[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 69 (Thursday, April 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5745-S5747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LETTER FROM THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, earlier today my colleague from Arkansas,
Senator Pryor, spoke about a very disturbing letter circulated by the
National Rifle Association [NRA]. I commend him for his remarks. I do
not want to get into a lengthy discussion of this issue, but I urge all
of my colleagues, regardless of where you stand on the issue of gun
control, to read this letter, which was sent out by the NRA under the
signature of Mr. Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president.
I do not know of anyone here, no matter how strongly they feel about
the legitimate issue of what we do about gun control, that would not be
offended by this letter and the language in it.
Again, I am not going to spend a great deal of time here this
morning, but there is language in the letter which talks about:
. . . jack-booted government thugs [given] more power to
take away our Constitutional rights, break in our doors,
seize our guns, destroy our property, and even injure or kill
us;
That is how the letter refers to our Government and the hard-working
members of our Federal law-enforcement agencies. And the letter goes
on, in reference to the Clinton administration:
. . . if you have a badge, you have the Government's go
ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder law-abiding
citizens;
And there is even more:
Waco and the Branch Davidians . . . Not too long ago it was
unthinkable for Federal agents wearing Nazi bucket helmets
and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding
citizens.
Law-abiding citizens? People who shot Federal agents, who burned
their own buildings, and killed their own families and friends? I mean
this is incredible.
And this is not a letter from some fringe organization. It is a
letter from the NRA--a national organization that usually has
credibility. Quite simply, the NRA ought to know better.
Please read this letter. It is five or six pages. And if you are not
as offended as I have been by reading it, I will be surprised.
Someone needs to ask for a retraction of this letter. Put aside the
tragic events in Oklahoma for a moment, I do not want to suggest that
this letter is linked to that terrible tragedy. I do not want to cloud
the issue. But someone needs to apologize for this letter. It goes way
beyond the kind of rhetoric that is appropriate on these issues.
Remember this letter went, apparently, to millions of homes. I have
no problem with people sending out fundraising letters and even using
strong language in those solicitations. But the NRA's letter goes way
beyond the pale. At first, I was so shocked, I thought it might be a
hoax. But apparently it was not. I understand the NRA has confirmed
that it sent the letter.
Again, I urge my colleagues to read the letter and I ask unanimous
consent that this letter be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
National Rifle Association.
Dear Fellow Americans: I've worn out a lot of shoe leather
walking the halls of Congress. I've met key leaders, I've
talked with old allies, I've met with the new Congressmen and
many staff members.
What I'm hearing and seeing concerns me.
Many of our new Congressmen are ignoring America's 80
million gun owners. Some have forgotten what we did to elect
them. Others say our demands to restore our Constitutional
freedoms are ``politically out of line.''
Don't get me wrong, not all of them are like this. Senator
Phil Gramm, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Congressmen Bill
McCollum, Bill Brewster and Harold Volkmer are all coming to
our aid. But too many others are not.
And without a major show of force by America's 80 million
gun owners, America will resume its long march down the road
to gun bans, destruction of the Constitution and loss of
every sacred freedom.
I want you to know I'm not looking for a fight.
But when you consider the facts of our current situation,
you too, will see we have no other choice.
Fact No. 1: The Congress' leading anti-gunners, Senators
Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy and Congressmen Charles Schumer
and Major Owens all survived their last elections.
They've pledged to fight us to the bitter end for Brady II
and its ammo taxes, licensing and registration schemes, gun
rationing, bureaucrats with the power to determine if you
``need'' a gun and yes, the repeal of the Second Amendment.
It doesn't matter to them that the Brady Law is a failure.
It doesn't matter to them that the Brady Law has become one
more tool that government agents are using to deny the
Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens.
It doesn't matter to them that the semi-auto ban gives
jack-booted government thugs more power to take away our
Constitutional rights, break in our doors, seize our guns,
destroy our property, and even injure or kill us.
Schumer, Feinstein, Kennedy, Owens and the rest of the
anti-gunners want more and more gun control.
It can be something small and subtle like a regulation
expanding the disqualification criteria for the Brady Law.
They're fighting for anything that makes it harder for you to
own a gun.
The gun banners simply don't like you. They don't trust
you. They don't want you to own a gun. And they'll stop at
nothing until they've forced you to turn over your guns to
the government.
Fact No. 2: If the anti-gunners fail to achieve their goals
in Congress, they have a fall-back position in Bill Clinton,
the most anti-gun President in American history.
In two short years, Bill Clinton launched two successful
attacks on the Constitution. He signed two gun control bills
into law. He has sworn to veto any repeal of the semi-auto
ban and any restoration of our Constitutional rights.
His Interior and Agriculture Departments have set their
sights on closing hunting lands.
And his Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to
take jurisdiction over existing uses of lead. This, of
course, includes gun ranges and spent shot.
What's more, gun owners aren't the only ones Clinton's EPA
has set its sights on.
[[Page S5746]]
They're after fishermen, too. They want to BAN the use of
small lead fishing sinkers and, of gravest concern, they want
to stop the home casting of these sinkers.
