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Internet Message Format | 1999-12-27 | 148KB

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Political Alert #35 - 30 November 1999 1/2
Date: 01 Dec 1999 15:26:00 -0700


-----

GOUtah!
Gun Owners of Utah

Utah's Uncompromising, Independent Gun Rights Network.
No Compromise. No Retreat. No Surrender. Not Now. Not Ever.

Visit our website at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah!

GOUtah! Political Alert #35 - 30 November 1999

Today's Voice of Liberty:

"No one can read our Constitution without concluding that the people who
wrote it wanted their government severely limited; the words 'no' and 'not'
employed in the restraint of government power occur 24 times in the first
seven articles of the Constitution and 22 times more in the Bill of Rights."
-- Edmund A. Opitz

If you wish to be added to the GOUtah! list, please log onto our website
at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah! or send an e-mail to [e-mail]
or send a fax to [phone] asking to be added to or removed from
the GOUtah! list.

We strongly encourage you to forward, copy and share this information with
others, on the condition that you pass along the entire document intact and
unmodified, and that GOUtah! is clearly indicated as the original source of
the material, unless otherwise noted.

GOUtah! and Utah CCW and Self-Defense
Instructors Organizational Meeting a Great Success!

Salt Lake City-26 November 1999: Nearly 20 of the most active instructors
teaching a majority of Utah's Concealed Firearms Permit applicants have
joined together to form the Utah Self-Defense Instructors Network
(US-DIN!), in order to improve the accessibility and quality of firearms
safety and self-defense training in the state. The organization will also
be involved in grassroots political activity to promote and protect the
rights and interests of Utah's CCW instructors, permit holders, permit
applicants and gun owners in general.

"This organization will be a great asset for professional development and
information exchange for all the self-defense instructors throughout Utah,"
said Winton Clark Aposhian, one of the founders of the group and a member
of the US-DIN! steering committee. The group has adopted a formal mission
statement and voluntary code of professional conduct and practices.

The new organization will also be working closely with Gun Owners of Utah,
a well-established independent grassroots political activist network.
GOUtah! will serve as the political and public information arm of US-DIN!,
providing legislative and public policy analysis, real-time legislative
alerts, as well as education and training of CCW permit holders in
grassroots political involvement, including voter registration and
education, delegate training, citizen lobbying and other related activities.

"The self-defense instructors, along with the 30,000 Utah CCW permit
holders form a significant, highly-motivated political powerbase, with a
major vested interest in the outcome of the current gun rights debate in
our state. We intend for Utah's CCW permit holders to be very aggressive
politically in effectively defending their right to defend themselves and
their families," said Scott Engen, GOUtah's Legislative Director, also a
member of the US-DIN! steering committee.

In an immediate demonstration of their commitment to making self-defense
instruction readily accessible to Utah's citizens, several local CCW
instructors in conjunction with US-DIN! are offering Utah professional
educators CCW training courses at discounted rates. These courses will
satisfy the state training requirements when applying for a Utah CCW
permit. The first of these two-day courses will be held Friday Dec. 10 from
7:00 to 9:00 PM and Saturday Dec. 11 from 9:00 AM to Noon at the Lee Kay
Hunter Education Center, 2100 South 6000 West in Salt Lake City. Teachers
must provide proof of being a professional educator to participate. Contact
Steve Beckstead, a US-DIN! instructor at [phone] or Terry Tate at
[phone] for more information on the teacher's CCW program.

Self-defense instructors interested in joining the US-DIN! organization
should contact Winton Clark Aposhian at [phone] or write to US-DIN!,
PO Box 71677, Salt Lake City, UT 84171 for more information and a schedule
of future activities.


Suggestions for More Effective Dealings with
the Press and Media by Gun Rights Activists

GOUtah! activist N.W. Clayton was recently interviewed by a reporter from a
local television station, who was interested in getting GOUtah!'s take on a
national news story about firearms. The reporter asked some good questions,
and appeared genuinely interested in understanding our side of the story.

After the interview, which took place inside a local gun store, people
stood around and chatted casually for a few minutes. The reporter's
cameraman, who is a gun owner, mentioned that he had been assigned with
another reporter to interview some people at a recent gun show in Salt Lake
City. While they were setting up in the lobby outside the entrance to the
show, numerous people walked by who were either entering the show or
leaving it. According to the cameraman, quite a few of these folks either
made obscene gestures at the news crew or verbally attacked them, using the
foulest possible language.

Such behavior (by responsible gun owners) is simply not acceptable. If a
news reporter is already prejudiced against gun owners, such encounters as
those described by the cameraman are only going to reinforce the reporter's
prejudices. If a reporter is not prejudiced against gun owners, such an
incident might very well make him so.

The fact of the matter is that, while many news editors and upper-level
media executives are personally opposed to the right to keep and bear arms,
there are quite a few individual reporters out there who, regardless of
their personal views on the matter, have a genuine interest in presenting
both sides of the issue. And, while many reporters sometimes parrot the
standard anti-gun myths created by Handgun Control, Inc., this is quite
often due simply to naiveté and ignorance.

GOUtah! was founded partially in response to the fact that little or
nothing was being done by (existing) firearms groups in Utah to educate
local journalists about the facts. To remedy this situation, GOUtah! sends
out media packets and grants frequent interviews in an attempt to inform
and educate Utah's news professionals and, through them, to reach the
general public.

This type of positive interaction with the local media has resulted in a
noticeable improvement in the way that some gun-related news items are
reported. While discernible progress has been made in this area, there is
still a long way to go. Those of us who have worked hard at cultivating
good relationships with some of the people in the local news business are
greatly disturbed to hear that a number of gun owners are trying to destroy
our hard-earned gains.

We need to remember that, even in the age of the Internet, news professionals
are still the main gatekeepers on the information highway. If we are to have
any hope of presenting our side of the issue to the public, we need to be on
good terms with these folks. This doesn't mean that we have to like them or
agree with them all the time. It simply means that we need to be polite and
civil in our interactions with them. If we throw stones at them, we will
only hurt ourselves.
--
N.W. Clayton is the Associate Communications Director for GOUtah!
[ Continued In Next Message... ]



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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Political Alert #35 - 30 November 1999 2/2
Date: 01 Dec 1999 15:26:00 -0700


[ ...Continued From Previous Message ]
GOUtah! Gun Rights Editorial Response of the Week

GOUtah! wishes to recognize the efforts of Utah's proud, dedicated gun
rights advocates for excellence in their editorial responses and letters to
the editor published in Utah's many newspapers. If you have a letter you'd
like to submit or nominate for this recognition, please send a verifiable
copy of the published letter, along with the newspaper name and date of
publication to GOUtah! by email or fax. We'll reprint it here. Get those
word processors humming and let your community know the truth and just
where you stand on the issue!

From the Deseret News, Sunday, October 31, 1999

Disarming citizens leaves them alarmingly defenseless

By Terry L. Thompson

Utah has seen a dramatic increase in legislation regarding the 2002 Winter
Olympics. It seems that anyone with a particular interest has found some
way to intertwine that interest with the pending Olympics in hopes that
the Winter Games will propel his or her agenda to a desired conclusion.

Certainly this has been the case with attempts to restrict Utah's law-abiding
citizens from possession of adequate means of self-preservation. We have seen
misguided, misled, uneducated, political and/or politically appointed pundits
support restrictive gun-control legislation attacking the very citizens that
they purport to protect.

A prime example is the attempt to restrict lawful citizens carrying concealed
weapons into churches or schools. There have been no incidents of lawful,
permit-carrying citizens creating a threat to our children. However,
politically motivated individuals and groups have adopted a popular lie which
befits their socialist agenda. In a nutshell, disarming "common people"
creates a massive dependence on a gloating government. The more dependence on
government, the bigger the bureaucracy, the more powerful, the more expansive,
the more corrupt, the more oppressive.

The individual right to self-preservation is eloquently protected in the
Second Amendment to the Constitution and is recognized as a basic God-given
right. This is as basic as the need for food, water, shelter or clothing.
What must be understood is that the Constitution did not give us this right,
it was recognized by our Founding Fathers as an inalienable right God-given
to every man.

Politicians at all levels, law enforcement administrators, academia and
popular groups in society have falsely claimed that their interest in gun
control is for the common good. Yet their banner is stained with the blood of
countless victims paying the price for their passive nonjustice of societies'
real criminals. The common thread is to find blame with society, relinquishing
personal responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by predatory
criminals.

But look out! Law-abiding citizens who wish to prepare to protect themselves
or their loved ones from the criminals that liberals coddle and condone are
hazardous to society. The height of arrogance is to restrict our ability to
protect ourselves and those we dearly care for, knowing that our protection
cannot be guaranteed.

In a free society, individuals must be allowed the option of "free agency."
Otherwise it is not a free society. There always has been and always will be
those who choose to abuse their free agency. With that choice is an intent to
cause pain, suffering and sorrow for victims of the abuser. We have reasonable
laws governing this abuse, and those violating the law must be held personally
accountable for their actions. This is reasonable and sensible.

It's pathetic and embarrassing to realize that we fall so short of applying
proper justice in our criminal nonjustice system. We fail to apply
punishment to the very criminals that we create laws to effect and in turn
attack law abiding citizens. Politicians have the gall to suggest that
lawful citizens carrying concealed weapons are the problem.

Here is a clue for evaluating your representatives. When they support
legislation aimed at disarming law-abiding citizens, they have discarded prior
existing values and have been seduced by corruption in the political system.
Their continued time in political office will contribute to the benefit of
criminals and serve to decay our precious constitutional protections.

With the "politically correct" pressure on our legislators, it is time that
law enforcement spoke up. We can no longer sit on the sidelines and blindly
hope that our representatives do the right thing. It is time to lend our
support not only as law-abiding citizens but as a group of law-enforcement
professionals. The vast majority of law enforcement realizes that they cannot
guarantee individual safety and therefore fully support the ownership,
possession and concealed carry of firearms by law-abiding citizens.

Law enforcement: Please take it upon yourself to personally let your
representatives know that as a law-enforcement professional, you oppose
gun-control laws in all of their sheep wool and clever disguises. Criminal
control should be a priority, and we support legislation holding criminals
personally responsible for their actions.

Law enforcement: It is time to take a public stance against pending
legislation. This is increasingly critical, as other organizations are
pressuring Utah legislators to enact meaningless restrictions that only
affect you. Don't forget, you are a law-abiding citizen first and a law-
enforcement professional second. Our state representatives need to know
that law enforcement is supporting them. Thus far, the majority of our
legislators have shown incredible courage in the fight against socialism.
Let's help them as they prepare to do the right thing for the political
battles of the future.
===
Terry L. Thompson, a sergeant in the Weber County Sheriff's Office, has
worked in law enforcement for 12 years. He serves on the board of directors
of the Utah Peace Officers Association www.upoa.org. Thompson's opinion is
his own and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Weber County
Sheriff's Office.

GOUtah! Gun Rights (and Wrongs) QuoteWatch.

"The Governor spoke about polls, about soccer moms not wanting guns in
schools and about how the Republicans needed to recapture the agenda...
Never once did he say he wanted to do it because it was the right thing
to do."-- Unidentified Salt Lake County Legislator, regarding comments
made by Utah Governor Mike Leavitt at a closed party caucus last spring
favoring a ban on Utah CCW Permit holders bringing their legally carried
firearms into schools, as quoted by journalist Paul Rolly in the Salt
Lake Tribune, 28 November 1999

"When a 70-year-old retired hunter writes and complains, that fulfills
one of the goals of the magazine."--John Atwood, Editor, Sports Afield,
gloating on the 112-year-old magazine's change in format from fishing and
hunting to new age, yuppie extreme sports coverage, in a recent interview
in the Wall Street Journal.

This concludes the GOUtah! Political and Legislative Alert #35 - 30
November 1999. We hope this information will be of assistance to you in
defending your firearms rights. Remember that getting this information
is meaningless unless YOU ACT ON IT TODAY. If you just read it and dump
it in the trash, your gun rights, and the gun rights of future generations
go in the trash with it. Get involved, get active and get vocal!

Copyright 1999 by GOUtah! All rights reserved.


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: LPU: FW: Rosie is taking a survey!
Date: 02 Dec 1999 14:01:00 -0700


-----

The Rosie O'Donnell Show is taking a survey and wants to know what you
think.

http://rosieo.warnerbros.com/cmp/rosiepolla.html

It's an open-ended, essay-type survey. You might want to enlighten Rosie
about the 2nd Amendment and how you feel about her opposition to it.
Question 3 is a perfect oppty.



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From: "David Sagers" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fwd: Fw: Ammunition Restrictions in Texas
Date: 07 Dec 1999 10:48:23 -0700

Received: from fs1.mainstream.net
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    by icarus.ci.west-valley.ut.us; Tue, 07 Dec 1999 07:17:13 -0700
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Anyone know anything more about this?

Kevin McGehee
Newnan, Georgia
[e-mail]
http://www.McGeheeZone.com/

People who think the millennium starts in 2000
should count everything else starting at ZERO too.

