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http://www.washtimes.com/national/20011122-52513264.htm
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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Bill provision has military collectors up in arms
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A sweeping provision in the Senate's Defense Department authorization
bill would force collectors who have bought surplus military items to
"demilitarize" them — something hobbyists fear means destroying or turning
over vintage military vehicles and guns.
House members stripped that section out of the version of the bill they
passed, and negotiators from the two chambers are now working to iron out the
issue. No agreement has been announced, but several lobbyists from vehicle
collectors associations and gun rights groups said House negotiators have
promised the provision will be stricken.
Known to opponents simply as Section 1062, the provision of the Senate
bill would make it illegal for anyone to possess "significant military
equipment" formerly owned by the military unless it has been demilitarized —
which means made inoperable as a weapon — according to regulations set out by
the Defense Department.
The purpose of the provision, a Pentagon spokesman said, is to prevent a
recurrence of past mistakes when a helicopter or tank has been sold without
the gun placements removed.
But a broad coalition — from the National Rifle Association to the
National D-Day Museum in New Orleans to vintage military jeep owners and even
military radio collectors — says the provision is drawn so it encompasses
just about anything the military has ever surplused.
"If Uncle George brought an M-1 rifle home from the war, it would
include that," said Scott A. Duff, who has written a history of the M-1
Garand rifle, which was a staple for World War II infantry.
Even more ironic, he said, is that the federal government still sells
that particular rifle to civilians through a marksmanship program, creating a
curious situation: "The FedEx man could come to your door with an M-1 today,
and the Defense Department could come to your door [to demilitarize it]
tomorrow."
However, the section of the bill has irked more than gun enthusiasts.
Allan D. Cors, president of the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles and
owner of more than 100 tanks, armored vehicles and jeeps, wrote a memo
calling the provision "a grotesque and frightening grant of authority to
seize [or] destroy legally acquired and legally possessed private property,"
especially since it would specifically harm people like him whose goal is to
preserve artifacts of military history.
Nobody knows how many planes, trucks, pistols, radios and rifles would
be covered under the provision — simply that it is a lot.
Several of the groups have been told that demilitarization wouldn't
apply to them, and senators have said they do not intend it to apply to Civil
War cannon and World War II aircraft. The provision also grants the secretary
of defense discretion on what to demilitarize, and how to do it.
But hobbyists say they want to be sure someone doesn't misinterpret the
provision in the future.
"We want to believe that, but our concern is the language is so broad
that 10 years down the line some bureaucrat may say, 'Oh my goodness, we
haven't been keeping up with this, here's all this ex-military aircraft we
need to demilitarize,'" said Peter Moll, executive director of the
Experimental Aircraft Association Warbirds of America, a group representing
civilians who own military aircraft.
Yet there are some groups that say the issue has been blown out of
proportion.
"We've been in contact with Senate staffers on this and it seems like
some of the concern is typical knee-jerk overreaction of some of the gun
extremists," said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence.
"Congress is trying to do the right thing on this. They're trying to
make sure someone doesn't have access to high-powered military weapons.
They're not going to take away someone's World War II rifle," he said.
The fate of the provision — like the rest of the bill — rests with
Democrats and Republicans who are now in conference.
Tara Andringa, spokeswoman for Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat and
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the senator will not
comment on the provision until an agreement has been reached.
"All that Senator Levin has said is that he's aware of concerns that
have been raised and they're working to iron out differences in conference,"
she said.
Lisa Atkins, chief of staff to Rep. Bob Stump, Arizona Republican and
chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he is opposed to Section
1062.
"The congressman is very opposed to it, and doesn't want to include it"
in any piece of legislation that is eventually agreed to by both chambers,
she said.
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