Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Alert: Kill 1805 Immediately

Feb. 26, 2004, 1300 hrs Mountain - As predicted, S.1805, the Lawsuit Liability bill, is being debated on the Senate Floor right now (at the behest of its sponsor, Idaho Senator Larry Craig).

And late last night, Senator Larry Craig (a board member of the NRA) worked with rabid anti-gunner Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) to come up with a "Unanimous Consent Agreement" which allows a large number of gun control amendments to be offered to S.1805.

By pushing this bill to be heard on the floor, and agreeing to hear a large number of gun control amendments (listed below), Senator Craig has opened up Pandora's Box of Gun Control.

That means you MUST call your US Senators immediately, even if you called them yesterday.

Urge both of Colorado's Senators to VOTE AGAINST S.1805, now that it has gun control on it and is likely to contain more.

As this alert is being written, the Senate just passed an amendment (by 70-27, for story on this amendment click here, or here for full text) to require Trigger locks (we do not have the language, but will shortly) and is moving toward more gun control. It's a federal government intrusion on your right to self-defense, and FAR outweighs any good S.1805's original language would do.

And as this is being written, Sen. Teddy Kennedy is offering an amendment to ban "Cop Killer Bullets."

After agreeing to the "Unanimous Consent Agreement", Sen. Larry Craig said "Some of these amendments could pass." This C-Span2 admission is understating it -- some of these gun control amendments WILL pass. In fact, one already has, and others gun control advocates are lining up to join in on the "fun".

NRA Board Member Sen. Larry Craig has agreed to allow a slated list of gun control amendments to S.1805. These include, but are not limited to, the following unspecified gun controls:

Frist/Craig - Cop Killer bullets (a toned down, yet still anti-gun rights version of Kennedy's amendment)

And these are only the amendments that have been announced. Others almost certainly will be floated, and maybe passed.

Does this constitute proof that the NRA "struck a deal" to allow gun controls to pass? Of course, they claim they didn't cut any deals.

1. Have you received an e-mail from NRA-ILA urging voting against S.1805 IF it gets gun control on it? They KNOW quite well that this bill will have gun control on it, and have known it for weeks. Instead, they play inside baseball and tell gun owners "Trust us -- we have a plan", trusting in their own cleverness to circumvent the anti-gunners amendments. That is the same thing they said on the McCain-Fiengold Campaign Finance Deform bill (which stripped gun owners of their 1st Amendment rights) as well as the first Assault Weapons and High-capacity magazines ban bill, Brady Registration Checks, Lautenberg Gun Ban, etc, etc.

Remember, the definition of insanity is continuing to do what you've always done but expecting different results.

They'll post some things on their website (which is passive), but they won't apply real pressure. That mean's they are, by their silence, agreeing to this "Unanimous Consent Agreement." And their board member, Sen. Larry Craig, openly agreed to that agreement with Sen. Reed.

Craig will vote against most (not all -- in fact, Sen. Craig offered his own "Cop Killer Bullets" amendment in an attempt to appease Teddy Kennedy) of the gun controls, but he's the person who enabled all of these gun control amendments.

2. Why would an NRA board member accept a Unanimous Consent Agreement to allow a huge number of amendments to be debated, all of which strip gun owners of their rights and many of which that board member (and US Senator) knows will pass?

The writer of this alert is a former staff member (not intern) of the U.S. Senate, under Senator Bill Armstrong. I know how the U.S. Senate works, and have been in regular consultation with those who have worked in all aspects of Congress for decades.

One thing is crystal clear: the NRA's mouthpiece, US Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho), has agreed to let these amendments be heard, and he knows some will be attached to the bill.

3. Have you heard the NRA say that they will oppose S.659/S.1805 in the Senate if it gets gun control amendments on it? We haven't, and doubt we will, since their US Senator is the one who enabled those amendments to be attached. Their plan, to let these gun controls ride on the bill and hope they are stripped out in the House, is an incredibly risky gambit, which if lost will result in the largest erosion of our rights in American history.

I suspect that's exactly what's going on over at NRA HQ right now, they're trying to figure out how to mitigate Craig's off-message actions and comments.