----- Original Message -----=20
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 1999 1:32 AM


----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, December 06, 1999 7:31 PM


> X-Sender: [e-mail]
> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.2.0.58
> Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 19:31:24 -0700
> To: (Recipient list suppressed)
> From: spiker <[e-mail]>
> Subject: Response to Ammo Amount Restrictions at CTD
>
> From: Billy <[e-mail]>
> Cheaper Than Dirt
> http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/
> 1-800-421-8027
>
> In response to all the Email Cheaper Than Dirt is getting:
> My name is Billy J. Brewer.  I am the Operations Manager at Cheaper Than
> Dirt.  I have been here almost six years.  We currently employ almost =
160
> good hard working friendly family people.  We have Fire Inspections from
> the Fort Worth Fire Department each and every year.  The only items ever
> written up by the Fort Worth Fire Department have been blown bulbs in =
Exit
> Signs and two exit aisles blocked by pallets.  There has never been
> anything said or documented about anything else.  On Wednesday, 22
> September 1999 a Lt. John Bolten of the Fort Worth Fire Department shows
up
> at our company and tells us he has received a report that we have too =
much
> ammo in the building.
>
>
> This date is only seven (7) days after the September 15, 1999 tragic
> shooting at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth.
>
> On Thursday, 23 September 1999 Lt. John Bolten of the Fort Worth Fire
> Department presents Article 77 of the 1997 Uniform Fire Code to Cheaper
> Than Dirt and states to us that this is what we need to comply to.  =
Within
> Article 77 there are exceptions.  Under Seciton 7701.1, Exception 4 =
states
> "The possession, transportation, storage and use of small arms ammunition=

> when packaged in accordance with DOT packaging requirements".  Exception =
9
> states "When preempted by federal regulations".  All our sporting
> cartridges are DOT packaged and covered under the Code of Federal
> regulations 49 (CFR 49).  Therefore Cheaper Than Dirt should be exempted
> from Article 77 requirements.  The Fort Worth Fire Department tells us
> these exceptions do not apply to us.
>
> This is obviously a political issue.  The Fort Worth Fire Department has
> required us to have only 10,000 rounds on display in our Retail Showroom
> (this would mean any resident within the City of Fort Worth with over
> 10,000 rounds would be out of compliance and subject to citation) and =
only
> 90,000 rounds in our spinkler protected warehouse (a total of 100,000
> rounds).  We sell over 200,000 rounds daily.  The 100,000 round number =
is
> not documented within Article 77.  It is a number they consider safe.  =
The
> Fort Worth Fire Department is taking Aguila .22 Short cartridges which
does
> not have any smokeless powder in it (we pulled a bullet out of this
> cartridge and showed it to Lt. John Bolten) and making it fall under the
> same guidelines as .50cal BMG cartridges.
>
> As of this writing we have not found a single gun/ammunition/sporting
store
> within the City of Fort Worth that has been contacted by the Fort Worth
> Fire Department for Article 77 compliance.
>
> On 23 November 1999 at 0925 hrs Cheaper Than Dirt was served with =
General
> Complaint Citation B876326 for violation of Section 7701.7.3 Article 77
> UFC-97 by Lt. John Bolten of the Fort Worth Fire Department.
>
> The following is a list of addresses and Emails of the City of Fort =
Worth:
> Fire Chief Larry McMillen
> City of Fort Worth Fire Department
> 1000 Throckmorton Street
> Fort Worth, Tx 76102
>
> Chief Paul H. Rider
> Assistant Fire Marshal
> City of Fort Worth Fire Department
> 1000 Throckmorton Street
> Fort Worth, Tx 76102
>
> Bob Terrell
> City Manager
> City of Fort Worth
> 1000 Throckmorton St.
> Fort Worth, Tx 76102
>
> Mayor Kenneth Barr, Email:  [e-mail]
> District 2 Mayor Pro tem Jim Lane, Email:  [e-mail]
> District 3 Councilmember Chuck Silcox, Email:  [e-mail]
> District 4 Councilmember Becky Haskin, Email:
[e-mail]
> District 5 Councilmember Frank Moss, Email:  [e-mail].u=
s
> District 6 Councilmember Clyde Picht, Email:  [e-mail]
> District 7 Councilmember Jeff Wentworth, Email:
[e-mail]
> District 8 Councilmember Ralph McCloud, Email:  District
[e-mail]
> District 9 Councilmember Wendy Davis, Email:
[e-mail]
>
> City Hall of Fort Worth
> 1000 Throckmorton Street
> Fort Worth, Texas 76102
>
> I am using this Email Letter to respond in general to the large amount =
of
> Emails we are receiving about this issue.  I apologize for not having =
our
> company respond individually as is our practice.  Thank you all for your
> questions, concerns and letters.  Please feel free to spread this Email =
to
> all interested and concerned.  Merry Christmas and God Bless
> You..........Billy J. Brewer
> <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><
> ---------------------------------------
> "But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet
to
> warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them,
that
> man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman
> accountable for his blood."
> Ezekiel 33:6 (NIV)
> ___________________
> "Blaming guns for Columbine is like blaming
> spoons for Rosie O'Donnell being fat.
> --------------------------------------
> Gun control isn't about guns, it's about control
> --------------------------------------
> <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><   <@{{><


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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: Clinton Sues Gun Makers
Date: 08 Dec 1999 13:22:00 -0700


-----

Does Clinton have standing to bring such a suit or does someone have to
shoot him first? :-)

----------

White House Prepares Suit Against Gun Makers
Wednesday, December 8, 1999
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration is helping prepare a class-
action suit against gun makers, alleging that guns and how they are
marketed have contributed to violence in public housing projects,
administration officials said Tuesday.

The suit by some or all of the nation's 3,100 local housing authorities
would be patterned on suits filed against the industry by 29 cities and
counties, the officials said.

Those suits claim that gun manufacturers have sold defective products
or marketed them in ways that increase the likelihood that they will
fall into the hands of criminals.

The new legal effort was made known Tuesday and was described by some
officials as more of a threat aimed at bringing gun manufacturers to
the negotiating table than an effort to actually take them to court.

The administration hopes the threat of a national lawsuit will force
gun makers to agree to end practices such as marketing guns that are
impervious to fingerprints. A negotiated agreement would allow the
administration and gun-control advocates to claim a victory at a time
when Congress has rejected new firearms restriction laws wanted by
President Clinton.

"The administration intends to work aggressively to. . . try to work
to reach a settlement with the industry," White House domestic policy
adviser Bruce Reed said. "If settlement is not possible, then the
public housing authorities are prepared to go forward with their suit."

Administration officials said the White House and the Department of
Housing and Urban Development are helping prepare the suit even though
the actual plaintiffs would be independent local authorities that run
federal housing programs.

The White House and HUD want gun makers to agree to a code of conduct
that includes cracking down on disreputable dealers and making safer guns.

"The administration and HUD are ready to sue, but our first priority is
to change the practice of the industry," a HUD official said, speaking
on condition of anonymity.

Some gun makers have declared bankruptcy after suits by local governments
and others have scaled back their product lines and decreased advertising,
according to a countersuit filed by the Second Amendment Foundation,
a gun-rights group.



-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: charles hardy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fw: Federal Lawsuit Against Gun Industry--POLL
Date: 09 Dec 1999 18:10:36 -0700

gd
==================================================================
Charles C. Hardy
<[e-mail]>

--------- Forwarded message ----------


Check out Deseret News Poll on new Federal lawsuits against gun industry.

http://www.desnews.com/

Also, Governor Leavitt must be running scared!  He's actually submitted
to be interviewed
by Tom Draschil on Monday, December 13, 1999 at 5:30 p.m. on AM 630.  I
think he's
seriously worried about losing the support of those of us who actually
uphold the
Constitution in the tradition of our Founding Fathers.

________________________________________________________________
Get FREE e-mail without paying for Web access! --
Or get full, reliable Internet access from Juno Web at just $9.95/month!
Download your free software today: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagh.

-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: FW: They ARE Coming for Your Guns.
Date: 09 Dec 1999 17:35:00 -0700


-----

It's part of the UN agenda.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19991207_xex_un_coming_yo.shtml


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: J.D. Williams LTE
Date: 10 Dec 1999 13:24:00 -0700


If anyone recalls the date of J.D. Williams' recent letter to
the editor (SL Trib iIrc) calling for more victim disarmament,
could you please tell me? Better still if you happen to have
the etext and could provide that as well.

Scott



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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: ANNIE's GOT HER GUN
Date: 13 Dec 1999 21:50:00 -0700


FWIW

"Annie's Got Her Gun"

by Ann Coulter, from George Magazine

About a year ago, a mugger just waltzed right up to me on
a bridge here in Washington, D.C. It was early evening,
and I was a stone's throw from my apartment in what is
considered a nice neighborhood, as neighborhoods go in
the Murder Capital: the richly deserved nickname for
the nation's capital.

I won't belabor my cunning and completely fortuitous escape,
except to say that for the few minutes I was standing there
waiting to be mugged, I was fuming. I knew he knew that I
didn't have a gun.

It's illegal to carry a handgun here in the Murder Capital.
Not merely illegal but a felony that carries up to a five-year
maximum sentence.

Just as I could look at my prospective mugger and see that
he was not the kind of fellow who would be a fanatic about
property rights and bodily integrity, he could see from 50
yards that I was not the type to be committing felonies.

I wanted a gun, but more than that I wanted him to think I
might possibly have a gun. I wanted him to at least accord
me the respect I get from criminals in other cities, where
they have to exercise a little creativity, lying in wait,
sneaking up from behind, hiding in bushes and dark alleyways
-- that sort of thing. No, in D.C. muggers just walk right
up to you on a brightly lit street. As an apparently
law-abiding citizen, I am ostentatiously defenseless.

But let's forget about completely defenseless me on the
bridge for a moment.

The framers' primary reason for including the right to bear
arms in the Bill of Rights was to allow people to protect
themselves from tyrannical government; just like the
vastly overrated First Amendment. As Alexander Hamilton
observed cheerily in Federalist 29, if the government were
to "form an army of any magnitude that army can never be
formidable to the liberties of the people while there is
a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to
them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to
defend their rights and those of their fellow citizens."

Some may be willing to rely on withering editorials in the
New York Times to preserve their liberty. I'm counting on
a sleek and tasteful SIG-Sauer. If the courts started
interpreting the Second Amendment the way they interpret
the First, we'd have a right to bear nuclear arms by now.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court is incessantly having to
remind Americans of their First Amendment rights, issuing
more than 100 decisions in the past half century alone. The
Court has ruled on the Second Amendment in only a handful
of cases, the last time in 1939.

But still, about half the citizenry deeply, passionately
believe that they have a right to bear arms. Give the First
Amendment no support from the courts for over half a century
and see if anyone remembers why we're supposed to let Nazis
march in Skokie.

But the half of the country that intuitively assumes the
right to bear arms doesn't live in my neighborhood. That's
why I'm getting exasperated with the constitutional argument.
Too few people; girl people in particular; appreciate
the central point: Guns are our friends.

When it comes to the First Amendment, everyone gets warm
patriotic feelings, tearing up over John Stuart Mill's
marketplace of ideas. They think immediately of our right to
engage in political speech, scientific research, avant-garde
art, and to burn politicians in effigy (or maybe that's just
me). Speech on the fringe, like Aryan Nation propaganda or
Hustler magazine is understood to be an unpleasant, if
inevitable, by-product of a freedom we cherish.

But with the Second Amendment, it's all Hustler magazine.
No upside, just school shootings and all those apocryphal
"gun accidents." (In 1945, for every million Americans there
were 350,000 firearms and 18 fatal gun accidents. By 1995,
there were 850,000 firearms per million, and fatal gun
accidents had fallen to six.)

Guns are our friends, because in a world without guns I'm
what is known as prey. Almost all females are. Any male;
even the sickliest 98-pound weakling; could overpower me
in a contest of brute force against brute force. For some
reason, I'm always asked whether I wouldn't prefer a world
without guns. No, I'd prefer a world in which everyone is
armed, even the criminals who mean to cause me harm. Then
I'd at least have a fighting chance.

What the arms-control faithful really want is a world
without violence, not a world without weapons. These are the
ideological descendants of the authors of the Kellogg-Briand
Pact, which purported to outlaw war.  But we can't have a
world without violence, because the world is half male and
testosterone causes homicide. A world with violence; that
is to say, with men; but without weapons is the worst of
all possible worlds for women. As the saying goes, God made
man and woman; Colonel Colt made them equal.

Prey like me use guns against predators about a million
times a year. Fifteen different studies (including those
sponsored by gun control advocates) have arrived at the
following estimates: at the low end, several hundred
thousand times per year; at the high end, several million.

I especially want potential assailants to have to worry
that I might be carrying. In numerous surveys, criminals
have confirmed the blindingly obvious point that they
are disinclined to attack a victim who might be armed.
Countries with those fabulously low crime rates and
fabulously fascistic gun control laws; such as Canada,
the Netherlands, and Britain; have more burglaries of
occupied homes per capita than we do. Canada's burglary
rate of occupied homes is more than three times that of
the armed-to-the-teeth U.S. Although the murder rate is
lower in Britain, rape, robbery, burglary, and assault
are all substantially higher there than in the U.S.

It must be said, the framers were not insensate to the
crime-prevention qualities of firearms. In the late
eighteenth century, standing armies had become nothing more
than roving bands of criminals. The Second Amendment was, in
part, a response to those early cases of police brutality.
(Why is it that the same people who have the least confidence
in the police and the military are the most willing to allow
only the police and the military to have guns?)

Thomas Jefferson, for example, copied into his book of
favorite quotes an observation by Cesare Beccaria, the
founder of the science of criminology: "Laws that forbid
the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither
inclined nor determined to commit  crimes . . . . Such laws
make things worse for the assaulted and better for the
assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent
homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater
confidence than an armed man."

That night in Washington, by the way, I was rescued by a man.
I'm all for men; I like to have them around all the time. But
sometimes they can't be. Sometimes they have to go buy things
for us. More pertinently, sometimes they're ex-husbands coming
after us with machetes. We live in a world in which men are
supposed to freeze when we say no, our bodily integrity is
sacrosanct, we are autonomous beings, I am woman, hear me roar
-- but we're not allowed to defend ourselves from a physical
attack with the only effective means possible. Just stand
waiting on the bridge and hope for a nice man to come along.

Subscribe to Freematt's Alerts: Pro-Individual Rights Issues
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-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Political Alert #36 - 13 December 1999 1/2
Date: 15 Dec 1999 14:17:00 -0700


GOUtah!
Gun Owners of Utah

Utah's Uncompromising, Independent Gun Rights Network.
No Compromise. No Retreat. No Surrender. Not Now. Not Ever.

Visit our website at www.slpsa.org/goutah!

GOUtah! Political Alert #36 - 13 December 1999

Today's Voice of Liberty:

"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves" -- Edward R. Murrow

If you wish to be added to the GOUtah! list, please log onto our website at
www.slpsa.org/goutah! or send an e-mail to [e-mail] or send a fax
to [phone] asking to be added to the GOUtah! list.

CCW Classes at Crossroads Gun Shows No Longer a Fund-Raiser for USSC.
From a prepared statement received from Concealed Carry Specialists,
8 December 1999

On November 27, 1999, the Utah Shooting Sports Council (USSC) received
their last fund-raising check from Concealed Carry Specialists (CCS) for
teaching concealed carry classes at the Crossroads of the West Gun Shows.
When asked why, Shirley Spain, CCS Business Manager replied, "In a word:
Politics. The gap between our definition of 'protecting' gun rights and
USSC's was widening. Terms like 'reasonable' and 'compromise' seemed to
be rolling off the lips of some (USSC) board members too easily for our
liking. It was time for us to get out."

However, CCS isn't going to "get out" of the training classes at the gun
show. Spain has made a business arrangement with Crossroads proprietor, Bob
Templeton, to continue to teach the classes. Thus the $25 concealed carry
classes will continue to be offered by CCS at the Salt Lake and Ogden
Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, the only difference being they will no
longer be a fund-raiser for USSC.

Since CCS began this unique fund-raiser with Crossroads in the fall of
1995, the gun show training classes have raised over $35,000 for USSC.

-End of the CCS Prepared Statement-

GOUtah! Note: We have long been vocal critics of USSC's recently-demonstrated
'pro-compromise' approach to gun rights advocacy as being at serious odds
with the needs, interests and desires of the vast majority of Utah gun
owners and gun-rights advocates. That's why GOUtah! came into being,
TO UPHOLD A NO-COMPROMISE POSITION PROTECTING YOUR GUN RIGHTS!

As a reward for their unswerving devotion to principle, many activists in
GOUtah! have been publicly-labeled in the media and in public policy circles
as 'radicals' and 'extremists' by USSC's leaders. The privately-expressed
opinions of USSC's leadership regarding your (and our) firm commitment to
upholding these important principles are widely-reported to be even more
unflattering and antagonistic.

It would seem that the recent CCS decision to cease funding USSC's operations
tends to vindicate the 'no-compromise' stance of both GOUtah!, and the vast
majority of Utah's gun rights activists. We're sure this was a difficult
decision for CCS to make. We applaud CCS' courage,and recognize them as ardent,
long-time supporters of our rights of self-defense and firearms ownership.

We're proud to be GOUtah! We're on the right track. We will continue
to stand tall and unbending in the defense of our rights and interests.
We hope all of you will continue to stand firm with us as well.

Bridgeport, CT Lawsuit Against Gun Industry Thrown Out
From NRA/ILA - 13 December 1999

Decision follows October dismissal of Cincinnati suit; NRA predicts growing
trend against efforts to hold legitimate industry liable for criminal
actions of third parties.

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- The National Rifle Association today hailed a Connecticut
Superior Court decision to dismiss the City of Bridgeport's lawsuit against
firearms manufacturers, as evidence of a growing trend against efforts to
hold a legitimate industry liable for the criminal actions of third parties.
The decision to throw out of court the Bridgeport suit follows last October's
ruling to dismiss with prejudice a similar suit filed by the municipality of
Cincinnati.

"All those mayors who jumped on the lawsuit bandwagon in order to get their
names in the papers ought to buckle their seatbelts, because the bandwagon
is starting to come to a screeching, judicial halt," said James J. Baker,
executive director of NRA's Institute for Legislative Action. "Once again,
just as in the Cincinnati case, the court has employed sound judgement and
common sense. These reckless lawsuits have no place in our judicial system."

In his written opinion, Judge Robert McWeeny dismissed the case and ruled
that Bridgeport and other cities, "... lack any statutory authorization to
initiate such claims" of liability against the firearms industry.

Baker applauded the decision, noting a December 12, 1999 Houston Chronicle
report of a Tarrance Group poll that found that 84% of Americans feel that
those who illegally misuse firearms should be held responsible, while only
5% believe that manufacturers or retailers should be held responsible for
the criminal misuse of firearms.

"The idea of holding a lawful industry responsible for the criminal acts
of third parties flies in the face of common sense and our system of
jurisprudence," Baker said. "Americans want to see the laws already on the
books enforced to hold armed criminals directly responsible for their actions.
They don't support these suits, nor the greedy lawyers and mayors behind them."

During the past year, 14 states have adopted legislation to prevent
municipalities from filing similar lawsuits against the lawful, legitimate
firearms industry. Baker predicted that more states would adopt such
measures next year.

NRA Ranked High in Influence on U.S. Capitol Hill
From the NRA-ILA Fax Alert- Vol. 6, No. 45 11/19/99

For the third year in a row, NRA moved up in the top 10 of FORTUNE
magazine's "Power 25," its listing of the most influential lobbying groups
in America. Compiled by Fortune's senior writer and Washington bureau chief
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, the "Power 25" is based on responses to a survey sent
to nearly 2,700 individuals, including every member of Congress, Hill
staffers, senior White House aides, professional lobbyists, and top-ranking
officers of lobbying organizations and companies. In 1998, NRA was ranked
4th on the list, moving up two spots from the 6th spot the year before.
This year our position improved two more spots again, moving us into a tie
for second most influential, just behind the AARP.

Even more important, however, is the fact that NRA was ranked No. 1 by
lawmakers and Hill staffers, the people who really count when it comes to
effective lobbying. Birnbaum correctly points out that NRA's influence
starts with its nearly 3 million members, and he states, "[T]he NRA is
a force with few equals in Washington." This sentiment was echoed as
recently as yesterday by anti-gun U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.),
who said, "I have never seen a lobby with more clout than the NRA."

And on a somewhat amusing note, HCI President Bob Walker was quoted as
saying, "We (HCI) are the ones making progress, not the NRA. The NRA is
basically running out of gas." This comment is amusing because, yet again,
HCI failed to make its way onto the "Power 25" list, finishing in the
bottom half of 114 groups tested.
[ Continued In Next Message... ]


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Political Alert #36 - 13 December 1999 2/2
Date: 15 Dec 1999 14:17:00 -0700


[ ...Continued From Previous Message ]
Clinton Adds to Legacy of Lies
From the NRA-ILA Fax Alert- Vol. 6, No. 45 11/19/99

While the nation has grown shamefully accustomed to Bill Clinton's
propensity for deceit and outright lies, it is worth mentioning that he
recently tried to spin a yarn about being a Life Member of NRA. According
to a recent article in the Washington Times, while attending a Democratic
National Committee fund-raiser in Atlanta, Ga., Clinton claimed, "I once
had a lifetime membership in the NRA. I've even got my jacket there."

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, however, dispelled the
President's claim, stating, "He never had a lifetime membership, he never
had a jacket. He made it up." Perhaps Clinton was trying to win over
attendees of the fund-raiser who are NRA members, as Georgia boasts many
pro-Second Amendment Democrats.

Mr. LaPierre, tongue in cheek, offered his own insights. "You know, if he's
that delusional, maybe he did inhale."



Chenoweth-Hage Reintroduces Bill (H.R. 3444)
To Repeal (Federal) Lautenberg Gun Ban
From Gun Owners of America

Yesterday, Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-ID) reintroduced her very popular
bill to repeal the misdemeanor gun ban.

Passed in 1996 as part of the omnibus spending bill, the Lautenberg ban
would disarm people for offenses that include pushing, shoving (or in some
cases, even yelling at) a family member. The language of the gun ban is so
expansive that legitimate corporal punishment can be used-- and has been
used-- to disarm unsuspecting parents.

Chenoweth-Hage's bill would repeal the entire ban, unlike other proposals in
Congress which only repeal the retroactive nature of the law. Those unfamiliar
with the Lautenberg ban should see http://www.gunowners.org/kldvtb.htm on
the GOA website.

H.R. 3444 currently has 19 cosponsors. During the Congressional recess,
gun owners should ask their (Federal) Representatives to cosponsor the bill.

GOUtah! Gun Rights (and Wrongs) QuoteWatch.

"When you find out, tell me." -- U.S. Senator Larry Craig, (R-Idaho),
responding to a reporter's question on why he thought Orrin Hatch was
running for President, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, 10 December 1999

"I believe in miracles. It would probably take that to elect me." --
Orrin Hatch, in his assessment of his chances to gain the office of the
Presidency, in the same article in the Salt Lake Tribune, 10 December 1999

"Face it,...Hatch (has) no more chance of winning the Republican
nomination than a 100-shooter winning the U.S. Open." -- Sandy Grady,
syndicated columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, as appeared in
the Salt Lake Tribune, 13 December 1999.

"It's time to remind Senator Hatch that the people of Utah elected him
to protect their rights in Washington, rather than to allow him to ignore
their urgent needs and concerns while he is obsessively engaged in the
pursuit of a clearly-doomed Presidential nomination bid." -- GOUtah!

This concludes the GOUtah! Political and Legislative Alert #36 - 13
December 1999. We hope this information will be of assistance to you in
defending your firearms rights. Remember that getting this information is
meaningless unless YOU ACT ON IT TODAY. If you just read it and dump it in
the trash, your gun rights, and the gun rights of future generations go in
the trash with it. Get involved, get active and get vocal!

Copyright 1999 by GOUtah! All rights reserved.


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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners
Date: 15 Dec 1999 14:17:00 -0700


I'd hope guns are shipped "Signature Required"!

Scott

-----

UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners

Comment by moderator Weldon Clark
If you used to use UPS in your Christmas shipping you
might call 1-800-PICK-UPS every time you ship a present
and tell them why you won't be using them to ship it.
Merry Christmas.

UPS Boycott
As you probably know, UPS announced that it no longer
accepts ground shipment of handguns. Moreover, for
practical purposes air shipment is now likely to require you
to go to a UPS office:

Handguns may only be shipped via Next Day Air, Next Day
Air Early AM and Next Day Saver with the "Adult Signature
Required" label properly affixed. Handguns are prohibited
from the UPS Ground system, SonicAir BestFlight Service,
On-Call Air Pickup, Internet Shipping, Letter Centers (drop
Boxes), or One-time Pickup requests. UPS will accept
handguns from Daily Pickup accounts & Customer Counters.
Packages [with] handguns must be segregated. The driver or
clerk must be informed which packages contain handguns.
Authorized Shipping Outlets & Commercial Counters are
prohibited from accepting any firearms for UPS.

This may be intended at least in part to raise the price of
firearms. Amazingly, the ostensible reason seems to be that
too many guns were being stolen, i.e. by UPS employees.
Well, if they're stealing guns, is there anything they won't
steal from UPS customers? UPS' response - punish the
victim instead of the perpetrator - would seem to reveal that
they don't much care if their employees are thieves. In light
of this, and regardless of your view on guns, why would
anyone want to use UPS?

It should also be considered that UPS helped bring about the
Waco Massacre by serving as a government snitch. According
to Waco Rules of Engagement Producer Dan Gifford,

"The driver told the local Sheriff that a package had broken
open [with] what looked like hand grenades. They were
confirmed to be harmless hulls... From there, someone in the
Sheriff's department made a routine referral to ATF for who
knows what reason..."

"Broke open." Well isn't that special?
No doubt UPS employees only steal when packages "break
open" by all by themselves. Again, regardless of your
feelings about guns, we can't imagine wanting to patronize
a company that has little regard for its customers' privacy
& property and in one case helped get over 80 of them
murdered û including two dozen children.

A UPS boycott was shaping up until Fedex subsidiary RPS
said it too was banning ground shipments of guns, and
Airborne announced a ban on ALL guns. DHL says that they
do not ship any guns either. So what do we do now that
UPS air & Fedex air are the only private game in town?
As concerned citizens & consumers, we can either do
nothing or pick one and boycott it.

We recommend boycotting UPS: They started it, they
snitched at Waco, and they'd rather punish their customers
than their paid thieves. Since they seemingly can't be trusted
to ship anything anyway, it's easier to spread the effect
beyond the Constitutional Rights Community. Of course,
we'd also avoid doing business with Airborne Express.

Or you can boycott all the private companies and switch to
the US Postal Service. Unfortunately, most businesses
probably won't do that since the post office is many cases is
inconvenient for overnight delivery, but they might switch to
another private delivery company if they heard about UPS's
theft problem (and their preanimistic "solution" to it).
Rather than "go postal," it may be more effective to single
out UPS and spread the word on their kleptophilia to their
broader, non-gun-rights-oriented customer base.

UPS Corporate Headquarters
United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
55 Glenlake Parkway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
1-800-PICK-UPS (1-800-742-5877)
UPS E-Mail:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

RPS e-mail WEB
http://www.ups.com

AIRBORNE EXPRESS e-mail:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Also see Leroy Pyle's UPS boycott site
http://www.paulrevere.org/boycottups/


Related item: Contact your Federal Representatives and
insist that any further Waco hearings not be a whitewash like
the last congressional investigation.

From The 2ndAmendmentNews Team

What To Do If The Police Come To Confiscate Your Militia
Weapons see www.2ndamendment.net
For legislative updates contact www.nealknox.com and go to
"Scripts from the Firearms Coalition Legislative Update Line"
Write your CONGRESSMAN OR STATE LEGISLATORS can
now be accomplished at the speed of light, thanks to
WorldNetDaily's new Legislative Action Center.
http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/
You can call your two Senators at [phone] and your
Representative at [phone] at the Capitol Switchboard.
Here is the URL for Congressional Telephone Directory:
http://clerkweb.house.gov/106/mbrcmtee/members/teledir/me
mbers/cdframe.htm
Here's an e-mail link to Congress. http://in-search-of.org/
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
http://www.gunowners.org/mailerx.html

The way to protect your own rights is to protect the rights of
others. Our right to own and use firearms is under attack.
To join or be removed please send: E-MAil to
[e-mail] with the following text in the
message body:

SUBSCRIBE 2nd-Amendment-News
 Or
UNSUBSCRIBE 2nd-Amendment-News

To send a message to the list administrator, send E-mail to
[e-mail]

Feel free to forward our alerts.

If you've received this as a forward and wish to subscribe
please send a reply to me at [e-mail] or
[e-mail]

Cordially Yours,
The 2ndAmendmentNews Team

2ndAmendmentNews is published by volunteer activists who
support the full original individual rights intent of the 2nd
Amendment and oppose any appeasement on gun rights.
The moderators include Chris Behanna, Weldon Clark (an
NRA director) and Steve Cicero.

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from
us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down
and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set
lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our
countrymen. -- Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia
State House, August 1, 1776.



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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "larry larsen" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners
Date: 16 Dec 1999 12:38:38 -0700

UPS also steals jewlery,  a ring replacement , for one that was stolen by a
house breakin,  was stolen from the package prior to Thanksgiving this year
by a UPS employee in LA.  The local  jewler says it happens more than they
would like, and insurance claims with UPS take up to 4 months.
Larry




-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: charles hardy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners
Date: 16 Dec 1999 14:41:13 -0700

My brother-in-law recently mailed--via the US Post Office--a diamond ring
to California and back for some work.  He sent it their highest security
(Certified, insured?) and was very impressed.  Apparantly every opening
is taped and stamped and the box is then locked in a safe for transport.
If the seal is broken prior to obtaining the receivers release sig, the
issurance is paid.

I don't know the USPS's policy on shipping guns, but it would probably be
worth a look for any gun dealers out there.  Of course for the rest of us
it doesn't really matter too much as we can't ship gun across state lines
via any method other than private transport anyway.

On Thu, 16 Dec 1999 12:38:38 -0700 "larry larsen" <[e-mail]>
writes:
> UPS also steals jewlery,  a ring replacement , for one that was
> stolen by a
> house breakin,  was stolen from the package prior to Thanksgiving
> this year
> by a UPS employee in LA.  The local  jewler says it happens more
> than they
> would like, and insurance claims with UPS take up to 4 months.
> Larry
>
>
>
>
> -
>

==================================================================
Charles C. Hardy
<[e-mail]>

___________________________________________________________________
Why pay more to get Web access?
Try Juno for FREE -- then it's just $9.95/month if you act NOW!
Get your free software today: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Dave <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners
Date: 16 Dec 1999 15:35:30 -0700

charles hardy wrote:

>
> I don't know the USPS's policy on shipping guns, but it would probably be
> worth a look for any gun dealers out there.

I believe that both dealers and non dealers can ship LONG GUNS via USPS.
Dealers can also ship handguns, but it has to be dealer to dealer.  The
postmaster likes to see copies of both (sending and receiving) licenses.

> Of course for the rest of us it doesn't really matter too much as we can't
> ship gun across state lines via any method other than private transport
> anyway.

Not quite true.  An individual (non dealer) can ship guns across state lines
to the factory for repair or to an FFL holder.

I am trying to use USPS whenever possible since I am really pissed off at
UPS.

Dave at DAVE'S GUNS



-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: charles hardy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners
Date: 16 Dec 1999 15:48:44 -0700

On Thu, 16 Dec 1999 15:35:30 -0700 Dave <[e-mail]> writes:

> Not quite true.  An individual (non dealer) can ship guns across
> state lines
> to the factory for repair or to an FFL holder.

I did not realize that.  Thanks for the info.

Can the factory or FFL holder ship it directly back to the non-dealer or
must return be arranged via a dealer?

>
> I am trying to use USPS whenever possible since I am really pissed
> off at
> UPS.

The USPS has problems, but they are pretty good at some things and I
think security is one of them.  And with all the private carriers acting
as they are with guns, they are they only alternative to allow a boycott.

