Printed in the USA.
The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report
Issue 054
June, 1999
CONGRESS WARY OF QUICK GUN VOTE
Despite a push by Democrats to force a quick vote on new gun restrictions in the wake of two school shooting incidents, Republicans said the House will take its time considering firearms proposals passed by the Senate.
The Senate passed a sweeping juvenile justice bill on a 73-25 vote and approved an array of new gun restrictions, including mandatory background checks — that could take 3 days — on all firearms transactions at gun shows (with no privacy protection on the records) and a requirement that locks be sold with all new handguns.
The Senate also voted to ban the import of high-capacity ammunition clips and revoke gun ownership rights for anyone convicted as a juvenile of a firearms crime.
Vice President AL GORE, who broke a 50-50 Senate tie in favor of the new gun show restrictions, accused House Republicans of trying to please gun owners.
An attempt by ranking Democrat JOHN CONYERS of Michigan to have the House Judiciary Committee approve the Senate’s proposals was rejected by a 19-13 vote.
Chairman HENRY HYDE (R-IL) said, "There is a Second Amendment, there is a fundamental right that we’re dealing with. Therefore we should move expeditiously but not in a stampede," HYDE said. "We’re going to do this and we’re going to do it right."
Democrats slapped back that the right congressional action would be quick passage of new gun control laws while school shootings in Colorado and Georgia were fresh in the public’s mind.
"This is not a rush but a response to the crisis at hand," said Rep. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE (D-TX).
Rep. ANTHONY WEINER (D-NY) said, "To postpone this measure too long is in fact to say that Republicans aren’t sure that they want it to pass."
"We support commonsense legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of unsupervised children," Speaker of the House DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL) said in a floor speech.
HYDE emphasized that the administration is pushing for more gun laws while existing ones are not being enforced. He said, "I do have some concerns about the Department of Justice and its enforcement efforts. For example, in 1994 Congress enacted a provision criminalizing the possession of handguns by juveniles. Across the country, a reported 6,000 cases of juveniles bringing guns to schools have been brought to the attention of federal officials since enactment while only 13 cases have been prosecuted."
The House Subcommittee on Crime heard testimony from DARRELL SCOTT of Littleton, CO, whose daughter, RACHEL JOY SCOTT, 17, was killed by ERIC HARRIS and DYLAN KLEBOLD.
"When something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs, politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA," said SCOTT. "I am not a member of NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. Politicians immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that continue to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. ERIC and DYLAN would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers."
More hearings are planned before any House vote is taken.
Congress is still waiting for specifics on the Administration’s gun proposals.
Presidential candidates stake out positions on guns
GEORGE W. BUSH: Republican presidential front-runner GEORGE W. BUSH opposes the gun-control bill passed by the Senate (see Page 1 story).
What’s more, BUSH press secretary DAVID BECKWITH said, "If GEORGE W. BUSH had been president," his vice president would not have broken the tie to pass the Democratic bill, referring to AL GORE’s moment of drama that aides hope will pump much needed momentum into his campaign.
And if BUSH, the Texas governor, was now president, he "wouldn’t issue a veto threat" to the Republican-led Congress against the measure, said BECKWITH. "He would be working with the House to shape it up."
BECKWITH said BUSH favors making safety locks on guns voluntary rather than mandatory as the Senate bill would require.
He would also rather have instant background checks via computer for gun show sales instead of mandatory checks within three days for such sales, as spelled out in the Senate bill. BECKWITH said BUSH favored the Republican bill, which was rejected.
Former Sen. Bill Bradley: AL GORE’s sole rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is considering including a ban on the sale of handguns in an aggressive gun control plan that he will unveil later in his campaign."I’m considering all the alternatives," the former New Jersey lawmaker recently told reporters.
A BRADLEY adviser confirmed that he is considering calling for a ban on the sale - not possession - of handguns as part of a broad plan to reduce the number of weapons on the streets. There also are ways to do that short of banning sales of guns, the official said, such as targeting manufacturers with a heavy tax.
