Battle to Save the Gun Industry Moves to the House
-- Rep. Musgrave working to remove anti-gun amendment



Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place Suite 102
Springfield VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408

Thursday, August 4, 2005

Last week, GOA alerted you to legislation passed in the Senate (S. 397) that will protect gun makers from frivolous lawsuits.

Unfortunately, S. 397 passed with some unwanted baggage -- specifically, an amendment offered by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) requiring gun dealers to include a "lock-up-your-safety" device with every handgun sold.

In addition to imposing a "gun tax" on every handgun buyer, this amendment paves the way for future legislation mandating that gun owners use those trigger locks. Many gun owners don't use locking devices because they want instant protection during a moment of crisis. That should be their choice.

So GOA is now working with Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave ® to get this obnoxious provision stripped out of the bill. She will be sending a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay, asking them to NOT approve the Senate bill.

Rather, the Musgrave letter asks these two leaders to push the House bill, H.R. 800, which provides lawsuit immunity for gun makers and sellers, without endangering average gun owners. H.R. 800 has been well received in the House, as it currently has a whopping 257 cosponsors.

Rep. Musgrave needs additional cosignatories before she sends her letter. And this is where we need your help.

ACTION: Please ask your Representative to sign onto the Musgrave letter opposing the "lock-up-your-safety" provision in S. 397. She needs as many Congressional signatures as possible to show the House leadership that there is a groundswell of support for pushing the House bill, H.R. 800, rather than just taking the Senate version at face value.

You can use the Take Action Now feature send your Representative a pre-written e-mail message....more

How ironic:

Musgrave is PRO-LIFE/ANTI-ABORTION and PRO-GUN/ANTI LOCKS (locks are so kids can't use them.)

see also senate discussions

http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...T&f=234&t=34512

I don't need the Nanny government telling me how to safeguard my guns. Adding a "feel good" amendment that cannot be enforced is ludicrous.

A law requiring dealers to include a trigger lock with each handgun they sell is enforceable. A law requiring handgun owners to actually use one would not be.

All guns sold have a safety mechanism of some sort. It's up to the individual owner to decide if he or she actually uses it.

We went to a "Town Hall Meeting" sponsored by the Police a couple of years ago where they were giving away fee gun locks, they had got thousands of them from some Federal government grant. I picked up one for each of my firearms since the Grand Kids come by but my wife did the same. We ended up with twice as many locks as we needed. These were the kind that have a cable on them. We found out they make dandy gate locks too.

Of course the sale is enforceable, but where's the logic. The government is saying that you are not responsible enough to safeguard your own gun with out their direction. That's my point. If that's their logic then the locks won't be used, and the law is superfluous.

This was not about giving any special protection to the gun industry, in fact, the same protection should be given to all industry, but so far, no one has threatened to sue a rope maker, or a knife maker, for a hanging or stabbing.
How about this, you make a ladder, I get drunk, fall off the ladder, crush a small child in the fall, knock a lamp off of the table, which shorts out and sets the couch on fire, and the house burns down.
Do we sue you, the beer company, the lamp maker, or the couch maker?

Well Bob!...Those Ambulance Chasers will be standing in line to take on this case...