If you go to the "ratings" page, you will see the politicians are rated differently than the NRA. This is because GOA is a PRO-GUN organization.
[b]A Special Message From Larry Pratt
Executive Director of Gun Owners of America
Don't Forget to Vote Tomorrow!
-- Elections will produce tremendous impact on gun owners' rights
Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
[url]http://www.gunowners.org[/url]
Monday, November 4, 2002
Dear Friend of the Second Amendment,
Tomorrow's election may well determine the fate of our gun rights
next year. Already, gun-hating politicians are using the recent
shootings (around the DC Beltway area and in Arizona) to call for
draconian restrictions that will affect your freedoms.
Never mind that existing gun control laws have failed miserably to
keep guns out of criminals' hands. Background checks, gun bans,
licensing and registration -- none of these laws have worked to
disarm the bad guys.
To the contrary, guns in the hands of decent citizens have proven to
be a lifesaver time and time again. Almost 7,000 times a day,
law-abiding citizens use firearms in self-defense. That's the
message that Gun Owners of America is broadcasting from coast to
coast.
In the month of October alone, representatives from GOA appeared on
dozens of TV, radio and newspaper outlets around the country in an
effort to diffuse the misguided calls for more gun control.
>From MSNBC to CNN's Crossfire -- and from ABC's Nightline to the big
print media (such as the Atlanta Journal and Constitution) -- GOA
was busy last month fighting for your right to keep and bear arms.
GOA Voter Guides Online
But GOA is doing more than just educating the masses. We are also
committed to helping inform pro-gun voters throughout the country.
And toward that end, Gun Owners of America has provided valuable
resources to help you on Election Day. Please visit GOA's website
for the following election-related links:
* GOA Voter's Guide for federal candidates at
[url]http://www.gunowners.org/votetb02.htm[/url]
* Survey results for state candidates at
[url]http://www.gunowners.org/statetb.htm[/url]
I hope you will make use of these materials and share them with your
family and friends. Please distribute this letter far and wide.
Gun Control Could Be A Hot Topic Next Year
The reason that gun owners need to stay educated is simple. Your
right to own a gun, free from government infringements, may come
under a severe attack next year. Proposals to ban certain private
sales of firearms or to ban certain rifles and handguns are always
on the gun haters' wish list.
And if the past few weeks are any indication, there will be two hot
button issues that Senator Chuck Schumer and Sarah Brady will be
pushing:
1. Extending the ban on semi-automatic firearms.
While the Clinton-Feinstein semi-auto ban is due to sunset in
September of 2004, many gun haters would like to keep this ban on
more than 180 types of firearms in place, and add more guns to the
ban list as well.
2. Registration of gun owners.
Of course, gun banners don't say they are for "registration." They
prefer to use innocent-sounding jargon like "ballistic
fingerprinting."
Proponents want to use this (flawed) technology to register the
supposedly unique "ballistic fingerprint" that many firearms leave
on bullets or cartridge cases after they are fired. This, they
claim, will help police trace it back to the original buyer of the
gun.
This may sound good in theory, but there are a couple of problems.
First, this gives officials a registration list of gun owners -- a
very dangerous idea since registration lists have been used in many
places (including New York City and California) to help police
confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens.
Second, ballistic registration has failed to help police catch
crooks in states like Maryland and New York. Even though these two
states have registered almost 50,000 ballistic fingerprints, they
have yet to catch one bad guy using the technology! (Part of the
problem is that this technology can be easily evaded, for unlike
human fingerprints which don't change, ballistic "fingerprints" can
be easily altered by making modifications to a firearm.)
President George Bush came under extreme pressure during the sniper
shootings, as opponents urged him to support a ballistic
registration system throughout the country. While the President has
been cool towards the idea, the administration has, nevertheless,
agreed to "study" the issue.
A truly objective study of the issue would conclude that ballistic
registration will NOT efficiently help police track down criminals,
and will only jeopardize the privacy of gun owners. Even the
Fraternal Order of Police and the California Department of Justice
have come out against wasting law enforcement funds in pursuing a
ballistic database.
But again, how all of this turns out will largely depend on what
happens tomorrow at the polls. And that's why I think it is so
important that voters use the tools that are available to stay
informed. Please visit the above links on our website, and then
help educate your family and friends as well.
Thank you for helping in the defense of liberty.
Sincerely,
Larry Pratt
Executive Director
****************************
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To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
[url]http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm[/url] on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.[/b]