🚀 go-pugleaf

Melissa <melissa@nospam.com> wrote in message news:<Xns9598C3A94D2A4melissanospamcom@206.124.0.13>...
> The socialists were saying that RKBA wouldn't be a factor this year. ( 
> wishful thinking! ) Boy were THEY wrong!
> 
> Subject:        	2004 Election Report
> To:             	<melissa@dimensional.com>
> From:           	Gun Owners of America 
> <Gun_Owners_of_America@capwiz.mailmanager.net>
> Date sent:      	Fri,  5 Nov 2004 16:41:25 -0500 (EST)
> 
> 2004 Election Report
> 
> Guns a major factor in races all across the nation
> 
> Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
> 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
> Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
> http://www.gunowners.org
> 
> November 5, 2004
> 
> 
> The 2004 election might be remembered as "The Year of the Gun 
> Owner."
> 
> Presidential candidate John Kerry, a liberal anti-gun Senator from
> Massachusetts, tried to morph himself into 'The Hunter.'  Rarely a
> day passed during the latter part of the campaign without Kerry
> posing with a firearm and speaking about his strong support of the
> Second Amendment, in complete contradiction to his 20-year anti-gun
> voting record.
> 
> Kerry was not alone.  All across the country, anti-gun politicians
> tried to hide behind gun-friendly photo ops and empty rhetoric about 
> how much they support gun rights.
> 
> Gun Owners of America, through its candidate rating program and
> political action committee, was able to expose much anti-gun
> duplicity this year, and the results were extremely heartening.
> 
> Of course, the obstructionist anti-gun Senate Minority Leader, Tom
> Daschle, is finally deposed.  Replacing him is former Representative
> John Thune, a strong pro-gun ally supported by Gun Owners of America --
> Political Victory Fund (GOA-PVF).
> 
> But while ousting Daschle was certainly one of the most crucial races
> this year, there were six open Senate seats that anti-gunners had their
> sights set on.  GOA-PVF played an important role in thwarting that plan
> and helping to elect strong pro-gun advocates to five of the six open
> seats.
> 
> Louisiana: Anti-gun to Pro-gun
> 
> In Louisiana, pro-gun Rep. David Vitter shocked pundits by winning
> this senate race outright.  In that state, all candidates, regardless 
> of party, are placed on the November ballot.  If no candidate were to 
> break the 50% mark, the top two vote getters would head into a December 
> runoff election.
> 
> Both major candidates, Vitter and Rep. Chris John (D), claimed to be
> pro-gun.  Rep. John, though, had voted against arming commercial 
> airline pilots and for the unconstitutional campaign finance reform 
> law, earning him a "C" grade by GOA as opposed to David Vitter's solid 
> "A" rating.
> 
> GOA-PVF was the ONLY national gun rights group to jump into the race,
> contacting thousands of Second Amendment supporters highlighting the
> differences between the candidates.  At the end of the night, Vitter 
> had 51% of the vote and is now the Senator-elect.  He replaces retiring
> anti-gun "F" rated Senator John Breaux (D).
> 
> Oklahoma: Moderately Pro-gun to Very Pro-gun
> 
> One of the most exciting races of Election Day was the one to replace
> retiring Senator Don Nickles (R).  Running were former Representative
> Dr. Tom Coburn and current Rep. Brad Carson.
> 
> Guns were a blazing issue right up to the end.
> 
> On Friday before the election, GOA got a call from Sen. Jim Inhofe, the
> senior senator from Okalahoma.  He was in a campaign bus somewhere in
> the state, and he was upset.  Coburn's opponent had sent out a large
> postcard claiming that he was the real pro-Second Amendment candidate 
> in the  race.  In addition, the mailing alleged the Coburn was not 
> really pro-gun.
> 
> GOA immediately faxed the campaign a letter labeling the hit piece a
> deception and reiterating our endorsement of Coburn, who was a solid 
> "A" with us (his opponent was a "B").  Moreover, Coburn's leadership 
> and integrity would have made him the pick even if their voting records 
> had been  identical.
> 
> GOA-PVF was the ONLY national gun rights group to make an endorsement 
> in this race, helping Dr. Coburn to victory with 53% of the vote.
> 
> And this in the face of being outspent nearly two to one in a state 
> with a  Democrat registration advantage of two to one.  The Republican
> establishment did not support Coburn, who is known as a "Dr. No" who
> opposes their pork projects.
> 
> Pro-gun Candidates Win Open Senate Seats in the Southeast
> 
> Other races where GOA-PVF played a role were equally significant:
> 
> * The Senate seat in North Carolina was that of vice-presidential
> nominee John Edwards, a trial lawyer who earlier this year took a
> rare break from the campaign to come to Washington to help sink a
> bill designed to protect gun makers from frivolous lawsuits.  Running 
> to fill this seat were pro-gun U.S. House member Richard Burr and 
> former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, Erskine Bowles. GOA-
> PVF supported Rep. Burr, who won with 52% of the vote.
> 
> * In South Carolina, pro-gun House member Jim DeMint faced off
> against Inez Tenenbaum, State Superintendent of Education.  Tenenbaum
> had the advantage of having won statewide office in 1998 and 2002, 
> while Rep. DeMint was widely unknown outside of his congressional 
> district.  Rep. DeMint is a man of principle who clearly articulated 
> his positions and stood by them.  Tenenbaum, on the other hand, refused 
> to make her Second Amendment positions known.  Rep. DeMint, endorsed 
> and supported by GOA-PVF, won with 54% of the vote.
