(Tuesday, January 21, 2003) — Congress has been sworn in and will be getting back to work soon after the President’s State of the Union message next week.

This means it’s time for grassroots gun owners to get back to work as well.

We are coming off a very good year, having forced anti-gun extremists to swallow legislation arming pilots in the cockpit. But don’t expect the other side to just slink away now that they’ve taken one “on the chin.”

Hardly. Last week, published reports revealed that the Brady Center filed a lawsuit against Bushmaster because of the sniper shootings committed with one of their rifles in October 2002. (Isn’t that just like gun haters to go after the “gun,” rather than the perpetrator who used it?)

Likewise, the legislative agenda this year could involve a lot of gun battles, and people should realize that a Republican majority does not necessarily mean there is a pro-gun majority — as evidenced by GOA’s ratings for the new 108th Congress.

In 2003, gun owners should expect to see gun grabbers rallying to stop the semi-auto gun ban from expiring. The gun ban, which includes a prohibition on magazines containing more than 10 rounds, is scheduled to sunset in September of next year. GOA will be fighting hard to make sure this Second Amendment infringement goes the way of Prohibition.

Other gun issues will include GOA-backed bills that both prevent anti-self-defense extremists from suing gun makers out of existence and extend concealed carry reciprocity throughout the country.

Defensively, we will almost certainly have to fight efforts to ban gun shows or, at a minimum, to extend gun registration to private sales at these events. GOA will also be fighting state and federal attempts to force gun owners to lock up their safety.

Opportunities For Gun Owners

In addition to all that is on the legislative agenda, there are some opportunities to help GOA and its pilot allies to be as strong financially as possible.

The pilot group APSA (Airline Pilots Security Alliance) was extremely effective during the battle to arm pilots. They need to remain active. Incredibly, cargo pilots were removed right at the last minute. Yet cargo planes would make an easier target because there would be no passengers to help them fight off hijackers. Moreover, the administration needs constant monitoring to make sure that it does not make the training too burdensome. This could reduce the maximum number of pilots who might otherwise choose to be armed in the cockpit.

You can help APSA by going to their website at http://www.secure-skies.org and contributing online. Non-pilot members are welcome and you can sign up for their e-mail alerts.

APSA pilots lobbied on their own time at their own expense, but we can help them by helping with some of those costs.

There are a number of ways you can help GOA in addition to being a paying member (at http://gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm is a membership form).

1. GOA has started an area on its website — http://www.gunowners.org/adpage.htm — for companies to take out advertisements. These ads are tax deductible for the business as a normal advertising expense and they give them exposure to thousands of visitors each day.

We encourage you to visit that section and support those businesses that are supporting GOA. Also, if you have a business of your own, or know of a business or foundation that might be interested in supporting GOA with their advertising dollars, you can use the e-mail address [email protected] to get more information. You could also call Marty Ohlson at 920-625-3975.

2. You can now defend the 2nd Amendment through creative arrangements for long-term support. Please email or phone Marty Ohlson for information regarding a) a bequest, b) a retirement plan, c) a will or living trust or d) an insurance policy.

3. You can support GOA by making long distance calls using Promise Vision. They offer very competitive rates and return 15% of your long distance bill to GOA. Go to http://gunowners.org/pvld.htm to find out more information and to sign up.

4. Rock star Ted Nugent has strongly endorsed GOA: “Be a real American Warrior for gun rights & freedom. Join GOA & sign up as many members as you can.” You are encouraged to check out Nugent’s webpage at http://www.tednugent.com/supports.shtml and browse through his e-store.