GOA ALERT: Email & Call Congress TODAY - Vote YES Reciprocity - Vote NO Fix NICS Act

[Berncly]

https://cqrcengage.com/gunowners/app...ementId=418836


GOA ALERT: Email & Call Congress TODAY
Tell House Vote YES on HR 38 Concealed Carry Reciprocity
Tell Senate Vote NO on Feinstein-Murphy-Cuellar Fix NICS Act

GOA Email Form to Send Pre-Written Emails Here: https://cqrcengage.com/gunowners/app...ementId=418836

Find Your Elected Officials in House & Senate (click link, enter your zip code in search box half way down page) Here: https://cqrcengage.com/gunowners/home?0

Call the US Capitol Switchboard and Ask to Speak to Congressman or Senator Here: 202-224-3121.


GOA Tells Congress to Pass Concealed Carry Reciprocity, Defeat Feinstein-Murphy-Cuellar Bill

After a two-month effort by anti-gunners to manipulate tragedy in order to destroy the Second Amendment, there is really good news and some bad news.

But first, the really good news: The concealed carry reciprocity bill introduced by Republican Rep. Richard Hudson is being marked up (aka, voted on) in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Under the Hudson bill (H.R. 38), every state will recognize the constitutional right to concealed carry for the protection of yourself, your family and your friends.

But this is just the beginning.

Under the Hudson bill, every state would also recognize the concealed carry rights of residents who come from Constitutional Carry states.

Not only that, the Hudson bill would:

* Repeal federal gun-free zones such as the ones that have resulted in the slaughter of children at various schools around the country;

* Apply to magazines and ammunition, thereby thwarting efforts of states like Massachusetts and California to ban guns through a technicality; and,

* Allow guns on virtually all federal lands, to the same extent as our 2011 amendment authorized guns in parks, subject only to the laws of the state where the lands are located.


Gun Owners of America urges Congress to defeat the Feinstein-Murphy-Cuellar bill

Now, for the bad news. The anti-gun “Fix NICS” bill is also being marked up on Wednesday in the Judiciary Committee.

Gun Owners of America has urged Republicans in both chambers to defeat the legislation, which in the Senate is being cosponsored by anti-gun Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT).

The House bill, H.R. 4434, is sponsored by anti-gun Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Rep. John Culberson (R-TX).

The main focus of this legislation is to make sure that no “bad apples” slip through the cracks to purchase firearms.

Of course, the problem is that real criminals will steal their guns or use fake IDs or straw purchasers to get weapons -- even while decent Americans (who should NOT be in NICS) keep getting denied.

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 mandated that any American can be stripped of their Second Amendment rights without due process, under certain conditions.

That’s why more than 257,000 military veterans have been added into the NICS system. It’s because they had a family member appointed to handle their financial affairs -- and that has resulted in their being classified as “mental defectives.”

Of course, most of these veterans were suffering with maladies such as PTSD that resulted from their combat experiences.

We believe this anti-gun legislation (H.R. 4434 and S. 2135) would mandate that the rolls of programs like Social Security (old age), Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare, S-CHIP, and perhaps even SSI disability be trolled for persons with the same conditions as those military veterans. Not only that, the 50 states will probably have to turn over medical marijuana records.

And, although there is a “theoretical” right to get a hearing prior to losing your guns, GOA hears, almost daily, from law-abiding Americans who don’t have the thousands of dollars necessary to mount such a challenge.

Are You a Fugitive From Justice?

Finally, thousands upon thousands of additional (innocent) Americans could be sent to NICS as part of the “fugitives from justice” category.

Sure, that category sounds ominous -- until you consider that a “fugitive from justice” can simply be a person who doesn’t pay a parking or speeding ticket incurred while on vacation. When that person fails to pay his ticket or appear in court, a bench warrant is often issued for their arrest -- and, presto, they have now become a “fugitive from justice.”

So if that’s you -- and if they start culling these records by the hundreds of thousands and sending them to NICS -- you can probably say goodbye to your gun rights.

Republican supporters of this legislation note that the bill contains language which purports to require the Attorney General to remove erroneously submitted names within 60 days. Of course, the Brady Law itself ALREADY requires the prompt correction of erroneous records -- but this provision has been deliberately ignored since 1994.

Given that there are no sanctions in the bill which can be applied against anyone in the Justice Department for non-compliance, we believe this supposed “protection” is not worth the paper it is written on.

