goamail@gunowners.org Pressure Levels Rising on "Clinton & Wesson" -- GOA working with Rep. Hostettler to defang S&W agreement Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org
"We've had an excellent relationship with Smith & Wesson for 40 years. But the bottom line is this agreement will force dealers to discontinue the sale of Smith & Wesson handguns, plain and simple." -- Bill Carter, owner of a hunting and firearms chain and one of the nation's largest S&W dealers.
(Friday, March 24, 2000) -- The pressure is rising on Smith & Wesson. Earlier this week, Gun Owners of America called for a boycott of Smith & Wesson products, citing S&W's gun control agreement with the White House as dangerous to the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. The terms of that agreement not only apply to the company itself, but would also impose gun control restrictions on private gun buyers and massive red tape on gun dealers that carry S&W products.
The tension has continued to mount this week. The White House has tried to pressure other gun manufacturers to join the agreement, but so far, the other gun giants aren't jumping on board. Browning, Bryco, Glock, and Taurus all announced this week they would NOT join the Clinton & Wesson sell-out. No doubt, these gun giants are taking notice of the tremendous discontent that exists in the gun community. [Gun owners should THANK these companies for standing firm.]
The number of businesses, dealers and distributors joining the boycott also continues to grow. For example, RSR Wholesale has indicated that it will stop doing business with Smith & Wesson. This would be a devastating blow to S&W, as RSR reportedly accounts for about 25 percent of Smith & Wesson sales.
Many of you have contacted S&W to express your displeasure and to notify them you will no longer be buying their products (sample letter). Their public answer has been simply that they had no choice. Well, one could, perhaps, forgive them for being pressured into making a "deal with the devil" if the deal ONLY affected them. However, their deal does NOT just affect them; it also drags others into the fiery pit of gun control hell. (See the Tuesday, May 21 alert, "GOA Announces Boycott of Clinton & Wesson.")
[In fact, GOA's alert from earlier this week only scratched the surface. Gun owners are encouraged to go to http://www.nssf.org/Agreement.PDF or http://nd.rifleshooting.com/Agreement.pdf and read the agreement.]
GOA working Capitol Hill to stop enforcement of this agreement. On the good news side, GOA has found that pro-gun Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN) is committed to stopping this sell-out in its tracks. Hostettler, who already has a bill to end the anti-gun lawsuits against the gun industry, wants the budget to contain a provision defunding the Oversight Commission which is established in the Clinton & Wesson agreement. [The Oversight Commission has the force of law to make sure the gun control restrictions agreed to by S&W are being followed by anyone who does business with the company.]
ACTION ITEMS FOR ALL GUN OWNERS: It is very important for activists to contact House Speaker Denny Hastert (R-IL). If he agrees to defund the administration's enforcement of the S&W agreement, then it is very possible that an effectual "repeal" of this sell-out agreement will become law. Hastert can make or break our efforts.
Thus, gun owners should call Speaker Hastert's office and ask him to do everything in his power to make sure this "deal with the devil" can never be enforced by the administration. Ask him to ensure a "no funding" provision is included in the budget. You can reach Rep. Hastert's office with the following numbers:
* Capitol Hill switchboard phone: 888-449-3511 (toll-free) * Hastert's direct dial phone: 202-225-2976 * Hastert's fax: 202-225-0697
OTHER IMPORTANT ACTION ITEMS: There are two important subcommittees that Rep. Hostettler will be targeting in his efforts to defund the Clinton & Wesson agreement. They are the Treasury and HUD appropriation subcommittees.
The best contacts for each committee are Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), who is the Treasury subcommittee head that supervises funding for the BATF, and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) who sits on the HUD appropriations subcommittee.
ARIZONA GUN OWNERS: Please call Rep. Kolbe's office and ask him to include language in the Treasury budget providing that no funds will go towards enforcing the Clinton & Wesson agreement.
* Capitol Hill switchboard phone: 888-449-3511 (toll-free) * Kolbe's direct dial phone: 202-225-2542 * Kolbe's fax: 202-225-0378
TEXAS GUN OWNERS: Please call House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX). As the third most powerful Representative in the House and, as one of the Reps. who sits on the HUD Appropriation subcommittee, DeLay can be instrumental in getting a "no funds" provision inserted in the HUD budget. Please ask him to do everything in his power to ensure that the HUD budget contains no funds for enforcing the Clinton & Wesson agreement.
