Date: Sun, 31 Dec 1995 04:32:14 -0500 From: "Christopher W. Knox" To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: FCO 12-31-95 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ======================================================================== Online Report to the F I R E A R M S C O A L I T I O N Box 6537, Silver Spring, MD 20916 ======================================================================== December 30, 1995 Vol. 2, No. 11 ======================================================================== In this issue: Shotgun News Columns: 11/21: Pennsylvania Law Improves -- But still has a way to go 12/1: Outlook for 1996 -- Partly cloudy 12/10: Gun Crunching Stopped -- Saving surplus arms now a tradition 12/21: Semi-auto Vote Stalls; BATF Eyed -- The bad and the good Telephone Log -- From the Firearms Coalition Legislative Hotline 1-900-225-3006 $0.89 per minute ======================================================================== A note from Chris Several of you have sent contributions with a request that you not receive the paper Hard Corps Report by Snail Mail. We appreciate the sentiment. It would lighten the load if a substantial number of our contributors were wired in to the Net. However, our database is a 1980's model and it currently wouldn't pay to make the coding changes to modify program to accommodate the relative few who receive these notes by e-mail and prefer not to receive paper mail. So, you'll continue get the mail. If you don't want it, I'd suggest posting it on the bulletin board at the range. You'll recognize this older technology as similar to the more-familiar computer BBS or News, but with a point and push interface. * * * * * It was been a slow month as we waited for the Republicans to keep their promise to bring the semi-auto and magazine ban repeal to a vote (and a certain veto). It looked close in mid-December. Word was that the day was set for December 20. But it wasn't to be. But before you decide to throw in the towel and abandon activism in the major parties, keep in mind the real successes of the past year. We've seen a year with more marks on the asset side of the balance sheet than on the liability side, particularly in the House and in the states. With some work we can push those changes into the plodding, ponderous Senate. Or we can all throw a tantrum about the shortcomings of the past year and see 1994's changes in the House and state legislatures turn into a mere blip in the steady rise of government power. Unless something changes drastically, Bill Clinton will win in 1996. It would be a bad idea to send him a Congress that he could work with. Considering the alternatives, I like gridlock just fine. * * * * * A strange story is brewing here in Phoenix. According to a copyright story in the (Phoenix) _Arizona_Republic_, some 46 Phoenix police officers bought 65 Steyr AUG rifles through department channels in violation of department policy and posibly federal law. Department policy only authorizes the Special Assignment Unit to use department stationery to send orders to the importer. The rifles were bought for around $1200. Several were allegedly resold at going civilian market prices of $2000 to $4000. The investigation was sparked when a Phoenix gun dealer reported that several officers approached him about selling AUGs on consignment. The dealer was said to be angry because he could not obtain the gun, banned in 1989 by the Bush Treasury Department, at any price while these sworn officers of the law appeared to be taking advantage of their position to make a buck. The investigation reaches deep into the command structure of the Phoenix police department naming sergeants, lieutenants, captains, and even an assistant chief. No charges have been filed yet; the report only became public on Friday. I'm waiting until things shake out a bit before forming any opinions, but my initial impression is that it didn't occur to these boys that the law, stupid though it may be, applies to them as well. * * * * * Finally, a wish for the richest blessings in the coming year. * * * * * Chris Knox wrote and is responsible for everything above this line. ======================================================================== Shotgun News Columns Penn Law Improved By NEAL KNOX WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 21) -- The Pennsylvania House today approved substantial changes to the "Uniform Firearms Act of 1995," which went into effect in October. The vote was 153-44. The same "technical amendments" had been approved 36-9 in the Senate. Although neither NRA, GOA nor major state groups such as the Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association and Allegheny Sportsmen's League supported everything in the package, most of it improved the new law. Perhaps the most significant provision was one rescinding the requirement that dealers send firearms purchase information to local law enforcement authorities. Prior to October, Pennsylvania law required dealers to send such information on handguns and handgun purchasers, and allowed them to retain it. The new law applies also to long guns. After Gov. Tom Ridge signs the bill, local law enforcement won't receive information on either, and the state police will not be allowed to retain information on long gun buyers. The law, H.B. 110, was passed in June by an overwhelming vote in the House and a unanimous vote in the Senate -- which should have been a signal that something was wrong, wrong, wrong. What removed all doubt was a June 6 statement from Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Sarah Brady praising the bill and noting "This bill also marked the first time in a very long time that Handgun Control Inc. and the National Rifle Association agreed on a piece of legislation that controlled access to firearms." Yes, it had been a long time -- almost exactly 11 years. And that was much too soon. The new Pennsylvania law did contain some good features, such as preempting Philadelphia's laws and eliminating the state's 48-hour waiting period. NRA's representatives in the state okayed it as a compromise. They shouldn't have. NRA and many state gun groups had approved the original bill, which was rather innocuous, but most of them hadn't seen or approved the massive amendment -- which amounted to a "bait and switch." That amendment had been added in late