NEWS RELEASE

Citizens Committee for the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA  98005

CCRKBA CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF '60 MINUTES' SUBJECT

For Immediate Release: July 18, 2005

BELLEVUE, WA – Following the broadcast of its latest attack on American firearm laws and .50-caliber rifles by the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes," the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today called on the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the subject of that report, identified as Florin Krasniqi.

In his report, CBS' Ed Bradley acknowledged that Krasniqi entered the United States illegally from Mexico "in the trunk of a car" and that he is now a U.S. citizen and "highly successful" businessman. Krasniqi admitted on camera that he has also smuggled firearms purchased in this country for use by Albanian guerilla fighters, an act that may be illegal under U.S. export laws.

"We know why CBS reported this story," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "They and other news organizations have declared war on the American firearms industry, because a vote is coming soon to protect gun makers from harassment lawsuits by grandstanding anti-gun politicians.

"They are also trying to influence legislation that would ban .50-caliber sporting rifles," he continued, "by falsely alleging that they could bring down commercial airplanes, and are a ‘terrorist weapon'. If that's true, then they have Krasniqi on camera admitting that he supplied these guns to rebel fighters in Kosovo. Are these people terrorists?

"More importantly," Gottlieb observed, "CBS is continuing its tradition of attacking American firearms laws, portraying them as too weak to prevent lawbreakers from getting firearms. In reality, America has abundant gun laws, but they are designed more to trip up and penalize law-abiding citizens, rather than catch genuine criminals. As it stands, we're not certain Krasniqi isn't a lawbreaker, and that's why we think the authorities should investigate this man instead of allowing CBS and the Public Broadcast System to make him into some kind of hero.

"If this guy is running guns from America to a part of the world in turmoil, and doing it in violation of various federal and state gun laws," Gottlieb said, "he's hardly a hero."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

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