ton Unveils Draconian Gun Control
-- Make sure your Rep. is not on the anti-gun bandwagon
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
gunowners.org
(Friday, April 30, 1999) -- Well, Bill Clinton and the anti-gunners
in Congress are doing their best to use the horrible tragedy in
Colorado for their own political gain. Even Reuters pointed out
yesterday that, "The White House has expressed hope that shock over
the 15 deaths last week . . . will help fuel support for the
[anti-gun crime] bill."
No doubt, you heard the President this week parading his laundry
list in a nationally televised press conference. His
unconstitutional agenda calls for just about everything but the
"kitchen sink:"
* Background checks on buyers at all gun-show sales. With this
provision, Clinton is seeking what his ideological predecessor, King
George III, was never able to obtain-- a registration list of all
gun buyers.
* Raising the legal age for handgun possession from 18 to 21. (1)
This provision will add a little spice to your next target shooting
session with the young adult in your house. Your son or daughter
will commit a felony as soon as they touch the handgun, if they do
not-- as required by federal law-- have a written note of permission
from you on their person while engaging in the handgun target
practice.
* Banning juvenile possession of certain semiautomatic rifles.
Like the provision before it, this one will do nothing to stop
juvenile thugs from using guns. Rather, it will punish law-abiding
kids that go target shooting with their parents, or in some cases,
will punish those brave teenagers that have used their family
semi-auto to kill attackers in the home.
* Mandatory prison sentences of three to 10 years and $10,000
fines for adults, including parents, who allow children access to
guns. To avoid liability, parents will be forced to lock up their
safety. How about a novel approach, like punishing the young thugs
who use a gun to commit a crime for at least 10 years. The killers
in the Ark. schoolyard shooting are going to be out of jail in about
five years, which means that the grandparents-- whose guns were
stolen to commit the crime-- could spend more time in jail under
this provision than the actual perpetrators of the crime!
* Mandatory "safety locks" on all guns sold. This provision will
simply lead to the requirement that parents lock up their guns (see
above). But locking up your safety means that a gun will not be
immediately usable in an emergency and will actually cost lives.
Need proof? The Wall Street Journal (4/23/99) noted how when
Beretta tested a "Saf T Lok," it caused 18 of 27 rounds to "totally
malfunction." And when Handgun Control's chief attorney attempted
to demonstrate the same trigger lock at an HCI-sponsored event, he
found, to his embarrassment, that he was unable to disengage the
lock.
* Making buyers of explosives subject to the same Brady law
background checks as gun purchasers. This is one of the more
comical of the President's proposals. Are we going to have to go
through background checks to buy gasoline for our cars, propane
tanks for our barbecues, nails for our building projects and
fertilizer for our yards-- all common items which can be used to
make bombs? This could also mean that sportsmen who use
muzzleloaders would have to undergo Brady checks every time they buy
a can of powder.
* Halting imports of ammunition clips that hold more than 10
rounds. Don't tell the President, but a shotgun can pump more lead
in less than five seconds, than a semi-automatic (with large
magazine clip) can put out in a minute. (2) If Clinton finds this
out, then he might go after shotguns next.
* Limiting individual handgun purchases to one per month. If
Clinton can ration a constitutional right to one-per-month, then he
can later make it one-per-year, one-per-lifetime, etc.
* A lifetime ban on gun ownership for people who commit violent
crimes as juveniles. The language for this provision needs to be
viewed very carefully. After all, a mere verbal threat to damage
property is a "crime of violence" under current federal law. Does
this mean that an ill-advised, idle threat made in one's youth
should keep that person from protecting his future family for the
rest of his life?
* A three-day waiting period for all handgun purchases, with an
additional two days if law officers need them to complete their
investigation. Waiting periods endanger the lives of innocent
people who need self-protection. Just ask the residents of Los
Angeles who fled to gun stores during the riots of 1992 to buy a gun
for self-defense-- only to discover that they had to wait through a
fifteen day waiting period.
GOA "duking" it out in the marketplace of ideas
The President isn't the only one from the administration stumping
for more gun control. GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt briefly
debated Vice-President Al Gore during MSNBC's national town-meeting
this Wednesday. Gore rejected the notion that citizens should carry
concealed firearms, and advocated more gun control instead.
Pratt referenced the John Lott studies showing that concealed carry
laws reduce crime rates, and even used the Clinton Justice
Department's own figures to show that as many as 1.5 million people
use a gun in self-defense every year. (You can visit the GOA
website at gunowners.org to link to these
studies.) Pratt also pointed out that decent citizens-- like
Assistant Principal Joel Myrick of Pearl, Mississippi in 1997-- have
used guns to halt mass shootings in schools.
Earlier in the week, Pratt defended gun owners' rights in USA Today
and the New York Times. He also appeared on the NBC Today Show and
CBS' This Morning; and later debated anti-gun zealot, Rep. Zoe
Lofgren (D-CA), on CNN's Crossfire. Other GOA spokesmen have
continued to take to the air, as well, and have appeared on shows
ranging from NBC's Nightly News with Tom Brokaw to Fox Cable News
and more.
It's time for action in the heartland
Of course, the political battle in Congress is not going to be won
through mere debate. Gun owners nationwide must rally the troops
and let their Congressmen hear from the grassroots back home.
On Capitol Hill, the President is trying to enlist the help of
anti-gun Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) who is also head of the House
Judiciary Committee. In a letter to the powerful Committee
Chairman, Clinton requested his "bipartisan support" in pushing his
anti-gun crime package.
To date, no comprehensive bill has been introduced that includes all
of the President's proposals from this week. But there are bills in
the Congress that contain bits and pieces of the President's goals.
Expect Chuck Schumer and others to introduce more bills in the near
future. Please stay tuned.
Here's what to do: Ask your Representatives and Senators to avoid
any knee-jerk reactions and to COMPLETELY OPPOSE ALL of the
President's agenda (202-224-3121; see the GOA website for fax and
e-mail contact info). Tell them the President's behavior is
shameful-- using a tragedy like this to perpetuate laws that only
exacerbate the problem is disgraceful. For additional talking
points, you might also mention some of the following:
The criminals in Littleton, Colorado broke at least 19 gun laws in
perpetuating their crime. Adding a 20th or 21st gun law (or more)
won't make a difference at all.
None of the President's proposals-- not one-- would keep those
kids from having engaged in the massive carnage that they had
planned for more than a year.
Passage of the unconstitutional Gun Free School Zones Ban has not
resulted in gun free schools. While criminals disregard the law,
decent teachers and principals are forced to commit felonies if they
want a gun to defend themselves while they are at work.
A new study by John Lott (University of Chicago Law School) shows
concealed guns prevent mass shootings. Visit
papers.ssrn.com on the web to
read the study.
In particular, the legislators below should be contacted by large
numbers of activists. They need to hear that you oppose the
President's ENTIRE anti-gun agenda.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott 202-224-6253
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch 202-224-5251
House Speaker Denny Hastert 202-225-2976
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde 202-225-4561
House Crime Subcommitee Chairman Bill McCollum 202-225-2176
Representative Bob Barr (NRA director) 202-225-2931
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1 The current age for possessing a handgun is 18 years of age; the
age for purchasing a handgun is 21 years.
2 A shotgun can pump six 00 buckshot shells in less than five
seconds-- these six shells containing a grand total of seventy-two
.33 caliber size pellets. Each of these pellets is about the size
of a 7.62x39 round-- the type of ammunition which is fired from a
semi-automatic rifle such as the SKS. |
