In Reno, Nevada, federal agents
said agents working undercover at
gun shows in Nevada the past year
have arrested 14 suspects on
charges ranging from dealing
firearms without a license to illegal
possession of machine guns and
explosives. The FBI, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (BATFE) and local law
enforcement joined to apprehend
the 13 men and one woman in five
western states – California, Idaho,
Nevada, Utah and Washington – as
part of “Operation Over the Line,â€
according to the Associated Press.
“Undercover ATF agents purchased
nearly 40 firearms using different
Reno gun shows as the hub of
activity,†said John Torres, BATFE
special agent in charge of the San
Francisco office.
In New York City, Magistrate
Judge Cheryl L. Pollack ruled in
Federal Court in Brooklyn that the
city was entitled to federal data that
traces the path of guns used in
crimes, overruling objections by the
U.S. Justice Department. The city
government wants the data because
its attorneys believe such information
could help prove its claim that the
gun industry’s marketing and
distribution practices amount to a
public nuisance. The lead lawyer at
the city’s law department, Eric
Proshansky, said that the data would
enable the city to prove that gun
makers have failed to protect the
public. Observers expected the
Justice Department to appeal
Pollack’s ruling.
In Washington, D.C., the U.S.
Senate Committee on Ethics
dismissed a complaint filed by the
anti-gun Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence against Sen. Larry
Craig of Idaho, a CCRKBA
Congressional Advisor and holder
of a CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender
of the Month Award. The Brady
bunch was terribly upset that Craig
sponsored the proposed Protection
of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (S.
659/S. 1805) while serving as a
Director of the National Rifle
Association of America. “After careful
consideration of your letter, of the
provisions of Senate Rule 37 and
other relevant standards, and of all
the information before the Committee
in this matter,†wrote the Senate
Ethics Committee to the Brady
Campaign, “it appears that your
complaint lacks substantial merit.
Therefore, the Committee intends
no further action with respect to this
matter, which is hereby dismissed.â€
“CCRKBA Decried Selection of
Pelosi as House Minority Leader,â€
notes the Republican National
Committee (RNC) in an eight page
internet dossier it has compiled on
anti-gun Rep. Nancy Pelosi of
California. Since her selection, she
has become a leading national
spokeswoman for the Democratic
Party, appearing frequently on
national television news and talk
shows. The RNC provides
statements on the Pelosi selection in
2002 by CCRKBA Chairman Alan M.
Gottlieb and CCRKBA Executive
Director Joe Waldron. RNC cites
Pelosi’s anti-gun votes in 1991 and
1993. See http://www.gop.com/
R N C R e s e a r c h /
Read.aspx?ID=4217.
“For every failure of gun control,
they have a solution: More of it,â€
writes Steve Chapman regarding the
gun grabbers. A nationally
syndicated columnist, Chapman
wrote in The Washington Times and
other newspapers that the Million
Mom March on Mother’s Day to urge
renewal of the 1994 assault weapons
ban “was about 997,500 short. But
the advocates are not easily
discouraged. Afterward, they
launched a vehicle called the Big
Pink Rig on a ‘Halt the Assault Tour.’
The bus will crisscross the nation
between now and September, when
the ban is expected to expire.â€
Remember to sign up for the 2004
Gun Rights Policy Conference
sponsored by CCRKBA and the
Second Amendment Foundation.
The 19th annual pro-gun activist gettogether
will be held this year in the
Washington, D.C. area just a little
more than a month before the
presidential election, September 24,
25 and 26, at the Marriott Crystal City
Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.
Registration for the “Ban Gun Bans!â€
national confab is free. Just call
(425) 454-7012 for more information
or email your registration to
GRPC2004@saf.org. You can
phone the Crystal City Marriott at 1-
800-228-9290 for the special $109
room rate as long as you mention
GRPC 2004.
