Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 19:21:30 -0400
From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts)
To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com
Subject: INFO: NRA Statement on S. 735


June 9, 1995

NRA STATEMENT ON S. 735

The U.S. Senate passed an anti-terrorism bill this week, S. 735, that
would authorize spending $1.9 billion over five years to add 1,000
federal law enforcement officials to battle terrorists, and expand
their authority to monitor communications and obtain records in
terrorism cases.  The measure now goes to the House for consideration
along with a comparable bill already pending in that chamber.

During the Senate debate, there has been a significant amount of
misunderstanding as to what the bill does and does not mean to gun
owner's rights, and civil liberties in general.
 
A week after the Oklahoma City bombing President Clinton sent a $1.5
billion anti-terrorism measure to Congress. That proposal contained
several significant provisions that were both anti-gun, and of great
concern to any American who values privacy, the freedom of
association and other civil rights which form the foundation of our
democracy. We expressed our concern, along with the ACLU and other
civil rights organizations, about the Administration's approach to
combating the very real and serious problem of terrorism at home and
abroad. 

The NRA has and will continue to stand with the Nation's law
enforcement officers to help them  fight crime and violence. We
strongly believe that the best course of action in that regard is
ensuring that criminals get swift and certain punishment, that repeat
offenders are kept behind bars, and that victims rights are
respected. 

We brought our concerns to the attention of the Senate Republican
leadership about the President's proposal. Senator Dole, in
particular, responded by fashioning a substitute measure that was far
better than the President's, in that it eliminated some of Clinton's
proposals, including the anti-gun measures. Clinton's expansive
proposals, both anti-gun and otherwise, were simply another example
of political opportunism on the part of the President.

Regrettably, the President's cues more than encouraged the Senate
Democrats to turn what should have been a limited and defined
consideration of some additional law enforcement tools, into a bitter
partisan debate. The entire bill nearly collapsed Tuesday when the
Democrats originally proposed 67 amendments, many of them anti-gun,
and the Republicans about 30.  Democrats, after several hours,
retreated and pared back their changes.  

Unfortunately, while Senate Republicans originally eliminated some of
Clinton's anti-terrorism proposals in their substitute proposal, the
full Senate gradually added most of them back, including new roving
wiretap authority, expanded use of the military and authority to put
tracer elements in some explosives. It was the NRA, however, that was
able to get the Senate to exclude from the taggants requirement black
and smokeless powder in small arms ammunition by a vote of 90-0.

We are outraged that the consideration of this bill, which was
supposed to be focused on terrorism, instead was used as an attempt
by anti-gun Senators to take away freedom, and not protect it. 
Senator Daschle, the Senate Democratic leader, has now promised that
the amendments that had to be pulled from the bill, especially those
that threaten basic gun rights, will resurface in coming weeks. The
NRA will be ready, and will continue to address in the House our
remaining concerns about the bill.
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