From: owner-utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com (utah-firearms-digest) To: utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: utah-firearms-digest V2 #157 Reply-To: utah-firearms-digest Sender: owner-utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk utah-firearms-digest Friday, September 3 1999 Volume 02 : Number 157 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Aug 99 11:17:00 -0700 From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Subject: FW: GOUtah! Alert #28 - 26 August 1999 2/3 [ ...Continued From Previous Message ] Feinstein wants to ban .50-caliber rifles. While you ponder the ominous implications of the above legislation, get ready for more bad news. Suddenly, a number of politicians are becoming terrified of .50-caliber rifles. The fact that a small number of wealthy people own $6,000 rifles weighing 90 lbs. and chambered for the .50 BMG cartridge seems to be too much for some folks in Congress to handle, even though such guns have been around for quite some time and have never been used in violent crime. According to an article in the August 17th issue of The Washington Post, written by Barbara Vobejda and David Ottaway, Senator Feinstein and anti-gun Representative Rod Blagojevich (D- Illinois) "are preparing legislation that would ban the rifles for all civilians except for competitive marksmen who belong to .50-caliber shooting clubs. In those cases, the guns would be kept under the control of the club itself." There is only one ".50-caliber shooting club" in the United States, known as "The .50-Caliber Shooters Association", which has a Post Office box address but no physical facility or shooting range. Again, details are sketchy at this point, but the proposed legislation sounds a lot like the law regulating .22-caliber pistols in England until recently. You may recall that the British Government banned private ownership of all handguns except .22 rimfire pistols a few years ago after a madman owning several legally registered firearms killed 15 children at a schoolyard in Scotland. At the time, British shooters were told that they had to turn in all centerfire handguns (which were easy for the authorities to locate, thanks to registration). However, shooters were generously allowed to still own pistols chambered for .22 rimfire ammunition, provided that the pistol and ammunition were stored in a secured locker at a government-approved gun club at all times except when being used for target practice. Of course, when Tony Blair took over as Prime Minister a year later, Parliament proceeded to completely ban private ownership of all .22-caliber handguns. It is not clear at this point whether Feinstein's proposal would include guns chambered for other .50-caliber cartridges, such as certain African big-game guns and black powder muzzleloaders, or whether it focuses only on the .50 BMG cartridge. Either way, the real reason for Feinstein's proposal, according to pro-gun activist Neal Knox, is to introduce the term "sniper rifle" into the national political dialogue. We note a pattern here. The gun-control lobby has invented several terms in the past which have little technical meaning but which make for effective sound bites designed to terrify naive suburban voters. These buzzwords include "cop-killer bullets", "assault weapons", "Saturday night specials", and "junk guns". The same folks apparently wish to add "sniper rifle" to the legislative lexicon, so that the term can be employed by politicians and media pundits wanting to "do something" about a non-existent problem. Of course, any expert on military affairs will tell you that a true "sniper rifle" is simply a deer-hunting rifle that has been painted black. Naturally, Feinstein and her allies are counting on gun owners to sit idly by while she outlaws .50-caliber rifles, since most of us have neither the money nor the inclination to own such a gun. You as a GOUtah! activist should be very concerned about this attack on our flanks, even if you don't own a .50-caliber weapon. If someone shoots, he's one of us and we must defend his gun rights as if they were our own. We're all in this together. Rep. Blagojevich has also introduced legislation to prohibit the possession of armor-piercing .50-caliber ammunition. In addition, according to the Times, a bill currently in House-Senate negotiation (probably the Juvenile Justice Bill, but we have not been able to confirm this) contains an amendment by Rep. Blagojevich prohibiting the sale of military surplus .50-caliber ammunition by the government. Feinstein to introduce gun registration bill. Senator Feinstein just won't leave us alone. She announced earlier this week to several California newspapers that she has drafted a bill that would require registration of firearms and licensing of gun owners. She plans to introduce the bill in September. Again the details are not yet available but we can be certain that they won't be nice. Status of the Juvenile Justice Bill Congress is still in recess, but