The “Pro-Gun” Republicans (“with friends like this ”)
“Fight it today, enforce it tomorrow”
“In his…State of the Union address, President Clinton announced plans to require a special photo ID license and mandatory gun course for the purchase of handguns.… ‘[T]here is only one reason…[for] a…database on everyone…who owns a firearm, [responds Wayne LaPierre,] and that’s for the 2nd step…when they decide…to sweep every firearm from every American house….’ ” (Gun-rights organizations at odds, by David Bresnahan, WorldNetDaily, 3-2-2000)
“What’s it going to solve?” asked…LaPierre…”The criminals won’t comply…”…NRA has warned that Clinton’s proposal to track every gun and bullet used in a crime means that all guns will be registered.” (Bresnahan, 2-8-2000)
So true. But then why, should such gun controls pass, does LaPierre want to enforce them?
Through “Project Exile,” LaPierre aims to “enforce existing gun laws” with “zero tolerance” and 5-years in the federal prisons he’s helping build, despite the unconstitutionality of most existing gun control laws and our bitter struggles against their passage.
Strange Bedfellows?
Predictably, Clinton & Co. are buying in: “Enforce existing gun controls, huh? Hey, that sounds good! How about 500 more ATF agents and 1100 more gun prosecutors?” (Which, of course, LaPierre had to swallow, though as usual he didn’t seem to mind). Anti-gun-rights enthusiasm for Exile was predictable, considering that LaPierre partnered with pro-defenselessness Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell to grease this sucker deal.
And yet, this from the “NRA Winning Team” web site: “Readers…may be surprised…about the latest politician taking credit for ‘Project Exile.’ A Buffalo News article (8/10/99) quoted…Sen. Charles Schumer…saying, ‘Before Project Exile,…a crime with an illegal gun could mean only a slap on the wrist. But now those wrists are slapped with handcuffs.’ (Credit Where Credit Is Due? NRA-ILA Fax Alert, Vol.6, No.32, 8/20/99)”
Why should anyone be surprised to see the Victim Disarmers jump on a bandwagon that will turn decent gun owners into political prisoners, one by one? Is NRA’s “Winning” Team really that dense, or, like the corrupt police official in Casablanca, are they “shocked, shocked, to discover there is gambling in this institution” (as they collect their winnings)?
No doubt when pressed, LaPierre will say, “I meant real criminals; you know, violent felons.” But while LaPierre’s “Winning” Team chants the “law enforcement” mantra, they’ve taken little care to limit the focus of Exile propaganda to convicted criminals; let alone violent felons. Not that these finer distinctions would save us anyway: Intended or not, Exile will include decent folks busted for CCW or refusing to turn in “illegal” guns, then busted again after doing time. As gun control laws grow ever numerous and complex, Exile will victimize good citizens for unknowing violations as well. Moreover, since anti-gunners are designing and implementing Exile, even so-called “violent felons” will include decent, victimless offenders.
by Russ Howard
