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If you are familiar with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), then you are aware of the fact they will do almost anything to protect animals. PETA’s efforts to save Ohio’s deer from this year’s annual statewide gun season has backfired.

An Ohio safety law requires hunters to display at least 400 square inches of hunter’s blaze orange on their person when in the woods. Capitalizing on the fact that hunters do not usually shoot orange because of its identification with hunter’s garb, PETA recently bulk purchased blaze orange vests and have been affixing them to live-trapped deer in Youngstown suburbs.

According to PETA spokesperson Katie Reese, a total of 405 vests were successfully put into circulation on deer by mid-December, and the anti-hunting group was still catching and vesting more deer.

Youngtown entrepreneur Guy Lockey, of Guy’s Outdoors came up with an idea that spits in the face of PETA by offering rewards for returned vests. Hunters who successfully bagged a vested deer could register for a drawing for random and biggest animal awards. Some 308 of the vests were recorded as bagged, based on returns by most of the hunter’s registering for Mr. Lockey’s drawing.

“It’s so easy, you can see them coming a mile away” said one first year hunter after checking in his first spike buck.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials were worried that the poorly thought-out plan by PETA might get somebody shot instead of saving the deer. “Hunters have turned PETA’s plan upside down, so we’re just hoping that nobody gets hurt and are hoping that none of the vested animals get tangled in brush,” said an unnamed ODNR official. “PETA has really outdone itself this time.”

Ohio’s short statewide gun season is open to shotguns only.

Million Mom March Calls for Gun Licensing and Registration

In the wake of the shooting deaths of seven employees of the Edgewater Technology facility in Wakefield, Massachusetts, the foundation-funded Million Mom March organization issued a news release demanding federal gun registration and licensing.

The press release stated, “The shooter was reported to have had no permits or registration for any of the firearms in his possession.”

The release then quoted Million Mom March President Mary Leigh Blek, as saying, “How many people will have to die before common-sense guns laws are passed to keep guns out of the wrong hands? This is another tragic example of why this country needs a national licensing and registration system.”

Gun control zealots don’t seem to make the common-sense connection that criminals who disregard gun laws are the ones doing the killing. Michael McDermott, 42, the suspect in the Edgewater killings, had stashed in his apartment numerous firearms, bomb-making chemicals, blasting caps and magazines. McDermott’s lawyer said he was undergoing psychiatric treatment at the time of the attack. He was ignoring numerous laws already on the books. What makes BLEK and her buddies think he and his ilk would pay any more attention to any new law?

Obviously BLEK and her big-money backing have an anti-gun social agenda and are cynically exploiting the tragic deaths at Edgewater to forward that agenda.

BLEK shamelessly said, “Without a strong national system of licensing and registration, America will continue to be confronted with mass shootings such as we have just experienced in Wakefield.”

Yoko Ono may lead U.S. anti-gun crusade

Handgun Control Inc, wants YOKO ONO, widow of former Beatle JOHN LENNON, to join its board, which already includes the actors Gregory Peck, Martin Sheen and Susan Sarandon.

“Yoko Ono suffered a horrifying private tragedy,” said Naomi Paiss, a spokesman for HCI. “We think she would be the best voice to get our message out to a whole generation of baby boomers who continue to venerate her husband.”

ONO, rarely seen outside the New York City apartment where she feels closest to Lennon, entered the public debate by releasing a poster showing her husband’s bloodstained spectacles after he was murdered by MARK CHAPMAN in 1980.

Ono already appears to be allied to HCI. “John, who was the king of the world and had everything any man could ever want, came back to me in a brown paper bag in the end,” she said. “I want to show how many people have gone through similar tragedies because of gun violence.”

GUN TURN-INS DON’T PREVENT VIOLENCE

Fox News reporter Adrienne MAND recently took a look at gun turn-in programs and apparently had little trouble finding critics of schemes such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) BuyBack America. “Designed to reduce the toll of gun violence,” BuyBack America was launched last Spring in 84 communities and used funds from HUD’s Drug Elimination Grant Program to purchase guns and destroy them.

