Gun control education bill stalls for the moment

[Mitch HanK Sauer]

Good News, Your Phone Calls & E-mails Have Made A Difference!
-- Gun control education bill stalls for the moment

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: [phone] / FAX: [phone]
www.gunowners.org

Thursday, September 25, 2003


Your activism has gotten the attention of folks on Capitol Hill.
Here's what has happened since GOA sent out the last alert on
H.R. 1078, the bill that would set up Presidential Academies for
training teachers -- training that would almost certainly track the
anti-gun curriculum which is now being taught in schools:

* After hearing from gun owners, one cosponsor of the bill, Rep.
Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), has removed her name as cosponsor of the
bill;

* Other cosponsors have called the GOA offices, now that they have
been made aware of the dangers in the bill because of the calls
and e-mails coming from their constituents -- specifically, gun
owners;

* Hill sources have told GOA that a group of current cosponsors of
H.R. 1078 have indicated they might remove their names from the
bill; and

* The White House (which is in strong support of this bill) called
Gun Owners of America to express their concern over the mounting
opposition against the bill.

A White House spokesman called GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt
last week in an attempt to allay our fears with the bill. The White
House repeated several times that gun owners were an important
constituency, and they wanted to assure us that there were no
mandates in the bill that would endanger gun owners rights.

"Not true," Pratt responded, "federal funding equals mandates." The
bill authorizes millions of dollars to be spent for training
teachers in history and civics. We have already seen how such
"strings" have moved education in this country towards a pro-UN and
anti-gun direction in the subsidized textbooks which are currently
being used in public schools.

For example, "We the People" -- a federally subsidized textbook --
chips away at our national sovereignty, praises our dependence upon
the United Nations, downplays the Founders' vision on the importance
of federalism, and desecrates the Bill of Rights, suggesting that
our Second Amendment rights are not relevant for today.

As we reported earlier, supporters of H.R. 1078 wanted to get the
bill to the President before Constitution Day on September 17. But
thanks to your activism, the bill has stalled for now.

Because of the defections (mentioned above), the bill's prime
sponsor is considering amendments to "improve" the bill and
safeguard the rights of gun owners. While GOA appreciates such
efforts, we have reminded Hill offices that the Constitution offers
no authority at all for spending money in this area.

ACTION: Please contact the White House and let the folks there hear
gun owners' concerns directly. They are already feeling the heat
from Representatives in Congress (who in turn, were feeling the heat
from you guys). But the White House is still pushing strongly in
favor of this bill. It is important that they hear directly from
you.

You can contact the President by visiting the Gun Owners Legislative
Action Center at www.gunowners.org/activism.htm and sending
him a pre-written e-mail message. Or, you can cut-and-paste the
text below and fax it to him at 202-456-2461.


------ Pre-written message ------


Dear President Bush:

As a firm believer in the Second Amendment, I am very concerned
about legislation that will continue to dumb down the next
generation of Americans. Specifically, I'm referring to H.R. 1078,
and its companion bill, S. 504.

This legislation would fund Presidential Academies that will train
educators in history and civics, but there are no safeguards that
the Academies will steer clear of the already existing anti-gun
education that is prevalent in the public schools.

For example, "We the People" is a federally subsidized book that
gives a "road map" that the Presidential Academies might very well
follow. And what is seen in "We the People" is quite shocking.

The book chips away at our national sovereignty, praises our
dependence upon the United Nations, downplays the Founders' vision
on the importance of federalism, and desecrates the Bill of Rights,
suggesting that our Second Amendment rights are not relevant for
today.

Clearly, there is an existing problem that should be corrected
before we launch any new ventures -- such as the proposed
Presidential Academies. Although I would remind you that the
Constitution provides no authority in Article I, Section 8 for
Congress to fund such Academies.

Again, this bill poses a great danger to my Second Amendment
rights, and I would hope that you will never sign a bill that will
fund the training of teachers in such a radical, revisionist
ideology.

We already have too much Federal involvement in education, and the
results have not been good. As control over education becomes more
and more federalized, it seems that the ideas which children are
learning become more and more radical. Please do not support
S. 504 and H.R. 1078, two bills which are decidedly anti-gun.

Sincerely,


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tie?

Answer: A Gun Owners of America lobbyist.

Just ask Rep. John Hostettler, Republican Congressman from Indiana:

"Gun Owners of America is the pit bull of the Second Amendment. They
are relentless and never give any ground whatsoever to the gun
grabbers."

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