From: owner-utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com (utah-firearms-digest) To: utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: utah-firearms-digest V2 #59 Reply-To: utah-firearms-digest Sender: owner-utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-utah-firearms-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk utah-firearms-digest Thursday, May 21 1998 Volume 02 : Number 059 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 20 May 98 08:11:00 -0700 From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Subject: The Ten Commandments of Gun Hating - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 09:33:27 -0400 From: Patricia Neill Forwarded (but wish I wrote this!) For those who didn't notice the post about the UN and civilian disarmament, this is from an excellent Illinois site: Champaign County Grassroots (CCG) branch of the Illinois State Rifle Association. (http://www.chambana.com/~CCG/ccgr.htm) ____________________ And in other news: _____________________ The Ten Commandments of Gun Hating 1.Believe everything you see, read and hear in the media. The media would never report anything false or incorrect -- Dewey really did defeat Truman. Also, the movies and television portray typical life in America. 2.Hate all forms of hunting. Killing an animal for food is one of the most barbaric and bloodthirsty things around. Hunting isn't necessary. That's what we have supermarkets for. Remember, YOU know much more about how animals live in the forest than the people who have actually been there because you watched the Nature Channel (see #1). 3.Guns cause crime. The mere possession of a gun will give a person the feeling of absolute power and the desire to go out and kill people. It's true. Remember, the media told you that guns cause crime. (see #1) 4.Ugly guns are evil guns. The media reported that Sen. Feinstein of California says that ugly guns can kill an entire room full of politicians with only three bullets! It must be true (see #1). Ugly names are also bad. Black Talon has got to be more vicious than a "Safety Slug." 5.Gun Control Works! Ignore the facts and continue to say it. Eventually you will convince yourself it is true. Besides, 95% of the time the media says it works (see #1). It must be true. 6.Assume everyone is like you. You know that if you had a gun, you might someday want to shoot your spouse in a fit of anger. Therefore everyone would probably shoot their spouses during an argument if they had a gun. 7.Be squeamish about everything. People who shoot criminals are KILLING them! It's okay to defend yourself with nerf bats, lemon juice and a noise maker, because those things don't hurt other human beings (the criminals). If you shoot them you have a mess -- blood, guts and all kinds of yucky stuff around (Eeack!!). It is better to die than kill a criminal and have than on your conscience for the rest of your life!! 8.All you need is "911". The police will always be there. If you are attacked at home, just call the police and they will be there in an instant as you put down the receiver. They know exactly where you live and are right around the corner, just like in the movies and TV (see #1). If you are attacked in public, don't worry. The police have ESP and will be right there. 9.Try to be as ignorant as possible about guns. Ignorance really is bliss. People naturally fear anything they don't understand. Don't worry, be blissful. 10.Spread as much 'disinformation' as possible. By spreading lies, rumors, misinformation and other falsehoods, you keep the general public confused, misinformed and ignorant as to the truths of gun ownership (see #9). The media does this all the time so it must be the right thing to do (see #1). COL. HARRY S. BACHSTEIN "Man is not my ultimate Judge." Visit My Website: http://members.aol.com/bach11/adventurer.htm - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 May 98 08:11:00 -0700 From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Subject: R.A.P.E., Inc. (fwd) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 06:39:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Dennis Clark To: liberty-and-justice@majordomo.pobox.com Subject: R.A.P.E., Inc. (fwd) The following was intercepted by a friend who shall remain nameless. It therefore CANNOT be verified. R.A.P.E., Inc. Conquers All "Rights Are Privileges Eventually, Incorporated (R.A.P.E., Inc.) is proud to have finally kicked-off the necessary change that will ensure the final solution for the problem of the gun culture in America. Our little known, but effective, cooperation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in writing the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that will impose fees and require the transfer information of those purchasing guns to permanent records to the F.B.I. for storage and collation. More about the latter in a moment. Our public organizations, Violence Policy Center, Handgun Control, Inc., and