Peoples Rights Organization 5 E. Long St., Suite 412; Columbus, OH 43215; (614) 268-0122 Volume 7 January, 1995 Number 1 [headline] Dues are due! JANUARY IS THE MONTH ALL PRO DUES ARE DUE ... January is the month when dues come due for all current or former PRO members. Dues are $16 a year which works out to just $4 a quarter or just about three gun show admissions. Since all PRO members are admitted free to our gun shows, that is quite a bargain. Current PRO dues policy is that all dues for current and former members come due January 1. As an inducement for new members to join, there is a one-time special offer to persons joining PRO during the last quarter of the year (say, at our Gun shows). New members who pay in October, November, or December get a membership card for the coming year. Once you have been a member, however, paying $16 in the last quarter to get in the gun shows will only renew your membership until the end of the year. You will not get the additional year. Moreover, you will have missed staying informed on gun rights issues for most of the year. As a convenience to members, we do allow current members to pay for the following year's dues at our gun shows. A great many have already taken advantage of this and renewed for 1995. So if you have not already paid for 1995, now is the time to do it. PRO is not a rich organization and your dues are used to cover the printing and mailing of the PROponent and various special alerts and voter's guides. PRO's other expenses are covered by gun show profits and other fundraising projects. Thus, your dues are an essential part of keeping you informed about the assault on your rights. We are counting on every member to remember to pay. We can't send everyone a bill. Each quarter we might spend sending you a bill is one we could better use defending your rights. Don't think for a moment that our great victory at the polls means this battle is over. The other side has hardly begun to fight. Even now they are mounting a great disinformation campaign to convince the gullible part of the public that the Second Amendment only means that States may have a militia. They have enlisted retired chief justice Warren Burger to lie for them in this new propaganda effort. We still need you and you still need PRO until "Brady" the "Crime" Bill and each and every repressive piece of anti-gun legislation has been repealed. WE THANK EVERY MEMBER FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT. PRO OPEN HOUSE... A special PRO open house will be held on Feb. 4th at 5:30 PM. after the PRO gun show at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. This meeting is open to all members of PRO and to the public interested in PRO. We hope to solicit the opinions and suggestions of those that are unable to attend our regular general meetings. The PRO board members and officers will be on hand to give you a history of PRO and to outline our goals for the coming year. This meeting will commence at 5:30 after the close of the gun show in the Burke building. If you have a friend that is interested in preserving their second amendment rights, be sure to bring them along, and introduce them to PRO. If you have not been particularly active in PRO and have any comments about or wish to volunteer for any of our activities such as the Gun Shows, the PROponent newsletter, our Firearm Safety and Personal Protection classes, or any other PRO projects, the board member in charge will be here to listen and discuss your views. While thousands of people attend our gun shows, only a handful attend our meetings and still fewer are able to serve as officers of the organization. It is our hope that this open house will serve as an invitation to join and become active in PRO. It is amazing how many people do not even know that PRO is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about gun rights issues. A lot of people think we are just a gun show promotion organization. Please spread the word, come to gun show on Saturday and stay for the open house. JOB DISCRIMINATION ... Anti-gun do-gooders really kill me! They put their hands to heaven and proclaim how "caring" and "tolerant" they are because they are out supporting the right of some drug-soaked, criminal, scum-bag to do as he pleases. All you gun owners are "mean-spirited", cretin, bigots because you think that the dregs of society should not be handed free money taken from those doing useful work You think they should be locked away from the rest of normal society, if only for treatment. The worst enclave of this thinking resides, of course, in California. Out there we actually have people seriously arguing that anyone who illegally manages to sneak into the country, by virtue of that skill has a right to all the goods and services paid for by the law-abiding. This is nothing more than a variation on the crooked politician theme "If I don't get caught, then there was no crime." But the most disgusting thing about these California people is the way that they pretend to be "tolerant" and "caring" but in actual fact employ the most vile of racist and bigoted tactics. If some black or Hispanic inner-city scumbag gets caught committing some crime, the do-gooders are all over TV screaming racism. But let the Klan hold a rally and they are all there screaming and spiting venom. Their message is that hate is good, so long as you hate there "right" people. The whole thing reminds me of Nazi Germany where people imagined themselves civilized, kind, and tolerant of others because Jews and gays and others didn't "count," thus it was "OK" to hate them. And now the California nuts have added yet another group to the list of people that it is "OK" to hate. YOU! Now Eugene D. Wheeler, MA and S. Anthony Baron, Ph.D. have published a new book called "Violence in our Public Schools, Hospitals and Public Places; A prevention and management guide." And what is their California liberal solution to violence in the workplace? Why, job discrimination, of course! When hiring an employee, just cross "undesirables" off your list of applicants! They write, "When assessing an employee, student, or client regarding his/her potential for violence, ownership of a gun or gun collection, fascination with weapons, and shooting skills are significant indicators to consider." On the other hand we find it significant that author Baron works in San Diego and Wheeler attended the University of Southern California. It must be something in the water out there, right? These pseudo-intellectual nut cases even have a theory about how you can tell if a person is