“Democrats
are very close to having enough support to reauthorize the assault weapons
ban.” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Friday, February 27th, 2004 - as
reported
by the AP
South
Dakota Gun Owners E-mail Alert
PO Box 3845, Rapid City, SD 57709
(605) 737-5583
LibertyTeeth@sdgo.org
http://www.SDGO.org
(Monday,
March 1, 2004) – Anti-gunners in the US Senate are beaming.
The Senate is scheduled to
resume debate today on S. 1805, the gun manufacturer liability bill formerly
numbered S. 659, and Senators Boxer, Feinstein, Kennedy, McCain and their gun
banning cronies fully expect to load the bill down with amendments to re-enact
the Clinton Semi-auto ban, shut down gun shows and outlaw “cop killer
bullets” (hunting ammo).
These anti-gun zealots have
already succeeded in attaching one “poison pill” amendment to S. 1805.
On Thursday, Feb. 26, the
Boxer/Kohl Trigger Lock amendment passed 70-27.
This
nefarious new law – offered by anti-gun Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) – would
require all handgun purchasers to pay an implicit "gun tax" by
requiring them to buy a trigger lock when they purchase their handgun,
irrespective of need. In addition, the amendment would create a broad and
implicit cause of action against gun owners who fail to actually use the storage
device to lock up their firearms. Of
course, a locked gun is unavailable for self-defense.
How
ironic that the bill introduced to shield gun makers and dealers from baseless
suits now includes penalties if handguns are not provided with gun locks,
and legal liability if those guns don’t stay locked.
The
NRA has stated that it will not support S. 1805 if it is not a “clean bill”.
But as predicted, they now seem to be weakening when it appears that
their bill may not pass without anti-gun amendments.
In
their latest alert, dated Friday, February 27, they actually praise Kohl’s
Lock Up Your Safety measure: “The Kohl amendment is much less restrictive
(than the original Boxer amendment) and also provides liability protection for
gun owners” (click
here for the entire alert).
Before
S. 1805 is done it may also include any or all of the following three
amendments:
Feinstein
– Clinton Semi-auto Ban
McCain-Reed
– Gun Show ban
Kennedy
– “Cop Killer Bullet” (hunting ammo) Ban
These
amendments and several others will be voted on today or tomorrow.
Action against the gun control laden S. 1805 must be taken NOW.
Action:
Please call the NRA immediately toll-free
at 800-392-8683 and/or email them at Federal-Affairs@nrahq.org
You can also e-mail NRA-ILA Director of
Federal Affairs, Chuck Cunningham, at ChuckC@visi.net
You
can use the sample message below to direct your comments:
----------------------------------
Dear
Mr. Cunningham,
S.
1805 is no longer a “clean bill.”
As
you know, it is now laden with the Kohl amendment, and may also include the
Clinton Semi-auto Ban before it leaves the Senate.
The
strategy to allow these amendments to be tacked onto the bill in order to get it
through the Senate, and then to attempt to take them back off in Conference
committee is a dangerous gamble. Gun
control legislation has been passed in just such a manner.
Please
do all in your power to stop this trampling of the Second Amendment.
Gun maker protection is not worth accepting a new Lock Up Your Safety
law.
Sincerely,
---------------------------------
If
you have not yet contacted Senators Daschle and Johnson, please do so now. If you have already, please do it again.
Even if you do not believe that they will respond, constituent pressure
from any state affects Congress.
Tell
them to VOTE AGAINST S.1805, now that it has gun control on it and
is likely to contain more.
Senator Tom Daschle
Election
Headquarters
Toll free: 866-213-5200
Washington
Office
Phone: (202) 224-2321
Fax: (202) 224-7895
Contact via the internet: http://www.senate.gov/~daschle/webform1.html (follow this link and type a message in the online form, or paste the sample message below).
Senator Tim Johnson
Phone: (202) 224-5842
Fax: (202) 228-5765
Contact via the internet: http://johnson.senate.gov/ContactPage/emailform.htm (follow this link and type a message in the online form, or paste the sample message below).
----Sample
Message----
Dear
Senator:
Make no mistake about it: Suits against gun manufacturers and dealers are
a serious problem. But I strenuously object to loading up S. 1805 with all
kinds of anti-gun amendments.
The
Kohl Lock Up Your Safety amendment would create a broad and implicit cause of
action against gun owners who fail to actually use the storage device to lock up
their firearms. Of course, a locked gun then becomes unavailable for
self-defense.
This measure will do very little to stop crime or reduce accidental death. It will, however, make self-defense much more costly and difficult. If it is passed into law, it may cause the death of thousands who were unable to defend themselves because their safety was unavailable.
I respectfully urge you to vote against S. 1805. The gun control provision it now carries far outweighs any good it may originally have done.
I will be watching how you vote.
Sincerely,
--------------------------