I could only find this reference in another newsgroup. I post it without being able to verify it's accuracy.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>If you check out today's USA Today, you'll see a full page ad taken by Handgun Control (www.handguncontrol.org) on page 5D. There are about 200 celebrity names signed to the letter including Springsteen's
The copy reads:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION
We are not "gun haters." But we hate what guns are doing to our communities, our schools, our families and, most especially, our children. Guns do not bleed. Children do. Every day we lose nearly 13 children to gun violence in this country. A classroom every other day.
This debate is not about guns. It's about our children. Whatever you may think about the 2nd Amendment, our children do not have a "right to keep and bear arms." In fact, it's not about anyone's right to own a firearm. It's about everyone's right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It's about the responsibility that we all have for keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, children and other prohibited purchasers. It's about the simple things that gun owners and non-gun owners alike can do to prevent children and other prohibited purchasers from getting guns.
We stand for these basic principles:
- No child should have unsupervised access to a firearm
- No handgun should be sold without a child safety lock
- No gun should be sold without a background check. No exceptions. - There should be a minimum waiting period of 72 hours on all handgun purchases to provide for a "cooling off" period and to give police time to complete a thorough background check
- No one should be able to buy more than one handgun per month. The only people who need to buy more than twelve handguns per year are the professional gun traffickers who make a living reselling guns to children and criminals - No more semi-automatic assault weapons. No more ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds. We don't need more killing power on our streets.
If we do all these things, not a single law-abiding adult would be denied a firearm for self-defense, for recreation or any other legitimate purpose. Not a single one. But we might just save the life of a child and spare some family a lifetime of sorrow. Is that too much to ask?
[there are about 200 names listed. here are a few]
David Arquette
Kevin Bacon
Alec Baldwin
William Baldwin
Bob Barker
Drew Barrymore
Richard Belzer
Tony Bennett
Candice Bergen
Jon Bon Jovi
BOYZ II MEN
Benjamin Bratt
James Brolin
Albert Brooks
Kate Capshaw
Cher
Judy Collins
Kevin Costner
Walter Cronkite
Sheryl Crow
Matt Damon
Ellen Degeneres
Phil Donahue
Marion Wright Edelman
Missy Elliott
Nora Ephron
Melissa Etheridge
Mia Farrow
Sally Field
Carrie Fisher
Doug Flutie
Andy Garcia
Richard Gere
Spalding Gray
Ethan Hawke
Anne Heche
Whitney Houston
David E. Kelley
Kevin Kline
Lenny Kravitz
Lisa Kudrow
Christine Lahti
k.d. lang
Spike Lee
John Leguizamo
Gerald M. Levin
Kyle MacLachlan
Madonna
Camryn Manheim
Penny Marshall
Bette Midler
Mary Tyler Moore
Mike Myers
N Sync
Mike Nichols
Jack Nicholson
Rosie O'Donnell
Sarah Jessica Parker
Michelle Pfeiffer
Dennis Quaid
Aidan Quinn
Bonnie Raitt
Paul Reiser
Anne Riche
Natasha Richardson
Tim Robbins
Julia Roberts
Renee Russo
Meg Ryan
Susan Sarandon
Jerry Seinfeld
Mira Sorvino
*Bruce Springsteen*
Patrick Stewart
Sting
Sharon Stone
Meryl Streep
Barbra Streisand
Uma Thurman
Shania Twain
Harvey Weinstein
Jann Wenner
Rita Wilson
HANDGUN CONTROL
Sarah Brady, Chair
Visit our website at
www.handguncontrol.org
Paid for by Handgun Control[/quote]
If I can locate the ad I'll scan it and post it.
Dave
[This message has been edited by DHH (edited June 11, 1999).]