prone to "violence." They write, "If a person talks frequently about guns and is obsessed with guns, develops skills with different weapons, likes to visit gun shops, and subscribes to gun magazines, like Soldier of Fortune, these behaviors, too, should be taken as indicators." Oh No! All PRO members, all military, all police and most likely all those in power are exhibiting warning signs of violence! They all have developed skills with various weapons. Many actually talk about guns, visit gun shops, and subscribe to (gasp!) gun magazines (which Soldier of Fortune is NOT!). Why PRO members even sponsor large gatherings where guns are displayed, traded and sold. Some people at these events even talk about guns! On the other hand, had these California-type bozos been educated and influenced by a region of the world existing in closer proximity to reality, they might have discovered some truth about violence in the workplace. Soldier of Fortune magazine may indeed be an indicator of a potentially violent personality. The reason is not that it is a "gun magazine" but rather that it is a war story magazine. I'm told that many of the Post Office employee shootings can be traced to a policy that forced the postal service to indiscriminately hire veterans. So what happened was that certain vets who came home from 'Nam with mental problems, problems which were ignored by the Veteran's Administration who used every rule and argument to avoid providing treatment, were hired right out of the backwoods of the parks where they were living and into the post office. Is it little wonder then, that when unstable people, instead of being given treatment are instead given bureaucratic jobs, that violence results? Good grief, a bureaucratic job is nearly enough to make a normal person go 'round the bend! And these marginal people were given the best training to kill and do violence that your government can provide. So once again, we find the California do-gooder view of the world exactly up-side-down. You can't refuse to hire someone who clearly has a couple of loose fasteners because, oh, that would be discrimination! But you CAN discriminate against someone who owns a gun or reads a certain kind of magazine. That is just prudent policy! We wonder what these authors would have to say about the employer who takes the purchase of African art or a subscription to Ebony as an "indicator" to refuse hiring? What do they do in California? Do universities just give out degrees in Crackerjack boxes? ____________________________________________________________ How we did in the last elections: Ratings of those who won. {Data compiled by Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association (ORPA) and published in the December, '94 issue of Gunsmoke. [listing of NRA ratings of winning candidates in Ohio.] ____________________________________________________________ RHINO'S ... On December 27, 1994, a hoax was begun upon the American public by one of the premiere gun grabbers in the nation, Charles Schumer. David Keen, of Signature Products of Huntsville, Alabama, is the designer of the new bullets. These bullets are "supposed" to leave wound canals the size of baseballs and be able to penetrate Kevlar vests. Keen's company used to manufacture coatings for radar-evading Stealth aircraft. When the Cold War ended and defense contracts dropped off, Signature Products needed new markets for it's technology. Ammunition seemed to be the ideal outlet. particularly "bullets designed to be highly effective even in weapons wielded by inexpert shooters." Keen went on, saying "When Rhino-Ammo hits somebody, they're going to die. It causes a horrific wound. That's not by accident. It's engineered by design. The round disintegrates as it hits. There's no way to stop the bleeding. I don't care where it hits. They're going down for good." Keen also stated that the Black-Rhino bullets will be sold only to law enforcement agencies and FFL dealers. The Black-Rhino is the round designed to penetrate bullet-proof vests. If this round were designed to help the person that shoots once or twice a year, yet wants to be protected in their home or business, that would be great. Yet there are several glaring points that need to be examined. Number one is that he has filed no patent on his "new" bullet. One would think that if a company was involved in the stealth technologies, they would be intelligent enough to file patents on a new bullet. Number two is that he has no permit to manufacture ammunition of any type. Number three is that no one has seen any test results of this "new" ammunition. Neither the BATF or the NRA have seen any reports on the validity of Keen's claims. Number four is that the process involved in combining carbon-based plastics into a bullet is very complicated. None of the pictures shown on the television involved complicated steps, but rather a hands-on manufacturing of the Rhino bullets. Number five is that the week between Christmas and the New Year is usually slow. Unless something big happens, the news is full of what has happened during the past year and what psychics think will happen next year. What better time to spring a hoax on the American public? Number six is that the only politicians speaking about the Rhino Bullets were Charley Schumer from New York, former politician Dennis DeConcini and Senator Patrick Moynihan. Moynihan is also from New York. If the BATF does not ban the "new" bullet, they will introduce legislation to ban the bullet based upon the "intent of what it can do", and not upon what it can actually do, if anything at all. Number seven is extremely interesting. In published stories in New York newspapers, David Keen is in favor of the gun ban on semi-automatic rifles. Could this "hoax" have anything to do with future government contracts for Signature Products if they foist this fabrication upon the American public? Finally, number eight is that upon disintegration, the thousands of razor-like fragments would lose all penetration capabilities due to their extremely light weight. When these bullets hit human flesh and break apart, the tiny pieces would be unable to penetrate any farther into the victim. And who ever heard of plastic being "razor sharp?" One of the most disturbing aspects of this hoopla is that Keen stated that the Black Rhino, vest piercing bullets, would be sold only to law enforcement agencies. In our justice system, there is supposed to be a separation of the judge, jury and executioners. Why should law enforcement agencies be issued a round that can penetrate Kevlar and cause