The DC Gun ban case

www.gunowners.org/a112707.htm

Nov 2007


Gun Owners Of America To Weigh In On The Supreme Court Gun Ban-- Plus, it's time to take care of unfinished business on the Veterans Disarmament Act


Gun Owners of America8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102Springfield, VA 22151 (703)321-8585
By now, you have probably heard the news which was delivered prior to Thanksgiving that the U.S. Supreme Court will be taking up the DC gun ban case.
Gun Owners of America's foundation (GOF) will be submitting an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in support of the lower court's decision that the Second Amendment protects an individual right.
The case, D.C. v. Heller, resulted in nullification of the gun ban in the District of Columbia. Judge Laurence Silberman wrote the majority opinion for the DC Court of Appeals which decided that the DC law violated the individual right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment.
Silberman's opinion was based on an extensive review of the historical record which makes it clear that the militia was intended to be a mandatory body composed of all military-aged males who were required to own their own military weapons. He found that the "state" referred to in the Second Amendment is a reference to society, not a political entity.
The city of Washington, DC is contesting the appellate court's decision in an attempt to preserve its draconian gun ban.
But the Gun Owners Foundation has commissioned one of the nation's top experts in constitutional law. The GOF brief will highlight recent legal scholarship which argues that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is as much an individual right as the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech.
GOF could definitely use your tax deductible contribution to help fund this case. Please donate online and help Gun Owners Foundation defend our Second Amendment rights in our highest court!
Is A Do-Nothing Congress Always Bad?
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) made headlines recently when discussing the frustrations that Democrats have had in using their power to push their agenda through the Congress.
Earlier this month, Newsday reported that, "Democrats seeking to make good on such promises as... passing stricter gun laws... have found themselves thwarted by Senate rules." Gun owners should say "thank you" to Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) who is responsible for this slowdown, as he is the champion who has placed a "hold" on the Veterans Disarmament Act!
This has been very aggravating for Rep. McCarthy. "I thought that since I'd even gotten the NRA's cooperation, this would be a walk in the park," she said in reference to the Veterans Disarmament Act that she introduced in the House. "It has been frustrating."
You will remember that it pretty much was a "walk in the park" in the House, as the bill sailed through that chamber without a recorded vote. And that takes us to our unfinished business.
After the bill cleared the House in June, you immediately started lobbying your Senators, asking them to oppose the bill. But now that the bill has stalled in that chamber, we need to let the House members know that it was reprehensible for gun control to pass the House WITHOUT a recorded vote. Moreover, we need to tell them that if the Senate sends the bill back to the House, we don't want this to happen again.


We realize that most of the rank-and-file congressmen were hoodwinked by the Democratic leadership in June. On the night of June 12, the legislative report (which was sent to every congressman to advise them of the votes they would face the following day) did NOT INCLUDE the Veterans Disarmament Act on the schedule. But the decision was then made in the early morning hours to ram the bill through before lunch.
Most Congressmen never saw it coming. They were fooled once... they need to be on guard the next time and make sure it doesn't happen again.
ACTION: Please use the letter below to contact your Representative and ask him to do everything in his power to kill the Veterans Disarmament Act -- or at a minimum, to make sure that the bill gets a recorded vote, should it find its way back to the House. You can use the pre-written message below and send it as an e-mail by visiting the GOA Legislative Action Center (where phone and fax numbers are also available).
----- Pre-written letter -----
Dear Representative:
How ironic that at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court may very well strike down DC's draconian gun ban, the Congress might pass a pernicious gun ban on veterans and other Americans.
The legislation I'm talking about is HR 2640 (S 2084), which has been opposed by the American Legion, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and Gun Owners of America. This bill has been sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and will result in the disarmament of hundreds of thousands of veterans who risked life and limb in defense of our nation.
I was appalled by the fact that the Veterans Disarmament Act -- let's call it what it really is -- passed the House WITHOUT A RECORDED VOTE! And I am disappointed that there was no one on the floor of the House on June 13 to demand such a record.
I realize that most of the rank-and-file congressmen were hoodwinked by the Democratic leadership in June. On the night of June 12, the legislative report (which was sent to every congressman to advise them of the votes they would face the following day) did NOT INCLUDE the McCarthy bill on the schedule. But the decision was then made in the early morning hours to ram the bill through before lunch.
I hope that the Senate will stand up for my rights and kill this legislation. But should it come back to the House after a conference committee, I hope that you will do everything in your power to make sure this bill never sees the light of day.
Fair warning: If the bill passes without a recorded vote, I will hold you just as responsible as if you had voted "aye." To get keep abreast of this legislation, I encourage you to keep in contact with Gun Owners of America or go to their very informative section (on the Veterans Disarmament Act) which can be found at http://www.gunowners.org/netb.htm on their website.
Sincerely,
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