MOST of the similarly named organs, have been very effective in carrying the message and taking the heat and focus while the National Rifle Association followed the path of least resistance, again, by pushing for National Instant Check versus state waiting periods. Those states are much harder to control than the Federals, so eliminating them from the process was essential. The F.B.I will be receiving the names and all other information from A.T.F. which they will collate with information obtained from the National Driver's license records, complete with thumbprints. Together with old military fingerprint records, credit files, and any other information we've acquired over the years [this] will be completely combined to [create] a dossier on all who apply for instant check. Initially, the most important aspect of this new program is the fee. The fee collected is hardly enough to pay for all of the above, and indeed, that is not its purpose. The fee will establish, beyond argument, that gun purchases, gun pawn redemptions, and gun returns from licensed gunsmiths are NOT a right, but are in fact, a privilege. This is the most vital aspect of Instant Check, it MUST be retained at all costs. Remember, any attempt by Republicans and other fringe groups, to remove the fee for this "service" must be fought with the arguments all Republicans use for charging fees for parks and college tuition. They should be told this is just a fee for services and it's not "fair" for those not using "the service" to pay it. Once the fee is well and truly established, it can be raised for certain types of guns, say for handguns, based on our establishing that they are subject to higher use by criminals. Eventually, like tobacco, these fees will be used to remove the less well salaried among gun purchasers from the ranks of gun buyers totally. Eventually, with the poor out of the gun culture, the remainder will be handled by painting them as rich sportsmen that are willing to put the poor at risk by practicing their dangerous sport. The United Kingdom's success from a similar ruse is a wonderful study for this plan. This memo will be followed by a more robust plan soon." Again this was intercepted by means that I cannot discuss and by person(s) that I cannot reveal. Pat Hines - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 14:14:00 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: Fw: Myth About Crime Shot Down -Forwarded Received: from legacy.lgcy.com ([209.63.171.101]) by icarus.ci.west-valley.ut.us; Tue, 19 May 1998 05:49:38 -0600 Received: from mail.lgcy.com by legacy.derail.org (NTList 3.02.13) id wa669340; Tue, 19 May 1998 05:46:02 -0600 Received: from async-lgcy-08-66.lgcy.com (async-lgcy-08-66.lgcy.com [209.63.185.66]) by mail.lgcy.com (NTMail 3.02.13) with ESMTP id na499031 for ; Tue, 19 May 1998 05:45:59 -0600 Reply-To: From: "GunFlower" To: Subject: Fw: Myth About Crime Shot Down Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 05:30:01 -0600 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1161 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <11455924701490@lgcy.com> X-Info: Evaluation version at legacy.lgcy.com X-ListMember: dsagers@ci.west-valley.ut.us [discussion@derail.org] Great Stuff! - ---------- > From: Carl W. Spitzer IV <75313.2601@compuserve.com> > To: Rosetta > Subject: Myth About Crime Shot Down > Date: Monday, May 18, 1998 10:55 PM > > >> Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 04:11:31 -0500 > >> From: MJ > >> Subject: Edmonton Journal Editorial > >> > >> May 5, 1998 > >> > >> MYTH ABOUT CRIME SHOT DOWN > >> > >> Canadians may point smugly at U.S. crime rates, but guess what? > >> Outside of murder, there's as much violent crime north of the > >> border as south these days > >> > >> LORNE GUNTER > >> EDMONTON JOURNAL > >> > >> Lost by Canadian newspapers and networks amid their sanctimonious > >> tut-tutting about the recent rnass killings in a Jonesboro, Ark., > >> schoolyard, was the release of the third international crime > >> victimization survey (ICVS). > >> > >> In part, this is justifiable. Five simultaneous murders is a bigger > >> story than the release of another dry statistical report, especially > >> when four of the victims are children and the fifth their pregnant > >> teacher. > >> > >> The shortcoming lies in the Canadian moral clucking surrounding the > >> Jonesboro shootings versus the silence over the irnplications of the > >> ICVS. > >> > >> The CBC English television network directly blamed the National Rifle > >> Association for the five deaths in Arkansas. To hear its report, one > >> would think NRA vice-president Charlton Heston had had his finger on > >> the trigger. > >> > >> John Bierman of the Financial Post shrieked: "It's the gun culture, > >> stupid," which is true in a way, but not the way Bierman means. Then > >> he called on the Americans to emulate Canada or Britain and implement > >> strict controls on guns. > >> > >> Bierman, and several other Canadian commentators who mimicked his > >> knee-jerk reaction, ignore at least three significant points. Canada's > >> gun laws were quite strict when a madman killed 14 female students at > >> the Universite de Montreal in 1989, and yet the laws did not save them > >> (nor will the even stricter laws being implemented this fall prevent > >> future madmen from committing similar mass killings). Mass killings > >> are committed with machetes, bombs and other weapons, too, and their > >> cause perplexes psychologists and sociologists. And, if the cause of a > >> crime is cultural, a change to gun laws will be virtually powerless to > >> alter it. > >> > >> Which is why it was unforgivable that Canadian journalists should have > >> overlooked the ICVS. > >> > >> Canadians have smug attitudes towards the U.S. on a number of subjects > >> - - health care, welfare and crime among them. While in each case our > >> smugness is undeserved, it is especially undeserved on crime. > >> > >> Like several studies before it, the ICVS shows that except for murder, > >> Canadians suffer as much violent crime as Americans and more > >> non-violent crime. Our view of America as the final shootout from a > >> John Wayne movie and Canada as an idyllic scene from Anne of Green > >> Gables is so simplistic, arrogant and wrong it borders on outright > >> prejudice. > >> > >> The ICVS, conducted by Statistics Canada, shows 25 per cent of > >> Canadians were victims of crime in 1996 vs. 24 per cent of Americans. > >> Six per cent of us suffered a violent crime - robbery, armed robbery, > >> sexual assault or common assault - vs. seven per cent of Americans. > >> > >> The highest incidence of violent crime in the industrialized world was > >> in England and Wales, where eight per cent of residents were > >> victimized in 1996 (and total victimization is 40 per cent higher than > >> in the U.S.) and where gun laws are even stricter than in Canada > >> > >> Household burglaries and car thefts were as high in Canada as in the > >> U.S (in England and France they were 50 per cent higher than in North > >> America), with the added proviso that burglaries in Canada are more > >> than four times as likely to occur when the residents are home as they > >> are in the U.S. Theft of other personal property was 50 per cent > >> higher north of the 49th parallel than south. > >> > >> The vastly higher murder rate in the U.S. is an important difference. > >> But it certainly does not justify our gun laws, or discredit theirs. > >> > >> For more than a century, American murder rates have been three to 10 > >> times higher than those of other western nations. And the differences > >> in rates have remained reasonably constant before and after the > >> introduction of strict gun laws in Canada, Britain, Australia Japan, > >> New Zealand and elsewhere. Indeed, the murder rates in other > >> industrialized nations have inched closer to those in the U.S., > >> despite various attempts to register all guns or license all gun > >> owners, or even ban guns. > >> > >> Americans see murder as a solution to their problems - murder with > >> guns, murder with knives, murder with fists - much more often than do > >> the citizens of other western nations. The difference lies in their > >> culture, not just their "gun culture." Crimes of all sorts, including > >> murder, are lowest in those states with the highest rates of gun > >> ownership. States such as Vermont, New Hampshire, North Dakota and > >> Montana, where gun ownership is at least twice what it is in Canada > >> have murder rates as low as one-half that in the provinces that are > >> their immediate neighbors. > >> > >> The ICVS points out what Interpol and others have also pointed out: > >> Canadians have no reason to be smug about crime, or about gun laws. > >> -30- > >> ---- End Forwarded Article ---- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 14:26:11 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: JEWISH STATE SELLS US OUT to CHINA -Forwarded FULL SIZED UN FLAG w/RED CIRCLE SLASH $15 peter.navy@rocketmail.com 1-888-4-LIBERTY for FREE VIDEO that is FANTASTIC: GET YOURS TODAY ! TODAY's COMMUNIQUE By Authority of Ephesians 5:11 - ------------------ www.pokerface.com & www.klang.com <-GREAT MUSIC THIS JUST IN: BERNARD SCHWARTZ's LORAL AEROSPACE, via CLINTON QUID QUO PRO, REVEALS ADVANCED SATELITE and GUIDANCE SYSTEM TECHNOGLY SECRETS to RED COMMUNIST CHINESE BUTCHERS. NOT TO MENTION, BOEING has AGREED to CONTRACT with CHICOMS whereby all JETS SOLD to CHINA must be BUILT IN CHINA, then they can give BOEING the BOOT later, but KEEP our STATE of the ART DUAL PURPOSE FACTORIES !! Congrats to INDIA for DEFYING ONE WORLDERS and PRESERVING their OWN RIGHT to KEEP & BEAR ARMS!! U.S. Technology Shows Up in China Zionists have once again stuck a knife in the back of the United States. EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT By Mike Blair Israeli arms