Logansdad
09-30-2003, 05:25 PM
Remember the so-called "Our Lady of Peace Act" from last year?
Well, Our Lady is back, but under a new name.
Two notoriously anti-gun legislators have teamed up again to deny
millions of additional Americans their right to keep and bear arms.
They are Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
(D-NY).
What makes this bill so dangerous is the fact that many Congressmen
who are perceived to be "pro-gun" are supporting the bill as well.
According to CNS News, a current NRA Board member, together with a
former board member, appeared at a press conference last week to
support the Schumer-McCarthy legislation. Specifically, Senator
Larry Craig (R-ID) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) lent their visible
support on Thursday in favor of the "NICS Improvement Act."
NICS, of course, refers to the National Instant Check System -- a
key component of the Brady Act which forces honest citizens to prove
their innocence to the FBI before they can purchase firearms from
gun dealers. The Brady Act, named after anti-gun lobbyists Jim and
Sarah Brady, requires gun purchasers' names to be given to the FBI,
thus creating the potential that the feds could keep an illegal
registry of firearms owners.
As of today, this new bill still does not have a number. However,
it is expected that it will be almost identical with its earlier
incarnation, H.R. 4757, from last year.
As such, the bill could require states to turn over vast numbers of
records (on potentially all Americans) to the FBI for use in
connection with the Instantcheck. These records -- often containing
sensitive, personal information -- could include ANY state record
relevant to the question of whether a person is prohibited from
owning a gun.
This starts with a large volume of mental health records, but the
FBI could also require that a state forward all of its employment
and tax records in order to identify persons who are illegal aliens.
It could require that states forward information concerning drug
diversion programs and arrests that do not lead to prosecution, in
order to determine whether a person is "an unlawful user of... any
controlled substance...."
GOA opposes adding mental health records because psychiatry is one
of the most anti-gun professions of all. Consider the recent study
published by the American Psychological Association. In the press
release announcing the study, two Berkeley professors likened
"right-wing conservatives" like Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan to
Hitler and Mussolini. Huh? These shrinks are the people we want to
determine who should own a firearm? The Second Amendment should
never be in the hands of this profession.
Regardless, one must realize that this bill is NOT about keeping bad
guys and wackos from getting guns. Bad guys and wackos will ALWAYS
be able to get guns, no matter how many restrictions there are.
The bill would also help FBI officials to effectively stop millions
of additional Americans from purchasing firearms, because they were
guilty in the past of committing minor misdemeanors. You might
remember the Lautenberg Gun Ban which President Bill Clinton signed
in 1996? Because of this ban, people who have committed very minor
offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even
yelling at a family member have discovered that they can no longer
own firearms for self-defense.
But the anti-gun nuts in Congress are upset because many of the
states' criminal records are incomplete. As a result, the FBI does
not access all of these records when screening the background of
someone who purchases a firearm from a gun dealer. The
McCarthy-Schumer bill would change all that and keep millions of
decent, peaceful citizens from owning firearms because, in each
case, of nothing more than a single, minor offense committed long
ago.
This bill is all about control. Schumer and McCarthy want to keep
pushing their agenda forward, making it impossible for more and more
Americans to legally own guns!
Already, the Brady Bunch is crowing that passing this bill "would
represent the first substantial piece of federal gun legislation
since at least 1996" and that such passage would "explode the myth
that nothing can be achieved on guns in [a Republican] Congress."
They might well get their way since prominent Republicans like
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah are supporting the bill.
The Schumer-McCarthy bill is an anti-self-defense piece of
legislation that will only make the country safer for criminals
while opening the door to invading the privacy of all Americans.
Well, Our Lady is back, but under a new name.
Two notoriously anti-gun legislators have teamed up again to deny
millions of additional Americans their right to keep and bear arms.
They are Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
(D-NY).
What makes this bill so dangerous is the fact that many Congressmen
who are perceived to be "pro-gun" are supporting the bill as well.
According to CNS News, a current NRA Board member, together with a
former board member, appeared at a press conference last week to
support the Schumer-McCarthy legislation. Specifically, Senator
Larry Craig (R-ID) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) lent their visible
support on Thursday in favor of the "NICS Improvement Act."
NICS, of course, refers to the National Instant Check System -- a
key component of the Brady Act which forces honest citizens to prove
their innocence to the FBI before they can purchase firearms from
gun dealers. The Brady Act, named after anti-gun lobbyists Jim and
Sarah Brady, requires gun purchasers' names to be given to the FBI,
thus creating the potential that the feds could keep an illegal
registry of firearms owners.
As of today, this new bill still does not have a number. However,
it is expected that it will be almost identical with its earlier
incarnation, H.R. 4757, from last year.
As such, the bill could require states to turn over vast numbers of
records (on potentially all Americans) to the FBI for use in
connection with the Instantcheck. These records -- often containing
sensitive, personal information -- could include ANY state record
relevant to the question of whether a person is prohibited from
owning a gun.
This starts with a large volume of mental health records, but the
FBI could also require that a state forward all of its employment
and tax records in order to identify persons who are illegal aliens.
It could require that states forward information concerning drug
diversion programs and arrests that do not lead to prosecution, in
order to determine whether a person is "an unlawful user of... any
controlled substance...."
GOA opposes adding mental health records because psychiatry is one
of the most anti-gun professions of all. Consider the recent study
published by the American Psychological Association. In the press
release announcing the study, two Berkeley professors likened
"right-wing conservatives" like Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan to
Hitler and Mussolini. Huh? These shrinks are the people we want to
determine who should own a firearm? The Second Amendment should
never be in the hands of this profession.
Regardless, one must realize that this bill is NOT about keeping bad
guys and wackos from getting guns. Bad guys and wackos will ALWAYS
be able to get guns, no matter how many restrictions there are.
The bill would also help FBI officials to effectively stop millions
of additional Americans from purchasing firearms, because they were
guilty in the past of committing minor misdemeanors. You might
remember the Lautenberg Gun Ban which President Bill Clinton signed
in 1996? Because of this ban, people who have committed very minor
offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even
yelling at a family member have discovered that they can no longer
own firearms for self-defense.
But the anti-gun nuts in Congress are upset because many of the
states' criminal records are incomplete. As a result, the FBI does
not access all of these records when screening the background of
someone who purchases a firearm from a gun dealer. The
McCarthy-Schumer bill would change all that and keep millions of
decent, peaceful citizens from owning firearms because, in each
case, of nothing more than a single, minor offense committed long
ago.
This bill is all about control. Schumer and McCarthy want to keep
pushing their agenda forward, making it impossible for more and more
Americans to legally own guns!
Already, the Brady Bunch is crowing that passing this bill "would
represent the first substantial piece of federal gun legislation
since at least 1996" and that such passage would "explode the myth
that nothing can be achieved on guns in [a Republican] Congress."
They might well get their way since prominent Republicans like
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah are supporting the bill.
The Schumer-McCarthy bill is an anti-self-defense piece of
legislation that will only make the country safer for criminals
while opening the door to invading the privacy of all Americans.