MAND asked David Kennedy, a senior researcher at Harvard University’s Kennedy School program in criminal justice, about such turn-in programs. “They do very little good,” Kennedy said. “The pool of guns that get turned in in buy backs are simply not the same guns that would otherwise have been used in crime. If you look at the people who are turning in firearms, they are consistently the least crime-prone: older people and women.”

Michael Romero, a research associate at the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis, also noted that “the guns that are turned in for these programs may not resemble the guns that are frequently used in crimes.”

Finally, Richard Rosenfeld, of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has also studied turn-in programs, and told MAND: “People should simply keep in mind what their goals are. If it’s reducing violence, it’s not going to have an effect.”

State law stymies GUN BAN by “berkeley of the East”

Takoma Park, Maryland is the self-proclaimed “Berkeley of the East,” where tie-dyed clothing and Birkenstocks never go out of fashion, where aging hippies and young vegetarians, peaceniks and women’s rights lawyers make their home.

Yet even the free-spirits in this town are having a hard time pushing through one of the most popular of liberal causes: a handgun ban.

More than 18 months ago anti-gun activists went door-to-door collecting signatures for a referendum to outlaw the possession and sale of handguns.

Two gun-owning residents sued and the gun questions got taken off the ballot.

Now, a year after a Montgomery County judge ruled that the gun referendum could not take place because it conflicted with state law, a citizens task force has come up with a possible “compromise.”

The task force has recommended 30 steps to prevent gun violence, including teaching conflict resolution in the schools. Also, handguns would be banned within close proximity of any school or public place. A gun-lock ordinance would accompany one requiring that children’s programs be held in gun-free places.

Some longtime residents were surprised to discover there are now more than 900 guns registered in this city of 18,600. The two gun owners who sued say they’re more than willing to wage another legal fight if Takoma Park tries to limit their gun rights.

PRUDENTIAL DENIES INSURANCE BECAUSE OF GUN OWNERSHIP

The Prudential Insurance Company recently denied homeowner’s coverage to a Connecticut police officer because of his gun collection, which includes — the company said — firearms that make insuring the household too risky.

According to Frank Del Bruno, he and his girlfriend recently bought a condo and, after shopping prices for homeowner’s insurance, settled on Prudential because of the lower premium.

During the course of taking out the policy, Del Bruno said he mentioned to the Prudential agent that he owned guns. The agent asked him to send the company a list of the guns he owned, along with their serial numbers.

Del Bruno told reporters he complied, but a few weeks later he received a cancellation notice from Prudential, citing the types and number of guns he owned as the reason the company decided to drop his coverage.

DEL BRUNO received a letter signed by Dennis H. Brookover of Prudential, which told him his insurance policy would not be continued.

“We consider many factors when determining whether or not an individual is eligible for insurance,” Brookover said in his letter. “While reviewing your application, I noted the following circumstance(s). There is a measurable increase in liability exposure based on the types and number of guns that you own.”

Specifically, Del Bruno said Prudential officials told him a Mossberg 500 shotgun he owned was instrumental in disqualifying his coverage.

ELECTION 2000 OFFERS INTERESTING STATISTICS

In addition to being one of the most bizarre presidential elections in the last 124 years, this one provides an interesting and revealing look at how the popular vote breaks down for the two candidates across the country. A map of the U.S. shows a vast ocean of support for Texas Governor George W. Bush throughout almost the entire middle of the nation with narrow slivers of support for Vice President Al Gore along the northeast coast, the west coast and the Great Lakes. Bush won 29 states to Gore’s 19. Bush won 2,434 counties across the U.S. to GORE’s 677. The counties won by BUSH cover some 2.4 million square miles with a population of 143 million people. The counties won by GORE cover some 580 thousand square miles with a population of 127 million. Another statistic offers an interesting insight. According to Hamline University Law Professor Joseph Olsen, the average murder rate per 100,000 residents in the counties won by GORE is 13.2. The murder rate in the counties won by BUSH is 2.l.

New Super Gun Fires Bullets Super Fast

An Australian inventor has come up with a gun that can fire 180 rounds in one hundredth of a second, or an impossible 1 million rounds a minute - so fast that a bullet enters the barrel before the preceding one has even left the muzzle.

