Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 147 to 280 to eliminate all gun provisions from H.R. 1501, its version of juvenile justice reform. This vote capped two days of heated debate in the House, where Representatives made it clear they were responding to the concerns of America's millions of law-abiding gun owners.

The House first voted late Thursday night to attach an amendment by Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to H.R. 2122, the firearms section of their juvenile justice legislation. The Dingell Amendment, approved on a 218-211 bipartisan vote, clarified H.R. 2122 by reducing possible delays for firearms transfers at gun shows to no more than 24 hours and clearly defining what constitutes the "sale" of a firearm at a gun show. The base text of H.R. 2122 already made vast improvements over the Senate's version of proposed regulations on gun shows by requiring the immediate destruction of records on firearm purchasers whose purchases are not denied through the National Instant Check System (NICS), and permanently prohibiting a federal gun tax for NICS inquiries.

Immediately after passing the Dingell amendment, the House defeated an amendment by rabidly anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), on a bipartisan 193-235 vote. McCarthy's amendment was similar to the Lautenberg gun show ban. While supporters of the Dingell amendment used their time to debate the merits of the proposal, opponents chose to use their time to attack NRA and law-abiding gun owners with often illogical, highly charged emotional outbursts. Rep. Patrick Kennedy's (D-R.I.) irrational ranting and raving, when he accused supporters of the Dingell amendment of wanting to allow criminals to purchase firearms, had to take first prize for outrageous allegations.

The House continued their work on H.R 2122 today, when it took up a number of additional firearm-related amendments. The House passed: the Davis "Safe Storage Device" Amendment, that requires manufacturers to include a "safe storage device" with every new handgun; the Cunningham Concealed Carry Amendment, that allows all current and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms nationwide; the Hyde-McCollum Juvenile "Assault Weapons" Amendment, that prohibits the possession by juveniles of "assault weapons" and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition (with several exemptions to these prohibitions for a number of lawful activities); the Rogan Amendment, which prohibits a juvenile who commits a serious violent felony from being able to purchase or own a firearm as an adult; the Hunter Amendment on Handgun Ownership in D.C., that would allow law-abiding residents of D.C. to possess a loaded handgun in their home for personal protection; the Hyde-Lofgren Magazine Import Ban Amendment, that prohibits the importation of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition previously exempted from the 1994 ban; and the Sessions-Frost Pawn Redemption Amendment, that requires a NICS check before any firearm that has been pawned for more than one year is returned to its owner.

The House defeated: the Goode D.C. Gun Ban Repeal Amendment, that would repeal the District of Columbia's onerous handgun ban; and the Conyers Substitute Amendment, which sought to undermine the House's previous bipartisan efforts by replacing the House gun language with the package of restrictions passed by the Senate. The Hyde Age Limit amendment, that sought to ban the purchase or attempted purchase of handguns by persons under 21 from private citizens or at gun shows, was pulled from consideration. Finally, the House defeated H.R. 2122 on a 147-280 vote, meaning H.R. 1501, passed earlier in the week with no gun provisions, becomes the complete House juvenile justice package.

At this time it is unclear what the next step will be for juvenile justice legislation. However, we urge you to continue to contact your federal lawmakers and urge them to support the Second Amendment. Be sure to thank those Representatives who supported our right to keep and bear arms, and remind those lawmakers that have not been supportive that you will be paying close attention to future votes. U.S. Senators can be reached by calling (202) 224-3121, and Representatives can be reached at (202) 225-3121.

WHOM DO YOU TRUST --SCHOLARS OR CELEBRITIES?

In last week's FAX Alert (Vol. 6, No. 22), we reported HCI had taken out an ad in USA Today promoting their anti-gun agenda, which was clearly an effort to influence Congress to support the recent assaults on gun shows. This week, a letter with 290 signatures was delivered to Congress in opposition to more gun control. In contrast to HCI's ad, however, the signatories of this letter were scholars, not celebrities. Organized by Professor John Lott of the University of Chicago, economists, law professors, and criminologists joined together to point out the fact that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens act as a deterrent to crime, and to state that the recent proposals by Bill Clinton and others are ill-advised. We can only hope that, when it comes to deciding crime and constitutional issues, Congress will choose to listen to experts, not entertainers.

