The U.S. House narrowly passed the Obama gag-law (so-called "Disclose" Act) late last week by a vote of 219-206.
This very close vote shows just how effective your calls have been. The hardest place to kill this bill is in the House, and with the opposition that gun owners have raised, we have a good chance to kill it in the Senate.
True to form, the Democrat leadership pushed Congress to ignore the American people, and in a compete mockery of the "DISCLOSE Act" title, the Democrats did not reveal (until a couple of hours before the Rules Committee Vote) that an amendment had been inserted at the last minute to exempt labor unions from the requirements of the bill.
The battle against the Obama gag-law now moves to the US Senate, where we have a good chance of stopping it IF we will continue voicing strong opposition.
As the debate played out in the House, it became clear that this legislation had zero chance of passing until the NRA removed their opposition in exchange for a special exemption. And don't be fooled. As noted before, the NRA exemption applies ONLY to the NRA leadership. It does NOT include any individual NRA member or any group of us not represented by the NRA leadership.
As NRA members, the SDGO staff has been appalled at the NRA's support for Harry Reid and Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin. Until now, we have been free to publish the anti-gun records of politicians like these. If the DISCLOSE Act passes, that will no longer be the case. That's why it is vital that we hold the NRA leadership's feet to the fire.
Please take action today!
ACTION:
Please call Senator John Thune (202-224-2321) and Senator Tim Johnson (202-224-5842) and ask them to publicly oppose the DISCLOSE Act (H.R. 5175).
And please call the NRA at (800) 672-3888 and let them know just how you feel about their betrayal of your ability to defend your gun rights.
Below is more information on the Obama gag-law from the National Association of Gun Rights.
Dear Gun Owner,
Late last week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi forced the free-speech limiting DISCLOSE Act through the House of Representatives.
Because of the heroic efforts of gun rights activists like you, the DISCLOSE Act barely passed with a vote of 219 to 206.
YOUR pressure -- your phone calls, your e-mails - made the passage of this measure a tough and expensive political battle for the anti-gunners in Congress and the White House. (Click here to see how your Congressman voted.)
Thank you for your commitment to this important fight -- you are making a difference!
The DISCLOSE Act was written simply to protect the anti-gun Establishment status quo in Washington D.C. If passed into law, it could silence virtually every state and national conservative group in the country, including the National Association for Gun Rights and any state level gun organizations you may belong to.
The DISCLOSE Act is a direct attack on your First Amendment right to petition Congress and mention legislation or voting records during the election season.
You and I both know that election season is the best time to hold politicians accountable for their anti-gun votes. The DISCLOSE Act is designed to silence grassroots activists LIKE YOU and protect the Establishment politicians in Washington.
The DISCLOSE Act will affect every political organization you belong to, on any and every issue.
The NRA has joined an unholy cabal with liberal special interests like the Sierra Club, AARP and labor unions to gain exemptions from the onerous restrictions of the DISCLOSE Act.
I strongly encourage you to contact the NRA at (800) 672-3888 and let them know just how you feel about this betrayal of your rights.
Now, until last week, the DISCLOSE Act appeared doomed, but the NRA struck a deal with anti-gunners Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer (the Senate sponsor) and Harry Reid. In exchange for exemptions from the bill's outrageous and expensive disclosure requirements, the NRA now tacitly supports the anti-free speech DISCLOSE Act.
In fact, Capitol insiders say Harry Reid may be the driving force for this exemption. Reid is in a very tough re-election race in Nevada, but the NRA has all but endorsed him (see the latest NRA magazine, with flattering pictures and flowery praise of Harry Reid). If he's held accountable for his bad votes on the gun issue, he will almost certainly lose - which is why he'd like to silence all of the pro-gun groups except the one that's supporting him.
The fight against the free-speech infringement that is the DISCLOSE Act must now be taken to the U.S. Senate.
Without a doubt, our right to free speech hangs in the balance -- and today's vote is step in the wrong direction.
However, I am still optimistic.
If gun rights activists like you and me can keep the pressure up in the U.S. Senate, we still have a chance of killing this awful legislation.
Please, call both your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and demand that they publicly oppose the DISCLOSE Act.
Tell them that any vote to restrict free-speech will be considered a vote against gun owners.
For liberty,
Dudley Brown
Executive Director