May, while Pittsburgh NRA Director Mike Slavonic and top-level NRA staff and officers were on their way to the annual convention. I doubt that timing was an accident. By mid-summer, as the details of the law began circulating outside Pennsylvania, NRA began quietly attempting to enact "clarifying technical amendments." Because the legislature had just enacted the law during a special session on crime, and because no one -- least of all a politician -- wants to admit error, passing "technical amendments" to "clarify" the bill was a face-saving way to approach the problems with the law. But as I told Mike -- who is hard-line a Second Amendment activist as you can find -- the bill needed more of an overhaul than could be called "technical amendments." They got more than I thought they would, but by Mike's guesstimate, only about 20 percent of what is needed. ILA State and Local Director Randy Kozuch has told me that key pro-gun legislators have promised him that they will introduce the needed changes. NRA-ILA intends to work directly with Pennsylvania activists, as they do in most other states. For "budgetary reasons," the NRA office in Pennsylvania will be permanently closed next month. The "technical amendments" are already having an effect. The day after the Senate passed them, Mike got a call from an acquaintance in the Pittsburgh Gun Task Force assuring him the City of Pittsburgh really had "nothing to do" with the gun registration system being set up by Carnegie Mellon University. As reported in my Sept. 20 column (Oct. 20 Shotgun News), the U.S. Justice Department in September 1994 approved a $400,000 grant to the City of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University for a "demonstration project" of an "`innovative Firearms Program' ... that will link data from a variety of sources to support the investigatory and regulatory function of the multi- agency Gun Task Force." Pittsburgh may be aware that NRA has retained a law firm to review the legality of that gun registration program -- which can be displayed on computerized city maps with little circles showing who owns firearms, or has a license to carry. NRA's staff lawyers believe a lawsuit -- or series of lawsuits -- can be brought under both State and Federal law. And that would suit ILA Executive Director Tanya Metaksa just fine. ======================================================================== 1996 Outlook By NEAL KNOX WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 1) -- This time last year, gunowners were justifiably upbeat over having hammered a bunch of anti-gunners in the '94 election, and having played a major role in giving the Republicans control of the House -- which President Bill Clinton publicly blamed on NRA. The biggest problem we faced stemmed from our success, and the widely shared foolish belief that all our troubles were over. Contributions to gun organizations took a nosedive and -- abetted by a 40 percent dues increase -- NRA membership tumbled from an all- time high of over 3.5 million to around 3,200,000. At the end of January, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, ILA Executive Director Tanya Metaksa and I -- as NRA Second Vice President -- met for an amazing 1 1/2 hours with Speaker Newt Gingrich and the House Republican leadership. The Speaker pledged that there would be no anti-gun legislation passed on his watch. He even put it in writing. Reversing the new gun laws of 1994 wasn't promised. With Bill Clinton in the White House, and far less than a filibuster-proof Senate, that promise couldn't have been made. We were promised a House vote on repealing the semi-auto and magazine ban, and hearings into law enforcement abuses, particularly at Waco. We were given a choice of having the gun ban repeal vote as either the first crime issue vote, or the last, after a series of hearings to educate the public and the Congress. We chose what the Speaker called "a coherent Second Amendment strategy to define gun ownership as a Constitutional right, not a duck hunting right." It was ironic that some who criticized NRA for not opposing the division of the crime bill, despite its flaws, later criticized NRA for supporting the Republican Firearms Legislation Task Force's bill, H.R. 1488, which also included some correctable flaws. NRA succeeded in knocking out one of the Republican crime bill's flaws in February: Rep. Harold Volkmer's (D-Mo.) amendment to prevent BATF (and IRS) from benefiting from the bill's broadened search and seizure provisions. At the end of September Task Force Chairman Bob Barr (R- Ga.) agreed to eliminate H.R. 1488's major flaw: setting Federal enhanced penalties for state crimes, which would have greatly broadened Federal power. That bill, and amendment, was tentatively scheduled for this month. If it doesn't come to a vote, I suspect a discharge petition will be filed early in 1996. Also expected at the end of the year was a vote on the anti- terrorism bill, scaled back to eliminate the defining "terrorism" as almost all not-for-profit gun crimes, and most other expansions of Federal law enforcement power. A similar bill overwhelmingly passed the Senate and House Judiciary Committee shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing, but the hearings into Waco and Ruby Ridge -- despite their shortcomings - -- made Congress and the public nervous about further expansions of FBI and BATF power. The Senate terrorism bill includes the addition of explosives taggants, but not in black or smokeless propellants. Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) wanted to add them in the House bill, but now isn't expected to try. He's focusing on giving the BATF power to ban all handgun bullets they decide are capable of penetrating a policeman's vest. Until the Oklahoma City bombing inexplicably poisoned the well for improvements in gun laws, H.R. 1488 was scheduled to have been on the House floor May 16. But after a few weeks to let the hurt recede, even the Oklahoma legislature and governor enacted a "shall- issue" concealed carry law. Such laws were the greatest victories of 1995 -- passed in ten states, on the heels of passage in four states in 1994. None of these new laws are "perfect," but all are great improvements, with no steps backwards. Further, Handgun Control Inc.'s efforts to use the Virginia carry law as a campaign issue fizzled, while the leading anti-gunner in the state was defeated after 33 years. In sum, we're immensely better off at the end of 1995 than this time last year. How well we end 1996 will depend on how effective gun owners will be in the fall elections, and whether the "Gun Rights Party" can elect a veto-proof Congress. We're going to need it. For with the aid of one or more third- party candidates, Bill Clinton is going to be re-elected. ======================================================================== Gun Crunching Stopped By NEAL KNOX WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 10) -- President Bill Clinton let the Defense Appropriations bill become law Dec. 1, but he refused to sign it, for the appropriation included about $7 billion in spending that he didn't want, and it prohibited the Army's eager destruction of surplus small arms. Had he vetoed the spending measure it likely would have come back with prohibitions against using U.S. troops in Bosnia, forcing him to accept something he wanted even less. The gun preservation provision -- inserted as an amendment by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) -- shut down an Army destruction press called "Captain Crunch." It had been busily crunching M1 rifles, M1 carbines, M1911 .45 pistols, M14 rifles and even Winchester M52 and Kimber .22 rimfire training rifles which had been turned in by former DCM (Director of Civilian Marksmanship) clubs. NRA-ILA had once before put a stop to such outrageous destruction -- back in 1978. Since about December 1977, while I was still editor and publisher of Handloader and Rifle magazines, ILA Communications Director Jim Norell and I had been fuming about an Army contract to destroy small arms which was to start in mid-January. When I accepted Harlon's offer to head ILA in January 1978, stopping the destruction of those guns was a high priority. The recently hired head of ILA's Federal Division assured me that there was no chance that the contract could be stopped; the destruction contract was to start the following week. But we stopped it -- at huge expense, but with lasting benefits -- by sending a mailgram to all NRA members in the states of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee. It was written by Norell and the then-head of ILA's State and Local Division, Tanya Metaksa. Congress was dumbfounded by the immediate switchboard- blocking avalanche of angry phone calls, particularly when the Defense Department assured Senators that the guns being destroyed were "unserviceable" -- which they didn't realize might mean only a missing sling swivel. In fact, some of the guns were brand new. A consultant to a salvage company called me almost in tears; he said he had opened cases of Colt BAR rifles with high gloss blue and hand-cut checkering. Despite the $200 transfer and registration tax, or even if internally altered to only fire semi-automatic, they would have brought a fortune from collectors. Despite our best efforts, they were destroyed. But some 600,000 Garands were saved. I was reliably informed that Congressmen were saying: "If that new guy at NRA will do this to stop cutting up a few junk guns, what would he do if we supported serious gun control legislation?" Congress didn't know we had dropped our nuclear weapon. However, as a result of getting their attention, and following up with many lesser efforts, we were able to subsequently deep-six the substitute for a Jimmy Carter-okayed "Saturday Night Special" ban, a Carter Administration plan to impose a three-part nationwide gun registration system mainly through changes in BATF regulations. But that's a story for another time. Ever since the first Reagan budget, there have been efforts to destroy the DCM program. It was saved from the chopping block this year only by making the program a self-supporting agency, sustained by the sale of surplus guns, which the Clinton Administration was scurrying to destroy. A couple of months back the Army -- and Congress -- got a glimpse of what they had been smashing and burning. A batch of rare M1C and M1D sniper rifles were put up for mail bid to military collectors by the DCM. There was a minimum bid of $1,500 for the M1C's. But a near-pristine gun immediately drew a bid of $9,000.00! A total of 100 M1C's were sold, at an average of $3,500. The lowest bid accepted was $2,500. Sales of the M1D's continues with 250 lottery tickets drawn in November. Although several hundred thousand M14's and M1911's have been saved from destruction, it'll be a while before any of them can be sold from civilians. (Under existing law, the M14's would have to be permanently altered to semi, which can be done for about $20 each; BATF's "once a machine gun, always a machine gun" rule would also have to be changed.) But if they didn't exist, they could never have been sold. ======================================================================== Vote Stalled; BATF Eyed By NEAL KNOX WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 21) -- The promised House vote on repealing last year's gun and magazine ban has again been postponed due to Congress' all-out fight with the Clinton Administration over balancing the budget. And Sen. Arlen Specter's (R-Pa.) Terrorism subcommittee today released a near-unanimous Ruby Ridge report, blasting the FBI and BATF for improper and illegal behavior, and calling for hearings on whether BATF should be abolished. The time-consuming stalemate over a balanced budget was a good reason for delaying the gun vote, but it was also an excuse, for many Congressmen didn't want to have to vote -- and not just those who voted for the ban last year. However, the best indication that the vote wasn't permanently deep-sixed is that there have been no signs of glee from Handgun Control Inc., or even Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) -- who never misses an opportunity for a press release. The Specter committee, which held six weeks of Ruby Ridge hearings this fall, was particularly critical of BATF's giving false information about Randy Weaver to the U.S. Marshals and FBI, causing the exaggerated response and the final bloody conclusion in which Weaver's wife, 14-year-old son and a decorated Marshal were killed, and Weaver and a family friend were critically wounded. The committee found that the "rules of engagement" given the paramilitary Hostage