Contender
03-01-2004, 01:30 PM
March 1 Neal Knox Update -- The anti-gun crowd's sole focus right now is
killing S. 1805, the renumbered S. 659 gun industry liability protection
bill.
So why on Earth are so many panicky gun rights defenders (or people
claiming to be) doing everything they can to help the enemy?
Yes, S. 1805 is in danger of being loaded up with anti-gun amendments in
the Senate. But anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that
the Senate is overloaded with anti-gunners and has been for several
years.
The only way to get the bill passed is to get it back to the House, where
it can be cleaned up or killed.
The identical House version, H.R. 1036, passed last April 285-140.
The Senate bill has 55 co-sponsors -- five more than necessary for
passage. Last week the Schumer-Lautenberg, et al, filibuster failed by
75 votes -- fifteen more votes than the two-thirds necessary to bring it
to the floor.
The day the voting started, the White House sent Congress a Statement of
Administration Policy calling for a "clean bill" -- one without
amendments. That's what President Bush has said he will sign -- which
greatly improves the chances of a cleaned Conference Committee bill
getting through the Senate.
Sen. Schumer fumed the Bush position will cost 10 or eleven Republican
votes against his and Dianne Feinstein's amendments. Let's hope he's
right, but I doubt it. Three or four might be enough.
With everything stacked against them, the only way the anti-gunners can
kill the bill is to load it down with a bunch of killer amendments --
causing the gun rights people to do what the anti-gun crowd can't do.
Kill it -- like our Nervous Nellies are already clamoring to do.
Schumer's "useful idiots" -- some of our people -- are in a panic because
Sen. Larry Craig and other pro-gunners signed a "Unanimous Consent
Agreement" allowing a series of anti-gun (and pro-gun) amendments to be
considered without a string of filibusters.
That's the only way the Senate ever can consider a controversial bill --
but many of those screaming about "Unanimous Consent" think it means the
pro-gun side has consented to evil amendments. They haven't.
Sen. Barbara Boxer added an amendment requiring all dealer-sold handguns
to be delivered with a safety lock, as most already are.
The Internet is being flooded with emails from people I never heard of --
forwarded by people who should know better -- demanding that S. 1805 be
killed because it "contains gun control."
Let me assure you: S. 1805 WILL CONTAIN A LOT MORE GUN CONTROL --
probably including the Feinstein "Assault Weapon" ban and the McCain gun
show-killer bill -- before the Senate's final vote.
But I want the Senate to hold their noses and send it back to the House,
warts and all.
The letters going out right now from misled gun owners to their Senators,
telling them to vote against S. 1805, were probably drafted in the
offices of "Americans for Gun Safety" and Handgun Control Inc.
If not, they might as well have been.
As most of you know, I have been personally involved in every Federal gun
rights battle since 1966 -- as founding editor of Gun Week, editor of
Handloader and Rifle, Executive Director of NRA-ILA, legislative
columnist for Guns & Ammo, Shotgun News and other publications, and Vice
President of NRA for three years, until Charlton Heston beat me 38-34.
In short, I've been around this block twice. I have never seen such a
well-orchestrated campaign to kill a pro-gun bill.
Every Senator who voted FOR the Boxer/Schumer/Feinstein /Kennedy
amendments will vote AGAINST the bill. I want to see every Senator who
voted AGAINST those amendments to vote FOR an anti-gun bill, and we
should let them know that we'll never hold that vote against them.
Because that's the only way we can get the bill to the House, where those
amendments can be stripped -- so the United States Arms Industry can
survive, and prices on the guns they produce won't continue to skyrocket.
Am I absolutely certain that every anti-gun amendment can be stripped off
in the House-Senate Conference? Or else knocked off in House votes?
No, I'm not.
But I AM certain that if they aren't WE CAN KILL THE BILL IN THE HOUSE.
And from what I've been personally told, NRA will lead the effort to kill
their own bill if the corruption remains.
Yes, it's dangerous. Passing legislation when the Senate is against us
is always dangerous -- and it's difficult, but with the House and White
House on our side, it's doable.
Let's show a little courage, friends.
_______________________________________________
This is the Firearms Coalition's Alerts list. It is never sent unsolicited. It comes from an unmonitored address, so please do not reply. This is not a chat list, so please don't attempt to post to it. Send list administration questions to fcalerts-admin@nealknox.com.
http://www.nealknox.com/mailman/listinfo/fcalerts-list
killing S. 1805, the renumbered S. 659 gun industry liability protection
bill.