BRADLEY reaffirmed his support of gun control initiatives dating to his Senate days, including:
l Requiring the registration of handguns as they transfer from one owner to the next, much like the title to a car.
l A uniform gun license and photo identification, obtained after a handgun owner passes a background check to make sure he or she is not a felon. The owner would carry the "handgun card" when carrying the weapon.
l Raising license fees on gun dealers, in part so there would be fewer of them.
ELIZABETH DOLE: DOLE said that as president she would sign a bill passed by the U.S. Senate requiring background checks for weapon sales at gun shows and child safety locks on all guns.She pointed to recent shootings at schools in Littleton, Colo., and Conyers, Ga., as reason enough to restrict the constitutional right to bear arms.
The former American Red Cross president also reiterated her belief that Americans shouldn’t be allowed to carry concealed weapons.
A leader of ELIZABETH DOLE’s state presidential campaign resigned, giving Dole’s call for tougher gun control measures as her reason.State Rep. FRAN WENDELBOE (R-New Hampton), who carries a concealed handgun, said DOLE’s position on gun control makes it difficult to represent her.
DOLE has been using a string of severe positions on gun control to distinguish herself from Texas Gov. GEORGE W. BUSH, the front-running GOP candidate in the polls, and the 10 other GOP hopefuls.
"Her position is so far extreme from mine now that it is very difficult for me to defend her stand," said WENDELBOE, a member of DOLE’s exploratory committee.
CELEBRITIES MOUTH OFF ON GUNS
SPIKE LEE: When asked what he would do to combat violence in the United States, the always irreverent filmmaker, SPIKE LEE, was quoted in the New York Post as saying that the NRA should be disbanded and its president, movie actor CHARLTON HESTON, should be shot "with a .44-caliber Bulldog" magnum pistol.
That remark drew fire from House Republican Leader DICK ARMEY of Texas: "SPIKE LEE must know that many youth look to him as a role model. I hope no child in America takes his comments as an encouragement to use violence to settle disagreements."
ARMEY urged LEE to "apologize immediately" to HESTON and the NRA and called on "liberal elites" to condemn LEE’s "embrace of violence."
Sharon Stone: The actress who played a gunslinger in "The Quick and the Dead," has given up her guns and urged other Americans to do the same to make the country safer.At STONE’s request, Los Angeles police officers visited her Beverly Hills home and took possession of one shotgun and three handguns she had kept there. The guns, which STONE’s spokeswoman said the actress had kept for several years for her own protection, eventually will be destroyed.
STONE said she was moved to disarm by the Columbine High massacre.
Rosie O’Donnell: The TV talk show "Queen of Nice" ordered the cast of "Annie Got Your Gun" to scrap the lyrics of one of the musical’s most famous songs, "Anything You Can Do," before letting them on her show."Annie" insiders said she wanted to omit the line "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge" because it clashed with her views on gun control.
But the stars, led by Tony Award nominated BERNADETTE PETERS, refused. Later, other cast members performed another song which does not mention guns.
The "Annie" showdown followed O’DONNELL’s nasty attack on actor TOM SELLECK, who appeared on the show to plug his new movie "The Love Letter" but was left stunned after O’DONNELL viciously blasted him for appearing on NRA ads.
BAN SOUGHT ON SCHOOL GUN SAFETY TRAINING
In a reaction to the school shootings in Colorado and Georgia, a Wisconsin school superintendent, RICHARD FITZPATRICK, canceled the daytime hunter education classes in the town of Beaver Dam about 60 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
The state Department of Natural Resources said 839 hunter safety classes were offered across Wisconsin last year and that 265, or about one-third, were taught in schools for children ages 12 to 16.
"Let’s find another place for it so we don’t send mixed messages to our students about weapons," said anti-gun activist, ANDREA UTRIE, a teacher in Beaver Dam.
UTRIE also wants the nighttime courses canceled-classes that have been offered for 40 years-and the school board is reviewing the request, FITZPATRICK said.
