Lautenberg And Clinton Target Gun Shows
Sen. Lautenberg To Go Out With A Bang;
Anti-gun Senator to make one last-ditch grab for your gun rights
by Gun Owners of America
(Friday, March 5, 1999) — The notoriously anti-gun Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) recently announced that he will be retiring in 2000, but his actions last week indicate that he has no intentions of going away quietly.
True to form, Lautenberg continued his anti-gun ways by introducing S. 443 to register the private sales of many firearms. By bringing private (gun show) sales under the Instant Background Check, the Clinton-backed bill would further tighten the anti-gun federal noose around the necks of millions of law-abiding citizens. The bill is another step toward Bill Clinton’s eventual goal of registering every gun sale in America. Once the FBI and BATF know about every gun you have in your home, how long do you think it will be before they come around asking for them?
In the House this week, Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) introduced a companion bill to Lautenberg’s. Both H.R. 902 and its Senate counterpart would highly regulate gun shows, applying all kinds of new restrictions upon private citizens and gun dealers. A private gun sale would even require the buyer to fill out a 4473 form; and violations under these bills would subject unwary citizens to up to 5 years in prison and $10,000 civil fines. Special provisions would be made for BATF to come into gun shows and examine business records of exhibitors– and “serious” record-keeping violations would be subject to enhanced criminal penalties. Both private individuals and gun dealers would then be subject to even more BATF entrapment and abuse.
ACTION: Your legislators need to hear from you. Call, fax, and e-mail them in opposition to S. 443 and H.R. 902– two bills that will use the misguided Instant Background Check to register the private sales of firearms at gun shows. You can call them at 202-225-3121. Updated contact information, to include fax and e-mail addresses, can be found at http://www.gunowners.org/index.html#leg on the GOA website. At http://www.gunowners.org/letters.htm you will find pre-written letters to use in faxes and e-mail messages.
GOA pushing legislation; going to court to defend gun industry from crippling lawsuits
Gun Owners of America is currently working with legislators on Capitol Hill to stop the dangerous assault being waged against firearms makers. Anti-gunners, who are frustrated that they cannot get their complete agenda passed in the legislatures, are now turning to the courts to put firearm manufacturers out of business in a brazen attempt to legislate through the judicial system.
At the state level, Georgia has already enacted legislation prohibiting these types of suits, and several states are already following in its footsteps. (Such bills as FL: HB 937; KS: HB 2540; SC: HB 3420; TN: HB 585; TX: HB 1716; and WY: SF 128 seek to address the problem. Some states are close to introducing legislation, but have not done so yet.) At the federal level, Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) and Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) are looking to introduce legislation addressing this issue.
In the courts, Gun Owners Foundation (the foundation arm of GOA) will be submitting amicus curiae briefs in defense of the gun makers that are facing current court battles generated by the mayors of several cities. Stay tuned as these stories continue developing.
Self-Defense, Concealed Carry bills gaining co-sponsors
Earlier this year, GOA alerted you to two bills introduced by Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Ron Paul (R-TX). Thanks to your help, both of these bills are starting to pick-up momentum. Bartlett’s Citizens Self-Defense Act (H.R. 347) now has 29 cosponsors, while Paul’s carry bill (H.R. 407) has two. Please ask your Representatives to cosponsor these important, pro-gun bills.