instantaneous death on citizens that have not been charged with a crime nor gone through the legal system. That aspect of the Rhino Bullets should explode danger signals in all Liberal's minds. A free society cannot give it's law enforcement agencies the ultimate power of executioner in their roles of arresting criminals and serving the public. Tanya K. Metaksa, NRA chief lobbyist, said in a press release that "this has all the trappings of a hoax." "What we have is an outbreak of mob journalism centering on the dubious claims of a would-be manufacturer." "Experience dictates that it is unwise to base public policy solely on the basis of a manufacturer's dubious claims. According to published accounts, the `manufacturer' is a gun control advocate. That alone should prompt skepticism. Reports also indicate that he expects to market the product in January--without having a federal license to do so. That alone should prompt an entirely new line of inquiry: Who does he work for?" Metaska went on to say that the NRA helped craft the prohibition against handgun ammunition designed to penetrate ballistic resistant vests by developing a sound, technically competent standard and that only when the proposed product is evaluated can NRA comment on its conformance with the law and the prospective manufacturer's credibility. Only one news organization had the information about the Rhino Bullets and they distributed it nationwide. Charley Schumer also had his prepared statements ready in a big hurry, standing in his pretty sweater espousing his anti-gun rhetoric. Also the American Medical Association chimed in real fast with out waiting for any real facts or data. One can only hope that when it comes to patients, their members aren't also in such a hurry to operate that they just start cutting before the lab results come back! Keen has said that he will hold off on production of the Black Rhino bullet due to the possibility that they "could fall into the wrong hands." Again, how can you manufacture a product that you do not have a permit? Susan McCarron, BATF spokeswoman, said that the bureau would test the bullets due to the uproar over what is claimed that the bullets can do. Jimmy Trahin, firearms consultant for the LAPD, said that it was physically impossible for a bullet to have such a devastating impact. He went on to say that you can't get instant incapacitation with a handgun round. Other ballistic experts and law enforcement groups have dismissed his claims saying that they are "overstated." The final coup de gr ce on this hoax was finally administered by ABC's Nightline program. They actually went out and hired a ballistics testing laboratory to test the "Black Rhinos." It turns our the bullets are nothing but a copper jacket filled with some kind of plastic with a few shotgun BBs stuck in the end. They found all the claims of the "inventor" to be bogus and in fact when fired into ballistic gelatin were little different than a .45acp full metal jacket round. You would have thought that this would have Representative Schumer slinking off with his tail between his legs, but this man knows no shame. He appeared on the same Nightline program saying in effect he doesn't care if he lied and the bullets are imaginary, we still need to ban anything that can penetrate soft body armor. In other words, he wants to ban virtually all rifle ammunition, much shotgun ammunition as well as any pistol rounds that qualify. In other words, he wants to take the "reasonable" approach of banning all hunting Ammo! Does anyone remember when this liar was saying that he was not after "sporting purpose" firearms? And then he had the nerve to ask the NRA to "join him" in doing this and said that he didn't want to ban "all" ammunition. Let's see ... I think he might still allow those little corks on a string that popguns use. TIME SLIME ... I found a Xerox copy on the Company bulletin board and it was the typical Time magazine hatchet job. The article called "Terror on the Internet" was the usual masterpiece of propaganda, innuendo, and public dis-information that we have come to expect from Time writers. This piece appearing in the December 12, issue was yet another carefully designed effort to help stamp out the free speech running rampant on the computer Internet, popularly known as the "Information Superhighway." The recent elections, the open discussions and uncontrolled dissemination of facts and truth about the activities of politicians on the Information Superhighway has awakened those in power to a leak in the information control dike. In their opinion a free and open media of opinion and discussion (as envisioned in the First Amendment) cannot be allowed to exist. Since this is exactly what the computer Internet has become, a concerted effort has been launched to justify taking control of this information network. Time has fired one of the opening shots in this battle using the same techniques that worked so well in getting the "Crime" bill passed. Gun owners will immediately recognize the way in which they intend to use public ignorance to demonize the network and thus, justify bringing it under government control. The basic premise is that: 1. There are terrorists and terrorism on the Internet. 2. Terrorism is bad and must be stamped out. 3. The government must take control of the Internet to control these "terrorist acts". The job that Time and the other owned media seem to have been given is to convince the majority of the public who don't have a clue about what the Internet is or how it works, that number one is true. The Time writers and staff do it all with images and innuendo. In the same way that anti-gun articles typically include a "gun-grabber logo", a picture of a revolver in a hand pointed at the reader, this piece includes a 5 by 5 inch artwork depicting a black-clad, masked "Internet liberation Front" terrorist gripping corporate America in his unforgiving hand. The article subtitle reads, "A pair of electronic mail bombings underscores the fragility of the world's largest computer network." They describe a message left after an Internet "break-in" as "a poison arrow designed to strike fear in the heart of all corporate information mangers." The article speaks of "attacks" and "mail-bombings" and how "There is no such thing as absolute security... There is only relative risk." Everyone needs to feel fear: "The internet today feels a little less 'liberated,' a lot less safe." Gun owners will immediately recognize these psychological techniques using fear to drive an unthinking public to accept even more