If fishing sinkers are on the Clinton bureaucrat's list,
you know what's next: lead shot, lead bullets, bullet casting
and reloading.
Clinton's State Department is also adding to the attacks on
gun owners and our Constitutional freedoms. In December, he
signed the Summit of the Americas agreements which pledges
that the U.S. Government will push for additional gun
control.
Over in the Justice Department, Clinton's Attorney General
Janet Reno has signaled her intent to ``squash'' the states'
rights movement and deny states their Constitutional power.
And worst of all,
Fact No. 3: President Clinton's army of anti-gun government
agents continues to intimidate and harass law-abiding
citizens.
In Clinton's administration, if you have a badge, you have
the government's go-ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder
law-abiding citizens.
Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge . . . Waco and the Branch
Davidians. . . . Not too long ago, it was unthinkable for
Federal agents wearing nazi bucket helmets and black storm
trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.
Not today, not with Clinton.
Our calls to investigate these outrageous assaults on our
Constitutional freedoms are routinely silenced by the anti-
gun media. But that's no surprise.
Fact No. 4: They've launched a new wave of brainwashing
propaganda aimed at further destroying our Constitutional
freedoms.
CBS, ABC, NBC, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and The New York
Times have launched another round of phony polls and slanted
stories to help the anti-gunners achieve their goals.
Their latest phony poll shows 70% of America support the
``semi-auto'' assault weapon ban.
That's simply not true. When it's explained that ``semi-
autos'' are used in less than a fraction of one percent of
crimes; that the ban only affects the law-abiding; and, that
the ban is only one more way to deny Constitutional rights to
the law-abiding, support for the ban drops to 30%.
But the media still uses this 70% statistic to trumpet the
call for gun control.
What scares me the most about this 70% number is that the
media has brainwashed 70% of Americans into believing that
the government--and not each individual--is responsible for
their personal protection.
Even worse, this 70% number means that there are enough
people who can be brainwashed by the media to vote for a
repeal of the Second Amendment if it were put to a vote.
The media, Clinton, the anti-gunners in Congress . . . this
combination is a powder keg that could blow at any moment and
it's set squarely underneath the Constitution.
And what this means is:
Fact No. 5: Congress must be forced to restore the
Constitution, repeal the gun bans, investigate abuse by
government agents and focus the public debate on criminal
control, not gun control. . .
. . . Or what we're seeing now will only be a momentary
patch of sunshine on the road to doom for the Second
Amendment and our Constitution.
There is hope, though. Despite the current situation, I'm
encouraged by you and your fellow NRA members.
Everywhere I go, to every gun show, every NRA-ILA
grassroots operation, every Friends of NRA Dinner, even in
cabs and airports around the country, I run into NRA members
who understand the stakes and stand ready to fight.
The question I hear from almost every one of these NRA
members is the same: ``What can I do next?''
If you're one of those members, I want to thank you for
your courage, your conviction and your spirit. You keep me
going. You keep me on the road. You give me strength to lead
the battle.
And if you want to join me in taking the next step, I need
you to do these two things today.
First, I need you to sign the enclosed Petitions to the
United states Congress.
These petitions are addressed to the leaders of the U.S.
Congress, Senator Robert Dole and Speaker Newt Gringrich, and
your U.S. Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Alfonse M.
D'Amato and Congresswoman Sue Kelly.
Please be sure to sign all five petitions, then fold them
and place them in the enclosed, postage-paid envelope
addressed to me at NRA Headquarters.
These petitions spell out, in black and white, our agenda
of repeal, reform, investigate and limit government power.
In the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, we are
guaranteed the right to ``petition our Government for a
redress of grievances.''
And that's exactly what we're going to do: redress our
grievances in the biggest and most powerful display of
political clout and commitment to the Constitution.
I want to personally deliver your five petitions, and the
petitions of all 3.5 million of your fellow NRA members--17.5
million petitions in all--to Congress.
And I want to show the leadership in Congress, and your
Senators and Congressmen from New York, that the number one
priority in their Contract With America must be defending and
restoring our Constitutional freedoms.
17.5 million Petitions to Congress is the largest ``redress
of grievances'' since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
were written.
So I KNOW Congress will get the message. And I know they'll
act on our agenda of Repeal, Reform and Investigate if only
you and I speak out.
Your Petitions to Congress also sends another message--a
message not spelled out on the Petitions themselves.
Each Congressman, on the average, will receive 8,000
Petitions from NRA members demanding action. 8,000 messages
from angry voters sounds an alarm in every Congressman's
head.
You see, most Congressional elections were won or lost by
5,000 votes or less. So, they'll realize that failing to
defend the Second Amendment and failing to retake the
Constitutional freedoms lost to the anti-gunners, could
result in big losses at the next election!
That's why it's critical you take a few minutes to sign
your Petitions to Congress and return them to me as soon as
possible.
These petitions are our D-Day.
Armed with these petitions and our First Amendment rights,
we are going to storm Congress, knock our anti-gunner
strongholds and recapture every bit of ground we lost since
Bill Clinton took office.