> 
> * In the Sunshine State, a former cabinet member for President George 
> W. Bush, Mel Martinez, faced a formidable foe in anti-gun former state
> senator and Florida Commissioner of Education, Betty Castor. Martinez,
> though a trial lawyer himself, is an outspoken opponent of the 
> frivolous lawsuits brought by many cities and states against the gun 
> industry. Martinez, who replaces retiring anti-gun Sen. Bob Graham, 
> narrowly won this race with 50% of the vote.
> 
> Huge Victory in Colorado
> 
> All together, GOA-PVF helped 14 pro-gun challengers get elected in
> the House and Senate.  GOA's general policy is to restrict our
> support to challengers, since incumbents have obvious advantages in
> raising money and name ID.
> 
> This is why GOA's Executive Director put out a PERSONAL appeal for
> incumbent Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), who was combating a million
> dollar TV campaign that attacked her incessantly.  Happily, Musgrave 
> was able to raise $3 million, and she won her race with 51% of the 
> vote.
> 
> Musgrave has been a leader on a whole host of conservative issues,
> including gun rights.  She was the founder of the Second Amendment
> Caucus in Congress and has sponsored and cosponsored numerous pro-gun
> bills.
> 
> People in Musgrave's district have certainly appreciated her
> willingness to fight the Republican establishment in the nation's
> capital, just as she fought it in Denver as a state legislator.
> 
> GOA-PVF was involved in other House and Senate races.  To get the
> full report, become a GOA member at www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm --
> this will start your subscription to The Gun Owners newsletter, which
> will keep you up-to-date on what's happening with your gun rights.
> 
> The Road Ahead
> 
> There is no question that gun owners made significant gains in the
> 2004 elections.  There is the question, however, of what will be done
> with these gains.
> 
> The ultimate objective is not merely to elect good people; we must
> also work to restore lost ground.  Consider just a few examples of
> gun rights we have lost over the past few decades:
> 
> * The 1968 Gun Control Act instituted, among other things, the
> blatantly unconstitutional "sporting purposes" test, which 
> stipulates that imported firearms must be "particularly suitable for or 
> readily adaptable to sporting purposes."
> 
> * Since 1976, the District of Columbia has been under a near total
> gun ban.  The House voted this year to repeal the ban, but it died in
> the Senate.
> 
> * In 1986, the Congress banned the manufacture of machine guns for
> non-military and law enforcement.  Anti-gunners use the argument the
> authors of the Constitution never envisioned full autos when they wrote
> the Second Amendment.  Well, they probably never thought about radio,
> television and the Internet, either.  Yet, no one would argue the First
> Amendment does not protect these.
> 
> * In 1993, the Congress passed the Brady background registration
> check.  Now, citizens must go to the FBI to get permission to buy a
> firearm.  This is nothing less than turning our Second Amendment 
> "right" into a mere "privilege."  Supporters of the law try to make it 
> more palatable by pointing out that it is "instant" and hardly an
> inconvenience, as if expediency makes losing liberty acceptable.
> 
> * In 1996, the Congress passed the gun free zones law (prohibiting
> firearms within 1,000 feet of any school property) and the
> misdemeanor gun ban (lifetime gun ban for certain misdemeanor
> convictions).
> 
> These are just some of the unconstitutional laws GOA would like to
> repeal.  GOA will also continue push for implementation of the armed
> pilots program and to pass a lawsuit protection bill for the firearms
> industry.
> 
> It is an ambitious agenda.  How far we are able to move the ball in our
> direction, however, depends entirely on the GOA membership.  Many gun
> owners mistakenly believe the battle is won in the election. That is
> only half the battle.  The harder work still lies before us.
> 
> Gun owners must stay engaged in the battle by calling, writing, and
> e-mailing elected officials, urging them to roll back unconstitutional
> gun laws.  And we need you to stand with us.
> 
> Renew your GOA membership today at www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm --
> and work together with the organization that Rep. Ron Paul calls the
> "only no compromise gun lobby in Washington."
> 
> 
> ****************************
> Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
> bounce back as undeliverable.
> 
> To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
> http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
> address may also be made at that location.
> 
> To unsubscribe send a message to
> gunowners_list@capwiz.mailmanager.net with the word unsubscribe in
> the subject line or use the url below.
> 
> Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
> goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that
> address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
> week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.
> 
> 
> ---
> You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by visiting
> http://capwiz.com/gunowners/lmx/u/?jobid=46921941.
> 
> 
> ------- End of forwarded message -------
> 
> 
> Yours In Liberty,  Melissa  - Colorado, U.S.A.
> http://melissasliberty.blogspot.com/
> 
> The last best hope for liberty, to give the world its first Bill of 
> Rights:  http://www.UPAlliance.org/billofrights.htm

Kerry's goose hunting caper had the nation laughing. 

Paul