Another school tragedy as a result of guns — how many more times do we have to hear the same thing? Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Bailey, Colorado. Green Bay, Wisconsin. Hillsborough, North Carolina. Essex, Vermont. And that's just a partial list of school shootings since the start of this academic year.

There is one common thread through all these tragedies — it was too easy for the wrong person to get deadly weapons. This happens all too often in all parts of our nation.

We need to ask why our elected officials allow such easy access to guns. We need them to answer the cries for help.

But do you know what Congress was considering just last week? They were pushing a bill to make it more difficult for law enforcement to crack down on rogue gun dealers.

Instead of trying to find solutions to gun violence, they were busy trying to make it easier for criminals to get their hands on guns.

Now I know what you are going to hear. Criminals will always be able to get their hands on guns. But my question is "Why do we make it so simple for criminals to get their hands on guns? And why is Congress allowing it ... not just allowing it, but making it easier?"

Thanks to your generous support, the Brady Campaign has been holding off the dangerous agenda of the gun pushers in Congress.

The U.S. Congress has adjourned until after the November elections. For the last 18 months the Brady Campaign has been fighting off an aggressive attempt by the gun lobby to push its extremist agenda through this Congress.

I am glad to report that we have succeeded and none of the following bills backed by the gun pushers have become law:

• Repealing the requirement that child safety locks be sold with every handgun — a law that just went to effect last year.
• Undermining the Brady Law and landmark 1968 Gun Control Act by making it easier for gun traffickers to cross state lines to get guns.
• Allowing the carrying of concealed weapons anywhere in the nation, even in states and localities that have laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons.
• Repealing the strong gun laws in Washington, D.C., our Nation's Capital.
• Repealing the requirement that gun dealers must report bulk handgun sales to local law enforcement. Bulk handgun sales are a sure-fire sign of gun trafficking.
• Weakening the power of law enforcement to identify and shut down corrupt gun dealers. This includes dealers such as Valley Gun of Baltimore — owned by NRA Board Member Sanford Abrams — which had more than 900 violations of law.
• Limiting the data available to law enforcement about gun dealers with the worst records of supplying the illegal market and interfering with investigations before they are even started.

Holding off this onslaught was no small feat. Our activists and our coalition of allied organizations, especially our friends in law enforcement, worked tirelessly to stop the gun lobby in its tracks.

We were able to accomplish all of this by exposing the gun lobby's dangerous agenda in the media, and through intense pressure from our allies and activists. We were able to generate nearly 200,000 emails, letters and phone calls into the offices of our elected officials. Thanks to all of your efforts, none of the bills listed above became law.

Now our attention turns to the elections on November 7. We had a great victory in the Colorado primary where Brady Campaign-backed Ed Perlmutter won the hotly contested Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional District and now faces a tough battle in the general election in one of the most closely watched races in the country. Perlmutter will be a great advocate for sensible gun laws by supporting legislation to fight gun trafficking. After his primary victory Perlmutter said "... I'm so grateful to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for supporting me early on. Not only did they help me win my primary, they've helped bring the issue of gun violence front and center in the U.S. House race in Colorado's 7th district."

In Maryland, Brady Campaign-endorsed challenger Jim Rosapepe beat Sen. John Giannetti in Maryland's 21st State Senate District Democratic primary and is now the front-runner in the general election in November. Giannetti shamefully worked hand-in-hand with Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich to defeat state legislation to ban assault weapons in 2004 and the Brady Campaign targeted him for defeat. After the election Rosapepe said "I couldn't have won this race without the help of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence."

But in a strange twist, Giannetti has changed parties and is running again in the general election — now we have to beat him for a second time.

There is a strong sense that the tide is turning in our favor. Between now and November 7, we will be focusing our efforts on elections across the country. We have already demonstrated that those candidates who oppose our efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence can be made to pay a price at the ballot box.

Through our extensive e-mail activist network, our seventy-five Million Mom March Chapters, and the hundreds of thousands Brady Campaign members and supporters, we will communicate our endorsements far and wide.

Our political arm, the Brady Voter Education Fund will be directly involved in a number of high profile races, educating voters on the positions of candidates and working hard to elect candidates who support our common sense agenda.

We're doing all this because we should no longer tolerate tragedy after tragedy in our schools and in our communities.

With the politicians free from the stranglehold of the gun pushers, we can go on the offensive with our Campaign Against Illegal Guns. It will still take a lot of work to pass tougher laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals but together we can do it.

Sincerely,

Paul Helmke
President

P.S. It is possible that Congress will be back for a "lame duck" session in November or December after the elections. We may have to call on you again to stop any last-ditch efforts to shove these pieces of harmful legislation through Congress. We'll keep you informed. Thank you in advance for your continued support.

Click here for additional resources on this important issue.

	10/26/2006
Brady Campaign Endorses New Jersey Candidates Brady Campaign Endorses Senator Bingaman, Congressman Udall For Re-Election Brady Campaign Endorses Congresswoman Shelley Berkley For Re-Election Brady Campaign Endorses Ohio Candidates More News from the Brady Campaign	Startling new stats show cross-country crime spike (ABC News) Guns are in schools but not in the President's vocabulary (Washington Post) Where Congress is soft on criminals (New York Times) Americans favour stricter gun laws (Angus Reid Global Monitor) More Issues in the news
California: Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Key Gun Violence Prevention Bills Maryland: Brady-Backed Candidate Unseats NRA Lackey in Primary Maryland: Gun Violence Prevention a Winner for State Senate Candidate New York: Longtime Supporter of Sensible Gun Laws Wins Primary More Local Victories	Feds set sights on gun buys (Athens Banner-Herald) Colbert gun shop raided; owner arrested in sting (Athens Banner-Herald) Mayors bolster their efforts to get guns off cities’ streets (West Roxbury & Roslindale Transcript) Mayors as persuaders (Boston Globe) More on our Campaign Against Illegal Guns