Please oppose the House-passed version of H.R. 1585. I agree with Gun Owners of America that the anti-gun provisions in this bill pretend to help “battered women,” but in fact leave them disarmed and vulnerable to their abusers. For example, Section 801 of H.R. 1585 would allow a gun owner to be stripped of his or her constitutional rights by any “dating partner or former dating partner.” We know that these “quickie” proceedings are frequently used by jilted lovers to exact revenge -- and are also used by abusers to disarm their battered victims. We also know that accusers frequently lie, and seldom are called to account for it. In connection with Connecticut’s “red flag” gun confiscation program, for instance, researcher David Kopel has found that at least a third of initial restraining orders are bogus. Not only that, Kopel recently testified before Congress how a California man, who was cheating on his wife, used the state’s red flag law to have police confiscate his wife’s Glock. And Salon has reported that men will use Temporary Restraining Orders to disarm their ex’s before assaulting them. So bills like H.R. 1585 can end up hurting the very people this bill is supposed to help. There are other problems with the bill, too. Please oppose the House-passed version of H.R. 1585.

I certainly hope that the Senate will throw the anti-gun provisions in H.R. 1585 into the trash can. Section 801 would allow a gun owner to be stripped of his or her constitutional rights by any “dating partner or former dating partner.” And, as Gun Owners of America has pointed out, we have seen how a provision like this can be used to disarm law-abiding women, thus making them less safe. Section 802 would allow a gun owner to be stripped of his or her constitutional rights based on an “ex parte” order issued in a “secret court proceeding” with no due process whatsoever -- accusing him or her of “harassing” or scaring the accuser. In the case of ex parte orders such as this, when only the accuser is in the room, we know that a judge will sign virtually anything that is put before him. In New Mexico, a housewife obtained a restraining order against David Letterman for supposedly sending her coded messages over her TV set. Finally, Title XII would designate law enforcement resources for the explicit purpose of prosecuting “prohibited persons” attempting to purchase a firearm from a dealer. If this woe-begotten title were ever to pass into law, the misguided drafters who wrote it would soon find that most of these people are veterans with PTSD, traffic ticket scofflaws, and minor “white collar” violators who served no time and were under the misimpression that the lack of prison meant they could still keep their guns. It is a fraudulent solution, based on a fraudulent assessment of the nature of the problem. The fact is that dangerous felons do not go into gun shops expecting that they will pass Brady Checks. And this is why fewer than 50 people are regularly prosecuted for attempting to purchase firearms while being prohibited from doing so. So I would ask the Senate to throw the House-passed bill in the garbage can, and send the House a simple renewal of the program without the repressive gun control.

The House-passed version of H.R. 1585 is “the best bill money can buy.” Billionaires like Michael Bloomberg -- and wealthy Leftist organizations -- reached deep into their pockets in 2018 to buy themselves some Democrat congressmen who would deliver the crazy wish-list of liberalism contained in this proposal. Not surprisingly, for his $110,000,000 -- conveniently timed to avoid reporting laws -- anti-gunner Michael Bloomberg has gotten his “Christmas presents” in sections 801, 802, and Title XII of H.R. 1585. This is an anti-gun bill, and should it be voted on in the Senate with any of these provisions included, Gun Owners of America will rate the bill as an anti-gun vote. Please oppose the House-passed version of H.R. 1585.