Barbarians Have Taken The Hill

The Barbarians Have Taken The Hill

The Brady Bunch is already licking their collective lips in anticipation of the new Congress being seated. Visit the Brady Campaign’s website and you will see talk of a “momentum shift” in our nation’s capital that will “make it hard for the gun lobby to weaken gun laws and creates opportunities for passage of common sense [sic] gun proposals.” Indeed, the attack has already begun.

Brady Bunch Attacking GOA

Earlier this month, the Brady Campaign asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate GOA’s practice of posting its candidate ratings on the Internet. Millions of gun owners rely on these ratings, and that is something the Brady Bunch would like to halt.

In 2002, the Bradys rejoiced when Congress passed the Incumbent Protect Act, stating that “now the gun lobby’s stranglehold on Congress will be broken.” Indeed, they want to make it illegal for GOA to tell gun owners what their legislators are actually doing.

But it should not surprise anyone that a group which doesn’t understand the Second Amendment does not understand First Amendment freedoms as well.

Realize that we are going to need your help more than ever in 2007. Because of this recent Brady assault, we could be looking at a very costly court battle that could eventually go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Gun Owners is not going to back down, however, from the Brady Campaign’s intimidation tactics. We realize that these candidate ratings are extremely important, for they force your legislators to stay in the light.

But the Brady Bunch wants to keep you in the dark! They don’t want you to know the truth. The more they can hide what anti-gun legislators are doing, the greater their ability to take away your guns.

Oh sure, they say they just want to take guns out of the “wrong hands.” Yeah right. If that were true, then why don’t they support legislation to repeal the DC gun ban?

The answer is obvious, they support the DC gun ban, and they want to export it to the rest of the country. Do you remember them joining with us to work for the DC gun ban’s repeal? Of course not! Do you remember seeing them on our amicus brief to strike down the recent San Francisco handgun ban? No way! They support gun bans, despite all their claims for only supporting “common sense” gun restrictions.

For them, “common sense” gun control means that only the police and the military have free access to guns… just like in England.

GOA Supporting Bill To Repeal National Parks Gun Ban

Well, GOA is going to stand in their way, even if it means that we have to fight a lone battle for gun owners, as we did earlier this year when we were the ONLY gun group in Washington opposing the McCarthy gun grab.

Even now, there is still work to be done. GOA helped Sen. George Allen (R-VA) draft legislation to repeal the gun ban in national parks. (Two other Virginia groups — Virginia Gun Owners and VCDL — did a lot of heavy lifting on this issue as well.) There is little time left for this legislation to pass, so gun owners should call Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) at 202-224-3344 (or fax him at 202-228-1264) and ask him to fast track the Allen bill (S. 4057).

Big Threat Posed By Democrat Anti-gun Congress

But the real challenge to our gun rights is that we will have to spend a good bit of the next two years fighting defensive battles, as we will see the following types of legislation:

* Bans on ammunition

* Expansion of the Brady data base to include the names of countless, law-abiding gun owners

* A re-authorization of the semi-auto gun ban (a ban which President Bush is on record as supporting!)

* A prohibition on gun shows

* A gun ban that will prohibit any handgun from being sold which can not be “personalized” — thus preventing loved ones from using a spouse’s firearm in an emergency.

All of these ideas were introduced by Democrat congressmen this past year. With their new majority, you can expect these bills — and others — to start moving quickly.

Stopping Brady Expansion Just Got Much Tougher

Because of your efforts, GOA was able to single-handedly kill the Brady expansion this year. The bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and was expected to pass easily. It was considered to be “non-controversial” because pro-gun lobbyists in Washington were telling legislators they could vote for the bill.

But congressmen didn’t hear that from Gun Owners. You can read the details in our upcoming newsletter, to find out just how we fought the lone battle to kill this pernicious piece of legislation.

The December issue of The Gun Owners will encourage those of you who are already receiving our newsletter. However, you should realize that the attacks on our gun rights are about to escalate, as a result of the new Congress that was just elected.

With only GOA opposing this insidious gun grab, it is going to be a lot harder to stop in the new Congress.

GOA Needs Your Support!

As you can see, GOA is going to need a huge war chest over the next two years, if we are going to stay in the fight and protect your Second Amendment rights — as well as GOA’s ability to keep you and the public informed.

The FEC court battle alone could cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. In real terms, we could be fighting battles at every level of the federal government — in the legislative, judicial and executive branches. (Don’t think for a moment that President Bush — who is himself a supporter of the semi-auto gun ban — is going to lift a finger to help us.)

We look forward to the fight, but we can’t fight these battles without YOU. Our members are our strength. It is because of you that one legislative office told us this year: “Oh s–t! We got a lot of postcards and e-mails from GOA members.”

That answer right there explains why the McCarthy gun grab is dead for the year! It is because of your hard work.

So will you continue to stand with us?

Please say that you will by going to http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm and signing up or renewing your membership. A $20 membership with Gun Owners of America is the best bargain in town. For a mere nickel a day, you will be helping to preserve your gun rights for future generations.

Or maybe you’ve been with us for a while and you want to make the ultimate contribution to the organization that is standing firm on the front lines. Would you consider becoming a Life Member of Gun Owners?

In addition to getting our newsletter, The Gun Owners, special reports, legislative action updates and all the other regular benefits of membership, Life Members will also receive a certificate — suitable for framing — identifying you as a GOA Life Member, a unique lapel pin, and a wallet card that only Life Members and Senior Staff at GOA are allowed to carry.

Maybe you’ve never received our informative newsletters and legislative alerts (with postcards). If that’s the case, you can start receiving those right away by signing up today with a $20 contribution — or more, if you can afford it.

Your contribution will NOT be wasted.

Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has said that: “Gun Owners of America is one of the most effective and important political organizations in this country…. [They] can mobilize gun owners from all across America, uniting them into a single powerful voice that politicians in Washington dare not ignore.”

We’ve been fighting for your rights, without compromise, for more than 30 years!

But we need you now more than ever. We need you to say that you will stand with us and work together to protect the rights that have helped keep our nation free for so long.

Thank you in advance for your support!