(Friday, October 26, 2001) — Now more than ever, one can see that gun grabbers want them all.

Banning Fifty-calibers

Trying to profit from the September 11 terrorist hijackings, Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) will be making a renewed push to ban .50 caliber firearms, claiming that such guns can fall into terrorists’ hands. Never mind the fact that these guns have been around since the mid-1800s and have NEVER been used in a crime. Blagojevich said he will be introducing a bill to ban these rifles.

Confiscating Privately Owned, Surplus Firearms

On the other side of the Hill, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) has tried to hoodwink conservative Senators into supporting his anti-gun legislation. Senator Levin, who is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, wants to allow the government to confiscate privately owned, military-style firearms. (Note: The bill does allow for private owners to be compensated, but for many gun owners, a meager stipend — perhaps no more than the cost they paid 50 years ago — will in no way recompense them for the personal, historic or antique value that their firearms possess.)

Gun Owners of America has been working in the districts of many Congressmen to get this anti-gun language deleted from S. 1438. Because gun owners like you have raised a fuss about this provision, Levin has been forced to offer compromise language. But make no mistake, this compromise will still let the government confiscate privately owned firearms!

Sen. Levin has inserted some “exceptions” into his language in order to assuage conservatives and make them think that private gun owners will be protected. But the exceptions are VERY limited and will not cover all the different ways that individuals have acquired surplus firearms and militaria. GOA will continue working on this legislation and keep you updated as to its status. It will be coming to the floor very soon.

Recalling Air Rifles

Finally, a Clinton-holdover in the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is making a last-ditch effort to recall certain air rifles on the premise that these guns lack certain “safety” features. (Yes, these are the same “safety” features that gun grabbers nationwide are using as an excuse to justify their confiscatory agenda.)

Democratic CPSC Chair Ann Brown is set to retire October 31, but has scheduled a vote for the previous day to determine if as many as nine million air rifles should be recalled. According to The Washington Times this week:

A Pennsylvania teen, believing his Daisy rifle was empty, recklessly and carelessly pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger. Ignoring Safety Rule #1, the teen seriously injured his friend. But as noted by the Times, in Mrs. Brown’s world, “the evil air rifle is to blame.”

ACTION: Please contact the CPSC Commissioners before Tuesday when the vote is to take place. Brown claims the recall will only affect nine million air rifles, but gun industry officials say the defect claim has the potential to affect virtually all rifles.

Urge the Commissioners to vote AGAINST this recall. Tell them that accidental gun injuries are usually the result of careless actions on the part of the individual brandishing the weapon — as evidenced by the teen in Pennsylvania. Also, remind them that a CPSC investigation in 1996 found that the Daisy air rifle at issue (model 880) was not defective. How can they turn around, then, and recall a product which they themselves decreed was not defective only five years ago? Here is the contact information for the CPSC Commissioners:

Chair Ann Brown
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 301-504-0213

Commissioner Mary Sheila Gall
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 301-504-0530

Commissioner Thomas H. Moore
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 301-504-0290

Fax number for the above three Commissioners: 301-504-0124