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Subject:
House Votes to Restrict Second Amendment Groups
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House Votes to Restrict the Voice of Second Amendment
Groups
-- So-called Campaign Finance battle now moves back to Senate
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert 8001 Forbes Place,
Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX:
703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org
(Friday, February 15, 2002) -- Well, we came close to
killing the Incumbent Protection Act in the House this
week.
To be exact, we came just five votes short.
Early Thursday morning, the House passed the Incumbent
Protection Bill, which is also known as the "Shays-Meehan"
bill after its two
authors. The bill which purports to reform campaign finance laws
will actually prohibit the ability of groups like GOA to
engage in many forms of communication to the public which
mention the names of incumbent legislators within 60 days
of an election.
Gun Owners of America knew the legislation was almost
unbeatable since 50 percent of Congressmen in the House had
signaled their support for the bill by signing their names
to a discharge petition -- a parliamentary maneuver that
forces a bill to a vote.
So GOA adopted the strategy of helping to push a pro-gun
amendment that would act as a "poison pill," killing the
Incumbent Protection legislation bill if the amendment was
inserted into the overall bill.
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS) was the man who stepped up to
the plate
and offered the Gun Owners Protection Amendment. It reaffirmed that
the Second Amendment protects an individual right, and it
exempted gun groups from the provisions of this draconian
legislation.
The strategy almost worked. If just five Congressmen had switched
their votes, the Gun Owners Protection Amendment would have
probably caused the bill's defeat on the floor of the
House, as anti-gun Congressmen would have been forced to
vote against the Incumbent Protection Bill.
At a minimum, Republican leaders in the House were hoping
to force the bill to a conference committee -- considered
by most insiders to be a political graveyard for this
legislation.
According to The Washington Times on Thursday, the
Republican strategy "was to offer a series of amendments
that would have broken apart the Shays-Meehan coalition and
forced the bill to conference. They came closest on a
[Pickering] amendment that would have exempted advocacy ads
on guns from the bill's regulations."
To be sure, GOA would have still opposed the Incumbent
Protection
Bill if the pro-gun Pickering amendment had passed. Unfortunately,
it failed by a narrow 218-209 vote. The overall bill later passed
240-189. [Go to http://clerkweb.house.gov/evs/2002/index.asp to see
the Roll Call vote on final passage. Click on Roll #34.]
Most folks on the Hill think the Senate will try to evade a
conference committee by adopting the version passed in the
House. Having done this, the bill will go directly to the
President.
TWO ACTION ITEMS:
1. It is imperative that you contact your two Senators and urge
them to oppose this noxious and unconstitutional legislation. To
identify your senators, as well as to send a message via
e-mail, see the Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA website. There are
two different letters to the Senate below. Please choose the
appropriate message for your Senators.
(Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said he might try to
filibuster this bill. Residents in the Blue Grass state should
encourage him to do so.)
2. It is also important that you scold those legislators
who voted wrong in the House earlier this week.
Please see the list of legislators below who voted * against * the
Gun Owners Protection Amendment offered by Rep. Pickering. This
provision reaffirmed the Second Amendment right to bear
arms and protected pro-gun groups from having their First
Amendment freedoms
squelched near election time. (Look at the list carefully. There
are some Representatives who claim to be pro-gun that voted
against the Pickering amendment!)
NOTE: You can call your Representative or Senators toll-free at
1-877-762-8762 or at 202-225-3121.
----- Pre-written message for pro-gun Senators -----
Dear Senator:
The anti-gun Incumbent Protection bill is a dagger pointed
at the
heart of pro-gun groups. This bill -- erroneously known as campaign
finance reform -- will squelch the voice of such
organizations, and even threatens to eliminate their
tax-exempt status.
I cannot count on the major media to inform me of what's
going on
concerning my gun rights. I must rely on GOA and other groups to
inform me of pending legislation or congressional votes, no
matter how close to an election these issues arise.
In fact, the primary concern of the First Amendment is to
protect exactly the type of political communication that
the so-called campaign finance bill is trying to destroy.
Please support any attempts to filibuster this bill and
vote AGAINST
its final passage. It is an anti-gun and anti-speech abomination.
Sincerely,
----- Pre-written message for anti-gun Senators -----
Dear Senator:
Even the AFL-CIO and the American Civil Liberties Union
have attacked the Incumbent Protection Bill as
counterproductive and unconstitutional.
