From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
Vol. 7, No. 34
FIREARMS INDUSTRY�S PATRIOTISM CALLED INTO QUESTION
Those of you who watched the Republican and Democratic National
Conventions may have seen an ad run by the Hunting and Shooting Sports
Heritage Foundation (HSSHF). The ad depicted the tearing apart of the
American flag to symbolize the use of frivolous litigation by greedy trial
lawyers, big city mayors, and the Clinton-Gore Administration to
circumvent the legislative process and bankrupt the firearms industry. In
a recent response to the ad, Clinton-Gore�s point man on guns, HUD
Secretary Andrew Cuomo (who is spearheading the Administration�s reckless
lawsuit campaign), called into question the industry�s patriotism for
"desecrating" the American flag. The mayors, who are plaintiffs in the
suit, further claimed that they deserve equal TV time to respond to the
ad, because it was a direct personal attack on them. They are reportedly
trying to enlist actor Martin Sheen, who plays the President in NBC�s
anti-gun TV show "The West Wing," to rebut the HSSHF ad. The mayors have
written broadcasters announcing their plans to file a formal complaint
with the Federal Communications Commission if their request for equal time
is denied.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which founded
HSSHF, quickly responded to the attacks on the ad. NSSF�s VP for
Government Affairs, Jim Chambers, called a press conference, and his
message was firm and clear: there was no desecration of the flag in the
ad, but rather a symbolic demonstration of this Administration�s attempt
to whittle away our Second Amendment rights piece-by-piece. Chambers, a
retired Air Force fighter pilot with more than 350 combat missions in
Vietnam, Iraq, and the Balkans, was quick to note that NSSF stands behind
the claims made in the ad. To learn more about HSSHF, go to <A
HREF="http://www.hsshf.org" TARGET="_blank">www.hsshf.org</A>.
L.A. TO CEASE ITS ILLEGAL FIREARMS CONFISCATION POLICIES
A lawsuit brought by the NRA and the California Rifle & Pistol Association
(CRPA) against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has been settled,
with the City agreeing to revise its policy for seizing and returning
firearms, and to pay NRA and CRPA legal fees. Often firearms are seized
under circumstances other than as evidence in a criminal case, and there
are procedures in place which many cities, including Los Angeles, have
been ignoring. The state laws covering the seizure and return of firearms
for domestic violence reports or in conjunction with temporary restraining
orders where changed dramatically on January 1, 2000. Many cities haven't
revised their procedures to comply with those changes. Where no specific
statute applies, cities have routinely required the individual from whom a
firearm is seized to get a court order for its return. But if a firearm is
not "evidence" or "contraband," the government has, for many years, been
required to get a court order to keep the property. NRA and CRPA support
the City�s ability to keep firearms out of the hands of those prohibited
by law. But a blanket policy to not return guns is simply
unconstitutional. By revising its policies, the LAPD has set up a process
by which the City Attorney can seek petitions to keep firearms only if
appropriate and legal. Otherwise the firearms must be returned to their
rightful owners promptly.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
___________________________________________________________
T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