will reconvene after Labor Day. The fate of the gun control provisions of the Senate version of the Juvenile Justice Bill (S. 254) is still up in the air. House and Senate negotiators will attempt to hammer out a compromise bill based on the Senate and House versions. Once the final compromise has been reached, it must be approved by both houses of Congress before it can reach the President's desk. The House version contains no gun control provisions, while the Senate bill contains several, including one which would essentially make gun shows a thing of the past and another that would make it a federal crime to let your teenage son or daughter handle or shoot an "assault weapon", i.e. a semiautomatic firearm that doesn't have the government-approved cosmetic appearance. In addition, the Senate version would make it illegal to wear body armor while committing a federal crime of any sort, including non-violent crimes such as cheating on one's taxes. Another section of this bill allows law enforcement officers to intercept electronic pager messages without a warrant. Basically, S. 254 is a bad bill, even without the gun provisions. [ Continued In Next Message... ] - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Aug 99 11:17:00 -0700 From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Subject: FW: GOUtah! Alert #28 - 26 August 1999 3/3 [ ...Continued From Previous Message ] FBI admits that its agents used pyrotechnic devices at Waco. The two paramilitary assaults on the Branch Davidian church in 1993 are making headlines again. Both attacks (one by the BATF and the other by the FBI) demonstrated what can happen when government gets out of control. One assertion which the FBI has made repeatedly since the final assault on the Davidian compound is that federal agents used no pyrotechnic devices of any sort. On Wednesday, however, the FBI was forced to officially acknowledge that pyrotechnic devices had indeed been used to insert CS gas into part of the compound. The issue came up earlier in the week when Danny Coulson, a former senior FBI official, disclosed the use of pyrotechnic grenades while being questioned during preparations for a lawsuit being brought against the government by relatives of some of the Davidians killed in the attack. Although it is not likely that these particular devices started the fire, according to Coulson, the new admission indicates that the FBI and the Justice Department have been lying through their teeth for six years. In addition, we have learned from Thursday's edition of the Dallas Morning News that a retired CIA agent, who worked with the U.S. Army's elite clandestine unit known as Delta Force, has revealed that several Delta Force soldiers told him fairly detailed stories after the Waco incident about having participated in the final assault on the church, not just as technical advisors but as actual operatives. If this is true, it directly violates federal law, which prohibits the use of military personnel in law enforcement activities, except for narcotics operations. We at GOUtah! recommend that you visit Blockbuster Video and rent a copy of the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, Waco: The Rules of Engagement, if you haven't already done so, and invite your friends to watch it with you. Note that Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel gave this film two thumbs up. The basic premise of gun control is that only the government can be trusted with firearms. Waco: The Rules of Engagement provides a powerful rebuttal to that argument. One of the reasons why so many Americans nowadays seem willing to surrender their liberties, including their Second Amendment rights, is that most of us don't think that our own government is capable of doing terrible things to its citizens. This film provides striking evidence to the contrary. Its director, William Gazecki, is a liberal Buddhist from Berkeley who admits that he has always hated guns. After having made this documentary, however, he says that he now understands why we need the Second Amendment. For more information, please visit the film's website at www.waco93.com. What you can do this week. Please call your Congressman and both U.S. Senators, visit them in person, or write letters to them. Tell them that the Juvenile Justice Bill must not pass if any gun control provisions remain in it. Ask them whether they have read the entire text of the bill, and if they haven't (which is probably the case), ask them why they would vote for something they haven't read. Also, tell Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett that you are aware of Senator Feinstein's efforts to whittle away at your Second-Amendment rights, and that you will not tolerate any support for her activities by any member of Utah's Congressional delegation. In particular, please ask Senator Hatch to use his clout to oppose Feinstein's efforts. While Congress is in recess, our senators and representatives are likely to be in Utah, where you can visit them in