -- then we're sunk. We must pursue several courses of action. We'll push for hearings and a stand-alone bill. But right now, we cannot bypass this opportunity to put the repeal language in one of the crime bills.

And that is why we need another round of calls. Some pro-gun Congressmen are on the fence. Others are with us right now, but are going to come under intense pressure from the leadership. They need to hear from you! Rep. Bill McCollum said on Thursday that the leadership will oppose any effort to attach the repeal to the crime bill. Folks, we have our work cut out for us. They need to know that standing up for the Bill of Rights and the Second Amendment is more important than following the leadership!

HERE'S WHAT TO DO:

* Call your Representative again (202-225-3121), and this time, ask to talk to a different person. (This will multiply your efforts.) For example, ask to talk to the staffer who handles the gun issue. If you have already talked to him, ask to talk to the Administrative Assistant or the Congressman himself (although it will obviously be quite difficult to get him). If you can't speak with any of them, make sure you ask for a call back -- but tell the secretary that you're calling to urge the Congressman to support Rep. Steve Stockman's effort to repeal the gun ban as an amendment to one of the crime bills. This means you expect your Congressman not only to vote for the amendment, but to also oppose any rule that would prevent it from being considered on the floor and to support any vote that would declare the amendment as germane.

* Call two members of the Rules Committee. Call Chairman Gerald Solomon and another member of the Rules Committee (the one that is closest to you geographically.) Urge them to vote for a rule that will allow Rep. Steve Stockman to offer, on the floor of the House, his repeal provision as an amendment to one of the crime bills.

                 Rules Committee:

	    All numbers begin with "202"

Representative           Phone            Fax  

Solomon, Chrmn.         225-5614        225-6234  
Diaz-Balart (R-FL)      225-4211        225-8576  
Dreier (R-CA)           225-2305        225-7018  
Goss (R-FL)             225-2536        225-6820  
Linder (R-GA)           225-4272        225-4696 
McInnis (R-CO)          225-4761        226-0622  
Pryce (R-OH)            225-2015        226-0986  
Quillen (R-TN)          225-6356        225-7812  
Waldholtz (R-UT)        225-3011        225-3491  
Beilenson (D-CA)        225-5911        225-0092 
Frost (D-TX)            225-3605        225-4951  
Hall (D-OH)             225-6465        225-6766  
Moakley (D-MA)          225-8273        225-3984 

* Note: Your calls are definitely worth the effort. We have to let them feel the discomfort of our persistent phone calls. If the leadership can get away with putting us off (and not feel any reprisals), then they'll be like a child that is never punished. They'll keep doing it again, as long as they think they can get away with it. If you're mad and upset with how the leadership is handling our repeal agenda, contact Speaker Newt Gingrich at one of the following numbers: regular office: 202-225-4501, leadership office: 202-225-0600, fax: 202-225-4656.