Posted on 08/12/2005 11:57:31 AM PDT by neverdem
www.gunowners.org
Aug 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
|
This quote demonstrates the rabid zealotry that exists in the anti-gun community. It also shows why it's so important for Congress to enact good legislation that will put an end to the dozens of frivolous lawsuits that have been launched against the gun industry.
At least two gun makers -- Bryco and Navegar -- have already been put out of business. And many other gun makers have been forced to dole out millions of dollars to protect themselves from these unscrupulous attorneys.
If we want to continue enjoying our Second Amendment rights, it is imperative that we work through the Congress to put a halt to these injurious attacks.
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave has taken up the cause in the House. She wants the Congress to send the President a CLEAN bill that will protect gun makers and sellers, without punishing gun owners in any way. The House bill (H.R. 800) is much better than the Senate version (S. 397), since the former is free and clear of all gun control.
As introduced, S. 397 would have been a good first step towards curtailing anti-gun lawsuits. Unfortunately, Senator Frist allowed two anti-gun amendments to be offered, and they turned a marginally beneficial bill into a huge albatross.
The first amendment -- offered by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) -- requires gun dealers to include a "lock-up-your-safety" device with every handgun sold. In addition to imposing a "gun tax" on every handgun buyer, this amendment paves the way for future legislation mandating that gun owners use those trigger locks.
The second provision -- offered by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) -- amended the armor-piercing bullet provisions of federal law. At its core, the Craig language did two things:
* It gave impetus to adopting a "penetration standard" for armor piercing bullets by commissioning a Justice Department study of the issue. If a "penetration standard" were adopted, a gun-adverse administration could probably use it to ban virtually all ammunition.
* It established a fifteen year MANDATORY MINIMUM PRISON SENTENCE for anyone who carries a single armor piercing bullet during the commission of a "crime of violence" -- or who "possesses" such a bullet "in furtherance of... such crime..."
It is significant that "crime of violence" is defined in 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(3) to mean a felony that (1) involves the actual, attempted, or threatened use of force against person or property, or (2) involves a "substantial risk" of force against person or property.
Hence, if a concealed carry permit holder opens his coat to display a firearm in order to thwart an assault -- and such an action is prohibited by a state's anti-self defense law and therefore constitutes a felony of "criminal threatening" -- then the court must sentence the concealed carry permit holder to a fifteen year mandatory minimum sentence if he is carrying an "armor piercing bullet." The judge has no discretion.
The only "good news" in regard to the Craig language is that the 18 U.S.C. 921 definition of "armor piercing ammunition" was not affected. The definition is fairly restricted and limited to:
* A handgun projectile wholly made of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium, or
* A handgun projectile larger than .22 caliber with a jacket weighing more than 25% of the total weight of the projectile.
Thankfully, Rep. Musgrave is pushing the House leadership to get real lawsuit protection enacted, without endangering the Second Amendment rights of gun owners in any way.
ACTION: Please ask your Representative to sign onto the Musgrave letter opposing the anti-gun amendments in S. 397. And then, forward this alert to your pro-gun friends and family. Even if you have already contacted your Rep., please consider doing so again. Rep. Musgrave needs a huge outpouring of support if she is to convince the House leadership that they should push H.R. 800, rather than just taking the Senate version at face value.
You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Representative a pre-written e-mail message such as the one below.
Or, you can call your Representative toll-free at 877-762-8762.
Dear Representative:
As you know, the Senate recently passed much-needed lawsuit protection for the gun industry (S. 397). But this bill passed with some unwanted baggage -- specifically, two amendments that chip away at the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.
One amendment imposes a handgun tax and paves the way for future requirements that gun owners lock up their guns, thus rendering them unavailable for self-defense. The second provision -- the armor piercing ammunition language -- would also pave the way for future restrictions, as explained in detail at www.gunowners.org/a081105.htm on the Gun Owners of America website.
For these reasons, I urge you to sign onto a letter being circulated by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave which deals with real efforts to gain lawsuit protection for gun makers and gun dealers, without endangering ordinary gun owners.
The letter asks the House leadership to push H.R. 800, a lawsuit protection bill that contains no gun control, rather than its Senate counterpart. H.R. 800 has been well received in the House, as it currently has 257 cosponsors.
America deserves a CLEAN bill which offers real protection for gun makers and dealers. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Do You Understand the Meaning of "the Militia"?
Border security is a hot topic these days. But the solution isn't another alphabet-soup government agency, or more taxpayer dollars funneled into even more federal law enforcement. It's using the militia, the way our Founding Fathers intended.
Listen as GOA's Larry Pratt interviews Dr. Edwin Vieira, who has been doing some astounding research into the constitutional basis of the militia and how it applies to both the Second Amendment and the security issues facing our country today.
Got to http://www.inforadionet.com and scroll down to the show "News & Views," click and then select the 08/04/05 broadcast.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.