Ever wonder why the anti-gun leadership
of the Fraternal Order of Police
(FOP) was so hot for anti-gun President
Clinton’s reelection last year that it publicly
endorsed him in a much ballyhooed
ceremony?
Well, the answer may have been
found by THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR,
which reported in its December, 1996
issue that the FOP “have learned the
hard way what it’s like to be shafted by
Bill Clinton. Along with the International
Union of Police Associations and the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
the FOP had been angling to win the support
of the 750 rank-and-file members of
the Capitol Hill police force, which was
seeking union representation. In late
August, White House staffers met with
members of the FOP executive committee,
who suggested that Capitol Police
membership might lock up an FOP endorsement
for Clinton. The White House
group made no guarantees, but hinted
they might be able to ‘thin the field’ a bit
for the FOP prior to the Hill police vote.
Several weeks later, after the Teamsters
did their part by ostensibly withdrawing
from the selection process, the FOP
board endorsed Clinton to great fanfare.
“Then, in mid-October, the Hill police
voted to join the teamsters anyway, even
though, the White House had assured
the FOP that the teamsters were out of
the running. ‘We were shown correspondence
and spoke to people involved who
led us to believe all of our concerns had
been resolved before the endorsement
vote,’ said the source. ‘After we heard
we were out, we went to several people
in the Labor Department for an explanation
because no one in the White House
would return our calls. Basically, the
White House created a mirage, suckered
us in, and then screwed us big time.’â€
After the Clinton Administration
refused to allow the importation of legal
M1 Garand rifles and other surplus
firearms into the United States, anti-gun
Rep. Charles Schumer of New York and
newly elected Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
of New York wrote Secretary of State
Warren Christopher urging him to block
the importation of M1 Carbines and
other historic firearms. Actually, under
current federal law, such firearms could
be imported. However, Schumer wants
the Clinton Administration to block their
importation while he works for legislation
which would prevent importation
of firearms which fire “real bullets.â€
Congressman Schumer still is in on
the Brady front as well. He fears that
the Supreme Court may declare the
Brady Act or part of it unconstitutional
as a violation of the Tenth Amendment.
He already has indicated he may introduce
legislation to try to get around
that problem by making background
checks contingent on state concurrence
and providing monetary grants.
He thinks that would make a state’s
participation voluntary and defensible
against constitutional attacks on states’
rights grounds. Sounds like blackmail
to us, but Schumer reportedly plans to
introduce the legislation this month.
People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA) wanted a Maryland
deer hunt called off because the group
said not enough deer were being taken
by hunters. The special managed hunt
had been called by Montgomery County
officials to reduce the overpopulation of
deer in the area, which led to a number
of automobile accidents involving the
animals as well as problems with crops
In mid-November, the so-called
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, known
formerly as the National Coalition to Ban
Handguns, “honored†Abe Pollin, the
owner of the Washington Bullets professional
basketball team, for changing the
team’s name to the Wizards, effective
next season, according to THE WASHINGTON
POST.
Michael Beard, the Coalition President,
said Pollin was designated as the
recipient of the Coalition’s Robert F.
Kennedy-Martin Luther King, Jr. Award
for “his decision to reject symbols of
violence in our culture.â€
If anyone ever was in doubt as to
where anti-gun journalists would like to
lead the country, they only had to view
a November 30, 1996 WASHINGTON
POST editorial under the simple but
direct headline: “Until Handguns Are
Outlawed…â€
According to the editorialist’s opinion,
“absent any serious chances for a
ban on the civilian marketing of handguns,
every effort ought to be made to
rid the country of the most dangerous,
shoddy models that all too easily fall
into the hands of – and end the lives of
– children.â€
Obviously, the writer gave no consideration
to the number of lives saved
each year by law-abiding owners of
inexpensive handguns who use them
for preservation of life.
Also, the editorial writer obviously did
not consider the number of lives which
may be lost because people who cannot
afford expensive handguns would be unable
to defend themselves or their loved
ones, including their children, from
vicious and violent rampaging urban
brute criminals.