Press: GOA Killed Bill Last Year

Keep the Heat on Rep. Armey
— Armey’s fax was put off-line; alternative numbers given below

(Tuesday, March 5) — Over the weekend, it seemed that Rep. Dick Armey’s fax machine had either run out of paper, or it had been turned off. Many times legislators will turn off their fax machines if they don’t want to hear what the grassroots are saying. For example, when GOA was urging Sen. Bob Dole to lead a filibuster against the crime bill in 1994, you guys swamped his office with faxes. This is what Roll Call, the newspaper of record on Capitol Hill, had to say about your efforts in its Feb. 19 issue:

Gun Owners [of America] . . . orchestrated a fax campaign against Dole on the assault weapons issue that so overloaded his leadership office machine that staffers had to turn it off.

That effort against Dole occurred in 1994. You will remember, that Dole — after MUCH persuasion — was forced into going along with a filibuster. (Remember, he had voted for the crime bill only months before.) Now read what Roll Call, in the same issue, said you guys accomplished last December:

Gun Owners played a leading role in killing last year’s anti-terrorism legislation. . . . Conservative House Republicans — many of them freshmen — backed the Gun Owners position and refused to follow [Rep.] Barr [who is one of the sponsors of the bill]. (Feb. 19, 1996.)

You guys have been terrific! Let’s keep the heat on, and let’s keep making those phone calls.

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

1. Call Rep. Armey, if you have not already done so. Make sure you fax him as well. Here are all the numbers you need to get a hold of him: 1-800-962-3524, 1-800-872-8513, or 202-225-7772, fax: 202-225-7614. To reach him at his leadership office, call 202-225-4000; fax: 202-226-8100.

HERE’S WHAT TO SAY TO ARMEY’S OFFICE:

“Please keep the terrorism bill from coming to the floor for a vote. As House Majority Leader, Mr. Armey can keep the bill from being scheduled. This bill is chock-full of Constitutional violations, including infringements of the Second Amendment and other amendments included in the Bill of Rights.

If their office says they are going to take care of the problems, then tell them:

“I STILL would like Mr. Armey to keep the bill from coming to the floor. First, this bill can’t be fixed by just knocking a couple of provisions out. There are too many problems in this bill; it needs a complete facelift. Besides, we’ve heard this before. The House Republican Conference has been telling legislators that the problems in HR 2768 were already fixed and that was NOT the case. Thus, I’m a little skeptical about hearing the problems will be taken care of on the House floor.

Moreover, EVEN IF the bill were made perfect, passing the bill would mean it would go to a conference committee to be melded together with the Senate version. The Senate version also makes a major assault our Second Amendment freedoms — such as giving the BATF a pay raise of $100 million, allowing the military to enforce the law against civilians, permitting so-called roving wiretaps, etc.

2. Give this same message to House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Call him at the 800 numbers listed above.

3. Call House Whip Tom DeLay and ask him to publicly oppose this government terror bill. You can also reach him by calling the above 800 numbers.