“There’s one enemy, and that’s the gun, period,” stated Michael Stephenson of the group Stop Firearms Violence, according to the March 27 issue of USA TODAY.
The same article indicated that, following the March 24 tragedy in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in which “hunting rifles” were used, gun control advocates will be seeking “new territory” for gun legislation and that “hunting rifles might be drawn in.”
The USA TODAY article cited John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, as saying that “the goal of some gun control advocates is to ban all guns.”
Now is a good time to start thinking about participating in the national, 13th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC), slated to be held this year September 18, 19 and 20 in Seattle, Washington, at the Double Tree Hotel -Seatac Airport.
Sponsored by CCRKBA and the Second Amendment Foundation in cooperation with the National Rifle Association of America and the American Shooting Sports Council, the GRPC theme this year conveys a grass roots victory message: Protecting our freedom by fighting for it.
Each year, leaders of the national gun rights movement gather at GRPC, the premier firearms rights activist gathering of the year. Together with hundreds of state and local activists from across the nation, we review the preceding years’ activities in this unified forum. GRPC provides you with insights on how the pro-gun organizations network and operate.
Join with over 450 other activists in helping to set the agenda and shape the strategies for the coming year.Registration is free.
For further information, please write John Barnett, 1998 GRPC Coordinator, 12500 N. E. Tenth Place, Bellevue, Washington 98005, phone him at (425) 454-4911, fax him at (425) 451-3959, or e-mail him at info@saf.org
Anti-gun Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois introduced S. 1917, which he calls the Child Firearm Access Prevention Act, and which has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
If enacted into law, the measure generally would provide that any person who keeps a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, within any premise that is under the custody or control of that person, and knows or reasonably should know that a juvenile is capable of gaining access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or legal guardian of the juvenile, shall, if a juvenile obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death or bodily injury to the juvenile or to any other person, be subject to imprisonment for up to one year or fined up to $10,000, or both.
Exceptions would be made if the person uses a secure gun storage or safety device for the firearm, the person is a peace officer or member of the military and the juvenile obtains the firearm during or incidental to the performance of the official duties of the person in that capacity, the juvenile obtains or obtains and discharges the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of one or more other persons, or the person has no reasonable expectation that a juvenile is likely to be present on the premises on which the firearm is kept.
Original cosponsors of S. 1917 are Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, and John H. Chafee and Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
President Clinton “says there are two many guns in the hands of too many criminals,” noted THE WASHINGTON TIMES following Clinton’s announcement of his latest firearms import ban, which in turn followed the March 24 tragedy with the misuse of stolen guns in Jonesboro, Arkansas. “But criminals,” editorialized the TIMES, “almost by definition, ignore executive orders banning politically incorrect weapons. Law-abiding citizens do obey them, denying themselves at the least, favored hunting weapons and predator controls, and at most, weapons of self-defense.
“The President need not worry about such things. He has the luxury of round-the-clock guards. But most Americans can’t take such things for granted. Least of all can they subscribe to the theory that by limiting the importation of ugly-looking weapons, they can control crime in Jonesboro or anywhere else.”
After THE WASHINGTON TIMES reported that the Clinton White House is keeping “special” files on the President’s political opponents, a possible violation of the 1974 Privacy Act, Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia, Chairman of the House Firearms Legislation Task Force, stated “this Administration has abused power and obstructed credible investigations time and time again.
“This is yet another example of the abusive tactics of an administration so consumed with holding onto power that it recognizes few – if any – limits on its conduct. Such abuses of power should be of concern to all Americans, not just those of us who are being targeted by the White House. This is very reminiscent of Watergate, where one of the most serious charges against President Nixon was his keeping an enemies list in the White House.”
Rep. Barr, the 1997 CCRKBA Legislator of the Year, notes that POINT BLANK readers could contact their own U. S. Representatives and urge them to cosponsor his resolution, H. Res. 304, calling for an inquiry of impeachment of Clinton.