government "control." In the same way that these same writers twisted our own terms in the public eye like "assault weapons" to demonize guns, Time is using terms like "mail bomb" and terrorist act" to perform a snow job on the unsuspecting public. Once again, it's all about "control." So here we have old Aunt Edna reading her subscription to Time thinking that some innocent Internet user was sitting at his computer one day when a "letter bomb" arrived. "I tell you Wilbur, it was awful! The kid checked his email and his terminal just blew up! He not only lost his computer, but an arm and eye as well! The government ought to pass a law to stop this sort of thing!" BZZZZT! Sorry, wrong. An Internet "letter bomb" isn't an explosive device of the sort that the Anti-Defamation League tends to receive. An internet "letter bomb" means that someone has flooded your email address with "junk mail". It isn't "terrorism," it is a childish prank! It is the computer equivalent of someone circling all the numbers on one of those "free information" magazine punch cards and sending it in signing someone else's name. Sure you can have pranks on the Internet. You can have theft on the Internet. You can even have vandalism on the Internet. But you can't hurt anyone on the Internet, unless you count someone's feelings from some nasty comments. But the media jackals have a new agenda underway to take over the "Information Superhighway." Already the evening news is covering so-called "shocking" cases of young kids being able to get "dangerous literature" from the computer network. The popular Anarchists Cookbook which tells how to construct homemade bombs can be found there and children can easily get this dangerous information! The only thing is, however, that I saw the same book for sale at the Barnes and Noble bookstore and they weren't carding patrons at the door. On the other hand, I DID have to show I was of legal age to get an Internet account! Clearly bookstores are a bigger "terrorist threat" than the computer network. But the difference is that much in the book distribution network tends to already be under the control of those in power, while much of the Internet is not. Another attack that has been tried, is to claim that "child pornography" is being distributed by computer users. This has not only led to a media propaganda campaign but also to ATF-style raids on bulletin board users where all equipment is confiscated under the RICO statutes and in one case, a quadriplegic owner was forced to sit in the front yard (not in his wheelchair) for hours in 40 degree weather. Needless to say, there was little if any evidence of real criminal misuse of the computer systems. The government is serious about the Internet "problem" and the reason is "us." Gun owners, militia members and other supporters of the Constitution have discovered the computer network as a wonderful bypass to the controlled media. Truth, justice and the American way are circulating freely on Internet and those in power are having a cow. Already they are proposing ham radio-like licensing of the Internet. Personally, I welcome this attack upon free speech. I'm sure those in power think that those using the Net are just a bunch of sheep and geeks who will passively submit to any "terror controls" they choose to impose, but they are wrong. Net users are smart. Net users are tough to fool. Net users love their freedom. Some Net users are even armed! I know, because some are PRO members! The best part about this Internet attack is that it will wake up a whole new segment of the American people. Those who could give a hoot about the "gun control" debate are suddenly realizing that suddenly they are now on the list. Well, welcome aboard! Gun owners all recognize these propaganda techniques, because they were used on us first! We also know how to fight them. It's just like we've been saying all along, first they go for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and then they go after the rest of the Bill of Rights. DINNER... The second Central Ohio Friends of the NRA Dinner will be held on March 28, 1995 at the Villa Milano Restaurant. Tickets are still $25.00 and they can be purchased at the locations listed below. Dan Myers 614-366-2121 Buckeye Family Archery Center Century 21 5992 Westerville Rd. 51 Price Rd. Westerville, Ohio 43081 Newark, Ohio 43055 614-895-2697 Aumiller Gun Shop Davis Guns 1 W. Main St. 150 W. Main Westerville, Ohio 43081 Plain City, Ohio 43064 614-891-0656 614-873-1905 Edwards Firing Range Zane's Gun Rack Irwin, Ohio 4167 N. High St. 614-857-1534 Columbus, Ohio 43214 614-263-0369 Uncle Dave's Pawn Shop Powder & Lead Arms 3510 Cleveland Ave. 140 West Granville St. Columbus, Ohio New Albany, Ohio 43054 614-263-2555 614-855-3006 Champion Shooters Supply Guns & Gear, Inc. 42 N. High St. 1188 Georgesville Rd. New Albany, Ohio 43054 Columbus, Ohio 43228 614-855-1603 614-274-2004 Vances Shooters Supply Dave's Guns 3723 Cleveland Ave. 104 Mill St. Columbus, Ohio Gahanna, Ohio 614-471-7353 614-473-3418 Last year we had 245 attendees and this year we are looking for 500 people to attend. If you went last year, bring a friend. If you didn't go last year, you missed an excellent opportunity to meet with fellow gun owners from central Ohio and a chance to win and buy some nifty prizes and merchandise. More details later. TURKEY... If you put a loaded firearm in your oven, don't turn it on! A man out east came home one night and put his loaded firearm into his oven. The next day, he turned the oven on. After the cartridges started "cooking" he called the police, thinking that someone was in his yard shooting. After the police found the gun in his oven, he could not explain why it was there. In our NRA and Hunter's Education Classes we teach students to safely store their firearms. Obviously, the oven is not such a place. When you store a firearm, please store it unloaded. It could save your gun from damage, your stove, and most importantly, a life. ____________________________________________________________ "Outside of the killings, [Washington D.C.] has one of the lowest crime rates in the country" Marion Barry, Former mayor, convicted crack user, and newly re- elected mayor of Washington D.C. ____________________________________________________________ TRUE CONFESSIONS... They say that confession clears the soul. It also aggravates people and makes one the butt of jokes and snide remarks. Be that as it may, I must confess my sins. Several years ago, when Bill Ruger opted for magazine limits and waiting periods, PRO passed a resolution