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Republicans are Trying to Block the “No Gun Registration” Amendment
Please call Minority Leader McConnell today

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has been doing a yeoman’s job of trying to rein in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and protecting the privacy of gun owners.

But now, according to senate insiders, the Republican leadership is trying to undermine these efforts by urging fellow Republicans to oppose Paul’s “no gun registration” amendment.

Paul’s amendment would exempt gun records – including 4473’s (the form all purchasers fill out when they buy a firearm from a licensed dealer) — from the blanket information demands which the ATF can make under the 9/11 legislation.

We have known for weeks that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would oppose Rand Paul. But now, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is also helping “Dirty Harry” Reid by encouraging other Senate Republicans to oppose the Paul language.

All gun owners need to take action right now. Time is short, as the PATRIOT Act extension will become a done deal sometime tomorrow (Friday).

So please use the Talking Points below TO CALL Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today! Ask him to support the Paul amendment and to urge other Republicans to do the same.

Even if you live in Kentucky, please make sure you call the Senator’s office, because time is short.

CONTACT INFORMATION for Mitch McConnell:

Direct office number: 202-224-2541

Toll-free switchboard number (you must ask for McConnell’s office): 1-877-762-8762

Email: The Senator does NOT accept emails from out of state

TALKING POINTS FOR SENATOR McCONNELL

1. Please urge Senator McConnell to support the Paul “no gun registration” amendment and to use his leadership position to urge other Republicans to do the same.

2. Without the Paul “no gun registration” amendment, it is possible that the ATF could go to a secret (FISA) court and demand every 4473 in the country, ostensibly because a “terrorism investigation” requires it. If such an action were taken, the government would have a list of every gun buyer in the country going back decades.

3. If Senator McConnell allows Harry Reid to successfully shut out gun amendments, then gun owners will hold him (McConnell) personally responsible for enabling the Majority Leader. And if the Democrats retain the control of the Senate in 2012, the Republicans will only have themselves to blame.

4. ANSWERS TO POSSIBLE OBJECTION. Senators have been trying to tell Senator Paul (and Senator McConnell will probably tell you) that the PATRIOT Act does not allow the ATF to get every 4473 in the country. Well, there are two answers to this:

a. First, if the PATRIOT Act does not, in fact, allow the ATF to go on fishing expeditions, then what is the harm in passing the Paul amendment? Why not just pass the Paul provision so that we can have an extra ounce of prevention specifically prohibiting the ATF from using the PATRIOT Act to fish for people’s gun sale records.

b. Second, the very language that some Senators are claiming will protect us is the very language that the ATF is currently violating! Senators like McConnell want us to think that the 1986 McClure-Volkmer law (which outlaws gun owner registration) is good enough to protect us from fishing expeditions under the PATRIOT Act.

But as any law school student and judge in the country knows, more recent laws (like the PATRIOT Act) ALWAYS TRUMP older laws (like the 1986 Act which prohibits gun owner registration). If there is a conflict, the more recent law governs. Hence, it’s not surprising that we are currently witnessing the ATF violate the 1986 McClure-Volkmer law, as the agency recently issued new proposed rules to require registration of those persons who purchase multiple semi-autos — and all of this in the name of fighting gun smuggling in the Southwest.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries Launch Effort to Improve Implementation of the Endangered Species Act

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Service have launched a joint effort to identify and implement administrative changes to the Endangered Species Act aimed at accelerating recovery of imperiled species, enhancing on-the-ground conservation delivery, and better engaging the resources and expertise of partners to meet the goals of the ESA.

“The Endangered Species Act has made a tremendous contribution to the conservation of imperiled animals and plants, preventing the probable extinction of hundreds of species across the nation and contributing to the recovery of the Bald Eagle, the Peregrine Falcon and many other iconic species,” Secretary Salazar said. “While we celebrate its successes, we recognize there is much that can and should be done to make the Act more effective and efficient. We expect to identify solutions that will help us improve our administration of this landmark conservation law.”

“We need to ensure that our regulations and policies effectively address the conservation challenges of today,” said the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Acting Director, Rowan Gould. “We will ensure that the public and our partners have ample time to review and comment on any regulatory changes we may propose, in order to incorporate the best thinking of endangered species experts from across the country – as well as the people and communities who are affected by the ESA.”

“We will take advantage of more than three decades of experience in implementing the Act,” said Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries Service. “Our shared goal is to improve recovery of imperiled species, enhance our ability to achieve meaningful conservation on the ground and better engage the resources and expertise of our partners to meet the goals of the Act.”

This review and update of regulations, policies, and guidance is consistent with President Obama’s Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review and is outlined in the Department of Interior’s Preliminary Plan for Retrospective Regulatory Review.

The effort will focus on the essence of the Endangered Species Act – recovering species – and strive to make administrative and regulatory improvements, while remaining true to the intent of the ESA as enacted by Congress. The Services are not seeking any legislative changes to the ESA, because the agencies believe that implementation can be significantly improved through rulemaking and policy formulation.

The Services will work to harness the expertise of career agency employees, the conservation community, landowners and other affected interests, and the broader public, to address selected issues. In particular, efforts will focus on:

Clarifying, expediting, and improving procedures for the development and approval of conservation agreements with landowners, including habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, and candidate conservation agreements;

Reviewing and revising the process for designating critical habitat to design a more efficient, defensible, and consistent process;

Clarifying the definition of the phrase “destruction or adverse modification” of critical habitat, which is used to determine what actions can and cannot be conducted in critical habitat; and

Clarifying the scope and content of the incidental take statement, particularly with regard to programmatic actions or other actions where direct measurement is difficult. An incidental take statement is a component of a biological opinion that specifies the impact of an incidental taking of an endangered or threatened species and provides reasonable and prudent measures that are necessary to minimize those impacts. Greater flexibility in the quantification of anticipated incidental taking could reduce the burden of developing and implementing biological opinions without any loss of conservation benefits.

The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 to protect plants and animal species threatened with extinction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service, an agency of the Department of Commerce, work together with state and federal agencies, local governments, tribes, private landowners and the public to protect and promote the recovery of the nation’s imperiled species. Under the ESA, the Interior Department is primarily responsible for terrestrial and fresh water species; the Commerce Department has the lead responsibility for most marine and anadromous species, such as salmon.

The Endangered Species Act currently protects more than 1,300 species in the United States and about 570 species abroad. An additional 249 species have been identified as candidates for protection under the Act. Many of the regulations implementing provisions of the ESA were promulgated in the 1980s and do not reflect advances in conservation biology and genetics, as well as recent court decisions interpreting the Act’s provisions.

For more information regarding the Endangered Species Act and efforts to improve its implementation, please visit our web site at: www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/reg_reform.html

About:
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

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