In April, the Senate rejected the gun control agenda being pushed by President Obama and a host of anti-gun legislators. After the combined effort of the White House and anti-gun groups failed to pass a single anti-gun proposal—especially the proposal to criminalize certain private firearm transfers offered by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one political commentator called the Senate votes the “biggest loss” of Obama’s presidency.
Almost immediately, our opponents began to attack some of the senators who supported our Second Amendment freedoms by voting “no” on anti-gun provisions. Anti-gun New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, organized protests at pro-gun senators’ local offices. And in an effort to pressure senators to change their votes, Bloomberg unveiled a $12 million ad campaign in 13 states targeting some of these same legislators.
This means the threat is far from over. In addition to the Bloomberg campaign, Vice President Joe Biden has continued to push for gun restrictions, claiming in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine that there has been a “seminal shift in the American public” toward gun control, and writing in a May op-ed, “In the end, I believe we will prevail.” In late April, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., stated on the floor of the Senate that it was, “only a matter of time before we bring this anti-gun violence measure back to the floor for a vote.”
It is important that senators targeted by gun control advocates, along with all of the senators who stood on the side of freedom, immediately hear from you. Please contact them right away, thank them for rejecting the anti-gunners’ agenda, and ask them not to waver if they are asked to vote again.
Additionally, contact those senators who voted in favor of restricting our gun rights, tell them they were wrong to do so, and that their actions will be remembered when they come up for re-election.
For the roll call vote on the Manchin-Toomey-Schumer Amendment and instructions on how you can contact your lawmakers, please visit www.nraila.org/writeyourreps.