From: WIENER.GCS@pc.gcs.litton.com (WIENER, DAN  x3708)
To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com (wiener)
Subject: MEDIA: "GOVERNING" article
Date: Wed, 08 Mar 95 09:05


     Just as a matter of general interest, the March 1995 issue of
"GOVERNING: The Magazine of States and Localities" has a cover
story titled "The Gun Lobby Reloads".  "GOVERNING" is a monthly
trade magazine (with a controlled circulation of 85,000) published
by Congressional Quarterly, Inc. that's available free to qualified
city and state elected officials and top bureaucrats.

     The article is actually a very objective description of recent
political trends:  "The NRA and its allies are promising a major
offensive to roll back recent gun control gains.  Given the
election victories of 1994, there is every reason to believe that
they will get much of what they want."

     The article goes on to describe the complete reversal that
took place in Washington State.  While mentioning other factors
involved in the Republican landslide, it concedes that "any way you
look at it, the gun lobby's fingerprints are all over the takeover
of the Washington house."  Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Bellevue,
Washington-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear
Arms, is quoted extensively.

     The article notes that "Over the past two years, even in
states where the NRA once dominated the political landscape, gun
control supporters racked up triumph after legislative triumph. 
With polls reflecting widespread public support for gun
restrictions, even states with stong pro-gun traditions -
Washington, Colorado, Utah, California, Pennsylvania, Texas - began
passing and considering restrictions that would have been unheard
of in years past."

     "It was proof, gun control supporters and the media gleefully
concluded, that the gun lobby, once known for its obstinance and
muscle in state capitols, was in decline."

     Then the story describes how Democrats misjudged support for
stricter laws, often based on their internal polls:  "'The polls
show 60 to 65 percent support an assault weapons ban.  That's
true,' says Senator Adam Smith, a Democrat who was then chairman of
the [Washington State] judiciary committee.  'But the intensity of
the opposition is far greater than the intensity of the support.'"

     The article goes on to talk about the "fine-tuned political
machine" of the gun lobby in Washington State:  "Drawing from
subscriber lists for hunting and firearms magazines, gun club
membership rosters, gun dealer sales records and, ironically, names
drawn from state background-check records on firearms purchasers,
the gun lobby matched phone numbers to 180,000 voters, each of whom
received a call...  The final tally was an electoral debacle for
Washington State Democrats.  In contested state legislative races,
50 of 70 NRA-endorsed candidates won office.  On the other hand,
candidates backed by Washington Ceasefire, the state's largest gun
control lobby, were creamed.  Their endorsed candidates won only in
Seattle-area districts."

     The article concludes with a quote from Alan Gottlieb: "Quite
frankly, I welcome another assault weapons vote in the Senate.  It
allows us to define who the anti-gunners are and go back after them
again in the next election."

     There is also an excellent half-page table listing the status
of gun-control (gun bans/state firearm preemption laws/provisions
for concealed carry) in all the states as of June, 1994; the
information source is the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

     This was a very valuable article in that it pounded home the
message to its select audience (state and local elected officials)
that rumors of the death of the gun lobby's clout are greatly
exaggerated.  Most elections are won or lost on the margin: just a
few percentage points can make all the difference.  Elected
officials who might violate our 2nd Amendment rights need to be
frequently reminded that RKBA supporters really do make that
difference, and that we can and will end their political careers.

-- Dan Wiener (wiener@pc.gcs.litton.com)