Date: Sat, 17 Jun 1995 03:08:08 -0400 From: alerts@gatekeeper.nra.org (NRA Alerts) To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: FAXNET: Schumer Still Seeks Bullet Ban (95-06-16) NRA-ILA FAX NETWORK 11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA 22030 Vol. 2, No. 26 6/16/95 Phone: 1-800-392-8683 * Fax: 703-267-3918 SCHUMER STILL SEEKS BULLET BAN This week, the House Judiciary Committee rolled back an attempt by Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to give the Attorney General broad powers to ban bullets which are commonly used for hunting, target shooting and self-defense. The Schumer amendment was originally accepted to the House counter-terrorism bill, H.R. 1710, but upon reconsideration, the Committee rejected his amendment in favor of an amendment by Fred Heineman (R-N.C.) asking the National Institute for Justice (NIJ) to further study this issue. NRA will ensure that any such NIJ study is objective, and not used as a political vehicle to restrict our freedoms. According to FBI statistics, since the federal "armor- piercing" ammo law was implemented in 1986, no police officer has been killed by a handgun bullet that has penetrated a bullet- proof vest. The Committee did, however, accept an amendment to H.R. 1710 which classifies as a terrorist act, any gun crime except robbery. There is growing displeasure in the Congress with this amendment, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) together with other Committee members have pledged to make significant modifications to this provision of the bill. When and if H.R. 1710 reaches the floor of the Congress, it is probable that the Schumer bullet ban amendment will be introduced again. Members: please contact your Congressman and urge a "NO VOTE" on any Schumer-proposed amendment. ABOLISHMENT OF DCM ATTACHED TO DEFENSE SPENDING BILL: An amendment by U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) to replace the Civilian Marksmanship Program with an independent, non-profit federal corporation was accepted to the House Defense Authorization bill. This newly formed non-profit corporation will be able to solicit funds from non-federal sources, which according to Gillmor, will eliminate the need for federal funding. AMA AT IT AGAIN: This week, Dr. Arthur Kellerman released yet another "study" which concluded guns are not effective for self-defense. If you'll recall, Kellerman is the author of the much touted, yet highly suspect "study" which found that for every criminal killed with a gun in self-defense, 43 family members are slain. Like his previous work, this so-called "study" was flawed from the outset. First, even by his own admission, Dr. Kellerman's sample of only 198 Atlanta households was too small to yield any conclusive results. Additionally, the good doctor never bothered to mention in how many of these 198 households a gun was even present. One thing Kellerman's "study" did find is that in the instances where individuals used firearms for self-defense, no one was injured! Simply put, Kellerman's most recent work is the latest endeavor by the political arm of the taxpayer-funded Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discredit Professor Gary Kleck's research showing that people use firearms for self-protection over 2.5 million times per year. Unfortunately, Dr. Kellerman's research will be published in both the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. A LOOK AT THE STATES: Delaware: Anti-gun lawmakers have introduced SB 237, a bill repealing the state firearms preemption statute by allowing the City of Wilmington to enact restrictive local gun control measures. Although Senate action has not been scheduled, members please contact your State Senators and urge them to oppose SB 237. Florida: Last week's FAX ALERT incorrectly reported that SB 1582 was signed into law by Governor Lawton Chiles. The bill became law without the Governor's signature. Our apologies. Louisiana: The Senate accepted House amendments to SB 886, NRA- supported right to carry legislation, and sent the bill to Governor Edwin Edwards' desk. The Governor, however, publicly vowed to veto the bill, and plans to do so after the legislature adjourns, thereby preventing an override of his veto. NRA-ILA and state activists will work to pass this reform in future sessions. Maine: Governor Angus King signed LD 96, NRA-backed shooting range protection legislation into law! Good job! Nevada: The Senate was expected to vote late Friday on SB 299, NRA-supported right to carry reform legislation. Members: please call House Judiciary Committee members, as well as your State Assemblypersons, and urge them to support SB 299. Ohio: On Wednesday, June 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee will again hear proponent-only testimony on SB 68, NRA-backed right to carry legislation. Members: please make plans to attend Wednesday's hearing at 10:00 a.m. in the North Hearing Room of the Senate Building in Columbus. If you cannot attend, please contact your State Senators and urge them to support SB 68. Pennsylvania: Governor Tom Ridge has signed into law the NRA- backed Sportsmen's Omnibus Crime Bill! Good job! Tennessee: Governor Don Sundquist has signed SB 82/HB 259, NRA- backed shooting range protection legislation into law! Good job! AMMO BUST A BUST: It seems the seizure of 75 million rounds of ammunition by federal authorities last month has unravelled. According to U.S. Customs officials, the May 3 seizure of 75 million rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition was supposedly the largest impoundment of ammunition in U.S. history. The only problem: the confiscation was made on the grounds that the ammunition was illegally imported from China, when in fact the ammunition was actually legally imported from Russia! The 75 million rounds will be returned to Eagle Exim, the importer of the ammunition. [End] =+=+= This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Some useful URLs: http://WWW.NRA.Org, gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org, mailto:LISTPROC@NRA.Org (Send the word help as the body of a message) Information can also be obtained by connecting directly to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. NRA.org is maintained by Mainstream.com mailto:info@mainstream.com