==================================================================
Charles C. Hardy
<[e-mail]>

___________________________________________________________________
Why pay more to get Web access?
Try Juno for FREE -- then it's just $9.95/month if you act NOW!
Get your free software today: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Dave <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: UPS Discriminates Against Firearms & Owners
Date: 16 Dec 1999 16:03:23 -0700



charles hardy wrote:

> On Thu, 16 Dec 1999 15:35:30 -0700 Dave <[e-mail]> writes:
>
> > Not quite true.  An individual (non dealer) can ship guns across
> > state lines
> > to the factory for repair or to an FFL holder.
>
> I did not realize that.  Thanks for the info.
>
> Can the factory or FFL holder ship it directly back to the non-dealer or
> must return be arranged via a dealer?

In the past, I know that guns would be returned to an individual.  Now I'm
not sure.  If a customer brings me a gun for repair I need to do a NICS check
when he/she picks it up.

>
>
> >
> > I am trying to use USPS whenever possible since I am really pissed
> > off at
> > UPS.
>
> The USPS has problems, but they are pretty good at some things and I
> think security is one of them.  And with all the private carriers acting
> as they are with guns, they are they only alternative to allow a boycott.
>
> ==================================================================
> Charles C. Hardy
> <[e-mail]>
>
> ___________________________________________________________________
> Why pay more to get Web access?
> Try Juno for FREE -- then it's just $9.95/month if you act NOW!
> Get your free software today: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
>
> -


-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Alert #37 - 17 December 1999 2/2
Date: 17 Dec 1999 10:06:00 -0700


[ ...Continued From Previous Message ]
Judge Dismisses Miami-Dade Gun Lawsuit

According to Reuters, a Florida judge has thrown out a Miami-Dade County
lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers, ruling that the lawsuit was too
vague and the county lacked legal standing as a plaintiff.

Miami-Dade County had filed the product liability lawsuit against the gun
industry to recoup tax dollars spent treating gunfire victims and
investigating gun-related crimes. Circuit Court Judge Amy Dean granted the
gun manufacturers' request to dismiss the lawsuit on Monday, ruling that
the county ``is not the proper party plaintiff to bring this lawsuit.''
In September, an Ohio judge dismissed a similar suit filed against the gun
makers by the City of Cincinnati.

Give the Gift of Freedom for Christmas

We at GOUtah! wish you and yours a very happy holiday season. While the
holidays are indeed hectic and sometimes the real meaning gets lost in the
commercial clutter, GOUtah! suggests you gather your loved ones around you
and tell them what the gift of freedom means to you. Discuss as a family
what you can do today to insure the gift of freedom is passed to the next
generation tomorrow.

Set aside the price of at least one Christmas present this year and donate
that cost to a worthwhile cause, one actively involved in protecting gun
rights and individual freedom. A local or national gun-rights group, a
local or state pro-gun political candidate, a youth firearms program or
some other similar cause would very much appreciate your financial support
and involvement.

Buy a friend a membership in the NRA or some other gun rights group. Buy a
friend a gun-rights book. Take a friend shooting. Buy them a Utah CCW
training class. Become a pro-gun delegate in your political party. Volunteer
your time to a pro-gun candidate's campaign or to a gun-rights organization.

Give the gift of freedom every Christmas! It starts with you!

GOUtah! Editorial Response of the Week

GOUtah! wishes to recognize the efforts of Utah's proud, dedicated gun
rights advocates for excellence in their editorial responses and letters
to the editor published in Utah's many newspapers or other publications.
If you have a letter you'd like to submit or nominate for this recognition,
please send a verifiable copy of the published letter, along with the
publication's name and date of publication to GOUtah! by email or fax.
We'll reprint it here. Get those word processors humming and let your
community know the truth and just where you stand on the issue!

From the 20 September 1999 issue of Newsweek,
in rebuttal to their 23 August 1999 issue "America Under the Gun."

"I'm a lifelong gun owner, having been raised in the West in a culture that
teaches responsibility in ownership and handling of guns, and have never
seen any of the negatives you decry in your cover story.

In response to your misbegotten agenda, I bought another rifle, another
handgun, and many boxes of ammunition, and sent a nice fat check to the
NRA. Please reconsider your wrongheaded views on this subject."

James M. Shaw, Salt Lake City, Utah


GOUtah! reminds you that these pro-gun letters do not write themselves.
You, as a concerned citizen protecting your gun rights, have to take the
time and make the effort to keep up an ongoing stream of letters to the
editor to counter the endless stream of misinformation published and
broadcast every day on the gun rights issue.

Make the time today to write a short, pro-gun rights letter to your local
paper or broadcast station. You can mail it, fax it or submit it via e-mail.

Go to the GOUtah! web site at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah!
select the Other Gun Rightst and Info Link
and then select the Utah Media Link.

You can send your letter instantly to many of Utah's newspapers, magazines
and broadcast stations. Do it now!

GOUtah! Gun Rights (and Wrongs) QuoteWatch.

"I will not be a candidate for governor. In addition, I will be supporting
Mike Leavitt." -- Rep. Marty Stephens, Speaker of the Utah House of
Representatives, at a joint press conference with Mike Leavitt at the Utah
State Capitol, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, 15 December 1999

"It's going to be anything but a Kumbyah, but there will be respect." -- Rep.
David Ure, Utah House Majority Whip, in his assessment of the relationship
between Governor Leavitt and the Utah House Republicans in the 2000 General
Session, as reported in the same article in the Salt Lake Tribune,
15 December 1999

"There is always going to be about 25% of the party that is going to be
unhappy with (Leavitt). That other 25% may try and find a candidate."
-- Rep. Susan Koehn, House Rules Committee Chair, in the same article
in the Salt Lake Tribune, 15 December 1999.

"The battle is definitely not over yet." -- Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, (D-NY),
a leading gun control advocate on Capitol Hill, forecasting more gun control
legislation in the months to come, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune,
12 December 1999.

"...This is hardly a dead issue. It's a very volatile issue, and it changes
day to day, literally. It'll carry over and become a campaign issue in
November 2000." -- James J. Baker, NRA/ILA Executive Director, as quoted
in the same Salt Lake Tribune article, 12 December 1999

This concludes the GOUtah! Political and Legislative Alert #37 - 17
December 1999.

We hope this information will be of assistance to you in defending your
firearms rights. Remember that getting this information is meaningless
unless YOU ACT ON IT TODAY. If you just read it and dump it in the trash,
your gun rights, and the gun rights of future generations go in the trash
with it. Get involved, get active and get vocal!

Copyright 1999 by GOUtah! All rights reserved.


-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Alert #37 - 17 December 1999 1/2
Date: 17 Dec 1999 10:06:00 -0700


-----

GOUtah!
Gun Owners of Utah

Utah's Uncompromising, Independent Gun Rights Network.
No Compromise. No Retreat. No Surrender. Not Now. Not Ever.

Visit our website at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah!

GOUtah! Alert #37 - 17 December 1999

Today's Voice of Liberty:

"Tyranny is always better organized than freedom" -- Charles Peguy

If you wish to be added to the GOUtah! list, please log onto our website
at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah! or send an e-mail to [e-mail]
or send a fax to [phone] asking to be added to the GOUtah! list.

We strongly encourage you to forward, copy and share this information with
others, on the condition that you pass along the entire document intact and
unmodified, and that GOUtah! is clearly indicated as the original source of
the material, unless otherwise noted.

Utah Police Shoot 21, Kill 14 (So Far) in 1999,
While Utah CCW Holders are Holding Their Fire...Why?

According to several press accounts, Utah's approximately 5000 fully-sworn
police officers have now shot 21 individuals in calendar 1999, killing 14.
The 1999 death toll at the hands of Utah police is now equal to the
police-involved shooting death toll for all of 1998, 1997 and 1996 combined.

The most recent police shooting reportedly occurred when two Granite School
District officers pulled over a car at I-215 and requested backup from Salt
Lake County officers. The suspects were ordered from the vehicle at gunpoint,
and one individual was shot and killed when he reportedly reached for a
weapon in the back seat. According to published reports, the deceased may
have matched the description of a robbery suspect from earlier in the evening.

In contrast, GOUtah! is currently aware of none of the some 30,000 Utah CCW
permit holders shooting or killing anyone else since the 'no-cause' permit
went into effect in mid-1995. The sum total of episodes in which any Utah
CCW permit holder discharged their firearm during that same period appears
to be as follows:

1) The widely-reported 'warning-shot-into-a-canal-bank' incident in West
Jordan, resulting in no injury.

2) A reported single accidental discharge into an office wall at a government
office building in Salt Lake City, by a senior state employee, also with no
injury.

3) A single accidental discharge at a church facility in Bountiful during a
reported 'show-and-tell' episode in which the CCW permit holder reportedly
received a minor injury to his hand.

That's it. No deaths, no wrongful shootings and only one reported minor
injury over nearly five years by nearly 30,000 Utah CCW permit holders.
Many large law-enforcement agencies probably have this many firearms
accidents in the average month among only a few hundred officers.

While these three incidents are unfortunate and perhaps even debatable, a
couple of minor problems among some 30,000 CCW permit holders over nearly a
half-decade cannot be considered an epidemic, cannot be demonstrated as a
pressing safety problem requiring an immediate solution and thus no public
policy remedy is required.

GOUtah! has and will continue to be supportive of legitimate, reasonable,
restrained and responsible law enforcement efforts. We understand that law
enforcement officers have a very difficult and thankless job, filled with
potential dangers, and that their split-second decisions over life or death
will be closely scrutinized by press, prosecutors and the public.

It should be noted that several of these recent police shootings have
been at best 'questionable,' and at least one held to be unjustified. The
officer involved in that case reportedly shot an unarmed jail prisoner
attempting to flee a vehicle during transport. The officer was fired,
not prosecuted, and quietly re-hired by the same agency as a jail guard.

However, we believe it is time that an effective, independent statewide
board of citizen oversight be established over police use of force issues
and incidents. We also believe that the policies and procedures regarding
use of force by law enforcement officers may need to be more closely
scrutinized in light of this recent surge in police shootings.

We will also stack up the record of responsible restraint compiled by
Utah's 30,000 CCW holders against that of any other group. Based on the
statistics of the last 12 months, the average law enforcement officer in
Utah has about a 0.42% chance of shooting a citizen and about a 0.28%
chance of killing that citizen during the next 12 months. In contrast,
based on the record of the last 5 years, over the next 12 months Utah
CCW holders will shoot no one, kill no one and the chances of injuring
themselves or others is functionally too small to even compute.

The lack of a 'body count' by Utah's CCW holders should not be viewed in
any way as CCW not working to help protect civilian lives and individual
safety, but rather that Utah CCW holders are very restrained and responsible
in their use of force decisions. So, based on these documented numbers,
who'd you rather to be sitting next to in church, on the bus, at work,
or have in a school room with your kids?

U.S. Gun Industry Opens Their Records to BATF for Direct Online Tracing of Guns

U.S. gun makers and wholesalers are giving BATF agents direct access to their
computerized gun records so they can trace guns used in crimes. In an article
by Gary Fields for USA Today, the full gun records of five major U.S. manufac-
turers and wholesalers; H&R 1881 Inc., Smith & Wesson, Taurus, RSR Wholesale
and Davidson's Wholesale are now online with BATF. Beretta USA is in the
process of creating an online link, and BATF expects about 10 other major
U.S. companies to allow direct access to their gun records in the next year.

Federal law has long prohibited any centralized listing or database of
firearms and/or firearms owners. While BATF claims the records will only be
used to trace guns used in crimes, gun rights advocates are not so sure abuses
won't take place. Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America was quoted in the
article as saying the BATF was "at least as ethically challenged as the FBI.
When they're getting all that information from a manufacturer, that is a
registration system and it's a centralized one." Pratt noted that the history
of federal agencies have had on the gun issue makes it difficult to accept
that the records won't be stored somehow and used against law-abiding gun
owners. Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation echoed the concern
about records abuse, stating "The problem is the trust, or lack of, we have
in government agencies not to misuse it."

GOUtah! believes that any online access by any governmental entity to any
firearms records held by private industry, even if such access is voluntary,
will very likely result in wholesale firearms records retrieval, recording
and storage by public and/or private parties for future use and/or misuse.
We need look no further that the FBI-NICS records abuses to demonstrate
that this concern is indeed valid. Even if the actual source of the records
is at a remote location and is the property of or under control of a private
company, such unfettered federal access to these records is a very dangerous
undertaking. Clearly one should not look to the U.S. gun industry to protect
freedom or privacy. They will protect their own economic and political
interests first.
[ Continued In Next Message... ]



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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: FW: GOA Annual Report
Date: 17 Dec 1999 15:37:00 -0700


Gun Owners' End Of The Year Report
(December 1999)

Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: [phone] / FAX: [phone]
http://www.gunowners.org


It's tempting, all too often, for people to despair from the bad news that
appears in the media. But gun owners should cheer some of the positive
gains made this year-gains that could not have been achieved without your
help. Here's what they're saying about GOA and its activists:

U.S. Representative Helen Chenoweth-Hage, Idaho:
"GOA is close to standing alone in Washington. They do not tell their
members one thing and do another inside the beltway. They are tough and
they don't give up."

U.S. Senator Bob Smith, New Hampshire:
"You and your members are great patriots."

Roll Call, the newspaper of record on Capitol Hill, 8/12/99:
"Gun Owners of America is considered the most aggressive pro-gun lobbying
organization."

"Gun Owners [of America] is... much more active. They moved quickly and we
heard from their people," said one House leadership source close to the
juvenile crime issue.

Thanks For Helping GOA Deliver A "No Compromise" Message To Congress!
We've been through a lot together this year. Remember the media frenzy
that kicked in after the Colorado shooting in April? As the weeks passed,
gun owners were demonized once again for the actions of a few miscreants.
At the national level, the media began relying upon GOA spokesmen almost
exclusively to give the pro-gun response to the Columbine tragedy. GOA
talking heads appeared on dozens of TV, radio and newspaper outlets.

From CBS' This Morning to CNN News, and on countless radio shows around the
clock, GOA debated with Handgun Control, Inc. and others who would try to
take away the guns of law-abiding citizens.


GOA Grassroots Helped Gain Victory In The House

At the same time, Gun Owners of America was ginning up its grassroots
machine, generating thousands upon thousands of postcards, faxes, emails
and phone calls into Congressional offices. For several months, gun owners
stood with GOA to lead the charge in opposition to all of the gun control
provisions in the juvenile crime bill.

GOA activists made it absolutely clear that no compromise would be
acceptable. In alert after alert, GOA pounded away at the crime bill,
exposing the many ways it would rob gun owners of their Constitutional
rights. But the White House was also busy during this time. The President
had selected a list of targets, and was relentlessly hounding fellow
Democrats in support of greater gun restrictions.

Rep. Baron Hill of Indiana was one of the Democrats on that target list.
He was a freshman, and he had only won with 51% of the vote in 1998. The
White House pressed its case, thinking this conservative Democrat might
buckle under the pressure. Thankfully, the President was sorely disappointed.

