So said U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) following the recent House defeat of a package of gun control amendments that he supported, most notably dealing with gun shows. Unfortunately, in the coming days and weeks, the gun grabbers will re-double their efforts to pass more restrictions on our rights, using every parliamentary, backdoor maneuver in their gun control play book. It is therefore critical that we once again prove Rep. Frank correct. From August 7 - September 7, Congress is scheduled to take its August recess. During this time, your Senators and Representatives will be back home in their respective states and districts. Many lawmakers use this time to hold town hall meetings, where they can report on what they've been doing in Washington, and take questions from, and address the concerns of, their constituents. These meetings offer a tremendous opportunity for you to personally voice your opposition to any additional legislation that further erodes our freedoms. Please contact your lawmakers' district offices and ask when they plan to hold their town hall meetings during the August recess. The phone number should be in the blue pages of your phone book. Then, in addition to attending and speaking out against additional gun control proposals, please forward the dates, times, and locations of any town hall meetings to the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division, so we may compile this information and share it with your fellow NRA members and pro-gun supporters. Please forward this information to the Grassroots Division using the contact information listed above, or by sending an E-mail to ila-contact@nrahq.org.

PBS PROMOTES HCI

Conservatives have complained for years that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), funded by U.S. taxpayers, promotes liberal politics through its programming. Certainly, the CPB has promoted the anti-gun agenda through biased news reports. The CPB distributes federal funding to 353 public TV stations through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and 694 public radio stations through National Public Radio (NPR). But this week, during an emergency hearing of the House Commerce Committee's Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, the CPB's president, Robert Coonrod, acknowledged that up to 30 of the 75 largest public television stations traded lists of donors with the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He also claimed that stations exchanged lists with seven little-known Republican groups, although lifelong Republican and U.S. Representative Barbara Cubin (Wyo.) stated she had never heard of any of them. Even more troubling to gun owners, however, is the revelation that lobbying groups like Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), are also involved with this list sharing. Coonrod stated that there would be no punishment for past incidents of what he now admits is wrong, but claimed "is not illegal." Subcommittee Chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), a supporter of public broadcasting, commented that the list-swapping practice "threatens the integrity of public broadcasting" and "further deepens suspicions that many people have had about public broadcasting." Some lawmakers have demanded that federal funding for CPB will be cut if it does not put an end to sharing lists with groups like the DNC, but there does not appear to be a groundswell of opposition to sharing lists with groups that clearly promote a specific political agenda. Please contact your U.S. Representative and urge him to ensure that the practice of sharing of donor lists between public television stations and groups with political agendas, like HCI, is ended. You can reach your U.S. Representative by calling (202)225-3121.

A LOOK AT THE STATES

CALIFORNIA: When the legislature reconvenes on August 16, the state Assembly will be voting on SB 15 (Polanco), a measure that would ban the retail sale of a wide range of new and used handguns. Firearms that either are not tested, fail the tests or -- as in the case of Glocks and certain other handguns -- lack a specific feature, will be deemed "unsafe handguns" by SB 15. SB 15 is one of the greatest threats California gun owners have ever faced, and it is vital that all NRA members call their Assemblyman before they return to Sacramento and ask him to vote "NO" on SB 15. For a complete listing of capitol phone numbers, please contact the NRA-ILA's Grassroots Division.

OREGON: The legislature gave final approval to HB 3049, a bill limiting the ability of cities and counties to file suit against the lawful firearms industry. Governor Kitzhaber (D), who already vetoed SB 887, which would have required Oregon public schools to adopt the Eddie Eagle children's firearms safety program as part of their curriculum, is expected to veto HB 3049 as well. HB 2535, a bill requiring criminal records checks on firearms sales at gun shows and making other changes to state firearms laws, appears dead for the session after failing by one vote in the Senate.