Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408

May 10, 1999

Dear Senator:

Once again, the gun control advocates are shamelessly crawling over the bodies of dead victims to advance their political purposes. As you decide whether or not to help them, please understand four important realities:

FIRST, we have had, on the average, a significant gun control law each year for the last thirteen years. These have included an automatic firearms ban, an armor piercing bullet ban, a plastic gun ban, a martial arts weapons ban, a ban on toy guns not complying with federal stipulations, a semiautomatic ban, a magazine ban, the Brady Law harassment check, a ban on guns within school zones, a lifetime ban on firearms ownership by persons convicted of minor domestic crimes, plus all of the Clinton administration’s regulatory gun bans.

NONE OF THIS HAS HAD ANY BENEFICIAL IMPACT, AND NONE OF IT HAS STOPPED OR CAN STOP PRO-GUN-CONTROL MEDIA-GENERATED COPYCAT EPISODES SUCH AS THE ONE AT COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL.

SECOND, it is by now clear that the agenda of the Far Left is the registration and elimination of firearms in America — and no less. Anyone who doubts this should look at their modus operandi in places like England, Australia, Canada, Germany, New York, Washington, and elsewhere. The intermediate objectives are just a shabby ruse to destroy the Second Amendment piece-by-piece.

THIRD, by our count, the shooters at Littleton violated at least twenty-five gun control laws — including the morbidly ironic federal prohibition on a gun in a school zone. WITH THE MEDIA AND POLITICIANS WHIPPING DISAFFECTED YOUTH INTO A FRENZY OF COPYCAT KILLINGS, WHICH ARE THEN USED TO GENERATE SUPPORT FOR GUN CONTROL, NO TYPE OF GUN CONTROL CAN HAVE ANYTHING OTHER THAN A COUNTERPRODUCTIVE EFFECT.

FOURTH, substantively, the gun control measures before Congress would have no effect on school shootings, but would dramatically decrease the freedom of law-abiding Americans:

    TRIGGER LOCKS: According to the Wall Street Journal (4/23/99), the principal manufacturer of trigger locks effectively bribed law enforcement officials to endorse his product through offering stock options. He is being sued by his shareholders for securities fraud. When Beretta tested his product, it caused 18 of 27 rounds to totally malfunction. The attorney for Handgun Control, attempting to demonstrate the ease of using trigger locks, was unable to unlock it.

    GUN SHOWS: Every gun show-related bill we have examined this year would give BATF authority to ban gun shows — by pricing (through a gun tax with no upper limit) or regulating them out of business. Bills allowing BATF to eliminate gun shows include Blagojevich’s H.R. 109, Lautenberg’s S. 443, and the amendment which you will no doubt be asked to vote on. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: IF YOU ALLOW BATF TO TAX GUN SHOWS WITHOUT ANY LIMITATION OR GIVE BATF THE AUTHORITY TO REGULATE GUN SHOWS WITHOUT LIMITATION, YOU WILL HAVE GONE A LONG WAY TOWARD ELIMINATING THE VIBRANCY OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT.

    LIFETIME GUN BAN FOR YOUTHFUL INDISCRETIONS: These proposals would impose a lifetime gun ban on a kid who committed an act of juvenile delinquency (for example, any “firearms use,” including target shooting with a handgun under the supervision of a parent but without a written permission slip [18 U.S.C. 3559(c)(2)(F)(i)]). MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: GUN CONTROL ZEALOTS WILL ATTEMPT TO USE THIS PROPOSAL TO IMPOSE A LIFETIME GUN BAN ON ANY PERSON WHO HAS EVER BEEN CAUGHT IN AN ACT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.

    YOUNG ADULT GUN BANS: A couple of proposals in this area would further complicate the bizarre and labyrinthine 18 U.S.C. 922(x). UNDER THE PRESIDENT’S PROPOSALS, IF A 20 YEAR-OLD SOLDIER WENT TARGET SHOOTING WITH HIS DAD — USING A SEMI-AUTO COMPARABLE TO THE ONE HE USES IN THE SERVICE — HE COULD BE SENT TO PRISON IF HE FAILED TO POSSESS A WRITTEN PERMISSION SLIP FROM HIS PARENTS.

    IMPRISONING GUN OWNERS FOR THREE TO TEN YEARS BASED ON THIRD PARTY ACTIONS WHICH THEY “SHOULD HAVE FORESEEN”: This provision speaks for itself. After a few politically motivated prosecutions under this provision, Americans will be terrified to own firearms.

PLEASE vote against any and all ineffectual, politically motivated gun control measures. We will continue to keep you apprised as events unfold.

Sincerely,

Larry Pratt
Executive Director