Incredibly, storekeeper James Michael O’Dwyer’s gun has no moving parts and operates entirely on electrical impulses. In the barrel of the gun bullets are stacked like Life Savers with explosive charges sandwiched in between. The charges are set off when electrical contacts spark them in a precisely timed electronic sequence, much the same way an ink jet printer sprays ink.

Despite the fact that O’Dwyer’s invention has vast implications as an awesome military weapon, when he approached Australian defense officials in 1994 with his idea they turned a deaf ear. And when he showed his gun to former U.S. Special Forces chief Gen. Wayne Downing, the general said O’Dwyer was “certifiably” crazy.

That’s no longer true. The general is now a member of the board of directors of Metal Storm Ltd., O’Dwyer’s new company, along with retired U.S. Adm. William A. Owens. Although the company hasn’t produced a single sale, O’Dwyer’s stock is now worth $180 million, and he owns half the shares.

O’Dwyer’s company now has a $10 million contract to design a .50 caliber sniper’s rifle that could fire three rounds before the rifle recoiled, spoiling the sniper’s aim. The Australian military is working on a 40 mm grenade launcher.

New Zogby “American Values” Poll

Americans say the National Rifle Association more often represents their personal views than either the AFL-CIO or the Religious Right, according to the new Zogby’s “American Values” Poll.

In the recently conducted survey of 1,005 likely voters nationwide, 63% say NRA represents their personal views at least some of the time, while 19% say all the time. For another 34%, the NRA never represents their views, while 3% were not sure. In addition, 29% of the respondents who voted for President-elect George W. Bush said the NRA represents their views all the time, compared to 9% of the respondents who voted for Vice President Al Gore who said the NRA represents their views all the time.

In comparison, 59% of those surveyed said the Religious Right represents their personal point of views at least some of the time with 13% who said all the time. Another 35% said the Religious Right never represents their views and 6% were not sure. A slim majority (55%) said the AFL-CIO represented their personal views at least some of the time, with 6% who said all the time and 35% who said the labor organization never represents their views.

Survey results show that 86% of the Republicans said the NRA represented their views at least some of the time, compared to 68% of the Independents and 39% of the Democrats. Democrats were stronger in their belief that the AFL-CIO represented their views at least some of the time (71%) compared to Republicans (34%) or Independents (58%). Republicans were stronger in their belief that the Religious Right represented their views at least some of the time (74%) than Democrats (50$) or Independents (55%).

Zogby’s “American Values” polls are conducted quarterly to probe the strength of fundamental values held by Americans, and to determine what will ultimately have the greatest influences on their behavior. This is the fourth in a series of Zogby’s “American Values” surveys. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2%.

Results also show that after playing a key role in determining the outcome of Election 2000, a majority (54%) say decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court are just about right. At the same time 22% say the Supreme Court’s decisions are too conservative, and 18% believe the decisions are too liberal. Another 7% were not sure.

Republicans (63%) and Independents (60%) were stronger in their support of Supreme Court decisions being just about right compared to Democrats (41%). Also, respondents who voted for President-elect George W. Bush also were stronger in their support of Supreme Court decisions being just about right (66%), than respondents who voted for Vice President Al Gore (40%).

Madonna and her husband GUY Ritchie seem to have a thing about shotguns

She’s adopted Britain as her new home. He found fame as director of the hit gangster movie “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and two weeks before they got married in the Scottish Highlands, the Queen of Pop started shooting lessons.

“She’s learning to shoot clay pigeons. She’s very well coordinated and will be a very accomplished shot,” her admiring instructor told reporters.

“Her lessons consist of the safety aspect, gun handling and the stance. It’s the same for every pupil, famous or not,” he said. “But she’s very nice.”

A London newspaper, shunning jokes about a shotgun wedding, published a series of pictures of Madonna taking aim at the West London Shooting School.

But gangster’s moll was not her chosen image.

Dressed in a flat cap, a jerkin with leather shoulder-pads and a pair of rubber boots, she looked ready to join the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ set in her adopted Britain.

The outfit is often sighted in grouse-shooting territory around turreted Skibo Castle on Scotland’s northeast coast where Madonna and Ritchie were married in late December.

MICHIGAN PASSES CONCEALED CARRY LAW

Michigan lawmakers recently approved sweeping reforms of state law governing the carrying of concealed weapons, changes that will make it possible for more citizens in more communities to obtain permits to carry them.

