-Caveat Lector-
Read carefully. NRA also opposes this bill.
Senate OK's Free Speech Restrictions
-- GOA's ability to inform you about anti-gun politicians to be seriously
restricted if McCain Incumbent Protection bill passes
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
(Tuesday, March 27, 2001) -- Last night, the Senate passed a Wellstone (D-MN)
amendment which would
outlaw many forms of pro-gun advocacy within 60 days of an election. The provision
passed by a vote of 51-46 and
amends the McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Bill which the Senate is currently
considering.
On one hand, the Wellstone amendment has been labeled a "bill killer" because
it may invite the Supreme Court to
strike down the whole bill if it is contested after becoming law. Given the repressive
nature of this bill, this would be
good news.
The problem is that, unless and until this provision is struck down by the courts,
the Wellstone amendment would
be a "free speech killer" for gun activists who rely on groups like Gun Owners
of America to inform them on how
their legislators are behaving in Washington, D.C.
The Wellstone amendment would prohibit groups like GOA from running TV or radio
ads that mention a
candidate's name in the 60 days prior to an election. This Senate amendment outlaws
free speech two months
before an election for everyone but the media and federal candidates.
Not only would this create a "speech monopoly" for the media and incumbents,
it would serve as a true Incumbent
Protection Plan.
Further complicating the vote yesterday is the fact that many conservative opponents
of the McCain bill voted IN
FAVOR of the amendment. They argue that by poisoning the bill with an obviously
unconstitutional amendment,
they will force the Supreme Court to strike down the entire bill. Regardless,
they are putting the free speech rights
of all Americans in a precarious situation.
After the Wellstone amendment passed yesterday with support from very conservative
senators, GOA Executive
Director Larry Pratt remarked:
The Senate has embarked upon a dangerous strategy. I've been in this fight
long enough that I
remember folks giving up on Congressional attempts to repeal the DC gun
ban in the late 1970s
because we would supposedly "beat it in the courts." Well, a quarter of
a century later, we're still
waiting for the courts to strike down the DC ban.
The lesson learned is clear: it is very dangerous to rely on the courts to do
the right thing.
Gun Owners of America would urge activists all over the country to ask their
Senators once again to oppose the
McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Bill. The Wellstone amendment which passed
yesterday makes this bill a
campaign finance "deform" bill -- now even more than before -- by silencing Americans
who are not in the media or
who are not federal incumbents in office.
ACTION: Please call or fax or e-mail your two Senators and ask them to vote against
S. 27, the Incumbent
Protection Bill sponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI).
You can call the Senate at
202-224-3121, or toll-free at 1-877-762-8762. Forward this alert to as many gun
owners as possible.
To identify your Senators, as well as to send a 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:
The Wellstone amendment which passed this week makes the McCain-Feingold bill
a campaign finance "deform"
bill -- now even more than before -- by silencing Americans who are not in the
media or who are not federal
incumbents in office.
The Wellstone amendment would prohibit government watchdog groups from running
TV or radio ads that mention
a candidate's name 60 days before an election. That is, the Wellstone amendment
would eliminate such ads for
everyone but the media and federal candidates. As such, this bill creates a "speech
monopoly" for the media and
incumbents and is nothing more than an Incumbent Protection Plan.
I rely on legislative advocacy groups to inform me about what is going on in
Washington. I would rather not leave
that job to the media or to the Congress right before an election.
Please vote against S. 27, and don't simply rely on the Supreme Court to strike
down this bill. This bill is dangerous
for our republican system of government. It is unconstitutional and denies the
free speech rights of millions of
Americans.
Sincerely,
___________________________
**************
Note Regarding E-mail to Congress:
Recent news stories about a study purporting to show a "crisis" in the handling
of Congressional e-mail have given
rise to Internet rumors and misconceptions. One such rumor is that e-mail to
Congress is largely ignored.
The kernel of truth causing the problem is that NON-CONSTITUENT e-mail is often
ignored. Very few, if any,
legislators disregard legitimate e-mail from their constituents. It is for this
reason that the auto-mailer in the GOA
Legislative Action Center requires a street address to identify you as a constituent.
However, Congressional mail servers (especially in the Senate) are notoriously
unreliable. Several Congressional
e-mail addresses are currently "bouncing" back to senders with error messages.
Should that happen to you, it is
suggested that you try again on another day, or make a phone call instead.
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