merchants have compromised U.S. security by selling state-of-the-art U.S. jet fighter technology to Red China. The technology has allowed the Red Chinese Air Force to develop what is emerging as one of the world's foremost supersonic jet fighter-bombers. The new Red Chinese aircraft, the Jianjiji-10, more commonly referred to as the J-10, is a very close copy of the canceled Israeli IAI Lavi jet fighter, which the United States spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help the Israelis to develop. The Reagan administration eventually pulled the plug on the project as being cost prohibitive. The J-10 so closely resembles the Israeli jet that it is difficult to tell the difference between the two super sophisticated aircraft. The Red Chinese plane also resembles America's top jet fighter-bomber, the General Dynamics F-l6, which currently comprises the backbone of U.S. Air Force jet fighter strength. The fact that the Israelis have provided the Red Chinese with the technology and assistance in developing the J-10 has been confirmed in the 1998 edition of Jane's All the World Aircraft, published in Britain. "A photograph released in 1996 by the People's Liberation Army of a wind tunnel model of the J-10 showed it to be identical to the Lavi in all essential respects, apart from slightly raised foreplanes and the addition of wingroot training-edge extensions," Jane's stated. According to the latest British publication, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence "reiterates U.S. belief that Red China has received Lavi technology for incorporation in the J-10." GAVE SECRETS TO FRIENDS To provide Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) the ability to build the Lavi the Pentagon gave the Israelis whatever avionics technology was available in America that they asked for. The United States also provided the bulk of what was reported to be several hundred million dollars to produce the new aircraft. At least two prototypes of the Israeli fighter were built,the B-1 and B-2, in 1986 and 1987 respectively. Then the administration of Ronald Reagan pulled the financial plug on the project, forcing the Israelis to cancel development on August 30, 1987. PLANNED 300 PLANES The Israelis had intended to build 300 of the advanced multi-role combat aircraft, including 60 two-seat training models. The swept delta-wings of the aircraft were designed in the United States by Grumman and the engine was to be a U.S. Pratt and Whitney PW1120 turbo-jet. Armament of the Lavi would consist of an internally mounted 30-millimeter cannon plus four underwing and seven under-fuselage stores attachments for a variety of bombs, missiles and rockets. The Clinton administration has been aware of the Chicom/Israel deal since at least October 1994 when a prototype of the J-10 was detected by a U.S. intelligence satellite at Red Chinese aircraftdevelopment facilities at Chengdu. Still, the White House continues to extend to the Israelis carte blanche delivery of the latest U.S. weapons technology. As an example, in the latest showdown with Iraq the U.S. further beefed up the Patriot batteries left there from the Gulf War with updated technology. There have been reports that the Israelis have also shared Patriot technology with the Red Chinese. The United States is providing the bulk of the technology and financing to Israel for the development of a new "Star Wars" type of anti-missile defense system. Currently, the Red Chinese are undertaking a massive project to modernize their arsenal of inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), some of which are capable of striking the heart of the United States. Israel, despite its protestations to the contrary and outright denials, has for years been selling advanced American weapons technology on to the Red Chinese, as well as other potential U.S. enemies. During the early 1980s top U.S. artillery technology, developed by U.S. scientists in upstate New York at an army research arsenal, was stolen by Israeli agents and was discovered in Red China during a May Day parade in Peking. - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 14:21:59 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: A cultist is... I read the following statement and then re-read the executive order lists and shudder. Josh Subject: Cults and Government Just ran across this quote from AG Janet Reno. From a person of such high power, these are scary words. --------- "A cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the Second Coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who has a high level of financial giving to a Christian cause; who home schools for their children; who has accumulated survival foods and has a strong belief in the Second Amendment; and who distrusts big government. Any of these may qualify [a person as a cultist] but certainly more than one [of these] would cause us to look at this person as a threat, and his family as being in a risk situation