The votes in the state House (62-39) and Senate (23-13) came after years of debate. The Legislature has backed away from CCW reform more than once because of outcry over school shootings.

Backers of the legislation have long said that the law unnecessarily restricts ordinary citizens’ constitutional right to bear arms. They also say that liberalized CCW laws reduce crime because criminals are less likely to victimize someone who may be armed.

Gov. John Engler has said he will sign the bill, but had not at press time. Opponents accused the legislators of cowardice for taking the measure up during a lame duck session after the November election and said they will seek a public vote to overturn it. (See Ticker item on Page 7.)

The most significant reform in the legislation removes the discretion of county gun boards to deny CCW permits. Michigan joins more than 30 states that have so-called “shall issue” CCW regimes that require permits be issued to those who meet minimum standards and have not been convicted of crimes or involuntarily committed for the treatment of mental illness.

Public Schools Are “Clueless” About Guns

School students in California’s San Fernando Valley may be targets of ridicule in Alicia Silverstone films, but it’s the Valley’s school administrators who have shown themselves to be really “clueless.”

Especially when it comes to handling “weapons incidents.”

In one recent incident at Telfair Elementary School, the “weapon” turned out to be no weapon at all. Instead, nine-year-old Vincent Olivarez was nearly suspended from the Pacoima, CA school because he was found in possession of snapshots taken while he and his brother fired guns at a shooting range, under the supervision of their aunt, a certified police weapons instructor.

The family says that a substitute teacher saw the pictures lying in young Vincent’s bookbag and confiscated them. Later, when Vincent returned from lunch, he was summoned to the Principal’s office, where a school nurse interrogated him about the pictures.

According to the OLIVAREZ family, the Principal’s secretary then called Vincent’s mother, ANITA, and told her that her son had “extremely disturbing and offensive photographs.” The secretary refused, however, to divulge what sort of pictures they were.

She simply told Anita to show up at the school at 2:30 pm for a meeting. The boy’s mother said she could come at 5 pm. At that, the Principal’s secretary threatened that she was going to call the police to question the boy about the photographs, and that he would face suspension. Angrily, ANITA OLIVAREZ said she was coming immediately to pick up her son and that no one was to speak with him.

Officials of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) later overruled the school, and decided not to suspend Vincent. The pictures have now been mailed back to VINCENT’s home. The boy is still emotionally upset at the incident.

JUNIOR ROTC COMES UNDER FIRE AS VIOLENT

Y&M Magazine, which caters to the teen girl market, ran an article in its current issue condemning the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program in public schools because students carry guns or facsimiles of guns.

The article concluded, “Anti-violence policies must be applied consistently. We cannot afford to send mixed messages to young people about guns and violence. If our goal is peaceful schools, then JROTC programs must go.”

Perhaps Y&M Magazine writers can be sent to Bosnia, the Middle East, and other destinations to replace the military with some anti-violence classes.

GUN NEWS TICKER: SHORT TAKES ON GUNS

• Washington, D.C.: A coalition of some 30 conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives blame their party’s failure to win back the House on the gun control issue. They are urging their party to drop it from the Democratic agenda. The group believes the issue hurt Democratic candidates in many races. “As we analyzed what happened and why we’re not successful in some of these races, gun control just stands out,” said U.S. Rep. MARION BERRY (D-AR). House Democratic leadership aides blame the Clinton administration’s aggressive stance on gun control for the party’s poor showing. “We don’t want it to be part of the Democratic agenda. We just don’t think it’s a good issue for the party,” BERRY said.

• Philadelphia: The city council of the “City of Brotherly Love” recently passed a new gun registration law requiring residents with firearm permits to submit annually a list of all the guns they own. Pennsylvania state law preempts municipal governments from attempting to regulate firearms ownership. A legal challenge of the new ordinance is sure to follow.

• The large voter turnout in the recent elections undoubtedly influenced the outcome of many races, most notably the race for the White House. Despite Vice President AL GORE’s win in the popular vote from support in urban areas such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, he ultimately lost because he failed to win the electoral vote in such key swing states as Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and his home state of Tennessee. President CLINTON blamed the National Rifle Association in a recent interview with CBS News “Sixty Minutes,” saying, “In at least five state I can think of, the NRA had a decisive influence... They’ve probably had more to do than anyone else in the fact that we didn’t win the House this time. And, they hurt AL GORE.”

