Gun Rights Defender of the Month, 1997

Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. of Virginia is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for January.

In nominating Rep. Goode for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said that "this Virginia lawmaker, throughout his public career, has demonstrated repeatedly and forcefully his commitment to the individual right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.

"Recently, when my wife and I were talking with the newly-elected Congressman Goode, a Democrat, and his wife during a reception in Washington, D. C., Goode said that ‘we need a permit to carry concealed law for Washington, D. C.’

"Of course I agreed and volunteered to introduce him to Congressman Clifford B. Stearns of Florida, a Republican. Rep. Stearns, himself a CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Awardee, is the author of legislation which would allow the holder of a permit to carry a concealed firearm issued by any state to carry concealed in any state.

"Congressman Goode was happy with the prospect of meeting Congressman Stearns and so I introduced the two Representatives to each other. It seems that, as a result, we now will have in Congress bipartisan support for the federal reciprocity permit to carry concealed concept."

Goode, as Virginia State Senator, was the chief sponsor of Virginia’s concealed carry legislation. The 1995 Personal Protection Act, adopted after a spirited fight by legislators favoring restrictive gun control, set standards so that Virginia’s law-abiding citizens would have a fair chance of obtaining a concealed carry permit regardless of the locality in which he or she lived.

Prior to the Virginia law, it was almost impossible in many jurisdictions in Virginia to get a concealed carry permit.

When the Goode proposal was being debated in Virginia, R. Cort Kirkwood columnized in the Arlington, Virginia COURIER that "those who don’t want citizens to carry guns might explain how crime will increase if more citizens carry guns. Criminals will always commit crimes, but law-abiding citizens will not, and their newly-won liberty to protect themselves isn’t likely to cause more crime. More shootings, however, are another matter. If and when Mr. Goode’s bill becomes law, more shootings may indeed occur, but it is unlikely those shooting will be defined as ‘crimes’ in the sense of predator and prey. Where citizens are prepared to defend themselves as the rule rather than the exception, criminals will fear being shot dead while plying their trade...

"Aside from the obvious advantage an armed man has if he must defend life and limb, he also has the undying respect of those who see the bulge under his jacket, which says, in the words of the old cliche: ‘Don’t tread on me.’

"Those words don’t mean much to those who want to live in a risk-free community where people no longer know how to use, and in all likelihood fear, firearms. But what those folks don’t understand is that a measure of danger always accompanies liberty, and no society is truly free unless its citizens have a right to defend themselves. Accidental shootings will occur, but for the same reason we do not curtail the right of the press because a newspaper might err, we should not curtail the right of free citizens to defend themselves."

As a Virginia State Senator, Congressman Goode voted against banning certain shotguns on the grounds that they could be used for self-defense purposes. He also voted against then Governor Wilder’s "one-gun-a-month" registration scheme.

Paul W. Moog, Jr. of Virginia is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for February.

In nominating Moog for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said "Paul is an energetic American who is determined to combat efforts to undermine the right of law-abiding individuals to keep and bear arms.

"As founder and executive director of the Northern Virginia Citizens Defense League, Paul has spearheaded the development of a local gun rights organization which is beginning to have a significant impact in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"His efforts serve as an example for others around the country who would like to do something in their own areas in the effort to preserve and promote the traditional right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms."

Formed in 1994, the Northern Virginia Citizens Defense League (NVCDL) has about 200 members. It is a non-profit, all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of all Virginians. The membership considers the right to keep and bear arms an essential civil right.

Since its founding, NVCDL

- has picketed a local sheriff’s gun buy-back program;

- been instrumental in reforming Virginia’s discriminatory concealed weapons law into a "shall issue" CCW permit system;

- forced Fairfax County to comply with the Virginia CCW law by eliminating the personal history form, the police interrogation of applicants, and the imposition of excessive fees;

- helped stall anti-gun legislative proposals in the last session of the state legislature;

- saw to it that Fairfax County Police revamped the Department’s "Firearms Safety Presentation;"

- distributed pro-self-defense literature at the Stand for Children Rally in Washington, D. C.;

- helped fund a lawsuit against Fairfax County for violation of a League member’s privacy during the CCW application process;

- engineered a change in Fairfax County’s hunting laws to exempt persons lawfully carrying firearms for personal safety from county hunting restrictions;

- developed a list of products which members should not buy because the products’ distributors evidenced aggressive anti-gun rights behavior; and

- produced and distributed "GUNS SAFE LIVES - 2.5 Millions Defensive Uses Each Year" bumper strips available for one dollar each from NVCDL, P. O. Box 821, Alexandria VA 22313.

