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The Power to
Tax is The Power to
Destroy
All Guns Are Machine Guns, Right?
SCORE ANOTHER SUCCESS FOR GRASSROOTS LOBBYING
By Larry Pratt
November 8, 2003
NewsWithViews.com
The Hill is a Capitol Hill newspaper covering Congress and politics. A recent article was devoted to what seemed to The Hill as a surprising story: Gun Owners of America has stalled an education bill that passed the Senate 90-0.
The bill, H.R. 1078, would throw $25,000,000 dollars at the left-wing history establishment to run so-called Presidential Academies. The Academies would train teachers how to teach the new history and civics standards mandated by the federal government.
GOA learned that the existing standards in the taxpayer subsidized textbook, We the People, makes short shrift of the Second Amendment and individual freedom in general, the fight was on. The GOA email list was notified of the bill, and the members of the House of Representatives immediately began to hear from their constituents.
To quote from The Hill: "The fact that the broadly supported bill has been put on hold shows the effect that one influential lobbying group can have on legislation.
"Before the group's lobbying effort, the bill was sailing through Congress. It has attracted more than 200 co-sponsors in the House and is supported by President Bush.
"But over the past few months, six House lawmakers have formally pulled their support of Wicker's bill, and it is not expected to reach the House floor this year."
The Hill's article went on to say that, "Even though it does not attract headlines as the NRA does, Gun Owners of America is regarded as a key player�.A Trancredo [Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)] said the concerns raised by Gun Owners of America played a major role in the lawmaker's decision to withdraw his name as a co-sponsor."
In an interview with the bill's sponsor, Roger Wicker (R-MS), it was clear that Wicker expected the same smooth sailing for his bill in the House that the companion bill in the Senate experienced. "Wicker said he is shocked by the influence that Gun Owners of America has had on his bill."
The article concluded on this note: "Some have speculated that before it is voted on in the House, the Wicker bill will be amended to address the Gun Owners of America's concerns."
Gun Owners of America's concerns will be
addressed best by letting this legislation acquire the label "Rest
in Peace."
� 2003 Larry Pratt - All Rights Reserved
Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 27 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms.
GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA's work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency.
Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as NBC's Today Show, CBS' Good Morning America, CNN's Crossfire and Larry King Live, Fox's Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC's Phil Donahue show and many others. He has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D-OH), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others. His columns have appeared in newspapers across the country.
He published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995. His latest book, On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty was published in 2001.
Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the American Institute for Cancer Research.
The GOA web site is: http://gunowners.org.
Pratt's weekly talk show Live Fire is archived there at: http://www.gunowners.org/radio.htm
E-Mail: ldpratt@gunowners.org
"The bill, H.R. 1078, would throw $25,000,000 dollars at the left-wing history establishment to run so-called Presidential Academies. The Academies would train teachers how to teach the new history and civics standards mandated by the federal government."