* Capitol Hill switchboard phone: 888-449-3511 (toll-free) * DeLay's direct dial phone: 202-225-5951 * DeLay's fax: 202-225-5241
INTERNET NOTE: A completely false rumor is currently circulating on the Internet. Supposedly, a talk radio host was in contact with executives at Smith and Wesson, and was told the manufacturer contacted GOA to ask for help in defending against the lawsuits. The rumor goes on to make the ludicrous charge that GOA advised S&W to cut a deal with the feds! Just for the record, Smith and Wesson has not contacted GOA. Nor would we ever suggest that anyone cut deals with Bill Clinton -- compromise and capitulation are losing strategies. The legal arm of GOA, Gun Owners Foundation, is prepared to aid to the best of its ability those manufacturers who stand firm and fight from a no-compromise position.
Multiple-Recipients-rkba-alert@nra.org NRA-ILA FAX ALERT Vol. 7, No. 12 3/24/00
To his shock and surprise, Secretary of HUD Andrew Cuomo has been unable to coerce any other firearms company to collaborate with him and British-owned Smith & Wesson (see Special FAX Alert 3/20/00), as they work to destroy the Second Amendment. Other gun makers have stated they are unwilling to give away our Right to Keep and Bear Arms in negotiations with the most anti-gun administration ever to occupy the White House. And the outcry of "Betrayal!" has echoed across the country, resonating loudest within the gun stores. These are the same gun stores S&W must be praying will agree to the draconian standards it has set for "authorized" distributors or dealers of its firearms. The majority of gun distributers and dealers who have contacted NRA indicate they will simply drop S&W products. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported today that Braverman Arms, Pat's Sporting Goods, and Ace Sporting Goods, the largest dealers in the Pittsburgh area, confirm they'll discontinue carrying S&W products. Braverman Arms has even taken to tying black ribbons on the barrels of S&W guns currently in stock to show its dissatisfaction with the decision by the gun maker. You can continue to contact S&W to voice your concerns regarding its actions at:
Smith & Wesson C/O Ed Shultz, CEO & President 2100 Roosevelt Ave. Springfield, MA 01102 Phone(413) 781-8300 Fax: (413) 731-8980 website: http://www.smith-wesson.com e-mail: qa@smith-wesson.com or ceo@smith-wesson-com
Gun owners may wish to contact those companies that have stated publicly that they will not sign on to a S&W-type agreement and thank them and encourage them to stand firm:
Beretta website: www.beretta.com Browning One Browning Place Morgan, UT 84050 Phone:(801) 876-2711 Fax: (801) 876-3331 website: www.browning.com Bushmaster Firearms Quality Parts Co. website: www.bushmaster.com Glock, Inc. 6000 Highlands Parkway Smyrna, GA 30082 Phone:(770) 432-1202 Fax: (770) 433-8719 Sturm, Ruger & Co. website: www.ruger-firearms.comTaurus Firearms, Inc. 16175 N.W. 49th Ave. Miami, FL 33014 Phone: (305) 624-1115 Fax: (305) 623-7506. website: www.taurususa.com
Other companies deserving our support are Bryco, RSR, and MidwayUSA. They have all spoken out against the deal and will not sign on. MidwayUSA and RSR Wholesale dropping S&W products from its line of merchandise.
Here are lists of other companies deserving of our support:
Natchez Shooter's Supply is running a 'round-up' of their own (similar to MidwayUSA, Sinclair International, and others). They are asking customers to 'round up' the $ amount of their order for the NRA Foundation - specifically to the Youth Education Endowment. Please give them ALL your support.
There has been some concern among members of the pro-gun community over S.
2099, an anti-gun bill introduced by anti-gun U.S. Senator Jack Reed
(D-R.I.). The bill seeks to amend the National Firearms Act (NFA) to treat
handguns like fully automatic firearms, requiring they be registered, and
adding $50 tax to any handgun transfer. While NRA opposes this
legislation, there is no real threat of it passing at this time. Please
continue to focus your energy on addressing more serious concerns, like
the debate over juvenile justice legislation.
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Last updated : 04 April 2000