March 1997

In Washington, D. C., CCRKBA
announced its firm and determined
opposition to H. R. 787, by Rep. Major
R. Owens of New York, to prohibit the
manufacture, importation, exportation,
sale, purchase, transfer, receipt, possession
or transfer of handguns and
handgun ammunition.
CCRKBA indicated it also opposes
H.R. 788, by Rep. Hastings, to expand
the powers of BATF to regulate the manufacture,
distribution and sale of firearms
and ammunition, and to expand the
jurisdiction of BATF to include firearms
products and nonpowder firearms.
Both H. R. 787 and H. R. 788 were
referred to the House Committee on the
Judiciary.
A legislative attempt to require socalled
handgun safety locks has been
mounted in Congress.
In the Senate, for instance, Sen.
Herbert H. Kohl of Wisconsin introduced
S. 428, which would require the inclusion
of trigger locks when licensees
sell handguns to non-licensees. It also
would require the inclusion of a printed
handgun safety warning when handguns
are sold.
Referred to the Senate Committee
on the Judiciary, it includes Sens. Barbara
Boxer of California, John Chafee
of Rhode Island and Richard Durbin of
Illinois as cosponsors.
In the House of Representatives,
Rep. Charles E. Schumer of New York
introduced H. R. 1047, which is similar to
S. 428. Referred to the House Committee
on the Judiciary, its cosponsors include
Reps. Thomas Barrett of Wisconsin,
John Conyers of Michigan, Jim Davis
of Illinois, Diana DeGette of Colorado,
Bob Filner of California, Patrick Kennedy
of Rhode Island, William Lipinski of Illinois,
Zoe Lofgren of California, Thomas
Manton of New York, Carolyn McCarthy
of New York, Eleanor Holmes Norton of
the District or Columbia, John Edward
Porter of Illinois, Jose Serrano of New
York and Sidney Yates of Illinois.
Also in the House, Rep. Earl Blumenauer
introduced H. R 814 and Rep.
Juanita Millender-McDonald introduced
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H. R. 1074, which were referred to the
Judiciary Committee.
In the meantime, President Bill
Clinton directed all federal agencies to
require safety locks with every handgun
issued to a law enforcement agency.
Early last month, President ordered
BATF to tighten a regulation requiring
legal immigrants to prove that they have
been residents of the state in which they
wish to buy a gun for at least 90 days.
The tightening will require prospective
buyers to attest that they are
residents of the state in which they wish
to buy a gun. Clinton specified that all
immigrants prove their residences by
photo identification and documents like
utility bills.
Clinton also indicated he supports
legislation that would ban foreign visitors
from buying or carrying firearms, with
certain exceptions, such as foreigners in
the country for hunting trips or firearms
competitions.
Among the legislative proposals
introduced to this effect are S. 380, by
Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts and Herbert
Kohl of Wisconsin, which was referred
to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and
H. R. 844, by Rep. Alcee Hastings of
Florida, and H. R. 949, by Reps. Nita
Lowey, Eliot Engel and Carolyn McCarthy,
all of New York, which were referred
to the House Judiciary Committee.
In Moscow, Russia, in February,
Mikhail T. Kalashnikov celebrated the
fiftieth anniversary of the AK-47, the
Avtomat Kalashnikov which he designed
in 1947.
“The ruling class doesn’t care about
public safety,” said former Sen. Malcolm
Wallop of Wyoming last month. “Having
made it very difficult for states and
localities to police themselves, having
left ordinary citizens with no choice but
to protect themselves as best they can,
they now try to take our guns away. In
fact, they blame us and our guns for
crime. This is so wrong that it cannot
be an honest mistake.” Wallop is on the
CCRKBA National Advisory Council.
James T. McHugh, the Catholic
Bishop of Camden, New Jersey, in 1974
as director of the Family Life Division of
the U. S. Catholic Conference came out
in favor of registration of all firearms,
licensing of all gun owners, special
licensing for handguns and a total ban
on inexpensive handguns. He even advocated
the searching of private homes
if necessary to enforce these measures.
Now he’s in line for appointment
as Archbishop of Washington, D. C.
when the current incumbent retires.
McHugh’s accession to such a post in
the Nation’s Capital would be a catastrophe.
Protests could be sent to Most
Rev. Agostino Cacciavillan, Apostolic Pro
Nuncio, 3339 Massachusetts Avenue,
N. W., Washington, D. C. 20008; His
Eminence Bernardin Cardinal Gantin,
Cardinal Prefect, the Congregation of
Bishops, Piazza Pio XII 10, 00193 Rome,
Italy; and His Eminence Alfonso Cardinal
Lopez, President, Pontifical Council for
the Family, Piazza S. Ciliate 16, 00153
Rome, Italy.
The Army Material Command is directing
an inventory of all arms on hand in
preparation for sending about 90 percent
of them to destruction at Anniston Arsenal,
reports the U. S. Center for Military
History. Curators at the Center had set
aside several thousand historically significant
guns, such as M1 Garands, M1
carbines, Krag rifles and carbines, BAR’s
and Thompsons, for future use by military
museums in their system. Readers of
POINT BLANK who wish to voice their
concerns regarding the destruction of
these historic and valuable firearms could
write to Dave Cole, Deputy Curator for
Policy, US Army Center for Military History,
DAMH-MD, 1099 Fourteenth Street,
N. W., Washington, D. C. 20005-3402, or
telephone him at (202) 761-5373.