(May 31, 1995) — Those of you who were on GOA’s Fax Alert last year will remember how instrumental this “early warning system” was in getting information to the people in the heartland. You guys put tremendous heat on Congress, and made life miserable for certain “pro-gun” Congressmen who were compromising our rights.

Your Congressmen need to hear from you regularly. But even more than that, they also need to hear from your friends, co-workers, and fellow gun club members. You can multiply the impact of your voice by ordering postcards for the bills listed below and distributing them to your pro-gun contacts. The bills which Congress really needs to get a deluge of mail are:

* H.R. 1488 — This gun ban repeal bill has been weighted down with an impossible-to-swallow provision. Section 3 of the bill would massively expand the role of the Federal government, giving the BATF more authority and more jurisdiction. Under this provision, merely brandishing a firearm to discourage an assailant could be subject to the prosecutorial discretion of the BATF jurisdiction and a 10-year MANDATORY MINIMUM sentence.

The postcards are addressed to House Speaker Newt Gingrich and to a Representative with a blank space for the name to be filled in by the sender. The postcards ask them to support dropping the “BATF enhancement” provision in this bill.

* H.R. 666 — This bill encourages the harassment of gun owners by removing the incentives for officers to secure a warrant. Rep. Harold Volkmer said that under this bill, law enforcement agents will “not have to go to the magistrate and get a warrant for anything. They [can] just go right in there and bust those doors down and go in and take the guns.”

While the House did pass an amendment (introduced by Rep. Volkmer) which excludes the BATF from receiving expanded search and seizure powers, gun owners can still be at risk from other agencies. Moreover, the Volkmer amendment is expected to be dropped in the Senate. Postcards will go to both Senators and Representatives; the text of the postcards will oppose the House and Senate versions of this legislation.

* S. 735 — This so-called anti-terrorism bill (introduced by Senators Dole and Hatch) has a firearms conspiracy provision which would remove the “overt act” requirement that currently exists under federal law. This provision would allow the BATF and federal prosecutors to punish otherwise law-abiding citizens for far-reaching conspiracy charges (including simple paperwork and technical violations) even though no overt act was committed. Moreover, the bill will allow the federal government to revoke the tax status of any group for failing to give its membership list to the government. This broad net can destroy any group that has serious complaints against the government.

The postcards — which are addressed to both Senators and Representatives (the names are left blank for the sender to fill in the appropriate legislators’ names) — ask legislators to oppose S. 735. Legislators are also asked to oppose the Schumer-Biden “anti-terrorism” bills (H.R. 896 and S. 390) — bills which would also compromise gun owners’ rights.

TO ORDER POSTCARDS: Call 1-800-417-1486 and order postcards for any of the bills mentioned above. The cost of the postcards is $6.00 for the first set of 51 cards, $10 for two sets and $2.50 for each additional set. Distribute them to all your pro-gun contacts and let’s deluge the Congress!