This is because the principal impact of this legislation --
erroneously known as campaign finance reform -- would be to
silence legislative advocacy groups, while doing nothing to
address the real problems with the political system.
Please support any attempts to filibuster this bill and
vote AGAINST
its final passage. It is an anti-speech abomination.
Sincerely,
----- Pre-written message to anti-gun Representatives -----
[NOTE: Only send the following "Dear Representative" letter to your
Congressman if he is listed below! That list displays the
Representatives who voted AGAINST the pro-gun Pickering
amendment on February 13.]
Dear Representative:
Needless to say, I am VERY disappointed that you voted
against the Gun Owners Protection Amendment which was
offered by Rep. Chip Pickering on February 13.
Do you not agree that the Second Amendment protects the
freedoms of
individuals? The Pickering amendment was vitally important, as the
overall Shays-Meehan bill is a dagger pointed at the heart
of pro-gun groups.
But this dagger is not just pointed at organizations like
Gun Owners of America, it is also pointed at the heart of
groups all along the
political spectrum. In fact, the only ones NOT really covered by
this legislation are those in the media.
That is why this bill has aptly been called the Incumbent
Protection
Bill. Again, I am very disturbed by your vote, and you can be
assured that I will not forget it.
Sincerely,
---------------------------------------
Representatives who voted AGAINST the Gun Owners Protection
Amendment:
Abercrombie Gutierrez Neal
Ackerman Hall (OH) Northup
Allen Harman Oberstar
Andrews Hastings (FL) Obey
Baca Hill Olver
Baird Hinchey Ortiz
Baldacci Hinojosa Ose
Baldwin Hoeffel Owens
Barrett Holt Pallone
Bass Honda Pascrell
Becerra Hooley Pastor
Bentsen Horn Payne
Berkley Houghton Pelosi
Berman Hoyer Platts
Berry Inslee Pomeroy
Blagojevich Israel Price (NC)
Blumenauer Jackson (IL) Quinn
Boehlert Jackson-Lee (TX) Ramstad
Bonior Jefferson Rangel
Borski Johnson (CT) Reyes
Brady (PA) Johnson, E. B. Rivers
Brown (FL) Jones (OH) Rodriguez
Brown (OH) Kanjorski Roemer
Capps Kaptur Rothman
Capuano Kildee Roybal-Allard
Cardin Kilpatrick Rush
Carson (IN) Kind (WI) Sabo
Castle Kirk Sanchez
Clay Kleczka Sanders
Clayton Kucinich Sandlin
Clement LaFalce Sawyer
Clyburn Lampson Saxton
Condit Langevin Schakowsky
Conyers Lantos Schiff
Costello Larsen (WA) Scott
Coyne Larson (CT) Serrano
Crowley Leach Shays
Cummings Lee Sherman
Davis (CA) Levin Skelton
Davis (FL) Lewis (GA) Slaughter
Davis (IL) Lipinski Smith (MI)
DeFazio LoBiondo Smith (WA)
DeGette Lofgren Snyder
Delahunt Lowey Solis
DeLauro Luther Spratt
Deutsch Lynch Stark
Dicks Maloney (CT) Stenholm
Dingell Maloney (NY) Stupak
Doggett Markey Tauscher
Dooley Mascara Thompson (CA)
Doyle Matheson Thompson (MS)
Edwards Matsui Thune
Ehlers McCarthy (MO) Thurman
Engel McCarthy (NY) Tierney
Eshoo McCollum Towns
Etheridge McDermott Turner
Evans McGovern Udall (CO)
Farr McIntyre Udall (NM)
Fattah McKinney Velazquez
Ferguson McNulty Visclosky
Filner Meehan Walsh
Foley Meek (FL) Wamp
Ford Meeks (NY) Waters
Frank Menendez Watson (CA)
Frelinghuysen Millender-McDonald Watt (NC)
Frost Miller, George Waxman
Gephardt Mink Weiner
Gilchrest Moore Weldon (PA)
Gilman Moran (VA) Wexler
Gonzalez Morella Wolf
Green (TX) Murtha Woolsey
Greenwood Nadler Wu
Grucci Napolitano Wynn
****************************
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****************************
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