person. Also, please attend any town meetings at which your representatives are present. Sen. Orrin Hatch Local Office: 8042 Federal Bldg. 125 South State St. SLC, Utah 8484138-1102 Utah Phone: (801) 524-4380 Utah Fax: (801) 524-4379 senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov Sen. Robert Bennett Local Office: 4225 Federal Bldg. 125 South State St. SLC, Utah 8484138 Utah Phone: (801) 524-5933 Utah Fax: (801) 524-5730 senator@bennett.senate.gov Congressional District 1: Northern and Western Utah, except Salt Lake Metro Rep. Jim Hansen (R) Local Office: 324-25th Ave. Ogden, Utah 84401 Utah Phone: (801) 451-5822 Utah Fax: (801) 621-7846 Congressional District 2: Salt Lake Metro Area Rep. Merrill Cook (R) Local Office: 125 South State Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84138 Utah Phone: (801) 524-4394 E-mail: Cong.Merrill.Cook@mail.house.gov Congressional District 3: Central and Eastern Utah Rep. Chris Cannon (R) Local Offices: 51 South University Drive Provo, Utah 84606 Utah Phone: (801) 379-2500 Utah Fax (801) 379-2509 E-mail: Cannon.ut03@mail.house.gov Results of Salt Lake City's gun turn-in program. We congratulate our GOUtah! activists who made appearances on TV and radio to denounce the Salt Lake Police Department's recent gun turn-in program. We contacted the SLPD recently to ask how many guns had been turned in altogether, and we received answers ranging from 5 to 10, though no one seemed quite certain. GOUtah! Gun Rights (and Wrongs) Quote Watch. "I, too, would like to see guns banned. . . . I can even vote that way and still win reelection. But the vast majority of lawmakers cannot, so we vote on measures now that we can. And then we move society along." - -- Kevin Shelley (D - San Francisco), Democratic Floor Leader of the California State Assembly (the lower house of the California State Legislature), quoted in the August 18th edition of The Los Angeles Times. "Taking a long view of history, we may say that anyone who lays down his arms deserves whatever he gets." - -- Col. Jeff Cooper (USMC, Ret.) If you have a gun rights quote you'd like to share, please send it, along with a verifiable original source reference to GOUtah! This concludes the GOUtah! Political and Legislative Alert #27 - 20 August 1999. We hope this information will be of assistance to you in defending your firearms rights. Remember that getting this information is meaningless unless YOU ACT ON IT TODAY. If you just read it and dump it in the trash, your gun rights, and the gun rights of future generations go in the trash with it. Get involved, get active and get vocal! Copyright 1999 by GOUtah! All rights reserved. - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 13:04:40 -0600 From: "David Sagers" Subject: Fwd: Chuck Baldwin's "Food for Thought from The Chuck Wagon" for 09/01/99 Received: from wvc ([204.246.130.34]) by icarus.ci.west-valley.ut.us; Wed, 01 Sep 1999 04:40:30 -0600 Received: from mail.gulf1.com by wvc (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id EAA05953; Wed, 1 Sep 1999 04:18:24 -0600 Received: from gulf1.com [204.214.21.67] by mail.gulf1.com with ESMTP (SMTPD32-5.05) id A1673700009A; Wed, 01 Sep 1999 06:35:19 -0400 Message-ID: <258191999931102929600@gulf1.com> X-EM-Version: 4, 5, 0, 0 X-EM-Registration: #30C3410514B417038530 From: "Chuck Baldwin " To: "dsagers@ci.west-valley.ut.us" Subject: Chuck Baldwin's "Food for Thought from The Chuck Wagon" for 09/01/99 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 5:29:29 -0500 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline Waco: Why Now? September 1, 1999 =20 All of a sudden everyone in congress and the Justice Department are = greatly concerned about what really happened at Waco. Really? Why now?=20 I distinctly remember the hearings that were conducted in congress concerning the Waco matter back in 1995. I sat mesmerized as I watched those hearings on C-Span; most of them tape replays shown well after midnight. I well recall Charles Schumer and the other Democrats on the committee acting like defense lawyers for the government witnesses. They stonewalled, smirked, delayed, postured and pandered for Reno=C6s = henchmen. At first, Republicans Bill McCollum and Bill Zeliff, the committee co-chairmen seemed sincere in wanting to get to the truth. I was encouraged. My confidence quickly evaporated as the hearings continued, however. By the end of the hearings, Republicans and Democrats alike sounded a united chorus that the government had done nothing amiss, that there was no conspiracy, no cover-up, and no illegal activity on behalf of the ATF, FBI and other federal agencies involved. Attorney General, Janet Reno, was absolved of any wrongdoing. David Koresh and the other Branch Davidians were painted as evil monsters that, basically, got what they deserved. It was a stunning display of congressional cover-up and = cowardice. Now, these same congressmen seem shocked to learn that perhaps those federal agents had lied. Shazaam! Maybe the Feds really did start the = fire. Maybe they did hide evidentiary material that would have incriminated = them. Maybe they did violate the Constitution and laws of our land. Golly Gee! Let=C6s investigate! Let=C6s conduct more hearings. Let=C6s get the bottom = of this. Again, I ask the question, why now? Congressmen, while you are at it, let=C6s get the facts about why those = Delta force troops and Special Forces troops from England were on hand at Waco. Let=C6s find out why FBI agents were trained by our own Green Berets. = Let=C6s get the facts concerning why it was necessary for automatic machine guns = to open up on old men, women and children as they fled that inferno? Let=C6s find those steel, front doors that would prove who fired first. And, since you are suddenly energized to seek the truth, let=C6s get the facts about that helicopter that fired a hail of bullets into those buildings. And, = why were Army tanks knocking holes in the building, if not to create a tinderbox?=20 Here are some more questions for our suddenly concerned congressmen. Why was an ATF raid necessary in the first place? Wasn=C6t it true that David Koresh daily took long jogs alone? Wasn=C6t it true that he often = frequented the merchants in Waco and could have been peacefully apprehended at anytime? Isn=C6t it true that shortly before the initial raid David Koresh called the ATF and invited them come out and inspect the weapons that he possessed? Why did the ATF not take him up on his invitation? Isn=C6t it = true that the charges of illegal weapons and child abuse were nothing more than a ruse to give the Feds the excuse they wanted in order to justify their illegal and unconstitutional raid?=20 We could go on forever. You get the point. This entire government has covered up the Waco massacre from the beginning. For congressmen to suddenly discover righteous indignation is the height of hypocrisy! Again, why now? Could it be that Republicans want to use Waco as a campaign issue for the presidential elections next year? Hmmm. And, speaking of presidential elections, what did George W. Bush do since becoming Texas Governor to get to the bottom of Waco? After all, those = were Texas citizens that were slaughtered. How did his "compassionate conservatism" help the Waco victim=C6s families find closure? Watch these developments carefully. I predict that in the end Janet Reno will still be Attorney General. No federal agents will be charged with a crime or punished in any significant way. It will be another circus. More smoke. More mirrors. More rhetoric. No answers. No truth. No justice. But, hey, Republicans can use it to try and win a presidential election. Before you go to bed tonight remember the names of Chanel Andrade, 1, Daylan Lord Gent, 3, Paiges Gent, 2, Bobbie Lane Koresh, 2, Cyrus Howell, 8, Star Howell, 6, Serenity Sea Jones, 4, Chica Jones, 1, Little One = Jones, 1, (They were twins.) Crystal Martinez, 3, Isaiah Martinez, 4, Joseph Martinez, 8, Abigail Martinez, 11, Startle Summers, 1, Hollywood Sylvia, = 2, Mayanah Schneider, 2, Melisa Morrison, 8, and newborns Summers and Little (born into the flames as their mothers perished). These are the little children that were burned alive, suffocated or machine-gunned to death in the Waco massacre. Then, go look in the faces of your own children or grandchildren and know that what happened to the Davidian=C6s little = children could happen to yours! =20 NOTE: My editorials are published Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays on Gulf1.com = and are sent via email to anyone who requests them. If you have friends whom you would like to receive these editorials please forward their addresses to me at cblive@gulf1.com Newspapers, periodicals, journals and newsletters also carry my editorials.= Editors or Publishers interested in running these editorials may contact ron@chuckbaldwinlive.com. To learn more about my radio talk show please visit my web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com =20 For AOL users: Gulf1 Chuck Baldwin LIve - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 13:39:10 -0600 From: charles hardy Subject: Fw: Sept. 1 column -- pardon Davidian survivors ================================================================== Charles C. Hardy - --------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Vin_Suprynowicz@lvrj.com (Vin Suprynowicz) To: vinsends@ezlink.com Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 14:53:48 -0700 Subject: Sept. 1 column -- pardon Davidian survivors Message-ID: Received: from mx1.boston.juno.com (mx1.boston.juno.com [205.231.100.51]) by m10.boston.juno.com with SMTP id AAA565JFQA5UK2RA (sender ); Wed, 1 Sep 1999 17:54:54 -0400 (EST) Received: from ez0.ezlink.com (ezlink.com [199.45.150.1]) by mx1.boston.juno.com with SMTP id AAA565JFQAEJ5NWA (sender ); Wed, 1 Sep 1999 17:54:54 -0400 (EST) Received: (from list@localhost) by ez0.ezlink.com (8.8.8/8.8.8) id PAA07442; Wed, 1 Sep 1999 15:57:36 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Precedence: list Resent-Message-ID: <"dbu983.0.Lo1.X4Qpt"@ez0.ezlink.com> Return-Path: Resent-Sender: vinsends-request@ezlink.com X-Mailing-List: archive/latest/720 Resent-From: vinsends@ezlink.com X-Sender: vin@dali.lvrj.com X-Loop: vinsends@ezlink.com Resent-Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 15:57:36 -0600 FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATED SEPT. 1, 1999 THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz Set the Branch Davidians free Documentary filmmaker Mike McNulty of Colorado, whose "Waco: The Rules of Engagement" was nominated for an Academy Award, is prepared to release a sequel this fall, presenting evidence that at least six spent incendiary mortar rounds and "flash-bang devices" (the kind that can start fires) were found in the main Mount Carmel church (not just two, and not just in some outbuilding) following the final assault by federal troops in Waco, Texas in April of 1993. The new film will also document the assignment -- illegal without a special presidential order -- of members of the Army's elite Delta Force to be present during that final, deadly government assault, against American civilians on American soil. What a coincidence that the FBI in the past week has admitted to only as much as Mr. McNulty and the Texas Rangers can apparently now prove -- "spinning" these revelations with the bizarre explanation that (only two) incendiary mortar rounds were fired, only into an outbuilding, hours before the fatal fire which killed 80 people (including scores of innocent women and children.) Of course, it was Mr. McNulty and his associates who first used the Freedom of Information Act to pry from the federal government the aerial "Forward-Looking Infrared" footage of the final Waco assault -- the real assault, conducted on the back side of the building, out of sight of commercial television cameras -- revealing what several experts have interpreted as fully-automatic rifle fire into the building from positions behind the armored vehicles as those converted tanks moved in to knock down walls and staircases and spray in flammable and disorienting CS gas, effectively making escape impossible for most. The idea that these are the first "Waco lies" to be revealed is mere wishful thinking. To gain access to military helicopters for the initial assault (by armed tax collectors supposedly investigating reports of an unpaid $200 machine gun tax, but in fact mostly anxious to pull off a dramatic televised raid shortly before their upcoming congressional funding hearings), government agents had to lie on affidavits contending they believed the Rev. David Koresh was running a methamphetamine lab in his church. He was not, and no one ever believed he was. The government has long insisted there was no gunfire into the building from the helicopters during the initial February raid, though non-Branch Davidian witnesses allowed into the building before it burned saw downward-splintered bullet holes through the ceiling, and eyewitnesses have sworn to me they saw gunfire coming from those helicopters. Attorney General Janet Reno said the final assault had to be ordered because of new evidence Koresh and others were abusing children in the church, though the Justice Department later admitted there was no such new evidence. Some might be tempted to dismiss all this as ancient history. But let's recall that most of the Branch Davidian survivors -- not their assailants - -- were put on trial following the fiery holocaust at Waco, and seven were sentenced to decades in prison despite being unanimously found (start ital)innocent(end ital) on every major, capital charge. Yes, they're all still in jail, despite being unanimously acquitted of any wrongdoing in the deaths of four federal agents -- agents killed in the initial raid by bullets whose type and caliber the prosecutors were never willing to identify. And those sentences were meted out over the written objection of jury forewoman Sarah Bain, a Texas schoolteacher, who tells me the jury was shocked at the size of the sentences -- and who wrote to the judge that the jury assumed the defendants would be released for "time served" on the few minor, technical charges on which they were convicted. Writing in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Dr. Alan Stone, who teaches both law and psychiatry at Harvard University and who was brought in by the Justice Department to write an independent review of the handling of the Waco siege, says: "I do not know whether the FBI's pyrotechnic devices, which the bureau has finally acknowledged, actually started the fire. I do know that much of the gas was aimed at the so-called bunker where most of the children suffocated. I do not know whether Delta Force military advisers drove the tanks; I do know the tank drivers departed from the agreed-upon plan and, for reasons never explained, started crushing the compound. As in Vietnam, the government decided to destroy the village in order to save it. ... "But there is one truth that should be obvious by