that qualified for government interference." - -Attorney General Janet Reno, Interview on 60 Minutes, June 26, 1994 "There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes, and the other is the Bill of Rights." Major General Smedley Butler USMC 1930 winner of two Congressional Medals of Honor. - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 12:13:47 -0600 From: "S. Thompson" Subject: Re: JEWISH STATE SELLS US OUT to CHINA -Forwarded At 02:26 PM 5/19/98 -0700, you wrote: > U.S. Technology Shows Up in China > > Zionists have once again stuck a knife in the back of the United > States. > > EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT > > By Mike Blair > > Israeli arms merchants have compromised U.S. security by selling > state-of-the-art U.S. jet fighter technology to Red China. The > technology has allowed the Red Chinese Air Force to develop what is > emerging as one of the world's foremost supersonic jet > fighter-bombers. Why in the world would China need to buy technology from Israel, when Clinton is frothing at the mouth to sell it to them at bargain-basement rates? And as far as I can tell, Clinton is busy not just sticking a knife in the back of Israel, but giving it a few good twists. That doesn't mean I condone sales of Israeli technology to China. However, the real threat to world peace is not Israel; it's the United States under Kommander Klinton. Sarah PS: The Spotlight is a viciously anti-semitic publication. While I'd defend to the death the right of anyone to publish anything, here or in print, I would hope the members of this list would voluntarily agree to avoid the use of inflammatory material. - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 12:59:55 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: FW: Taxpayer Group Issues Comparison-Report Card on Senate Commer ce Committee -Forwar Received: from web185c.bbnplanet.com (web185c.bbnplanet.com [207.121.186.185]) by web185c.bbnplanet.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id OAA16813; Wed, 20 May 1998 14:40:11 -0700 (PDT) Received: from BRONZE.RNC.ORG by BRONZE.RNC.ORG (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8b) with spool id 15138 for PRESSLIST@BRONZE.RNC.ORG; Wed, 20 May 1998 14:37:34 -0700 Received: from web185c.bbnplanet.com (web185c.bbnplanet.com [207.121.186.185]) by web185c.bbnplanet.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id OAA16579 for ; Wed, 20 May 1998 14:37:33 -0700 (PDT) Approved-By: IRudak@RNCHQ.ORG Received: from exchange.rnchq.org (EXCHANGE.RNCHQ.ORG [207.94.140.2]) by web185c.bbnplanet.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id OAA16567 for ; Wed, 20 May 1998 14:36:39 -0700 (PDT) Received: by EXCHANGE.RNCHQ.ORG with Internet Mail Service (5.0.1460.8) id ; Wed, 20 May 1998 14:26:48 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.0.1460.8) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Message-ID: <4098E913624DD111BB8400805FCCDF6F59B00F@EXCHANGE.RNCHQ.ORG> Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 14:26:45 -0400 Reply-To: Irene Rudakewych - Communications Sender: RNC Press List From: Irene Rudakewych - Communications Subject: FW: Taxpayer Group Issues Comparison-Report Card on Senate Commer ce Committee To: Multiple recipients of list PRESSLIST > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (55 lines) > ------------------ > Press Release of the National Taxpayers Union > For Immediate Release - Wednesday, May 20, 1998 > Contact: John Berthoud (703) 683-5700 > > > Taxpayer Group Issues "Comparison-Report Card" on Senate Commerce > Committee Tax Bill > > Senate Bill Earns "F" and is "Strikingly Similar" to 1993 Clinton Tax > Hike > > > (Washington, DC) - The 300,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) > today issued a "Comparison-Report Card" of the pending Senate Commerce > Committee tobacco tax legislation that showed the measure to be > "strikingly similar" to the 1993 tax hike engineered by President Bill > Clinton. The group concluded that "from the American taxpayers' point > of view, both pieces of legislation earn an 'F.'" > > "It is ironic that Republicans who so sharply denounced the > big-government tax hike in 1993 that was done in the name of children > are leading the charge for exactly the same thing today," observed NTU > President John Berthoud. "The remarkable resemblance of this > Republican-led tax hike to the 1993 tax increase of Democrat Bill > Clinton gives credence to the claims that there is often not much of a > difference between the two parties in Washington." > > The NTU analysis was in response to issuance of a "report card" by > Senator John McCain (R-AZ) on the pending Commerce Committee > legislation. > > Berthoud noted that the similarities between the two pieces of > legislation are striking. "Both bills are done in the name of kids, > both raise hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on > politically-unpopular groups, both increase the size