The fight is not over!

The long-awaited passage of S.297, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, in the Senate in late July, has many in the industry declaring total victory. Not so fast! It's too early to celebrate. While the 65-31 Senate vote in favor of the bill was a stunning achievement, the fight is not over.

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The House of Representatives is now considering its version of the legislation, H.R. 800. Yes, there are strong indications that the bill has far-reaching backing of house members; however, there have been some defections from the ranks of supporters. Plus, the anti-gun movement has used the August Congressional recess to whip its faithful into a run-through-the-streets-with-your-hair-on-fire frenzy.

The Brady Campaign's Web site asks, "Will the House join the Senate's Unholy Alliance with the NRA?" The site pleads for its supporters to "Click here to send an e-mail to your U.S. Representative urging him/her to: OPPOSE H.R. 800, the companion bill to S.397."

That's what the anti-gun cartel is doing to destroy this important legislation. What are we doing to ensure it passes the house? Put down the victory champagne and take action. Contact your U.S. representatives and ask them to pass H.R. 800. As always, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has made it easy to contact our representatives. Sign onto www.capwiz.com/nssf/home. There you can read H.R. 800 and "click" to send a message to your representative.

It has been a long fight and, yes, the battlefield assessment looks good, but let's finish the battle before we celebrate.