The Geek has a public service announcement:

Congress is currently still in the August recess, and is scheduled to return on September 7th, the day after labor day, and only 4 days before the so-called “assault weapons” ban is set to expire.

The unrelenting rhetoric coming from anti-gun lobby groups, politicians, and editorial writers is becoming increasingly shrill and inflammatory, reflecting the sheer desperation felt by these people. Though they undoubtedly know the ban has had no effect on crime (they have access to the same studies that the rest of us
do), the symbolism of the ban not being renewed will be a stunning blow to their misguided cause. And, their credibility is at stake… these are the people who have been insisting that armageddon will befall our country on September 13th if the ban is not renewed. So, expect this outrageous “backed into a corner” rhetoric to worsen dramatically as we enter the ban’s final week.

Though neither the House or the Senate have shown any interest in wasting any of the precious little time that remains this session on this issue, the anti-gun organizations will undoubtedly unleash an intense barrage of mistruths in that final week, with the usual goal of trying to deceive the public into supporting something they otherwise wouldn’t care much about.

It is YOUR job to ensure your voice is heard too. There’s no time for mailing letters. Sending an e-mail won’t hurt, but the best thing you can do is to CALL both of your Senators AND your Representative on ***September 7th***, and politely state your strong opposition to renewing the ban.

Before calling your Senators, check this page to see how each voted on the Feinstein amendment to renew the ban earlier this year (the vote is in the far-right column, highlighted in yellow… green “N” was against the ban, red “Y” was for it)…

http://www.awbansunset.com/senate.html

Most politicians already know this is a loser issue that does nothing for public safety, violates the Second Amendment, and could very well cost them their job. If each gets a dozen or two phone calls from ban supporters, but receives hundreds or thousands of calls from opponents of the ban, this belief will once again be reconfirmed.

To help ensure a steady flow throughout the day, I suggest that we stagger our calls.

If your last name begins with:

A – F: call between 9:30am – 11:00am eastern time.
G – L: call between 11:00am – 12:30pm eastern time.
M – S: call between 12:30pm – 2:00pm eastern time.
T – Z: call between 2:00pm – 3:30 eastern time.

Of course, this is merely a suggestion… don’t fret if you can’t call at your “designated” time. Just call at whatever time you can! Remember, Tuesday, September 7th (the day after Labor Day) is when this phone call drive will take place.

You can easily obtain your elected officials’ contact info here:

http://www.capwiz.com/nra/dbq/officials/

Forward this to everyone you know, and let us leave no doubt in the minds of our elected officials as to just
how unpopular this gun ban is!

The rhetoric has started. Such as:

With two weeks left before the expiration of the assault weapons ban, the rhetoric is picking up. Here’s one:

From 1998 to 2001, 211 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. According to a new study of FBI data by the Violence Policy Center, 41 were felled by knock-offs of military-style assault weapons, the arms of choice for drug dealers and gang bangers.

That so many police were killed by weapons most Americans assumed were outlawed in 1994 is the best reason for overhauling a loophole-ridden ban set to expire on Sept. 13. That’s just six days after Congress returns to work.

Quoting a discredited study that improperly classifies half the weapons listed and actually lists a Jeep as an assault weapon hardly makes the case for you.

The law halting the sale and manufacture of assault weapons barely passed 10 years ago. Enough votes were mustered only because supporters agreed to a watered-down version.

It barely passed because it was a stupid law that, in 1996, was actually repealed by the House. And the votes on this law cost a few people their seats.

Opponents of the ban say the law has proved to be ineffective and should be allowed to lapse. But closing the loopholes in a weak law makes more sense.

For example, gun makers can circumvent the law by making cosmetic changes to the design of the 19 banned weapons, give them a new name and put them on the market. It was one of these post-ban M-16 knock-offs called the Bushmaster XM15 that the D.C. snipers used to hunt down and kill 10, injure three and terrorize the nation’s capital in the fall of 2002. Among their victims were three Virginians.

Now, we get to it. Nevermind that that these weapons are the same as semi-auto hunting rifles or that the DC snipers only took one shot per victim. Just use them in the same paragraph for added effect. So, you entitle the article keep assault weapons off the street then acknowledge this law does not such thing. Why push for it then?

And this one intimates the ban affects machine guns, which it doesn’t.

And this one is for the children.

Here’s one that tries to make it sound reasonable by pointing out that some gun owners are for the ban. Anyone who knows anything about guns and the ban would admit that it’s frivolous legislation.

Expect these types of articles to keep popping up more frequently in the next two weeks. Keep contacting your representatives.

Posted in uncategorized on August 30th, 2004 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |