From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
Vol. 7, No. 49 12/8/00
FASHION RAG LAUNCHES ANTI-GUN CAMPAIGN
The latest addition to the list of anti-gun mouthpieces is the fashion
magazine Marie Claire, which announced the launch of an all-out attack on
our Right to Keep and Bear Arms in its January, 2001 issue. Glenda Bailey,
the magazine's Editor-in-Chief, writes, "We asked celebrities...to join us
in our campaign for sensible gun laws," then plugs anti-gun lobbying
organizations such as HCI and the "Million Mom March" (MMM). But what does
the magazine consider to be "sensible gun laws?" Apparently, banning all
firearms falls under the magazine's definition. The feature announcing the
campaign includes photographs of several celebrities, along with quotes
revealing their true goals. British rock star Sting, for example,
suggests, "Use your imagination and imagine a world without guns," while
contributing editor Trudie Styler states, "It's time to ban the gun." If
there is any question about whether the magazine supports these extremist
views, one needs only to look to the words of Ms. Bailey, who praises
Styler for "her commitment and support" to the magazine's efforts.
Other celebrities included in the feature? Controversial film director
Spike Lee, who once suggested that NRA President Charlton Heston should be
murdered by someone using a handgun (FAX Alert, Vol. 6, No. 21). Lee
states in the magazine, "The NRA has got to go," which we can only presume
is a position supported by Marie Claire. Also lending support are
actresses Melanie Griffith, Susan Sarandon, and Uma Thurman, actors
Michael Douglas, Ethan Hawke (who is married to Thurman), and Justin
Timberlake, and models Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Sophie Dahl,
Heidi Klum, and Christy Turlington. Klum simply states, "I'm afraid of
guns," which begs the question, if she were afraid of heights, as many
people are, would she support banning tall buildings? And, not to be
denied more media attention, Donna Dees-Thomases, the political operative
who orchestrated the MMM Mother's Day event held this year in Washington,
D.C., was included as a supporter of the magazine's gun-ban agenda.
The magazine, of course, includes all the routine inflammatory rhetoric
one would expect from a publication that has thrown its lot in with the
gun ban extremists, including using grossly misleading or outright
inaccurate "statistics," supporting the continued attempts to ban gun
shows as we know them today, and implying that it gives full support to
the reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry. You can
read more about Marie Claire's support of gun bans at
http://www.marieclaire.com/ (http://www.marieclaire.com). If you wish to
contact the magazine to object to its editorial policy that supports
attacks on the Second Amendment, you can write to: Letters, Marie Claire,
1790 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10019. You can also call (212)
649-5000, send faxes to (212) 649-5050, or send e-mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
ONO SUPPORTS MARIE CLAIRE, CALLS U.S. "WARZONE"
Also included in the Marie Claire campaign is John Lennon's widow, Yoko
Ono. While many people simply think of Ono as either the primary reason
the Beatles broke up, or a "musician" with questionable talent, she has
also been a long-time advocate of gun control. Lennon was murdered 20
years ago today, and in a recent rare interview, Ono commented that living
in America is "like...living in a war zone." Ono also recently paid to
erect billboards with anti-gun messages in New York City and Los Angeles,
two cities with high rates of crime committed with gunsùbut also extremely
restrictive laws regulating firearms.
BUT WHERE'S ROSIE?
Missing from the Marie Claire campaign, strangely enough, is America's
most strident anti-gun celebrity, Rosie O'Donnell, who once implied that
all gun owners should be thrown in jail. Perhaps Rosie has her hands full
deflecting criticism, which seems to be a full-time task for the talk-show
host. The New York Post reports that the latest conflict with Rosie and
her anti-gun views involves Jeffrey Wigand, who the paper says was praised
by O'Donnell for his involvement with lawsuits against the tobacco
industry. Wigand was the basis for the character in the movie "The
Insider," which also received Rosie's endorsement. Wigand, however, turns
out to own quite a number of firearms. Of course, this is not Rosie's
first bout with criticism because of her extremist anti-gun views.
She was widely criticized last year for verbally assaulting actor Tom
Selleck on her show for his pro-
Second Amendment and pro-NRA views (FAX Alert Vol. 6, No. 19)ùeven as she
continued to receive paychecks for her roll as a spokesman for Kmart, one
of the nation's largest retailers of firearms. She eventually parted ways
with Kmart (FAX Alert Vol. 6, No. 46), but her attacks on NRA and our
Right to Keep and Bear Arms continued. She joined the MMM this year on
Mother's Day (FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 20), spewing her usual anti-NRA venom
("The NRA is buying votes with blood money."), then faced a hailstorm of
criticism when it was revealed that the bodyguard for one of her children
was seeking to get a permit to carry a concealed firearm (FAX Alert Vol.
7, No. 21), and she had also used armed guards on occasion to guard her
home (FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 22). It remains to be seen whether Rosie will
now reverse herself, and condemn Wigand in order to remain consistent with
her anti-gun views.
ROSIE IN COURT?
Maybe the reason Rosie has not become involved with Marie Claire is
because she is burdened with legal problems. The Associated Press reports
that the anti-hunting extremists at People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) are suing O'Donnell. PETA claims that Rosie implied on her
show that the retail clothing store chain The Gap used leather that PETA
approved, but PETA spokesman Lisa Lange stated, "There's no such thing as
PETA-approved leather." PETA is asking for $350,000 in damages, and an
on-air retraction from O'Donnell. There was no comment on the suit from a
spokesman for Rosie's show.
SENATOR REED TAKES UP LAUTENBERG'S TORCH
Anti-gun extremists in the U.S. Senate do not intend to miss a single
opportunity to sound their anti-gun charge, and this week, U.S. Sen. Jack
Reed (D-R.I.) began blowing his own horn. Reed held a news conference on
Tuesday to announce that he would introduce legislation next year
targeting gun shows, which will likely closely mirror retiring Sen. Frank
Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) efforts to end gun shows as we know them today from
this past Congress. At the news conference, which was attended by Sen.
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lautenberg, and several other proponents of attacks
on the Second Amendment, the retiring New Jersey Senator stated, "I hope
my absence won't make the NRA's heart grow fonder. They're not going to
fare any better without me." Reed commented, "Unfortunately, regrettably
and indefensibly, the House leadership bottled this (Lautenberg's
legislation) up and failed to bring it up for a vote." Of course, it was a
group of anti-gun Democrats in the House that worked to defeat legislation
that addressed gun shows in the last Congress.
U.S. SENATE ELECTS LEADERS
Republicans and Democrats elected their respective leaders in the U.S.
Senate for the 107th Congress, sticking with many of their leaders from
the 106th. The Democrats reelected Sen. Tom Daschle (S.D.) as Minority
Leader and Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) as Democratic whip, while Republicans
reelected Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) as Majority Leader, and Sen. Don Nickles
(Okla.) as assistant Republican leader. Republicans also reelected Sen.
(and NRA Director) Larry Craig (Idaho) as chairman of the Senate
Republican Policy Committee, and elected Sen. Rick Santorum to succeed
retiring Sen. Connie Mack (Fla.) as chairman of the Senate Republican
Conference. Republicans also chose Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Tex.) as
secretary of the Republican Conference, and Sen. Bill Frist (Tenn.) as
chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Democrats
selected Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) as Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee chairman, and reelected Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Md.) as secretary
of the Democratic caucus. All of the mentioned Republicans are considered
to be pro-gun, while the Democrats referenced are all thoroughly anti-gun.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
___________________________________________________________
T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
