WAY TO GO GRASSROOTS!
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Congratulations… and Give Yourself a Pat on the Back!
— Senate votes 68-29 against backdoor gun control

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

http://www.gunowners.org

(Wednesday, February 2, 2000) — The Senate shot down another
backdoor attempt at gun control today by a vote of 68-29. GOA
Executive Director Larry Pratt praised the Senate’s decision and
lauded gun owners for quickly answering yesterday’s call to action.

“Last night, GOA issued an emergency alert to activists nationwide,”
Pratt said. “And based on the grassroots responses that we have
received today, many of you took immediate action.

“Thank you very much. We are truly grateful for the activism of our
members and supporters.”

The Senate voted around 1:00 P.M. (EST) on the Levin amendment — a
proposal that would have taken a major step toward putting the gun
industry out of business.

But by a vote of 68-29, Senators ditched the agenda that was being
so vigorously pursued by anti-gun Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and
Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

The Levin amendment would have clearly helped those cities that are
bringing frivolous lawsuits against the gun industry. The amendment
provides that, if a judge entered an enormous judgment against a
firearms manufacturer or dealer, such businesses could not avoid the
judgment by declaring bankruptcy, even if the judgment massively
exceeded the total assets of the manufacturer or dealer.

As pointed out in yesterday’s alert, the purpose of the Levin
amendment is “to ensure, even if the gun industry is successful in
defeating 29 out of 30 politically motivated suits, that a single
substantial loss can destroy every major American firearms
manufacturer — and ruin the lives of the owners and managers. No
one should assume that firearms will continue to be made or sold if
this occurs.” Virtually no other American industry is singled out
for punishment in this way.

SPECIAL NOTES:

1. Many of you are new to GOA’s fax and email list. While we
typically try to warn activists well before a vote, the nature of
legislation is such that is not always possible to do so. Thank you
for your patience.

2. On the good news side, the vast majority of people on this list
should have received their alert well before the actual vote took
place this afternoon.

Who Were The Bad Guys?

The following Senators voted for backdoor gun control:

Akaka Hollings Murray
Biden Inouye Reed
Boxer Johnson Reid
Chafee Kennedy Rockefeller
Cleland Kerry Sarbanes
Daschle Kohl Schumer
Durbin Lautenberg Torricelli
Feinstein Levin Wellstone
Graham Mikulski Wyden
Harkin Moynihan