NVCDL maintains a world wide web page and e-mail alert network to keep members and other interested parties informed of the latest developments in Virginia relating to the right to keep and bear arms. The web page may be visited at www.nvcdl.org. It contains information on

- legislative updates (federal and state);

- media alerts;

- links to firearms related sites;

- recommended reading; and

- exposes of anti-gun organizations.

Moog says that "when we started NVCDL in October of 1994 I would have scoffed at the notion that our little group of five activists would have expanded to over 200 members and supporters in less than two years. I would also have scoffed at the notion that we would be able to help reform Virginia’s discriminatory concealed weapons law in our first year of existence.

"Because of our efforts, bureaucrats and politicians routinely monitor our world-wide-web page in hopes of anticipating our next move.

"Our monthly meetings, newsletters, e-mail alerts, and phone tree assure that all members are kept informed of the latest issues regarding individual liberty."

Doc Remington Carlson of Seattle, Washington is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for April.

Carlson is a long-time member of CCRKBA, the Second Amendment Foundation and Washington Arms Collectors, and is a Benefactor Member of the National Rifle Association of America.

CCRKBA chose Carlson as this month’s Awardee for his tireless dedication to preserve, protect and defend our precious constitutional freedom to own and possess private firearms. His relentless efforts have been above and beyond the call of duty.

In nominating Carlson for the Award, John C. Barnett, Jr., CCRKBA Membership Services Coordinator, stated that "Doc has risen from the masses and has become an example to all, as to what the true definition of grass roots activism can be.

"He has emerged as a competent media source speaking for the individual gun owner in Washington State and across the Nation on dozens of radio and television programs and in countless newspaper articles.

"He often has served as a lone voice against the gun grabbers when CCRKBA staff members are tied up temporarily on other important interviews and strategy sessions.

"In fact, Carlson is the founder, writer, director, executive producer and star of the only weekly live pro-gun public access cable television program in the country. He has more than 10,000 shows under his belt. After a broadcast, Doc routinely will receive hundreds of phone calls and inquiries from gun owners across the greater Seattle metropolitan area. As a result of his television show, CCRKBA’a national headquarters often lights up with people requesting information or joining up right on the spot.

"I believe that Doc’s mission and purpose behind the long hours of preparation required for hosting a one man weekly television show is to motivate and encourage the gun owner to do more than just sending in membership dues. If people want to enhance their level of activism one of the first things to look for is one of the regional CCRKBA Leadership Training Conferences coming soon to your area. With almost 30 of these events already conducted, one is sure to be in your area right around the corner."

Born April 20, 1952 in Seattle, Washington, Doc Carlson graduated in 1970 from Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.

He served for seven years in the United States Air Force as a member of the Special Operations Group, as a Weapons Specialist and as a Military Policeman. He left military service in 1977 with a rank as an E-6.

He graduated from the University of Maryland with a liberal arts degree in 1975.

Barnett said that now Doc, "in addition to his many grass roots media appearances, is a precinct committee officer in his local area.

"Doc is and has been one of the most dedicated volunteers with whom I have had the high privilege of working. He has spent countless hours working at gun shows, pro-gun rights events and political campaigns, as well as countless other functions. I can recall many occasions when Doc would go so far as even to take his vacation time from work. He would rely on public transportation. He would spend hours in miserable weather conditions just so that he would be on hand to offer his help and expertise for a particular event.

Sanford M. Abrams of Silver Spring, Maryland is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for May.

In nominating Abrams for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said "I have known Sandy for a good number of years and always have found him to be a hard-working, dedicated and articulate spokesman for the individual right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.

"Many of the political powers that be in Maryland and in some of its localities are narrow-minded and vociferously anti-gun owner. This makes things especially difficult for pro-gun spokesmen such as Sandy, but he always has risen to the challenge. He has not backed down in the face of the anti-gun powers in the State. He consistently has sought to educate the public on the rectitude of the pro-gun owner position.

