From: Class3@aol.com Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 19:24:13 -0500 To: chan@shell.portal.com Subject: Fwd: Gramm v. Dole on guns Forwarding the following brief from David Levenstam who is running a grsssroots Gramm net from Iowa City, Iowa where he is an ex-CPA working on a Phd in history. He has been putting out a fair amount of good stuff, although it is clearly pro-Gramm. Don't know if you consider this appropriate for firearms-alert posting, but '96 politics are going to be critical to our rkba and the issue identified here needs to be discussed. Keep up the good work. Michael Hawker, Anchorage, Alaska. --------------------- Forwarded message: Subj: Gramm v. Dole on guns Date: 95-03-19 03:10:41 EST From: AdmrlLocke Dear Friend of Phil Gramm, As you probably know, Phil Gramm has been the our point-man in Washington in the battle to preserve your right to bear arms from assaults by Clinton and his cohort of gun-control-freaks. He fillibustered against both the Brady Bill, and the ban on so-called "assault weapons" and "large-capacity" magazines. To honor his work on our behalf, the NRA featured him on the cover of the current issue of its magazine, AMERICAN RIFLEMAN. The cover shows Gramm with fellow gun-rights activist, Charleston Heston, who has since publicly endorsed Gramm for president, along with NRA's exec v.p. Wayne LaPierre and the Director of NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, Tanya Metaksa, whom you may have seen on Nightline last year. Across the picture of Gramm et al is the caption "Freedom Fighters." The NRA publicity for Gramm has now paid large dividends in Congress. Dole, who despite his liberal media status as "frontrunner" is closely pressed in the GOP presidential race by Gramm, has obviously seen AMERICAN RIFLEMAN and suddenly changed his tune. According to an LA Times News Service report carried in today's Cedar Rapids Gazette , Dole, who not two months ago insisted that there would be no attempt to repeal the "assault rifle" ban, announced in a recent letter to NRA-ILA Director Tanya Metaksa that he would now make repeal a priority! Welcome to the party Mr. Dole--better late than never. Dole's sudden conversion to our side is a huge victory for Gramm. Remember that Gramm fillibustered the "assault rifle" ban twice--one when it was offered as an amendment to Clinton's crime bill , and again when the Criminal Pork Bill itself came up for a vote. Dole refused to use his power as Senator Minority Leader to rally Republicans behind Gramm's fillibusters, ensuring that the Democrats would kill both fillibusters and get the ban passed. So while it's a victory for us that Dole is now favoring repeal of the ban, we must keep in mind that if Dole has used his power to defend your right to bear arms in the first place, there'd be no ban to repeal now. President Gramm by contrast won't need any prodding to use all of his powers to defend your constitutionally-protected, God-given natural right to keep and bear arms Sincerely, David