VOTE ON S. 397 EXPECTED THIS MONTH,
CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS WHILE THEY ARE HOME!
Congress's "Independence Day District Work Period" is scheduled for July 4-July 8. During this time, your Senators and Representative will be back home in their respective states and districts. Many lawmakers use this time to hold town hall meetings, where they can report on what they've been doing in Washington, and take questions from their constituents. These meetings offer a tremendous opportunity for you to personally voice your strong support for S. 397 and H.R. 800—the Senate and House versions of the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," (which hopefully will be voted on by the Senate this month). Please contact your lawmakers' Washington, D.C., and district offices and ask when they plan to hold their town hall meetings during the break. If you do not know the number for your lawmakers' district offices, you can use the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org, or call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683.
Once again, if you get a chance to meet with your lawmakers, please be sure to urge your Senators to cosponsor and support S. 397/H.R. 800.
In addition to attending meetings and speaking out in support of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms, please forward the dates, times, and locations of any town hall meetings to your family, friends, and fellow firearm owners, and to the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division, so we may compile this information and share it with the pro-gun community. Please forward this information to the Grassroots Division by calling (800) 392-8683, by faxing to (703) 267-3918, or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
Finally, it is imperative that you continue to contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative, both in their district and D.C. offices, 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 contact your lawmakers immediately and urge them to support this legislation. And be sure to let them know that you consider any votes in support of anti-gun amendments to this legislation as votes against the bill itself.
You can find contact information for your elected officials by using the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org. Or you can call your U.S. Senators and Representative in their D.C. offices at (202) 224-312 (Senate), or (202) 225-3121 (House).
D.C. GUN BAN REFORM
GETS HEARING AND VOTE
In an important step toward reforming Washington, D.C.'s draconian gun laws, pro-Second Amendment Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) succeeded in attaching an amendment to the D.C. appropriations bill (by a vote of 259-161) that would restore the self-defense rights of legal gun owners in the District. D.C. citizens have been disarmed for nearly 30 years, while their city has earned dubious distinction as the nation's murder capital.
The Souder Amendment prohibits funds from being used "to enforce section 702 of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7-2507.02, D.C. Official Code)." That section requires that every registered gun owner (a small number of rifle and shotgun owners, and an even smaller number who fall under a "grandfather clause" because they owned registered handguns before the enactment of the ban) "shall keep any firearm in his possession unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device unless such firearm is kept at his place of business, or while being used for lawful recreational purposes within the District of Columbia." There is no exception for self-defense.
The District of Columbia is the only place in the U.S. that prohibits keeping firearms available at home, for defense against criminal attack. Right now, a law-abiding citizen who legally owns a shotgun, a rifle, or a handgun (assuming the handgun was registered in D.C. before 1976), is forbidden from using the gun in defense of his or her home and family, even though, ironically, the same person could use a gun to defend a business. And needless to say, D.C.'s criminals ignore the storage rules.
Passage of the Souder Amendment followed a June 28 House Government Reform Committee hearing on Washington, D.C.'s gun laws. Among the topics were NRA's efforts to repeal the egregious D.C. gun ban (bills have been filed to this effect—H.R. 1288 in the House and S. 1082 in the Senate). This legislation seeks to restore the constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights of the residents of the District of Columbia.
Among those testifying against repealing the D.C. ban were D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams (D) and Police Chief Charles Ramsey.
Astonishingly, Mayor Williams referred to legislation to restore the constitutional rights of those he governs as "a slap in the face to me and to the people who live in this city." It is quite telling, not to mention insulting, when an elected official, who works for those who elect him, doesn't trust them enough to support their choice to legally own a firearm for self-defense, especially when residing in such a dangerous city.
In confronting U.S. Representative Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who is a staunch supporter of efforts to repeal the ban, Chief Ramsey asked, "I don't know how many folks you've confronted sir, in reality at night with a gun on them who were intent of doing harm, but my people have to do it every single day." An interesting notion, considering that, since D.C. has a gun ban, it should be impossible for anyone to confront a gun-wielding criminal! Of course, in Ramsey's Washington, the only people who have guns are criminals. The chief's suggestion that maintaining the D.C. ban would diminish such encounters is ludicrous, as the ban has been counterproductive since its inception in 1976.
The key issue was summarized well by D.C. resident Sandra Seegars, a community activist and local official who is suing to overturn the ban. As Seegars said, "It's time to face reality. The District's handgun ban is not working.... The ban has allowed thugs more reason to prey on law-abiding citizens, because they aren't armed."
The success of the Souder Amendment—and the broad cosponsorship of the reform bills—just go to show the importance of grassroots activism. The Souder Amendment showed a net increase of 13 votes compared to last September's House vote on a broader reform of D.C.'s gun laws. Much of that positive change came from new House members who were elected with the strong endorsement of the NRA and the active involvement of NRA-ILA grassroots volunteers.
Please continue to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and ask them to cosponsor and support H.R. 1288 and S. 1082. For a list of Senate cosponsors, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01082:@@@P. For a list of House cosponsors, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR01288:@@@P.
You can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, or your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.
POLICE CHIEFS ONCE AGAIN
STRONGLY SUPPORT RIGHT TO ARMS
The National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP) has released its "17th Annual National Survey of Police Chiefs & Sheriffs," and the responses show, yet again, that our nation's law enforcement officers staunchly support our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The survey was sent to more than 22,000 Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs, and represents a cross section of professional command officers involving every state in the country.