In June, The Washington Times reported what happened, and clearly showed
what grassroots action can do:

Clinton administration operatives went to [Rep. Hill of Indiana] and told
him they had done a survey in his district that showed an overwhelming
majority-- 77 percent to 23 percent-supported the gun control legislation.
However, Mr. Hill pointed out to them that... his office had received
more than 1,100 phone calls against gun control and only a "half dozen or a
dozen" in favor. In the end, Mr. Hill joined a substantial number of
Democrats who helped block gun-control legislation passed by the Senate.
Again, this shows how the grassroots can trump the media and political
pressures inside the Beltway!

GOA Putting Your Money To Good Use On The Front Lines

From its national headquarters in northern Virginia, GOA staff also focused
their lobbying efforts on key Congressional offices. GOA's lobbying
efforts, combined with a dynamic grassroots campaign, provided the one-two
punch that produced the dramatic results that were reported in the June 19
issue of The New Haven Register:

Although the Republican House leadership and the NRA urged support for the
final version, they were hampered by opposition from [GOA] who were unhappy
it required gun safety locks and raised to 21 the legal age for owning a
handgun. "Please vote no on passage of HR 2122," urged a letter from Gun
Owners of America. And many conservative Republicans did just that.

Pro-gun Congressional offices heap praise on GOA and its activists.
Following the defeat of the anti-gun crime bill, one Capitol Hill
newspaper, Roll Call, surveyed several Congressional offices. This article
reported that pro-gun offices on the Hill were quite appreciative of the
work done by GOA and its activists.

According to the article, Gun Owners of America was labeled "the most
aggressive pro-gun lobbying organization," a testimony to the hard work
and dedication of its grassroots. This effort by GOA members cannot be
underestimated. Roll Call reported that some lobby groups had sold
Representatives on the idea that their constituents would "not care"
if they voted for gun control. But GOA members were instrumental in
disabusing Congressmen of that notion.

After an avalanche of postcards, letters, faxes and emails from GOA
activists, Representatives realized that people "did care," and these
legislators were "not happy" they had been tricked into thinking their
constituents would not mind, Roll Call reported. As it stands now, the
anti-gun juvenile bill has been buried in a House-Senate conference
committee. Many legislators have reported that they don't want to "walk
the plank" again, and they are lobbying the leadership to just let the
bill die.

Of course, this was not the only victory that GOA was involved in. While
there were other noteworthy accomplishments at the state and local level
that GOA took part in, clearly the victory over the juvenile justice bill
was the most significant. GOA and its activists led the fight against this
bill; and in all candor, you guys are the reason that the anti-gun juvenile
bill has now become a "hot potato."


If You're Not Yet A GOA Member, Is It Time You Became One?

The ability of GOA to continue putting pressure on politicians depends on
loyal activists like yourself. So if you would like to keep up on other
issues; if you would like to get our special Fact Sheets which are only
provided to GOA members; if you would like to receive our very informative
newsletter and get pre-printed postcards that enable you to easily lobby
your own Congressmen- even to the point of becoming an "arm chair lobbyist"
while watching TV commercials-then please become a GOA member today! Join
GOA today online at http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoa.htm or call
703-321-8585.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas says, "Your membership in Gun Owners
makes a difference on Capitol Hill every single day.... I know that GOA
will continue to be the 'no compromise' leader in defending America's gun
rights and personal freedoms."

Join online at http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoa.htm
**************
Did someone else forward this to you? To be certain of getting up to date
information, please consider subscribing to the GOA E-Mail Alert Network
directly. There is no cost or obligation, and the volume of mail is quite
low. To subscribe, simply send a message to [e-mail] and
include the state in which you live, in either the subject or the body.


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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: National Forest - KEEP OUT
Date: 18 Dec 1999 12:14:00 -0700


-----

National Forest - KEEP OUT

If you enjoy any outdoor activities in your National Forests your
days are numbered. Bill Clinton is going to put a stop to your
recreation with a stroke of the pen. What will be affected? Mountain
Biking, Horse Back Riding, ATVs, Motorcycles, Hunting, Fishing, etc.

How will he do this? By blocking your access by motorized vehicle
to some 50 Million Acres of your own land. It's as simple as that.

Think this is more "Black Helicopter" conspiracy ranting?
Look at your Forest Service WEB site:

http://roadless.fs.fed.us

When you look at this WEB site use your head and take the time
to look past their simple sounding pronouncements of what they
say they are up to. Look at the what they're bragging about in
the "in the news" section. Note that this has nothing to do with
partisan politics or the right/left battles.

This act by Bill Clinton completely bypasses the congress and the
checks and balances against abuse of power which are the bases of
our freedom. In Part One of this plan, there will be a prohibition
on "road building" in National Forests. On the surface this seems
like a small thing. But when you see them talk about maintaining
the safety of existing roads know that they plan to close all
"unmaintained" roads. By doing this thing you will no longer have
vehicle access to some 380,000 thousand miles of your own roads.

In Part Two they finish the job by banning all "off road vehicles"
from use in "roadless" areas.

Perhaps you consider yourself an environmentalist and support this.
But consider; if you allow this to become law by royal decree, to
pass unchallenged, the next time a non-environmentalist President
gets into office he can use the same precedent to reverse the will
of congress like Clinton by Royal Edict.

The sword of tyranny cuts both ways.

Maybe you're a mountain biker who thinks this just gets dirt bikers,
etc. Don't fall for that "get the other guy" trap. Look at what the
folks behind this are really after, the complete prohibition of
human activity in our national forests.

So they play you against the dirt bike folks, or the hunters against
the ATV guys - makes no difference; if those of us who use National
Forests for legitimate purposes don't hang together and support each
other's rights - we shall all hang separately.

YOU MUST ACT TO STOP THIS. HERE'S HOW:

1. Please contact the Blue Ribbon Coalition for the very latest
information on the biggest land grab in American history:
http://sharetrails.org/choice.html

2. Forward this email to everyone you know.

3. You must send a written objection during the comment period
or you will lose your legal standing to object after this passes:
Here's how you do it.

Use this form:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/roadless/Roadless_Public_Comment_Form.htm

Write your comments to the USDA Forest Service-CAET,
Roadless Areas NOI,
PO Box 221090, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84122.

Fax them at 801-517-1021

email them at roadless/[e-mail]

4. Call and write to your representatives: http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/

5. Forward this message.

Other nifty links to your governments efforts to keep you out of your land:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/roadless/roadless.html

http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/forests991013.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/roadless/Roadless_Questions_and_Answers.htm

From The 2ndAmendmentNews Team
What To Do If The Police Come To Confiscate Your Militia Weapons,
 see http://www.2ndamendment.net
For legislative updates contact http://www.nealknox.com and go to
"Scripts from the Firearms Coalition Legislative Update Line"
Writing your CONGRESSMAN OR STATE LEGISLATORS can now be accomplished
at the speed of light, thanks to WorldNetDaily's new Legislative Action
Center: http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/
You can call your two Senators at [phone] and your
Representative at [phone] at the Capitol Switchboard.
Here is the URL for Congressional Telephone Directory:
http://clerkweb.house.gov/106/mbrcmtee/members/teledir/members/cdframe.htm
Here are e-mail links to Congress: http://in-search-of.org/
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
http://www.gunowners.org/mailerx.html

The way to protect your own rights is to protect the rights
of others. Our right to own and use firearms is under attack.
To join please send E-MAil to: [e-mail]
with the following text in the message body:

SUBSCRIBE 2nd-Amendment-News

To send a message to the list administrator, send E-mail to
[e-mail]

Feel free to forward our alerts.

If you've received this as a forward and wish to subscribe please
send a reply to me at [e-mail] or [e-mail]

Cordially Yours,
The 2ndAmendmentNews Team

2ndAmendmentNews is published by volunteer activists who support
the full original individual rights intent of the 2nd Amendment
and oppose any appeasement on gun rights. The moderators include
Chris Behanna, Weldon Clark (an NRA director) and Steve Cicero.

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in
peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the
hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may
posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. -- Samuel Adams,
speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776.


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "David Sagers" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fwd: Another Rosie Travesty That You Just Won't Believe!
Date: 21 Dec 1999 16:36:29 -0700

Return-path: [e-mail]
Full-name: NJGunsRus
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
X-Mailer: AOL for Macintosh sub 54
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Disposition: inline

About two weeks ago I got a call from a producer of the Latefah show in =
NY=20
City. They wanted to do a show on kids and guns.  I was told I was the =
ideal=20
family being a gun family with an 8 year old son etc.  They sent a =
cameraman=20
and producer to my home in Minneapolis and followed me around for two =
days.=20
They taped interviews with my wife, myself and 8 year old son and =
constantly=20
commented on how we were an ideal family. They showed my home security=20
system, safe and other measures I take to protect my son.  Teaching =
lethal=20
force for a living we obviously have many guns on the premises.
Both men had never touched a gun in their lives being from NY City. In =
a=20
short period of time I had them shooting and they LOVED it, and one =
intends=20
to buy a gun as soon as the  paperwork can clear in NY City. They were=20
surprised by the nice nature of the folks at the range and the family=20
atmosphere.  The cost for the two days was substantial with almost =
$2,000=20
just in airfare.
We were told our taping date in NY City and my wife, my 8 year old son, my =
23=20
year old daughter and myself were flown to New York City.  The Motel =
cost=20
them $250+ per room, limo from the airport to hotel and to studio, back =
to=20
hotel and the airport.  Another $2,000+ at least plus meal allowance.
Another producer visited us in our hotel room and said they loved us as =
a=20
safe gun family and shocked us when they said they would have Eddie =
Eagle=20
safety literature under every seat in the audience.  Things were looking =
up. =20
My son was assured he'd meet movie star Latefah and have his picture =
taken=20
with her.
We were told we'd be on withone someone that had lost a child or had a =
child=20
injured with a gun and to expect some emotional responses.  That is not =
a=20
problem as I have years of radio-TV experience and my own history of =
talk=20
shows. I can handle the best.
We were taken to the studios (same ones Rikki Lake uses) and taken to =
the=20
green room.  My 8 year old son would soon sit there for hours with nothing =
to=20
do.  He was a great kid.
At the end of the hall was a thug hiphop group that would appear on the =
show.=20
As I went to the restroom they were on cell phones trying to get bail for =
a=20
friend who was in jail.  The human debris in the room looked like an =
episode=20
of Cops was being taped instead of a talk show.
Numerous producers stopped by the green room and were excited about my=20
ability to respond to questions and were excited that I spoke in "sound=20
bites."  One producer in the hall told other stafferrs, "wait until this =
guy=20
gets on. It will get hot out there."
Queen Latifah then did an interview with an 8 year old kid who had taken =
a=20
pistol to school in New York City where he traded it for two Pokemon =
cards. =20
He admitted to being in a gang, no mother or father at home (old story) =
and=20
lived with his grandmother who could not control him.  His hero was a 15 =
year=20
old gang member and he said he was often in trouble for various things. =
=20
We went to makeup, got wired with mikes and told to get ready.  The =
stage=20
director took us to the lower level and had us stand behind a door.  We =
were=20
told there were only seconds to go before we walked on stage.  Suddenly =
the=20
stage director vanished and came back and said, "follow me."  We were =
taken=20
to the audience and seated. I was shocked to see my daughter also seated =
in=20
the audience.
Queen Latifah came out and looked into the teleprompter which I would =
see.=20
She read around our introduction and adlibbed the introduction of a New =
York=20
congressman who had been the defense minister for the Black Panthers. A =
woman=20
who had a son commit suicide with a gun over a decade before blubbered =
into=20
the camera. =20
Then the thug Hiphop group came out and did a filthy violence ridden =
song=20
that made me blush in front of my 8 year old.  As the show ended the 8 =
year=20
old that had taken a gun to school was showered with love and praise =
and=20
allowed to meet his thug Hiphop hero's and given CD's and T-shirts =
among=20
other things.  My kid who had done nothing but act in a responsible =
manner=20
around guns and taken his safety training etc., got ingored.  Queen =
Latefah=20
blew past him, ignored him, and us.  We were hustled to the limo like=20
burglars in the night and whisked to the airport.  Even some of the =
friendly=20
producers were in total shock and stunned.
We asked what had happened and we were told the decision to blow us off =
the=20
show with the NRA rep they  had flown in from national headquarters had =
come=20
from the very "top."  This show is a Time-Warner situation we will note.
My wife lost her cool and laid into them for how the 8 year old taking a =
gun=20
to school was a hero and smothered with attention etc., and the kid that =
did=20
it right was ignored and insulted and hurt by not meeting a movie star =
as=20
promised.  The producers had no response. =20
One thing did come out as we waited for the limos to arrive and I suspect =
it=20
was not by accident. The Queen Latefah show is a produce of Rosie =
O'Donnel=20
who just happened to be in NY City that day for a Christmas party at =
Frank's=20
Cafe.  Her and Latefah are old "chums" with strong business and possibly=20=

"personal" connections.
Suddenly the lights came on.  It was pretty obvious what happened and =
would=20
clearly explain why they blew off the substantial cost to support their=20
ongoing liberal agenda.  At least we got about $10K of her money.
There is no question in this case that Time-Warner and Rosie O'Donnel=20
strongly supported and strongly backed up the behavior of a 8 year old to =
be=20
in a gang and take a gun to school.  The kid named Jeremy even said that =
part=20
of going up the ranks in a gang was your popularity and notoriety which =
the=20
show will greatly enhance.  If this is exposed Rosie and Time Warner =
will=20
have a hell of a time trying to weasel out of this.  In their hand they =
had=20
two kids of the SAME age and one took a gun to school and is in a gang, =
and=20
the other is a good student and doing everything right. One got the =
star=20
treatment, one got blown off and ignored.  There isn't a lie big enough.
I thought at first it may have been something towards me, but to hustle =
the=20
NRA rep out the door as well made it clear it was purely a political =
anti-gun=20
agenda that someone at the last possible second acted upon.  And the =
media=20
wonders why shooters don't trust them and think they are anti-gun.  If =
anyone=20
wants more info, contact me I even have pictures I took.
Darrell E. Mulroy
Plus P Technology Inc.
Mpls, Minn.


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: Another Rosie Travesty That You Just Won't Believe!
Date: 21 Dec 1999 19:28:00 -0700


more readable

-----

About two weeks ago I got a call from a producer of the Latefah show
in NY City. They wanted to do a show on kids and guns. I was told I
was the ideal family being a gun family with an 8 year old son etc.
They sent a cameraman and producer to my home in Minneapolis and
followed me around for two days.

They taped interviews with my wife, myself and 8 year old son and
constantly commented on how we were an ideal family. They showed my
home security system, safe and other measures I take to protect my
son. Teaching lethal force for a living we obviously have many guns
on the premises.

Both men had never touched a gun in their lives being from NY City.
In a short period of time I had them shooting and they LOVED it, and
one intends to buy a gun as soon as the paperwork can clear in NY City.
They were surprised by the nice nature of the folks at the range and
the family atmosphere. The cost for the two days was substantial with
almost $2,000 just in airfare.

We were told our taping date in NY City and my wife, my 8 year old son,
my 23 year old daughter and myself were flown to New York City. The
Motel cost them $250+ per room, limo from the airport to hotel and to
studio, back to hotel and the airport. Another $2,000+ at least plus
meal allowance.

