AZ TFLers....Help!

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Dago

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Special Session Of The Arizona Legislature Called
-- Governor plans to ram new gun control into law

Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org

December 10, 1999


Your immediate action is needed to stop yet another attack on your
rights.

On Monday, December 13, Arizona Governor Jane "Attila The" Hull will
call the state legislature into special session. There are two items
on the agenda. The first (the one getting most of the press), deals
with tobacco settlement money and a hospital. The other is a
dangerous gun control initiative that has been inappropriately named
"Shannon's Law."

Once again, the anti-gunners are climbing over the backs of corpses
in an attempt to strip you of your Constitutional rights. Leading
that anti-gun charge is Governor Hull.

If enacted, the so-called "Shannon's Law" would transform negligent
discharge of a firearm from a simple misdemeanor into a
rights-stripping class 6 FELONY.

There are already felony statutes that can be used to punish those
who harm or endanger persons or property through the illegal use of
a firearm, not the least of which is manslaughter. So why this new
law?

It is rumored prosecutors are saying they have difficulty obtaining
convictions under the other laws, and need a new "tool" to use in
gun cases.

What it really means is that incidents which were once properly
treated as minor crimes with appropriate penalties now have the
anti-gun prosecutor's big prize attached: the potential of taking
away a gun owner's rights to bear arms and to vote-- for life.

While the base term of imprisonment for a class 6 felony is one year
as opposed to the "more than a year" term-- which under federal law
immediately takes away one's Second Amendment rights-- Arizona law
allows courts to consider a laundry list of aggravating factors
which can increase the term of imprisonment to two years. This
laundry list includes: "Any other factors which the court may deem
appropriate to the ends of justice." There are numerous anti-gun
prosecutors and judges who would consider taking away your guns to
be in the interest of "justice."

An example of how this smokescreen of a law could turn into a
nightmare was provided by AZ activist Ken Rineer. Someone who shot a
coyote that was attacking the family pet in their own yard would now
face felony charges. Whereas before a gun owner might have decided
that the normal $750 maximum fine for a class 2 discharge
misdemeanor was worth it to save his daughter's beloved kitten, the
threat to his rights is far greater if this bill passes. Never mind
if he was on his own property, the coyote was against the backstop
of a sizable tool shed, and he knows that taking out a coyote from
six feet with his favorite gun is a shot he is more than capable of
making.

Perhaps the greatest danger, however, lies in the area of lawful
self-defense. GOA is currently trying to pass the Citizen's
Self-Defense Act on the federal level precisely because of the vast
number of law-abiding citizens who have been railroaded by
overzealous prosecutors for doing nothing more than defending their
life. Citizens who use guns in self-defense are in many
jurisdictions routinely charged with misuse of a firearm or
negligent discharge. This dangerous bill would give those same
anti-gun prosecutors a shot at the felony conviction prize-- and
since self-defense often means the bad guy gets hurt or killed,
"aggravating factors" can easily be unjustly added. Imagine-- save
your spouse's life and get disarmed for life!

Some, including Governor Hull, are claiming the law is needed to
stop reckless discharge of a gun in a celebratory manner-- like say
New Year's Eve. Hence, the law is being brought as an "emergency
measure" and would take effect immediately. Of course, if some thug
decides to loot your home or business to ring in the new millenium,
it could be YOU that winds up with a felony record.

Please, right away, contact your legislators and insist they oppose
this unnecessary and rights-infringing bill. Tell them to insist
prosecutors use the laws that are already on the books to punish the
real criminals, rather than hand them the tool they need to railroad
decent citizens.

The special session convenes THIS MONDAY at noon. There is very
little time. Please act right away.

Note: Reports from insiders indicate that Gov. "Attila The" Hull
will try to suspend the normal legislative rules for this special
session and ram this new gun control law down your throat *in under
four hours* with nothing more than an up-or-down vote. Many
legislators will have never even seen the bill. Many more won't
recognize the inherent threat to liberty it contains. It is up to
you to inform them of that, so please act right away.

Legislative rosters are found below. They are from earlier this year
and may be slightly out of date. If you can't reach your legislators
with these rosters, contact the Capitol and find out how you can.

Finally, be advised that the new law would also apply to any gun
range (within a city or town) that does not have an official
affiliation with a national organization such as the NRA or the
National Skeet Association.


AZ House roster (by district)

Main House Number:

800-352-8404

District Maps at: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/maps/state.htm

Dis Name E-mail Phone

01 Binder lbinder@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5413
01 Blewster bblewste@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5412
02 Hart jhart@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4079
02 Verkamp jverkamp@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3300
03 Gordon tgordon@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5835
03 Laughter laughter@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5862
04 Brimhall dbrimhal@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5861
04 Flake jflake@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5219
05 Carruthers jcarruth@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5273
05 McLendon rmclendo@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4430
06 Daniels ldaniels@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5898
06 Kyle rkyle@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5549
07 Clark hclark@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5829
07 Rios rrios@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5030
08 Griffin ggriffin@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5761
08 Maiorana mmaioran@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5058
09 McGibbon bmcgibbo@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3235
09 Preble lpreble@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3312
10 Gonzales sgonzale@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4089
10 Valadez rvaladez@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3424
11 Cardamone ccardamo@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3395
11 Norris dnorris@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4893
12 Huffman shuffman@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3394
12 Schottel dschotte@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5839
13 Dunbar kdunbar@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5828
13 Nichols anichols@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5108
14 Horton hhorton@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5495
14 Pickens mpickens@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3425
15 Gleason lgleason@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5409
15 Overton joverton@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5894
16 Gray lgray@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3376
16 Weiers jweiers@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4639
17 Burns rburns@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5872
17 McGrath jmcgrath@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3255
18 Gerard sgerard@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5766
18 Wong bwong@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5836
19 Carpenter tcarpent@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-1859
19 Voss rvoss@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5168
20 Brotherton bbrother@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4002
20 Foster kfoster@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5160
21 Cooley dcooley@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5874
21 Jarrett mjarrett@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3163
22 Loredo jloredo@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5830
22 Miranda rmiranda@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3392
23 Avelar cavelar@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3278
23 Landrum llandrum@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5864
24 Horne thorne@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5977
24 Leff bleff@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5863
25 Cheuvront kcheuvro@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5895
25 Weason cweason@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3297
26 Hatch-Miller jhatch@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5051
26 May smay@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5408
27 Gardner mgardner@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5896
27 Knaperek knaperek@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5169
28 Allen callen@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4225
28 Marsh wmarsh@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5503
29 Anderson manderso@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4371
29 Gardner wgarnder@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5760
30 Groscost jgroscos@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5735
30 Johnson kjohnson@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4467


AZ Senate Roster (by district)

District maps at: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/maps/state.htm

Senate fax (602) 542-3429

D Name E-Mail Phone

01 Bennett kbennett@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5584
02 Wettaw jwettaw@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4486
03 Jackson jjackson@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4323
04 Brown jbrown@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4129
05 Guenther hguenthe@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4139
06 Huppenthal jhuppent@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4178
07 Rios prios@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5685
08 Arzberger garzberg@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4321
09 Bee kbee@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5683
10 Soltero vsoltero@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5342
11 Richardson erichard@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5262
12 Day aday@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4326
13 Cunningham gcunning@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5911
14 Solomon rsolomon@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5993
15 Cirillo ecirillo@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4173
16 Hamilton dhamilto@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5261
17 Burns bburns@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-3160
18 Spitzer mspitzer@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4480
19 Bundgaard sbundgaa@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4136
20 Hartley mhartley@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4485
21 Bowers rbowers@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5288
22 Lopez jlopez@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4171
23 Aguirre laguirre@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-7830
24 Grace sgrace@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5284
25 Cummiskey ccummisk@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4916
26 Smith tsmith@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5955
27 Mitchell hmitchel@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4124
28 Gnant rgnant@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4138
29 Petersen dpeterse@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-4481
30 Freestone tfreesto@azleg.state.az.us 602-542-5325
 
Done.

I couldn't get through to the state legislature site (Mmmmmm...), so I used the shotgun approach: I e-mailed each and every one of them using the supplied list.

I also e-mailed this thread to a couple of friends.
 
I got an easier way to e-mail these Arizona legislators.

Just go to
www.goaz.org.

We are affiliated with www.brassroots.org and GOA.

Some place in the web page is a button which takes you to a section to auto-mail each of the 90 legiscritters and the Governor.

Do it. Even if you live in North Dakota.

Rick
 
Done. Thanks for the notice!

------------------
John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..." RKBA!
 
A minor victory here.

According to the AZ Republic newspaper this morning: due to the large number of e-mails that the legislators received, some of them pushed for and got an ammendment to the bill that would specify that the gun must be discharged upwards (into the air) for this felony offense to apply. Although the proponents of the bill are dissappointed... hey, that was the whole point of the bill, wasn't it?

Score 1/2 a point for our side.
 
Wish those blasted coyotes would stay offa my roof. ;)

Thanks all for your help here....I hate compromise, but 1/2 a point is better'n no point.
 
The amended version of the bill must be defeated as well. There is already endangerment statues in Arizona Revised Statute which can be used to press felony charges.

We do not need this law. For if we did, they should also pass a law for shooting arrows in the air, and throwing rocks.

The point is this, before our legislators decide to vote on a bill, maybe it would be nice if they check to see what the existing statutes say.

Go back to www.goaz.org and tell them to vote this thing down. And go to the government blue pages in the phone book and call them too. This can't just be an e-mail campaign. Tell them you also want the date of their next District meeting (since you'll want to talk to them).

This law will be used against peaceful folk. Mark my words.

Rick

------------------
"Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American." Tench Coxe 2/20/1788
 
And just how many people have died from this type of discharge in the state of Arizona in the last 10 year or so?

NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT FURTHER RESTRICTIONS, I believe.

Oh, but damnit, It's for the children!


------------------
John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..." RKBA!
 
This is a quote from an email we received back from Rep Karen Johnson regarding Shannon's Law.


"I wanted to thank you for your input and appreciate your voice. Your e-mail
was one of 210 I received opposing Shannon's Law. I was only given one
opportunity to vote on this law and that was during the Committee of the
Whole. In this committee, I voted a firm no. There are already enough gun
laws on the books. Last night (12/14/99)the House and Senate agreed to
adjourn this session and no longer discuss the bills on the agenda, thus
"killing" Shannon's Law.

At this point, I have absolutely no plans to support further legislation
involving Shannon's Law. Thank you for your support and please keep in
touch. God bless."

Merry Christmas,
Representative Karen Johnson
 
Excellent news today on this front. Noted author Alan Korwin had the following letter published in today's Arizona Republic:

*********************************************
Editor:

Shannon's Law (the one about shooting guns in the air) is not what it appears to be.

At a town hall a few years ago, I heard one police chief state that of 1,900 shots-fired reports that year, they made no arrests. None. They don't even respond on a routine basis. Why bother, since no one's there 20 minutes later when a squad car rolls in.

A new penalty will do absolutely zero for this problem. Sorry folks, but you're being bluffed with smoke and mirrors. If this law passes next session, all you get is the status quo and politicians who can tell you how good they are.

Next time you hear a prosecutor say they can't get convictions for irresponsible 'celebratory' gunfire, ask how any cases they've tried. You're not going to like the answer. No arrests means no cases. A new penalty will not change this.

They propose a Class 6 felony as the Shannon penalty. Ask them if they realize that recklessly shooting a gun - vertically or otherwise - is already two Class 6 felonies: endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Ask them if they know, as police already do, that about the most dangerous thing you can do with your life is to approach a stranger who's firing a gun in the air - on the off chance you might ever actually witness it.

And don't fail to notice the language being tossed around - guns are always fired 'into the air,' that's how they work. This proposed law has nothing to do with stopping crime. It is driven by gun bigotry that has become rampant in America - blind hatred and irrational fear of firearms that is both ignorant and immoral.

This New Year's, be sure to follow the precise policy the police have set up for themselves, as reported in the paper this week: Duck. Be under concrete cover from 11:50 p.m. to 12:10 a.m. I commend the police for this valuable safety tip. But how many random shooters do you think this policy will apprehend, whatever the penalty might be?

I recommend the Texas approach to this problem: 'Safety through education, not legislation.' If legislators are so determined to enact new law, they should instead honor Shannon Smith's memory with a tax credit for gun-safety training, and by so doing, strongly encourage responsible behavior. [emphasis added]

The forces of repression who are pushing the one-more-law approach would give us Shannon's Crime and Shannon's Penalty. But if we instead give everyone a tax credit for getting some gun-safty training, and encourage responsible citizenship, we create Shannon's Credit and Shannon's Benefit.

I resent our legislators' vigorous efforts to rush through a worthles gesture in a surprise special session, instead of taking the time and care to produce meaningful change. It is an affront, and I feel it.

Alan Korwin
Phoenix
http://www.gunlaws.com
 
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