* Forwarded (from: PA-RKBA) by Roy J. Tellason using timEd 1.10.y2k.
* Originally from FHA (1:270/615.77) to All.
* Original dated: Wed Nov 13, 07:59

From: FHA 
Subject: PA-RKBA! Another Gun Grab in the Works!

Millions More to Be Barred from Gun Ownership
  -- Immediate Action Needed

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

November 12, 2002

The House has passed H.R. 4757, the so-called "Our Lady of Peace
Act."  Its chief sponsor is the rabidly anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
of New York.

Not surprisingly, one of the other rabid anti-gunners from New York,
Senator Chuck Shumer (D), has sponsored the companion bill in the Senate
(S. 2826).

The bill would require states to turn over vast numbers of
sometimes-personal records (on potentially all Americans) to the FBI for
use in connection with the Instantcheck.  These records would include any
state record relevant to the question of whether a person is prohibited
from owning a gun.

This starts with a large volume of mental health records, but the FBI could
also require that a state forward ALL of its employment and tax records in
order to identify persons who are illegal aliens. It could require that
states forward information concerning drug diversion programs and arrests
that do not lead to prosecution, in order to determine whether a person was
"an unlawful user of... any controlled substance...."

The bill would also help FBI officials to effectively stop millions of
additional Americans from purchasing a firearm, because they were guilty in
the past of committing slight misdemeanors.  You might remember the
Lautenberg Gun Ban which President Bill Clinton signed in 1996?  Because of
this 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.  The McCarthy-Schumer bill would change all that
and keep millions of decent, peaceful citizens from owning a firearm
because of one
slight offense committed in their past.

The bill also reaches for a gun owning prohibition on nearly 3 million more
Americans who have spent time in mental health facilities.  This group has
no more involvement in violent crime than does the rest of the population. 
But even assuming that those with (often minor and treatable) mental health
histories are "bad" guys, this bill is NOT about keeping bad guys
from getting guns. Bad guys will ALWAYS be able to get guns, no matter how
many restrictions there are.

This bill is all about control.  Schumer and McCarthy want to keep pushing
their agenda forward, making it impossible for more and more Americans to
legally own guns!  But if it is OK to ban gun ownership for certain people
who have engaged in a shouting match with another family member, or who
have stayed overnight in a hospital for emotional observation or who have
been written a prescription for depression, then who will be next on the
McCarthy-Schumer hit list? People who drink an occasional beer?  People who
take "mind altering" cold medicines -- Nyquil, TheraFlu, etc.?

H.R. 4757 and S. 2826 are major, anti-self defense bills that will only
make the country safer for criminals while opening the door to invading the
privacy of all Americans.

A near-total gun ban on the island of Great Britain has resulted in England
suffering from the highest violent crime rate of any industrialized
country.  Why would a less oppressive form of gun control work when an
outright ban has failed to keep guns out of the wrong hands?

ACTION:

Please contact your Senators and demand that this bill be stopped. A
pre-written message is provided below.  To identify your Senators, as well
as to send the 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 shocked that the Senate has before it a bill (S. 2826) that would
prohibit millions of Americans from owning a gun for self-defense.  Those
who would be banned present no greater risk of committing violent crimes
than does the rest of the population.  Are all the rest of us next?

Please vote against this monstrosity (also known as the Our Lady of Peace
bill) if it comes to the floor of the Senate for a vote.  Gun Owners of
America will be using this vote for their rating of Congress.

I would like to hear from you about whether you support this massive
increase in gun control.

****************************

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back as undeliverable.

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associated with issues other than gun rights.

"Our Rights are not what's wrong in Pennsylvania"

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania guarantees your right
to bear arms in Article 1 Section 21: "The right of Citizens to bear
arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned."

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H Howard Lewis Bloom takes no responsibility for the content of the message
as this is an unmoderated list.  ***All Rights Reserved*** 

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