banning the purchase of new Ruger firearms. This boycott is still in effect as a result of Ruger's failure to explain his remarks or to recant his views. One of the staunch supporters of the boycott was, and is, myself. I feel that the Ruger boycott is utterly justified in the era of the gun grabbers. Maybe with the advent of Republican control of Washington, Ruger will change his stance. In the boycott of new Ruger products, nothing was mentioned about the purchase of used Ruger firearms. At a recent gun show in Circleville, I stumbled across an excellent trade as a patron was leaving the show. He had a Mark II, .22 caliber pistol that he wanted to be rid of. He had paid $301.00 for it in September of 1993. I traded a S & W model 10 and $35.00 for the Ruger pistol. Gasp!!! Yes, I did. The main reason for the trade was to have another pistol to use in our NRA classes. Since the PRO boycott, I have laid scorn on those that owned Ruger firearms. Continually razing them on their choice of using a gun-grabber's firearm. Extreme ridicule and scorn is expected in return. Maybe it won't be so bad if I don't tell them about the .357, single action, Ruger Blackhawk I also purchased. Yes, it was used. [Editors: The above confession was written by Dennis Walker, co-editor and Secretary of PRO. He hopes that he will not be drummed out of PRO for his actions. The editor's comment was added to protect Frank Jacoby, who already owns a mini-14 (purchased before the boycott). Some time ago, he also bought a Ruger Mk II (used!) and was forced to listen to Mr. Walker's tirade. Can anyone here say "payback time!"] RUGER BOYCOTT EXPANDS ... Another group is joining PRO in its castigation of Bill Ruger and his firearms company. It is the AMA. That's the American Motorcycle Association. It seems that Ruger is denying insurance benefits to those employees that are injured in motorcycle accidents while not wearing helmets. In the states where Ruger has facilities, it is legal to ride your motorcycle without a helmet. Dr. Patrick Sprague, from Luray, Va., wrote into the AMA magazine, saying " I have recently read of your company's policy of discriminating against employees who become injured in motorcycle accidents. This is precisely the kind of tactic used by certain elected officials, including the White House, to discriminate against, and ultimately control, gun owners, gun dealers and gun makers." Adrien Robinson, a police officer from Chicago, wrote "As a police officer, motorcyclist and NRA member, I feel your position on this matter is wrong, as would most members of the aforementioned police motorcycle clubs. I do not own any of your products and now never plan to. I am urging all club members to support me in not purchasing any Ruger firearms products." The clubs mentioned were the American Lawman Motorcycle Club, the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club and the City Heat Motorcycle Club. The AMA can be reached at PO Box 6114, 33 Collegeview Rd., Westerville, Ohio 43081-6114, 614-891-2425. PURE PORK ... These days it seems the big discussion in Washington is all about the Republican "contract with America." The desire of "we the people" to put an end to "business as usual" has not been lost on incumbent Democrats or the President. So after the reality of the election results finally sank in, Slick gave his approach of claiming that the people were angry because Congress wasn't passing his program fast enough ... right, sure! What we all are mad about is Washington isn't raising our taxes fast enough or gathering up our guns with enough speed or passing dictatorial laws at the pace we all want to see ... right? But the brass of our president when it comes to telling bald faced lies is almost without limit. Now he's sounding as conservative as the most right-wing republican. Now he's looking for ways to reduce taxes. But old slick has a problem. He says he's not going to cut taxes unless he can find places to cut government costs by the needed 60 billion. Oh my, this is so hard to find spending cuts in federal agencies. While we would suggest a big cut right in the middle of the ATF, Slick has proposed a list of other cuts. But he says it's just so hard to cut so much money. Is it? The "business as usual" Washington tricksters never seem to change. I'll tell them right where to find exactly 33.2 billion dollars. This is more than HALF the amount Clinton pretends to be trying to cut. It's right in the Crime bill that Congress passed a few months ago. Sure the gun ban part was bad, but there seems to be little argument even among those that voted for it that the rest of the bill was pure pork. But in his speech to the nation, President Clinton not only never considered this money as a way to gather up his 60 billion, but also vowed to fight any attempt to do anything to the crime bill. His message seemed clear. If Republicans try to repeal any part of the "Crime Bill" they will have to do it over his veto (and probably a repeat of his almost stripping the Whitehouse of furniture and paintings to buy the last few votes). So once the taxes go on or once the money is spent, it's no longer available for discussion. Just in case you haven't figured out what the Prez is up to here, let me explain: His plan to stop the Republican steamroller is to say that the tax cut must be funded by cuts in the government bureaucracy. He knows that all those government workers will then fight tooth and nail to kill the tax cut plan. It was exactly the same thing that worked so well when Richard Nixon tried to reform the welfare program years ago. The Nixon negative tax program would have given money directly to those in need rather than providing "workfare" for hoards of bureaucratic paper-shufflers. The paper-shufflers counter-attacked and reform was killed. Clinton hopes the same plan will work against the "Contract with America." So if you thought that the victory in November meant that perhaps the Crime Bill gun bans might be repealed, think again. They are pretending that he 33 Billion they just added on isn't even there, and the chances of pulling it back off even to find half of the money Clinton claims he needs is nil. Of course, on the other hand if someone were to start telling all those government employees that half their jobs could be saved by just repealing the pure pork crime bill ... well maybe two can play this game... GUN SHOW REPORT by Mike Duve Our last Gun Show, held on the weekend following Thanksgiving, was a huge success. We had our biggest crowd ever. With the addition of our third large building