 See a Movie! Read a Book! The Brady Staff Recommends...
The following is from a October
27, 2003 Handgun Control, B.E.A.R., (Brady E-Action Response
network,) Alert:
"This
month, a novel and a movie were both released that contain many
themes
and events
that closely mirror the legal work of
the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Rarely does it happen
that a fictional story would revolve around the current state
of gun policy in this country. But both Richard North Patterson's
novel Balance of Power and Dustin Hoffman's new film Runaway
Jury depict fighting back against the enormous influence of
the gun industry.
Coincidentally, both Mr. Patterson
and Mr. Hoffman appeared on last Thursday's Today Show. Dustin Hoffman
mentioned that Dennis
Henigan, Director of our Legal Action Project was the prototype
for his role in Runaway Jury. And Mr. Patterson discussed how
he hoped his book would be a way of educating the public about
how the gun control issues are dealt with in the political arena."
The rest of the alert talks about how great the
book and the movie are and that you should take a friend to the movie and buy
the book. It also talks about how people who work for HCI wrote the book or helped
with the movie.
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The Democratics are changing their tune
on gun control because they realize the number of votes that they have
lost because of their anti-gun stand. Now they have decided to downplay
their anti-gun stance that most, but not all, of them hold and instead
lie about what they plan to support. Now instead of "gun control" they
will be touting "narrow proposals to make guns safer and more
difficult for children and criminals to obtain ..." I am sure that
laws like NJ's "child-proof" gun safety law that is going to outlaw
most handguns in the next few years, laws that require insurance
for all guns like those laws being proposed in NYC and NY State, NY
States's "gun DNA aka CoBIS" and CA and its vast anti-gun laws
are going to be an example of "reasonable
laws" that should be adopted by all states "for the children."
From the article: "Indeed, the Democrats' shift
away from gun control is rooted more in politics than in a belief that gun laws
do not help prevent crime and death, several Democrats said privately. ...
A key turning point in the debate over federal
laws regulating guns came on election night, when Gore lost West Virginia, Arkansas
and even his home state of Tennessee. Many of today's candidates blame the gun
issue, in part, for Gore's defeat in those states and others. Gephardt said there's "no
doubt" it "hurt" Gore.
"The gun issue is the silent killer" of
Democrats, said Deborah Barron of Americans for Gun Safety, which is tutoring
candidates on the gun issue.
The centrist Democratic Leadership Council, which
helped moderate the party's image on trade and taxes in the 1990s, is teaming
with Americans for Gun Safety to try to do the same for gun control. Dean and
most of his rivals have privately consulted with one or both of the groups on
a new approach. Former American for Guns Safety spokesman Matt Bennett recently
signed on as communications director for retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark.
The
two groups do not think the candidates should run away from the issue by staying
silent, which many are doing on the campaign
trail. Instead, the groups are pushing a new mantra some of the
candidates are adopting -- "with gun rights come responsibility."
In some ways, the shift is more rhetorical than
substantive. Consider Dean. While Dean appeals to the Democrats' liberal base,
including many gun control activists, he portrays himself as the strongest defender
of gun owners in the field.
Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry
accused
Dean of going overboard by playing to the NRA. "I don't think the Democratic
Party should be the party of the NRA or walk away from our values for
expedient political reasons," Kerry said.
Yet "the irony with Dean is
his policy positions on guns is exactly the same as" those of his rivals,
said Americans for Gun Safety policy director Jim Kessler, who surveyed the candidates'
views on gun topics. "But he is making a point about his
support for Second Amendment rights and vigorous enforcement.
The reason? This works as a strategy."
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Senator
Tom Daschle, Democrat Senate Minority Leader, cosponsoring legislation
to protect against "junk" lawsuits against firearms
manufacturers and dealers.
NSSF,
Press Release, September 29, 2003
DEMOCRAT SENATE LEADER
SUPPORTS S.659
Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle has joined the Senate
whip and other Democrats in supporting S. 659, the Protection
of Lawful
Commerce in Arms Act. South Dakota's other Senator, Tim Johnson,
is already a co-sponsor of this legislation to prevent the
court system from being used to punish innocent people for
the things
criminals do with guns. There are still several uncommitted
Senators who need to hear from voters in their states. Among
them, North
Dakota's Kent Conrad, Rhode Island Senators Patrick Leahy
and Jim Jeffords, Senator Mike DeWine in Ohio, Senator John
Warner
in Virginia, Senator John Rockefeller in West Virginia, and
Indiana Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh. See the NSSF
Legislative
Action Center to find out where your Senators stand on this
legislation critical to the future of the shooting sports
in America.
Part of Sen. Daschle's statement:
“The vast majority of gun owners, manufacturers, and sellers
are honest and law-abiding,” said
Senator Daschle. “It is wrong -- and it is a misuse of the
civil justice system -- to try to punish
honest, law-abiding people for illegal acts committed by others
without their knowledge or
involvement. That’s not the way we do things in America.
We don’t hold innocent people
responsible for acts they are not involved in and over
which they have no control.”
