Publicola

Larry Pratt of GOA thinks the White House has poked gun owners in the eye. He also cautions that it is not certain that we have enough votes to defeat an extension of the assault weapons ban.

"No one should assume for a second that there are a majority of pro-gun legislators in the Congress that will join to kill this bill. It may be that Democrats in Congress will call the President's bluff and attach the Feinstein reauthorization bill as an amendment to some "must pass" bill.
With all the "horse trading" that goes on behind closed doors, don't be surprised if some fence-sitters in the Senate trade their votes in favor of the ban to gain the support of certain Democrats for tax cuts."


Mr. Pratt may in fact be correct.It seems that the Republican Party of late doesn’t have a very good record when it comes to opposing gun control. The following is from an article at Strike The Root.com by Michael Powers:

"N.R.A. members staunchly supported Bush in the 2000 election, and they are justified in their incredulity regarding his vow to renew the ban. But his sudden about-face should come as no surprise. Recent anti-gun legislation confirms that Republicans are just as eager to deprive peaceful Americans of their ability to defend themselves as Democrats.
Consider the following legislation, all of which occurred within the last six years: ..."


& finally, David Codrea writes that the NRA is more interested in asking about a senator’s views on sports than it is in finding out if he truly supports the Right to arms. Chris Cox, the NRA-Institute for Legislative Action’s executive director recently interviewed Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee)

"But then I forget—a big part of NRA management’s new fundraising strategy is their emphasis on “NRA Sports”. And while Cox has displayed a passing knowledge of football, this “interview” demonstrates his true area of expertise.
Softball."

Sen. Frist received a “D” rating on gun issues from GOA. It would seem that a pro-gun organization would want to get some clarity on exactly where Sen. Frist stands, especailly on the assault weapons bill. Unfortunately the NRA is not a pro-gun organization.

Here is a search engine to find your Representative & Senator in the 108th Congress, courtesy of Gun Owners of America. Unless your Representative is Ron Paul (R-Texas) I urge you to write & demand they vote against any bills extending the assault weapons ban. Don't assume they will. & remind them that your vote will depend on theirs.