"In time, let us hope his efforts and the efforts of others like him prevail. In the meantime, he is most deserving of this Award in recognition of his outstanding efforts in support of the right to keep and bear arms."

A lifelong Maryland resident, Sandy Abrams, 48, currently is Vice President of the Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers Association, Inc. It was founded 10 years ago as an industry trade association.

A manufacturers’ representative in the firearms field, he is listed in WHO’S WHO IN SALES AND MARKETING. Sandy is President of RSM, Inc., which is trading in Baltimore, Maryland as Valley Gun.

Sandy received higher education at Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland at College Park and spent six years in the Army Reserve.

He serves as Executive Producer of the Charlton Heston Celebrity Shoot. He also is a member of the Governor’s Executive Advisory Council of the Weapons Abuse Reduction Committee. His own shooting preferences are handguns and sporting clays.

In one of his more recent battles for the pro-gun owner cause, Sandy took issue with a move in the Montgomery County, Maryland Council to, as he puts it in a hard-hitting letter to THE WASHINGTON POST, "ban gun shops and even the mere possession of firearms within 100 yards of what appears to be most of the county. The use of the phrase ‘places of public assembly’ could be interpreted to mean almost anything: a pizza parlor, a McDonald’s or anywhere more than two people congregate. Most gun shops already ban minors from entering their establishments without their parents, since there is little for them to purchase there.

"Even more insidious is that this bill effectively would ban all firearm hunting in the county. If you can not possess a firearm in any park in the county, no hunting can take place. I believe that it is the intent of some of the sponsors of this bill to ban the use of firearms in hunting, target shooting and self defense. My Izzak Walton League Chapter would close down, since Seneca Creek State Park is across the street. Any firearms retailer, including Wal-Mart and Sports Authority, would be forced to vacate their premises and move if anyone opened a day care center next door. In my own home, I could not possess a self defense firearm if a religious sect bought the house next door and started church services. This is an unfair and unreasonable approach to a problem that the council and police readily admit does not even exist.

Georgia L. Nichols of North Haven, Connecticut is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for June.

In nominating Mrs. Nichols for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said "I have known Georgia for some time now and have heard her speak several times at the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, cosponsored by CCRKBA and the Second Amendment Foundation.

"She is without doubt one of the most effective spokespersons in the American gun rights movement. Always a lady, Georgia also always is articulate, forthright and absolutely solid in asserting and defending the individual right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms. Georgia is most deserving of this Award."

Nichols, born in New Haven, Connecticut, is President of the American Shooting Sports Council, Inc. She also is a member of the Council’s Board of Directors.

She is Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Mossberg Corporation and its subsidiaries. She has been with O. F. Mossberg & Sons since 1974 where she has held various positions, including Director of Personnel. In 1984, she established the company’s Legal Department.

She is Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Firearms Council, Inc.

Georgia is a Member of the Board and Case Selection Committee of the Product Liability Advisory Council, a Member of the Product Liability Client Advisory Board of the American Law Firm Association, a Member of the Board of Directors of Sporting Activities Insurance Limited, and a Member of Sports Litigators of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.

Georgia is a graduate of Quinnipiac School of Law in Hamden, Connecticut and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

An accomplished equestrian and shooter, Mrs. Nichols has given numerous speeches and written articles on issues affecting the firearms industry. She has been a frequent speaker at the Gun Rights Policy Conference and the annual SHOT Show, as well as at other meetings concerning the manufacturing, sale and ownership of firearms. In the area of product liability and the firearms industry, Mrs. Nichols is considered one of the leading authorities in the country.

Georgia and her husband, Spencer, have two sons and two grandsons.

In one of her many writings, Nichols stated she had just "attended an annual American Shooting Sports Coalition ‘fly-in’ in Washington, D. C. The purpose of ASSC is to promote shooting sports; to achieve that end, ASSC attempts to spread ‘our’ word, that is that we are honest, deeply patriotic and concerned citizens/business people and a substantial part of our country’s economic, social and political structure. Our views are not radical or dangerous. The fly-in is purposely held in the District so that ASSC representatives can meet with their elected political representatives.