Gun-owning Boys Less Delinquent
A study by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, titled "Urban Delinquency and Substance Abuse," reports:
By the ninth and tenth grades, more boys own illegal guns (7 percent) than own legal guns (3 percent). Boys who own legal firearms have much lower rates of delinquency and drug use and are even slightly less delinquent than non-owners of guns.
Those who own legal guns have fathers who own guns for sport and hunting. Those who own illegal guns have friends who own illegal guns and are far more likely to be gang members. This study is at: http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/prevention/urbdelin.htm.
NRA Ordered to Pay $4.5 Million
A former NRA board member, SALLY BRODBECK, and her husband KENNETH, of Des Moines, Iowa, have sued NRA for assaulting and defaming them, and a jury in Philadelphia agreed, awarding them $4.5 million in damages.
The BRODBECKs filed suit after an altercation with a security guard over videotaping a board meeting at the NRA’s national convention last year. A federal jury awarded the couple damages for public disparagement and battery. Security guard GORDON RUSSELL was ordered to pay $6,000. NRA lawyers said they will appeal the verdict.
California Cities Suing Gun Makers
Six California cities and two counties have filed suit against handgun manufacturers arguing that sloppy marketing practices put deadly weapons in the hands of criminals and children.
The suits by Los Angeles, San Francisco and other governments seek injunctions against dangerous marketing practices, profits from illegally marketed guns and penalties of up to $2,500 for each gun traceable to an illegal marketing practice, according to Los Angeles City Attorney JAMES HAHN.
The coordinated suits were filed in state courts. Compton and West Hollywood joined Los Angeles’ suit. Sacramento, Berkeley, San Mateo County and Alameda County joined San Francisco’s suit.
Among the defendants are Colt, Smith & Wesson, Glock and Beretta, as well as weapons industry trade groups.
"I think that’s absolutely ridiculous," said ROBERT RICKER, executive director of the American Shooting Sports Council. "This industry follows the law. How can following the law be an unfair business practice?" The council is among the defendants.
Lawsuits May Threaten Gun Makers Insurance
Gun manufacturers and distributors may find it harder to get insurance coverage as insurers react to the recent wave of lawsuits against gun makers, according to the May property/casualty edition of "Best’s Review," a leading insurance publication.
The gun industry is being challenged in court by numerous cities and counties. They hope to recover the expenses they say are caused by gun violence. Those include costs related to police protection, emergency services, enforcement of local gun-control ordinances and treating gunshot victims at the county’s public hospital.
Gulf Insurance Group-a subsidiary of Travelers Property Casualty Corp.-has said it no longer will insure shooting ranges that also sell guns, the "Best’s Review" article says. In addition, Sporting Arms Insurance Ltd., Hamilton Bermuda has told Hi-Point Firearms-a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Chicago and Cook County-that it would not pay for any claims.Opinion about the impact of gun litigation on the insurance industry is divided. Many in the industry believe that, as a product-liability issue, the gun suits present a weaker case than other class actions, such as those related to asbestos and silicone breast implants. Some industry observers, however, say insurers are likely to take a large hit in light of the recent successes against the tobacco industry and the current cultural inclination to sue.
MICHIGAN CONCEALED CARRY LAW PASSES
Members of the Michigan House of Representatives passed a measure that would significantly ease access to concealed weapons permits. The bill, which passed 72-35 following an all-night debate, would allow concealed weapons permits to be issued to anyone applying who is not disqualified. Michigan lawmakers are the first in the nation to pass a pro-gun bill following the Colorado school massacre. Opponents of the bill plan to put the issue before state voters on the 2000 ballot.
	
Polls Show Clinton Ratings Slipping
Public approval of President Clinton’s job performance and of congressional Democrats has slipped from lofty levels reflected in surveys last winter.
The president’s job approval in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll slipped from 60 percent earlier this month to 53 percent, the lowest rating he has had in that poll since August 1996.
Asked whether the country would be better off if Republicans or Democrats controlled Congress, the public was split, with just over a third choosing Republicans and about the same number choosing Democrats. Democrats had a 41-30 edge in December.
