From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
Vol. 7, No. 30
ANTI-GUN SENATORS PUSH POLITICALLY-PROMPTED PURCHASE PREFERENCES
This week, pro-Second Amendment U.S. Senators have been feeling the brunt
of anti-gun extremists Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Dick
Durbin (D-Ill.), as the two gun prohibitionists have attempted to strip
language prohibiting purchase preferences from the Senate's
Treasury/Postal Appropriations legislation (see FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 29 &
Wednesday's Special FAX Alert). Continue to call your U.S. Senators and
urge them to oppose any attempts to strip language prohibiting purchase
preferences for government contracts on firearms from the 2001
Treasury/Postal Appropriations bill. You can contact your Senators by
calling (202) 224-3121, or by using the "Write Your Reps" feature on
NRAILA.org.
S&W SELLOUT SAGA CONTINUES
While Congress wrestles with defusing the timebomb created by the Smith &
Wesson Sellout, the British-owned gun maker that brokered the landmark
cave-in to anti-gun extremists continues to make news. Recent reports that
S&W was forced to close two manufacturing plants for the month of July
(see FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 24) have led many to speculate that the gun
maker is facing serious financial hardship due to the negative reaction
from potential customers who feel S&W has been colluding with enemies of
the Second Amendment. Perhaps in an attempt to bolster its sagging bottom
line, S&W recently unveiled a new "Summer Savings Promotion," offering
customers a $50 rebate on every new S&W handgun they buy between July 15
and August 31. To motivate the sales staff of its stocking dealers, S&W is
dangling a $10 cash bonus for every gun they sell, and there lies the rub.
Quoting from a S&W letter to its dealers: "Sales Personnel will need to
keep track of their sales on the attached claim form. All requested
information must be completed. They will also need to attach a copy of the
ATF Form 4473 for each sale." (Emphasis added) Fair warning -- this is the
same company that agreed to furnish the Clinton-Gore Administration "full
access to any documents related to the acquisition and disposition of
firearms," as one of the terms of its surrender. Even if this promotion
fails to revive what seems to be a company that is rapidly losing
potential customers, the parent company is probably not too worried.
Tomkins PLC, the British corporation that owns S&W, is looking to get rid
of the beleaguered gun manufacturer. According to the Wall Street Journal
Online, Tomkins' chief executive Greg Hutchings confirmed that S&W was up
for sale, although he said no potential buyers had been contacted.
MASTER LOCK ISSUES RECALL
On Monday, Master Lock Co. announced that it was recalling more than
three-quarters of a million gun locks because it was concerned that the
locks could be opened without using a key. The company, which made the
announcement in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC), said that it would replace any of the 752,000 locks
that are affected by the recall. The recall announcement indicated Master
Lock had not received any reports that their locks had been disabled, but
the company was concerned that a "manufacturing discrepancy" would allow
"children and other unauthorized users" access to a firearm equipped with
one of these locks. The CPSC release noted that many of the defective
locks were sold with S&W firearms. Further details are available at
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00149.html.
NRA has long stated that trigger locks are just one option responsible gun
owners may wish to utilize for securing their firearms, but this recall
vividly highlights one reason why we oppose storage mandates of any kind
for firearms. Most gun locks, even non-defective ones, can be defeated by
anyone with enough curiosity and determination, so any parent who relies
on simply following a government mandate on "safety" is risking a
potential tragedy. On the other hand, education programs such as NRA's
Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program« have been proven to reduce firearm-related
accidents among children, by teaching kids to avoid guns if they come
across them in an unsupervised situation -- regardless of whether or not
the gun has a locking device attached, and regardless of the effectiveness
of the device. Unfortunately, we should expect anti-gun extremists such as
Al Gore and Bill Clinton to continue to call for laws mandating that all
gun owners use devices such as the ones recently recalled. It is our hope
that lawmakers will continue to reject such proposals, especially in light
of this recall, as government storage mandates will most certainly put
lives at risk.
