AGS CONTINUES TO SHAMELESSLY
EXPLOIT SEPTEMBER 11 ACTS OF WAR
The national public policy debate was plunged to a new low yesterday by Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), the anti-gun lobby funded solely by Internet billionaire Andy McKelvey—who is also a former board member of the gun-ban lobby formerly known as HCI. AGS continues its outrageous attempt to link the terrorist strikes against this country to a national tradition as old as America itself—gun shows. In an ad appearing in Thursday`s Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, AGS exploits the fear of global terrorism left by the attacks of September 11, but its attack on gun shows is simply the same tired gun control agenda in new packaging.
"It`s time for full disclosure," said NRA-ILA Executive Director James Jay Baker. "Americans for Gun Safety has zero Americans for members, and nothing to do with gun safety programs. It`s a billionaire`s pet project, staffed by the architects of the anti-gun agenda of Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who are desperately seeking new justifications for pushing their tired gun control agenda."
The president of AGS is Jonathan Cowan, who served as aide to the self-appointed anti-gun czar of the Clinton cabinet—HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo—whose agenda for fighting crime revolved around threatening nonsensical lawsuits against gun makers. Cowan is assisted by former White House political aide Matt Bennett, and by Jim Kessler, the former gun advisor to Senator Schumer.
In its campaign to resurrect its gun show legislation, AGS is reduced to pointing to two cases that actually show current laws work to stop criminals.
First, AGS desperately dug up a case the FBI began investigating over a year ago that involved a felon, Ali Boumelhem, suspected of attending gun shows in the Detroit area to purchase firearms for shipment overseas to the Hezbollah. The FBI placed the man under surveillance, and in due course, he was arrested, prosecuted and convicted in federal court. (AGS`s misrepresentations of the facts in this case, both in yesterday`s ad, as well as in a message to Congress, were exposed in NRA-ILA FAX Alert, Vol. 8, No. 39.)
The day the Roll Call ad ran, the Washington Post obligingly spread the AGS fraud, providing space to Eric Holder, whose past experience in the Clinton-Reno Department of Justice included countless trips to Capitol Hill to defend the Clinton Administration`s failure to enforce federal firearms law. Holder wrote: "previously convicted felon and terrorist, Ali Boumelhem, went to a Michigan gun show, where he was legally exempt from a background check, and purchased assault weapons, shotguns, ammunition and flash suppressors that he intended to ship to the terrorist group Hezbollah." A convicted felon "legally exempt?"
Holder also mischaracterized the case of four people convicted last year of illegally buying guns at a Florida gun show—a case AGS also attempted to exploit recently. He downplayed the fact that enforcing the law worked, because he was more interested in advancing the charge that the guns were purchased "for use by the Provisional Irish Republican Army." He failed to mention, though, that the jury rejected the IRA connection charge. Admitting that fact would totally collapse the bridge his friends at AGS are deceitfully attempting to build between gun shows and terrorists.
AGS`s attempt to link the terrorist actions of September 11—which, of course, in no way involved firearms—to gun shows is not only an assault on the truth; it is an attack on logic. As the editor of the Arab American News in Dearborn, Mich., pointed out in commenting on the Boumelhem case last May: "Hezbollah is getting millions of dollars from Iran. They have plenty of weapons. They don`t need a few shotguns from Dearborn."
Commenting further, ILA`s Baker stated, "This outrageous attack on Americans` Second Amendment rights proves that AGS is the same as every other radical fringe anti-gun group—they have the same solution to every problem, and are willing to sink to any depth to exploit the headlines in pursuing their pet agenda.
"America faces many difficult challenges in the months ahead. Those challenges should not include efforts that make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase and use firearms. True American public opinion is telling its own story. Since the attacks of September 11, media outlets have been filled with reports of Americans purchasing their first firearms and learning to use them safely and responsibly for self-protection. "AGS is no doubt simply doing the bidding of its corporate master in going to such desperate lengths to justify anew its agenda," Baker continued. "Americans understand that the tools of terrorism will not be found in their neighborhood gun show. But the threat of political opportunism taking hold is very real, and I urge every law-abiding American gun owner to contact their federal representatives to ensure that our rights do not become a casualty in the war against terrorism."
Be sure to let your federal lawmakers know that the debate over legislative attacks on legal gun shows, such as S. 767, introduced by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and S. 890, introduced by U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), have no place in a legitimate congressional debate on the threat of terrorism. Be sure to contact your U.S. Senators, at (202) 224-3121, and your U.S. Representative, at (202) 225-3121, and urge them to do everything possible to end the threat of terrorism, but not at the expense of our freedom. You can also find contact information for your federal lawmakers by using our "Write Your Reps" tool.
CONGRESS RESUMES REGULAR SCHEDULE
Congress is now getting back to its regular schedule, and firearm-related legislation is under debate. As reported previously, the "National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2002" still awaits final consideration by a House-Senate Joint Conference Committee. Contact conference committee members, as well as all of your own federal lawmakers, and urge them to ensure that Sec. 1062 of S. 1438 is deleted from the final version of this bill. (For details on this provision, please refer to previous FAX Alerts, Vol. 8, Nos. 40 & 41.) You can reach your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, and your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121. You can also find contact information by using our "Write Your Reps" tool.
CLINTON APPOINTEE
TAKES DANGEROUS PARTING SHOT
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Ann Brown, one of the remaining holdovers from the Clinton Administration, has chosen to step down from her position, but not before attempting a last-minute attack on air rifles. Brown, who was vice president of the anti-gun Consumer Federation of America (CFA) for almost 15 years before Clinton appointed her head of CPSC, has targeted certain Daisy air rifles for a potential recall. The suggestion of a recall was apparently prompted when a Pennsylvania teenager "accidentally" pointed what he thought was an unloaded air rifle at a friend and pulled the trigger. The gun was not unloaded, however, and the friend was injured.
