Dear Conservative,

Back in January, just after the New Year, I warned you that Barack Obama was preparing to radically change how people are evaluated for firearm ownership.

The Founders knew that a day would come when a democratically elected tyrant would try to disarm the American people. That is why they included the handy phrase “shall not be infringed” within the Second Amendment. You can’t blame the Founders… they never could have imagined that over the centuries, such a simple and straight-forward phrase would come to be ignored.

This past January, Barack Obama revealed that he was instructing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to radically change the definition of a “prohibited person.” Rather than obeying the wording passed by Congress so many years ago, Obama believes that it is time to illegally change the law based on what Congress should have written back in 1968…

Within days, the ATF had proposed a new rule change and opened up the floor for public comment. Together, we flooded the halls of Congress with literally thousands of faxes and letters to force them to act. Now, comment period is coming to an end. Unless Congress acts now to stop this Imperial President from rewriting the law, the administration will be able to illegally disarm tens of thousands of people!

Tell Congress to STOP Obama and the ATF from illegally changing the gun control laws!

In 1968, Congress passed the Gun Control Act in response to the assassinations of John F. and Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. The law’s intent was to prevent deranged individuals from obtaining firearms or ammunition. However, even the laws with the best intentions end up being abused…

The portion of the law pertaining to “prohibited persons” is simple: “It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person…has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution.”

This wording couldn’t be clearer. The statute defines a “mental defective” as someone with “marked subnormal intelligence” or “gross ignorance or imbecility.” Anyone who actually bothers to read the law understands that it was designed to deal with people who were seriously mentally challenged or had some other developmental deficiency. This isn’t a situation where Congress was vague in writing the law… it was explicit!

Yet, Barack Obama believes that the law needs to be adjusted to meet today’s “needs.” That’s a fancy way of saying that he thinks more people should be denied their God given, constitutionally protected rights!

That is why he has instructed the ATF to illegally redefine the term “mentally defective” to apply broadly to “unstable and irresponsible people,” expanding it to include anyone suffering from “mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease.” The ATF believes this term is “outdated,” so instead of asking Congress to amend the law, the Obama administration has instructed bureaucrats to just change it on their own!

Now, I know what you might be thinking… that doesn’t seem like that big of a change. But believe me, it is huge! Congress never intended for people to lose their constitutional rights if they are grief stricken at the loss of a family member or returning from war with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Yet, those are exactly the types of people who are now being targeted by this illegal alteration to the law!

The ATF is also changing the definition of the phrase “committed to any mental institution.” Congress defined this term to mean any situation where a person is involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility. These aren’t things that happen often. There needs to be something seriously wrong with someone for them to be admitted to a mental ward against their will. These are usually instances where a person poses a direct threat to himself and those around him.

The new changes will alter the law to apply to “both inpatient and outpatient commitments.” These are two entirely different things. The former applies to individuals who literally cannot function in society. These are the people that the 1968 Gun Control Act was designed to prevent from owning firearms. However outpatient mental health treatment is used for people who are significantly less threatening. These are people who are grieving or require some medication or alternative treatment.

With this order, Obama administration has claimed the authority to determine who is allowed to own a gun and who is prohibited. It doesn't matter whether this clarification is "common sense,” the President simply doesn't have the authority to dictate who loses Constitutional rights. This is the most dangerous precedent of Obama’s presidency and one of the most threatening expansions of Executive power in our history!

Tell Congress to STOP Obama and the ATF from illegally changing the gun control laws!

Make no mistake: this is why the Founders included "shall not be infringed" in the Second Amendment. They knew a day would come when a tyrannical leader would try to dictate who is and who isn’t allowed to own weapons. I regret to inform you that the day that the Founders feared has finally arrived!

We cannot allow President Obama, or anyone for that matter, to pick and choose who is afforded constitutional rights!

This is how tyranny always starts. At first, Obama will assert this authority for “common sense” public safety measures. But these precedents are extremely dangerous. If we allow this President to define who is disqualified from owning a firearm, there is nothing to stop Obama, or some future President, from expanding the definition to disqualify all law-abiding citizens from owning firearms.

The writing is on the wall. If left unchecked, these new executive orders will give the Executive Branch the authority to infringe on our constitutional rights at any time!

You must fax the entirety of Congress to force them to stop Barack Hussein Obama’s ATF from pushing more unconstitutional gun control laws on the American people!

This isn’t some exaggeration. This is exactly why the Founders explicitly wrote that the right to keep and bear arms “shall not be infringed.”

However, the Founding Fathers have long-since passed away. They can’t stop King Obama... only you can!

The Second Amendment, and the entire Bill of Rights for that matter, is in danger. We have been given the obligation to cherish and protect our Constitutional rights for future generations, and we all must answer the call now!

Tell Congress to STOP Obama and the ATF from illegally changing the gun control laws!

Sincerely,

Joe Otto

Conservative Daily

P.S. Please forward this email to your friends and family! It is absolutely imperative that we get the word out before it is too late!