and scope of > Washington bureaucracy." NTU noted that for taxpayers, the 1993 > legislation was superior in one respect - much of the new tax money went > to deficit reduction, whereas today the money is going simply to fuel > bigger government. > > "If Washington politicians want to 'do something' about youth smoking, > the proper venue is through enforcing and perhaps expanding laws > designed to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children. The answer to > the problem most definitely is not hundreds of billions of dollars in > new taxes to feed hungry Washington bureaucracies," Berthoud concluded. > > National Taxpayers Union is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization > founded in 1969 that works for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and > accountable government at all levels. Note: the NTU "Comparison-Report > Card" is available at NTU's web site (www.ntu.org) or by calling NTU > (703-683-5700). > > 1 - 30 - > - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 13:50:42 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: NAFLFD Firearms Record Even as a private firearms collector, you should have all your firearms receipts and dispositions in a BATF approved firearms record book. The National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers is offering the official bound firearms record book to every firearms owner. This government approved record book has been in use for over twenty years, and is currently in use in thousands of firearms stores all across the country. The large 12"x18-1/2" format is handy for easy listing of all BATF required information. With ever-changing liability and "negligence" laws, we can only guess at what might be a future liability problem five or ten years from now. Every firearm owner really should have a complete record of "receipt" and "disposition" of each and every firearm. Just ask your local dealer ... You do not want BATF at your door informing you that you are the last trace to a firearm, and NOT have a record of the history of that firearm on hand. Also, in the unfortunate event that your firearm might be stolen, you need to have an accurate record of exact serial numbers, make, model, etc. for police reports and insurance purposes. Otherwise, you open yourself up to possible future liability problems. The professional NAFLFD firearms record book has 500 complete "receipt" and "disposition" spaces for 500 transactions. For the average collector, this is enough room for a lifetime of firearms collecting. And for the dealer, the NAFLFD book is a must for effective record-keeping. At only $19.95, which includes shipping and handling, it's real effective firearms insurance. MasterCard and VISA are accepted. Call today: (954) 561-3505 or email us at recordbook@amfire.com. Don't wait until it's too late. - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 14:45:50 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: NYT: Philadelphia takes action against gun violence -Forwarded Received: (from smap@localhost) by fs1.mainstream.net (8.8.8/8.7.3) id QAA00833; Wed, 20 May 1998 16:19:09 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 16:19:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from localhost(127.0.0.1) by fs1.mainstream.net via smap (V1.3) id sma000444; Wed May 20 16:15:10 1998 Message-Id: Errors-To: listproc@mainstream.com Reply-To: pwatson@utdallas.edu Originator: noban@mainstream.net Sender: noban@Mainstream.net Precedence: bulk From: pwatson@utdallas.edu To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: NYT: Philadelphia takes action against gun violence X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0 -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Comment: Anti-Gun-Ban list - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 13:04:56 -0500 From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: Phila. Takes Action Against Gun Violence Source: New York Times May 20, 1998 Philadelphia Takes Action Against Gun Violence By MICHAEL JANOFSKY PHILADELPHIA -- For all the years he spent as a criminal and a drug user, Jose Rojas never saw the kinds of things now taking place in working-class neighborhoods like his in north Philadelphia. "And it's going from bad to worse," Rojas, 47, said recently, sitting in the New Creation Church in Kensington, a high-crime neighborhood where he works as a lay evangelist. "During the time I was out there as a teen-ager, then in my 20s, it was relatively difficult to get weapons. Now? Kids 11, 12, 13 years old -- they're packing .45-caliber semi-automatics, Uzis, magnums, you name it." And they are not afraid to use them. While the rates of homicide and violent crime are declining in many of the country's largest cities, they are holding firm in Philadelphia. Although a slight dip over the first four months of this year has given officials some hope, the number of homicides has hovered steadily at around 400 a year for