One last thing. The committee version of the anti-gun "Fix NICS" bill -- that will be marked up on Wednesday -- will mandate a study on the use of bump stocks in crime. To our knowledge, there is only one case of this, but no doubt, gun haters want this study to become a first step toward banning ANYTHING that increases the rate of fire of a weapon -- including certain types of triggers, hammers or magazines.

Again, this bill is coming to a vote in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow (Wednesday).

So please tell your Representative and Senators that while you SUPPORT H.R. 38, you absolutely oppose the anti-gun Fix NICS Act.


GOA ALERT: Email & Call Congress TODAY
Tell House Vote YES on HR 38 Concealed Carry Reciprocity
Tell Senate Vote NO on Feinstein-Murphy-Cuellar Fix NICS Act

GOA Email Form to Send Pre-Written Emails Here: https://cqrcengage.com/gunowners/app...ementId=418836

Find Your Elected Officials in House & Senate (click link, enter your zip code in search box half way down page) Here: https://cqrcengage.com/gunowners/home?0

Call the US Capitol Switchboard and Ask to Speak to Congressman or Senator Here: 202-224-3121.
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[03SVTCobra]

Sent. Toomey's reply:

November 29, 2017

Dear 03SVTCobra,
Thank you for contacting me about national firearms policy in the wake of the recent mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. As someone who has been a leader in sensible, bipartisan efforts to expand background checks for gun purchases and to stop terrorists from purchasing firearms, I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
On November 5, 2017, one month after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history in Las Vegas, Nevada, America suffered yet another horrifying tragedy. A former member of the U.S. Air Force, Devin Kelley, opened fire in a Baptist church in a small Texas town during Sunday worship services. He killed 25 people, including multiple children, and wounded 20.
Like all Americans, I was horrified to learn about the mass murder of innocent civilians. I am grateful for the brave local civilians and first responders who acted swiftly and selflessly to apprehend the shooter and protect others. This heinous attack was carried out by a deranged individual who was prohibited by federal law from purchasing or possessing a firearm due to a conviction for domestic violence by a military court. Tragically, he was able to pass background checks to purchase firearms because the Air Force failed to report his criminal record to the FBI in accordance with federal law.
Since the massacres in Sutherland Springs and Las Vegas, there have been renewed calls for Congress to take action to confront gun violence. I believe that Congress can and should take steps to address this issue.
First, the Air Force's failure to report Kelley's criminal record to the FBI is deeply troubling and unacceptable. We must ensure that the military closes any gaps in its reporting procedures to help prevent future tragedies from occurring. That is why, on November 7, 2017, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and I sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calling on them to conduct a comprehensive review of the military's procedures for reporting criminal records to the FBI. Our letter requests that the DoD and DHS provide a report and regular updates on their review and the actions they are taking to ensure that accurate and consistent reporting of records.
In addition, I am a cosponsor of the bipartisan Fix NICS Act (S. 2135), which was introduced by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) on November 15, 2017. This legislation would enforce current law by helping to ensure that federal and state authorities comply with existing requirements to report criminal and other records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Among its provisions, the bill penalizes federal agencies that fail to comply with reporting requirements and incentivizes states to improve their overall reporting. S. 2135 is supported by a diverse group of organizations, including the National Rifle Association, Everytown for Gun Safety, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Secondly, we should take steps to improve and expand criminal background checks. Towards that end, in 2013, I introduced a bipartisan amendment, along with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), to the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 (S. 649). Our amendment had three parts. The first two parts were designed to make it more difficult for criminals and dangerously mentally ill persons to acquire firearms. Specifically, the first part would have improved state compliance with the existing NICS. The second part would have expanded background checks for gun sales to include commercial sales at gun shows or through the Internet. The third part of our amendment would have provided law abiding citizens with expanded opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
I share your concerns regarding the tragic misuse of firearms in our country. We must work together to forge a bipartisan consensus on gun safety, rather than talk past one another with partisan rhetoric. In my view, keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists, convicted criminals, and the dangerously mentally ill is not gun control, but a common sense public safety measure that is fully consistent with my strong support of Second Amendment rights. I remain committed to working with my Senate colleagues to find sensible, bipartisan solutions to address gun safety.
Thank you again for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of assistance.
Sincerely,

Signature
Pat Toomey
U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania