CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT
FOR S. 397 AND H.R. 800
Last week, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 800 (the House version of the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," and the companion bill to the Senate`s S. 397) by a vote of 22-12 and ALL proposed anti-gun amendments were defeated! This critically important legislation would protect law-abiding firearm manufacturers from reckless, predatory, and potentially bankrupting lawsuits.
The bill currently has 255 cosponsors in the House, 56 cosponsors in the Senate, and has the full support of President Bush and numerous other groups and associations.
As we continue to emphasize, it is imperative that you contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support S.397 and H.R. 800--without any anti-gun amendments--and put a halt to these reckless lawsuits once and for all. Again, please be sure to let your lawmakers know that you consider any votes in support of anti-gun amendments to this legislation as votes against the bill itself.
To access the most up-to-date information on this issue, and to find out if your lawmaker is a cosponsor, please go to the "Help Save America`s Firearms Industry" heading at, www.NRAILA.org. This function will allow you to easily send an e-mail or letter to your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators. Please forward this link to your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners.
For additional information on effectively communicating with your lawmakers, please go to: http://www.nraila.org/CurrentLegislation/ActionAlerts/Read.aspx?ID=274 (Grassroots Alert, Vol. 12, No. 12).
You may also call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, or your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.
TEXAS LEGISLATURE PASSES NINE PRO-GUN BILLS
IN THE 79TH REGULAR SESSION
Thanks to your phone calls and e-mails, the Texas Legislature adjourned sine die on May 30, after having passed an unprecedented number of pro-gun bills to protect hunting, benefit our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, further reform the state`s Right-to-Carry law, and--at the same time--expand your right to self-defense without a license:
* SB 734 by Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) and Rep. Anna Mowery (R-Fort Worth) protects hunting opportunities on private lands annexed by municipalities (already signed by Governor Rick Perry (R));
* HB 225 by Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) and Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) extends term of renewed concealed handgun licenses (CHLs) from four to five years;
* HB 322 by Rep. Suzanna Hupp (R-Lampasas) and Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) reduces fees and lowers the minimum age requirement for a CHL from 21 to 18 for active military personnel;
* HB 685 by Rep. Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) and Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) eliminates the range instruction portion of CHL course for military personnel with handgun training (already signed by Governor Rick Perry );
* HB 823 by Rep. Terry Keel (R-Austin) and Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) legalizes the carrying of concealed handguns in private vehicles without a CHL;
* HB 1038 by Rep. Carl Isett (R-Lubbock) and Sen. Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth) reduces CHL renewal fees for senior citizens;
* HB 1066 by Rep. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) allows residents of all other states to apply for Texas CHLs and streamlines requirements for other states to qualify for CHL reciprocity with Texas (passed as an amendment to HB 225 by Rep. Joe Driver and Sen. Bob Deuell);
* HB 1483 by Rep. Stephen Frost (D-Atlanta) and Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) expands possible methods of payment for CHL application fees, and
* HB 1831 by Rep. Robert Talton (R-Houston) and Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) exempts certain deferred adjudications from definition of "convicted" for CHL eligibility.
Special thanks go to House Speaker Tom Craddick (R) and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst (R) for their leadership on these issues which are so important to Texans` Second Amendment rights!
Governor Rick Perry (R) has until June 19 to sign the measures that he has not yet already signed.
Additionally, all anti-gun measures were defeated this session!
To view copies of these bills, please go to www.house.state.tx.us.
Please take a moment to thank the sponsors of these bills for their hard work. E-mail addresses for them are as follows: For House Members: [email protected]. For Senators: [email protected].
DELAWARE CLUBS TO HOST NRA DAY
The Delaware State Sportsmen`s Association will sponsor "NRA Day"--a free day of gun safety and recreational shooting instruction for the entire family--on Saturday, June 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Brandywine Hundred Rod & Gun Club, located on DE Route 9 and Thorntown Road in Port Penn, DE.
"This event is an ideal opportunity for our community to learn what NRA is all about-the safe, responsible use of firearms," said John Thompson, President of the Delaware State Sportsmen`s Association, the NRA state affiliate. "Parents and youngsters who are new to shooting can learn gun safety and basic marksmanship from NRA Certified Instructors. Those with shooting experience will get the chance to try different disciplines and socialize with other gun owners and NRA members."
NRA Day activities to be held include: shooting safety instruction; rifle, shotgun, and pistol shooting; plus demonstrations of cowboy action shooting and archery. All firearms, targets, ammunition, and eye and ear protection will be provided. The event is open to the public and admission is free. Refreshments will be available.
For more information, please call John Thompson at (302) 658-3070. To learn more about other NRA programs, please go to www.nrahq.org.