Of course, Brown`s notion that air rifles should be recalled because certain individuals are recklessly careless when handling them is as dangerous as it is ludicrous. Furthermore, while Chairman Brown claims the scope of her proposed recall would target "only" 9 million air rifles, her "defect" claim is so broad that it could not only affect virtually every air rifle, but it could also be used in future reckless lawsuits against firearm manufacturers—exactly what some consider to be the true goal of Brown`s effort. And the fact that Brown has scheduled the vote on this matter for next Tuesday, October 30, should not be lost on anyone, as she is scheduled to step down as Chairman the following day. Could this be her last-ditch attempt at securing an anti-gun legacy?
Please be sure to contact the CPSC commissioners as soon as possible, and urge them to reject the recall of air guns on October 30. Remind them that Daisy air rifles have been investigated several times over the past 20 years, and each time the CPSC has found these products to be nondefective. It is arbitrary and capricious to tell a company for 20 years their product is nondefective, and then suggest that there might be a recall of the very guns that the agency has determined to be nondefective. Also remind the commissioners that the CPSC should not get involved with gun design matters, an area for which the CPSC is not qualified. In addition, any decisions about the design of air guns could necessarily affect how firearms are designed—an area that Congress has determined should be completely outside the purview of the CPSC.
Several NRA members have already contacted CPSC on this issue, and they have received a rather cleverly worded "dodge" that is a clear attempt to mislead the general public into believing the CPSC is not actually considering recalling certain Daisy air rifles. A generic response from Todd Stevenson, Acting Director in the Office of the Secretary of CPSC, states, "Thank you for your comments about air guns or BB guns. The Commission is not considering a ban or regulations of any kind on air guns, air rifles or BB guns." Of course, banning the Daisy air rifles or implementing regulations on their design is not what the CPSC is currently considering, so Stevenson`s response is "technically" accurate. However, the CPSC is, indeed, scheduled to vote on the massive recall of Daisy air rifles next Tuesday, so be sure to voice your opposition to such a recall.
Contact Information for CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington, D.C. 20207-0001
Phone: (301) 504-0990
Fax: (301) 504-0124 & (301) 504-0025
E-mail: [email protected]Chairman Ann Brown
Phone: (301) 504-0213
E-mail: [email protected]Commissioner Mary Sheila Gall
Phone: (301) 504-0530
E-mail: [email protected]Commissioner Thomas Moore
Phone: (301) 504-0290
E-mail: [email protected]
Also, if you have already contacted CPSC about this matter, and you received the misleading response from Mr. Stevenson or any other CPSC employee, please respond to the individual who sent the message, as well as to the CPSC Commissioners, and explain you strongly encourage the CPSC Commissioners to vote against any recall of certain Daisy air rifles.
CPAC 2002
NRA Members are invited to attend CPAC 2002—the 29th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference, January 31 - February 2, 2002, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. CPAC is the nation`s premier annual gathering of conservative leaders, celebrities, elected officials, and grassroots activists. Invited speakers for this year`s conference include: President George W. Bush; Vice President Dick Cheney; Margaret Thatcher; NRA President Charlton Heston; NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre; NRA First Vice President Kayne Robinson; U.S. Representative (and NRA Director) Bob Barr (R-Ga.); and many more political pundits and congressional leaders. CPAC is co-sponsored by more than 60 leading conservative organizations, and by NRA. Register for CPAC 2002 before December 15 to take advantage of the "Early Bird" discount. For additional information, or to register for the conference, call (800) 752-4391, or visit CPAC online. Also, through the CPAC student scholarship program, students with valid school ID attend CPAC for free!
STAY BETTER INFORMED
& HELP SAVE ILA FUNDS
If you have an e-mail address, but you still receive the NRA-ILA FAX Alert every Friday via your fax machine, we encourage you to switch over to our e-mail system to help conserve ILA funds. We can send e-mail at virtually no cost, while each fax incurs the cost of a long distance call, not to mention your cost in paper. E-mail also allows you more flexibility in conveying our information to others. If you would like to switch to e-mail, just follow the instructions through the link called "Sign Up For Email." Once you start receiving our alerts via e-mail, call the Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683, and let us know we need to take you off the fax system.
A LOOK AT THE STATES
PENNSYLVANIA
This week, Attorney General Mike Fisher (R) announced the establishment of Right to Carry reciprocity agreements with Florida and Kentucky. It is expected that Pennsylvania will establish additional reciprocity agreements with other states in the near future.
WISCONSIN
Two NRA-supported bills are scheduled to be voted on next week. Assembly Bill 529, authored by Representatives Musser (R-Black River Falls) and Pettis (R-Hertel), seeks to allow retired peace officers to carry concealed firearms for personal protection. Assembly Bill 540 (also authored by Representative Pettis) seeks to require the Wisconsin Attorney General`s office to ensure law-abiding citizens are not repeatedly denied their civil rights because of inaccurate criminal records. Both bills are scheduled to be voted on in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday, October 30, and could be considered by the full Assembly as early as Thursday, November 1. The Criminal Justice meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. in Room 415 NW of the State Capitol Building. NRA members are encouraged to attend the Criminal Justice Committee meeting and to contact their Representative to encourage him to support AB 529 and AB 540 as the authors have drafted them. You can reach your state Representative by calling (608) 266-1501, and for additional contact information, you can use our "Write Your Reps" tool.
