CONGRESS PREPARES FOR CONFERENCE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE

Gun control will once again be a leading issue in Congress, this time as the House and Senate work to iron out the differences between the two versions of juvenile justice reform legislation they passed earlier this year.

      While the Senate's version contained numerous firearm-related provisions, including the Lautenberg gun show amendment (see FAX Alert Vol. 6 No. 19), the House's version was stripped of all gun-control language (see FAX Alert Vol. 6 No. 23). In order to resolve the differences, S. 254 and H.R. 1501 will be referred to a conference committee made up of representatives from the Senate and House.

Sen. Bob Smith (I-NH)

      Senator Bob Smith (I-N.H.), one of the strongest allies gun owners have, attempted to filibuster the process for selecting Senate conferees. He had hoped to derail the selection process until it was assured that the conference committee would not consider any gun control provisions passed by the Senate, since the House excluded such language. His effort fell short, however, when the Senate voted 77-22 to end the filibuster.

      The Senate then chose its representatives for the conference committee, selecting pro- gun Senators

• Orrin Hatch (R-Utah),
• Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and
• Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.),

and anti-gun Senators Ted Kennedy (D- Mass.) and Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), among others.

      The House will select its committee members today. We anticipate full debate on this issue will not take place until after the August recess, which is slated to run from Aug. 7 until Sept. 7. It is critical that you call the committee members and urge them to ensure that no gun control language is included in the final conference committee's legislation. You can call Senators at (202)224-3121, and Representatives at (202)225-3121. For information on the House committee members, please call NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800)392-8683.

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This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.

This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org