Yesterday the Republicans in Loudoun County, Virginia, held a convention to select nominees for various county-wide offices. 1,357 delegates attended.

Several resolutions were also passed, including the one listed below that I introduced. It, along with the following cover letter, will be mailed to the appropriate elected officials on Monday.

June 2, 2003

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC

Dear Sir:

On May 31, 2003 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the Loudoun County Republican Committee convened a convention to select nominees for nine county-level offices, including members of the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, and Commissioner of the Revenue. There were 1,357 Republican delegates who attended the convention.

Several resolutions were passed by the convention delegation, including the one included in this letter. Per the delegation’s request when it overwhelmingly passed the resolution, I am forwarding it to you.

Sincerely,

xxx xxx
Secretary

yyy yyy
Resolutions Committee Chair


Cc: Senate Majority Leader William Frist
Senator John Warner
Senator George Allen
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
Congressman Frank Wolf


Resolution text:

Sunset of the 1994 Semi-Automatic Rifle and Magazine Bans

Whereas, Congress passed and then-President Clinton signed the “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994”, and

Whereas, this Act contains a provision banning the possession of several styles of semi-automatic rifles and all magazines manufactured after September 13, 2004 and capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, and

Whereas, this Act contains a ten-year sunset provision for the aforementioned bans, and as a result they are slated to expire on September 13, 2004, and

Whereas, Democratic legislators in both the House and Senate have recently introduced bills to make these bans permanent, and

Whereas, according to a 1996 study published by the National Institutes of Justice and a 2001 study published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, so-called “assault weapons” account for less than 2% of all firearms seized by police in relation to criminal activity, and

Whereas, while the bans failed miserably at curbing violent crime, they succeeded in burdening law-abiding gun owners by creating 200-3000 percent price increases thanks to the legislatively-created supply shortages, and

Whereas, law-abiding gun owners comprise a significant portion of the Republican base, and

Whereas, nine Senators and fifty-four Congressmen from both parties lost to their opponents in the 1994 election, with then-President Clinton attributing almost two dozen of those losses directly to their supporting the passage of the bans during his 1995 State of the Union Address, and

Whereas, law-abiding gun owners played a major role in defeating the Democrats in the 2000 Presidential election and in the 2002 mid-term elections, resulting in the Republicans taking control of the House, Senate, and the White House simultaneously for the first time since 1954, therefore,

Be it resolved that the Loudoun County Republican Delegation hereby supports the sunset on September 13, 2004 of the bans on semi-automatic rifle and all magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, and further,

Be it resolved that the Loudoun County Republican Delegation expects President Bush, Senate Majority Leader William Frist, Senator Warner, Senator Allen, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and Congressman Wolf to strongly oppose any bills and amendment(s) to any bills introduced in Congress that either extend the bans or make them permanent.

Copies to be mailed to:
President George Bush
Senate Majority Leader William Frist
Senator John Warner
Senator George Allen
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
Congressman Frank Wolf

Sweet...Now if the FFX'ers did the same I be proud.

The FCRC could introduce the same resolution at one of their public meetings.  I know a few members over there, and in Arlington as well.