-- More gun control not the answer to border violence
by John Velleco

Wyoming Senator John Barrasso took a strong stand for the Second Amendment during a recent visit to the border city of El Paso, Texas. 

Sen. Barrasso, who was looking into the drug cartel violence along the Mexico border, called the issue a “serious security challenge that we cannot simply ignore.”  But he was also critical of U.S. politicians who join the Mexican government in blaming guns from the U.S. for the current border troubles. 
“Some have suggested that we need to ban semi-automatic assault weapons to curb the violence,” said Senator Barrasso.  “I don’t understand the rationale behind disarming law-abiding citizens. Why would you disarm someone when they potentially could get caught in the crossfire?”

Indeed, officials here have been quick to use the border violence to push for sweeping new gun control laws.

According to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, “[T]here are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons.  I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.”

President Obama also wants to make the “expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.”  And Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the original sponsor of the gun ban that was signed into law by Bill Clinton, is among those in Congress pushing for its reconsideration.
 
On its face, it is absurd to blame semi-automatic firearms for the violence in Mexico.  The weapons used by the drug gangs are, as has been widely reported, mostly machine guns, grenades, anti-tank rockets and other arms.  These are not semi-automatic firearms.

More importantly, it is outrageous to blame, disarm and punish, U.S. gun owners for problems of violence and corruption in a foreign country.  Office holders in this country swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.  Banning semi-automatic firearms -- which are owned by millions of law-abiding Americans -- is repugnant to that oath of office.

Senator Barrasso vowed to fight the renewal of the Clinton/Feinstein gun ban.

“I will not allow our Second Amendment rights to be sacrificed.  Additional gun control in the United States will not change the U.S. – Mexico border violence and smuggling problem,” Barrasso said.

In March, both the U.S. House and Senate finished up work on a massive, anti-gun $10 billion omnibus federal land bill.

The bill had been held up for over a year in large part due to GOA members fighting for Second Amendment rights on federal land -- YOUR land.

The Second Amendment has been null and void for many years on all land controlled by the National Park Service (NPS).  While regulations promulgated in the waning days of the Bush administration partially reversed that gun ban, a federal judge recently blocked those rules from taking effect.

GOA worked closely with pro-gun members of the House and Senate to add a complete repeal of the NPS gun prohibition to the larger land bill.  While these efforts delayed passage of the bill, in the end the anti-gun congressional leadership teamed up with “pro-gun” compromisers and passed the measure without protecting the Second Amendment.

In an effort to appease gun owners, language was added to the bill to protect hunting and fishing.  But, as GOA pointed out to the Congress, the Founding Fathers did not pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to protect a recreational pastime.

The final attempt to protect the Second Amendment from NPS bureaucrats came on a procedural vote in the House that would have made in order an amendment, sponsored by pro-gun Reps. Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Rob Bishop (R-UT), to repeal the gun ban.  That motion failed by a vote of 242-180.

So now not only does the gun ban remain in place, the new bill greatly expands the total amount of NPS land.  Since NPS-controlled parks and trails also include many busy roadways, hundreds of thousands of gun owners can unwittingly find themselves in violation of the gun ban without even knowing they are on federal land.

Representatives Hastings and Bishop, along with Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), have vowed to continue their efforts to wipe this unconstitutional gun ban from the books.  In the Senate, Tom Coburn (R-OK) is also pushing for the repeal of the anti-gun NPS regulations.

Gun Owners of America would like to thank the thousands upon thousands of email subscribers who repeatedly contacted their congressmen in this battle to protect the Second Amendment.  We were sold out by compromisers this time, but we will “remember in November” those who voted against the Second Amendment.

Please help spread the word so we can get even more people contacting their elected officials.  As the late Senator Everett Dirksen said, “When I feel the heat, I see the light.” 

And do we ever need to turn up the heat!

Many important battles for your Second Amendment rights lay before us.  For instance, Barack Obama and his anti-gun cronies are making a massive push to renew the Clinton semi-auto ban. 

The President and his Attorney General, Eric Holder, are blaming the current violence among Mexican drug cartels on firearms from the United States.  This is another blatant attempt by anti-gun advocates to use whatever situation they can find to further erode your Second Amendment rights.

The problems of corruption and violence in Mexico should not be used as an excuse to curtail your right to keep and bear arms.  But once again law-abiding American gun owners are in danger of being punished for the criminal actions of others.

The Clinton gun ban is just one of the attacks that you and GOA will be fighting.

There is also a massive anti-gun bill in Congress, H.R. 45, that includes universal gun owner licensing and registration, and the Obama White House continues its efforts to ban private firearms transactions at gun shows.

You can help us reach out to even more gun owners.   Please forward this message to your friends and encourage them to sign up for the GOA email alerts.

And if you haven’t already become a member of GOA, consider joining.  It only costs $20 for a one year membership, and those funds go directly to protecting your gun rights.

Thank you again for being part of the GOA team working to protect American liberty.

Land Grab bill nears passage

The Omnibus Land Grab Act of 2009 is, after a long battle, on its way to passage.  The bill had been held up because of Second Amendment concerns for over a year.

Opponents of the bill, such as Gun Owners of America, argued that the bill did not protect the individual right to keep and bear arms on National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service land.

Instead of protecting the Second Amendment, leaders in both the House and Senate chose to insert language to protect hunting and recreational shooting on federally controlled land.  While protecting the shooting sports is an admirable goal, it is no substitute for real Second Amendment protection.

The idea that the founding fathers inserted into the Bill of Rights, which was intended to safeguard individual liberty and limit the reach of government, an amendment to protect sport shooting is laughable.

Read more...

Gun Owners of America opposes omnibus land bill
-- compromise language does not protect all Second Amendment rights

Today, the House intends to take up S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.

This is a massive bill containing nearly 200 separate pieces of legislation.

S. 22 will, among other things, greatly expand the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service.

This is of particular concern to gun owners. Unlike U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, which allow for state and local laws to govern firearms possession, NPS land is subject to a complete gun ban for any citizen who does not hold a concealed carry permit. Thus, expanding NPS land also spreads the agency's anti-gun regulations into more areas.

Read more...

Newly minted New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand, a Democrat, has been praised and criticized up and down the Washington and New York news corridor for supposedly being a pro-gun "moderate."

After all, it was Gillibrand who said after her appointment, "I will always protect the Second Amendment. I will make sure every American has the right to own a gun." She also sported an "A" rating from other gun groups at the time. Gun Owners of America had her more accurately rated at a "C."

Both ratings are sure to go down after her vote last week to keep the Washington, D.C. gun ban on the books.

Presumably, her vote in favor of the ban was a calculated attempt to fend off a primary challenge from anti-gun extremist Carolyn McCarthy, who won a seat in a Long Island House district on a campaign to ban guns.

It remains to be seen if Gillibrand's vote has satisfied McCarthy, but she's almost certain to face a primary anyway, as many Empire State Democrats would rather the voters, instead of the walk-on Governor, elect their Senator.