we now have space for over 350 tables! We also have room for everyone to walk around comfortably without the crowding that was so typical when we had only two buildings. With the addition of the extra tables we now have virtually something for everyone. We now have dealers that deal exclusively with optics and scopes, reloading supplies, custom knives, antique firearms, collectable Winchesters, gun parts, ammo, military surplus, even night vision equipment. Prior to the addition of these extra tables I was often asked for specific items by customers of the gun show. Often I had no where to send them. However, since the addition of the new dealers, I can say that I have never been asked for anything that I could not find a dealer of at our show. We are starting to draw people to the show from over 100 miles away. It is not unusual to see cars from Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Pittsburgh, etc. in our parking lot. With the addition of the third building, we now have the entire fairgrounds to ourselves. We also have found it necessary to have the public park in the outside parking lot used for the county fair. Prior to this we would let the public park on the fairgrounds around the buildings. This created a lot of problems as this space quickly filled up and customers often frustrated at driving around hunting for a place to park, would often leave without seeing the gun show. Now their is simply too much pedestrian traffic between the buildings to even consider parking on the fairgrounds an option. Some of our long time attendees have been unhappy about the new parking arrangement, but think about it, when you attend the Ohio State Fair, do they let you park on the midway? No, of course not, you park in the big fields and walk or ride the shuttle in to the fair. Speaking of shuttles, PRO provides a free shuttle to anyone that wishes to ride from the parking lot to the buildings of the show. We also offer the public a ride back to their cars after they have attend the show. This can be especially handy if they buy a case of ammo, a number of long guns, or other heavy items. The point is, we are growing, we have more to offer the gun buying public than ever before. If you haven't been to one of our shows recently, please come out and see the difference ____________________________________________________________ "If crime went down 100%, it would still be 50 times higher than it should be" - John Bowman, Councilman, Washington D.C. [editors: Will someone please tell us what 50 times lower than zero is? And these mental midgets are trying to tell us that we all should follow their example?] ____________________________________________________________ MORE GOOD GUN SHOW NEWS! PRO has a new show in Springfield. That's right, PRO recently agreed to do a show in Springfield Ohio. This show has been operated by the famous "Conrad & Dowdel" team for years. They acquired the Parkersburg W.Va. show recently and felt that the Springfield show was simply too much additional work. They decided to offer the show to PRO because they wanted a pro-gun organization to take over the show. We would like to publicly thank Conrad & Dowdell for this vote of confidence and the opportunity to add another show to our fundraising activity. We also hope to reach out and acquire new PRO members in the western part of the state. The first date for the Springfield show is March 11 and 12 of 1995. Our Gun Show schedule for the first half of 1995 is as follows: Dec. 31 - Jan 1995 Hilliard Jan. 14 - 15 Circleville Feb. 4 - 5 Hilliard Feb. 11 - 12 Marion Feb. 25 - 26 Circleville Mar. 4 - 5 Hilliard Mar. 11 - 12 Springfield Mar. 25 - 26 Circleville The best way to stay alerted to PRO gun shows is to buy a raffle ticket at the gun show. This will place your name on our mailing list for future gun shows. DEAR PRO... Dear Proponent: As a long time member and active supporter of PRO, I was a bit surprised and disappointed when I attended the final meeting on December 20. I have come to know a great many fine people who work with PRO and nearly all of them are like myself, volunteers. Last year I was selected to receive the Dave Stockham Award, and two years ago, I received a certificate of appreciation, along with dozens of other of PRO's volunteer second amendment supporters. The December meeting has also been traditionally a Christmas Party, with sandwiches, cookies, and soft drinks provided by PRO. This year, none of those things happened. No party, no awards or certificates. I'm not exactly sure what the reason was. Whether it was a conscious decision or merely slipped through the cracks during a lot of busy schedules. What I do know is that regardless of the money generated by our fund raising activities to support the organization, PRO runs on VOLUNTEERS. The party, awards and certificates, are a very small cost to pay for the thousands of donated hours, all of which are essential to operating an organization like PRO. We are all in this together as we fight to preserve and restore our rights, but when volunteers are taken for granted, they may re-evaluate their priorities and find that giving up time with families, and other activities is no longer worth the trouble. I urge the organization to keep this in mind in the coming year, and again next December. Sincerely, John Lydic NRA Certified Instructor Hunter Education Instructor PRO Hunter Education Coordinator [Editors: There were a number of reasons for the awards and party not occurring this year which did include "slipping through the cracks", but there was more to it than that. There was begun a discussion among the PRO officers and trustees as to whether this money was being wasted or not. Unfortunately, the discussion was begun but not finished hence, nothing got done. In the beginning PRO had hoped to make our Christmas party a big event where many members whom we had not seen all year would show up and touch base. We held a large Pizza party but attendance was disappointing. It appeared that during the Holiday season members just had too much to do to attend yet another affair. So the parties got smaller and smaller. PRO also instituted a series of year-end awards to show our appreciation for all the volunteer work that so many have done. These included the Dave Stockham award named for our first Chairman the "George Washington" of PRO. Dave has been a little embarrassed at having the award named for him (especially while he is still alive!), but the membership felt that he underestimates his own contribution. Many of our most successful programs were