A LOOK AT THE STATES
(****For all of the action items below, you can find contact information for your legislators by using the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org. As always, thank you for your support****)
ARIZONA
A workshop sponsored by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be held Saturday, June 11, at the Lew Sorenson Recreation Center, located at 11100 East Tanque Verde, near the Tanque Verde Loop in Tucson. This is the second such workshop discussing shooting on public lands in the Tucson area. The Forest Service and BLM will address the public`s involvement in the land use planning process, as they are due to update their land use plans in the next year or two. In addition, the Forest Service will state that they will be processing the permit application of Tucson Rod and Gun Club for a new shooting range to be built on the northeast side of Tucson. For further information about the new shooting range please visit www.trgc.org. The workshop is set to start at 1:00 p.m., and plans to adjourn by 4:00 p.m. Please attend this important meeting.
CALIFORNIA
Anti-gun legislation, Senate Bill 357, was voted out of the Senate and is to be considered in the Assembly. This bill would establish a program requiring serialization of handgun ammunition to be enforced by the Department of Justice. The manufacture, transfer, and possession of non-serialized handgun ammunition after July 1, 2007, would be considered a crime. SB 357 would also require ammunition vendors and manufacturers to register with the Department of Justice. Please contact members of the Assembly and ask them to oppose SB 357. Assembly Members can be reached at (916) 319-20 (plus your 2-digit district number for the last two numbers). Please make the call today! Assembly Bill 352 was voted out of the Assembly and now moves to the Senate. AB 352 expands the definition of "unsafe handguns" to include semi-automatic pistols that are not designed and equipped with an array of microscopic characters which identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol by imprinting the characters on each cartridge case when the firearm is discharged. This legislation could essentially ban all semi-automatic pistols commonly used by California gun owners. Please contact members of the Senate, and ask them to oppose AB 352. Please encourage your friends, family, and fellow sportsmen to contact their State Senators as well. Assembly Bill 996 is expected to be considered by the Senate Public Safety Committee on June 7, at 9:30 a.m. AB 996 would require all retailers to display and sell ammunition in a manner that is only accessible by an employee, not the purchaser. Any violation of this measure would result in a misdemeanor. This bill has been voted down twice during the 2005 Legislative Session because existing law already makes it a crime to sell ammunition to a minor, or ammunition designed for a handgun to anyone less than 21 years of age. Please contact members of the Senate Public Safety Committee at (916) 651-4118 and ask them to oppose AB 996.
CONNECTICUT
SB 1195, which now contains the "Gun Traffickers Protection Act" language, is headed to the House Floor for consideration. This bill would make the failure to report a lost or stolen firearm within 72 hours a crime. Please call your State Representative today and urge him/her to oppose SB 1195, the "Gun Traffickers Protection Act."
DELAWARE
On May 25, Governor Ruth Ann Minner (D) signed into law Senate Bill 46, establishing a handgun deer hunting season in Delaware. The season will be scheduled to run every January, from the first Saturday until the second Saturday. To view the signed version of SB 46, which details which handguns and calibers may be used in this special season, please visit www.legis.state.de.us. A special thank you goes out to Governor Minner for her support of the bill, and to Senator Robert Venables (D-21) for all of his hard work that went into making this bill a great victory for Delaware`s sportsmen!
ILLINOIS
The Illinois General Assembly adjourned this week, and the pro-gun community fared exceptionally well. Several pro-gun bills were sent to Governor Rod Blagojevich (D), and countless anti-gun bills were defeated. Sent to Gov. Blagojevich were: SB 53, which allows for the mail-order sale of ammunition to valid FOID Card holders; SB 57, a watered down gun show bill that also calls for the destruction of the State Police database on lawful firearm purchases; SB 123, which requires that Social Security Numbers no longer be included on hunting licenses; SB 251, which limits the liability a land owner can face if someone is injured while hunting (or involved in hunting-related activities) on the land owner`s property; SB 2103, which makes improvements to the existing range protection law; SB 2104, which sets statewide standards for transporting firearms in vehicles; HB 132, which establishes that the waiting period on firearm transfers starts when an agreement to transfer is made, rather than when a background check is called in; and HB 340, which waives the waiting period requirement when trading one operating firearm for another. Unfortunately, also sent to the Governor was SB 1333. This bill is similar to SB 57, but does not contain the language requiring the destruction of the State Police database on lawful firearm purchases. Fortunately, anti-gun extremists failed to pass any of the gun show bills they originally called for, which contained language far more restrictive than SB 57 and SB 1333. As is generally the case with these gun banners, though, they tried to present their failures as an actual victory. A recent release by the Brady Campaign (the gun-ban organization formerly known as HCI) tried to make lemonade out of the lemons handed them by the Illinois General Assembly, and also misrepresented NRA`s position. The Brady Campaign, through its anti-gun collaborators in Illinois, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence (ICHV), were actually promoting HB 794 throughout this session, not the language contained in SB 57 and SB 1333. HB 794 contained far more restrictive language than what actually passed, with the Brady Campaign/ICHV promoting it as a means to close the imaginary Illinois gun show "loophole" these groups have recently been touting. Even though anti-gun groups have historically admitted there is no gun show "loophole" in Illinois, these extremists seemed desperate to point to any sort of "victory" in the Land of Lincoln, where their agenda was rejected time and time again. Crowing over the passage of a severely watered down gun show bill seems to be the best Brady/ICHV can hope for, at this time. But in an even more desperate move, the Brady release falsely claimed NRA supported the watered down language. In fact, NRA opposed SB 1333, the stand-alone bill, and only supported SB 57 because of the language requiring the database destruction. NRA has consistently said that there is no gun show "loophole," either in Illinois or anywhere else, and we never supported any language that creates new restrictions for gun shows in Illinois. However, facing the real possibility that a gun show bill in some form could pass (as exhibited by the passage of SB 1333), we did what we could to ensure the language was as benign as possible, and that law-abiding gun owners could benefit in some way. Thus, we ensured SB 57 contained the database destruction requirement. Just some of the other anti-gun bills the General Assembly either defeated or failed to bring up this year include: SB 219, which sought to make it an offense for failing to report to the State Police the theft of a lawfully owned firearm; SB 317 & SB 1332, one-handgun-a-month restrictions; SB 332 and HB 990, which would have required FFL holders to obtain a dealer license issued by the state; SB 546 and HB 794, the far more restrictive gun show bills the anti gunners were actually promoting; HB 1098, which sought to ban .50 cal. rifles; and HB 2414, which sought to ban certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, as well as .50 cal. rifles. We expect anti-gun organizations to misrepresent the facts. But looking at this scorecard, it`s hard to imagine how the Brady Campaign/ICHV can be very happy with what gun-banners experienced in Springfield this year.
