[PAA-Discuss] LEGISLATIVE ALERT

[Juli3 at aol.com]

North Texas Brady Campaign 
to Prevent Gun  Violence

Greetings!  

Click below to tell  Congress to protect our Nation's Capital by opposing 
H.R. 6691, a  bill that would recklessly weaken D.C.'s gun  laws.   
 
 
 
_http://www.bradynetwork.org/site/Advocacy?id=841_ 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001pXlK2LZ1xthX8H_N9F_CBRBNGjBQF1F11__KmFI4YMbJXinKwDqcZQPKUTk_rd8zwzNucyN0hggXD
YjbT0afZwgan0fKlURQiStJvGZmevJpLQVkNSMFRwA8VnfKpbf4yllPX2Rt11VFjfkKeI-ZGw==) 
  

Editorial,  NYTimes Meaner Streets in Washington 

Congress is considering a reckless piece of  legislation that would 
eviscerate gun controls in the District of  Columbia, ignoring the democratic rights of 
the residents of the  nation's capital and making it harder for the police to 
protect  streets traveled by ordinary people, lawmakers, judges, diplomats  
and dignitaries. The bill, which seems headed toward passage in  the House, is 
advertised by its supporters as a necessary response  to the Supreme Court 
ruling in June that struck down the  district's 32-year-old ban on possessing 
handguns in the home. It  is nothing of the sort. The City Council has already 
passed  temporary changes to comply with the ruling and is working on  permanent 
revisions.  


This extreme  bill goes way beyond what the high court required. Among other  
things, it would repeal a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons and  eliminate 
firearm registration requirements, even for such things  as sniper rifles and 
small, easily concealed semiautomatic  handguns. Under the lunatic logic of 
this bill, made to order for  the gun lobby, such rifles could be toted around 
on the street  fully loaded.  


The bill is  a gross trampling on the right of the district to govern itself, 
 but it is far more than that. At a hearing on Monday,  Representative Henry 
Waxman, chairman of the Committee on  Oversight and Government Reform, said 
the bill would make it  harder to protect government officials and the thousands 
of  foreign dignitaries who spend time in Washington each year.
The  district's police chief, Cathy Lanier, and the chief of the  Capitol 
Police, Philip Morse, expressed similar concerns. Chief  Lanier testified about 
the difficulty of safeguarding official  motorcades and government institutions 
and personnel should the  measure go into effect. (The Bush administration 
would not permit  officials of the Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service 
to  testify.)  


The bill currently has the support of about  50 Democrats and most 
Republicans, so it will be hard to stop  approval in the House. Many members, running 
for re-election in  communities that are heavily opposed to gun control, simply 
will  not challenge the National Rifle Association.  


There is a substitute  bill being offered by the district's delegate, Eleanor 
Holmes  Norton, which would simply direct the city to comply with the  
Supreme Court ruling. We hope Mr. Waxman's committee approves it.  House Speaker 
Nancy Pelosi could then help strengthen the position  and resolve of opponents of 
the gun lobby's bill, and perhaps  increase its chances of being killed in 
the Senate, by rallying  support for the  substitute.



Marsha and Jan, Co-Presidents
North Texas  Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence  


     
_Forward email_ 
(http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1100985190951&ea=juli3@aol.com&a=1102235838858) 
 
(http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001qWXIZkSLFaNVkQoPwQksRVD1L0i_GqGKPaqnzRBFUmKfI7YXJqzHta4TcK4q0a78yWV9M0NKQzs=&p=un)   
This email was sent to juli3 at aol.com by _mmmdallas at hotmail.com_ 
(mailto:mmmdallas at hotmail.com) .
_Update Profile/Email Address_ 
(http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001qWXIZkSLFaNVkQoPwQksRVD1L0i_GqGKPaqnzRBFUmKfI7YXJqzHta4TcK4q0a78yWV9M0NKQzs=&p
=oo)  |  Instant removal with _SafeUnsubscribe_ 
(http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001qWXIZkSLFaNVkQoPwQksRVD1L0i_GqGKPaqnzRBFUmKfI7YXJqzHta4TcK4q0
a78yWV9M0NKQzs=&p=un) ™ | _Privacy Policy_ 
(http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp) .
_Email Marketing_ 
(http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_BusLet_003)  by
 (http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_BusLet_003)   
North Texas Brady Campaign to  Prevent Gun Violence | P.O. Box 7656 | Dallas 
| TX |  75209

 



**************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, 
plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com.      
(http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://paa-tx.org/pipermail/discuss_paa-tx.org/attachments/20080911/ac1fdd3d/attachment.htm>