So why on Earth are so many panicky gun rights defenders (or people
claiming to be) doing everything they can to help the enemy?
Yes, S. 1805 is in danger of being loaded up with anti-gun amendments in
the Senate. But anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that
the Senate is overloaded with anti-gunners and has been for several
years.
The only way to get the bill passed is to get it back to the House, where
it can be cleaned up or killed.
The identical House version, H.R. 1036, passed last April 285-140.
The Senate bill has 55 co-sponsors -- five more than necessary for
passage. Last week the Schumer-Lautenberg, et al, filibuster failed by
75 votes -- fifteen more votes than the two-thirds necessary to bring it
to the floor.
The day the voting started, the White House sent Congress a Statement of
Administration Policy calling for a "clean bill" -- one without
amendments. That's what President Bush has said he will sign -- which
greatly improves the chances of a cleaned Conference Committee bill
getting through the Senate.
Sen. Schumer fumed the Bush position will cost 10 or eleven Republican
votes against his and Dianne Feinstein's amendments. Let's hope he's
right, but I doubt it. Three or four might be enough.
With everything stacked against them, the only way the anti-gunners can
kill the bill is to load it down with a bunch of killer amendments --
causing the gun rights people to do what the anti-gun crowd can't do.
Kill it -- like our Nervous Nellies are already clamoring to do.
Schumer's "useful idiots" -- some of our people -- are in a panic because
Sen. Larry Craig and other pro-gunners signed a "Unanimous Consent
Agreement" allowing a series of anti-gun (and pro-gun) amendments to be
considered without a string of filibusters.
That's the only way the Senate ever can consider a controversial bill --
but many of those screaming about "Unanimous Consent" think it means the
pro-gun side has consented to evil amendments. They haven't.
Sen. Barbara Boxer added an amendment requiring all dealer-sold handguns
to be delivered with a safety lock, as most already are.
The Internet is being flooded with emails from people I never heard of --
forwarded by people who should know better -- demanding that S. 1805 be
killed because it "contains gun control."
Let me assure you: S. 1805 WILL CONTAIN A LOT MORE GUN CONTROL --
probably including the Feinstein "Assault Weapon" ban and the McCain gun
show-killer bill -- before the Senate's final vote.
But I want the Senate to hold their noses and send it back to the House,
warts and all.
The letters going out right now from misled gun owners to their Senators,
telling them to vote against S. 1805, were probably drafted in the
offices of "Americans for Gun Safety" and Handgun Control Inc.
If not, they might as well have been.
As most of you know, I have been personally involved in every Federal gun
rights battle since 1966 -- as founding editor of Gun Week, editor of
Handloader and Rifle, Executive Director of NRA-ILA, legislative
columnist for Guns & Ammo, Shotgun News and other publications, and Vice
President of NRA for three years, until Charlton Heston beat me 38-34.
In short, I've been around this block twice. I have never seen such a
well-orchestrated campaign to kill a pro-gun bill.
Every Senator who voted FOR the Boxer/Schumer/Feinstein /Kennedy
amendments will vote AGAINST the bill. I want to see every Senator who
voted AGAINST those amendments to vote FOR an anti-gun bill, and we
should let them know that we'll never hold that vote against them.
Because that's the only way we can get the bill to the House, where those
amendments can be stripped -- so the United States Arms Industry can
survive, and prices on the guns they produce won't continue to skyrocket.
Am I absolutely certain that every anti-gun amendment can be stripped off
in the House-Senate Conference? Or else knocked off in House votes?
No, I'm not.
But I AM certain that if they aren't WE CAN KILL THE BILL IN THE HOUSE.
And from what I've been personally told, NRA will lead the effort to kill
their own bill if the corruption remains.
Yes, it's dangerous. Passing legislation when the Senate is against us
is always dangerous -- and it's difficult, but with the House and White
House on our side, it's doable.
Let's show a little courage, friends.
_______________________________________________
This is the Firearms Coalition's Alerts list. It is never sent unsolicited. It comes from an unmonitored address, so please do not reply. This is not a chat list, so please don't attempt to post to it. Send list administration questions to fcalerts-admin@nealknox.com.
http://www.nealknox.com/mailman/listinfo/fcalerts-list