now; the Branch Davidians were more victims than culprits. ... Mr. Clinton should pardon them. By now he must realize both that the government made reckless mistakes at Waco and that those federal prisoners were motivated by deeply held religious convictions." Dr. Stone is correct. If Mr. Clinton can justify his recent pardon of a dozen pro-independence Puerto Rican terrorists who set off of bombs -- causing one police officer to lose an eye -- how can he allow breakaway Seventh Day Adventist parishioners who merely tried to defend themselves and their children when illegally attacked in their home to continue serving sentences longer than those which we impose on many a premeditated killer? Set the Branch Davidians free. Indict their perjury-prone assailants. Vin Suprynowicz is the assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His new book, "Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998," is available at $21.95 plus $3 shipping ($6 UPS; $2 shipping each additional copy) through Mountain Media, P.O. Box 271122, Las Vegas, Nev. 89127. The 500-page trade paperback may also be ordered via web site http://www.thespiritof76.com/wacokillers.html, or at 1-800-244-2224. Credit cards accepted; volume discounts available. *** Vin Suprynowicz, vin@lvrj.com "The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." -- John Hay, 1872 "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H.L. Mencken * * * - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------ If you have subscribed to vinsends@ezlink.com and you wish to unsubscribe, send a message to vinsends-request@ezlink.com, from your OLD address, including the word "unsubscribe" (with no quotation marks) in the "Subject" line. To subscribe, send a message to vinsends-request@ezlink.com, from your NEW address, including the word "subscribe" (with no quotation marks) in the "Subject" line. 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Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Sep 99 19:27:00 -0700 From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Subject: FW: Cato Daily Dispatch - 8/31 - ---------- Cato Daily Dispatch August 31, 1999 by Peter J.M. Orvetti, Manager of Editorial Services http://www.cato.org/ http://www.cato.org/dispatch/08-31-99d.html SNIP Lautenberg's Loud Call For Gun Restrictions Retiring Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is drafting legislation that would require registration of all new handguns bought in the United States, AP reported. Lautenberg's bill may also require the registration of guns bought in the past. National Rifle Association spokesman Bill Powers said Lautenberg was actually adding to a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for national gun registration. "Registration, licensing and confiscation: That is what Dianne Feinstein wants to bring to America, and now Frank Lautenberg is getting on board. You shouldn't have to get government permission and licensing to own a firearm in your home for the purposes of personal protection. It goes after law-abiding citizens who own firearms, and makes them paperwork criminals," Powers said. Feinstein, a potential vice presidential candidate next year, has made gun control a major part of her legislative agenda. In the Cato Policy Analysis "Trust the People: Case Against Gun Control" http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa109.html, former Manhattan assistant district attorney David B. Kopel writes, "Few public policy debates have been as dominated by emotion and misinformation as the one on gun control. Perhaps this debate is so highly charged because it involves such fundamental issues. The calls for more gun restrictions or for bans on some or all guns are calls for significant change in our social and constitutional systems. Gun control is based on the faulty notion that ordinary American citizens are too clumsy and ill-tempered to be trusted with weapons. Only through the blatant abrogation of explicit constitutional rights is gun control even possible. It must be enforced with such violations of individual rights as intrusive search and seizure. It most severely victimizes those who most need weapons for self-defense, such as blacks and women. The various gun control proposals on today's agenda--including licensing, waiting periods, and bans on so-called Saturday night specials--are of little, if any, value as crime-fighting measures. Banning guns to reduce crime makes as much sense as banning alcohol to reduce drunk driving. Indeed, persuasive evidence shows that civilian gun ownership can be a powerful deterrent to crime." In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Kopel testified http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct5-24-5.html before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the demonization of lawful gun owners. Unwarranted "Justice" Legislation Gun control is likely to play a part in a "juvenile justice bill" being hammered out on Capitol Hill, the Washington Times reported late last