The 2020 legislature will begin session in just over a week, which means I am counting on you to take IMMEDIATE ACTION!
You see, Wyoming Gun Owners worked all last summer and fall to block a nasty gun control bill referred to as ‘FIX-NICS,’ and late last fall, the Joint Judiciary Committee shot this bill down.
But as we said at that time, moderate lawmakers in Cheyenne would likely try to resurrect this legislation during the shortened 2020 ‘Budget Session.’
And that is exactly what has happened!
Democrat-turned Republican State Senator Michael Von Flatern and notorious moderate State Representative Bill Pownall just re-filed this terrible legislation, hoping that with a mere 20-day session scheduled this year, they can ram this bill into law before we can mobilize gun owners against it!
That’s why I have prepared a petition to your State Representative and State Senator, urging them to vote against H.B. 59 or any similar legislation.
Please take a moment to sign your petition immediately!
The simple fact of the matter is that you and I can no longer count on our Republican majorities in Cheyenne to stand up against insidious gun control legislation like this, without an overwhelming amount of grassroots pressure.
After all, these ‘pro-gun Republicans’ killed every single pro-gun bill last year — including our legislation that would have fixed the problems with our weak pre-emption law and rid the state of ‘Gun Free Zones.’
But the bill that they are trying to ram into law this session is as nasty as they come, and we’ll need all hands on deck if we are going to stop it.
In a nutshell, H.B. 59 is a mental health gun control bill that would allow anti-gun judges to take away your gun rights before you’ve been convicted of a crime!
So it’s no wonder that at the federal level, this bill was being supported for years by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) — perhaps the two most anti-gun lawmakers in all of Washington, D.C.!
The details of this bill should have every gun owner in Wyoming alarmed! That’s because H.B. 59 would:
>>> Empower liberal court judges to decide whether or not to take away your gun rights before you’ve ever been convicted of a crime.
Every gun owner in the country knows that the judiciary is rapidly morphing from an impartial trier of the facts to a partisan political fighting force. The last thing we should do is give them even more power over law abiding gun owners!
>>> Allow hyper-liberal mental health staffers to have the final say on whether or not you can continue owning firearms.
If someone claims that you’re a danger to yourself, the judge will rely heavily on the opinion of one of the mental health ‘professionals.’ And for many of these people, the fact the we love our country, our flag, our guns and our President makes us ‘crazy.’
>>> Pave the way for a full-on push for ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation by normalizing the idea that a gun owner could lose his God-given right to defend himself, before ever being convicted of a crime.
The ability to seize your firearms before you’ve ever set foot in a courtroom is the goal of gun-grabbers and moderates in Cheyenne, and H.B. 59 puts them within striking distance of that.
>>> Serve as a place-holder bill, which could rapidly be expanded down the road as the legislature becomes more moderate.
Once a law like this is established, future legislatures could greatly expand the types of behaviors that could see you placed on the prohibited person’s list. In Ohio, for example, Republicans are working this session to expand their NICS laws, to put anyone who drinks too much alcohol in their own home on a prohibited persons list!
WYGO is already spending enormous amounts of money in targeted social media campaigns, to educate gun owners about this threat, and to encourage them to send emails to their lawmakers in opposition to this bill.
In addition, we’re engaged in a statewide media blitz as well, reminding lawmakers of what will happen to Republicans should they stab us in the back with this bill.
But there’s much more that we can do to generate opposition to this bill if we have the resources we need, including:
1. Additional rounds of targeted social media.
Nothing penetrates deeper in rural legislative districts than Facebook advertising, and at just pennies per engagement, nothing is as efficient, either.
We need an additional $5,000 to deliver videos and other materials into targeted districts via Facebook.
2. Robo-calls, allowing people to automatically send a message to their lawmakers in opposition to H.B. 59.
Sure, no one likes receiving these calls. But there’s going to be a vote to refer this bill to committee (or to kill it then and there) in the open days of the session. The day before that vote, we want to flood Wyoming with calls, urging opposition to this bill.
For maximum effectiveness, we need an additional $2,500 to run this robo-call program on a statewide scale.
3. Radio and TV ads, the day before the committee vote.
If we can raise the resources, radio and TV ads the day before the committee referral vote will strike fear in the hearts of legislative moderates.
But for this to be effective, we need an additional $10,000!
As you can see, Wyoming Gun Owners is going all-in in our efforts to derail this nasty legislation. Your signed petition is a key part of this program.
Session is only going to last three weeks, please act fast!
For Wyoming,
Aaron Dorr
Policy Advisor
Wyoming Gun Owners
P.S. Legislative moderates in Cheyenne have re-filed dangerous ‘FIX-NICS’ legislation, which would empower liberal judges to take guns away from Wyomingites without a criminal conviction!
Please sign your petition immediately, insisting that your lawmakers oppose this nasty legislation!
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