"But the measure being written by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., would give the FBI new power to issue administrative subpoenas, which are not reviewed by a judge or grand jury, for quickly obtaining records, electronic data or other evidence in terrorism investigations, according to aides for the GOP majority on the committee who briefed reporters Wednesday."
Well, Hell--it's not like there's a Second Amendment in this country to protect other supposed unalienable rights. Or a second political party, for that matter...
Squeeze, baby!
Thursday, May 19, 2005
NRA AWOL on Second Amendment Protection Act--Part Two
First, go to NRA-ILA's site search.
Type in "HR 1703" or "H.R. 1703".
Make sure the boxes to search ALL sections are checked.
Click either "Boolean Expression" or "All Words".
Select "All Issues" from the "Display Information" pulldown menu.
Click the "Search" button.
Or don't. All that will happen is you'll get the message "No documents were found."
MicroBalrog wrote an impassioned plea in Part One.
Here's a response he managed to track down from "the most powerful lobbying group in Washington":
Though the NRA-ILA has limited resources, we are doing our best to have the biggest impact. Right now that means we must pass HR 800, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. If that doesn't pass, our manufacturers and dealers will be sued out of business and we'll all be in a world of hurt. We are focusing our lobbying efforts on attainable and necessary legislation and then we'll move on to our second tier of legislation. While HR 1703 is a good bill, it will not come out of committee no matter how hard we lobby on the bill. There are other politics in play regarding the bill sponsor in which the NRA plays no role at all. Unfortunately, that means Congressman Paul is at the mercy of the committee and it's chairman. Someday we'll be able to pass similar legislation, but right now we have to make sure the firearm industry is not destroyed.
Sincerely,
Joel Brewer
NRA-ILA
Did you get that? Poor NRA, with its 4 million members, can't do two things at once at the federal level. Informing gun owners about this bill would simply put too much of a strain on the system, and distract ILA from its primary effort.
Besides, the bill has no chance of passing--why, it will never get out of committee. By not lifting a finger, NRA makes this a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Would it make it out of committee if some political leadership was displayed?
I mean, it's not like gun owners and $20 Million from NRA had anything to do with the reelection of George Bush...
Type in "HR 1703" or "H.R. 1703".
Make sure the boxes to search ALL sections are checked.
Click either "Boolean Expression" or "All Words".
Select "All Issues" from the "Display Information" pulldown menu.
Click the "Search" button.
Or don't. All that will happen is you'll get the message "No documents were found."
MicroBalrog wrote an impassioned plea in Part One.
Here's a response he managed to track down from "the most powerful lobbying group in Washington":
Though the NRA-ILA has limited resources, we are doing our best to have the biggest impact. Right now that means we must pass HR 800, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. If that doesn't pass, our manufacturers and dealers will be sued out of business and we'll all be in a world of hurt. We are focusing our lobbying efforts on attainable and necessary legislation and then we'll move on to our second tier of legislation. While HR 1703 is a good bill, it will not come out of committee no matter how hard we lobby on the bill. There are other politics in play regarding the bill sponsor in which the NRA plays no role at all. Unfortunately, that means Congressman Paul is at the mercy of the committee and it's chairman. Someday we'll be able to pass similar legislation, but right now we have to make sure the firearm industry is not destroyed.
Sincerely,
Joel Brewer
NRA-ILA
Did you get that? Poor NRA, with its 4 million members, can't do two things at once at the federal level. Informing gun owners about this bill would simply put too much of a strain on the system, and distract ILA from its primary effort.
Besides, the bill has no chance of passing--why, it will never get out of committee. By not lifting a finger, NRA makes this a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Would it make it out of committee if some political leadership was displayed?
I mean, it's not like gun owners and $20 Million from NRA had anything to do with the reelection of George Bush...
NRA AWOL on Second Amendment Protection Act--Part One
MicroBalrog doesn't understand why NRA is mum on HR 1703, the Second Amendment Protection Act:
An Open Letter to the National Rifle Association
By Boris Karpa
Honorable and estimable Directors of the National Rifle Association!