week. Republicans and Democrats expect to reach a consensus on legislation soon. "They are very productive discussions. They're not a waste of time at all," a senior Democratic staffer said. Throughout the August recess, staffers from both parties have worked to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. The Senate version includes new gun regulations such as background checks for all buyers at gun shows, sale of trigger locks or similar safety devices with all handguns and a ban on the import of large-capacity ammunition magazines and clips. The House version includes no new gun control but does add increasing penalties for various weapons offenses. In a June commentary http://www.cato.org/dailys/06-15-99.html, Dave Kopel wrote that the Senate version "is laden with provisions to expand forfeiture, increase wiretapping without warrant, promote drug testing and immunize police who commit violent crimes from criminal punishment. When senators are presented with a 648-page-long bill, few bother to read it. Thus, many senators who voted for S. 254 may have been unaware that the bill contains a sweeping new forfeiture provision that allows U.S. attorneys to base forfeiture on violations of state law--even misdemeanors--S. 254 significantly expands that statute to include any felony, including state felonies, and any state misdemeanor involving physical harm. Instead of just applying to profits from the sale of a criminal's story, the statute as revised by S. 254 would allow forfeiture of any enhanced value, in any property owned by the criminal, that resulted from the crime. But the measure ignores the constitutional fact that forfeitures for state law violations ought to be determined by state legislatures and carried out by state and local prosecutors, not by the federal government. Also buried deep within S. 254 is language that for the first time allows the police to intercept the content of electronic communications--the contents of pager messages-- without a warrant. Those messages can reveal information about a person's travel schedule, private life and current location. The bill's 'cloned pager' language is the latest expansion of wiretap authority to be buried in a large, complex bill where the public, which is generally skeptical about wiretapping, is not likely to notice. 'Public safety' seems to demand that the public be protected from any opportunity to debate whether the federal government needs more power to peek in on the public without a search warrant." For highlights of this month's best audio clips check out CatoAudio http://www.cato.org/pubs/catoaudio/ca-index.html, a lively monthly audio series that brings you inside the Cato Institute for Policy and Book Forums, speeches and debates. To unsubscribe from this list, visit http://www.free-market.net/partners/c/cato.html#dailydispatch - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Sep 99 21:12:00 -0700 From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Subject: FW: Cato Daily Dispatch - 9/2 Cato Daily Dispatch September 2, 1999 by Peter J.M. Orvetti, Manager of Editorial Services http://www.cato.org/ http://www.cato.org/dispatch/09-02-99d.html SNIP Bush Wants Background Checks Gov. George W. Bush (R-Texas) raised eyebrows last week by endorsing gun control measures including raising the legal age for purchase of a handgun from 18 to 21, Reuters reports. Bush, the GOP presidential frontrunner, said he also supported congressional efforts to ban large ammunition clips and to require instant background checks. "I think there's problems everywhere when people illegally use guns, and so the first question we must ask is, is it possible to have reasonable laws to keep the guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them? That's why I support instant background checks," Bush said. But any background checks should be part of a "shall-issue" licensing law, Jeffrey R. Snyder wrote in a 1997 Cato Policy Analysis http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-284.html. "The key feature of the new concealed-carry laws is that the issuing authority--usually a sheriff or the chief of police--must grant the permit as soon as a citizen can satisfy specific and objective licensing criteria. It is for that reason that those reforms are often referred to as 'shall-issue' concealed-carry laws. So long as the state requires a criminal background check, the check will disclose whether the applicant who desires to carry a firearm is permitted to possess a firearm under federal or state law. If not, obviously no permit may issue, and the applicant's possession of a weapon would be in violation of federal or state law. Further, since permit holders are registered, that is, the application information is maintained in the state's criminal records, the data provide a ready means of identifying and confiscating the weapons of permit holders who commit a crime postissuance or otherwise become disqualified (e.g., by drug use or mental illness). Critics of laws liberalizing the ability