Rescue Team amounted to a "shoot on sight" command, and were unconstitutional. Although there was doubt among the committee as to whether FBI Agent Lon Horiuchi's first shot was really to protect the FBI helicopter, all but Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) agreed that the second shot -- which killed Vicki Weaver and severely wounded Kevin Harris -- was unconstitutional and even violated the "rules of engagement" because it endangered the Weaver children. The senior officials who approved those rules were criticized, and the report called for additional hearings after the FBI concludes its investigation into whether there was an official cover-up -- in which six FBI agents have been suspended. The report praised Director Freeh for making changes in FBI procedures and training -- which includes the just-announced training of the HRT in hostage negotiations. But it sharply criticized his promotion of Larry Potts (who supervised both Ruby Ridge and the Waco tragedy) as Deputy FBI Director. BATF Director John Magaw was chastised for being "steadfast in defending [BATF] in the face of conduct which he testified was inexcusable, but later wrote us again defending that conduct." That arrogant response probably came from both the bowels of BATF and from retiring Treasury Undersecretary Ron Noble, but it is typical of BATF. That's what triggered the hearings questioning BATF's existence (which will also look into Waco and the BATF agent-organized racist "Good Old Boys" annual picnic). Sen. Specter said he hoped the hearings could be held within two or three weeks, but that's unlikely. While a lot of gun owners would like to abolish BATF -- and supported the 1981 Reagan Administration effort to do so -- they forget that some agency will continue to enforce the gun laws. FBI enforces most of the rest of the Federal criminal code, but have far from an exemplary record in enforcing gun laws. What we don't need is another big agency whose primary responsibility is enforcing a single law -- the equivalent of a Federal agency to enforce the Mann Act (against transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes). If there are few real problems in any specialized area of responsibility, the enforcers create something to justify their existence. Last month Japanese gun police tried to induce gangsters to buy some illegal guns, so they could seize them to improve their statistics. That's precisely the kind of "make-work" that BATF has been doing since Congress began making it too big in 1966 -- like enticing Randy Weaver for three years to provide two sawed-off shotguns. The real problem, as I pointed out many years ago, is the abusive, unconstitutional nature of the Gun Control Act itself. My biggest concern is whether a restructuring would simply mean giving responsibility for enforcing the gun laws to FBI, or if they would also be given the BATF agents who have been enforcing it. If that's the idea, forget it. ======================================================================== Telephone Log Dec. 1 update As predicted yesterday, President Clinton let the Defense Appropriations bill become law last night. It included Sen. Stevens language prohibiting the Defense Department from continuing the destruction of numerous surplus guns, including guns that aren't presently being sold but could be in the future. This puts a stop to an unconscionable destruction of public property such as Winchester 52's and Kimbers, and other .22 target rifles, M1 rifles, M14's which could be irrevocably converted to semi-auto for less than $20, and M1911 .45 pistols. The Director of Civilian Marksmanship recently conducted a sealed bid auction of rare M1 sniper rifles which were saved from the cutting torch. Some M1C's were put on the block with a minimum bid of $1,500. I'm told one of them brought $9,000 from a military collector. Incidentally, the Treasury appropriations bill Clinton signed into law prohibited reducing the curios and relics lists of which can be bought and sold by licensed collectors with less hassle than non-listed guns. BATF had wanted to knock some ex-military guns off the list as more of them came into the country. The curios and relics lists can be added to, but not reduced. * * * * * There's a lot of backstage negotiating going on over Sen. Bob Smith's amendment to whack the budget of the Centers for Disease Control, which has produced a swarm of bogus and biased anti-gun studies and propaganda with your tax dollars. We have no hard information or firm predictions about how this will turn out, but I'd wager the CDC takes an appropriations hit. The question is how deep the cut will be. ======================================================================== Dec. 2 update I reported Thursday that an agreement has been reached on a cleaned-up anti-terrorism bill which will be on the House floor within a few days, possibly this coming week. Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, who has been pushing for the changes, has worked out and announced an agreement with Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde that includes the key provisions we had seen earlier. It eliminates the definition of terrorism that would have included virtually all firearms crimes except robbery, eliminates the use of the military in prosecuting crimes with "weapons of mass destruction," and removes invasive wiretap provisions that Bill Clinton had said were essential. If Clinton and the Senate want what's left of the bill they will have to swallow three provisions earlier passed as part of the Republican crime package -- limiting appeals by convicts on death row, compelling criminals to compensate victims and making deportation of illegal aliens quicker. Rep. Charles Schumer will probably be allowed to offer an amendment banning -- or studying -- handgun bullets capable of penetrating light body armor. Schumer has been complaining about Republicans working out their differences in "secret backroom meetings." He never did that when the Democrats controlled the House. Right. ======================================================================== Dec. 4 update Sen. Alan Simpson, who announced his retirement Saturday, was pro-gun, but not as much as the Senator from Wyoming should be. Some years ago he told me he didn't believe in fighting for principle. I remember it vividly, both because of what he said and the fact that we were standing on the Senate steps of the Capitol, where serious conversations almost never occur. However, he has usually defended gun rights, unlike departing Republicans Packwood, Hatfield and Kassebaum. Since Senate gains are made in open seats, and those are mainly Democrat seats, Republicans are likely to be strengthened in the next Senate -- but, more importantly, gun owners should be much stronger. The gun rights party could even become veto-proof in the Senate in 1996. That's critical, because it's looking like Clinton will be re-elected. What will determine it is how well Republicans keep their promises in both Houses, particularly in the House, between now and Christmas. * * * * * This weekend's NRA-ILA fax network reported that the South Carolina Secretary of State had listed the D.C.-based Coalition To Stop Gun Violence as the third-greediest fundraiser. That's Michael Beard's outfit, the former National Coalition to Ban Handguns. A whopping 91 percent of their contributions went to fund- raising and administration costs. ======================================================================== Dec. 5 update NRA President Tom Washington died early this afternoon. He had had a severe heart attack at his hunting cabin a week before Thanksgiving, and he had a second attack in the hospital on Thanksgiving day. Tom was a friend and a fellow warrior. His death is a loss to NRA. ======================================================================== Dec. 6 alert: There's likely to be a vote on the House floor next week on H.R. 1488, which would repeal the semi-auto and magazine ban. Neither NRA nor I have any official notice, but there's much scuttlebutt on Capitol Hill -- and key Congressmen have told constituents it's coming next week. Confirmation of that talk is the fact that Rep. Charles Schumer has circulated a Dear Colleague letter objecting to a vote on the grounds that there haven't been any hearings. Further confirmation is an editorial in this morning's Washington Post moaning about the efforts to repeal the law. They cite the so-called study by Handgun Control Inc. which inflates the roughly 1 percent of killings with so-called "assault rifles" to 36 percent of police killings -- simply by counting up the police murders with over ten-shot magazines. Twenty percent of policemen killed with guns are killed with their own gun. Over 80 percent of major police departments, and 78 percent of the officers NRA trains, are armed with the 15 to 17- round pistols which HCI calls "assault weapons." If you haven't called your Congressman, now's the time. Ask him to support Rep. Bob Barr's amendments to H.R. 1488 and to pass the bill. ======================================================================== Dec. 8 alert There are more indications, including informal discussions and even press reports coming from Handgun Control Inc., that the vote on H.R. 1488 -- or at least the gun and magazine ban repeal portion -- is imminent in the House, either next week or the next. Get those Congressional telephones ringing. Although there would be great improvements in the anti- terrorism bill, H.R. 1710, with Mr. Barr's amendments. We're very nervous about allowing the bill to pass because the House bill would be melded with the Senate-passed version, which has some terrible provisions. The bill is expected to be on the floor before Christmas. The various gun groups, including NRA, held a joint press conference with ACLU and others Wednesday opposing the bill. There will undoubtedly be one or more lawsuits against West Hollywood's just enacted ban on so-called "Saturday Night Specials" because it clearly violates the state's preemption law. Madison, Wisconsin, has "interpreted" the just-signed Wisconsin preemption law as not changing the city's prohibition against sales of handguns, but their planning and zoning department is working on a proposal of districts where "handgun sales establishments ... might appropriately be located." That's sort of a red light district for guns, according a letter from old friend Moose Lunenschloss. Michigan's concealed carry bill died yesterday when an effort to discharge it from committee failed. The bill failed to clear committee Wednesday because three Republicans who had sought and obtained gunowners support in the last election, voted against it. A local activist told me this morning that the newly Republican legislature is likely to revert to Democrat control. We've got a clear pro-gunner, anti-gunner race for Packwood's Oregon Senate Seat in a special election Dec. 30. Anti-gun Rep. Ron Wyden now has the lead. In a special race for Congressman Mineta's seat south of San Francisco, anti-gun Democrat Jerry Estruth is ahead of anti-gun Republican Tom Campbell. Not surprisingly, liberal newspapers are supporting the liberal Mr. Campbell, a former Congressman whom I know all too well. ======================================================================== Dec. 10 update No gun related bills have been announced on either side of Congress this week, but the House is expected to meet through the weekend and votes on the anti-terrorism bill and the semi-auto and magazine ban are likely to occur then or early Christmas week. Police groups have been roaming the hall pushing for support for Schumer's armor-piercing bullet ban. I got an early Christmas present Friday when John Bryant announced he is retiring to run against Sen. Phil Gramm for the Texas Senate seat. And this morning we learned that Rep. Kweisi Mfume is retiring to become the head of the NAACP. Both are members of the Judiciary Committee, as is Patsy Schroeder, who announced her retirement earlier. Our cup runneth over. I'm just waiting for Chuck Schumer to run for New York governor, so we can beat him. Tucson newspapers are reporting that Treasury Undersecretary Ron Noble is resigning, and that former Sen. Dennis DeConcini will be appointed. Noble is virulently anti-gun, but that is not true of DeConcini -- despite his sponsorship of various bans on so- called "assault weapons." While I was ILA Director DeConcini accomplished more for gunowners than any other Senator -- which is why he was able to do us so much damage. That could happen again. It was brutally cold at Tom Washington's funeral in Lansing, Michigan, yesterday, but there was a huge turnout including the governor and attorney general and enough present and former NRA officers and directors to have held a board meeting. ======================================================================== Dec. 12 update There's no question that the House will vote on the repeal of the semi-auto and magazine ban within a week. Yesterday New York Mayor Giuliani held a press conference with an anti-gun group raising Cain about it. The questions are what form the repeal will take, and exactly when it will come. The leadership is playing this close to their vests, and I can't betray any confidences. Dianne Feinstein says she'll keep the Senate in session on Christmas Day to defeat the bill if it come up over there. Relax Dianne, it's not coming up in the Senate. Yet. Two of the three House retirements announced yesterday are long-time friends of gunowners, and personal friends: Republican Jack Fields and Democrat Bill Brewster. I talked with Bill at a Congressional Sportsman's Caucus breakfast this morning. It was hosted by Sue King, Director of the Women's Shooting Sports Foundation. She's also an NRA Director. The California legislature cut the waiting period on rifles and shotguns from 15 days to 10, so Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren -- who wants to be the next governor -- last week added five more days for the paperwork to be in transit. We're back to 15 days on long guns and 20 on handguns. I've heard from some gunowners who were upset that the Supreme Court last week ruled that drug dealers couldn't receive an additional five years mandatory sentence for using a gun -- unless it was actually employed in the crime. The Court was right. Otherwise someone could receive a mandatory five year sentence for possessing a gun in his den while improperly completing his tax return. The anti-gun crowd here in Maryland has generally been supported by the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police, but the anti- gunners came uncorked when they learned that the Maryland FOP is raffling off two handguns and 92 other guns in a public fundraiser. ======================================================================== Dec. 13 update The effort to beat California Republican anti-gunner Tom Campbell by linking him to New Gingrich failed miserably. Campbell won 59-36. I didn't want Campbell or his opponent. But at least Campbell professes to no longer be interested in the Judiciary Committee. He made that announcement a couple of weeks ago to keep gunowners, right-to-lifers and various conservative groups from actively opposing him. ======================================================================== Dec. 16 update Until late yesterday it looked as if Congress would make enough progress on the budget talks to stay around this weekend, perhaps allowing a little time for a vote on the semi-auto and magazine ban repeal. But the talks went nowhere, part of the government was allowed to shut down today, and we're not likely to see any votes until after 5 PM. Monday. A spokesman for Speaker Gingrich said last week that there would be a vote on the repeal before Christmas, but the Speaker's office is keeping their plans very quiet and no vote has been scheduled. However, a lot of discussions are going on behind the scene, and the anti-gun rights crowd continues screaming to the press. Sen. Dianne Feinstein had a press conference with religious leaders Wednesday at which she opened gift packages containing an Uzi and AK-47. The anti-terrorism bill is also likely to come up this week. Amendments negotiated with Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde by Rep. Bob Barr have removed most -- but not all -- of its objectionable features, and would make some improvements to existing gun laws, so the bill is now a mixed bag according to those who have read the fine print. The Specter committee's Ruby Ridge report is expected this week, and as expected it will be highly critical of the Federal law enforcement agencies involved, including BATF and FBI. Significantly, there will not be a separate Democrat report, indicating there is bi- partisan agreement that what the Federal government did to Randy Weaver is an outrage. More friends than foes announced their retirements this week, most recently good friends Pete Geren, a Texas Democrat, and Robert Walker, a Pennsylvania Republican. Pete's home town of Fort Worth, Texas this week rejected an effort to ban carrying of licensed concealed guns in city facilities, but several smaller communities have approved such laws. One of the bill's major sponsors, Rep. Bill Carter pointed out that those towns -- like businesses that are prohibiting licensed carrying -- are incurring increased liability by prohibiting the law-abiding from having the means of self- protection. A personal friend of Jim Brady told me last night that he is running a dangerously high temperature and is in extremely serious condition stemming from his cardiac arrest and subsequent problems. I pray for his recovery. There are shameless people who would use him in death as they have used him in his tortured life. I still haven't seen a transcript of New York Mayor Giuliani's remarks Monday, but I'm told he said that instead of repealing the ban on "assault weapons" Congress should be looking at a ban on handguns. ======================================================================== Dec. 18 update Although no House votes are scheduled before sundown tonight due to Hanukah, the week's schedule is a busy. As yet the semi-auto and magazine repeal is not on the announced schedule, but the revised version of the anti-terrorism bill is currently the last item. I still anticipate a vote on the repeal bill, but I hope it's not an amendment to the anti-terrorism bill. We need a clean vote with no distracting issues. * * * * * I've read and heard more than a half-dozen reports on the new FBI crime reports for the first half of 1995, which show the biggest drop in murder since 1960, when FBI first began compiling police reports. In addition to the 12 percent decrease in murder, there's been a five percent decrease in violent crime -- including a 10 percent drop in robbery and 7 percent decrease in rape. The so-called experts attributed the murder decrease to everything from police tactics to stabilized turf agreements between drug gangs to, of course, the Brady Law and semi-auto ban -- though the greatest decrease was in big cities like New York, Chicago and D.C., where far- more-prohibitive gun laws have been on the books for years. Not one report or article has mentioned the whopping increase in violent and repeat offenders being in prison -- where they couldn't commit more offenses. Putting people in prison isn't politically correct, but it works. ======================================================================== Dec. 18, 4 p.m. update The Rules committee was scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. this afternoon on the anti-terrorism bill, but it has been postponed and probably won't be up again until after the Christmas recess. Good. There are an even three dozen proposed amendments to the bill, ten gun and related amendments including banning armor-piercing bullets, banning sales of light body armor to anyone except police, requiring local police departments to keep multiple handgun sales reports; requiring taggants, waiting periods or other restrictions on purchases of black or smokeless reloading propellants; and more. Though the basic bill has been much improved, it's not perfect, any of these amendments would make it worse, and if it did pass the House it would be melded with the awful Senate version with anti-gun chairman Henry Hyde leading the House delegation on the conference committee. Right now I don't think there are enough votes to pass even the pure cleaned up bill -- thanks to an unusual coalition of left and right opponents. The week's legislative program is being revised. There's still no word on the semi-auto and magazine repeal. In this morning's report I talked about the record high prison population explaining the record decrease in murders and violent crime. I looked up the numbers. In mid-summer there were 1.5 million in jails and prisons and the numbers were increasing by 1,600 per week. That's horribly expensive, but not as expensive as the crimes hardened repeat offenders routinely commit when they're not in prison. ======================================================================== Dec. 19, 8 a.m. update This morning's newspapers are saying that the gun ban repeal is postponed because the Republican leadership is focussing solely on budget issues. The Washington Times reported: "The postponement of action on the assault weapons ban reverse a promise to the National Rifle Association to move on the legislation by year's end." I began hearing rumors late yesterday that the Republicans had reneged. Maybe the rumors are true, but we don't know. I'm trying to find out what's going on, and I suggest you call your Congressman with the same questions. ======================================================================== Dec. 20 update After running my traps yesterday and last night it appears the House delay in voting to repeal the gun and magazine ban is what it's claimed to be: a postponement because of the government shutdown and the budget fight. The best evidence is that neither Rep. Charles Schumer nor Sarah Brady are publicly gloating, and the press is ignoring it. That doesn't mean that I'm happy with the delay, for many Congressmen want to have the vote before the end of the year, as they promised. That's particularly true of freshmen Republicans and pro-gun stalwarts from both parties. But if the vote doesn't occur soon after the House gets the budget issue settled, there will be increased interest in Texas Democrat Jim Chapman's discharge petition, which would force a floor vote if 218 Congressmen sign it -- and that's doable. * * * * * Maryland Gov. Parris Glendenning yesterday announced his expected plan for new state gun laws. There was nothing new. It's less than he had promised the anti-gun crowd during the election campaign, but more than even the Maryland legislature will approve. It calls for fingerprinting and mandatory training for handgun purchasers, prohibits private transfers -- even gifts to friends and relatives -- and limits purchases to one gun per month. Glendenning stressed that the proposal wouldn't apply to hunting rifles or shotguns, only high-capacity semi-autos and handguns -- both of which I've hunted with all my life. Of course, Canada's laws also applied only to hunting rifles and shotguns -- until this year. ======================================================================== Dec. 21 update On Tuesday FBI Director Louis Freeh announced that the commando- trained Hostage Rescue Team will take negotiations training. Today we found out why. The Senate terrorism subcommittee issued a unanimous scathing report on FBI's conduct at Ruby Ridge. BATF was also blast, and is to be the subject of additional hearings on whether the agency should be abolished. Although Chairman Arlen Specter had earlier called for BATF's abolishment, he said he will defer to the committee's desire to get facts about BATF's conduct at Waco and in Tennessee -- an apparent reference to the racist Good Old Boys annual picnic. Incidentally, about a week ago the FBI lab announced that the Good Old Boys video tape was not faked. Some of the press suggested last summer that the video tape was phony because some of us in NRA had seen it, and decided not to publicize it because NRA would have been the issue instead of BATF. Sen. Specter and the committee were particularly critical of BATF agent Byerly's spreading of false information about Randy Weaver, and Director John Magaw's repeated claims that everything BATF did was appropriate. The committee found the FBI's rules of engagement to be unconstitutional, and blasted senior officials for failure to control and record the formation of the rules. Six officials are under suspension pending investigation of an official cover-up and the shredding of documents. Former Deputy Director Larry Potts was particularly criticized, as was his promotion and demotion by Director Freeh. FBI Sniper Lon Horiuchi's second shot, which killed Vicki Weaver, was found to be unconstitutional and inappropriate, but the committee made no recommendation as to whether he should be prosecuted. The committee doubted the justification for Horiuchi's first shot, which hit Randy Weaver without warning. However, they said the FBI's helicopter could have been in danger because Weaver had a rifle. When a reporter asked a sneering question about the cost of the investigation she