The gun control push is hurting CLINTON and Democrats, not Republicans, as the media would like you to believe.The phone survey of 1,050 adults has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
FALSELY ACCUSED: THE POMONA GUN SHOW
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer recently stood in front of a table at a press conference for a photo opportunity with the press.
On the table were various allegedly "illegal" firearms that he claimed were sold to California undercover agents in a sting operation at the Pomona gun show held in May in which dealers were arrested.
LOCKYER asserted that "gun shows are havens for illegal gun sales."
So much so, he said, that his agents ran out of money early the first day—implying they could have purchased illegal firearms all day long.
The only misdeeds at the Pomona gun show may have been committed by Lockyer himself.
According to the Kentucky Firearms Facts Forum, sources close to the investigation within the California Department of Justice say the sting was a mere deceit to promote gun control.
The agents involved in the sting operation were from the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) Division of the California Department of Justice. Agents from the DOJ’s Firearms Division were not used in the operation.
BNE agents are not trained in weapons identification nor are they familiar to any great degree with federal or California gun laws.That fact alone is suspicious, suggesting that LOCKYER did not want firearms experts looking for illegal firearms.
As a result, LOCKYER’s press conference announced the purchase of many "illegal" firearms that are perfectly legal.
Sources say that some of the weapons LOCKYER displayed for the press were not the weapons procured by undercover agents at the show.
In fact, a MP-5 subgun on the table belonged to a Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement agent!
Concerning firearms that were not planted, but actually purchased at the show:
A Colt Sporter displayed is a legal firearm in California along with a number of other firearms that are legal under the 1989 Roberti-Roos Assault Weapon law.
So-called "auto-kits" displayed are perfectly legal for sale and possession in California providing they aren’t installed in the receiver of a firearm.
The flame thrower shown was also legal providing the igniter is removed/drilled to prevent ignition.
The empty LAW rocket launcher tube (no rocket in place) is not a controlled item, illegal, nor is it even considered to be a firearm.
The G-T Report has been unable to confirm that a single person who sold firearms or components to BNE agents has been charged with illegal weapons possession or sale.The "sting" and subsequent news conference has all the earmarks of a well choreographed scam orchestrated by BILL LOCKYER himself.
LOCKYER’s news conference coincided with the beginning of the gun show debate in Washington DC and was picked up by the national news media.
Sources within the California DOJ say that some agents are extremely upset with LOCKYER and how he worked this operation. They feel he has the resources to conduct lawful investigations without perpetrating a fraud on the public.
School Calls Poison Ivy a Weapon
Speaking of perpetrating frauds on the public, a principal suspended an eighth-grader in Westerville, Ohio, for the rest of the school year for rubbing poison ivy on her science teacher’s chair.
The teacher, Tom Northrup, did not develop a rash.
Angela Pham, 14, got a 10-day suspension for violating the district’s policy against the use of a weapon.
The girl did it because the believed the teacher treated her differently because she is Asian, said her mother, Angie Pham.
Robert Schultz, principal of Heritage Middle School, said the district’s definition of a weapon includes a dangerous object or chemical.
Legal Assault on Guns Is Armed by Foundations
Why did anti-gun activists win the Brooklyn lawsuit? You can blame private foundations and philanthropists led by billionaire GEORGE SOROS. They’re pouring millions of dollars into research and lawsuit money for gun control.
The infusion of private money is intended to bankrupt gun manufacturers with lawsuits.
Anti-gun advocates told the Washington Post that private money has helped "level the playing field" between gun manufacturers and shooting victims and their families, according to ELISA BARNES, a plaintiffs’ attorney in the Brooklyn, N.Y., lawsuit against gunmakers.
SOROS’s Open Society Institute became the first private group to directly help finance a lawsuit against a firearm manufacturer when it contributed $300,000 to plaintiffs in the Brooklyn case.
BARNES said SOROS’s contribution "made all the difference in the world" in winning the February verdict, which held nine gunmakers liable for practices that allowed criminals to obtain guns.
SOROS is not just a wealthy donor acting alone. Last month leaders from 30 private foundations went to New Orleans for the Council on Foundations annual meeting to discuss anti-gun efforts. The Council on Foundations is the lobbying and litigating arm of the philanthropy community.
