1. VICTORY! Brady Campaign Holds Back the NRA in Congress
2. VICTORY! Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Key Gun Violence Prevention Bills

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 is now in a lame-duck session for the rest year, unlikely to bring up any firearm-related legislation. For the last 18 months, the Brady Campaign has been fighting an aggressive attempt by the gun lobby to push its extremist agenda through this Congress while they still have enough allies to do their dirty work.

We are happy to report that we have succeeded in staving-off their reckless attempts 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 former 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 more than 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.

During the 2006 session, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law several key gun violence prevention measures that will strengthen California's ability to protect public safety.

Three of the bills strengthen oversight of gun dealers and buyers by: 1) requiring licensed dealers to undergo background checks, 2) allowing the Department of Justice to inspect gun dealers shops before they open to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and 3) increasing the penalty for providing false information on an application to buy a firearm.

The Governor also signed a law to protect domestic violence victims by requiring, at the request of any law enforcement officer, the immediate surrender of firearms by those subject to restraining orders. With the passage of these new laws, California continues the tradition of being a national leader on passing gun violence prevention measures to protect our communities from the scourge of gun violence.

On another note, the focus of our 2006 legislation session, a bill to require an innovative ballistics identification technology on new semiautomatic handguns in California, failed by two votes. Our California Chapters succeeded in signing up 55 law enforcement leaders from across the state and were highly praised by the bill's sponsor. The bill passed the Senate and came within two votes of passing in the Assembly. We will be back next year to get this important bill to the Governor's desk and signed.