The bottom line is, that this Ammo Ban Amendment is absolutely disastrous to S. 1805.

If the the Kennedy Amendment (as amended by Craig/Frist) is passed, we should all immediately start calling for the defeat of S. 1805.

Which is probably what the Dems/Libs and RINOs had in mind all along

President Bush has asked for a "clean bill," and his own Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, is running around tacking on a bunch of stupid Amendments.

For example Frist sponsored this amendment that has already PASSED !!

S.AMDT.2630 to S.1805 To protect the rights of law enforcement officers who are victimized by crime to secure compensation from those who participate in the arming of criminals. Sponsor: Sen Frist, Bill [TN] (introduced 2/26/2004) Cosponsors: 1 Latest Major Action: 2/26/2004 Senate amendment agreed to. Status: Amendment SA 2630 agreed to in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 60 - 34. Record Vote Number: 21.

Man does that leave the door open for frivolous lawsuits -- this Amendment, in effect - cancels the whole purpose of S. 1805. This Amendment says 'Its OK to have a frivilous lawsuit against a manufacturer, dealer, or other third-party, so long as a policeman (and his lawyer) get all the money.' In other words, the police (and the government) are exempt from this law. Nothing new here, they're all extra-special, you know.

Then, there are the other Frist Amendments:

S.AMDT.2625 to S.1805 To regulate the sale and possession of armor piercing ammunition, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Frist, Bill [TN] (introduced 2/26/2004) Cosponsors: 1 Latest Major Action: 2/26/2004 Senate amendment proposed (on the floor)

And this lunacy - what did this proposed Amendment (now withdrawn) have to do with giving the President a "clean bill ??":

S.AMDT.2626 to S.1805 To make the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 permanent. Sponsor: Sen Frist, Bill [TN] (introduced 2/26/2004) Cosponsors: 1 Latest Major Action: 2/26/2004 Proposed amendment SA 2626 withdrawn in Senate.

And my own RINO from Virginia, proposes an Amendment and won't even reveal it's purpose:

S.AMDT.2624 to S.1805 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text. Sponsor: Sen Warner, John W. [VA] (introduced 2/26/2004) Cosponsors: (none) Latest Major Action: 2/26/2004 Senate amendment submitted

The NRA is gonna have to conger up some powerful prevarication to quell the dissatisfaction in the ranks - something akin to convincing us black is white and vice-versa.

BTW, did you ever notice, go to any NRA Web site: NRA.org, NRAHQ.org, NRA-ILA.org, ClintonGunBan, etc., - and they all provide links to write an e-mail to your congresscritters, the President, the media -- but THERE ARE NO LINKS, for members to contact the NRA. Guess they just don't want to hear from us.

If you go the the main NRA web site, http://www.nra.org, the top left corner carries a section called "Top Headlines." This morning; "Healthy GDP Raises Hopes for Job Growth," "Agency Tells Airlines to Weigh Passengers," "IOC Clears Iraqi Flag for Athens Olympics," "Bush, German Leader Put Differences Aside" and "Bush Believes Aristide Should Resign."

But, back when the D.C.-sniper was THE headline news around the world, the NRA completely embargoed all those reports in this section. I thought that was disingenuous reporting. What a perfect opportunity to dispel the idea that some gun (like an insane SUV) had gone berserk and was on the streets killing babies - instead, there was NOTHING.

So I called every NRA HQ media, public relations and ILA number I could find to discuss the public appearance of their ignoring the story on a real-time basis.

I've been a Life Member for 32 years, they didn't want to discuss it -- couldn't find anybody that would even feign an interest in the issue, or admit any policy-level responsibility for making such decisions.

I was promised "someone" would call me back -- no one ever did.

The NRA is not responding to it's membership. The April Convention ought to be interesting, reminiscent of the old days with Baker and Carter and others. I'm not sure the rules even allow a groundswell of dissent to rise to the surface at an annual meeting anymore.

No point trying to talk to LaPierre, he is "unavailable" to the lowlife membership.

Glad I haven't sent in my NRA ballot yet.

[/soapbox]

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