Hindsight from The New Gun Week June 10, 1999
Fat Lady Tuning Up on Guns
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive EditorThere was little civil discourse in Washington, DC, or on the Capitol Hill-inspired television talking-head shows after the anti-gun Democrats, led by President and Mrs. Clinton, Vice President and Tipper Gore, and Attorney General Janet Reno, put on a full-court press to railroad their anti-gun train through Congress on the rails provided by the Littleton, CO, high school shootings. Then, even though it probably wasn't needed, they got an extra push from the school shooting in Conyers, GA.
Many observers, like commentators Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard and syndicated columnist Robert Novak, blamed the Republicans for the disastrous strategy that left the Democrats grinning and posing-as well as counting votes in the 2000 elections.
Yes, the GOP made some bad mistakes and took to heart the battering from Clinton, Gore and Reno. Certainly they shouldn't had made passage of the Juvenile Crime Bill a priority, and they should have led from their own strength rather than with Lautenberg's first amendment on gun shows. Then they shouldn't have back-tracked when their own people quivered at poll results.
Mix Signals
But there also were mixed signals coming from the firearms industry and the firearms community. The NRA backed away from holding a significant meeting in Denver that could have made it clear that guns and gunowners were not responsible for what happened at Littleton-and broadened the national debate. At the brief annual meeting, Wayne LaPierre. NRA executive director, made it clear that the Association would support some regulation of private sales at gun shows as well as further restrictions on young, military-age youth to possess handguns.
The firearms industry, primarily through the American Shooting Sports Council, also indicated that it would support background checks at gun shows, gun lock legislation, and raising the legal age for handgun purchases. Many licensed dealers were also supporting gun show background checks.
And rank and file gunowners, bemused by the speed of the anti-gun Democrats and confused by reports about what the proposals would actually do, didn't generate the input to Washington that the lawmakers needed.
Some Democrats thought President Clinton had staked out too ambitious a gun agenda, but they may now be wondering if they stopped short of total victory. As they marched through, over and around the Second Amendment and the GOP majority in the Senate the week of May 17, it seemed they could almost have done everything they wanted.
Clinton had told the Democratic leaders in Congress that he had made a mistake in 1993 and 1994 that ended up with their losing control of both houses of Congress. But he assured them he was right this time, even if they were timid.
Continued Push
Seeing their success in the Senate, the anti-gun legions pushed for the House to deal with the issue immediately-before Memorial Day-so that they could keep their momentum. Fortunately, it looks like the House GOP leadership may slow things down a bit. But not for long. They are due back from vacation on June 7 and the battle will begin anew.
Gunowners shouldn't make a mistake in interpreting the statements of Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL). Yes, they have repeatedly stated that they support the general concept of many of the Democrat-sponsored anti-gun provisions in the Senate bill, but they have also made it clear that they are not comfortable in the details. And that's where the devil really is, as you can see from the details of what the gun show background check really does that appears on Page 1 of this issue.
There are plenty of things the House can still fix if they are going to pass gun legislation.
The Senate's Juvenile Justice Bill fails to provide funding for the National Instant Check System (NICS) background checks of firearms buyers required by the Brady Act for Fiscal Year 2000 and beyond, thus shifting the burden of the "gun tax" from the general fund to the dealer/consumer.
The Senate bill also mandates sale of a locking device with all (new or used) handgun sales, as provided in the amendment by Sens. Herbert Kohl (D-WI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Failure to provide a locking device subjects an FFL-holder to a six-month suspension of the license and $2,500 fine for each offense. The lock amendment does provide some civil liability immunity for gunowners who use locking devices for guns that are misused after stolen or taken by an unauthorized youth or adult. Some observers feel this implies liability for unsecured guns that are stolen and misused.
Magazine Ban
The amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) purports to prohibit the importation of foreign-made high capacity (over 10 rounds) magazines produced before 1994, but it would appear that the Feinstein amendment (as modified) prohibits the possession of existing (pre-ban) high capacity magazines.
An amendment introduced by Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO) prohibits possession of "semi-automatic assault weapons" and high capacity magazines by juveniles under 21, with some exceptions for parental authorization, competition, etc.
The bill also contains a lifetime prohibition on gun ownership for "violent juveniles" with no provision for relief of disability.
In addition, S-254, as passed, retains the present requirement that a NICS check be completed before pawned guns can be redeemed by their owners. And, an amendment sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) would require a study of the marketing practices of firearm manufacturers-presumably to assist the cities suing gun manufacturers or set the stage for regulation of firearms advertising, especially if it suggests that guns can be used to deter crime.
There are a lot of intangible aspects to the legislation.
It has enabled the gun-control movement to gain momentum and prestige.
It has created the perception that gun rights lobby is weakening, in disarray and split.
In addition, Al Gore's "leadership" got a boost with tie-breaking vote on the Lautenberg amendment, and the Senate GOP leadership looks weak and indecisive because it lost control of the agenda.
But gunowners must still rally within just a few days, and show the House leadership that they are not willing to go quietly into the night and see their basic rights so trampled. There is still time to correct much of what is contained in S-254, even if it cannot be reversed entirely. There are ways to have background checks on private sales at gun shows without giving up so much else. A big example is the funding question: can funding for NICS, especially expanded as the Senate proposes, be provided in the government's budget rather than by a tax on gunowners?
Are there ways to limit the national registration mechanism by cutting the time the government can keep records of such background checks?
There are hearings scheduled in the House. Anything can yet happen. The fat lady hasn't sung.
Other Debates
Meanwhile, there is a continuing debate about what is wrong with America. Many have focused on the media, but when they do so, they risk violating the First Amendment as much as has been done to the Second.
Yet if guns are not the problem, other things are.
Clinton backed away from bashing his pals in the movie and TV industry who give him so much campaign money. But others in the industry see problems.
A group out of Los Angeles, called the Parents Television Council, ran a full-page ad in the May 23 New York Times, saying "TV is leading children down a moral sewer." The ad featured long-time popular entertainer Steve Allen, and urged people to support a petition campaign to sponsors of television programs that promote "filth, vulgarity, sex and violence, perversions, killings and a lack of respect for authority."
Even though Mel Gibson, star of the violent and anti-gun "Lethal Weapon" films, was quoted as saying that no one in the industry takes such complaints seriously, others in the industry think something is wrong, and not all of them blame guns.
What happens in the next few weeks may be crucial to America's future. Gunowners and other concerned citizens can try to help correct in the House of Representatives the mess that was made in the Senate. Then they have to keep the heat on for a deeper examination of what happened to America.
The New Gun Week is published three times a month by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on the 1st, 10th, and 20th. Hindsight is a commentary written by SAF President and Gun Week Executive Editor Joseph P. Tartaro. This commentary may be reprinted so long as credit is given to the author and the publication. For more information or to subscribe, write Gun Week, PO Box 488, Buffalo, NY 14209, or call 716-885-6408 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or inquire on Compuserve to John Krull, Production manager-JohnSAF@Compuserve.com or gunweeksaf@broadviewnet.netAlso, check out the New Gun Week at http://www.GunWeek.com