URGENT!! Action Needed Today on National Parks Bill

[Mike1951]

"Make-Or-Break" Day On Your Right To Carry A Gun For
Self-Protection In A
National Park
-- Tell your Senators to vote against "Cloture" on the Parks Bill

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

Tuesday, April 8, 2008


What happens tomorrow -- Wednesday, April 9, 2008 -- will probably determine
whether or not you will be able to carry a gun in a national park.

The first key vote will be a vote to cut off debate on the motion to take up
the "alternate" version of the "parks bill." That
bill is S. 2739.

Why, you might ask, is such an arcane procedural vote so important?

To answer that question, it is necessary to look at a little history:
Earlier this year, the first "parks" bill came onto the
Senate calendar. It
was not a good bill: In terms of private property rights, it was one of the
biggest federal land grabs in American history. In addition, it would grant
another liberal anti-gun congressman to the Mariana Islands.

But Senator Tom Coburn was able to use the Senate rules to secure a right to
offer his gun amendment to that first bill -- an amendment which would
affirm your right to carry a firearm for self-defense in most national
parks.

The Senate Democratic leadership was terrified. If presidential candidates
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were required to cast an anti-gun vote on
the eve of the presidential election, it could arguably cost Democrat states
like Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Arkansas, and New
Hampshire in November.

So Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV) came up with a plan: He would kill
the bill on which Coburn had the right to offer his gun amendment. Instead,
he would bring up a similar bill -- but one on which Coburn had not secured
a parliamentary right to offer the gun amendment. Once the new
"alternate"
gun bill was pending, Reid would add so many amendments that the Coburn gun
amendment could not be offered.

So, to recapitulate: The "alternate" parks bill -- S. 2739 --
exists for
one reason and one reason only: to block consideration of a Coburn
amendment to allow you to use a gun to defend yourself in a national park.

ACTION: Tell your Senator to vote against cloture on the motion to proceed
to the parks bill. You can use the pre-written message below and send it
as an e-mail by visiting the GOA Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm (where phone and fax numbers are also
available).


----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Senator:

What happens on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 will probably determine whether or
not Americans will be able to carry a gun in a national park.

The key vote will be a vote to cut off debate on the motion to take up the
"alternate" version of the "parks bill." That bill
is S. 2739.

This "alternate" parks bill exists for one reason and one
reason only: to
block consideration of a Coburn amendment to allow Americans to use a gun to
defend themselves in many national parks. Coburn had secured the right to
offer this amendment to the original bill, S. 2483.

The procedure which is being used to shut out gun owners is not only unfair;
it is sneaky and underhanded.

Please do not let it succeed.

Gun Owners of America has told me it will rate this vote as a gun vote.

Sincerely,

[NcongruNt]

Oof. If only I had seen this in time to send off an e-mail. Any news of what has transpired?

[Mike1951]

I checked the Senate calendar and found no mention of either bill.

I would suggest you go ahead and contact Senators Cornyn and Hutchison anyway and make your feelings known.

[Mike1951]

MATTER POSTPONED - STAY TUNED

As The Senate Postpones The National Parks Amendment
-- There is a great opportunity for your kids to appear on Nickelodeon!

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

Friday, April 11, 2008


Gun Owners of America alerted you on Tuesday to the looming battle over
Senate legislation that will determine whether or not you will be able to
carry a gun on lands controlled by the National Park Service.

The showdown has been postponed until later, as Senator Tom Coburn of
Oklahoma (who had planned to offer the pro-gun amendment) determined he
didn't have enough votes. Senator Coburn does plan to find another vehicle
to offer his amendment at a later date. So please stay tuned.

In other news, here's an update on what else is happening on Capitol Hill.

* Several bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives to
recognize the right of Americans to carry firearms in national parks: HR
1897 (Paul), HR 5434 (Hensarling) and HR 5646 (Broun). All three bills do
basically the same thing, except for Broun's bill which would also encourage
hunting on federal lands.

* Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) will soon be introducing a solid concealed carry
reciprocity bill. Modeling the old Hostettler bill from previous
Congresses, this bill would allow anyone -- who is recognized by his state
of residence to carry a firearm concealed -- to carry his gun anywhere in
the country. This bill means that even residents of Vermont and Alaska, who
can legally carry without a permit, would be given reciprocity by the
Boozman bill.

* GOA members should be looking for our next mailing, which will be landing
in your mailbox over the next week or so. It's a special issue which covers
the Supreme Court case dealing with the DC gun ban. Gun Owners of America
has been heavily involved in this case, and its brief before the Court is,
to our knowledge, the ONLY one which challenged the Solicitor General's gun
control brief.

The newsletter also analyzes the Second Amendment views of the top-two
leading contenders in the presidential race: Senators Barack Obama and John
McCain.

Finally, as next week marks the anniversary of the Virginia Tech killings,
GOA's newsletter also contains an excellent article from Dr. John Lott, who
demonstrates the REAL solution for stopping murder sprees on college
campuses.


NICK NEWS WANTS YOUR KID

Nickelodeon has contacted Gun Owners of America and offered us a wonderful
opportunity to get out the pro-gun message to young people.

They want some teenagers (between 11-15 years of age) to appear on the May
13 taping of Nick News which will run later that month. Specifically, they
would like to interview kids from all over the nation:

1. Who can talk about the right to keep and bear arms, or
2. Who have seen an example of armed self-defense in their home.

They need about ten kids. In some cases, Nickelodeon will fly a team out to
your home to film your kids taking target practice, answering questions,
etc. In some cases, they will fly your child (along with one parent) for an
all-expenses paid trip to New York on May 12, for the taping which will
occur the following day.

No doubt, they will probably have kids who tout the anti-gun position. But
if you think you have a well-spoken teen who can handle this challenge,
please contact Gun Owners of America at goamail@gunowners.org or at
703-321-8585.