CONGRESS ON BREAK
Congress is scheduled to go on its August/Labor Day recess on July 29, and
will remain on break until September 4 for the U.S. Senate, and September
5 for the U.S. House. During this time, your Senators and Representatives
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 opposition to any additional legislation that
further erodes our freedoms, and promote legislation that bolsters our
Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Please contact your lawmakers' district
offices and ask when they plan to hold their town hall meetings during the
August recess. The phone number should be in the blue pages of your phone
book. Then, in addition to attending and speaking out against additional
gun control proposals, please forward the dates, times, and locations of
any town hall meetings to the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division, so we may
compile this information and share it with your fellow NRA members and
pro-gun supporters. Please forward this information to the Grassroots
Division using the contact information listed above, or by sending an
e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
LATEST ZOGBY POLL INDICATES INDEPENDENTS LIKE BUSH
A recent poll by Zogby International indicates that Independent voters
prefer Texas Governor George W. Bush over Al Gore when it comes to
firearm-related issues. The poll showed that 69% of Independent voters
favor a candidate who promotes enforcing existing gun laws, while only 25%
support a candidate who promotes more "gun control" laws; and 71% would
support a candidate who believes the Second Amendment protects an
individual right, while only 21% would support a candidate who thinks --
like the Clinton-Gore Administration -- it protects the "right" of states
to arm their militias.
GRASSROOTS-ELECTION SEMINAR UPDATE
Our Grassroots-Election Seminars continue to be tremendous hits across the
country. Thus far we have conducted seminars in Alabama, Delaware,
Florida, Kansas, New Mexico and New York, and there are many more to come.
The events have been exceptionally well-attended and attendees' enthusiasm
levels have been high. These seminars provide NRA members with tips and
strategies on how they can get involved in working to elect pro-gun
candidates to office this November -- which promises to be a watershed
election for the pro-Second Amendment community -- and we will continue to
hold them throughout the country. The next batch of seminars is scheduled
for: Arizona, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and
Washington. If you are an NRA member and are interested in finding out
additional details on these meetings, or if there will be a seminar near
you, please call the Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683.
ZELL MILLER APPOINTED GEORGIA SENATOR
Former Georgia Governor Zell Miller (D) was appointed to fill the vacancy
left by the unfortunate death of U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell (R) (see FAX
Alert Vol. 7, No. 29). While the pro-gun community lost a good friend with
the passing of Senator Coverdell, Governor Miller has also been a strong
supporter of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
A LOOK AT THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
The California legislature could vote on AB 273 when it returns from its
summer recess on August 7. AB 273 seeks to require all handgun buyers be
licensed by the California Department of Justice. In fact, AB 273 would
mandate that all law-abiding gun owners pass a written test on firearm
laws, pass a shooting proficiency test, be fingerprinted, and register all
handguns owned before being licensed! This invasive, costly and
time-consuming mandate would result in mass discrimination against the low
income and the disabled who couldn't either afford to pay the licensing
fees or travel the distance to qualify for testing. And, if that isn't bad
enough, once gun owners are licensed under AB 273, they would be required
to notify law enforcement whenever they moved -- just like registered sex
offenders! Contact your State Senator and Assemblyman in their district
offices before August 7 to voice your opposition to AB 273. Additionally,
the written comment period for gun owners to voice their concerns to the
California Department of Justice about the most recent "Assault Weapon"
regulations of SB 23 (Perata) closes on Monday at 5:00 p.m. For more
information on the latest written comment period, visit
www.caag.state.ca.us//firearms/regs/revregs2.htm.
OREGON
This week, the Secretary of State's office announced that State Sen. Ginny
Burdick's (D-Portland) "Clinton-Gore-style" plan requiring records checks
for any firearm sale between individuals at gun shows has qualified for
the November ballot. This plan would also expand Oregon's instant check
law -- with its $10 fee and five-year State Police registration scheme --
to all rifle and shotgun sales through federally-licensed dealers. To
review the language of the proposed initiative, visit www.nraila.org.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
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