Issue 094

October, 2002

 

GUN RIGHTS POLICY CONFERENCE

 

More than 500 people recently cheered a rousing three-day lineup of notables “Defending Freedom,” the theme of the 2002 Gun Rights Policy Conference.

 

Hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation, GRPC brought activists from all over America to Phoenix, Arizona, where they addressed threats to the rights of gun owners that have crept into Washington’s political atmosphere since the terrorist attacks of 9-11, 2001.

 

“We have to stay on the offensive,” said WAYNE LaPIERRE, National Rifle Association executive vice president. “These elections are going to be critical.”

 

Gun rights leaders agreed that the outcome of the 2002 mid-term election will determine the fate of a handful of important gun bills pending in Congress.

 

LARRY PRATT, executive director of the Gun Owners of America, believes both Republicans and Democrats view gun issues as a political liability. A Republican victory wouldn’t guarantee a pro-gun voting record in every case.

 

Hanging in the balance are issues including: arming airline pilots; not placing undue regulations on private or gun show sales; preempting municipal lawsuits against gun manufacturers; repealing the Clinton-era ban on certain semi-automatic guns; and preventing efforts to ban .50-caliber rifles.

 

But gun rights aren’t driving this year’s election as much as terrorism, homeland security and the economy are, said ALAN M. GOTTLIEB, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.

 

“In a close election, an issue like guns is two to four percent of the electorate,” said Gottlieb. “In a race that can be won or lost by two points, we can be the difference.”

 

NEIL SCHULMAN, author and pro-gun advocate, said the homeland security issue is also critical. “The Second Amendment is the first line of Homeland Defense,” he said. “We need to deputize the nation.” Attendees heartily agreed.

 

But many gun owners expressed concern that the new homeland security agency proposed by the BUSH administration will undermine their ability to protect themselves, their families and the nation.

 

Concerning political opponents, NEAL KNOX, Firearms Coalition chairman, said, “We’ve got a bunch of ‘make-nice’ Dems like CHUCK SCHUMER that are saying, ‘Oh, I believe in the Second Amendment,’ but don’t let them for one moment define what being for the Second Amendment means.”

 

JACK ADKINS of the Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers Institute warned of a change in tactics used by the gun control crowd.

 

Groups such as the Brady Campaign and the Violence Policy Center are invoking the threat of terrorism, the potential harm to children, and the image of big, fierce-looking guns to sell their gun-control agenda.

 

Bills with names like the Child Gun Safety Act and the Children’s Firearm Access Prevention Act are just window dressing for gun control.

 

“No matter how they package it, the ultimate goal is the same,” said ADKINS. “To eventually prohibit firearms in America.”

 

That’s not something the more than 500 GRPC attendees are likely to allow.

 

Also in this issue: ·Arizona court clears gunmakers in shootings  · California law bad news for firearms manufacturers   · U.S. ready to arm pilots on trial basis      · London mayor feels safer in New York  l ATF official charged in gun offense  

 ·  Don’t be a victim in our Page Eight “Parting Shot”

 

APPEALS COURT CLEARS GUN MAKERS AND SELLERS IN KILLINGS

 

The Arizona Court of Appeals three-judge panel recently threw out the claims of the families of three employees of a Tucson Pizza Hut who were shot to death during a 1999 robbery.

 

The appeals court rejected the families’ contention that the defendants had a duty to have procedures designed to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them or foreseeably might commit a crime.

 

Defendants were Glock Inc., manufacturer of the murder weapon; Centerfire Inc., a retail outlet, and STANLEY WOZNICKI, who bought the gun from Centerfire and later sold it at a gun show to one of the two convicted murderers in the case.

 

Judge JOSEPH HOWARD, writing for the appellate court, said there generally is no duty under Arizona law to control the conduct of a third party.

 

An appeal to the state Supreme Court is expected.

 

VIRGINIA GUN-SHOP OWNER LOSES SUIT TO KEEP SALES PRIVATE

 

ROBERT MARCUS, owner of Bob’s Gun & Tackle Shop in Norfolk, has lost his lawsuit to keep his sales records out of federal hands.

 

Federal Judge HENRY C. MORGAN Jr. ruled that MARCUS must turn over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms the make, model, caliber and serial number of each used firearm bought and sold at the store in 1999.

 

Judge MORGAN ruled that the amount of information sought by the ATF was so minuscule that it would not create a federal registry, which Congress has strictly forbidden.

 

MARCUS will appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

 

NRA FILES CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT

 

The National Rifle Association has filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of ALAN NEWSOM, a 12-year-old NRA member. The lawsuit charges school officials in Albemarle County, Virginia, with violating NEWSOM’s civil rights when they banned him from wearing an NRA-logo Youth Sports Shooting Camp shirt to school last year. The school had no rule against such things at the time it forced the young man to wear the shirt inside-out so the illustration would not show.