"In an exercise apparently designed to educate the Congress, (New York) Congressperson (Charles) Schumer’s committee was interviewing children. As a parent, I certainly do not denigrate the validity of the old ‘out of the mouths of babes’ saw; however, I feel that businesses, governments, education systems and any other endeavor that hopes to be successful may need more mature advice. Before that august assembly of adolescent intellects (you betcha, congresspersons included), Congressperson Schumer ranted: ‘For the last three days, these adult gun pushers have been twisting arms in their silk suits and Gucci shoes! I invite those lobbyists to look these children in the eye!’ Well now, Congressperson Schumer, I can not only look into the eyes of those children, but yours also. Children need be taught, adolescent congresspersons need be chastised at the polls; considering your taxpayer funded, voted by you for you, best in the universe retirement pension scam, an early return to the real world may not be so painful...

"Does Congressperson Schumer really think that the American Firearms Industry has a concerted and dedicated plan to market firearms to adolescents? Does he believe that General Motors has an aggressive marketing campaign to sell automobiles to teen-aged drunken drivers? Does he believe that McCulloch surreptitiously markets chain saws to young mass murderers? Does he believe that knife, hammer, axe, blunt, sharp and all other device manufacturers have joined in a secret cabal to provide our children weapons of mutual and self-destruction at reduced prices? Does he believe that guns kill people rather people using guns kill people? Schumer is a Congressperson; his yes answer to all the above wouldn’t surprise me...

"For the record, Congressperson Schumer, I didn’t see a silk suit or Gucci shoe in the lot of us. We are working people producing a product much more substantial than hot air. As a consequence, we frequent environments where silk and Italian leather don’t fare well. You must learn to differentiate us from your D.C. West associates. I learned about luxurious hotels, port and truffles by observing junketing Congresspersons expanding the national debt while studying ‘urgent issues.’

"Nothing disturbs me more than arrogant ignorance (or ignorant arrogance) wherever it occurs - in myself, my family or the Nation’s hallowed institutions. There are many congressional Representatives whose brains govern their mouths. To them we are all indebted for their thoughtful insights into the Nation’s problems and their tireless efforts in attempting to solve them. As my law-abiding, noncriminal, tax paying and legally gun-toting children would say, ‘Get a life and a real job, Schumer!.’"

Dan Arico of Fairfax, Virginia is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for July.

In nominating Arico for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said "I have known Dan personally for over 25 years. He is deeply committed to the individual right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms.

"I am recommending him specifically for this Award because of his contribution to the legitimate promotion of the shooting sports among youth. This promotion is a way of insuring that the right to keep and bear arms is valued and honored over the long haul.

"These days, a number of active Second Amendment supporters bemoan what they term the ‘gradual disappearance’ of opportunities for the youth of America to become acquainted with the discipline and joys of the shooting sports. They say sometimes that this situation can lead to a future situation in which there will be little or no public support for the Second Amendment because there will be so few people actually familiar with the legitimate use of firearms.

"To people like this, Dan Arico and others like him could serve as an example of what can be done to prevent this eventuality from occurring."

An avid promoter of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Dan Arico organized the First Annual George Washington District Rifle Match, held in Northern Virginia, just this past spring. Hosted by the Northern Virginia Gun Club, this was the first BSA shooting activity over and above the BSA’s famed merit badges program.

An NRA certified coach’s trainer, Arico informs POINT BLANK that support for the match was so great that plans call for an expanded regional match for Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia later this year.

"It is my hope," he says, "that this program will help to dispel some of the anti-gun propaganda that these kids are getting in the schools and from the media. It certainly has helped in teaching them that the shooting sports can be fun!"

Dan says he hopes that the idea catches on even more and spreads across the eastern seaboard as well as throughout other sections of the United States.

Arico says it’s important for the youth of America to become familiar with the shooting sports as a means of preserving our Second Amendment rights.

"The right of self-defense is the most fundamental human right," states Arico. "All other rights are dependent on it. No property rights, no religious freedom, no privacy is possible without the ability to remain secure in your own person."

Dan was born on November 3, 1946 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Duquesne University in 1970, he worked for about five years for Oxygen Emergency Supply in Elizabeth.

