In July 1996 Senate Amendment 5083 to House Bill 2980 passed by unanimous voice vote. This amendment is now what we refer to as the Lautenberg Amendment. It prevents people with any 'domestic violence' convictions from ever owning a gun. The conviction could have occurred long before the passage of S.A.5083 and may have been a misdemeanor.

The injustices of Lautenberg are clear and inspire us to try to do something. Use the forum and let's start collecting stories. We need the actual victims of this legislation to come forward. Over turning Lautenberg will not be easy. We know better, but the opposition will claim that we favor domestic violence. The concepts of 'ex post facto' and reasonableness are violated by this law. What we really favor is the Constitution.