Help Support Rep. Stockman!
— He’s pushing to repeal Brady Act; oppose Clinton registration

by Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102
Springfield, VA 22151

(Tuesday, July 9) — Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) is pushing forward with his bill to repeal the Brady law and restore your rights as a gun owner. Yesterday, Stockman sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to every Congressman, asking them to sign onto his bill. H.R. 2470 would repeal not only the unconstitutional waiting period, it would also get rid of the federally imposed background check — a system which could easily be used to illegally register firearms owners.

But Rep. Stockman’s bill would do much more. Just yesterday, President Clinton announced his intent to trace certain firearms back to their original owners. While there is a possibility that Clinton is advocating some new push for gun registration, he is most likely just marketing the tracing [registration] system already conducted by BATF. Either way, Rep. Stockman’s bill (H.R. 2470) would protect gun owners’ privacy by providing that, when an FFL dealer goes out of business, his 4473 forms be given to another dealer, as opposed to current requirements that the records be forwarded to the BATF. His bill would also set penalties for BATF agents who computerize the existing out-of-business dealers’ records which the agency possesses.

You can help put a dent in the Clinton gun control agenda by getting your Congressman to cosponsor H.R. 2470. In addition to checking the President’s agenda, Rep. Stockman’s bill repeals the Brady Act — with its waiting periods and background checks. One only needs to read a recent book published by noted gun author, Dave Kopel, to see how pernicious background checks can become. In his book, Guns: Who Should Have Them?, Kopel points to several states where either registration lists have been illegally compiled from background checks or where such registration lists have been abused by officials.

Consider also that in 1994, the Justice Department gave a grant to the city of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to create a sophisticated national gun registry using data compiled from a number of sources, perhaps even state background checks. This effort succeeded without any constitutional authority until a favorable judge shocked the gun owning community recently when he ordered the termination of the computer project. But don’t think this temporary setback means Clinton won’t try again! Indeed, the Brady Act is one of the worst gun control laws affecting your gun rights:

* It furthers the precedent for passing more unconstitutional gun control legislation in the future. Keeping the Brady Law on the books “justifies” future unconstitutional bills, such as Brady II, Brady III, etc. [The Brady Act is unconstitutional on its face. Even five of six courts, as of July 1995, had found the law to be unconstitutional.]

* The Brady law has ERRONEOUSLY denied firearms to thousands of applicants. According to the General Accounting Office, only three criminals have been jailed as a result of Brady checks. Moreover, over fifty percent of denials under the Brady Law are for administrative snafus, traffic violations, or reasons other than felony convictions. The next erroneous denial could be YOU!

* The Brady mandated background check that is conducted on gun buyers can be used to covertly (and illegally) register gun owners names. A Justice Department Task Force stated in 1989 that, “Any system that requires a criminal history record check prior to purchase of a firearm creates the potential for the automated tracking of individuals who seek to purchase firearms.”

As of today, only seven Congressmen have cosponsored H.R. 2470: Reps. Chenoweth (ID), Coburn (OK), Funderburk (NC), Hostettler (IN), Lewis (KY), Stump (AZ) and Young (AK). (Please thank your Congressman if he has already cosponsored the bill.)

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

* Call your Representative and urge him to cosponsor H.R. 2470, the Brady Law repeal. You can reach him at 1-800-962-3524 or 202-225-3121.

* Also, you can send a Western Union telegram asking your Rep. to cosponsor the bill. Call 1-800-651-1486 to send a telegram for $6.95.