According to a recent PHXnews.com article, NACOP asserts that " the public perception of how police view certain issues is based on media coverage, which is not necessarily accurate. When police chiefs and sheriffs are allowed to respond to poll questions anonymously, the politics may be removed from their answers."
The survey's results certainly seem to reflect that contention. Among the highlights:
- 93.6% of the respondents supported civilian gun-ownership rights;
- 96% of the police chiefs and sheriffs believe criminals obtain firearms from illegal sources, and;
- 63.1% believe concealed-weapons permits would reduce violent crime
Even though the media and anti-gun organizations frequently use politically-motivated, anti-gun police bureaucrats to promote their gun-ban message, the fact is that the vast majority of law enforcement officers reject this extremist, anti-gun agenda.
To view the entire survey, please visit http://www.aphf.org/surveyresults.pdf.
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****)
CALIFORNIA
Anti-gun legislation, Senate Bill 357 (recently amended) was re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations this week. SB 357 requires that all handgun ammunition carry a unique serial number engraved on both the bullet and the case and be registered to the purchaser. SB 357 bans the manufacture, transfer, and possession of non-serialized handgun ammunition after July 1, 2009, and possession of non-serialized ammunition would be a crime. SB 357 would also require ammunition vendors and manufacturers to register with the Department of Justice. Please contact members of the Committee and ask them to oppose SB 357. For a complete list of Committee members and their contact information, please go to http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/newcomframeset.asp?committee=43.
DELAWARE
The first year of the two-year 143rd Delaware General Assembly adjourned today in the early morning hours. No anti-gun legislation advanced this year, and hunters enjoyed a great victory in the establishment of an annual seven-day handgun hunting season, the first of which will run from January 7-14, 2006. NRA-ILA will be alerting members of upcoming Second Amendment issues that will be addressed when the General Assembly reconvenes in January of next year.
MICHIGAN
NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) Jerry Kraus (MI-9) would like to invite you to attend the "Michigan Friends of NRA Celebrity Shoot" with celebrities such as Dennis Hextal from the Detroit Red Wings, Mickey Lolitch from the Detroit Tigers, and others! Jerry has coordinated several events, and participated in several Celebrity Shoots in the past, and this year's event promises to be a success. Please join your fellow shotgun shooters for a day of shooting while raising money for the Friends of the NRA! The event will be held on Friday, August 5, at 10:30 a.m. at the Detroit Gun Club, 2775 Oakley Park Road, Walled Lake, MI 48390. Admission prices vary. For ticket information and additional information, please contact Jerry Kraus at (248)706-1513 or [email protected].
NEW MEXICO
The improvements to New Mexico's "Right To Carry" law that were adopted during the 2005 legislative session went into effect on June 17. The New Mexico Department of Public Safety (DPS) is required by law to draft rules to implement these changes, to give 30 days notice of a public hearing on the proposed rules, to hear public comment on the proposed rules, and to finalize the rules after public input. DPS expects to hold such a hearing around mid-August and to have the rules finalized and in effect by September 1. In the meantime, DPS has been in contact with other states on potential future reciprocal agreements, and the agency is currently accepting applications from 21-24 year-olds and instructor certificates of completion that reflect the streamlined caliber-specific training requirement. For more information, visit http://www.dps.nm.org/ (which should be updated in the next week or so).
OREGON
This week, a subcommittee of the Senate Budget Committee made conceptual revisions and recommendations to the full committee on SB 954, the NRA-opposed gun tax. Although it appears as if Concealed Handgun License fingerprinting fee hikes may be removed from the bill, it still contains a background check fee increase proposed by the Oregon State Police on all firearm transfers (an increase from $10 to $13). While this is certainly an improvement over the original proposal (a proposed increase from $10 to $25), it still represents a 30% increase in the tax to purchase a firearm in the State of Oregon. Please contact your State Senators and urge them to oppose SB 954 and any proposed tax on lawful firearms purchases in Oregon. Contact information for Senators can be found at http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/ or by calling (503) 986-1851.
VIRGINIA
On Wednesday, June 29, Orion Sporting Group was dealt a setback in its lawsuit against Nelson County when Judge J. Michael Gamble ruled that Virginia's constitutionally protected right to hunt, fish and harvest game, does not include sporting clays and other simulated game. The case is believed to be the first constitutional legal battle over the right to hunt in the U.S. Previously, Nelson County had approved shooting live game at Orion's 450-acre rural tract of land, but effectively banned the discharge of firearms for sporting clays, helice, and other clay pigeon shooting activities to be located on the same property. Orion litigated, contending that the county's ruling violated the right to hunt explicitly protected by the Virginia Constitution and that the proposed shooting activities were an accessory use by right of the hunting preserve.
The right to hunt in Virginia, like many other states, is protected and legislated by the state. In 2000, the citizens of Virginia ratified by popular vote "…the right to hunt, fish and harvest game…" amendment to the state constitution. Despite Judge Gamble's ruling, Orion contends that constitutional protection extends to preparatory hunting activities, such as hunter education, training, and practicing with sporting clays, helice, and other clay target sports. Such preparatory activities assist one in hunting and harvesting game safely, efficiently, and more humanely. "We believe our case has merit. And while we respect Judge Gamble's decision, we are disappointed in the outcome of this trial," said D. Alan Nunley, Orion's corporate counsel. "In light of today's decision, Orion will weigh all of its options over the next several days to move forward in a positive direction." We will continue to keep you informed of any new developments in this case.
NRA will be closed Monday, July 4, in observation of Independence Day. Please have a safe and happy holiday weekend!
