![Google](http://www.google.com/images/poweredby_transparent/poweredby_FFFFFF.gif)
Stand With Rand or Obama on Guns?
John Tate/
When Norm sent me the brief Memo below regarding the upcoming Senate fight on guns, it confirmed my worst fears.
Norm has 15 years of legislative experience working as one of Ron Paul's trusted aides on Capitol Hill, so he knows all the ins and outs of the political games Dr. Paul's former colleagues like to play.
As you'll see, this fight could not be more urgent, and the statists could not be more serious about attacking our gun rights.
The countdown is on until the Senate goes back into session on Monday, and Obama's gun control scheme will be at the top of Harry Reid's agenda.
So please read Norm's memo below, sign your Stand With Rand Second Amendment Mandate to make your position heard loud and clear, and contribute as generously as you can right away - even if it's only $10 or $20 - to help Campaign for Liberty recruit more Americans to this battle.
In Liberty,
John Tate
President
Date: April 2, 2013
To: John Tate
President
From: Norm Singleton
Vice President of Policy
Re: Senate GOP Preparing to Roll Over on Guns
Overview
John, given the nature of this fight, here is a memo outlining the current situation on the gun control legislation so we know exactly where we stand.
With the Senate less than a week away from coming back from recess, it looks like Senate Republicans have finalized their strategy to fight President Obama's gun control schemes.
I wish I were joking.
But it looks like their goal is to throw up their hands and claim to have done their very best - just as President Obama signs some massive gun control scheme into law - while in actuality lying through their teeth the entire time.
The good news is, Rand has thrown a giant monkey wrench into their plans . . .
So if Campaign for Liberty can turn up enough heat on the U.S. Senate, we have a shot at victory.
But as you know, time is running out.
And with Speaker Boehner having already passed three bills on other issues out of the U.S. House with majority Democrat support, our best chance to defeat the statists' gun grab could be in the Senate.
My strong suggestion would be for Campaign for Liberty to urge as many people as possible to IMMEDIATELY fill out their Stand With Rand Second Amendment Mandate to go on record on this issue.
And any resources we can raise quickly should be put toward alerting and mobilizing millions more Americans to this fight.
The Gun-Grabbers' Strategy
This appears to be the gun-grabbers' strategy in a nutshell - bring a watered-down gun control bill to the floor with wide bipartisan support and then attach anti-gun amendment after amendment onto the bill.
So the very first vote on the motion to proceed to debate on the bill will likely be the most important in this entire fight over gun control.
Majority Leader Reid knows that once debate begins on any gun bill on the Senate floor - no matter how mundane - he's won the fight.
After the initial vote to begin debate, Senate Republicans will have an incredibly difficult time holding together, and Reid will likely be able to cobble together enough votes to pass most of Obama's anti-gun agenda, including:
1) National Gun Registration, setting the stage for all-out confiscation - using universal "background checks" as the excuse.
As outrageous as this scheme is, it's far from dead. It's the Obama administration's top priority, so pro-gun Democrats are falling in line. I'm afraid establishment Republicans are preparing to roll over on this.
2) The Power to Strip Americans of Their Gun Rights on a Whim under the guise of "mental health" restrictions. Already, many veterans - even those with top-level security clearances - find themselves unable to purchase firearms because they complained to the wrong person about the horrors of war.
With Homeland Security so worried about domestic "terrorists" with American flags, or the wrong candidate's bumper sticker on their cars, there's a very real fear this could easily devolve into something even more sinister.
And already, several Republicans - including some you and I thought we could count on - have endorsed this as a "reasonable compromise."
3) The Feinstein Gun Ban, which would target rifles, shotguns, and even handguns, is also far from dead.
President Obama and Harry Reid are determined to push the envelope. With Republicans looking ready to roll over, I fear for the worst.
It's likely many establishment Republicans also are aware of the gun-grabbers' strategy, but are worried about how they'll be portrayed in the national media should they fight back "too much" on the gun issue.
So they're more than willing to let Senator Reid get his way on the initial vote - provided they can pretend later on to have had nothing to do with whatever anti-gun scheme ultimately passes.
This is where Rand's decision to filibuster the motion to proceed to the bill comes into play.
Rand's Strategy
Roughly ten days ago, Rand announced he would be filibustering the motion to proceed to the bill in order to stop any gun control bill from reaching the Senate floor.
This is the only real strategy for victory.
If Rand can convince 40 of his Senate colleagues to stand with him and filibuster, the fight would be won, because it will take 60 votes to invoke cloture and proceed to debate on any gun bill.
The Obama administration has already blasted Rand's move, and many Old Guard Republican Senators are up in arms, as well.
They're worried the political game they're playing is about to be revealed to Second Amendment supporters and they'll be exposed as the saboteurs as they are.
Self-described "pro-gun" Senators now have a simple choice to make.
Either "Stand With Rand" - or President Obama.
So far, Senators Cruz (R-TX), Lee (R-UT), and Inhofe (R-OK) have joined Rand's side.
Many others are receiving heat in their town hall meetings this week to do the same.
Campaign for Liberty can and should pull out all the stops to turn the heat up on establishment GOP Senators, as well.
Proposed Plan of Attack
Initially, flooding Senate offices with Stand With Rand Second Amendment Mandates should be our goal.
This is to ensure every Senator knows we understand the importance of the initial vote on the motion to proceed, and that they will not succeed in pulling the wool over our eyes.
The more Mandates we can generate, the better.
We should urge every Campaign for Liberty member and supporter to sign a Mandate and then immediately begin generating them from other folks, as well.
Of course, this will take money, so we'll need a massive influx of funds to accomplish it.
As the fight nears, we're going to have to turn up the heat on key Republicans who are most likely to go soft.
Of course, the Republican leadership is again a prime worry, as are Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ).
I'm talking to Hill contacts and working on a more exhaustive list now. I will have it to you shortly.
But the most important thing now is raising money and generating Mandates for the initial portion of this program.
I know C4L members and supporters understand the stakes.
We just need to make it clear to them exactly what's going on in Washington, D.C. - and urge them to contribute as generously as possible.
Even $10 or $20 will make a difference.
This is the most important fight in decades on our Second Amendment freedoms. And it's one we cannot afford to lose.