Renew Support For S. 659/S. 1805

With the new year upon us, we must renew our aggressive support of S. 659/S. 1805, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act."

The House version of this bill— H.R. 1036—was passed last April by an overwhelming vote of 285-140, and has the support of the White House. Yet, despite assurances of a timely vote and broad bipartisan support, S. 659/S. 1805 became stalled in the Senate late last year. The good news is, we are now anticipating a Senate vote on the measure as soon as early March. Thanks to the dedicated grassroots efforts of millions of NRA members and gun owners across the country, S. 659/S. 1805 currently has 55 cosponsors, more than enough to pass the measure. However, we need 60 votes to derail the filibuster that the likes of Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) are almost certain to attempt. We can also expect these gun-banners to try and load the legislation with numerous anti-gun amendments, including S. 1034—the Clinton gun ban extension, and S. 1807—the so called Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2003. It is therefore imperative the you contact your Senators immediately and tell them it`s time to stop playing politics with the Second Amendment. Urge them to fully support S. 659/S. 1805 without any anti-gun amendments! Ask them to do everything in their power to end these meritless lawsuits and ensure that this essential legislation is approved as written. Tell them it`s time to pass S.659/S. 1805! Make no mistake—with your help, we will win this fight and see this critical legislation signed into law.

In addition, please continue to urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to oppose current legislation seeking to expand the 1994 Clinton gunban—H.R. 2038, S. 1431, and the aforementioned S. 1034. You can find contact information for your elected officials by using the "Write Your Representatives" feature at www.NRAILA.org, or you can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.