Citizens' Self-Defense Act protects gun owners who save lives
February 1, 2005
With the defeat of the semi-auto ban reauthorization last year, and the election of several new pro-gun Members of Congress, it's time for gun owners to go on offense and demand legislation that advances gun rights nationwide.
One perfect example is H.R. 47, the "Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2005," introduced by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD). GOA helped author this important bill that would protect those who use guns in self-defense from overzealous or anti-gun prosecutors.
H.R. 47 reaffirms the basic truth that citizens have a right to use a gun in defense of self, family, and home.
It enforces that right with serious "teeth." Should a person be deprived of their right to self-defense with a firearm, that person can bring an action in court against the United States, any State, or any person. Anti-gun prosecutors would be personally liable for their wrongdoings -- and the wronged party can demand compensation and reimbursement of legal fees.
You may recall that national news was made last year in Wilmette, Illinois. Hale DeMar shot a home invader. The shooting was ruled as justified, but DeMar was prosecuted because the town had enacted a ban on handguns. Outraged, the Illinois legislature subsequently passed a law to protect people such as DeMar.
And who could forget Bernie Goetz? He saved his own life when he shot his assailants in a subway train. The jury acquitted him on all charges involving the actual shooting, but he went to prison anyway for violating New York City's draconian gun ban.
The GOA files are overflowing with examples such as the two above. Every year, numerous gun owners are maliciously prosecuted all across the country for doing nothing more than defending their lives. Passing the Citizens' Self-Defense Act at the federal level will virtually eliminate this problem by holding prosecutors of any jurisdiction accountable for their actions.
In today's climate of anti-gun hostility and outright disregard for individual rights, H.R. 47 is needed now more than ever.
ACTION: Please ask your U.S. Representative to cosponsor H.R. 47. Bills with a large number of cosponsors are much more likely to receive an up-or-down vote in Congress. Building cosponsors is the critical first step in enacting a bill into law.
Contact your Rep. by visiting
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to use the GOA Legislative Action Center. The system will identify your representative for you and you can check to see whether or not he or she has cosponsored the bill. You can easily send a pre-written e-mail message from there, and the system will automatically load either a "please cosponsor" message or a "thank you for cosponsoring" message depending on your Representative's cosponsor status.
----- Pre-written message (for non-cosponsors) -----
Dear Representative,
Please cosponsor H.R. 47, the Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2005. This important legislation would protect citizens who use a gun in self-defense from malicious prosecution.
Rep. Bartlett of Maryland introduced this bill because he feels, as do I, that there have been enough horror stories of people going to prison merely because they defended their own lives.
Please let me know when you have added your name to H.R. 47.
Sincerely,
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