(Tuesday, August 13, 2002) — Charlie Schumer is at it again. He’s found a way to keep more Americans from purchasing guns by further propping up the unconstitutional Brady Law.

The Democrat Senator from New York has baptized his anti-gun agenda with the name of a Catholic Church in which a priest and another person were murdered. S. 2826 has been dubbed the Our Lady of Peace Act.

For Schumer, no guns = peace.

Among other things, the bill will help FBI officials to effectively stop thousands upon thousands of Americans from purchasing a firearm. Already, millions of Americans have been disarmed by the Lautenberg Gun Ban which President Bill Clinton signed in 1996.

Because of the Lautenberg ban, people who have committed very minor offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even yelling at a family member have discovered that they can no longer own a firearm for self-defense.

But the anti-gun nuts in Congress are upset because many of the states’ criminal records are incomplete. As a result, the FBI does not access all of these records when screening the background of someone who purchases a firearm from a gun dealer.

So S. 2826 will grant millions of dollars to the states to improve their criminal records. Specifically, the bill would send taxpayer monies to the states so they can provide the FBI with the names of: those people who are disqualified by the Lautenberg gun ban, those who have been adjudicated as being mentally defective (for example, those who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or certain treatments for depression), those who have been dishonorably discharged, etc.

In fact, the FBI could well demand all of a state’s employment records, in the guise of searching for illegal aliens.

If the Second and Tenth Amendments were to be obeyed, the Federal government would be prohibited from passing such laws.

Incidentally, the “Our Lady of Peace” murders were committed by a man who had not been arrested for two previous violations of a restraining order, offenses that would have carried jail time had he been arrested.

Instead of rebuking the judicial system and fixing that, Schumer is looking for a new way to disarm millions of Americans.

A companion bill introduced by anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has been passed by the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 30-2! [Pro-gun Reps. John Hostettler (R-IN) and Bill Jenkins (R-TN) were the only dissenting votes.]

Schumer has three co-sponsors of the bill: Senators Larry Craig (R-ID), John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). The House bill, H.R. 4757, could be voted on by the full House some time in September.

ACTION: Please contact your Representative and two Senators. The House and Senate are in recess for the month of August, so there is plenty of time for the grassroots to rise up against this legislation.

Please forward this alert to as many as you can, so that your friends, acquaintances and family members can also contact their Senators and Representatives. Congressmen must hear that this legislation is unacceptable.

To identify your Senators and Representative, as well as to send a message via e-mail, see the Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm on the GOA website.

— Pre-written message —-

Dear Senator:

I am outraged that Sen. Schumer is trying to prohibit more Americans from owning guns with his S. 2826. This bill spends millions of dollars to further prop up the unconstitutional Brady Law, but there is no authority for the Federal government to do this under the Second and Tenth Amendments.

The Instant Background Check should be banned, not expanded. Please oppose this bill.

I would appreciate hearing whether you plan to oppose this bill. Gun Owners of America will keep me informed about any votes on this dangerous measure.

Sincerely,

— Pre-written message —-

Dear Representative:

I am outraged that Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is trying to prohibit more Americans from owning guns with her H.R. 4757. This bill spends millions of dollars to further prop up the unconstitutional Brady Law, but there is no authority for the Federal government to do this under the Second and Tenth Amendments.

The Instant Background Check should be banned, not expanded. Please oppose this bill.

I would appreciate hearing whether you plan to oppose this bill. Gun Owners of America will keep me informed about any votes on this dangerous measure.

Sincerely,

—————–

These are the Representatives who are cosponsoring Rep. McCarthy’s gun ban:

Andrews (D-NJ), Blagojevich (D-IL), Brown (D-FL), Capuano (R-WV), Carson (D-IN), Castle (R-DE), Clay (D-MO), Conyers (D-MI), Crowley (D-NY), Cummings (D-MD), Davis (D-IL), DeGette (D-CO), DeLauro (D-CT), Dingell (D-MI), Engel (D-NY), Ferguson (R-NJ), Ford (D-TN), Frank (D-MA), Gilman (R-NY), Gonzalez (D-TX), Hastings (D-FL), Hoeffel (D-PA), Israel (D-NY), Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Kirk (R-IL), Langevin (D-RI), Lantos (D-CA), Lofgren (D-CA), Lowey (D-NY), Maloney (D-NY), McGovern (D-MA), Meehan (D-MA), Moore (D-KS), Moran (D-VA), Morella (R-MD), Nadler (D-NY), Norton (D-DC), Pascrell (D-NJ), Rivers (D-MI), Rothman (D-NJ), Roukema (R-NJ), Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Rush (D-IL), Schakowsky (D-IL), Schiff (D-CA), Shays (R-CT), Sherman (D-CA), Tauscher (D-CA), Thompson (D-MS), Towns (D-NY), Waters (D-CA), Waxman (D-CA), Weiner (D-NY), Wexler (D-FL), Woolsey (D-CA)