 

The lawsuit, alleging 12 counts of free speech and due process violations, seeks $100,000 in damages and $50,000 in punitive damages plus costs and attorneys fees. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for Western District of Virginia, Charlottesville Division.

 

INDIANA COURT VICTORY FOR GUN MANUFACTURERS

 

Indiana’s state Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against firearm manufacturers and a wholesaler brought by the city of Gary. The decision in favor of the industry comes, in part, because the sale of firearms to the public is a regulated legal activity and the court found, “that which is lawful cannot be regarded in a legal sense as a public nuisance.” The court also quoted Indiana’s state constitutional guarantee to the right to bear arms and self defense.

 

However, the appeals court said that three local gun shops should remain defendants in the lawsuit because the city of Gary alleged there is evidence that illegal gun sales took place in the businesses.

 

California law TARGEts gunmakers

 

California Governor GRAY DAVIS has signed recently enacted legislation that makes lawful manufacturers more vulnerable to lawsuits when their non-defective products are criminally misused.

 

The move opens the door to politically motivated nuisance suits designed to financially cripple the firearms industry.

 

LAWRENCE G. KEANE, vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said, “This demonstrates the urgent need for Congress to enact federal legislation to bar such suits.”

 

Bills are pending in both the House and Senate that would provide federal immunity to the firearms industry. The House bill has 229 sponsors, while a similar bill in the Senate has 39 sponsors.

 

ILLINOIS LAW HELPS GUN SAFETY TRAINING

 

The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) applauded Gov. GEORGE RYAN for signing Senate Bill 1936 into law. The law will make it easier for thousands of Illinois citizens to receive life-saving gun safety training.

 

Gun safety students now will not have to be in possession of an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card in order to receive safety training.

 

The red tape and cost of obtaining a FOID had previously deterred citizens from taking gun safety training. Now only the trainer must have a valid FOID.

 

OHIO GUN CONTROL CROWD FEARS CONCEALED CARRY VOTE

 

About 30 Ohio members of the Million Mom March recently attempted to deliver yellow rubber duckies to state senators in a largely empty Statehouse urging them not to vote on a pending concealed carry bill until next year.

 

The “Thirty Mom March” worried that lawmakers would use the days immediately after the November election to vote in a lame duck session.

 

Gov. BOB TAFT has vowed not to sign any concealed carry bill without law enforcement support. The Buckeye State Sheriffs Association supports it, but the State Highway Patrol and Fraternal Order of Police oppose it.

 

INDIANA COUNTY GUN BAN REPEALED

 

In a victory for gun owners, Johnson County officials have repealed an ordinance that prohibited some residents from having a loaded or assembled gun in their homes.

 

Resident JOHN LOWE had filed a lawsuit challenging the restrictions after receiving two warnings from sheriff’s deputies. LOWE was not fined, and many deputies did not know the ordinance was on the books. He did not seek damages in the lawsuit, but sought to have the ordinance repealed as being in violation of the Indiana state constitution.

 

County commissioners voted unanimously to repeal the ordinance on the recommendation of their attorneys. LOWE’s lawsuit has not been settled.

 

A.G. SAYS VIRGINIA AGENCY CAN’T BAN GUNS IN STATE PARKS

 

A legal opinion from Virginia Attorney General JERRY W. KILGORE has stirred a simmering gun rights dispute.

 

The opinion came in response to a letter from state Delegate RICHARD H. BLACK (R-Loudon) about an agency ban on concealed carry in state parks.

 

Attorney General KILGORE wrote: “It is my opinion that the Department of Conservation and Recreation exceeded its statutory authority in prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns by holders of valid permits.”

 

The opinion is only advisory, and is not binding on the agency.

 

The Virginia Citizen Defense League, a gun owners group, had asked its members to contact KILGORE in support of allowing concealed carry by valid permittees in state parks.

The agency is considering the legal opinion.

 

U.S. READY TO LET PILOTS CARRY GUNS IN TRIAL PLAN

 

The BUSH administration is now ready to allow some U.S. airline pilots to carry guns in the cockpit on a trial basis.

 

Transportation Secretary NORMAN MINETA still personally opposes arming pilots, but pressure from Congress and pilots’ unions, plus a leadership shakeup at the Transportation Security Administration, prompted him to reassess the situation.

 

Details of the guns-in-cockpits plan are still being worked out, but momentum is building in Congress to arm all 70,000 commercial pilots in the nation.

 

The House passed a bill in July that would allow just that, and a bill now in the Senate would also give flight attendants self-defense training.

 

SENATE CONSIDERS ARMING OFF-DUTY AND RETIRED COPS

 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is considering legislation that would let off-duty and retired law enforcement officers carry weapons when they leave their local jurisdictions, even when they cross state lines.

 

Committee Chairman PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT) introduced the bill because he believes arming cops would make communities safer. It has gained the support of 30 other Senators, including Committee ranking Republican Sen. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT).