He moved to the Washington, D. C. area in 1975, becoming Eastern Service Manager of the Monaghan Company, a respiratory therapy equipment concern, where he worked for about five years.

In 1979, Dan, who has taken a number of computer courses at George Mason University and also at Northern Virginia Community College, founded Arico Systems, a computer services company specializing in mailing lists, process surveys and direct mail. Dan and his wife, the former Sue Marshner, continue to run the company.

Dan and Sue have three children, Joe, 15, Steve, 14, and Theresa, seven. Needless to say, the three are all shooters. They are members of the Acorns Junior Rifle Club, in conjunction with which the two boys are involved in small bore rifle shooting. In the spring George Washington District Rifle Match, Joe Arico took first place and Steve second. Theresa recently received her NRA junior marksman qualification in prone position.

Dan says his first experience with shooting came in the Cub Scouts. He eventually became an Eagle Scout and later a Cub Scout Den Leader when his oldest son joined the Cub Scouts.

Dan says he moved on to become Assistant Scoutmaster and "started the troop rifle team five years ago using air guns at an indoor range I built in the rafters of my warehouse." He also taught shooting at Boy Scout summer camp.

Kenneth V. F. ("Kenn") Blanchard of Cheverly, Maryland is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for August.

In nominating Blanchard for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said "Kenn has demonstrated leadership on behalf of the individual right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in the Washington, D. C. area.

"In fact, he has come up with a unique concept and is working now to implement it. He sees the need for cooperation among local pro-gun rights organizations at the regional level. He already is working for such cooperation in the Washington, D. C.-Maryland-Virginia region.

"To implement this concept, he called a ‘Shooting for Peace Conference,’ an all day gathering to establish peace among the various pro-gun groups in the area. It was held at the New Carrollton, Maryland Public Library on June 21. I was glad to be there and hope that other pro-gun spokesmen from around the country will pick up on Kenn’s idea and work in a similar manner in other parts of the United States."

Kenn promoted the conference by mail to local ranges and clubs and over the internet to regional organizations.

He said it was his "goal to utilize the strengths, values, cultures and diversity found in the pro-gun community to return the shooting sports to a most notable status. I believe that in order to do this I have to meet with veterans of the gun rights struggle and re-energize the weary, wake up the sleeping and teach the stubborn that what we want is possible if we do the right thing and persevere.

"This conference was designed in its simplicity to gather a few strong, willing and available thinkers from the area’s organizations in a neutral setting to vent, brainstorm and form new agendas for the future. Hosting this conference were members of the recently-formed Tenth Cavalry Gun Club, comprised of pro-gun Americans of African descent. The majority of the attendees came from the State of Maryland."

The conferees represented altogether about 3,000 people and agreed tentatively to hold a larger, follow-up conference this month.

Blanchard, who acted as conference facilitator, was born June 26, 1962 in Suffolk, Virginia. He graduated from Northwestern High School in Adelphi, Maryland in 1980, and is working toward a degree in psychology from the University of Maryland.

A participant in national Gun Rights Policy Conferences cosponsored by CCRKBA and the Second Amendment Foundation, Kenneth Vincent Ford Blanchard has a unique background in firearms education, politics and business.

In 1992, he founded African American Arms & Instruction, Inc. (A3I), a Washington, D. C. metropolitan based business providing training and consulting for a wide range of organizations and individuals. A3I, Inc. specializes in promoting shooting sports and self-protection among minority groups. Kenn writes frequently on the Second Amendment and gun control laws.

Blanchard began his professional career as a federal police officer after an enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. He served as a Marine Security Guard. A graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s basic police and firearms instructor courses, Blanchard has served on protective details, as a firearms instructor and as an investigator for his U. S. government agency. He is the author of BLACK MAN WITH A GUN, published by Winston-Derek Publishers.

Kenn has a record of achievement as a federal law enforcement officer and as a Second Amendment advocate.

Veteran police Lt. Morton Feldman, Executive Vice President of the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP), is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for September.

In nominating Feldman for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said that "Mort, by his outspoken defense of the individual right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms, demonstrates effectively the truism that there is a natural alliance between law-abiding, gun owning American citizens and the thousands of fine American law enforcement officers who work and sacrifice to provide for the public safety in our society.

"Mort certainly is most deserving of this Award."

