"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session," Part III

Here are a couple of legislative threats about which I posted previously. Please take a few minutes to urge your members of Congress to oppose these threats to your liberty. Go here to take action against H.R. 1415 and here to take action against H.R. 4411. For more information, read on.

H.R. 1415

Back in July, I linked to the Gun Owners of America action alert on H.R. 1415, which is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.

According to the GOA, H.R. 1415, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) would require states to "make electronically available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination of whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm under [federal law]" [Section 102(c)(1)(A)].

The GOA's action alert further states:

Obviously, this starts with a huge computer network of felonies and misdemeanors -- with the FBI trolling through records of bar fights or domestic disputes to determine if you spanked your kids or yelled at your husband and are therefore disqualified from owning a gun under the Lautenberg amendment. Congress should be repealing the Lautenberg gun ban, not extending it to disable even more people from owning guns.

But the problem goes much broader than that:

* Federal law prohibits illegal aliens from owning guns [18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)]. But, in order to identify illegal aliens, "relevant" records could mean that the FBI would demand state tax returns of ALL American citizens, employment records, or even library records -- all in the name of making sure that you're not an illegal.

* And did you know that veterans who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder have been deemed as mentally "incompetent" and are prohibited from owning guns under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4)? Records of those instances certainly exist; and, in 1999, the Department of Veterans Administration turned over 90,000 names of veterans to the FBI for inclusion into the NICS background check system.

You can read the full text of H.R. 1415 here.

The Gun-Toting Liberal has more on H.R. 1415. So does David Codrea of The War on Guns.

Please contact your U.S. representative today and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 1415. The GOA's Legislative Action Center makes it easy to find your representative's contact information, and provides a sample message. Just go here, then enter your ZIP code to find your members' contact information.

H.R. 4411

Back in July I linked to the Poker Players Alliance action alert on H.R. 4777. Since then a similar bill, H.R. 4411, passed the House of Representatives. H.R. 4411 is currently on the Senate calendar. You can read the full text of H.R. 4411 here.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of H.R. 4411 is that it would force internet service providers to block access to certain websites, thus setting the dangerous precedent for Red Chinese-style internet censorship in America.

Please take a few minutes today to contact your U.S. senators and urge them to vote NO on H.R. 4411. The Poker Players Alliance provides a sample letter and makes it easy to find your senators' contact information.