• Maryland: Gun dealers are unable to supply new handguns because of the new state law requiring the manufacturer to provide a fired case, which newspaper reporters keep referring to as “fired bullets”, with each new gun shipping into the state. None are being shipped into Maryland.

• Canada: The government claims registration requests have been received on about 80 percent of Canadian guns, which have been applied for as a result of a supreme court ruling that the law is valid and the failure of anti-registration candidates to make major gains in the 2000 elections. An 80 percent drop in the price of registration may have influenced any spurt of registration requests.

• Michigan: Opponents of the state’s new concealed carry law, scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2001, have conceded that because it includes an appropriation they can’t mount a referendum on the law by gathering 161,000 signatures. Now they say they’re planning an initiative petition to strike the law, which will take 242,000 signatures to put on the ballot. They will also have to win a “Yes” vote, which is always harder than a “No” vote on initiatives.

• United States: The U.S. Solicitor General, SETH WAXMAN, personally argued recently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that FBI Sniper LON HORIUCHI cannot be tried by the State of Idaho for killing VICKI WEAVER at Ruby Ridge in 1992. It makes no difference whether HORIUCHI shot RANDY WEAVER’s wife by accident, or due to carelessness, WAXMAN declared, for the sniper was immune from prosecution. WAXMAN last September declared that the Second Amendment applies only to the National Guard and their government-issued guns. Second Amendment attorney DAVE HARDY noted that while it’s a felony to kill a federal police dog, there is no law prohibiting federal agents from killing a citizen.

• Washington, D.C.: The nomination of JOHN ASHCROFT to be attorney general has brought screams of protest from anti-gun advocates and Democrat senators such as Sen. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY). However, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Chairman ROBERT TORRICELLI, who is no friend of guns but respects Sen. ASHCROFT, says he intends to support the BUSH nominee.

ROBBERS RUN INTO SELF-DEFENSE

It is illegal to intrude upon another’s person or property to steal things, but criminals continue to do it anyway. Here are accounts of a few brave souls who stopped various robbers.

• New Orleans police said that a 33-year-old man recently broke into a French Quarter apartment at 4 a.m. A woman was asleep in the bedroom and her husband in the living room, officers said. The woman awakened to find the man burglarizing her possessions. The intruder tried to stifle her calls for help by putting his hand over her face and punching her. Her screams woke her husband, 50, who got a revolver, ran into the bedroom and saw the man hitting his wife. The resident fired several times, striking the man, who ran into the living room and collapsed, police said. After calling police, the resident met 8th District officers at the front door and led them upstairs to the living room, where the man still was lying on the floor. The alleged intruder died at Charity Hospital. No charges were filed in the shooting.

• Portsmouth, Virginia, police said Neshawn N. Claiborne, 18, from Suffolk, entered a Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control store, showed his weapon and said he wanted to commit a robbery. A customer who had a valid concealed-weapon permit then pulled out his own gun and shot the robber. Claiborne died at the scene. The Commonwealth’s Attorney will determine if any charges should be filed in the shooting.

• New York police said that two men barged into a delicatessen owned by the mother-in-law of NYPD Detective Michael Zeller. The robbers demanded money and ordered the off-duty Zeller, his wife and their two young children to hit the floor. When one of the robbers waved a gun, Zeller drew his gun and began firing, police said. The robbery suspects, Jonathan Lynch, 32 and James Culberson, 25, of Queens, did not fire any shots, police said. One of the robbers dropped a loaded .22-caliber revolver at the scene, investigators said. One robber died at the scene, and the other died at the hospital. Zeller is a 15-year New York Police Department veteran. He and his family were uninjured.

• Columbia, South Carolina police said a Sumter, S.C. man named Keith Atkins, 22, tried to rob someone in a Columbia Mall restroom. The robbery victim was off-duty Deputy Sheriff Michael Baker of Lexington County. Baker shot the robber and then arrested him. Atkins was taken into custody at a hospital where he was recovering from gunshot wounds, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.