from a GOA email:

As the House Gets Ready to Vote on Repealing the DC Gun Ban
-- Your Representative now needs to hear from you

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

Monday, September 15, 2008


How quickly things can change.

Last week, the early reports indicated that the Childers bill to repeal the
DC gun ban, HR 6691, was going to be a "cake walk" in the House of
Representatives.

But now, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) has managed to get an
alternative, anti-gun bill onto the floor of the House. Her bill passed out
of committee last week on a whopping 17-1 vote. Every Republican on the
committee -- except for Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) -- voted for the Norton bill.

The Norton bill would allow the DC council to continue enacting gun control,
while the Childers bill (HR 6691) would repeal the ban on semi-auto pistols
and rifles in DC, the registration requirements which require residents to
get permission from the city council before they can own a weapon, and the
lock-up-your-safety provision.

Representatives will now have a choice between the two bills -- and the fact
that every Republican in the committee, except for one, voted for the Norton
gun control bill is not a good sign.

ACTION: Please urge your Representative to vote IN FAVOR of the Childers
bill (HR 6691) and to vote AGAINST the Norton gun control bill (HR 6842).
You can use the pre-written message below and send it as an e-mail by
visiting the GOA Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm (where phone and fax numbers are also
available).


----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Representative:

I am glad to see that the House is taking up HR 6691, a bill introduced by
Mississippi Democrat Travis Childers. His bill would help enforce the
recent Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Heller by repealing the gun ban in
the District -- including the ban on semi-auto pistols and rifles, and the
registration requirements which require residents to get permission from the
city council before they can own a weapon.

The Childers bill will also strike the "trigger lock"
provision which
endangers gun owners by forcing the lucky ones who successfully jump through
the 12-step process to render their guns unusable for immediate defensive
purposes.

However, I strongly oppose the Norton gun control bill which would allow the
District to continue passing gun control legislation. Please vote for HR
6691 and against the Norton compromise (HR 6842). Thank you.

Sincerely,

I had a friend finish an internship for a congressman in D.C. and he said he was the only one of everyone he met that actually logged all of the phone calls and emails to the cause of the contact. He said most of the other interns were told to just answer it with a form letter and fill in the parts to make it relevant. Most of the reps never even checked in on the issues. I was quite pissed to find that out.

i get letters back (form letters) that tell me where they stand on the SPECIFIC issue (and whether i support them).

also, mine tally totals for and against different things...

and finally, politicians are dumb... but they can count. they count votes. i make it clear i vote and will pull them out if they don't support me.