Got this from GOA....
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Senate Votes To Prohibit Gun Confiscation!
-- Thank you for all your activism yesterday
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
"They obviously got your message loud and clear. It was the most
lopsided gun vote I have ever seen." -- As told by a Senate office to
GOA after the overwhelming vote yesterday
Friday, July 14, 2006
Good news! The Senate voted yesterday 84-16 to pass the pro-gun
Vitter amendment.
The language, offered by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) as an amendment to
the Homeland Security appropriations bill (HR 5441), will make it
illegal for federal agents to confiscate firearms during an emergency
or major disaster. The provision must now survive a conference
committee -- where House and Senate negotiators will iron out
differences between the spending bills passed in both chambers.
If the Vitter language makes it to the President's desk, it will
perfectly complement what has been happening in the states. This
year, one of GOA's highest priorities has been to address the
problems with so-called "emergency powers" across the country.
GOA-supported bills have made it absolutely certain that no
government official could disarm the citizenry during an emergency,
and several states -- ten in all -- have already enacted their bills
into law.
Sen. Vitter, who less than a month ago was presented with the
Legislator of the Year award by Gun Owners of America, made special
mention of this groundswell of support that has been rising around
the country. It was especially significant that his own state of
Louisiana recently enacted a ban on confiscating firearms -- an
action taken to correct the gun thefts which occurred there in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
GOA spent a lot of time in Louisiana, getting gun owners in the state
to lobby their own legislators this spring. The results were
astounding.
The sponsor of the Emergency Protection legislation in the state,
Rep. Steve Scalise, told GOA that, "I've had a number of
[Representatives] come up to me asking to co-author my bill because
they heard from members of Gun Owners of America in their districts
in support of my bill," Scalise said. In the end, 80% of the House
cosponsored his bill.
If you have ever wondered if your activism makes a difference, then
wonder no more.
One U.S. Senate office told GOA after yesterday's vote, "They
obviously got your message loud and clear. It was the most lopsided
gun vote I have ever seen. There was some serious hand wringing on
the democratic side."
Why was there "serious hand wringing"? Because your efforts made it
VERY difficult for anti-gun Democrats to vote against the Vitter
language.
Again, there were only 16 Senators who voted wrong. If you look at
GOA's Senate rating -- at
http://www.gunowners.org/109srat.htm --
you'll see a lot more than just 16 F's in that chamber.
So who were the Senators who were arrogant enough to stand by their
anti-gun convictions and vote against this common-sense legislation?
They were:
Akaka (D-HI)
Boxer (D-CA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Reed (D-RI)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Basically, these senators said that when your life is in danger, you
don't have the right to defend yourself. You are just supposed to
pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1. Your guns are part of the problem
because they could be stolen by bad guys. And you don't need guns
anyway because the police are there to protect you.
These are actually the talking points from the anti-gun side of the
aisle yesterday. They told the Senate -- and the country -- that
YOUR guns were the problem. Your duty is simply to call the police
when you're in danger.
Of course, calling 9-1-1 doesn't work very well when the neighborhood
is flooded, the phones aren't working and chaos is in full bloom.
Sen. Vitter made this point very eloquently, and he should be
commended for his efforts in defense of our gun rights.
Again, GOA thanks all of you who took action yesterday. Your
activism and your financial support is greatly appreciated and is
necessary to allow us to remain here fighting for your rights.
To help continue GOA's legislative efforts, you can go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm or call 703-321-8585. Thank
you.
Senate Votes To Prohibit Firearm Seizures During Emergencies
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