I strongly support the rights of gun owners, but I believe that the GOA is not only wrong on this but they appear to be intentionally misleading people in their efforts to fight the Patriot Act.
I started writing my representatives to support them after reading their press release that this could be used to infringe on my gun rights. People suggested on this forum that I write a more personalized letter than just using the GOA template, so I went and read the bill so I could argue my point in such a letter.
I found that I simply couldn't argue that point from the bill.
I don't like being lied to.
I support the patriot act, and after reading it I support what that bill does.
I no longer support the GOA and will not support them until the people who made the decision to mislead their supporters resign.
Ok, where are we being mis-lead?
Please vote against the current version of the PATRIOT reauthorization
bill (HR 3199) because it would extend provisions which the FBI claims
would allow it to seize 4473 forms, without the approval of any judge.
This runs contrary to the protections that were gained in the Firearms
Owners Protection Act of 1986, when it prohibited the establishment of any
registration system with respect to firearms [see 18 USC 926(a)(3)]. It
is also significant to note that the law bans inspections of gun dealers
records, excluding four, narrowly tailored exceptions [18 USC
923(g)(1)(b)]. Those exceptions are absent with regard to the FBI's
current practice of soliciting 4473 forms under the PATRIOT Act.
You are certainly familiar with the rule of construction that deems more
recent legislation to trump older legislation when there is a clear
conflict between the two. The protections that were won during the
McClure-Volkmer battle took years to achieve, and it would be a shame to
see those protections superseded by another enactment of gun control --
all in the vain hope that gun owners' purchase records can somehow help
authorities curb terrorism. (Gun registration certainly hasn't worked to
curb crime in any of the states or localities that have implemented it.)
It is imperative that H.R. 3199 be amended to protect gun owner rights.
Please vote against cloture on H.R. 3199, unless gun records are removed
from the records which can be demanded under Section 215 of the PATRIOT
Act -- a move which would return the McClure-Volkmer protections as the
operative law concerning when and where gun records can be demanded.
One other thought, why are small firearms even being questioned? The M.O. of terrorist as a major threat to our security are not found in the inventories of local gun shops. A more reasonable or honest question is. What national security threat does small center firearms really represent. I say none!
I fear a terrorist with a nuke or chemicals coming across are un-fenced southern border more than a handfull running around with a few hunting rifles.
"I've looked through the bill and found no way that the government can use it to go on widespread fisihing expiditions."
Ok, that's fine. Sounds like it didn't belong there in the first place. Then the senators will have Zero problem with specifically excluding it. Exclusions get written into bills everyday. Right? Then do it. Now.
I don't care for all of the broad definitions and interpretations that seem to be the rule of thumb in interpreting our rights anymore. I also don't care for the incrementalism, or knee jerk reactions to contrived events that seem to define our policy of late. If the definition of the word "is" can change between elected officials, so can the definition of "reasonable". If they want the act passed, specifically exclude it.