What was Handgun Controls, Inc, (aka
Brady Campaign,) response? They sent out a B.E.A.R., (Brady E-Action
Response network,)
that claimed that S.659 was an, "appalling bill that would give unprecedented
legal immunity to the gun industry and bar gun violence victims
from suing reckless gun dealers and manufacturers who supply the
illegal gun market." The e-mail claimed that even with the changes
that Daschle required the bill "will do nothing to protect the
rights of gun violence victims." HCI urged everyone to; "TAKE ACTION:
PLEASE CALL OR WRITE YOUR SENATORS. URGE THEM TO: 1) Oppose S.
659 and 2) Support a filibuster of the bill." Of course NY's own
Sen. UpChuck Schumer is leading the filibuster along with all
of the other filibusters that he is leading.
UPDATE: New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is really upset
that the bill looks like it is going to pass even though
it's web site
contains the following in separate press releases:
- U.S. Senate Close To Passing
Gun Immunity Bill, 10/14/2003. The U.S. Senate appears
to have the votes needed to pass the bill
that would protect
gun makers and distributors from civil lawsuits
stemming from crimes
in which guns were used, the Associated Press reported
Oct. 10. According to Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), 44
Republicans and
10 Democrats
are co-sponsors of his bill.
While the Democrats have threatened
a filibuster, 60 votes are required. Craig expects the support
of five of the six Republican senators
who are not co-sponsors of the bill to give him the votes necessary
to break the filibuster. "I think I have my 60 votes to proceed when necessary," Craig
said.
- Senator Daschle has Heard
You: Let's Get the Word to All Senators,
10/3/2003. We're hearing
that Senator Daschle has been getting a lot
of heat from our side
as
a result
of the Senator's cosponsorship
of the immunity bill (S. 659)! Congratulations!!!!!!
Your communications are an important reminder that
the vast majority
of Americans
support the Million Mom March agenda, not
the extremist positions of the NRA.
And, the fight to protect gun violence victims
IS NOT OVER.
Make sure that you do your part and
call Sen. Daschle and others and thank them for supporting the
bill!
UPDATE 10/16/03
It really looks
like the bill might pass the Senate with enough to over-ride
the filibuster. The following is from a 10/16/03 Handgun
Control, B.E.A.R., (Brady E-Action Response network,) Alert.
ACTION ALERT! Contact your U.S. Senators TODAY, Thursday,
October 16, 2003, and ask them to oppose S. 659 and support a
filibuster of S.659.
S. 659 is dangerous special interest legislation
would take away the legal rights of gun violence victims
and give sweeping legal
immunity to the gun industry - immunity that no other industry
enjoys.
This legislation is unconscionable in light of the gun
violence that continues to take a terrible toll on our nation.
Across the
country, judges have upheld the right of gun violence victims
to hold negligent gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for
their reckless and irresponsible actions.
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CDC
report finds "insufficient evidence to conclude whether firearms
laws impact rates of violence."
CLICK HERE TO LINK TO THE:
PRESS RELEASE
THE REPORT
(I am sure that much
to everyone's surprise,) CDC report contained the following:
Summary
During 2000--2002, the Task Force on Community Preventive
Services (the Task Force), an independent nonfederal task
force, conducted
a systematic review of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness
of firearms laws in preventing violence, including violent crimes,
suicide, and unintentional injury. The following laws were evaluated:
bans on specified firearms or ammunition, restrictions on firearm
acquisition, waiting periods for firearm acquisition, firearm
registration and licensing of firearm owners, "shall issue" concealed
weapon carry laws, child access prevention laws, zero tolerance
laws for firearms in schools, and combinations of firearms laws.
The Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine the
effectiveness of any of the firearms laws or combinations of
laws reviewed on violent outcomes. (Note that insufficient evidence
to determine effectiveness should not be interpreted as evidence
of ineffectiveness.) This report briefly describes how the reviews
were conducted, summarizes the Task Force findings, and provides
information regarding needs for future research.
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The Doctors like
the American Medical Association's President Richard
F. Corlin, MD who attacked guns in his Inaugural
address in July 2001 are against guns. (CLICK
HERE TO SEE MY ARTICLE) But when a Doctor, who Federal prosecutors
say they have on tape discussing a co-conspirator's drug
dealing in Tennessee before issuing him more prescriptions is
arrested, what does Kathryn
Serkes, a spokeswoman for the Tucson, Arizona-based American Association
of Physicians and Surgeons say? "Physicians are being
threatened, impoverished, delicensed and imprisoned for prescribing
in good
faith with the intention of relieving pain."
One attorney, said that his client
has followed accepted medical practice when prescribing to his
patients – procedures also accepted by the Virginia Board of Medicine,
and that the Doctor "is a licensed doctor. The illegality happened down
the
road from him. If patients choose to misbehave, he can't control that." Lets
see if I get this right? A Doctor gives prescriptions for excessive doses of
opioid
analgesics to a person who the Doctor knows is a drug dealer, (also know as a
criminal,) and he should not be punished. But, a gun dealer sells a gun to a
person who is approved by the Federal Government. That person then sells the
gun to a criminal but the gun dealer and the gun maker should be punished.
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their State Committees because this is an off year
for Assembly races and this is the only Assembly race in the state.
dinners
in years. Most of the local merchants and businesses have donated
prizes and several major manufactures have promised items. Remington
has already set some hats, targets and other items as door prizes.
All kinds of prizes have been lined up and the "Table of Guns" will
have over 35 guns to choose from if you are lucky enough to buy
the winning ticket.