Feldman told POINT BLANK, in fact, that the great majority of law enforcement officers in the United States support the individual right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms. Practically the only police spokesmen and officials of police organizations who do not, he said, "are those who get government money." NACOP does not receive government funding.

Feldman states flatly that "no written law has ever prevented a criminal from doing what he wanted to do." He adds further that "all gun control does is impede the honest citizen from being able to defend himself or herself."

Feldman is a 30-year veteran of the criminal justice system who retired from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to join the NACOP staff in 1993. The holder of an Associate of Arts degree with a thousand hours of additional law enforcement training, Mort, a Certified Instructor in Law Enforcement, Corrections and Security, has worked with the Broward County Juvenile Court in Fort Lauderdale, as well as the Dade County Sheriff’s Office in Miami and the Family Corrections Program in North Miami.

He writes that "all trained, qualified, age appropriate people who wish to own and/or carry a concealed firearm must not be hindered by laws designed to prevent criminals from obtaining them. There are some 20,000 gun laws and none have prevented a criminally bent individual from getting a gun.

"The time has come to concentrate on criminal control, not gun control.

"To quote a famous line from a movie: We the victims of revolving door criminality are ‘sick and tired of it and we won’t put up with it any longer.’

"There is more than ample evidence that a properly armed citizenry can and does help themselves and law enforcement."

At NACOP’s Miami offices, Feldman is responsible for research and response to law enforcement agencies and the media with respect to law enforcement and security issues. He has developed and implemented a 40-hour training program, in accordance with state requirements, for the basic security officer’s license.

From 1984 through 1993, as a Lieutenant in the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Feldman was responsible for the development and implementation of a training program for 600 new employees. He supervised a staff of 112 deputies and sergeants, 600-1,500 inmates and a 50 million dollar maximum security facility.

His experience prior to that included basic line duties in a maximum security jail, group and individual counseling with youth and family as referred by juvenile court, evaluations of subordinates, and as a probation/parole officer investigating the offenses, backgrounds and histories of juvenile offenders.

His scores of articles have appeared in the DAYTON LAW REVIEW, CHIEF OF POLICE MAGAZINE, POLICE TIMES, WOMAN’S DAY and other publications. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, "Good Morning America," the Arts & Entertainment Network and numerous radio shows.

Feldman is a critic of the Lautenberg Amendment, which prohibits the owning or possession of a firearm by any person convicted of a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence.

"This is clearly a high profile, well received, well intended concept that seeks to provide protection for the victims of domestic violence," he writes.

James M. Purtilo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for October.

In nominating Dr. Purtilo for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said that "Jim has volunteered his many talents in an absolutely dedicated way to defend and promote the rights of law-abiding firearms owners in the State of Maryland. He could serve as an example to other people throughout the State of Maryland and, indeed, throughout the United States, as a truly modern defender of our freedoms. He is most deserving of this Award."

About a year ago, Jim founded and still edits TRIPWIRE, which he terms "a Maryland gun rights advocacy newsletter."

Jim told POINT BLANK he thinks gun owners have got to "focus on the message that in the elections next year for Governor and other offices in Maryland the most important thing to understand is that everyone in the pro-gun movement has to get involved in the fight to win the General Assembly in 1998."

He says further that all too often "bad guys propose bad legislation and are promoted through the political ranks while the good guys who try to defend our rights are forgotten by gun owners at election time. We have to turn this around. TRIPWIRE is dedicated to that."

Born January 2, 1957 in Pennsylvania, Jim received a BA from Hiram College in Ohio in 1978, an MA from Kent State, also in Ohio, in 1980, and his doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Illinois in 1986.

He and his wife, Christine, who have been married for 15 years, are parents of two sons.

Truly a computer whiz, Jim is the author of SOFTWARE SPECIFICATION, A COMPARISON OF FORMAL METHODS, published in 1994 by Ablex, as well as a large number of technical articles in scientific and computer journals.

He came to Maryland in the mid-1980s and became active in the gun rights movement in the early 1990s because he just got fed up with continual media-inspired political attempts to undermine the individual right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.

Since at least 1990, in fact, he has been involved in the discussion of firearms issues on the internet. Since then, he has been Moderator of REC.GUNS, which he describes as the largest bulletin board on technical issues regarding firearms in the world.

