Emergency Alert! -- Compromise on massive land bill does not protect Second Amendment
 

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Tuesday evening, March 10, 2009

Gun Owners of America does not sound the "Emergency alarm" often -- and
when we do, we mean it.

Remember the massive land bill, S. 22, that passed out of the Senate
last month?

It was expected to pass quickly in the House, but your opposition to an
expansion of gun control contained in the bill forced it to be pulled
from the floor.

GOA has just learned that after some backroom deals, the bill is headed
to the floor WEDNESDAY MORNING, without any amendments to truly protect
your Second Amendment rights on National Park Service (NPS) land.

You have fought the battle over the NPS gun ban for a long time.

Unlike U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land,
which allow for state and local law to govern firearms possession, NPS
land is subject to a complete gun ban for any citizen who does not hold
a concealed carry permit.

The bill coming to the floor March 11 greatly expands NPS land, thus
spreading the agency's anti-gun regulations into more areas.

S. 22 is actually a compilation of over 190 bills, many of which were
never even debated on their own merits.

Here are just a few examples of land expansions in the bill:

* Section 5204 of the bill establishes the Washington-Rochambeau Route
as a Historic Trail. This dual trail begins in Rhode Island and travels
650 miles to Yorktown, Virginia. The trail includes parts of major
thoroughfares on the east coast such as Interstate 95 and US Route 1,
meaning the gun ban could effect hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting
gun owners each day.

* Section 5301 authorizes the federal government to buy private land
adjacent to national parks and trails. Such land would be controlled by
the NPS, and thus be subject to the agency's anti-gun regulations.

* Section 7002 makes the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton a
National Historic Site. Perhaps it's fitting that the legacy of former
President Clinton, who was responsible for so many anti-Second Amendment
laws, will include yet another "gun free" zone.

In all, the bill designates over 2 million acres of wilderness,
establishes three new national parks, a new national monument, three new
national conservation areas, and four new national trails.

In an effort to persuade pro-gun Congressmen to vote for the bill, the
leadership apparently agreed to one backroom change -- an amendment to
protect hunting and recreational shooting.

The compromise measure misses the point. The founding fathers did not,
in their struggle to secure essential freedoms, craft the Second
Amendment with the idea that it would protect hunting and recreational
shooting.

It is seemingly simple to understand, yet we have to continually remind
the Congress that the Second Amendment is not about hunting!

If we have any chance of stopping this bill, you must contact your
Representative right away.

The bill is scheduled to come to the floor before noon, Wednesday, March
11.

Please don't let Congress sneak this expansion of gun control through
the House under the guise that compromise language protects your Second
Amendment rights. It doesn't.

ACTION: Right now, please use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center
at http://gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Representative the
pre-written letter below.


----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Representative,

On March 11, the House intends to take up S. 22, a massive bill
containing nearly 200 separate pieces of legislation.

This bill will greatly expand land controlled by the Nation Park
Service, thereby expanding the agency's anti-gun regulations.

There is compromise language being offered to supposedly protect hunting
and sport shooting. That is insufficient, as the Second Amendment is
NOT about hunting and recreational shooting!

And while there may be some parts of this bill that you support for our
state or our district, please do not give such parochial issues priority
over my Second Amendment rights.

I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to vote against this 1,294
page bill until the leadership allows an amendment that will truly
protect the right to keep and bear arms.

Gun Owners of America will rate a vote for this bill as an anti-gun
vote, and will inform me of your position.

Sincerely,

Re: Emergency Alert! -- Compromise on massive land bill does not protect Second Amend
 

Victory in the House!
-- But the land bill battle will continue

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Thanks to you, a bill expanding gun control on federal land was narrowly
defeated Wednesday morning, March 11.

The Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009, S. 22, would have drastically
increased the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service,
thus subjecting such land to the anti-gun regulations of the agency.

The bill was brought to the floor of the U.S. House on what is known as
the "suspension calendar." This calendar is normally reserved for
non-controversial bills. As such, any bill being passed under the
suspension calendar requires a two-thirds majority of those voting.

In this case, the pro-gun position prevailed by a mere two votes --
meaning S. 22 is far from being non-controversial.

Although suspension bills are not normally amended, one change was
allowed in a secret backroom deal between a few members.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), was intended to
alleviate the concerns of gun owners.

The Altmire amendment sought to protect hunting and recreational
shooting on federal land, but those steps are completely inadequate to
address the concerns of millions of gun owners.

The Second Amendment protects, as the Supreme Court affirmed in D.C. v.
Heller, an individual right to keep and bear arms. That right was never
intended to protect only the shooting sports.

Under current regulations, firearms possessed for the sole purpose of
self-defense on land controlled by the National Park Service is
prohibited unless the person holds a concealed carry permit.

While millions of law-biding Americans hold CCW permits, many more do
not. It is these citizens' rights that are going unprotected.

NPS land covers the gamut from busy thoroughfares to remote wilderness
areas. These gun free zones are dangerous, in addition to creating a
patchwork of inconsistent regulations between federal and state land.

Although we won today, unfortunately the battle is not over.

The anti-gun leadership will attempt to bring this bill back to the
floor in a way that requires a simple majority, rather than the
two-thirds vote they needed Wednesday.

Several pro-gun congressmen will try to offer an amendment in committee
to simply allow state and local law to govern firearms possession on NPS
land. This type of amendment would put more control at the local level
and protect the gun rights of all law-abiding Americans.

What is expected is that the leadership will propose a new "rule" that
blocks any such pro-gun amendments.

If that happens, the vote on the rule becomes the gun vote.

House leaders have not indicated when they will attempt to bring the
bill back to the floor, but it could come up at any time.

Therefore, your Representative needs to hear from you once again, for
two reasons. First, the entire House needs to be urged to reject any
parliamentary trick that excludes language to protect Second Amendment
rights on federal land. Next, those who voted against your rights need
to know of your dissatisfaction, while those who stood up for your
rights should be thanked.

ACTION: Please use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Rep. a pre-written
letter. Note: the LAC will automatically load the correct text for
individual Representatives, based upon their vote Wednesday. Because
the list has to be divided in this way, the pre-written letters are not
editable by the sender.


----- Pre-written letter for those who voted pro-gun -----

Dear Representative:

Thank you for standing up for the Second Amendment by voting against S.
22, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009.

This bill would greatly expand land controlled by the National Park
Service, and thus spread the agency's gun restrictions to even more
areas. The NPS gun ban should be repealed, not expanded.

Although the pro-gun side won today, the battle is not over. The
anti-gun leadership will try to bring the bill to the floor again, this
time with a rule intended to exclude a pro-gun amendment to repeal the
NPS anti-gun regulations.

If that is the case, I urge you to once again stand up for the Second
Amendment and vote against the rule.

Sincerely,


----- Pre-written letter for those who voted anti-gun -----

Dear Representative,

I am extremely disappointed that you did not stand up for the Second
Amendment on the issue of S. 22, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act
of 2009.

This bill would greatly expand land controlled by the National Park
Service, and thus spread the agency's gun restrictions to even more
areas. The NPS gun ban should be repealed, not expanded.

Although the pro-gun side won today, the battle is not over. The
anti-gun leadership will try to bring the bill to the floor again, this
time with a rule intended to exclude a pro-gun amendment to repeal the
NPS anti-gun regulations.

If that is the case, I urge you to protect the Second Amendment rights
of law-abiding Americans and vote against the rule.

Sincerely,


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