On Thursday, the U.S. House passed the 2001 Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations bill containing an important amendment by pro-gun U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode (Ind.-Va.). Goode's amendment (see FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 28) would prohibit the Treasury, Postal Service, and other agencies from granting or withholding firearms contracts on the basis of gun makers' agreement to arbitrary "codes of conduct" relating to their operating or design practices in importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms or ammunition -- such as the coerced agreement signed recently by Smith & Wesson (S&W).
On Tuesday, there was an effort to remove Goode's amendment in the House Committee on Appropriations by anti-gun extremist U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), but she was defeated on a voice vote, with opposition to Lowey's effort coming from both sides of the aisle. U.S. Reps. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and David Obey (D-Wis.) both deserve a great deal of thanks for speaking out against the New York lawmaker, and even Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), normally a foe of the pro-gun community, opposed Lowey.
The U.S. Senate also has been considering the Treasury/Postal Appropriations legislation, and, thanks to the efforts of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), language similar to the Goode amendment was included during subcommittee markup of the Senate's version of the legislation. Sen. Shelby, along with Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) deserve credit for thwarting the attempt by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to strip the language that would prohibit establishing politically-motivated purchase preferences for government firearms contracts.
As with the Goode amendment, the Senate language does not refer specifically to the Smith & Wesson Sellout (see Special FAX Alert 3/20/00), but it was clearly inspired by the concern that the Clinton-Gore Administration would fulfill its threat to impose purchase preferences on the Department of Treasury, Postal Service, and all other agencies covered by this bill's jurisdiction.
As mentioned last week, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo has already proposed such purchase preferences for federal law enforcement agencies, and his proposal would encourage or require the federal government to give highly preferential procurement treatment to firearms manufacturers, like S&W, who sign coerced agreements restricting their otherwise legitimate activities. Sen. Shelby also stood fast during Senate Appropriations Committee debate on the legislation, where he derailed attempts by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) to strip the purchase preference prohibition language. The next stage will be the floor of the U.S. Senate, where we can expect anti-gun extremists such as Feinstein and Lautenberg to continue their efforts to reward S&W's craven attack on the Second Amendment. Call your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose any attempts to strip language prohibiting purchase preferences for government contracts on firearms from the 2001 Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations bill. You can contact your Senators by calling (202) 224-3121, or by using the "Write Your Reps" feature on NRAILA.org.
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