Thanks to your efforts, the Clinton semi-auto ban is about to expire.

The ban on magazines and firearms -- passed in 1994 -- represents one of the most hated pieces of gun control ever enacted. But with less than two months to go (and Congress being in recess most of that time), the ban is scheduled to sunset on September 13, 2004.

Anti-gun Senator Dianne Feinstein, however, is not giving up and is pushing hard to get the semi-auto ban tacked on to some other bill.

So far, you have been instrumental in bolstering the resolve of a few key Senators, who have managed to thwart Feinstein's every move and, thus, keep the semi-auto ban from getting to the President's desk. Consider what you have accomplished in recent months:

* In March, you encouraged Senators to kill a bipartisan bill that had become loaded down with anti-gun amendments -- riders which included the semi-auto gun ban. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist could have used parliamentary tactics to disallow all gun-related amendments, but he specifically rejected that strategy. The underlying legislation, which would have helped to protect gun makers from frivolous lawsuits, fell under the weight of your activism against the anti-gun riders.

* Most recently in July, your efforts resulted in Senator Frist using the very parliamentary tactics that he had rejected only a few months earlier. This time, grassroots pressure convinced him to block the semi-auto ban as an amendment to the class action bill (S.
2062).

Now, there are less than a dozen legislative days left. And the gun banners are "pulling out all the stops" to get this bill passed.

The focus of their ire is being directed at Senator Frist, since he was instrumental in keeping anti-gun amendments from being offered to S. 2062. One anti-gun website is calling on its readers to "flood Dr. Frist's office with tens of thousands of e-mails telling him to stop blocking the Assault Weapons Ban renewal."

They are also calling on fellow gun banners to pound House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office with calls to renew the ban.

So here's the bottom line: We are winning. The clock is ticking and the Clinton ban will soon die. But the battle is not over yet! The other side is playing its ultimate trump card -- the friendly liberal media -- and is reaching deep into its war chest.

Major newspapers are running anti-gun editorials in favor of renewing the ban. Former Presidents are lobbying Congress with the same message. Law-enforcement bureaucrats are issuing sound bites in cities all across the nation.

And Hollywood types such as Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand have written a letter to the President, urging him to extend the ban for 10 more years.

There is an all-out effort by the other side right now, and we need to make sure that we are NOT silent. We need to keep the pressure on.

Like the Phoenix, the gun ban renewal could arise out of the ashes at any time. After all, both presidential candidates SUPPORT the ban. Both Kerry and Bush have indicated they want to see the ban renewed.

And even though Majority Leader Tom DeLay has thus far managed to keep this bill off the floor of the House of Representatives, he is being threatened by a politically motivated prosecutor in Austin. His tenure remains in question for the time being, which means that we, gun owners, must remain eternally vigilant!

ACTION: Please urge your Representative to OPPOSE the renewal of the semi-auto ban. Remind him or her that this is an election year and that strident calls from the Brady Bunch in the liberal media do not decide elections! Here's what you can do:

1. Use the pre-written message below and send it as an e-mail by visiting the GOA web site (where phone and fax numbers are also available).

2. Remember also that since all members of the House are up for reelection -- and Congress is due to take a long summer break -- chances are excellent that you can confront your Rep. in person during the coming weeks. Don't miss an opportunity to do so.

----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Representative,

I have noticed an alarming and well-coordinated campaign within the mainstream media recently regarding the expected sunset of the semi-auto ban. It is imperative that you not fall victim to the scare tactics -- that instead, you do the right thing and make certain that the semi-auto ban dies its well-deserved death.

Anti-gun forces are trotting out law enforcement bureaucrats, former public officials, Hollywood stars, and anyone else they can find to decry the Bush administration's "lack of action" in calling for Congress to immediately reauthorize this odious gun ban.

Truth be told, those gun grabbers are scared -- they know the American people have thrown out numerous U.S. Representatives in the past for voting to outlaw these common semi-autos. With a mere handful of legislative days remaining before the ban sunsets, they are doing the only thing they can -- working feverishly with their friends in the liberal media, hoping that press coverage alone will spook you into getting aboard the gun-ban train.

I urge you to stand fast. The sky has not fallen, and it will not fall on September 14th. No matter how loud the disarmament crowd and their lackeys in the press scream, these simple weapons have never been the choice of criminals and never will be.

The ban should sunset, and no pro-gun Member of Congress should fear for his or her seat as a result, since media hype does not translate to defeat at the polls. If the media decided elections, Ronald Reagan would never have been President.

Hold the line. Better, remind your pro-gun constituents that you are publicly willing to state that this useless and pernicious law simply needs to go away.

Sincerely and with a watchful eye,

Gun Owners of America (http://www.gunowners.org)