Gun Ban Lobby Aims for Wrong Target; Brady Moms Should Push for Controlling Criminals, Not Law-Abiding Gun Owners 5/18/2004
From: David Adams of Virginia Shooting Sports Association, 804-382-9501 or http://www.myvssa.org RICHMOND, May 18 -- As the Million Mom March pink RV rolls into Richmond to push for re-authorization of the Clinton Gun Ban, the Virginia Shooting Sports Association (VSSA), the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association, urged Congress to let the ban expire as scheduled on September 13th. Steve Canale, President of the VSSA said, "Sadly, Mayor McCollum is following in the footsteps of his predecessor Tim Kaine, bowing at the alter of the Million Mom March and their call for more restrictive gun control." Canale continued, "Today the gun ban lobby has traveled to Virginia to renew their call for reauthorization of the Clinton gun ban. Even the gun ban lobby's own Tom Diaz (Violence Policy Center) told NPR on March 11, 2004 that, 'If the existing assault weapons ban expires, I personally do not believe it will make one whit of difference one way or another in terms of our objective, which is reducing death and injury and getting a particularly lethal class of firearms off the streets. So if it doesn't pass, it doesn't pass.'" Faced with the prospect of the Clinton gun ban expiring on September 13, the gun ban lobby is once again engaging in a desperate and deceptive political campaign. In this latest attempt to push their political agenda through blatant hype and deliberate misinformation, the Brady Campaign, in referring to "Uzis" and "AK-47s," states that, these specific firearms will be in our neighborhoods unless the Clinton gun ban is renewed. "The truth is that AK-47s and Uzis were prohibited in 1989, under federal firearm importation law, five years prior to the enactment the Clinton ban! The expiration of the Clinton gun ban will not in any way affect this previous law. The gun ban lobby including the Brady Campaign is lying. This RV tour is more about politics than sound policy. What works is locking up violent criminals, not taking away the rights of law abiding citizens" Canale said. More facts about semi-automatic firearms that the gun ban lobby does not tell the public: -- Firearms branded as "assault weapons" have never been used in more than 1 percent-2 percent of violent crimes according to police reports and felon surveys, and in only 0.25 percent of violent crimes reported in crime victim surveys. Congress` study found that the guns "were never used in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders."3 Knives, clubs and bare hands are used in more than 20 times more murders. -- Millions of Americans use semi-autos for hunting, target shooting and protection. Guns like the hunting and target shooting rifles shown below would be banned under federal and/or state "assault weapon" bills. The Remington Models 7400 and 7600, and Browning BAR, are popular deer rifles. Remington`s Model 1100 and Beretta`s Model 391 shotguns are widely used for hunting and sport shooting. The Colt AR-15 and Springfield M1A are the nation's most popular rifles for marksmanship competitions. Ruger Ranch Rifles and 10/22s are popular hunting and plinking rifles. AR-15 National Match Rifle Springfield National Match Rifle -- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it can "in no way vouch for the validity" of Brady Campaign's claim that the federal "assault weapon" law reduced crime. Brady mischaracterized BATFE`s firearm chain-of-commerce traces, which the Congressional Research Service says "are not accurate indicators" of criminal gun use. Most guns that are traced have not been used to commit violent crimes, and most guns used to commit violent crimes are never traced. -- FBI reports contradict the Violence Policy Center's claim about "assault weapons" and the police. FBI incident summaries indicate that the guns are rarely used to kill police officers. -- Semi-automatics are not machine guns. Machine guns have been regulated by the National Firearms Act since 1934. By comparison, semi-automatics, like other guns, fire only one shot at a time. -- Semi-automatics are not "more powerful" than other guns. Semi-auto rifles and shotguns use the same ammunition as other guns. Semi-auto pistols use ammunition comparable to, but shaped differently than, revolver ammunition. The AK-47, which anti-gun groups call "high powered," is less powerful than the modestly- powered .30-30 Winchester, the most popular deer rifle in American history. ------ Affiliated with: The Director of Civilian Marksmanship, The National Rifle Association, The Virginia Outdoor Sports Information Network, Virginia Firearms Education Institute, Inc., National Shooting Sports Foundation, Virginia Wildlife Federation |