nearly a decade. A majority of the deaths were caused by high-powered handguns, and a majority of the weapons were wielded by people under 23. The problem has become so intolerable that Mayor Edward Rendell has appointed a deputy mayor -- dubbed the gun czar -- to coordinate local and federal efforts to stem the flow of weapons in the city. And in a move modeled after the actions against tobacco companies, he has threatened to sue gun manufacturers to recoup some of the money spent by the city's hospitals to treat gunshot victims. Officials say they think one of the biggest factors in the high homicide rate is a 1995 gun law that has removed some of the discretion the police department had to deny permits for carrying concealed weapons. The new law, they say, has contributed to a boom in gun buying here that has given Pennsylvania the distinction of having more licensed carriers of concealed weapons than any other state. The legal age for buying a gun in Pennsylvania is 18, and most permit holders are legitimate gun owners. But law-enforcement experts here say that the state measure opened the door to a vibrant black market in handgun sales, in which buyers for whom routine background checks pose no problem can act as straw-man buyers and resell the guns on the street for handsome profits. Furthermore, officials say, the sheer number of guns on the street in Philadelphia means more weapons are finding their way into the hands of young people. Before the Uniform Firearms Action of 1995 was passed, state lawmakers recognized Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest city, as a special case on gun issues because of its persistently high crime rates. The police department had the right to turn down a request for a concealed weapons permit if the applicant could not demonstrate "a reasonable need." In 1994, just 1,500 permits were issued. Over all, the new law strengthened the application process by requiring deeper background checks. But after the exception for Philadelphia was eliminated, the number of permits issued soared, to about 11,500 in 1996, said Richard Zapille, the deputy mayor appointed to lead the gun control efforts. "That was a real blow to our efforts here," Rendell said of the gun law. "We weren't doing great before, but after the law passed, the number of permits issued to carry a concealed weapon was unbelievable." Rendell appointed a handgun violence task force four years ago when it became evident that his city was failing to keep pace with the rest of the nation in reducing violent crime. But efforts to slow the mayhem have not made any appreciable difference in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods, despite the slight dip in the homicide rate for the first four months of this year. Guns continue to flow in, and landscapes of abandoned factories, rotting houses and trash-strewn streets only make the life of a gun-toting drug dealer seem that much more glamorous to impressionable youngsters. "Young children walking to school see these guys all in gold, wearing rings on their fingers and $150 sneakers," said Rojas, who spent 13 months in prison on drug charges. "They are influenced just by the way they look. They think, 'I want to be like him.' They have money. They have expensive sneakers and they have guns." A study conducted by the task force found that of 273 people charged with murder in a 40-month period through March 1997, 171 of them -- more than 62 percent -- were 22 or younger. That is far above the national average. In 1995, the last full year for which federal data is available, the Department of Justice found that among the 16,701 people across the country arrested for murder or non-negligent manslaughter, just 6,556 of them -- 39.8 percent -- were 22 years old or younger. In the same year, Philadelphia's homicide rate of 30.7 per 100,000 residents was nearly twice as high as New York City's 16.1 per 100,000. Members of the mayor's task force, as well as community leaders like Rojas who work with them, agree that much of the reason for the pervasiveness of handguns is the same as in other cities -- drugs. "The drugs begot guns, and they're both so entrenched now that good people feel the need to carry guns," Zapille said in a recent drive through Kensington and other low-income neighborhoods. But Philadelphia has labored under additional burdens: The city was slow to coordinate crime-fighting with community outreach programs. Deep losses in its manufacturing base made Philadelphia's economic recovery less rapid than that of other cities, and poverty is deeply entrenched in many neighborhoods. Tougher gun laws in surrounding states have made purchases here easier by comparison. Among the six states that border Pennsylvania, four -- New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland -- give local law-enforcement officials the discretion Philadelphia once had to deny permits to carry a concealed weapon to anyone they think does not have