GORE'S GAFFE

This week, Vice President Al Gore showed that he is either unaware of federal firearm laws, or he is willing to lie in order to further his anti-gun agenda. While speaking before the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Gore stated that anyone between the ages of 18 and 20 "can walk into any gun shop, any pawn shop, any gun show, anywhere in America and buy a handgun." Of course, federal law has prohibited the purchase of a handgun from a Federal Firearms License (FFL) by ANYONE under the age of 21 since 1968. Whether unaware or intentionally lying, Gore's statement is just another reason why the Clinton-Gore Administration should not be trusted with our rights protected by the Second Amendment.

BRITISH FAX "POLL" UNDER SCRUTINY

It seems that U.S. politicians are not the only ones who have been exploiting the tragedy in Littleton, Colo. On April 21, the day after the horrific event at Columbine High, a British company called 21st Century Fax Ltd. began sending a survey to any fax number in America it could find, asking "Would you like to see more effective gun control laws?" Many of you have already received this fax, and have brought it to our attention. For a recipient of this survey to have his vote counted, he would have to fax his reply to a "900" number that, according to fine print at the bottom of the message, would cost $2.95 per minute. A May 5 story in the Washington Post stated that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had both received numerous complaints about these unsolicited messages, spurring an investigation into the practices of the British company to see if they had violated any U.S. laws, especially the Telecommunications Protection Act, which prohibits unsolicited commercial faxes. Gordon Ritchie, director of 21st Century Fax, claimed his company did nothing illegal, as he stated FCC rules "only apply to faxes from the U.S." He said that the survey would eventually be sent to approximately three million faxes in America. While Ritchie claims his poll is scientifically sound, American pollsters disagree, pointing out the fact that it is not a random sample of respondents. Ritchie admitted to being a supporter of gun control, although based on the way the poll's only question was worded, that was relatively apparent. He even went so far as to say that he would end the poll if it became apparent that the result would show Americans did not support more gun control. Thus far, no results have been released.

A LOOK AT THE STATES

DELAWARE: HB 161, which seeks to make it easier for victims of domestic violence to obtain permits to carry a concealed handgun, passed the legislature and is awaiting Gov. Thomas Carper's (D) signature. Contact Governor Carper at (302) 577-3210 and urge him to sign HB 161.

MASSACHUSETTS: On June 22nd, at the Grafton High School from 4 to 8 p.m., the Committee on Public Safety will hold a regional hearing to take testimony concerning the many problems associated with Chapter 180 of the 1998 Massachusetts Gun Control Act. Please attend this hearing and testify before the committee.

NEW YORK: The Senate passed A.2045, the Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program bill. This bill now awaits Governor Pataki's (R) signature. Contact Governor Pataki at 518-474-8390 and urge him to sign A.2945. Additionally, members are encouraged to attend a rally in support of the Second Amendment to be held on Saturday, June 26, at 11 a.m., on the steps of the Niagara Falls City Hall, located at 745 Main Street. For more information, please contact Tom Chandler at 518-861-7058.

OKLAHOMA: SB 601, the NRA-backed package which seeks to make reforms to the Right To Carry permit system while also establishing reckless lawsuit preemption, was signed by Gov. Keating (R) this week.

OREGON: SB 887, which seeks to implement NRA's Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program in the curriculum of Oregon's school children in grades K through 6, is on Gov. John Kitzhaber's (D) desk. However, gun-control advocates are encouraging the governor to veto SB 887 simply because it is an NRA program. Contact Gov. Kitzhaber at 503-378-4582 and urge him to sign SB 887. Tell the Governor that SB 887 does not advocate firearms training or usage, but rather, it is solely about teaching children how to be safe if they come across a firearm in an unsupervised situation.