*********** NOTICE: THIS IS A FORWARDED MESSAGE *********** 
============================================================================
			    GENERAL-RKBA Digest 348
Topics covered in this issue include:
  1) FAXALERT: Free Speech Still Under Attack by NRA Alerts 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic No. 1
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 10:49:10 -0500 (EST)
From: NRA Alerts 
To: general-rkba-real.nra
Subject: FAXALERT: Free Speech Still Under Attack
Message-ID: 
                        NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
           11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA  22030
    Phone: 1-800-392-8683 * Fax: 703-267-3918 * GROOTS@NRA.org
Vol. 5, No. 12                                            3/27/98
                  FREE SPEECH STILL UNDER ATTACK
     This Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled
to vote on campaign finance "reform" legislation.  Several bills
are slated for debate and a vote. The NRA remains adamantly
opposed to all campaign finance "reform" schemes currently being
considered.  Members of the House who are strongly supporting the
reform measures have now threatened to use a "discharge petition"
to force a vote on the anti-Constitutional McCain-Feingold bill 
-- a direct attack on your Constitutional rights!  It is urgent
that you ask your Representative not to sign the discharge
petition.  If any Representatives have already signed the
petition, they should be asked to withdraw their name from it.
Explain you are an NRA member and treasure your First Amendment
rights as much as your Second Amendment rights.  Tell him that
bringing the McCain-Feingold bill to the House floor for a vote
is an attack on those precious rights.  Call 202-225-3121 and ask
for his or her office.  Or, call your Representative's district
office.  Don't forget to thank your Representative for his
attention to your concerns.
                  BANNING GUNS BY EXECUTIVE FIAT
     Over the last several months we have reported President
Clinton's efforts to push his "Bigger Gun Ban," as he has sought
to circumvent the legislative process to expand on the Clinton
Gun Ban of 1994.  In November of last year, the President
directed the U.S. Treasury Department to suspend the importation
of certain semi-automatic rifles, while the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco & Firearms (BATF) studied whether their importation
should continue to be allowed.  The attempt to ban these
firearms, which comply in every way with both the 1994 ban and a
1989 ban on the importation of certain semi-automatics -- based
on cosmetic features, rather than their function -- is simply the
next link in the chain for gun prohibitionists.  Since President
Clinton knows that he could not ban these firearms through
legislation, his focus has been placed on abusing the vague
"sporting purposes" test from the 1968 Gun Control Act.  This
provision has been used by BATF arbitrarily to decide which
firearms can be imported into the U.S., without  clear criteria
for making such decisions.  According to the 10/22/97 edition of
the Los Angeles Times, White House Official Jose Cerda even went
so far as to say that the Clinton Administration was "bending it
[the law] as far as we can to capture a whole new class of guns." 
It is anticipated that the BATF, under pressure from the White
House, will soon release the findings of their "study."
                         ARKANSAS TRAGEDY
       Americans are in mourning over the tragedy in Jonesboro,
Arkansas, that claimed  five innocent lives.   While our
opponents may try to politicize this horrible crime, we will not. 
In our view, such tragedies warrant prayer and sympathy at this
time, not hasty, half-baked solutions.  The press has wrongly
attacked the culture of the region -- even questioned the wisdom
of safety training -- yet this same culture is responsible for
achieving safety and building individual responsibility.  
Clearly, this culture also produces heroes -- heroes like
courageous teacher Shannon Wright who saved her students' lives
by sacrificing her own.  Perhaps one lesson we can draw is the
need to take all threats seriously.   When a passenger, for
example, makes a threatening remark concerning the safety of an
aircraft, authorities whisk that person away as a necessary
precaution.  Perhaps we should impart a new awareness to students
in schools.  The message is simple -- Report all threats!  The
Jonesboro community is strong and deserves praise for their
courageous response to this ordeal.   From the sheriff and the
school principal, all the way to Governor Huckabee, the response
to this unspeakable tragedy and the media onslaught has been
commendable.  We encourage you to call Governor Huckabee's office
to extend your sympathy for the community and your appreciation
for the professionalism displayed by the Governor and the leaders
of Jonesboro.  You can call Governor Huckabee at 501/682-2345. 
-=Continued in next post=-
...          ******** NOTE: THIS IS A FORWARDED MESSAGE ********
--- FMail 1.22
---------------