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Senate Passes Smith/Burns Amendment
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed S. 1447, the "Aviation Security
Act," on a rare 100 - 0 vote. Included in the package was the
NRA-supported amendment offered by U.S. Senators Bob Smith (R-N.H.) and
Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) to allow properly trained
commercial pilots, co-pilots, and flight engineers to carry
firearms aboard commercial airplanes.
While anti-gun lobbyists
opposed this proposal with near unanimity, even the most
staunchly anti-gun Senators abandoned them. U.S. Senator Barbara
Boxer (D-Calif.), one of the most shrill anti-gun lawmakers on
Capitol Hill, came out in full support of arming pilots, stating,
"I think we need to do everything we can to prevent more
hijackings from occurring."
S. 1447 will next be considered in
the U.S. House, so be sure to call your U.S. Representative at
(202) 225-3121 and urge him to support the Smith/Burns amendment
to the "Aviation Security Act."
In addition, the "National
Defense Authorization Act for FY 2002" still awaits final
consideration. As reported last week, Section 1062 of the bill
passed by the Senate (S. 1438) provides the Secretary of Defense
with the authority to require "demilitarization" of any
"significant military equipment" that has ever been owned by the
DoD. This could lead to the required destruction of any firearm,
firearm barrel, ammunition, or gun powder that was once owned by
the military but is now owned by law-abiding citizens. The
House's version of this bill did not contain the same provision,
so a House-Senate Joint Conference Committee will soon be
established to iron out this and other differences between the
two chambers' versions of this legislation. At this time, we do
not have a final list of conferees, so continue to contact all of
your federal lawmakers and urge them to ensure that Sec. 1062 of
S. 1438 is not included in the final version of the "National
Defense Authorization Act for FY 2002." You can reach your U.S.
Senators at (202) 224-3121, and your U.S. Representative at (202)
225-3121. You can also find contact information by using the
"Write Your Reps" tool at
www.NRAILA.org.
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