From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
Vol. 7, No. 25
NEW YORK GOVERNOR AND SENATE LEADER BETRAY GUN OWNERS
Senate Republican Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-43) struck an "11th-hour
deal" with the Pataki Administration and the State Assembly, passing a
modified version of the Governor's "5-point gun control package" on a vote
of 39-20. The package contains a ban on so-called "assault weapons," a
requirement for retail firearms dealers to sell locking devices with all
new guns, a "ballistic fingerprinting" plan that amounts to backdoor
registration, NICS checks on all sales at gun shows, and a new age
requirement of 21 for eligibility to receive a handgun license, which is
required for simple possession under New York law. Calls pouring into
Senate offices from outraged law-abiding gun owners, sportsmen and hunters
-- at a reported rate of 10 to 1 in opposition -- were ignored by Senate
leaders late last night when the measure was rammed through at the demand
of the Governor. Lawmakers seemed more concerned with pleasing the liberal
press than their constituents -- who will remember their actions in
November -- as they passed what can only be called "brochure manure" sound
bite fodder for their election year handouts -- and the media! As we went
to press, the final tally for the Assembly was not yet available, but the
measure was sure to pass -- the vote thus far is 100 - 40 in favor. The
final bill will head to Governor Pataki for his signature. New York
activists should look for a special FAX Alert on Monday outlining this
legislation and to see how your lawmakers voted.
NEW YORK CITY JOINS ATTACK ON LAWFUL FIREARMS INDUSTRY
On Monday, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) confirmed his status
as just another anti-gun, big-city mayor when he announced that New York
City would become the 32nd municipality to file a reckless lawsuit against
members of the firearms industry. New York City's suit cites "deceptive
marketing," "irresponsible supervision of sales," and "design flaws" as
the causes of gun deaths and injuries. The Center to Prevent Handgun
Violence (CPHV), the legal lapdog of the gun-ban extremists at HCI, signed
onto Giuliani's suit as co-counsel. The New York City suit includes in its
sights beleaguered gun maker Smith & Wesson (S&W) -- highlighting, once
again, the fact that the S&W Sellout (see Special Fax 3/20/00) has been
totally ineffective as a shield against lawsuits designed to circumvent
the legislative process and bankrupt an entire industry. New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer (D), one of the primary architects and most vocal
proponents of the S&W Sellout, seemed to have mixed feeling over
Giuliani's announcement. Spitzer and his litigious cronies have been
unable to extort or bribe any other gun makers into signing the S&W
Sellout, and several municipalities refuse to remove S&W from their own
suits. The decision by Giuliani and CPHV to include S&W in their suit had
Spitzer commenting, "It certainly does not create the appropriate
incentive for other manufacturers to step forward." U.S. Representative
(and NRA Board Member) Bob Barr (R-Ga.) also commented on the
Giuliani/CPHV announcement, making it very clear how he felt about the
decision. "I was deeply disappointed by your announcement that the City of
New York plans to file a frivolous lawsuit against legal firearms
manufacturers," Barr opened his letter to the mayor. He also stated,
"[Y]our lawsuit directly undermines the Second Amendment by seeking to
create an environment in which firearms companies are unable to do
business. If your goal is really to achieve a de facto repeal of the
Second Amendment, I urge you to do it in the open, rather than resorting
to the subterfuge of filing frivolous negligence suits." For more
information on Representative Barr, who has authored legislation to put an
end to these reckless lawsuits (HR 1032), please visit his website at
www.bobbarr.org.
HOUSE ACTION THIS WEEK
The U.S. House has also seen some action this week regarding the S&W
Sellout. On Wednesday, the house voted on two amendments offered by
pro-Second Amendment Representative John Hostettler (R-Ind.). The first,
passed on a 218 - 207 vote, forbids the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) from spending money on its "Communities for Safer Guns
Coalition." This coalition uses anti-gun propaganda to help encourage
cities to give highly preferential procurement treatment to firearms
manufacturers who sign coerced agreements restricting their otherwise
legitimate activities (e.g., the S&W Sellout). The other amendment,
defeated on a 219 - 206 vote, sought to prohibit HUD from spending any
money to oversee the S&W Sellout. Due to some concerns regarding the
drafting of these amendments, NRA did not take a position on either,
although we certainly support the spirit in which they were offered. We
will be sure to report any further updates on efforts to derail HUD's
anti-gun agenda.