begun under Dave's leadership and many organizations just fall apart in the first few years. In spite of the personal sacrifice to himself (and being chairman IS a great sacrifice, just ask any former or current chairman!) Dave held PRO together and got us started on the right foot. PRO wants to make it perfectly clear that we are all extremely grateful to each and every volunteer no matter how much or how little they do. Every little bit helps. But a question arose, whether the awards were always going to the same group of people. Was this simply a self-stroking operation among those who regularly attend the meetings, gun shows and other PRO activities? Did they even care about these awards? Clearly some didn't. Of course, one of the ideas behind the awards was not only to formally recognize those doing more than their share (who would probably have done it anyway, award of no award), but also to encourage those who were hanging back to step up and volunteer. Whether or not this happened remains to be seen. The bottom line here is that the discussion is not over. It has just begun. The PRO officers and Trustees want to hear from YOU. Tell us what you think, just as Mr. Lydic did. Do you think we should keep the party and awards to encourage participation even though results have been minimal, or do you think it is all just a waste of PRO's money that could be better spent fighting gun-grabbers? We want your opinion on this. And I can assure you that what the membership thinks about this issue is what the leadership will do. Tell us.] DEAR PRO ... Have ya got your rhinos yet ? Sounds like some of the most unbelievable crap I've heard of for a while. Can you say "shill" ? I've got to admit that the propagandists have a little of something in this one for everyone though. Some nice PLASTIC for those who remember the PLASTIC gun of Glock fame. (maybe with the reduced mass they will be less detectable on impact, after all we are dealing with Stealth technology here.) And we have the "BLACK" Rhino, ... you know ... like the "BLACK" Talon. Not only that, but the Black Rhino (Unlike the eco-friendly green talon) can zip right through body armor and then explode into fragments (billions and billions of them) and just tear your insides to bits. It staggers my imagination to try and consider the mechanics of the mega-damage done by such numerous pico-masses. Building bullets out of unconventional materials is nothing new though. I remember them from years ago. We used to call them knee knockers. When I saw this clown on tv (the "manufacturer") right away I thought something smelled really rank, and despite the laughing fit something still stinks. Naturally the Media is orchestrating another genuine synthetic hysteria to pump the new congress. Jim Brooke Columbus, Ohio [Editors: Since Mr. Brooke wrote this piece, the investigation by the Lab ABC Nightline hired revealed that the Rhino bullets were not all plastic as the inventor alleged, but contained some lead BBs. The rest of his analysis, however, pretty much stands.] STOKES... During December, our favorite, local gun-grabber has appeared in the news for several reasons. Dewey Stokes first made news when it was learned he was not going to quit his position as Fraternal Order of Police union president, even though he had won his election to a county commissioner's seat. The second incident came to light when former local FOP union president Larry Deck complained about a fistfight that he and Stokes had gotten into last September. The fight was broken-up and Deck was not seriously hurt. The bout of fisticuffs was observed by eight law enforcement officers, none of whom arrested, or filed a report on the combatants. A third incident involved a woman who worked at the FOP office who came forward with charges of sexual harassment against Dewey. She alleged that Dewey had made sexual remarks and had put his hands on her and had even tried to take a picture up her skirt. Dewey denied the charges but the blockbuster was that Larry Deck was interviewed on television and confirmed the incidents that happened in his presence! These incidents were reported in the Dispatch and on local tv. This editor wrote two separate Letters to the Editor of the Dispatch concerning Stokes' behavior. Both were printed. Did you write a letter? It would be a dream come true if there were a page full of anti-Dewey letters in the Dispatch. Write the letters, keep Dewey on his toes wondering where the next attack is coming from. Write now or wake up later when Dewey's dream of a county-wide gun ban and handgun registration go into effect. I'm sure that he is not concerned that the county has no power to pass such a law. DOVE BILL PASSES... In case we forgot to mention it, the Dove Hunting Bill passed and was signed into law by the Governor. Now Ohio joins many other states allowing dove hunting. While this writer has had little experience with doves, except the dumb slow birds found on city streets, I have been told these birds are nothing like the flighty, wily country doves which will now be game. "Animal Rights" people tried to block the measure asserting that hunters only wanted to use the birds for "target practice" and would just leave them lay in the field after shooting them. Now we are getting into an area where this write DOES have some experience. Any hunter dumb enough to not take the doves home for dinner, will without a doubt be missing out on some of the finest eating he/she has ever had! There is not much meat on a dove, but what is there will be best gourmet experience you have ever had. PRO wishes to thank everyone who worked so hard to bring this bill through the Statehouse. As always, a victory for one group of gun owners (dove hunters in this case) is in the end a victory for ALL gun owners, no matter what your shooting interests. ____________________________________________________________ [Photo of Pam Sheets shmoozing with Governor Voinovich] PRO's own Voter Registration Trustee, Pam Sheets seen here with Governor Voinovich at the Dove Bill Signing ceremony. She was representing the NRA for this event. ____________________________________________________________ LETTERS... Dear PRO: I am writing to express my outrage at the arrogance of the Columbus city council in resurrecting the assault-weapons ban and to find out whether the citizens of Columbus have any recourse other than the courts. This new legislation is crafted to pass the constitutional tests on which the 1989 ban was overturned and may therefore survive any legal challenges. Not being familiar with the