 

President BUSH has said he favors the legislation.

 

FEDS SAY 2 PERCENT OF FIREARM APPLICANTS REJECTED IN 2001

 

In a repeat of past years, the U.S. Justice Department has reported that roughly 2 out of every 100 applicants who applied to purchase a firearm last year were rejected after a background check.

 

The numbers are nearly identical to most years since the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics began reporting after the federal Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act went into effect in 1994.

 

In real numbers, 151,000 out of nearly 7.6 million applicants -- or 1.9 percent -- were rejected after checks by the FBI or state and local agencies. About 1,900 were arrested. Conviction numbers were not reported.

 

From the beginning in March 1994 to December 2001, 38 million applications were made to federally licensed dealers, of which about 840,000 -- about 2 percent -- were rejected.

 

The vast majority of rejections in 2001 -- 72 percent -- were due to felony convictions or indictments or domestic violence misdemeanor convictions or restraining orders. Other reasons -- those who are fugitives, illegal aliens, suffer drug addiction or a mental illness or disability, or have had a dishonorable discharge from the armed services -- made up the balance of rejections.

 

TORRICELLI BILL TRIES NEW TACTIC TO DESTROY FIREARMS INDUSTRY

 

The Firearms Safety and Consumer Protection Act, authored by scandal-ridden departing Sen. ROBERT TORRICELLI (D-NJ) and Rep. PATRICK KENNEDY (D-RI) would regulate guns as consumer products.

 

This new trick up the sleeve of the gun control lobby would give the Department of the Treasury the authority to regulate the design, manufacture, and distribution of guns.

 

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), with its year 2000 budget of $846,660, strongly backs the bills, and has organized a coalition of more than 120 organizations to support passage, and will resume the effort when the next Congress convenes in January, according to SUSAN PESHIN, firearms project director at CFA.

 

The secret sponsors of this tactic are the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which gave CFA $200,000 to run its “research on regulating firearms as consumer products” and the Joyce Foundation, which gave $25,000 for the same purpose. Congress should look into foundation influence on public policy.

 

democrats try to neutralize gun lobby’s clout

 

Questionable Democrats are “making nice” about guns to shed their gun control image at the polls.

 

Alaska’s Lt. Gov. FRAN ULMER, Democrat candidate for governor and holder of a permit to carry a concealed weapon, went gun shopping in July with reporters in tow. Ms. ULMER, who owns eight rifles, told reporters she needed something that would fit in her purse to make her feel safe on the campaign trail.

 

BILL RICHARDSON, New Mexico Democrat candidate for governor, is marketing himself as “the choice for New Mexico gun owners and sportsmen” despite his Clinton administration record as a cabinet officer and ambassador to the United Nations.

 

These Democrats and others nationwide are well aware that gun owners cost AL GORE crucial votes in a handful of states in the 2000 presidential election, including Tennessee, his home state.

 

They are also aware that MARK WARNER, a Democrat who was elected governor of Virginia in 2001, neutralized the gun issue in his campaign by reassuring voters in rural areas that he did not want to take their guns.

 

As a result, Dems this year are taking a leaf from the WARNER playbook. They’re not advancing the agenda of gun rights supporters, but they don’t want to alienate the powerful gun lobby. They’re trying to immunize themselves against gun rights advocates’ election day forces.

 

Gun control groups are not happy with Democrats running away from the gun grabber agenda. “There is no question that candidates running in rural areas find themselves forced to cater to the gun lobby,” said MICHAEL BARNES, a former Democratic representative from Maryland and now president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, formerly Handgun Control, Inc.

 

The question is: if they get elected, what will these Democrats do when critical votes come to Congress?

 

Is this just another form of election fraud?

 

chief nra lobbyist scopes the field

 

CHRIS COX, a native of Jackson, Tennessee, replaced JAMES JAY BAKER as the National Rifle Association’s chief lobbyist earlier this year, which makes him the key person who will determine whether Republicans or Democrats get the NRA’s endorsement in the upcoming election.

 

At 32, he’s young for the job, but he runs a staff of 76, including lawyers and lobbyists, researchers and public relations specialists. 

 

It’s not as clear-cut a choice as it was during the CLINTON-GORE administration when the NRA became identified almost exclusively as an ally of the Republican Party.

 

Since AL GORE lost his home state of Tennessee amidst a barrage of NRA commercials in the presidential election, COX has seen Democrat candidates in many states scrambling to get back on the NRA’s good side.

 

A lot of them, like PHIL BREDESEN, Tennessee’s Democrat candidate for governor, make a public display of going hunting or sport shooting. BREDESEN made no secret of his recent dove hunt with Rep. JOHN TANNER (D-TN). And take note: the NRA’s COX worked on TANNER’s congressional staff right after graduating from Rhodes