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Topic No. 3
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 12:27:25 -0500 (EST)
From: NRA Alerts 
To: general-rkba-real.nra
Subject: FAXALERT: 1st Amendment Not Out Of the Woods Yet
Message-ID: 
                        NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
           11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA  22030
Vol. 5, No. 10 *Phone: 1-800-392-8683 *Fax: 703-267-3918 
GROOTS@NRA.org                                            3/13/98
             1ST AMENDMENT NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET
                                
     Just when we thought campaign finance "reform" was dead for
the rest of this year, it has once again reared its ugly head in
the United States House of Representatives.  Attempts to attack
your First Amendment rights were stopped on the Senate floor with
a series of procedural votes at the end of February, but not having
learned from the Senate, the U.S. House is now planning to bring
the issue to the floor during the week of March 23rd.  The strategy
isn't as clear as it was in the Senate due to the fact that there
are several bills being considered, as well as the fact that there
are factions in both parties who support different measures.  The
bottom line is any proposals being discussed presently would
adversely impact your right to freedom of speech and political
involvement.  It is vital that you contact your U.S. Representative
and let him know that you oppose any attempt to limit your
constitutional rights through so-called campaign finance reform. 
Let them know that you cherish your right to be politically active,
whether through volunteering your time, or choosing to contribute
to candidates, political parties, or political organizations.  You
can contact your U.S. Representative by calling (202) 225-3121 and
asking for his office.  Time is of the essence, as debate on this
issue is scheduled for next Monday!
                         FORFEITURE REFORM
After NRA voiced strong objections, U.S. House
Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) abandoned H.R. 1965,  the
abomination of a bill that would greatly expand the government's
power to seize property, and went back to his original bill, H.R.
1835, which focused on critically-needed civil asset forfeiture
reform.  H.R. 1965 was written by the Clinton Justice Department
and would have turned gun owners into "sitting ducks" for anti-gun
prosecutors by allowing them to seize assets without even having to
show probable cause that the seizure was lawful, and then allowing
the government to fish around those same seized assets - through
"discovery" - in order to "justify" the seizure. In addition, this
bill redefined the term "proceeds" so broadly that ALL of an
individual's property would be subject to seizure if he was
suspected of violating certain laws.  Such a definition openly
invites abuse.  H.R. 1835, on the other hand, would stop the
government from being able to unlawfully seize a gun shop's entire
business and to subject a citizen to extreme costs to fight the
largest law firm in the world - the United States Department of
Justice.  Act now to protect your freedom and your constitutional
rights! Call your U.S. Representative and ask him to support H.R.
1835 - the real civil asset forfeiture reform bill that will
protect the fundamental property rights of innocent gun owners and
firearms businesses. 
                            CMP UPDATE
In our FAX Alert from Feb. 20 (Vol. 5, No. 7), we reported on an
anti-gun attack on the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) by 23
U.S. Representatives.  We also stated that NRA was working with
pro-gun federal lawmakers to write a response to the letter sent by
the anti-gunners to the Acting Secretary of the Army Robert M.
Walker.  The response letter was submitted earlier this week, at
the initiation of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and was
signed by 24 U.S. Senators and 60 U.S. Representatives, almost
quadrupling the number of signatures on the original attack letter. 
Citing the fact that rifles of any kind are rarely used in crimes,
let alone U.S. origin surplus military firearms such as the M1
Carbine, and that "[t]he CMP has been operating independently and
well within the boundaries of the law," the 84 federal lawmakers 
urged the Secretary not to interfere with the CMP.  Also regarding
the CMP, their Board has recently approved a change to one aspect
of its purchasing policy.  Previously, a qualified member of a
CMP-affiliated club or state association could only purchase one M1
Garand in his lifetime.  However, the CMP Board recently decided to
change to a one-per-calendar-year policy.  This is good news for
collectors of these pieces of American firearms history, although
it has not yet been determined when this change will go into
affect.  For more information on the CMP, please call the
Grassroots Division at 1-800-392-8683 and request our Fact Sheet on
this program.  You can also visit the CMP website at
http://www.odcmp.com for details on how you can participate in this
program.
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