For years, members of the Association were reading - both in the newspapers and in your Grassroots Alerts - about the National Rifle Association. About how the National Rifle Association is the most powerful lobby in Washington. About how the NRA donates millions to campaigns of candidates it supports. About how the NRA never compromises unless it absolutely, totally has to [well, okay, we ended up coming to grips with reality, there].
You gave fiery speeches about how we should become extremists and demand the right to self-defense. You said that our guns are the guarantee of freedom. You waved rifles in the air, screaming that the enemies of that freedom will be able to get those rifles - when they pry them for your cold, dead hands.
You might have never in this - or maybe you didn’t. What matters is that, after you repeated those things often enough, we started believing them too - maybe because they are really true. We came to believe - like Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, like the Minutemen at Concord and the New-Orleans Greys at the Alamo - that freedom is worth fighting for.
You promised us something truly wonderful - a world where we will all be free like the Founding Fathers intended us to be. You promised you’ll be here for us, fighting for freedom all the way, rain or shine.
Honorable and estimable Directors! Today, you lobby for a lawsuit protection bill - claiming that without it the gun industry would be ruined. Seeing as how the lawsuit strategy of te anti-gun crowd has so far had few if any results, this might or might not be true - but you totally ignore the Second Amendment Protection Act, lingering away in committee - headed by a Congressman that is rated A by both the Association and your "extremist" competitors at the GOA. Yet you tell us that there is no way that the NRA - with all the power you boasted and the promises you made - can dislodge that bill one inch.
I want you to think of all the promises you made. All the times you spoke about responsibility. About honesty. About freedom. And tell me, will you be able to look in the mirror tomorrow morning, knowing all you said was just a sick, twisted lie? Or maybe it really was what it sounded like - a promise?
Keep your promise. Support HR-1703.
[The NRA can be contacted by phone: 800-392-8683
or via this page: https://secure.nraila.org/Contact.aspx]
An Open Letter to the National Rifle Association
By Boris Karpa
Honorable and estimable Directors of the National Rifle Association!
For years, members of the Association were reading - both in the newspapers and in your Grassroots Alerts - about the National Rifle Association. About how the National Rifle Association is the most powerful lobby in Washington. About how the NRA donates millions to campaigns of candidates it supports. About how the NRA never compromises unless it absolutely, totally has to [well, okay, we ended up coming to grips with reality, there].
You gave fiery speeches about how we should become extremists and demand the right to self-defense. You said that our guns are the guarantee of freedom. You waved rifles in the air, screaming that the enemies of that freedom will be able to get those rifles - when they pry them for your cold, dead hands.
You might have never in this - or maybe you didn’t. What matters is that, after you repeated those things often enough, we started believing them too - maybe because they are really true. We came to believe - like Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, like the Minutemen at Concord and the New-Orleans Greys at the Alamo - that freedom is worth fighting for.
You promised us something truly wonderful - a world where we will all be free like the Founding Fathers intended us to be. You promised you’ll be here for us, fighting for freedom all the way, rain or shine.
Honorable and estimable Directors! Today, you lobby for a lawsuit protection bill - claiming that without it the gun industry would be ruined. Seeing as how the lawsuit strategy of te anti-gun crowd has so far had few if any results, this might or might not be true - but you totally ignore the Second Amendment Protection Act, lingering away in committee - headed by a Congressman that is rated A by both the Association and your "extremist" competitors at the GOA. Yet you tell us that there is no way that the NRA - with all the power you boasted and the promises you made - can dislodge that bill one inch.
I want you to think of all the promises you made. All the times you spoke about responsibility. About honesty. About freedom. And tell me, will you be able to look in the mirror tomorrow morning, knowing all you said was just a sick, twisted lie? Or maybe it really was what it sounded like - a promise?
Keep your promise. Support HR-1703.
[The NRA can be contacted by phone: 800-392-8683
or via this page: https://secure.nraila.org/Contact.aspx]
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