Another producer visited us in our hotel room and said they loved us as
a safe gun family and shocked us when they said they would have Eddie
Eagle safety literature under every seat in the audience. Things were
looking up.

My son was assured he'd meet movie star Latefah and have his picture
taken with her.

We were told we'd be on with someone that had lost a child or had a
child injured with a gun and to expect some emotional responses. That
is not a problem as I have years of radio-TV experience and my own
history of talk shows. I can handle the best.

We were taken to the studios (same ones Rikki Lake uses) and taken to
the green room. My 8 year old son would soon sit there for hours with
nothing to do. He was a great kid.

At the end of the hall was a thug hiphop group that would appear on
the show.

As I went to the restroom they were on cell phones trying to get bail
for a friend who was in jail. The human debris in the room looked like
an episode of Cops was being taped instead of a talk show.

Numerous producers stopped by the green room and were excited about my
ability to respond to questions and were excited that I spoke in "sound
bites." One producer in the hall told other staffers, "wait until this
guy gets on. It will get hot out there."

Queen Latifah then did an interview with an 8 year old kid who had taken
a pistol to school in New York City where he traded it for two Pokemon
cards.

He admitted to being in a gang, no mother or father at home (old story)
and lived with his grandmother who could not control him. His hero was a
15 year old gang member and he said he was often in trouble for various
things.

We went to makeup, got wired with mikes and told to get ready. The
stage director took us to the lower level and had us stand behind a
door. We were told there were only seconds to go before we walked on
stage. Suddenly the stage director vanished and came back and said,
"follow me." We were taken to the audience and seated. I was shocked
to see my daughter also seated in the audience.

Queen Latifah came out and looked into the teleprompter which I would see.

She read around our introduction and adlibbed the introduction of a New
York congressman who had been the defense minister for the Black Panthers.
A woman who had a son commit suicide with a gun over a decade before
blubbered into the camera.

Then the thug Hiphop group came out and did a filthy violence ridden
song that made me blush in front of my 8 year old. As the show ended
the 8 year old that had taken a gun to school was showered with love
and praise and allowed to meet his thug Hiphop heroes and given CDs
and T-shirts among other things. My kid who had done nothing but act
in a responsible manner around guns and taken his safety training etc.,
got ignored. Queen Latefah blew past him, ignored him, and us. We were
hustled to the limo like burglars in the night and whisked to the airport.
Even some of the friendly producers were in total shock and stunned.

We asked what had happened and we were told the decision to blow us off
the show with the NRA rep they had flown in from national headquarters
had come from the very "top." This show is a Time-Warner situation we
will note.

My wife lost her cool and laid into them for how the 8 year old taking
a gun to school was a hero and smothered with attention etc., and the
kid that did it right was ignored and insulted and hurt by not meeting
a movie star as promised. The producers had no response.

One thing did come out as we waited for the limos to arrive and I
suspect it was not by accident. The Queen Latefah show is a product
of Rosie O'Donnell who just happened to be in NY City that day for a
Christmas party at Frank's Cafe. Her and Latefah are old "chums" with
strong business and possibly "personal" connections.

Suddenly the lights came on. It was pretty obvious what happened and
would clearly explain why they blew off the substantial cost to support
their ongoing liberal agenda. At least we got about $10K of her money.

There is no question in this case that Time-Warner and Rosie O'Donnell
strongly supported and strongly backed up the behavior of a 8 year old
to be in a gang and take a gun to school. The kid named Jeremy even
said that part of going up the ranks in a gang was your popularity and
notoriety which the show will greatly enhance. If this is exposed Rosie
and Time Warner will have a hell of a time trying to weasel out of this.
In their hand they had two kids of the SAME age and one took a gun to
school and is in a gang, and the other is a good student and doing
everything right. One got the star treatment, one got blown off and
ignored. There isn't a lie big enough.

I thought at first it may have been something towards me, but to hustle
the NRA rep out the door as well made it clear it was purely a political
anti-gun agenda that someone at the last possible second acted upon. And
the media wonders why shooters don't trust them and think they are anti-
gun. If anyone wants more info, contact me I even have pictures I took.

Darrell E. Mulroy
Plus P Technology Inc.
Mpls, Minn.



-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: DN: Gun issues remain vibrant
Date: 21 Dec 1999 21:26:00 -0700


http://www.desnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,145012977,00.html

Deseret News, Tuesday, December 21, 1999, 12:00 AM MST

Gun issues remain vibrant

Deseret News editorial

Contrary to some recent reports, the debate over gun issues is alive
and well on Utah's Capitol Hill.

Although public opinion polls show that a majority of Utahns want the
Legislature to ban concealed-carry permit holders from toting guns in
public schools and churches, there appears to be little will among
Republican lawmakers, who hold the majority of the seats in the House
and Senate, to revisit the issue.

Gov. Mike Leavitt, who at one point pressed for a special session on
gun-control issues, recognizes he doesn't have the votes to pursue his
earlier agenda. Yet Leavitt has been seen by some as retreating from
gun issues. In reality, he's being impugned for cutting his losses.

The challenge now becomes holding the Legislature to three pieces of
legislation that would enhance background checks of gun buyers. The
bills were endorsed by the Interim Judiciary Committee in August and
will be introduced during the 2000 Legislature. Beyond that, lawmakers
must be persuaded to spend additional money to enhance services for
the mentally ill and to conduct more extensive background checks of
gun buyers, as Leavitt has outlined in his proposed budget.

Democrats have vowed to revisit the concealed-carry issue during the
2000 session, but it is highly unlikely to go anywhere, despite
overwhelming public support for the measure. More than likely,
partisan politics will doom any bill sponsored by a Democrat.

Meanwhile, a grass-roots effort to place the concealed-carry issue on
the 2000 general election ballot is moving forward. Organizers need
more than 67,000 signatures to place the issue befor Utah voters.
Proponents of the initiative backers are attempting to collect all of
the needed signatures by the start of the 2000 legislative session.

If they are successful, their efforts should send a powerful message
to lawmakers. Public opinion polls conducted by Dan Jones & Associates
have repeatedly shown that a majority of Utahns don't want guns in
schools and churches, no matter if the owner holds a concealed-carry
permit.

The gun lobby perceives such legislation as a threat to the Second
Amendment, and gun dealers report an increase in sales and concealed-
carry permit applications as a result of debate over the issue.

People who are legally entitled to own guns should be able to
purchase them. These bills would widen the net for people whose
access to weapons should be restricted -- people convicted of
violent misdemeanors, people who have been civilly committed for
mental illness. A third bill would include juvenile criminal
records in background checks.

The proposed initiative is more controversial, but we have maintained
it, too, is needed. Guns do not belong in schools or places of worship.

Copyright 1999, Deseret News Publishing Corp.



-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: charles hardy <[e-mail]>
Subject: FW: USSC Action Alert
Date: 23 Dec 1999 11:05:36 -0700

Don't know if this has been seen here yet.  Apologies for any
duplication.

==================================================================
Charles C. Hardy
<[e-mail]>

--------- Forwarded message ----------
Sorry for the delay. It's still a valid concern

----------

USSC Action Alert - 12/21/99 Misdemeanor Prohibition on the Purchase or
Possession of Firearms

On  November 17th  the Utah Interim Judiciary Committee approved a bill
(now
called Senate Bill 79)that will impose a three year ban on "purchase,
transfer, possession, use...custody or control" of any gun for people
convicted of any one of 33 misdemeanors.

On the bright side, he committee did drastically reduce the number of
misdemeanors from the list originally proposed by Governor Leavitt.
Also,
these misdemeanors will only impose a ban for three years after the date
of
conviction.  However, it is still completely unacceptable.

You need to call the members of the Utah House and Senate Judiciary
Committees and tell them that you oppose any bill that makes the
conviction
of misdemeanors a prohibition to purchasing or possessing firearms. You
also
need to call your individual state representative and state senator and
tell
them the same.  If you do not know the name of your individual state
representative and state senator call your county clerks office to get
that
information, or you can look it up using links on our web site
(www.UtahShootingSports.org)

One Senator reported that phone calls to the committee have been running
10
to 1 in favor of more gun control.  We need to light up their phones to
let
them know that the vocal minority of anti-gun zealots does not speak for
Utahns. Many of the committee members have been very supportive of gun
owners in the past so it is very important to be polite in your
communications with them. Many of these committee members boldly voted
against Governor Leavitt's call for a special session of the legislature
to
pass more gun control, so they are not all bad guys.

The full text of this bill (SB 79) is available on the Utah Legislature
site
http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2000/bills/sbillint/SB0079.htm

The Utah Shooting Sports Council is strongly opposed to having citizens
loose their right to keep and bear arms for the conviction of
misdemeanors.
We feel that if specific misdemeanor crimes warrant the loss of civil
rights
then those crimes should be elevated to the level of felonies.
Historically
the loss of civil rights has been for conviction of felonies, not
misdemeanors.  If this list of misdemeanors approved as a three year ban,
you can be certain that the anti-gun zealots will be back every year to
add
more offenses to the list, and raise the ban from three years to forever.
This bill is a potential threat to every gun owner in the state.

The Utah Shooting Sports Council is urging the legislature to do
something
constructive to reduce gun violence. We are encouraging them to support
vigorous enforcement of existing laws to get armed criminals off the
streets.  Utah is NOT prosecuting convicted felons who try to buy guns.
The
"Violent Misdemeanor" bill's sponsor has even admitted that he doubts if
anyone would be prosecuted under it.  Then why pass it at all?

The Utah Legislature will be back in session January 17th.  It is
imperative
that they start hearing from gun owners now. Below is a list of the
committee members.  Please contact all of them.  If you call a few every
day
it won't be to much work.  Remember getting mad about gun control
accomplishes nothing.  You need to take action.  Contact these committee
members.  Tell them that you oppose any bill that restricts gun right
based
on a misdemeanor.

UTAH SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:

Senator Terry Spencer, Chair 1110 N Kimberly Dr. Layton, Utah 84302
543-4450
[e-mail]

Senator Parley Hellewell 492 S 1000 W Orem, Utah 84058 226-3034
[e-mail]

Senator Lyle Hillyard 175 East First North Logan, Utah 84321 H-753-0043
O-752-2610 [e-mail]

Senator John Valentine 857 East 970 North Orem, Utah 84057 H-224-1693
[e-mail]

Senator Mike Dmitrich 566 North Dover Circle Price, Utah 84501 H-637-0426
O-637-2875 [e-mail]

Senator Pete Suazo 1307 Garnette Street Salt Lake City UT 84116 H
521-3751 O
328-8181 [e-mail]

UTAH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Representative A. Lamont Tyler, Chair 3810 Eastwood Lane Salt Lake City,
Utah 84109 H 801-272-1218  O 801-581-6920 (fax) 801-585-9291
[e-mail]

Representative Glenn L. Way, Vice Chair 348 South 1480 East Spanish Fork,
Utah 84660 H 801-798-2295 [e-mail]

Representative John Swallow 1260 East Bell View Circle Sandy, Utah 84094
H
801-572-8201 O 801-553-9805 F 801-571-6545 [e-mail]

Representative Katherine Bryson 833 South 300 West Orem, Utah 84058 H
801-226-2061 [e-mail]

Representative Martin Stephens (also Speaker of the House) 3159 North
Higley
Road Farr West, Utah 84404 H 801-731-5346 O 801-524-2626 F 801-594-8229
[e-mail]

Representative Bill Hickman 214 North Emeraud Dr. St. George, Utah 84770
H
435-673-2671 O 435-674-5200

Representative Chad Bennion 136 East 4800 South Murray, Utah 84107 H
801-281-1607 O 801-264-2678 F 801-288-2144 [e-mail]

Representative Greg Curtis P.O. Box 2084 Sandy, Utah 84091 H 801-943-3091
O
801-569-5141 [e-mail]

Representative Patrice Arent 6281 South Havenbrook Circle Salt Lake City,
Utah 84121 H 801-272-1956 O 801-272-1956 F 801-272-4450
[e-mail]

Representative Neal Hendrickson 3402 West 4100 South West Valley City,
Utah
84119 H 801-969-8920 [e-mail]

Representative Gary Cox 4468 Tidwell Street Kearns, Utah 84118-5233 H
801-967-9760 O 801-569-5216 [e-mail]


________________________________________________________________
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Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
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-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: FW: USSC Action Alert
Date: 22 Dec 1999 23:13:00 -0700


USSC Action Alert - 12/21/99 Misdemeanor Prohibition on the Purchase or
Possession of Firearms

On November 17th the Utah Interim Judiciary Committee approved a bill (now
called Senate Bill 79) that will impose a three year ban on "purchase,
transfer, possession, use... custody or control" of any gun for people
convicted of any one of 33 misdemeanors.

On the bright side, the committee did drastically reduce the number of
misdemeanors from the list originally proposed by Governor Leavitt.  Also,
these misdemeanors will only impose a ban for three years after the date of
conviction.  However, it is still completely unacceptable.

You need to call the members of the Utah House and Senate Judiciary
Committees and tell them that you oppose any bill that makes the conviction
of misdemeanors a prohibition to purchasing or possessing firearms. You also
need to call your individual state representative and state senator and tell
them the same.  If you do not know the name of your individual state
representative and state senator call your county clerks office to get that
information, or you can look it up using links on our web site
(www.UtahShootingSports.org)

One Senator reported that phone calls to the committee have been running 10
to 1 in favor of more gun control.  We need to light up their phones to let
them know that the vocal minority of anti-gun zealots does not speak for
Utahns. Many of the committee members have been very supportive of gun
owners in the past so it is very important to be polite in your
communications with them. Many of these committee members boldly voted
against Governor Leavitt's call for a special session of the legislature to
pass more gun control, so they are not all bad guys.

The full text of this bill (SB 79) is available on the Utah Legislature site
http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2000/bills/sbillint/SB0079.htm

The Utah Shooting Sports Council is strongly opposed to having citizens
lose their right to keep and bear arms for the conviction of misdemeanors.
We feel that if specific misdemeanor crimes warrant the loss of civil rights
then those crimes should be elevated to the level of felonies.  Historically
the loss of civil rights has been for conviction of felonies, not
misdemeanors.  If this list of misdemeanors is approved as a three year ban,
you can be certain that the anti-gun zealots will be back every year to add
more offenses to the list, and raise the ban from three years to forever.
This bill is a potential threat to every gun owner in the state.

The Utah Shooting Sports Council is urging the legislature to do something
constructive to reduce gun violence.  We are encouraging them to support
vigorous enforcement of existing laws to get armed criminals off the
streets.  Utah is NOT prosecuting convicted felons who try to buy guns.
The "Violent Misdemeanor" bill's sponsor has even admitted that he doubts
if anyone would be prosecuted under it.  Then why pass it at all?

The Utah Legislature will be back in session January 17th.  It is imperative
that they start hearing from gun owners now. Below is a list of the
committee members.  Please contact all of them.  If you call a few every day
it won't be too much work.  Remember getting mad about gun control
accomplishes nothing.  You need to take action.  Contact these committee
members.  Tell them that you oppose any bill that restricts gun rights
based on a misdemeanor.

