From: Dean Payne Subject: INFO: Guide to Gun Control Groups To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Date: Mon, 12 Dec 94 17:36:37 PST Because of the perpetual Alphabet Soup Confusion of gun control groups, here is an updated guide to identifying the Big Three. ======== Group #1: Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI) 1225 I (or Eye) St NW, Suite 1100, Washington DC 20005 Richard Aborn, President (about four blocks northeast of Whitehouse, three blocks west of Convention Center) Now chaired by Sarah Brady, HCI was previously run by (but not founded by) the late Nelson "Pete" Shields. HCI was founded in 1974 as the National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH). The name changed to HCI in 1979 to avoid the name confusion with NCBH. Membership: 380,000. Newsletter circulation is 250,000. Staff: 32. Budget: $7 million. The affiliated tax-exempt educational arm is the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV), chaired by Sarah Brady. It was founded in 1983 as the Handgun Information Center. The name changed to CPHV in 1986. In 1985, it absorbed the American Alliance Against Violence, founded in 1981. CPHV Staff: 12. HCI's Political Action Committee (PAC) is the Handgun Control Voter Education Fund. ======== Group #2: Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) 100 Maryland Ave NE, Washington DC 20002 Michael K. Beard, Executive Director (northeast across street from Capitol, between Supreme Court and Hart Senate Buildings) CSGV was founded in 1975 as the National Coalition to Ban Handguns (NCBH). The name changed to CSGV in 1990. It is still "united to seek a ban on the private sale and possession of handguns in America." Members: 38 organizations, representing 79,000 individuals. Staff: 7. Budget: $1.75 million. Quarterly newsletter: The Banner. Alan Gottlieb indicates that NCBH separated from the Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church in 1976, after Gottlieb's CCRKBA filed a complaint with the IRS about the church's improper use of its tax-exempt privileges. It is still in the Methodist Church Building. The affiliated tax-exempt educational arm is the Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence (EFEHV). Josh Horwitz, Executive Director. Founded in 1978 as the Foundation for Handgun Education, the name changed to EFEHV in 1988. Staff: 2. Budget: $60,000. Quarterly newsletter: Firearms Litigation Reporter Newsletter. ======== Group #3: Violence Policy Center (VPC) 1300 N St. NW, Washington DC 20005 Josh Sugarmann, Executive Director This group was founded in 1988 as the New Right Watch. The name changed to VPC in 1989. Staff: 2. VPC's research and education arm is the Firearms Policy Project. Same director, address, phone, staff. Publications: National Rifle Association: Money, Firepower, Fear (book) Assault Weapons: Analysis, New Research, and Legislation (report) More Gun Dealers than Gas Stations: A Study of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers Putting Guns Back Into Criminals' Hands: 100 Case Studies of Felons Granted Relief from Disability Under Federal Firearms Laws. various reports for Rolling Stone magazine (March 10, 1994 issue) and Mother Jones magazine (Jan-Feb 1994 issue). Frequent co-author: Kristen Rand ======== Most of this information comes from the Encyclopedia of Associations, 1995. A little comes from publications of these groups, from Alan Gottlieb's book "The Gun Grabbers," or from visiting Washington DC. Dean deanp@lsid.hp.com