Free Republic

Congressional Democrats, to avert a clash with the National Rifle Association, have crafted a blatantly unfair amendment to an already cynical and probably unconstitutional bill regulating political discourse. The amendment, crafted by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., exempts a handful of the most powerful lobbies -- including the NRA -- from proposed burdensome disclosure requirements.It's a shameful moment for the House of Representatives -- especially the Democratic majority, and particularly Van Hollen. On the right, though, the ire is mostly aimed at the NRA for agreeing to drop its opposition to the bill because of the carveout.But the facts paint...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683           Response from David Keene, NRA First Vice President, to DISCLOSE Act Criticism "As an NRA member, I am writing to express my outrage that the NRA would do a backroom deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to regulate and limit the First Amendment right to political free speech of other groups, while carving out an exemption for the NRA. Your unsavory and unprincipled deal with the Democratic leadership makes it likely that the House will now pass the DISCLOSE Act, H. R. 5175. Besides being unconstitutional, the DISCLOSE Act could...

But for a few well-placed, freedom-loathing, wretched scoundrels (translate: Democratic members of Congress and their allies in Washington), anyone and everyone familiar with the DISCLOSE Act opposes it. The DISCLOSE Act is the Obama-Pelosi-Reid legislative response to the Citizens United decision allowing nonprofit organizations, corporations and labor unions to pay for ads opposing or supporting candidates. Let me be clear: the Citizens United decision will help challengers to incumbents because the campaign finance rules were written by incumbents, and are therefore rigged for incumbents. My friends at the Free Speech Coalition prepared this good summary of the bill as it...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION ON H.R. 5175, THE DISCLOSE ACT Tuesday, June 15, 2010 The National Rifle Association believes that any restrictions on the political speech of Americans are unconstitutional. In the past, through the courts and in Congress, the NRA has opposed any effort to restrict the rights of its four million members to speak and have their voices heard on behalf of gun owners nationwide. The NRA’s opposition to restrictions on political speech includes its May 26, 2010 letter to Members of Congress expressing strong concerns about H.R....