was told less than $100,000, only a fraction of the money federal law enforcement spent even before the Justice Department paid $3.1 million to settle the Weaver's wrongful death lawsuit. * * * * * To hear the press tell it, NRA is being shunned by Congressmen. You couldn't tell it by the exceptional turnout of members and key staff at this afternoon's Christmas party at NRA's Federal Affairs offices on Capitol Hill. ======================================================================== Midnight Dec. 21 update Yesterday's Boston Globe reported that Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole was reneging on last spring's commitment for a "quick vote" on the semi-auto and magazine ban repeal. This evening I received a copy of his press release stating "Sen. Dole's position on repeal of the so-called assault weapons ban has not changed. He voted against the ban in 1994. He continues to support repealing the ban today and replacing it with a nationwide instant background check." [end quote] ======================================================================== Dec. 25 update. Merry Christmas everyone. With congress out of town there's no news to report -- except that Congress is likely to stay out of town much longer than expected. They're supposed to be back Wednesday, Dec. 27, but scuttlebutt has it that few Congressmen will be in town before Jan. 2. Unless there's a breakthrough on the budget, January is going to be a very slow month. ======================================================================== Dec. 29 update As predicted, most Congressmen and Senators stayed home this week, despite the official startup two days after Christmas. The House again has a scheduled session tomorrow, Saturday, but nothing is expected to happen. If it does -- specifically, if the President and Congressional leadership can make a deal on the budget -- members will get 12 hours notice. Congress will get back to business with the official start of the Second Session of the 104th Congress at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when there will be a quorum call. But unless and until a budget agreement is reached, there's not likely to be any serious legislative business for much of January -- so I'm told. * * * * * Here in Maryland, the state police have caused a flap by making calls to multiple handgun purchasers, asking why they made the buys and if they still have the guns. A state police spokesman told me that state police have "regulatory responsibility to know where firearms are." I asked him exactly where they got that authority, for the law only applies to checking the criminal records of buyers. After a long pause, the spokesman said he couldn't give me an answer. I asked him to check and call me back. I suspect the main reason for the calls is to build support for Gov. Glendenning's sweeping gun law proposal, which would give them the responsibility they're already claiming to have. * * * * * A lot of new gun laws go into effect Jan. 1, including the concealed carry license in Texas, where only 1,200 licenses have been issued. The Texas DPS said they anticipate a 90 day wait for they've received 35,000 completed applications and have sent out 153,000 requested applications. ======================================================================== Dec. 30 update We didn't get the vote to repeal the semi- auto and magazine ban in 1995, but this afternoon Speaker Newt Gingrich made it clear that he isn't waffling on the issue. On the Evans & Novak CNN program Bob Novak asked: "Is the Republican Party finally going to fulfill its commitment to repeal the assault weapon ban next year?" Speaker Gingrich neither flinched nor stuttered. He said: "I would be very surprised if we didn't pass the bill, and I think President Clinton will veto it. But I think it will be very clear who supports the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and who is in favor of the government having more power." Happy New Year everyone! ======================================================================== Copyright 1995 by Neal Knox Associates P.O. Box 6537 Rockville, MD 20916. Reproduction and distribution of this bulletin by any means is encouraged so long as this statement is retained. ======================================================================== Do not put your credit card number in e-mail. ======================================================================== Dear Neal, I use the information you provide to protect my gun rights. Enclosed is my contribution so that you can continue your work: $500 [ ] $250 [ ] $50 [ ] $25 [ ] Other:____ [ ] Quarterly [ ] Bill my MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] Monthly [ ] Once [ ] Card No. ________________________________________ Expiration Date _____ Mr. [ ] Mrs.[ ]________________________________________________________________ Ms. [ ] Signature_______________________________________________________________ Address__________________________________________ Phone ________________ City _____________________________________________State ____ Zip________ Email Address ______________________ Print and mail to: Firearms Coalition Box 6537 Silver Spring, MD 20916 ======================================================================== PGP users: Remove the leading asterisks from the BEGIN and END lines before using this key. *-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQCNAy8Q4mIAAAEEALKdSCTF6BvTg4luk1IOYtiQyxPotnTjjijSawo9htwZeFS/ KU0WAPkeDuhgKSN3H5242irpkfUu8g84fAPBH6a6joaFN7OchRa49WXnz2dReT0V iT9xeec9rPSASH04dz+lEONeDZ17yh/JGt+tjYq0CIenFZ9JMCGz4I2lBJDFAAUR tCdDaHJpc3RvcGhlciBXYXJyZW4gS25veCA8Y2tub3hAY3JsLmNvbT6JAJUDBRAv pxqvIbPgjaUEkMUBAS8BA/9PP4teu4vja6dTXkOMhVN8xgf1fl66VCc2V4A0/lli uRdf75GS1uQd+pzPIZoIReU440uuLfNSMqAAjCLHDja9ViAUllTk7YIKJMe53+nZ UnQndT2a6ikeQgh/kFxFM1z4NHgTBZ/KMg3td45WzEA3XpjWACrXWNAtYplaQ0hg Iw== =VDsh *-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMOZAXiGz4I2lBJDFAQFKZAP/VrlHntuBNK7lXx+IIjsf+5FOJ1x8xBrh 0pGHK3bFgu8Rr9pfRGQ4l0mEQGSll86Ug9QF/vdKguYYtcofg4ocVc+i5VK4f8Ui 5u4DMw0I+p9eYwu6HO8w/ul7YvMTkBSQsiFOFoMlzDOB80mVIeu0GuVnf14ctq3o x5mADOfS68s= =GRZd -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To receive the Online Firearms Coalition Bulletin send mail to listproc@mainstream.com containing in the message body: subscribe fco New! http://www.crl.com/~cknox/fco.html