NRA Files Suit Against
Sham Campaign Finance "Reform"
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"...We are proud to be the first plaintiff
to formally ask the federal court to invalidate these new limits on the
political speech of ordinary citizens..." |
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NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre
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Hours after campaign finance "reform" - officially known as the
"Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act" (BCRA) - was signed into law on
Wednesday, NRA made good on its promise to launch a legal challenge to
this attack on the First Amendment.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne
LaPierre and NRA-ILA Executive Director James Jay Baker issued a joint
statement announcing the filing of the NRA suit, stating, "When the
federal courthouse opened for business today, NRA was there - we have
filed suit to invalidate this unconstitutional infringement on the First
Amendment rights of the NRA and our four million members nationwide."
The statement went on to say, "We are proud to be the first plaintiff
to formally ask the federal court to invalidate these new limits on the
political speech of ordinary citizens because we believe that this law
cannot be allowed to stand-not even for a moment. Sen. Paul Wellstone
(D-Minn.) said on the floor of the United States Senate during the
campaign finance debate that it was his intention to silence the NRA.
As a direct and intentional target of this law, NRA has no choice but to
protect our right to be heard."
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"...As a direct and intentional target of this law, NRA has no choice but to
protect our right to be heard..." |
"Through this law," the statement continued, "Congress has essentially
granted speech licenses to giant corporate conglomerates such as Viacom,
Disney Corporation and General Electric Company by allowing those
corporations unlimited rights to spend money talking about issues and
candidates, while silencing the voices of ordinary citizens and citizens
groups such as NRA. Why should corporations such as these media
conglomerates, all of which own multiple non-news business enterprises
and spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress-why should those
corporations be allowed to spend whatever they wish, whenever they wish,
saying whatever they wish regarding any issue or candidate-when a
non-profit citizens organizations such as ours is prohibited from even
responding via the broadcast media?"
For a complete copy of Wednesday`s joint statement from LaPierre and
Baker, those on the Internet can go to www.NRAILA.org.
Also of interest is one of the attorneys who has been selected to
defend this legislative attack on the First Amendment. Former U.S.
Solicitor General Seth Waxman will be an integral part of the legal team
chosen by Congressional proponents of the BCRA to defend the new law.
Waxman, you will recall, was the Solicitor General under Bill Clinton
who wrote the now infamous letter that confirmed the Clinton-Gore
Administration`s belief that law-abiding citizens have "no personal
constitutional right, under the Second Amendment, to own or to use a
gun." Perhaps his argument will now be that law-abiding citizens and
the organizations that represent them have no personal constitutional
right, under the First Amendment, to exercise political free speech!
The overturn of campaign finance "reform" provisions that restrict our
rights will continue to remain a top priority for NRA, and we will
report further developments on this front.
Related Stories...
More About Federal Issues
House Abandons Free Speech (Feb. 2002)
Campaign Finance Set For Debate (Feb. 2002)
Campaign Finance "Reform" Looms as Threat to Free Speech (Feb. 2002)
Campaign Finance "Reform" Redux (Jan. 2002)
U.S. Senate Turns it's Back on the First Amendment (Apr. 2001)
Debate Over Campaign Finance "Reform" Heats Up (Mar. 2001)
Campaign Finance Reform Alive Again (Sep. 1999)
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