a legitimate reason. In West Virginia, the police have no such discretion. Ohio does not permit carrying a concealed weapon. To quantify the magnitude of the problem in Philadelphia, the police department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms conducted an intensive study of trafficking in all type of guns last year. The results included these findings: - - --In almost half of the legitimate sales, involving 38,338 guns, two or more were bought at the same time. Almost 8 percent of the guns, 3,046, were bought in purchases of 10 or more. - - --The police traced 2,865 guns recovered in arrests and found that 69 percent were bought in Pennsylvania, the highest percentage ever recorded, and a 10 percent increase over 1996. They also found that 53 percent were bought in Philadelphia, an 11 percent increase over 1996. - - --Firepower on the street is rising among the youngest offenders. Of 342 guns recovered from juveniles at the time of arrest, 65 percent were semi-automatic weapons, a 13 percent increase over the relative number of comparable weapons recovered in 1996. Twenty-six percent were revolvers, a 12 percent decrease. Defenders of the state law, which was strongly supported by state Sen. Vincent Fumo, a Democrat from Philadelphia, argue that problems in Philadelphia stem not from the law itself but from lax enforcement of its provisions, some of which are unique among the states that allow residents to carry concealed weapons. In addition to denying a permit to anyone with a felony conviction or mental health problem, the norm for most states, Pennsylvania is now alone in banning the sale of guns to anyone who had a police record as a juvenile and to anyone classified as a "habitual drunken driver." And starting in July, the law requires any private sale of a gun to be conducted before a licensed dealer or local law-enforcement officer. "We chose to focus on the potential gun owner," said Christopher Craig, legal counsel to Fumo. "When the law is aggressively enforced, it will have a dramatic impact in the state." But Rendell and others scoff at the notion that those involved in illegal street sales will suddenly comply with the state gun law. "All I know is what we're facing on the street," said Thomas Stankiewicz, an agent with the federal firearms agency in Philadelphia. "We've had some success. But guns are always in demand, and the supply is readily accessible." Philadelphia police officials said that more aggressive strategies in arresting people for illegal gun possession helped bring down the homicide rate for the first third of the year, to a projected year-end total of 321. And officials in other city agencies say new programs of community outreach and intervention are also disrupting cycles of violence. But in Rojas' neighborhood, progress is slow. Children walking to school fear walking the blocks where gun sellers operate, he said, and on many nights, gunfire punctuates the silence. "Sometimes it sounds like Vietnam around my house," Rojas said. "The other night, I heard two different-caliber guns go off. I didn't know what was going on, but I turned to my wife and said: 'Maybe we'll read about it in the papers tomorrow.' " Copyright 1998 The New York Times 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. - - ----------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 08:14:55 -0700 From: DAVID SAGERS Subject: Unions and the RKBA -Forwarded Received: (from smap@localhost) by fs1.mainstream.net (8.8.8/8.7.3) id GAA26670; Thu, 21 May 1998 06:42:41 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 06:42:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: from localhost(127.0.0.1) by fs1.mainstream.net via smap (V1.3) id sma026591; Thu May 21 06:42:18 1998 Message-Id: <199805211008.GAA24476@unix.worldpath.net> Errors-To: listproc@mainstream.com Reply-To: walkerd@worldpath.net Originator: noban@mainstream.net Sender: noban@Mainstream.net Precedence: bulk From: "Donald Walker" To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Unions and the RKBA X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0 -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Comment: Anti-Gun-Ban list The AFL-CIO is gearing up for another assault on our Republic . They plan to organize at the grassroots level , spending unbelieveable money doing so . Prez. Sweeney has assured the Democart Party he will train and send out field co-ordinators for this next ellection . They will help the most liberal , anti-freedom candidate they can find . I wonder how many union members know that Sweeney is a card-carring member of the Democratic Socialist of America ? An organization sworn to coverting our republic to a socialist democrocy . These folks are for state controled everything . It's not just about guns - it's about freedom . God Bless You All , and God Save Our Republic . Don - - ------------------------------ End of utah-firearms-digest V2 #59 **********************************