Available on net news to subscribers to AOL and "all the big providers," he says, REC.GUNS receives between 350 and 600 messages PER DAY!

He says that while most of the posters, who post from all over the world, are concerned primarily with technical matters, the bulletin board also receives any number of questions regarding personal protection, collecting and "the whole gamut."

In a recent issue of TRIPWIRE, Dr. Purtilo wrote that Maryland Governor "Parris Glendening’s gun laws are now rigorously enforced by the Maryland State Police, but the spread of new state restrictions was slowed in legislative session. Federally, a marginally pro-gun Congress was saved, but Clinton-backed gun banners made gains (right here in Maryland, for example). It’s been a wild year.

"The last year flew by, as will the next. Elections will be on us faster than we want to believe. Now is the time for us to become informed about issues, reach out to concerned citizens, and build infrastructure. Now, because it’s too late to educate voters the day they head to the polls."

"Educate, network and build. These are our watchwords. However you choose to pitch in - whether through TRIPWIRE, another group or on your own - begin it now. We can’t afford not to."

Alan Korwin of Arizona is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for November.

In nominating Korwin for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said that "Alan, by producing a number of books on gun laws in the United States, has been able to boil down a lot of legal hodge podge so that the average gun owner may have some idea of his or her obligations under the multiplicity of laws, regulations and court decisions regarding firearms acquisition, possession, use and disposition.

"Alan also is an outspoken and articulate defender of the right to keep and bear arms.

"He certainly is most deserving of this CCRKBA Award."

Korwin, who spoke this past September at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Denver, Colorado, is a professional writer and management consultant with over two decades of experience in business, news and promotional communication. He is founder and two term Past President of the Arizona Book Publishing Association, on the national publicity committee of the Society for Technical Communication, and a former board member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Valley of the Sun Chapter.

Alan is the author of the books GUN LAWS OF AMERICA and THE ARIZONA GUN OWNER’S GUIDE.

Additionally, he is the co-author of THE TEXAS GUN OWNER’S GUIDE, THE VIRGINIA GUN OWNER’S GUIDE, and THE FLORIDA GUN OWNER’S GUIDE.

"Obviously some gun use is blatantly criminal and despicable," he writes in GUN LAWS OF AMERICA, published by Bloomfield Press in 1995, but then points out that "other applications are noble, appeal to the highest ideals our society holds, and are enshrined in and ensured by the statutes on the books:

- Protecting your family in emergencies.

- Personal self-defense.

- Preventing crimes.

- Detaining criminals for arrest.

- Guarding our national borders.

- Preserving our interests abroad.

- Helping defend our allies.

- Overcoming tyranny.

- Emergency preparedness.

- Obtaining food by hunting.

- Historical preservation.

- Olympic competition.

- Sporting pursuits.

- Target practice.

- Recreational shooting."

Korwin writes that "using a gun to rob a store ought to be illegal. Who in the firearms debate disagrees with that? That’s true gun control, and that makes sense. When laws attempt to restrict what law-abiding citizens can and cannot do, in the name of gun control, and especially if there’s no effect on criminals, ah, there’s the rub.

"People have come to realize that attempting to disarm the American public is not gun control, it’s disarming the American public. Gun control means keeping the guns out of the hands of the bad guys. This is good public policy. Rational people agree it’s desirable. It deserves and earns the broadest support.

"Unfortunately, because the term gun control has been so perverted it can barely be applied to its noble cause - controlling the truly criminal use of firearms. America needs better gun control - more criminals must be disarmed. Disarming honest citizens does not accomplish that. Need this even be said?

"Favoring gun control yet staunchly resisting the gradualism of citizen disarmament is a coherent position. It is Orwellian to call citizen control crime control. The big question for America, perhaps, is can gradualism do what a century of Communism could not - dismember the greatest system for human government yet devised."

Alan hails originally from New York City, where his clients included IBM, AT&T, NYNEX and others. In 1986, "finally married," he states, he "moved to the Valley of the Sun. It was a joyful and successful move."

Nicholas J. Johnson, Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law in New York, is the designated recipient of the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month Award for December.