And if we're successful, these petitions will be the
turning point in the history of the Constitution . . . . A
day when our sacred right to keep and bear arms will be
secure for the next generation of law-abiding Americans.
Second, when you return your signed Petitions to Congress,
I need you to make a special contribution to the NRA of $15,
$20, $25, $35, $50 or the most generous amount you can
afford.
Most Americans don't realize that our freedoms are slowly
slipping away.
They don't understand that politicians and bureaucrats are
chipping away at the American way of life.
They're destroying business, destroying our economy,
destroying property rights, destroying our moral foundation,
destroying our schools, destroying our culture . . .
. . . Destroying our Constitution.
And the attack, either through legislation or regulation,
on the Second Amendment is only the first in a long campaign
to destroy the freedoms at the core of American life.
You can see it in the gun bans, certainly. But you can also
see it in closed ranges, closed hunting lands, confiscated
collectors' firearms, banned magazines and ammunition taxes.
You can see it when jack-booted government thugs, wearing
black, armed to the teeth, break down a door, open fire with
an automatic weapon, and kill or maim law-abiding citizens.
America's gun owners will only be the first to lose their
freedoms.
If we lose the right to keep and bear arms, then the right
to free speech, free practice of religion, and every other
freedom in the Bill of Rights are sure to follow.
I am one American who is not going to sit on the sidelines
and watch this happen.
And if you want to help me stop this destruction of the
Constitution, then I hope you can make that special
contribution of $15, $20, $25, $35 or $50 to the NRA today.
With your special contribution, I'll have the financial
ammo I need to keep Congress focused on the mission we've
assigned them.
First, with your help, I will expand our petition campaign
to involve as many of America's 80 million gun owners as
possible.
If we can double the number of Petitions flooding Congress,
we'll double the speed Congress deals with our demands to
Repeal, Reform and Investigate. And with double the show of
clout, we'll wipe out anti-gunner opposition.
Second, with your special contribution, I can increase the
NRA's public exposure on talk shows, at rallies and shows, in
radio and T.V. advertising and through broadcasts like the
NRA's Town Meeting that first sounded our alarm in 16 million
households, last summer.
Part of our problem is that far too few Americans
understand what's at stake in these battles.
My ultimate goal is to educate the American people that
this issue is not just about guns, not just about hunting,
not just about personal protection; this issue is about
freedom--Your Freedom.
I want to use the power of T.V. and radio to show the
American people that, if the NRA fails to restore our Second
Amendment freedoms, the attacks will begin on freedom of
religion, freedom of speech, freedom from unreasonable search
and seizure. . . .
. . . And that unless we take action today, the long slide
down the slippery slope will only continue until there's no
freedom left in America at all.
I know you see it. The elbow room you have to hunt, shoot
and live life the way you see fit is slowly disappearing.
And the truth is, NRA members have been hardened by
legislative battles. And only NRA members have the courage,
the conviction to draw the line in the sand.
That's why I'm hoping you can take a few moments to sign
and date the enclosed Petitions and return them to me with
your special contribution of $15, $20, $25, $35, $50 or more
in the enclosed postage-paid envelope
[[Page S5747]] today. Or, you can charge by phone by calling
800-547-4NRA today.
You know, besides going shooting, I love to go to football
games. And every time I go, I always hear my fellow fans talk
about the impact of ``the 12th man.''
The 11 players calling the plays and doing the hitting get
a lot of their motivation from the 12th man in the stands.
I'm talking about the crowd who cheers wildly when our team
is on the offense, and drowns out the signals of the opposing
team when they're on the defense.
I need you to be that 12th man.
I need you to sign your Petitions to Congress and return
them to me today. That simple act will give our allies the
political courage to do what's right, to push ahead with our
agenda of Repeal, Reform and Investigate.
Likewise, your signed Petitions to Congress will confuse
and demoralize the anti-gun team and their agenda of bans,
taxes, intimidation, harassment and destruction of the
Constitution.
I know I've said what I'm about to say before. But this is
a message that resonates with NRA members across the land.
It's something I hope you, too, will say whenever you have
the occasion to defend our Constitutional freedoms.
This, the battle we're fighting today, is a battle to
retake the most precious, most sacred ground on earth. This
is a battle for freedom.
Please tell me you're ready to take the next step by
returning your signed Petitions to Congress and special gift
to me in the enclosed postage-paid envelope today.
Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours in Freedom,
Wayne LaPierre,
Executive Vice President.
P.S.--As a special thank you for making a special
contribution of $25 or more, I'd like to send you a copy of
my national best-selling book, Guns, Crime, and Freedom.
Guns, Crime, and Freedom is 263 pages of truth about guns,
gun control, gun owners, the anti-gun media and what's
happening to our freedoms.
I hope you'll read it and use it in your own personal
campaign in New York to defend the Constitution. Use Guns,
Crime, and Freedom to help you keep the pressure on Congress,
write letters to the editor and teach other Americans about
the battle we're fighting today. Thanks again for your
support and friendship.
Mr. DODD. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
____________________