NANCY MAHON, who directs SOROS’s New York-based Center on Crime, Communities and Culture, was at the meeting. She said, "There are clearly more foundations interested [in gun issues] now than in the past," she said.
MAHON said SOROS decided to take on the gun lobby because he believes gun violence is a "massive public health problem" and that the government is "paralyzed" by the NRA.
Increasingly, foundations are orchestrating their anti-gun efforts. Since January, MAHON’s center has helped organize the Funders Collaborative for Gun Violence Prevention, a consortium that has raised $11 million in seed money. "The strategy is to show leadership from the philanthropies and say this is an important issue for our country," said MAHON.
The campaign is having an impact. Cheered by successful lawsuits against the tobacco industry, five cities launched a similar strategy last year against gun manufacturers, trying to force the industry to pay the costs of gunshot incidents.
Gun control advocates also won a victory against the NRA in Missouri, defeating a referendum issue that would have allowed citizens to carry concealed weapons. The NRA spent $3.75 million on the campaign-four times the amount raised by opponents.Foundations are driving a tidal wave of anti-gun initiatives:
The Joyce Foundation, originator of the idea that guns are a health issue, has given out $13.2 million in grants to 55 organizations working on gun issues since 1993. The Chicago-based foundation is funded by the Joyce family, whose wealth comes from lumber in the Midwest. Among the grant recipients are the Washington-based Ceasefire Inc., the Violence Policy Center, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence."We need to see guns as a public health issue," said DEBORAH LEFF, the Joyce foundation’s former president who initiated its gun control efforts. "Nobody wants to see children being shot."
SOROS, whose money came from foreign currency exchange deals, established the Center on Crime, Communities and Culture in 1996 to fund crime prevention programs. It has dispensed $13 million, most notably the money put into the Brooklyn lawsuit.
The California-based Wellness Foundation in 1992 started its Violence Prevention Initiative. The fund has allocated $60 million for grants to in-state community groups working primarily on youth violence issues.
With $1 billion in assets, the foundation was originally endowed initially by a California health provider, Health Net.
We will see a great deal more of foundations in anti-gun campaigns.
TEXAS votes to ban gunmaker lawsuits
The Texas House of Representatives has given final approval to a bill banning most governmental lawsuits against gunmakers, and defeated an amendment calling for criminal background checks at gun shows.
Already passed in the Senate, the bill was approved 107-39 in the House. It now goes to Gov. GEORGE W. BUSH.
Senate Bill 717 by Sen. JON LINDSAY, R-Houston, would prevent cities, counties and other entities from suing manufacturers and sellers of firearms and ammunition for the public costs associated with gun violence.
The bill would not prevent private individuals from suing gunmakers for any other reason. In addition, the bill would allow the Texas attorney general to sue on behalf of the state or any other governmental unit.
The legislation’s supporters, which include the Texas State Rifle Association and gun sellers, argue that such lawsuits are an attempt to impose gun policy through the courts.
A Scripps Howard Texas Poll recently found that 94 percent of Texans do not blame gun makers for gun violence, and more than two-thirds oppose letting cities and counties sue for damages.
Florida Woman Kills Stalker
A greenskeeper who stalked a woman for months was shot and killed by the woman after he entered her home with a handgun and rope.
DONALD COOK had repeatedly called ELIZABETH MAGRUDER, spying on her with binoculars and skulking behind bushes as she golfed.
He entered her home, pulled a .25-caliber handgun and aimed it at Mrs. MAGRUDERs husband. Mrs. MAGRUDER, 50, got her .38-caliber revolver and shot COOK in the chest.
COOK fired back five times, hitting Mrs. MAGRUDER in the abdomen and wrist. Mrs. MAGRUDER was in stable condition. Seminole County Sheriff DON ESLINGER said that Mrs. MAGRUDER acted in self-defense and would not be charged.
Gun Burning Launches International Gun Violence Campaign
The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) campaign was recently launched in The Hague, Netherlands with the ceremonial burning of more than 30 handguns.
