Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Democrats are back in power and their anti-gun wing is trying to make up for lost
time as far as gun control legislation is concerned. There are a number of bills that have
been introduced already, but GOA will be there to meet every challenge.
Right now, we need your help in beating back a reintroduction of the so-called "assault
weapons ban," the infamous bill that outlawed many types of firearms based primarily
on cosmetics, misinformation and scare tactics.

The bill is HR 1022, and last month it was introduced by the Queen of Gun Control,
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). Its 30 cosponsors comprise a list of the usual anti-gun
suspects -- so we need to make sure that no pro-gun congressmen are duped into signing
their names onto this anti-gun piece of trash. McCarthy entitled her bill the Assault 
Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection . Act of 2007, knowing these firearms 
aren't "assault weapons" and knowing the bill she is reintroducing does nothing to
prevent violent crime -- since the guns in question have seldom been used in crime. 

McCarthy's bill would reinstate all of the now defunct provisions related to semi-
automaticfirearms and large capacity magazines. The manufacture and/or importation 
of many firearms would be prohibited. This would be paired with a strong ban on the 
possession or transfer of detachable magazines having moderate or larger capacities.
Truth be told, HR 1022 is the old ban on steroids. Fourteen more guns are listed by 
name than in the '94 ban, and only one "dangerous" feature, such as a pistol grip, is 
needed to make a "nice" gun into a "bad" gun. The old ban required two "dangerous" 
features, such as a pistol grip and a folding stock. This distinction effectively expands 
the scope of the bill to ban a far broader variety of firearms.

Since the U.S. Department of Justice has already documented that the previous
"assault weapons" ban did absolutely nothing to stop violent crime, it is clear that 
HR 1022is simply a direct attack on the 2nd Amendment rights of gun owners.

More than 10 years ago, the anti-gun lobby and their friends in the media began 
waging a campaign to frighten people and convince them that the so-called "assault 
weapons" are rapid fire machine guns when, in reality, they are merely semi-automatic 
firearms that look different than traditional hunting rifles.

This bill is designed to cripple the firearms industry while infringing on the rights of 
all gun owners. It is proof positive that the rabid, anti-gun members of Congress really 
don't care about stopping crime or saving lives -- they just want to take our guns away.

What are the odds of this bill getting through the Congress? Who knows? House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi just gave Rep. Jefferson a seat on the Homeland Security Panel. Jefferson
was the guy who had $90,000 dollars of bribe money stuffed into his freezer.

If the liberals now in control of the Democrat Party feel they are strong enough to get 
away with that kind of outrage, they may feel they can get away with passing a gun 
ban that does nothing but punish law-abiding gun owners.

We must take seriously every anti-gun bill introduced in this Congress. But, at the same 
time, this bill is an opportunity to beat up those members of Congress who hate guns and 
will stop at nothing to eliminate our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

If we can give them a good thrashing on HR 1022, we may be able to discourage them from
bringing forth more bills like this. And that is why we need your help in beating down 
HR 1022 quickly, and making sure that none of the good guys get suckered into supporting this.

Dear Representative: 
                                             : 

I'm sure you are aware that Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has reintroduced, in the form 
of HR 1022, the Clinton semi-auto gun ban that sunset a couple of years ago. The Justice 
Department reported that the ban's impact on gun violence was small at best, and too small 
to be statistically valid.

By contrast, states adopting concealed carry laws had significant decreases in violent crime 
while states and cities maintaining strict gun control laws continued to have the nation's 
highest rates of violent crime.

I agree with Gun Owners of America that the only people affected by the so-called "assault 
weapons ban" of 1994 were law-abiding gun owners, manufacturers and importers. Clearly, 
this bill is nothing less than an infringement on the rights of gun owners. And we won't stand 
for it. 

The supporters of HR 1022 will be identified as anti-gun Congressmen and, hopefully, targeted 
for defeat at the next election. As your constituent, I urge you to oppose this or any other gun 
grabbing bill in the 110th Congress.

Sincerely,