Rep. Goode Introduces Repeal Of Lautenberg Gun Ban
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org


(Tuesday, April 17, 2001) -- Rep. Virgil Goode (I-VA) has introduced
a bill, H.R. 1455, to repeal the onerous Lautenberg gun ban which
was signed into law in 1996 as part of the Treasury-Postal omnibus
appropriations bill. Many of you are new to the GOA Alert Network
and may not be familiar with this gun ban that was named after its
author, the former Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

This ban has disarmed people for life -- for offenses that include
pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even yelling at a family member.
The language of this lifetime gun ban is so expansive that
unsuspecting parents have been disarmed for simply using legitimate
corporal punishment.

Moreover, this lifetime gun ban can be imposed for mere
misdemeanors, and in certain circumstances, imposed without a trial
by jury. Many misdemeanors do not guarantee a jury trial, and the
law does not require that one must be tried by a jury before losing
his or her gun rights. Many offenders are now shocked to learn that
a minor infraction from their teenage years is preventing them from
owning a gun for life.

You can read some of the Lautenberg horror stories at http://www.gunowners.org/kldvtb.htm on the GOA website.

Finally, this ban contradicts the Second Amendment and finds no
constitutional authority whatsoever. As stated by Rep. Goode, the
Lautenberg gun ban "does not specifically deal with a subject
delegated to Congress under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S.
Constitution, and is therefore unconstitutional under the Tenth
Amendment as interpreted by United States vs. Lopez." And the
Lautenberg provision violates the constitutional ban on ex post
facto laws, since it disarms people for offenses committed in the
past.

ACTION: Please ask your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 1455. You
can use the pre-written letter below to help direct your comments to
Capitol Hill. Or, you can call your Representative at 877-762-8762
(toll free) or at 202-225-3121.

To write your Representative check out: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

----- Pre-written message -----

Dear Representative:

Rep. Virgil Goode has introduced H.R. 1455 to repeal the Lautenberg
gun ban. I urge you to sign on as an original cosponsor of this
bill.

This ban has disarmed people for life -- for offenses that include
pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even yelling at a family member.
The language of this lifetime gun ban is so expansive that
unsuspecting parents have been disarmed for simply using legitimate
corporal punishment.

Moreover, this lifetime gun ban can be imposed for mere
misdemeanors, and in certain circumstances, imposed without a trial
by jury.

The Lautenberg gun ban is a very dangerous infringement upon the
Second Amendment. Please cosponsor H.R. 1455 and let me know when
you have done so. Thank you.


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

About time.  

Norm

Gunowners better get on board for this one.
I just went through the experience myself, case
dismissed, and it has caused a major blow to
my BR not to mention high anxiety. I was the
last case to be heard so I was able to observe
a day in the court of domestic and repeat violence. Some people had lawyers and some did'nt but everyone was getting screwed by the
judge. Imagine a place where you catch your
accuser in lie after lie and the judge does'nt
give a damm and accepts the liars testimony
when fashioning the injunction. MAJOR NIGHTMARE!

[URL]www.jail4judges.com[/URL]

When J.A.I.L. Becomes Law, Corrupt Judges Will:

                                                    Be subjected to civil suit
                                                    Be removed from the bench!
                                                    Be prosecuted criminally!
                                                    Serve time in prison!

Consider it done, but I don't know how effective it will be considering the district I from.

Kyle

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about this law.

1.  It is a BAD law because it strips people of their rights without due process, and for petty reasons.  It also punishes people (ex-post-facto) for something they did long before the law was passed. There are a number of people who plead guilty to a minor misdemeanor years ago as part of a plea agreement ("just plead guilty to it as a misdemeanor, and we'll waive any punishment just to clear this off our books, and you won't have to pay any legal fees") and after this law was passed, they can no longer own guns.  They sure as hell would have fought a charge like that if they had known that they would use their right to own a gun based on it

2.  It is a GOOD law because it is the first Gun-Control legislation that held the police to the SAME standards as citizens.  Now, police with felony convictions can carry a gun in the performance of their duties--but, if they have a domestic violence conviction (even a misdemeanor) they cannot have possesion of a firearm.

One of the reasons this law may be repealed is because of Police Support for the repeal.  I think it was Senator Barr (maybe??) that added the line that the Police ARE NOT exempt from this bill, with the intention of killing it in the legislature.  Do you really think that they could pass as much gun control legislation as they have if they can hold the police to the same standards as all the rest of us?