Five animal rights activists were arrested in front of the White House early last month, according to THE WASHINGTON POST. U. S. Park Police said they were charged with defacing government property and demonstrating without a permit.
The demonstrators, organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), were protesting the use of leg-hold traps. The protest took place as President Clinton met in the White House December 5 with European Union representatives to discuss the subject.
Police said about 25 protesters took part in the demonstration. Some wore fur like garments and hid bottles of red paint underneath them. When they lay down, red paint squirted out and seeped onto the sidewalk in front of the Executive Mansion.

In endorsing pro-gun Congressman Bob Barr’s call with H. Res. 304 for an inquiry of impeachment against gun grabbing President Bill Clinton, the influential INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY editorialized that “sooner or later, Congress has to fish or cut bait. Through hearings into fund raising abuses and other scandals, it has unearthed plenty of evidence that points to illegal conduct by the President. If nothing comes of this, the public will know that a President can break laws with impunity. Congress would be no better than the President if it lets the matter end there…
“The easy response to Barr’s challenge is to write him off as a fringe figure. But as Speaker Newt Gingrich was compelled to note, Barr is a ‘serious man.’ A former U. S. Attorney who once successfully prosecuted a GOP Congressman, he also knows a case of corruption when he sees one.
“We think Barr is just arriving early at a choice that the rest of Congress will sooner or later realize it has to make. And at least he has a plan of action, which is more than the rest of Congress has.”
POINT BLANK readers who support H. Res. 304 should contact their own U. S. Representative and ask him or her to become a cosponsor of it. Also contact Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Majority Leader Richard Armey, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, House Rules Committee Chairman Jerry Solomon and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde and ask them to get on board. All of them may be reached by calling (202) 224-3121 or by writing them at the U. S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515.
In September, according to WASHINGTON CITY PAPER for December 12, 1997, inmate Michael F. Schmitz, 45, serving two years in the Kentucky State Reformatory for drunken driving, filed a $1.9-million lawsuit against the Lexington, Kentucky Police Department complaining that officers had been too “nice” when they arrested him in 1996. According to the lawsuit, when the police found a loaded so-called “assault rifle” in Schmitz’ car and could not figure out how to dismantle it, they uncuffed the obviously inebriated Schmitz and had him take it apart. Schmitz says he “could have shot most everyone standing around watching this escapade” and thus contends that the police endangered the public.
When the North Carolina legislature debated the concealed carry issue in 1995, State Sen. Leslie Winner of Mecklenberg, an extremist anti-self-defense politician, predicted that “as more people carry guns, more will use them.” However, statistics have proved that she and other critics of her ilk are wrong, according to the CHARLOTTE NEWS AND OBSERVER. Statistics throughout the state show decreasing crime rates and safe handling by permit holders.
Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Chief Dennis Nowicki said “the concerns that I had – with more guns on the street, folks may be more apt to square off against one another with weapons – we haven’t experienced that.” The most significant drop in crime rates, according to the newspaper, have occurred in the counties with the heaviest per capita concentration of permit holders in the Carolinas. That’s in the suburbs around Charlotte, where in some places the rate is as high as 11 per 1,000 adults.
Pistolsmith Richard Heinie of Quincy, Illinois, recently donated $3,200 collected from a pistol auction to the Mason District Hospital Foundation, according to THE MASON COUNTY DEMOCRAT of Havana, Illinois. STI, Inc., a pistol component manufacturer, and Gun Games Magazine of California teamed up to promote the pistol auction for charity. STI and Gun Games Magazine recruited eight of the top pistolsmiths in the country to each make a pistol for sale at an auction where the proceeds go to a charity of each pistolsmith’s choice. Heinie was chosen as one of the eight “Dream Team” pistolsmiths. His pistol, a .40 caliber practical/competition pistol, brought the most of the eight, at $3,200. He chose to donate the money to Mason District Hospital. “I wanted the money to go to an organization that would help its community, and I knew Mason District Community Hospital would utilize the money to do just that,” he said.
Richard’s pistol shop, Heinie’s Specialty Products, is on 301 Oak Street in Quincy. He currently is backlogged for over six years with custom pistol orders. He and his wife, Marilyn, have three children, Jeff, Annette and Janet. Jeff is a pharmacist in Quincy. Annette works for the University of Illinois medical research team in East Peoria. Janet is a chemist for Exxon in Baton Rouge.