of citizens to carry firearms in public often ignore the fact that the new licensing statutes provide an ongoing way of policing compliance with federal and state laws regarding firearm ownership... Shall-issue licensing systems are not, as is sometimes asserted by their opponents, another example of America's free-wheeling, hands-off approach to guns. The licensing systems are gun control. Applicants are registered and fingerprinted and their backgrounds are thoroughly checked, both at the state and at the national level through the FBI, for criminal histories, and histories of drug or alcohol abuse and mental illness. In addition, the great majority of states require that applicants have received training with firearms. On the basis of 10 years of experience in 25 states, we may conclude that shall-issue licensing systems work. They accomplish the twin goals of providing a mechanism by which law-abiding citizens can carry the means with which to defend themselves from a violent criminal assault that imminently threatens life or grievous bodily harm and provide the public reasonable assurance that those who receive permits are persons who will act responsibly." Swiss Army Life The Times of London featured Switzerland's long history of peace. "Created as a nation in arms, Switzerland is proud of its heritage of Alpine liberty, based on the legendary figure of William Tell, who is said to have liberated the Swiss from aggressive Austrians in 1291. Switzerland has one of the largest land-based armies in Europe. It has a small professional army of about 3,300, with a pool of about 360,000 conscripts... Charles Heyman, editor of Jane's World Army, said: 'The Swiss have a very large defence establishment and it tells you straight away how Switzerland managed to avoid the First and Second World Wars.' According to Article 18 of the Constitution, every Swiss male is subject to military service. In 1992, this was amended to allow alternative civilian service. When a Swiss conscript enters military service, it will engage him virtually his entire life. Until 1995, conscription lasted a period of 30 years, from 20 to 50. Since then, it has been reduced to 22 years," the Times writes. But it is Switzerland's gun policies and not conscription that keeps it free and safe. "[P]rivate possession of weapons does not automatically lead to their misuse: heavily armed societies like Israel and Switzerland have only a fraction of our violent crime," Doug Bandow writes http://www.cato.org/dailys/05-26-99.html. And a Cato Policy Analysis http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa109.html notes that "Switzerland, through its militia system, distributes both pistols and fully automatic assault rifles to all adult males and requires them to store their weapons at home. Further, civilian long-gun purchases are essentially unregulated, and handguns are available to any adult without a criminal record or mental defect. Nevertheless, Switzerland suffers far less crime per capita than the United States and almost no gun crime." As for conscription, it is not advisable in a free society, Bandow writes in a just-released Cato Policy Analysis http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-351es.html : "The draft was bad policy during the Cold War and would constitute amazing foolishness today. For instance, renewed conscription would reduce the quality of new service personnel. Returning to the draft would also increase the costs of raising a military force. Conscription is an expensive process-for individuals, government, and society. For the armed services, a draft would yield higher turnover, thus increasing training costs. Also, because few conscripts choose to make the military a career, the Pentagon would have to hike reenlistment benefits. A draft would not improve the retention rate of skilled personnel or inculcate civic virtue. The military does have some serious personnel problems; however, such problems could be solved by returning to a foreign policy that is proper for a republic. The Clinton administration's promiscuous use of military force in conflicts irrelevant to U.S. security drives many potential recruits away from and current career personnel out of the service. Furthermore, policymakers should adjust compensation and benefits to more successfully attract both new recruits and skilled personnel in the years ahead. A renewed draft would be bad for the military. But more important, conscription would be unfair and unjust-sacrificing the very constitutional liberties that the military is charged to defend." For highlights of this month's best audio clips check out CatoAudio http://www.cato.org/pubs/catoaudio/ca-index.html, a lively monthly audio series that brings you inside the Cato Institute for Policy and Book Forums, speeches and debates. To unsubscribe from this list, visit http://www.free-market.net/partners/c/cato.html#dailydispatch - - ------------------------------ End of utah-firearms-digest V2 #157 ***********************************