The bad news is that today, the US Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senator Charles Schumer's (D-NY) bill, S. 374, the misnamed "Fix Gun Checks Act of 2013", mandating the "universal background checks" which are gun banner's code words for "universal gun registration."

The good news is that your input to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who was working a "deal" with Schumer which would have won Republican support, made him back away from the bill. As a consequence, the vote was 10-8 along party lines, with all Republicans voting against the bill.

But how bad is the bill? Let's look at its language:

• If you left town for more than 7 days, and left your gay partner, or unrelated roommate at home with the guns, you’d be committing a felony. This should be called the “denying gun rights to gays act.” Remember that the federal government does not recognize gay marriage, even if your state does, thanks to DOMA. 5 years in prison.

• Actually, even married couples are questionably legal, because the exemption between family only applies to gifts, not to temporary transfers. The 7 day implication is if you leave your spouse at home for more than 7 days, it’s an unlawful transfer, and you’re a 5 year felon. I suppose you could gift them to your spouse, or related co-habitant, and then have them gift them back when you arrive back home. Maybe the Attorney General will decide to create a form for that.

• It would be illegal to lend a gun to a friend to take shooting. That would be a transfer. 5 years in federal prison.

• Steals the livelihood of gun dealers by setting a fixed fee to conduct transfers. The fee is fixed by the Attorney General. What’s to prevent him from setting it at $1000?

• Enacts defacto universal gun registration, because of record keeping requirements.

• All lost and stolen guns must be reported to the federal and local government. This means everyone will have to fill out the theft/loss form, and not just FFLs. You only have 24 hours to comply. If you lose a gun on a hunting trip deep in the woods, and can’t get back home to fill out the form in 24 hours, you’re a felon and will spend 5 years in federal prison.

• Want to lend a gun to a friend to go hunting? It’s a 5 year in prison felony.

• No exception for state permits. All transfers must go through a dealer or 5 years in federal prison.

• Teaching someone to shoot on your own land is a felony, 5 years, if you hand them the gun. Not an exempted transfer.

Next up in the Senate Judiciary Committee: Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) ban on semi-automatic firearms, which reportedly gets a hearing on Thursday.

• Call Harry Reid:

Now we need you to do something which seems a little perverse: Call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) at (202) 224-3542 and THANK him for sending the bill to the full Senate. When you thank him, tell him it is because his actions will give us the recorded votes that the 38 organizations of the National Coalition to Stop the Gun Ban will use to target any legislator who votes for it. Tell him you will be particularly interested to see how our own Sen. Kay Hagan will vote. (That would be the same Kay Hagan who says she won't "unnecessarily" infringe on your Second Amendment rights.)

• Call Mitch McConnell:

Next, contact Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at (202) 224-2541, thank him for not caving, and let him know you expect a filibuster when any and all gun control hits the Senate floor.

• Call all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them to oppose S. 150, Sen. Dianne Feinstein's ban on semi-automatic firearms which is up for a vote on Thursday.

• Support GRNC: If you are not a member, please join! If you have already joined, please contribute! If you have already contributed, please recruit friends and relatives! In this desperate battle, we need all available resources!

Go to: http://www.grnc.org/join-grnc/contribute

CONTACT INFORMATION

Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT): (202) 224-4242
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): (202) 224-3841
Chuck Schumer (D-NY): (202) 224-6542
Charles Grassley (R-IA): (202) 224-3744
Orrin Hatch (R-UT): (202) 224-5251
Dick Durbin (D-IL): (202) 224-2152
Jeff Sessions (R-AL): (202) 224-4124
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): (202) 224-2921
Lindsey Graham (R-SC): (202) 224-5972
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN): (202) 224-3244
John Cornyn (R-TX): (202) 224-2934
Al Franken (D-MN): (202) 224-5641
Michael Lee: (R-UT): (202) 224-5444
Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), (202) 224-5042
Ted Cruz (R-TX): (202) 224-5922
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): (202) 224-2823
Jeff Flake (R-AZ): (202) 224-4521
Mazie Hirono (D-HI): (202) 224-6361

TWITTER BLAST

Click the link below to Tweet your message to Sen. Reid:

Dear @SenatorReid, S.374 "Fix Gun Checks Act" will cost jobs. Yours. (http://grnc.org/grnc-alerts-archive/436-grnc-alert-3-12-13-senate-judiciary-passes-universal-gun-registration) @SenatorBurr @SenatorHagan #GRNC