"Not too many things will give me as much pleasure today as this extraordinarily symbolic event of destroying guns," said JOSE RAMOS-HORTA, a Nobel peace laureate.
The IANSA is supported by more than 200 organizations, including human rights agencies and gun control and community groups.
Brazil moves to crack down on guns with harsh law
Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso sent to Congress a gun control bill that would ban the sale of firearms across Brazil, except to the army, law enforcement and private security firms.
Private citizens would no longer be allowed to carry a gun, even with a permit. They would have to hand over to authorities all firearms which they currently own through a national guns buy-back scheme, CARDOSO added.
The harsh new law would make carrying a gun a crime without bail and punishable by prison sentences of up to two years.
But the proposed law has already prompted local gun owners to create the country’s first pro-gun lobby, the National Association of Arms Owners and Retailers.
MEL Gibson defends violent scenes on the screen
MEL GIBSON, one of the highest paid film stars in the world, has spoken out in favor of sex and violence on screen.
The backlash in America against Hollywood after the Colorado high school massacre is "silly and misplaced." he said. "It’s-the gun laws they should be looking at.
"When something like this happens they always put the blame on movies and TV. It’s a bum rap and a bad argument."
Cops Shoot UP Neighborhood during Training
If you don’t have overwhelming faith in the police to begin with, this parting shot won’t change your mind.
Get this: Police practicing at the wrong shooting range peppered a suburban Virginia neighborhood with submachine gun fire.
Submachine guns! In little ol’ Lorton, Virginia.At least 12 homes and three vehicles were hit by the gunfire from nearly a mile away, according to authorities.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, no one was injured in the incident. But a lot of people were scared half to death.
One errant bullet narrowly missed a father and his 8-month-old daughter.
How did this snafu happen? A weapons instructor for the District of Columbia police department took up to a dozen officers from several jurisdictions to the district-operated firing range on the grounds of the Lorton Correctional Complex.
The instructor mistakenly allowed the officers to fire submachine guns on a range meant for shotguns. Up to 15 of the 9 mm bullets whizzed into a nearby neighborhood, where they lodged in walls and cars or bounced off siding.
"Our preliminary investigation indicates officers were using a weapon on a range they shouldn’t have been on, and firing from a position they shouldn’t have been firing from," said TERRANCE W. GAINER, Washington’s executive assistant police chief.
GAINER said the instructor - identified as HENRY RORIE, 49 - improperly led the officers to the shotgun range when he discovered their scheduled range was already in use.
GAINER said the instructor used "poor judgment" and the officers "violated even the minimum safety standards."
RORIE, a 20-year police veteran, ducked reporters. Police declined to let reporters speak to RORIE at all, saying the matter is still under investigation. RORIE has an unlisted home telephone number.
LORI HATTON said one bullet crashed through her dining room window, narrowly missing her husband, an off-duty police officer who was holding one of their 8-month-old twin girls.
"It could have killed somebody," she said. "I just feel unsafe in my own house."
Washington Police Chief CHARLES RAMSEY has suspended all training at the range.
Cop control, that’s what we need. Tougher cop laws. Congress, get busy!
The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report: An Insiders Guide for Gun Owners
$30 for a full year of 12 great issues
This publication is available to be ordered online! Find out how, and start your subscription today!
Printed in the USA.
The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report (ISSN 1079-6169) is published monthly by the:
Second Amendment Foundation
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. 10th Place
Bellevue, WA 98005
Phone (425) 454-7012. FAX (425) 451-3959Please call or write if you have a question regarding your subscription.
Subscriptions $30 per year anywhere in the USA, $35 elsewhere. Single issues $5.00.Send address changes to:
The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report
12500 N.E. 10th Place
Bellevue, WA 98005Publishers: Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro
Editor: Ron Arnold
Design: Northwoods Studio
Production: Janet Arnold
Subscriptions: Susan Elings
Published by: Second Amendment FoundationCopyright 1999-2002 by Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro.
Photocopying, reproduction or quotation strictly prohibited without written permission of the publishers.
Bulk rates on request. Postage paid at Bellevue, WA.