city charter, I do not know whether such an action can be overturned by a ballot referendum or whether recall proceedings can be initiated against the members of council; however, I would be interested in exploring these possibilities. This action by the Columbus city council occurs less than a month following a nationwide repudiation of liberals who were largely responsible for the Brady bill and the "crime" bill. It's a good bet that the citizens of this city don't appreciate this abrogation of their rights, and I for one would be willing to work toward any efforts to overturn this ill-advised legislation. I look forward to hearing from you. Thomas Wemlinger Columbus, Ohio [Editor: The best recourse open to residents of Columbus concerning the recently enacted semi-auto rifle ban is in the courts. At this time we are exploring the various legal grounds that can be used to challenge the city ordinance. Our legal council assure us that they see enough things in this ordinance to once again make us the City's worst nightmare in spite of the Cleveland ban being upheld.] Dear Mr. Mucha: I would like to thank you for your letter to my office congratulating me on my election victory. I want you to know that I appreciate your words of encouragement and support. It was a long summer but the hard work paid off. As you know, I am a solid NRA supporter and appreciate the tremendous support they too showed me. I believe in upcoming legislation dealing with crime, the Republican led House, Senate and Governor's office will work not to infringe on the rights of gun owners and firearm enthusiasts. In reference to legislation which would permit citizens to carry concealed weapons, I want you to know that I would support the idea in concept but would need to see the actual content of the legislation before I could fully support it. I believe there is a lot of merit to the arguments that support this initiative. Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to share your future legislative concerns with me. Nancy Chiles Dix State Senator, 31st District [Editor: The preceding letter was written in response to a letter written by Scott Mucha. In that letter, Mucha expressed his desire to establish a CCW in Ohio. It is the general opinion of Second Amendment advocates that this session of the Ohio Houses will not see any laws concerning CCWs or pre-emption passed. This is due to the new speaker, Joann Davidson, wanting a smooth transition from a democratic house to a republican one. Then in the second year of their term, they will be running for re-election, and they don't usually do any controversial legislation then.] INSTRUCTORS... PRO and the NRA need more instructors to teach firearm classes. Bruce Graver, NRA Training Counselor, is offering classes at the Wyandotte County Rod and Gun Club during the first three months of this year. Listed below are the courses and dates for the various classes. Graver can be reached at 419-273-2875. The schedule of Classes is as follows: Jan. 28: NRA Instructors Guide & Basic Pistol Shooting Course. Jan. 29: Conclusion of Basic Pistol Course. Feb. 11 & 12: NRA Personal Protection Course Feb. 25-26: NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course and the NRA Basic Shotgun Course. Mar. 11: Home Firearm Safety Class begins at 1 pm and the NRA Instructors Guide in the morning. All courses will have a written test for the instructor, and classes will begin at 8 am in the morning. They will be over by six or seven in the evening. You must take the NRA Instructors Guide class before you can take the other courses. Bruce Graver and his crew of counselors are an excellent group to learn from. It is an enjoyable and fun filled weekend. HIGH-TECH GUN SHADOWS ... A Cox News Service article in the December 18 Dispatch described two new scientific approaches to gun-grabbing. The first device described is a passive millimeter wave imager. These waves are the portion of the spectrum shorter than microwaves but slightly longer than infrared. Being in the far infrared they operate on body radiation and can reveal objects, particularly metallic objects on the body concealed by clothing. With this $10,000 device soon to be manufactured by the Advanced Technology Center of Millitech in Deerfield Mass. police could just image the crowd and immediately spot anyone "packing heat"...figuratively and literally. While the article depicts this as a pie-in-the-sky device, PRO has reason to believe the government is already using them. In one state a man walking by a political speech by a major official was grabbed by the Secret Service. It turned out he had a gun, carried legally, in a CCW state, but of course, they detained him and grilled him forever. Eventually he came out and "confessed" how stupid he was to think he might be able to exercise his constitutional rights in the presence of Federal politicians. We believe they found his gun with an imager similar to the one described above. To defeat such a device you need to wear metal pants! So sew a space-blanket into your waistband or fanny-pack. The metallic shield will block your body radiation which is making the shadow of your gun. I'm sure that the next gun-grabbing law is going to be the banning of gold lame pants ... unless you are a rap or rock star! ____________________________________________________________ The PROponent is published by: Peoples Rights Organization; 5 E. Long St., Suite 412; Columbus, OH 43215; Tel (614) 268-0122 Fax (614) 275-0092 EMAIL: 73427.1615@compuserve.com Michael T. Regan, Chairman; Ron Herman, Vice Chairman Dennis Walker, Secretary; Sherry Herman, Treasurer Editors: Dennis Walker and Frank Jacoby Contributions, either written or financial are gladly accepted. Anyone wishing to reprint all or part of an article from the PROponent may do so. Please mention the PROponent and the issue that the article was in, and send a copy of your publication to our PRO office. (We like to know what your organization is doing too.) Also, PRO will exchange newsletters with any pro-gun, pro-rights, pro-hunting, etc. group to further grass-roots communication. Put us on your newsletter mailing list and we will put your club on ours. Unlimited electronic distribution of all or part of this text file is permitted so long PRO is credited. PRO general meetings are held the third Tuesday of every month at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, W. Broad St. Columbus, Ohio. "That government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth" _________________________________________________________________