UTAH SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:

Senator Terry Spencer, Chair 1110 N Kimberly Dr. Layton, Utah 84302 543-4450
[e-mail]

Senator Parley Hellewell 492 S 1000 W Orem, Utah 84058 226-3034
[e-mail]

Senator Lyle Hillyard 175 East First North Logan, Utah 84321 H-753-0043
O-752-2610 [e-mail]

Senator John Valentine 857 East 970 North Orem, Utah 84057 H-224-1693
[e-mail]

Senator Mike Dmitrich 566 North Dover Circle Price, Utah 84501 H-637-0426
O-637-2875 [e-mail]

Senator Pete Suazo 1307 Garnette Street Salt Lake City UT 84116 H 521-3751 O
328-8181 [e-mail]

UTAH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Representative A. Lamont Tyler, Chair 3810 Eastwood Lane Salt Lake City,
Utah 84109 H 801-272-1218 O 801-581-6920 (fax) 801-585-9291
[e-mail]

Representative Glenn L. Way, Vice Chair 348 South 1480 East Spanish Fork,
Utah 84660 H 801-798-2295 [e-mail]

Representative John Swallow 1260 East Bell View Circle Sandy, Utah 84094 H
801-572-8201 O 801-553-9805 F 801-571-6545 [e-mail]

Representative Katherine Bryson 833 South 300 West Orem, Utah 84058 H
801-226-2061 [e-mail]

Representative Martin Stephens (also Speaker of the House) 3159 North Higley
Road Farr West, Utah 84404 H 801-731-5346 O 801-524-2626 F 801-594-8229
[e-mail]

Representative Bill Hickman 214 North Emeraud Dr. St. George, Utah 84770 H
435-673-2671 O 435-674-5200

Representative Chad Bennion 136 East 4800 South Murray, Utah 84107 H
801-281-1607 O 801-264-2678 F 801-288-2144 [e-mail]

Representative Greg Curtis P.O. Box 2084 Sandy, Utah 84091 H 801-943-3091 O
801-569-5141 [e-mail]

Representative Patrice Arent 6281 South Havenbrook Circle Salt Lake City,
Utah 84121 H 801-272-1956 O 801-272-1956 F 801-272-4450
[e-mail]

Representative Neal Hendrickson 3402 West 4100 South West Valley City, Utah
84119 H 801-969-8920 [e-mail]

Representative Gary Cox 4468 Tidwell Street Kearns, Utah 84118-5233 H
801-967-9760 O 801-569-5216 [e-mail]



-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Alert #38 - 22 December 1999 1/2
Date: 25 Dec 1999 16:15:00 -0700


GOUtah!
Gun Owners of Utah

Utah's Uncompromising, Independent Gun Rights Network.
No Compromise. No Retreat. No Surrender. Not Now. Not Ever.

Visit our website at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah!

GOUtah! Alert #38 - 22 December 1999

Today's Voice of Liberty:

"We must have government, but we must watch them like a hawk"
-- Millicent Fenwick

If you wish to be added to the GOUtah! list, please log onto our website
at http://www.slpsa.org/goutah! or send an e-mail to [e-mail]
or send a fax to [phone] asking to be added to the GOUtah! list.

We strongly encourage you to forward, copy and share this information with
others, on the condition that you pass along the entire document intact and
unmodified, and that GOUtah! is clearly indicated as the original source of
the material, unless otherwise noted.

GOUtah! and US-DIN! Meet with Utah DPS/BCI Management on CCW Issues and
Concerns

Representatives of GOUtah! and US-DIN! met for nearly two hours on Friday
17 December 1999 with representatives of Utah Department of Public
Safety/BCI Division on issues of concern regarding the Utah CCW program.

The meeting was generally cordial, with GOUtah! and US-DIN! presenting a
clear and united front in support of the rights and interests of Utah's CCW
instructors and permit holders. The lines of communication with this
regulatory agency are now open and we will keep you posted as to our
ongoing efforts to effectively deal with these issues.

White House Prepares To Launch "All-Out Offensive" Against Second Amendment
From the NRA-ILA FAX ALERT-Vol. 6, No. 49 12/17/99

The Clinton-Gore Administration is clearly frustrated over its inability
this year to advance legislation attacking our right to keep and bear arms.
Now it appears that its frustration is being transformed into action above
and beyond the well-publicized lawsuit aimed at intimidating the firearms
industry (see FAX Alert Vol. 6, No. 48 for details on the Clinton-Gore-HUD
lawsuit threat).

According to a Dec. 15 Washington Post story, an unnamed but "senior White
House official" stated that the Administration will "prepare an all-out
offensive on guns in the coming year." The meeting was run by White House
Chief of Staff John D. Podesta, and include Domestic Policy Chief Bruce N.
Reed, Deputy Treasury Secretary Stuart E. Eizenstat, Deputy Attorney
General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Vice Presidential Counsel Charles W. Burson,
Presidential Adviser Joel Johnson, and HUD Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo. The
White House official stated that Podesta would ask those attending the
meeting "to come up with a series of actions to build pressure on the gun
industry for an agreement and intensify the pressure on Congress to break
the logjam on the gun bill and provide the president with a series of
executive actions he can take in the weeks and months to come."

While the source would not give details, he did state that the Clinton-Gore
plan would include extra spending by the Department of Justice and
Department of the Treasury. However, White House Press Secretary Joe
Lockhart tipped the President's hand somewhat, when he stated in a Dec. 15
press conference that, "We're exploring using...our executive authority
invested in the President...." The White House is convinced the public
wants more "gun control," even though public opinion polls state otherwise,
and Americans seem especially united in their opposition to using the
courts to attack lawful businesses such as gun manufacturers.

A recent poll by the Tarrance Group, for example, found that 84% of
the public feels that people who use firearms illegally should be held
responsible, and only 5% feel that manufacturers or retailers should
be held responsible for third-party firearm misuse. And in a Dec. 17
editorial, even the Washington Post came out against the Clinton-Gore
team's threatened suit. While the Post is in full support of increasing
restrictions on law-abiding gun owners, going so far as to support handgun
bans, it concedes that Congress, not the courts, is the appropriate venue
for making such public policy changes. The editorial refers to the
Clinton-Gore-HUD suit as "an abuse of a valuable system, one that could
make it less valuable as people come to view the legal system as nothing
more than an arm of policymakers."

GOUtah! Note: For more complete background information on the Clinton White
House anti-gun agenda see:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/library/ThisWeek.cgi?type=b&date=0&briefing=2
[ Continued In Next Message... ]


-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: GOUtah! Alert #38 - 22 December 1999 2/2
Date: 25 Dec 1999 16:15:00 -0700


[ ...Continued From Previous Message ]
It's Your National Forest - KEEP OUT!
Received 18 December 1999 from Weldon Clark, Member of the NRA Board of
Directors

If you enjoy any outdoor activities in your National Forests your days are
numbered. Bill Clinton is going to put a stop your recreation with a stroke
of the pen. What will be effected? Mountain Biking, Horse Back Riding,
ATV's, Motorcycles, Hunting, Fishing, etc.

How will he do this? By blocking your access by motorized vehicle to some
50 Million Acres of your own land. It's as simple as that.

Think this is more "Black Helicopter" conspiracy ranting? Look at your
Forest Service WEB site: http://www.roadless.fs.fed.us

When you look at this WEB site use your head and take the time to look
past their simple sounding pronouncements of what they say they are up to.
Look at what they're bragging about in the "in the news" section. Note that
this has nothing to do with partisan politics or the right/left battles.

This act by Bill Clinton completely bypasses the congress and the checks and
balances against abuse of power which are the bases of our freedom. In Part
One of this plan, there will be a prohibition on "road building" in National
Forests. On the surface this seems like a small thing. But when you see them
talk about maintaining the safety of existing roads know that they plan to
close all "unmaintained" roads. By doing thing this you will no longer have
vehicle access to some 380,000 miles of your own roads.

In Part Two they finish the job by banning all "off road vehicles" from use
in "roadless" areas.

Perhaps you consider yourself an environmentalist and support this. But
consider; if you allow this to become law by royal decree, to pass
unchallenged, the next time a non-environmentalist President gets into
office he can use the same precedent to reverse the will of congress like
Clinton by Royal Edict.

The sword of tyranny cuts both ways.

Maybe you're a mountain biker who thinks this just gets dirt bikers, etc.
Don't fall for that "get the other guy" trap. Look at what the folks behind
this are really after, the complete prohibition of human activity in our
national forests.

So they play you against the dirt bike folks, or the hunters against the
ATV guys - makes no difference; if those of us who use National Forests for
legitimate purposes don't hang together and support each other's rights -
we shall all hang separately.

YOU MUST ACT TO STOP THIS. HERE'S HOW:

1. Please contact the Blue Ribbon Coalition for the very latest
information on the biggest land grab in American history:
http://www.sharetrails.org/choice.html

2. Forward this email to everyone you know.

3. You must send a written objection during the comment period or you will
lose your legal standing to object after this passes: Here's how you do it.

Use this form: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/roadless/Roadless_Public_Comment_Form.ht

Write your comments to the:
USDA Forest Service-CAET,
Roadless Areas NOI,
PO Box 221090,
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84122.

Fax them at 801-517-1021

email them at: roadless/[e-mail]

4. Call and write to your U.S. Congressional Delegation, especially Jim
Hansen (R-1st District of Utah):

http://www.congress.nw.dc.us/wnd/

5. Forward this message.

Other nifty links to your governments efforts to keep you out of your land:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/roadless/roadless.html
http://www.more.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/forests991013.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/roadless/Roadless_Questions_and_Answers.htm

GOUtah Note: Regardless of where you stand on the Utah environmental and
wilderness debate, remember that if you don't have private vehicle access
to public lands, they in essence become private, restricted reserves. No
one is going to walk from Salt Lake to Delta or Dirtwater with all their
hunting gear or camping kit on their back. If you can't get to where you're
going with a private vehicle. you're out of luck. Act on this today.

Give the Gift of Freedom for Christmas

We at GOUtah! wish you and yours a very happy holiday season. While the
holidays are indeed hectic and sometimes the real meaning gets lost in the
commercial clutter, GOUtah! suggests you gather your loved ones around you
and tell them what the gift of freedom means to you. Discuss as a family
what you can do today to insure the gift of freedom is passed to the next
generation tomorrow.

Set aside the price of at least one Christmas present this year and donate
that cost to a worthwhile cause, one actively involved in protecting gun
rights and individual freedom. A local or national gun-rights group, a
local or state pro-gun political candidate, a youth firearms program or
some other similar cause would very much appreciate your financial support
and involvement.

Buy a friend a membership in the NRA or some other gun rights group. Buy a
friend a gun-rights book. Take a friend shooting. Buy them a Utah CCW
training class. Become a pro-gun delegate in your political party.
Volunteer your time to a pro-gun candidate's campaign or to a gun-rights
organization.

Give the gift of freedom every Christmas! It starts with you!

GOUtah! Gun Rights (and Wrongs) QuoteWatch.

"Yeah, (Leavitt's) finally heard the message. It's not a new message,
but I think he's clearly heard it this time." -- Rob Bishop, Chair of
the Utah Republican Party, regarding Gov. Mike Leavitt's public retreat
from his vocal leadership of the Utah anti-gun movement, as reported
in the Salt Lake Tribune, 18 December 1999

"I think the conservative faction has frightened the governor, and made
him feel squeamish about his own leadership." -- Ted Wilson, Director
of the Hinkley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, and the
spokesperson for the Utah anti-gun petition coalition, as reported in
the same article in the Salt Lake Tribune, 18 December 1999

"I can see now (Leavitt) has no stomach for such a fight." -- Steve Gunn,
spokesperson for Utahns Against Gun Violence, from comments made in the
Salt Lake Tribune, 17 December 1999.

This concludes the GOUtah! Political and Legislative Alert #38 - 22
December 1999.

We hope this information will be of assistance to you in defending your
firearms rights. Remember that getting this information is meaningless
unless YOU ACT ON IT TODAY. If you just read it and dump it in the trash,
your gun rights, and the gun rights of future generations go in the trash
with it. Get involved, get active and get vocal!

Copyright 1999 by GOUtah! All rights reserved.



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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: LPU: Fwd: UPS needs your "e-mail gift" ASAP!
Date: 25 Dec 1999 16:15:00 -0700


-----


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
[Sorry, munging in transmission corrupts that.]

GUN OWNERS ALLIANCE
!!ALERT!!
Chris W. Stark - Director
P.O. Box 1924
Crosby, Texas 77532-1924
Ph. [phone] Fax [phone]
http://www.GOA-Texas.org
email: [e-mail]

12/24/1999

UPS needs your "e-mail gift" ASAP!

Copyright 1999 by Gun Owners Alliance (GOA-Texas).
Republication permitted ONLY if this e-mail alert
is left intact in its original state.

Since it is the season for giving (supposedly), we certainly hope you have
remembered our Boycott against UPS, and have given them the gift of your
e-mail, like the one below from a dedicated activist who subscribes to the
GOA-Texas e-mail alerts. For those of you who would like to read about this
boycott, go to:

http://www.goa-texas.org/UPS-5.htm
http://www.goa-texas.org/UPS-6.htm

If you cannot access websites, e-mail us that you would like us to e-mail
you the old alerts, and we will do so.

Here are the e-mail addresses for UPS, AirBorne Express and RPS. Give them
the gift they so richly deserve: Your disgust for their anti-gun policies.

National Media Relations - Norman Black
Voice - 404-828-7593
Pager - 888-856-8816
E-Mail - [e-mail]

International Media Relations - John Flick
Voice - 404-828-6346
E-Mail - [e-mail]

Reputation Management - Peggy Gardner
Voice - 404-828-6051
E-Mail - [e-mail]

Marketing and Olympics - Susan Rosenberg
Voice - 404-828-6130
E-Mail - [e-mail]

Executive Communications - Steve Soltis
Voice - 404-828-4029
E-Mail - [e-mail]

Public Affairs - Tad Segal
Voice - 202-675-3381
E-Mail - [e-mail]

Information Technology - Joan Schnorbus
Voice - 201-828-4937
E-Mail - [e-mail]
Louisville, Kentucky

UPS Airline - Ken Shapero
Voice - 502-329-6522
E-Mail - [e-mail]


Here is the RPS e-mail WEB FORM to tell them the good news:
http://www.shiprps.com/cgi-win/rcu100ex.exe?func=3Dentry
(previous e-mail address we gave for RPS has been blocked!)
["=3D" is also a result of munging, but I don't know the correction]


Here are some AIRBORNE EXPRESS e-mail addresses to tell them the good news:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

THE UPS BOYCOTT LIVES ON!!!


Dear Sir,

I just finished shipping the last of my Christmas gifts last week. I wanted
to let you know that I avoided UPS and spent $30.32 to ship via the US Postal
Service specifically because of your recent actions regarding the shipping of
handguns. While my $30.32 means very little to you, there are over 60 million
gun owners in America, and many of us have sworn to boycott your company.

There are other simple and effective actions that you could have taken to
combat theft of handguns shipped via your company - actions that would not
dump the entire burden and cost on legitimate handgun consumers. Instead, you
chose to require all handguns to be shipped by your expensive next-day air
option. This is your choice to make - just as the choice is mine to make to
refuse to do business with a company hostile to gun owners and the gun industry.