NEW JERSEY
Tuesday, June 7, is Primary Election Day. To find out more information about NRA-PVF-endorsed candidates, please call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-VOTE (8683).
NEW YORK
The Assembly approved several anti-gun bills last week. They include A 673, which creates the crimes of failure to store a weapon "safely" and criminally negligent storage of a firearm; A 2302, which would prohibit the retail sale of a handgun that does not contain a "child proofing" or integrated safety device; A 4471/S 2590, which would ban the sale, use, and possession of .50 caliber firearms; A 2345, which would impose new restrictions on firearm dealers; and A 2466, an expansion of the state`s ban on so-called assault weapons. These measures now move to the Senate. In addition, last Friday, Senator Frank Padavan (R-11) introduced S 5504, which is another bill to expand the state`s ban on so-called assault weapons. This bill is similar, but not identical to, A 2466. Please contact your State Senator today and ask him/her to oppose all of the above measures! You can reach your Senator by calling (518) 455-2800. A 4853-A, which would allow the use of rifles for hunting in certain parts of the state, and A 6608, which would exempt shooting ranges already in existence from new local noise ordinances, are two NRA-supported measures in the New York Assembly. A 4853-A has been referred to the Assembly Rules Committee, and A 6608 is now in the Assembly Codes Committee. Please contact your Assemblymembers today and urge him/her to support A 4853-A and A 6608! Your Assembly member can be reached by calling (518) 455-4100. Finally, please make plans to join NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) Rich Mullin (NY-22), and fellow NRA activists for a volunteer meeting on June 18, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at Gander Mountain in the Seminar Room, located at 528 Harry L. Drive, Johnson City, NY 13790. Please call Rich Mullin at (607) 757-9657, or e-mail David Decker at [email protected] with any questions.
OKLAHOMA
House Bill 1243 has passed the Oklahoma Legislature and is now heading to Governor Brad Henry`s (D) desk for his signature. HB 1243 provides employers and employees legal protection if a gun is taken from an employee`s vehicle and used to commit a crime. NRA-ILA would like to give special thanks to Representative Greg Piatt (R-48) for his dedication and persistence. We would also like to thank Senator Jay Paul Gumm (D-6) the Senate sponsor, with final thanks to Speaker Todd Hiett (R-29) and Senate Pro Tempore Mike Morgan (D-21), for bringing the bill to the floor for its final vote. Please call Governor Henry at (405) 521-2342 and respectfully ask him to sign HB 1243.
OREGON
The "Salem Friends of NRA" cordially invites you to attend their NRA Dinner and auction fundraiser Saturday, June 18 at 5:00 p.m. The dinner will take place at The Eagles Lodge, located at 2771 Pence Loop SE in Salem. Seating is limited and it is expected to be a sold out event, so get your tickets early! There will be a live auction, silent auction, special drawings, and door prizes. Prizes include limited edition firearms, custom knives, and NRA Commissioned Art. Banquet tickets are $35.00 each. For additional information on tickets, event sponsorships, donations, or to assist the committee, please call Jim Jacobe at (503) 931-1629 or Wendy Coombs at (503) 871-0634.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The South Carolina General Assembly adjourned this week, and the conference committee assigned to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of H 3110, the Right-to-Carry reciprocity bill, failed to come to a resolution. NRA has been working very closely with legislators throughout this process, and will continue to do so. The bill is still, technically, a viable piece of legislation, and NRA remains committed to the passage of a clean bill that will correct the current problems with South Carolina`s Right-to-Carry reciprocity situation.