In nominating Johnson for the Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said that "as the struggle to preserve the individual right of law-abiding American citizens continues, it becomes more and more evident that we need a solid scholarly background upon which to base our positions in public debate. Scholars such as Nicholas Johnson, through their research and writing, enable all of us to establish and maintain that background and, for that reason, the pro-gun rights movement owes many thanks to him and to others like him."

Johnson is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and West Virginia University, Magna Cum Laude. He has published a number of articles dealing with constitutional issues. His articles on firearms ownership include "Beyond the Second Amendment: An Individual Right to Arms Viewed Through the Ninth Amendment," (24 RUTGERS LAW JOURNAL 1-81, 1993) and "Shot Across No Man’s Land: A Response to HCI’s Richard Aborn," (22 FORDHAM URBAN LAW JOURNAL 441, 1995).

In late October, Johnson participated in a scholars conference on "Fact v. Fiction on Firearms in America" sponsored by American Firearms Council, Inc.

On that occasion, Johnson, himself an African-American, presented a paper on "Minorities and the Erosion of the Second Amendment."

He charged that the gun control "debate is, at its core, one about disarmament of the American citizenry."

Johnson declared that "one of the indications that our debate is decidedly one about disarmament is the bad gun regulatory formula. So far our primary regulatory approach has been to target or restrict ‘bad guns’ — small guns, semiautomatic guns, guns with pistol grips. The justification for this formula is that these are the weapons criminals prefer. But it is silly to suggest that the formula offers a limiting principle that protects certain guns owned by decent people. Criminals prefer guns that shoot. Any gun can fit this bill. Using portrayals of criminal preferences as the test, the bad gun formula is a recipe for creeping disarmament of good people.

"Another indication that we are ultimately debating disarmament is the anti-gun lobby’s creeping interpretation of the Second Amendment. This suggests the amendment only protects an amorphous state right to arm state militias.

"As Steven Halbrook and Professor Van Alsytyne recount, the anti-gun lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment was the best kept secret of the 19th Century, as there is no surviving statement from the framers or their contemporaries supporting the view that it is a right of states rather than the people. This does not prevent Handgun Control, Inc., for example, from declaring to anyone who will publish the statement, that the individual rights view of the Amendment is a fraud concocted by the NRA.

"This tactic seems calculated to set us on the same path as the British. As Dr. Joyce Malcolm explains, the once vital English right to arms ‘has been so gently teased away from public use that most Britons have no notion of when or how it came to be withdrawn.’

"Moreover, regardless of what we think about the wisdom of the Second Amendment, this effort to simply construe it out of the Bill of Rights is fundamentally antidemocratic, and something that should worry all of us...

"We are sitting in the jurisdiction with the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Handguns, except for a very small number grandfathered in by being registered before 1976 are illegal in the District (of Columbia). Long guns kept in the home must be kept disassembled.

"Whatever else it may be, this is a public policy geared to eliminate armed self-defense by victims of crime. In several settings I have witnessed public statements by representatives of the anti-gun lobby to the effect that the laws of the District (of Columbia) reflect their ambitions nationwide. Members of the anti-gun lobby have taken this position in print as well. Sen. Diane Feinstein’s statement on national television - ‘If I could have gotten the votes for an outright ban - Mr. and Mrs. America turn them in...’is also illustrative."

Professor Johnson argued that "gun bans create a perverse result in which government employees (ostensibly servants of the citizenry) enjoy a peculiarly enhanced level of security from armed public employees, while common people get something much less.

"This problem is symbolized by a recent story from the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. It reports a precinct sized security force guarding the fortress that houses the city’s political elite. On the same page is a report of the plight of a hapless 911 operator (a black man) whose only recourse against a knife attack was to call 911. This man was stabbed to death, while one of his fellow operators listened to him die.

"It is offensive, at least to me, to hear politicians, who are protected by armed employees, and police executives (who carry concealed weapons, although not directly involved in apprehending criminals) suggest that the rest of us, and particularly those who live in dangerous neighborhoods, should rely on generic police services and hope for the best.

"Will failed gun bans lead to other curtailments of freedom? Arguably this already has occurred. Consider President Clinton’s initiative to require tenants in public housing to agree to allow their apartments to be searched as a condition for keeping or acquiring apartments in public housing projects.