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Posted on 09/30/2002 10:01:05 AM PDT by yoe
Phoenix (CNSNews.com) - Gun rights activists say the outcome of the 2002 mid-term election will be critical in determining the fate of a handful of important gun bills pending in Congress.
Issues that hang in the balance include arming airline pilots; not placing undue regulations on private or gun show sales; preempting municipal lawsuits against gun manufacturers; repealing the Clinton-era ban on certain semi-automatic guns; and preventing efforts to ban .50-caliber rifles.
"We have to stay on the offense," National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told several hundred gun rights activists gathered in Phoenix, Ariz., for a gun rights policy conference.
"These elections are going to be critical," said LaPierre. "We've got to win and beat the anti-gunners and elect the good guys."
Gun issues aren't driving this year's election as much as terrorism, homeland security and the economy are, said Alan M. Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, which co-hosted the Phoenix conference. But gun issues can be the determining factor in many close races if pro-gun forces turn out on Election Day, he believes.
"In a close election, an issue like guns is two to four percent of the electorate," said Gottlieb. "In a race that can be won or lost by two points, we can be the difference."
"If we can get control of the U.S. Senate as well as the House, the assault ban bites the dust [and] basically we're back to pre-Clinton on a federal level" because the Brady bill is just the background check part, said Gottlieb.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
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