GOA: How the Recent Debt Ceiling Law Affects Gun Owners

Friday, 05 August 2011 11:26

Well, the hot debate which dominated the nation for several weeks has finally simmered down. The debt ceiling deal is now law, and both sides of the political aisle are arguing over who won and who lost.

But one thing you won’t hear about -- in fact, we may not fully know the answer for several months -- is how much gun owners lost in this recent deal.

To quote Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from earlier this week:

The Super Committee [created by the new law] limits the constitutional check of the filibuster by expediting passage of bills with a simple majority. The Super Committee is not precluded from any issue [including gun control], therefore the filibuster could be rendered moot.

Get that? The law raising the debt ceiling creates a Super Committee (in other words, a Super Congress) which will give its recommendations for balancing the budget. This Super Congress can include ANYTHING in its legislation, including gun control.

And none of it can be filibustered or amended!!

Well, you might think, the Super Congress’ recommendations still have to be voted on by each house of Congress. Surely, we can find enough congressmen to shoot down any anti-gun recommendations.

Maybe, maybe not ... because here’s the problem. Whatever this super-committee reports in November, including gun control, will HAVE to be passed -- or the Pentagon loses a total of $800 billion (effectively shutting it down).

How many pro-gun congressmen will feel they have to “hold their noses” and vote for the Super Congress’ legislation to prevent a total of $800 billion from being cut from the Department of Defense?

The key will be who gets appointed to this Super Committee. Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi will pick six members -- as will House Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell, for a total of 12 members.

But if the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats can cower a single Republican into going along with their radical agenda -– using the threat of a massive defense cut totaling hundreds of billions of dollars -– then we could be stuck with additional gun control.

We already know that the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats are going to vote in lockstep. What if the only Republican vote they need is a RINO like John McCain or Lamar Alexander?

The question answers itself.

By the way, this debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.

Please check and see how your Representative and Senators voted, and make a point to speak to them during the summer recess.

ACTION: Your representative and senators will be holding town hall meetings in August. Attend them. Speak at them.

Tell your representative and senators, politely but firmly, that you are disgusted by Congress’ debt limit “compromise.”

TALKING POINTS:

1. There is NOTHING in the debt ceiling deal which prevents the Super Committee from including other issues like gun control in its legislation. (The Super Committee has virtually unlimited authority under subparagraph 401(b)(3)(A)(i).)

2. Whatever the Super Committee puts in the bill is unamendable and non-filibusterable. In other words, the House and Senate must conduct an up-or-down vote on the Super Committee’s legislation.

3. You have put a gun to the head of every congressman by forcing them to choose between devastating Defense Department cuts ($800 billion in total) or blindly adopting the Super Committee’s legislation, which could include gun control, tax increases, etc.

4. This debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.

5. IF YOUR REP. OR SENATOR VOTED “YES” ON THE DEBT CEILING, THEN ASK HIM THIS: Considering the fact that two-thirds of the American people support a “cut, cap and balance” approach, why would you vote for a debt ceiling bill that could, ultimately, strap me with additional gun control proposals?

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