From: Dpwiener@aol.com
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 02:11:07 -0400
To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com
Subject: Re: League of Calif Cities

Recently John Walker (jwalker@ISI.EDU) noted that the League of California
Cities has been lobbying the state legislature in support of more gun control
laws.  An effort is now underway to counteract that.  The following is the
(self-explanatory) text of a letter that was mailed out to all 452 cities in
California, on Sandi's (privately printed) Simi Valley city council
letterhead:

September 11, 1995

SUBJECT:  LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES SECOND AMENDMENT CAUCUS

Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,

As you know, the subject of firearms has become an increasingly hot topic at
all levels of government.  Earlier this year the League of California Cities'
Board of Directors adopted "as its own" a report by the California Police
Chiefs Association, which called for greatly expanded gun control laws.

It is not the purpose of my letter today to analyze that report.  I will just
mention in passing that our city council voted *unanimously* to send a letter
to the League, objecting to the Board of Directors' action, and strongly
urging the Board to reconsider its decision and withdraw its endorsement of
the CPCA report.

My immediate concern is that the League of California Cities is not getting
adequate or accurate feedback from its members on the subject of firearms and
self-defense.

I suspect there are many mayors and councilmembers throughout California who
believe, as I do, that the citizens of this state have a fundamental right of
self-defense.  And since firearms are the most effective *means* of
self-defense, the individual right to keep and bear arms must not be
infringed.

Accordingly, I and several other councilmembers are forming a
_Second_Amendment_Caucus_ within the League of California Cities.  If you
share these concerns, you are invited to attend an organizational meeting at
the League's annual convention this October in San Francisco.

The League has reserved a room for us on Monday, October 23rd, at 5:30 pm.
 The room is Powell A, in the San Francisco Hilton & Towers (333 O'Farrell
St., 94102-2189).  Look for flyers posted around the convention, or contact
me ahead of time for further details.

We have also arranged for Isleton Police Chief Byrd to appear at the meeting
to describe his experiences in issuing Carried and Concealed Weapons (CCW)
permits.  As you may be aware, Chief Byrd's "Florida-style" CCW issuance
policy in Sacramento County has upset some people and earned him tremendous
praise from others.

If you are interested but cannot attend, I still request that you contact me
so that I can send you future information.  I hope we can work together to
discourage hysteria and demagoguery, and instead create an atmosphere of
reasoned discussion.

Sincerely yours,

Sandi Webb
---------------------------
-- Dan Wiener (wiener@pc.gcs.litton.com  or  dpwiener@aol.com)