U.S. SENATE HOLDS NICS HEARINGS
U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has made good on his promise to
investigate recurring problems with the National Instant Check System
(NICS) (see FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 20). Wednesday he chaired a Senate
Judiciary Committee Hearing that sought to find solutions that will
improve NICS. Those who testified before the committee included former
Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), U.S.
Senator Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), FBI Assistant Director for the Criminal
Justice Information Services Division David R. Loesch, Captain Stuart
Smith of the Utah Department of Public Safety, Director of the Vermont
Criminal Information Center Max Schleuter, and Federal Firearms License
(FFL) holder and 1999 "Jay M. Littlefield NRA-ILA Volunteer of the Year
Award" recipient and NRA-ILA EVC Robin Ball (from Spokane, Wash.). Senator
Hatch called for the hearing in response to the growing concern that the
Clinton-Gore Administration has deliberately sabotaged the NICS system
through shoddy implementation and operation practices, causing NICS to be
frequently "down" for hours -- even days -- at a stretch. Hatch pointed
out the fact that NICS was down for four days straight this year, which
coincided with the so-called "Million Mom March," and that FBI reports
show NICS was not operating for at least 215 hours last year. We thank
Senator Hatch for his commitment to ensuring NICS operates as intended --
effectively, efficiently, and instantly -- and we will continue to report
on progress on this front.
CLINTON CLINCHES "MOST ANTI-GUN PRESIDENT" TITLE WITH HCI AWARD
While the pro-gun community has known how rabidly anti-gun Bill Clinton is
for many years, any doubt the rest of America may have had was removed on
Wednesday, when the only elected President ever to be impeached was
awarded HCI's "James and Sarah Brady Lifetime Achievement Award."
VP-CANDIDATE CUOMO?
Is Al Gore (D) looking for a running mate who is as anti-gun as himself?
If he is, then HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo (D), the self-appointed gun
czar, has stated he is up to the task. Cuomo, architect and proponent of
the S&W Sellout, said yesterday that he would accept an invitation to run
as Gore's Vice Presidential candidate. If it is at all possible to create
a team more opposed to our Right to Keep and Bear Arms than Clinton-Gore,
a Gore-Cuomo ticket just might do it!
COME MEET ACCLAIMED RESEARCHER AND AUTHOR JOHN R. LOTT, JR.
Yale University School of Law Senior Research Scholar John R. Lott, Jr.,
will be in San Francisco on June 30 and July 1 to promote the release of
his newly-revised edition of More Guns, Less Crime. This groundbreaking
work on the benefits of fair, non-discretionary Right to Carry laws has
been updated to include additional research on new gun laws, including
mandatory storage provisions, one-gun-a-month purchase rules, and a study
of the Brady Act and its impact in its first three years. This book
represents the first national academic research that has been conducted on
many of these laws. Come meet John Lott and have him autograph your copy
of the newly-revised More Guns, Less Crime. He will appear:
Friday, June 30
Waldenbooks
4 Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA
12:00 - 2:00 pm
Saturday, July 1
Barnes & Noble
Fisherman's Wharf
2550 Taylor Street
San Francisco, CA
12:00 - 2:00 pm
A LOOK AT THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
AB 273, by Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Los Angeles), would establish a
massive licensing, registration, and renewal registration scheme for all
handguns, and mandate bureaucratically-created "proficiency tests" for
handgun owners. It will be heard on Tuesday, June 27, in the Senate Public
Safety Committee. AB 273 would be a costly nightmare that would create a
chaotic new bureaucracy for all handgun owners, who would be forced to pay
the bills. In fact, AB 273 mandates fees for the bill's complex mail-in
registration and renewal registration schemes, as well as for its
permanent record-keeping licensing scheme. A gun collector or handgun
owner unable to pay these costly fees that AB 273 seeks to institute could
have his handguns confiscated! Please contact your State Senator at (916)
445-4311 as soon as possible, and urge them to oppose AB 273. Tell your
State Senator that there are enough gun laws already on the books in
California that need to be enforced, rather than adding another that fails
to target violent criminals.
-------[Cybershooters contacts]--------
Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
