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			    GENERAL-RKBA Digest 312
Topics covered in this issue include:
  1) FAXALERT: Victories for Gun Owners Nationwide! by NRA Alerts 
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Topic No. 1
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 21:50:34 -0500 (EST)
From: NRA Alerts 
To: general-rkba-real.nra
Subject: FAXALERT: Victories for Gun Owners Nationwide!
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. 4, No. 45                                           11/07/97
              VICTORIES FOR GUN OWNERS NATIONWIDE! 
Ballot Initiative 676 was overwhelmingly  rejected by the voters
of Washington state Tuesday, as the licensing and mandatory
training scheme went down by a margin of more than 2 to 1! An
astounding 71% of the voters rejected the restrictive
registration scheme, even though Sarah Brady and Handgun Control,
Inc. made passage of I-676 their top priority this year, in the
hopes of using the Evergreen State as a testing ground for
licensing nationwide. "The defeat of Initiative 676 is a
disappointing loss..." read HCI's press release the next day. 
Propelled by a massive volunteer base, WeCARE and NRA members won
every county, every city, and even won in Seattle, a city which
allegedly was impossible to win. "From Seattle to Spokane, men
and women, young and old, law enforcement and civilians, Democrat
and Republican, gun owners and non-gun owners alike saw the truth 
-- 676 means No safety, No self-defense, and No privacy,"
proclaimed NRA-ILA Executive Director Tanya Metaksa from Bellevue
after the victory.  Even the opponents of freedom couldn't ignore
the resounding message voiced by the voters.  Dr. Paul Herstein
of the Washington Cease Fire Board, backers of I-676, admitted,
"The Legislature will not be looking to anyone other than the
National Rifle Association for guidance on this issue" (Spokane
News Tribune, Nov. 5).        
 
And on the Eastern Seaboard, gun owners played major roles in
electing candidates in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, and New York.  In Virginia, NRA-PVF-endorsed candidates
for governor - Jim Gilmore (R), and attorney general - Mark
Earley (R), both won in landslides, and endorsed candidates won
in 88% of the House of Delegates races as well!  In New Jersey,
NRA-PVF-endorsed Governor Christie Whitman won reelection, and
endorsed candidates won 89 % of their races.   Judge Thomas
Saylor won with NRA-PVF support in Pennsylvania, and will now
serve on the State Supreme Court. In South Carolina,
redistricting produced special elections in the state legislature
and NRA-PVF-endorsed candidates went 9 of 10. And in New York,
NRA-PVF was involved in nine races in four counties and all nine
pro-gun candidates won! 
                    SLOW DOWN ON "FAST-TRACK"
     There is still time to call your Representatives and
Senators to tell them to stop the new Clinton Gun Ban. 
Legislation known as "fast track," which gives the President wide
authority to negotiate trade agreements, has been rescheduled for
a Sunday vote. NRA has been working to insert language in this
bill to restrict the President's authority to arbitrarily ban
from importation firearms that are legal to own, manufacture and
possess. According to the Oct. 22 L.A. Times, a "White House
official who specializes in gun control policy, Jose Cerda,
added,  we are taking the law and bending it as far as we can to
capture a whole new class of guns.'" If it is not stopped, the
Clinton Administration has indicated it will implement a ban on
imported firearms which the NRA believes will ultimately prohibit
many, if not all, semiautiomatic rifles and handguns.  It is
absolutely vital that you call your Congressman at (202)225-3121
as soon as possible, and urge him to vote "no" on "fast track,"
unless "fast track" is modified to stop President Clinton from
banning more firearms.  
                      A TALE OF TWO "SARAHS"
     HCI's Sarah Brady is one of four recipients of the Sara Lee
Foundation's "Frontrunner Awards" for 1997.  This year's
recipients were acknowledged Nov. 6 in Washington, D.C.  The Sara
Lee "Frontrunner Award" was introduced in 1987 and recognizes the
accomplishments of women in today's world.  The Sara Lee
Foundation, an offshoot of the Sara Lee Corporation, a global
food and consumer products company that markets a wide variety of
products,  will contribute $50,000 to the non-profit organization
of the winner's choice.  Sarah Lee will donate Mrs. Brady's
"winnings" to the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.  Sara Lee
can be reached at: Three First National Plaza, Chicago, IL,
60602-4260, 312/726-2600 (phone), 312/726-3712 (fax).
                       A LOOK AT THE STATES
NEBRASKA: Join representatives from NRA-ILA to learn how you can
help pass LB 465, NRA-backed right to carry legislation, during
the 1998 legislative session.  NRA-ILA will conduct three
organizational meetings in key state legislative districts this
month: The first will be held on Monday, November 17, from 7:30-
8:30 p.m. in Mueller Hall, located at 5716 S. 36th Street in
Omaha (for Legislative Districts 5, 7, and 9.)  The second is
scheduled for Tuesday, November 18, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the
Olive Branch Room of the Cornhusker Hotel in Downtown Lincoln,
located at 333 South 13th Street (for Legislative Districts 25,
29, and 30.)  The third meeting is set for Wednesday, November
19, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Grand Island Rifle Club, located 2
« miles west off Highway 281 on the north side of Old Potash Road
in Grand Island (for Legislative Districts 33, 34, and 35.) 
There is no cost to attend these meetings and you need not
R.S.V.P.  Hope to see you there!  
MASSACHUSETTS: KEEP THOSE CALLS COMING IN!  Your phone calls
encouraging the opposition of S. 1985, the semi-auto ban, to the
State Representatives are working.  Call (617)722-2000 to be
connected to the House switchboard and encourage Speaker Finneran
and his leadership to oppose S. 1985.  In other news,  the Office
of the Attorney General officially released the new Code of
Massachusetts,  regarding the regulating of firearms for the sake
of consumer protection.  Stay tuned for more information on this
issue!
=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org
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End of GENERAL-RKBA Digest 312
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