If your company should chose to adopt a more reasonable approach to securing
handgun shipments, I may bring my business back to UPS. Until that time, every
gift and business package I have to ship will be carried by the US Postal
Service.

Sincerely,

(name omitted for privacy)

Help Support the work of Gun Owners Alliance! Go to:
http://www.goa-texas.org/members.htm

Copyright 1999 by Gun Owners Alliance (GOA-Texas). Republication
permitted ONLY if this e-mail alert is left intact in its original
state. The views herein do not necessarily reflect the views of
any other individual or organization, than Gun Owners Alliance
(GOA-Texas). We do not officially represent Gun Owners of America.
Go to http://www.goa-texas.org/TXsig.htm for more information.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-MAIL ALERTS, send an e-mail to: [e-mail]
...and in the body of the message, type the word "subscribe".



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From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: WARNING: UPS theft problem damages your rights 2/2
Date: 27 Dec 1999 11:23:00 -0700


[ ...Continued From Previous Message ]
biggest federal gun-trafficking investigation in Maryland in years.

"It was of major significance to us," she said. "The sole purpose
of getting these guns on the street was to put them in the hands of
criminals. The fact that you had so many guns out there, it brings
up people's greatest fears."

Battaglia said she met with UPS officials last summer to discuss ways
to prevent thefts. She praised the company's new shipping policy for
guns. "I was amazed at how responsive they were," she said.

UPS says it aggressively investigates all reports of stolen or missing
firearms.

But the local gun dealer whose shipments were stolen at Landover said
he also had trouble getting UPS to investigate the missing weapons.

According to documents filed in federal court, the thieves at the UPS
distribution center at 8325 Ardwick-Ardmore Rd. began discreetly,
taking a gun or two at a time, spaced several days apart.

The first gun -- a Smith & Wesson .357-caliber revolver -- was taken
on Feb. 18, when a box addressed to Maryland Small Arms, an Upper
Marlboro gun dealer, vanished from the premises.

Eight days later, a UPS driver delivered another package to Maryland
Small Arms that had been sent by Springfield, Mass.-based Smith &
Wesson. The gun dealer refused the package, because the box had been
tampered with. Two 9mm semiautomatic pistols were later determined to
be missing, according to court records.

Three UPS package loaders -- Darris Marlon Banks, 19, of Temple Hills;
Carlos Ramon Jones, 28, of Landover; and Anthony Rondell Barnett, 28,
of Lothian -- have been convicted in the weapon thefts. All worked the
overnight shift at Landover, making $10.75 an hour.

Banks was the first to figure out that packages addressed to Maryland
Small Arms contained firearms and that they were easy to steal,
according to court records. He tipped off Barnett, who pulled Jones
into the scheme.

On March 3, according to affidavits filed by the ATF, Banks grabbed a
box off the conveyor belt and carried it into the back of a brown UPS
delivery truck on the loading line. All three men jumped inside, where
Banks sliced open the package and pulled out four Smith & Wesson
semiautomatic pistols.

Banks handed the weapons to Barnett, who in turn gave them to Jones,
according to court records. Jones took off his jacket and stuffed the
guns in the sleeves so he could sneak them out of the building. The
workers re-sealed the empty package. Later that morning, it was
delivered to Maryland Small Arms.

Carl Roy, a manager at the store, said employees called UPS several
times about the gun thefts but couldn't get the company to respond.
"UPS wouldn't do anything," he said. "We complained and complained,
but they wouldn't even come out to take a report."

Meantime, the thieves grew more brazen. On March 19, they stuck a new
address label on a package containing 10 Smith & Wesson .357-caliber
revolvers and had the whole shipment delivered to Banks's home in
Temple Hills, according to court records. On March 24, they did the
same thing to a box of nine Beretta semiautomatic pistols that had
been ordered by Maryland Small Arms.

Authorities say the thieves resold the guns quickly on the street for
about $300 on average, a hefty discount from their suggested retail
prices of $450 to $650.

One of the 9mm semiautomatic pistols that were stolen on Feb. 26 was
used less than 36 hours later in a carjacking in Temple Hills, records
show. Police say Dante Devon Hamm, 20, of the 2500 block of St. Claire
Drive in Temple Hills, stole a 1994 Lexus ES 300 at gunpoint from
Johnny's Sub Shop on Iverson Street. D.C. police spotted the car a few
hours later and arrested Hamm at the wheel.

According to authorities, Hamm bought the pistol from Banks, his
longtime neighbor and friend. Hamm has pleaded guilty to federal
charges of carjacking and use of a handgun in a crime of violence.
He is to be sentenced Jan. 10.

Another gun stolen from the UPS distribution center surfaced on May
25, when Prince George's police arrested Kenneth Vincent Francis, 22,
of the 2400 block of Iverson Street in Temple Hills, and charged him
with possession of cocaine and marijuana, according to authorities.

Police say Francis was carrying a Beretta .45-caliber semiautomatic
pistol. He later told ATF agents he had bought the gun in early April
for $350 from a convicted cocaine dealer who had acquired the firearm
from Banks.

The UPS gun theft ring was broken up in late March, when ATF agents
obtained a search warrant and found two of the stolen weapons at
Banks's home in Temple Hills. Banks later cooperated with investigators
under a limited-immunity agreement and provided information that led
to the arrests of Jones and Barnett.

Banks pleaded guilty to one count of possessing stolen firearms and is
awaiting sentencing in federal court. Jones pleaded guilty to the same
charge and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Barnett pleaded guilty
to one count of theft of firearms and was sentenced to four months in
prison.

Records also show that Jones had a long criminal history before he
was hired by UPS in May 1997. He was convicted of manufacturing and
distributing cocaine in November 1990, according to Prince George's
County Circuit Court records. Four years later, he was charged with
first-degree murder in what prosecutors described as a "drug-related
homicide." The charge was dropped when two witnesses refused to
testify, court records show.

Godlewski, the UPS spokesman, said the company does conduct background
checks of all job applicants. But he acknowledged that some criminals
slip by.

"UPS believes that most people are honest," he said.
"Are bad apples going to get through? Absolutely."

1999 The Washington Post Company

-----------------------
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For
more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
-----------------------

UPS Boycott

As you probably know, UPS announced that it no longer accepts ground
shipment of handguns. Moreover, for practical purposes air shipment
is now likely to require you to go to a UPS office:

Handguns may only be shipped via Next Day Air, Next Day Air Early AM
and Next Day Saver with the "Adult Signature Required" label properly
affixed. Handguns are prohibited from the UPS Ground system, SonicAir
BestFlight Service, On-Call Air Pickup, Internet Shipping, Letter
Centers (drop Boxes), or One-time Pickup requests. UPS will accept
handguns from Daily Pickup accounts & Customer Counters. Packages [with]
handguns must be segregated. The driver or clerk must be informed which
packages contain handguns. Authorized Shipping Outlets & Commercial
Counters are prohibited from accepting any firearms for UPS.

UPS Corporate Headquarters
United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
55 Glenlake Parkway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
1-800-PICK-UPS (1-800-742-5877)
UPS E-Mail:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

RPS e-mail WEB
http://www.ups.com

AIRBORNE EXPRESS e-mail:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Also see Leroy Pyle's UPS boycott site
http://www.paulrevere.org/boycottups/

From The 2ndAmendmentNews Team

Feel free to forward our alerts.

What To Do If The Police Come To Confiscate Your Militia Weapons:
see http://www.2ndamendment.net

To join, send text "SUBSCRIBE 2nd-Amendment-News" to [e-mail]

Cordially Yours,
The 2ndAmendmentNews Team



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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (SCOTT BERGESON)
Subject: WARNING: UPS theft problem damages your rights 1/2
Date: 27 Dec 1999 11:23:00 -0700


-----

WARNING: UPS theft problem damages your rights
Here's something to send to your acquaintances:

The news article below shows that UPS has a big employee theft problem,
which we never would have heard about if they were not stealing firearms.
The thefts are not surprising when you consider UPS' attitude and whom
they hire to handle your valuables. When nothing happened, the three UPS
cargo handlers - one of them a convicted crack dealer - grew bolder...
They grabbed entire packages...slapped on new address labels and had
[UPS] deliver them home for free... 'UPS wouldn't do anything' [said
the gun store manager]...We complained and complained, but they wouldn't
even...take a report.'

If you used to use UPS in your shipping you might call 1-800-PICK-UPS
every time you ship and tell them why you won't be using them.

Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/metro/A30332-1999Dec23.html
When Guns Don't Arrive at Their Destinations
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 24, 1999; Page A1

Even the men convicted of stealing guns from the United Parcel Service
distribution center in Landover were surprised by how easy it was
to pick them off the conveyor belt and get them out of the building.

They started cautiously, slicing open cardboard boxes addressed to
a Prince George's County gun shop, removing one or two handguns and
taking them out by hiding them under their clothes.

When nothing happened, the three UPS cargo handlers -- one of them a
convicted crack dealer -- grew bolder, according to affidavits filed
in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. They grabbed entire packages
filled with revolvers and semiautomatic pistols, slapped on new
address labels and had their employer deliver them home for free.

Before they were arrested by federal agents in March and April, the
three UPS workers stole 29 handguns and sold them on the streets for
$250 to $350. One of the firearms was used in an armed carjacking
less than 36 hours after it was stolen from a UPS shipment. Only
eight have been recovered.

Authorities say the UPS case illustrates how -- despite increasingly
strict controls on gun sales to individuals -- package delivery firms,
where security is often lax, often are an easy target for criminals
intent on obtaining weapons.

"Criminals are going to go to the path of least resistance," said Mike
Campbell, a spokesman in the Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, which investigated the UPS thefts. "They are
going to find whatever way they can to get the guns. So if they can
find somebody on the inside to help them, they will."

In 1998, 941 firearms were reported stolen from interstate shipments,
most of them from commercial carriers such as UPS, according to ATF
figures. But federal officials concede that they have no idea how
many of the estimated 5 million guns that are shipped each year by
commercial carrier are stolen.

Licensed gun dealers and manufacturers are required by federal law
to report all firearms thefts to the ATF, but there is no such
requirement for package delivery companies. Some carriers report
gun thefts voluntarily, but the ATF declined to provide a breakdown
on losses reported by each company.

"Theft from interstate shipments has always been a problem because
there are such large numbers of guns being sent," said Jeffrey R.
Roehm, an ATF spokesman in Washington.

Roehm said UPS "has been overwhelmingly cooperative" with investigators
and has assisted in numerous undercover operations. But he added that
it can be difficult to sniff out gun thieves in the company's sprawling
shipping network.

In general, firearms can be shipped only to licensed dealers,
manufacturers and wholesalers. To deter thefts, federal law
dictates that packages containing guns must be shipped in
plain wrappers that bear no indication of their contents.

About 80% of the guns shipped in the United States move through UPS.
The U.S. Postal Service is legally barred from shipping handguns
through the mail, although it can deliver shotguns and rifles for
licensed dealers.

UPS spokesman Bob Godlewski said "several hundred" guns are stolen from
the Atlanta-based company each year, although he declined to be specific.

Many of the thefts in the UPS system, big and small, have proved to be
inside jobs plotted by employees. In August, a UPS employee from Charles
County was indicted on federal charges of possessing a stolen handgun
and crack cocaine after he was shot during an altercation with two ATF
agents who were trying to interview him in a firearms trafficking case.
Federal authorities say the man, Anthony Gray, 20, of Waldorf, and
another UPS worker stole three guns from the company's Waldorf
distribution center in July.

In 1992, a UPS driver from Alexandria was charged with stealing more than
850 handguns from his route and selling them to finance his crack-cocaine
business. Many of the firearms were shipped via UPS by Interarms Inc.,
of Alexandria, one of the world's largest gun dealerships. The driver,
Bernard G. Fuller, was sentenced to 12 years in prison without parole.

In October, after the thefts from its Landover distribution center,
UPS changed its rules and now requires all handguns to be sent by
next-day-air service, the form of delivery also required by Federal
Express Corp. and Airborne Freight Corp. That method allows packages
to be tracked more closely and reduces the time they are sitting around,
making them less vulnerable to thieves, according to UPS officials.
Rifles and shotguns, however, can still be sent by standard ground
delivery, which is cheaper.

But some gun dealers criticized UPS, saying the company has forced
them to pay more to have guns delivered overnight but has done little
else to improve security.

"They're punishing us for their incompetence," said Sanford Abrams,
owner of Valley Guns in Towson and vice president of the Maryland
Licensed Firearms Dealers Association. "We're livid that we have to
pay for UPS's inefficiency and lack of security. They should secure
their facilities and check the backgrounds of their employees to make
sure they aren't hiring criminals."

Godlewski, the UPS spokesman, said the change was made "to minimize
the risk, even though it might be more expensive for the consumer.

"In the end, it's this game of trying to keep guns out of the bad guys'
hands and limiting the number of people who have access to them."

He said he did not know how many guns have been stolen since the policy
went into effect, but he acknowledged that the new system is not foolproof.
"If somebody really wants to get in there, they'll get in there," he said.

Indeed, ATF agents and local authorities are still looking for the
culprit who stole six handguns in late October from a UPS distribution
center in Ventura, Calif. The weapons, which were sent in accordance
with UPS's new rules, were addressed to a gun dealership called
Shooters Paradise.

George Rice, the owner, said that over the past two years, 70 guns
being shipped to his two stores through UPS have not been delivered.
He criticized the company's security division as slow and lackadaisical.

"The people they have checking [the problem], I don't think they could
catch anybody if they did it right in front of them," he said. "They
would never follow through. Every time I contacted them, it was like,
'Oh, it's no big deal.' It's asinine. Everybody knows the guns are all
going right to the streets, to the gangs."

U.S. Attorney Lynne A. Battaglia said the UPS case in Landover was the
[ Continued In Next Message... ]


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From: "larry larsen" <[e-mail]>
Subject: CCW instructors
Date: 27 Dec 1999 22:25:51 -0700

I read in the paper how the insturctors in "Northern" Utah have come up with
some standards for the teaching of the CCW.

I live in So Utah, and have never been approached by any of these fellow
instructors.  So to all of you who care, and also those of you who don't, I
give this response.

It is my opinion that anyone who wants a CCW should have it.  But the state
requires that a form of insturction be taken.   So in conformance with that
there are certian things that are taught.   Adding to these requirements is
a mistake,   whether  or not some feel it is for the public good.  We should
be looking for ways to remove requirements not add to them.  The
constitution does not state that only people who can hit a certain target at
a certain distance have the right to defend themselves.  That is STUPID.   I
don't say that it is ok not to be able to hit what you aim at.  But who is
to say what is approiate and what is not.  I know for a fact that I can
outshoot 99% of all the instructors in the state, so should my shooting
level be the gauge?  Or should we pick someone elses with a lower skill
level? If we do, and  the permit carrier takes a shot and misses,  and hits
granny by mistake, should we hold whoever said it was ok to make the
standard lower than what I can shoot responsible?

I am saying my support for change goes to those who lesson the requirement
and come closer to what the constitution is saying,  not to a group of
instructors who want to be rule makers and dictators.

Larry Larsen

http://larsenfamily.com/cc/



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