Gun Control Advocates Failed to Disrupt or Impact GOP Convention http://chblue.com/Article.asp?ID=681
Saturday, August 05, 2000
By Eunice Moscoso
Cox News Service
PHILADELPHIA -- Gun-control issues swarmed around the Republican National Convention this week, but did not make it
inside.
Despite several Washington news conferences by gun-control proponents last week, a silent rally in downtown Philadelphia with
a display of thousands of shoes to represent gunfire victims, and an ad campaign attacking George W. Bush, GOP delegates say
they are not all that interested in the issue or concerned about its political effect.
The Republican Party platform, which has softened on several points compared to previous years, has not changed when it
comes to guns. It reiterates a defense of "the constitutional right to keep and bear arms" and argues that self-defense is a basic
human right. The answer to violence, it argues, is stronger enforcement of existing laws.
Ferrell Blount(cq), a GOP delegate from Bethel, N.C., couldn't agree more.
"When we convict these people, we need to put them away," he said. "We don't need to pat them on the wrist and say, 'So sorry,
come back later.' "
Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers of Colorado, one of several African Americans speaking to the convention, shared the same view. "We
ought to keep (guns) out of the hands of criminals" while respecting law-abiding citizens, he said.
The right to self-defense is particularly important for women, he added. "I want my wife to have the ability to protect my family
and our children and herself."
Elsewhere this week, gun control has been a hot topic.
Proponents of more regulation -- including President Clinton -- have been holding press conferences, releasing studies, making
statements and airing commercials, hoping to bring attention to Bush's record on gun issues in Texas.
As governor, Bush has generally sided with the National Rifle Association. He has signed bills allowing people to carry
concealed weapons and preventing municipalities from suing gun makers.
In a recent fund-raising letter, Sarah Brady, chairwoman of Handgun Control Inc., the leading gun-control advocacy group,
wrote: ''My friend, if you and I truly want a safer America, we cannot allow George W. Bush to be elected president of the
United States. A political disaster of that magnitude would mean four long years of being on the defensive.''
Proponents of gun control also held a rally Saturday in downtown Philadelphia and set up a display of 18,000 pairs of shoes,
representing people who have died by gunfire.
In addition, Handgun Control is airing commercials in Philadelphia that portray Bush as a pawn of the NRA.
The television ad features a video clip from an NRA meeting earlier this year in which First Vice President Kayne Robinson
says that if Bush gets elected "we'll have . . . a president where we work out of their office."
In response, a voice-over says: "Tell Governor Bush the White House is our house and it shouldn't belong to the NRA."
But GOP delegates say they are not worried.
"Governor Bush has a reasonable approach to gun control. He is working hard to ensure that there's safety in schools. . . . He's
talked about trigger locks. He's not an extremist on guns," said Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington, N.C., an incumbent candidate
for the state Senate.
"Even though the NRA is strongly endorsing Governor Bush, there are some things that he diverges from with their beliefs. . . .
He's going to appeal to anybody who is concerned about gun control so the Democrats really don't have an issue there," he said.
Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., said that "the Democrats will make it an issue, but there are a hundred different issues out there.
Bush's focus is going to be on education, Social Security, and the economy. I am sure those are the big issues."
While Handgun Control plans to spend at least $4 million on political races this year, the NRA plans to spend a record $15
million on state and federal elections this fall.
The firearms industry is also spending some money to attack Democrats who support a series of lawsuits by state and local
governments against gun manufacturers. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the industry's leading trade association, is
airing TV commercials during both major political conventions.
"We're being blamed for crime and violence by this administration and big-city mayors whose greedy lawyers are using your tax
dollars to sue us,'' says the narrator in one of the two 60-second spots, which depict a well-dressed man, presumably a lawyer,
carefully shredding an American flag.
Last year, gun control took the spotlight in Congress after Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
horrified the nation by using high-powered guns to murder 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.
The tragedy and other highly publicized school shootings had a great impact on the public and lawmakers, despite the fact that
gun homicides have dropped over the past few years.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, gun homicides in the United States dropped from 14,740 in 1995 to 10,976 in
1998. Homicides committed by teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 also dropped, from 2,692 in 1995 to 1,433 in 1998.
Gun control proponents argue that the numbers are still staggering and that gun violence will only drop significantly when the
number of firearms is reduced.
A package of gun control proposals that includes stricter background checks at gun shows, requiring child safety locks on guns,
and banning the import of high-capacity ammunition clips has been stuck in the Republican-led Congress for months.
© 2000 Cox News Service
Saturday, August 05, 2000
By Eunice Moscoso
Cox News Service
PHILADELPHIA -- Gun-control issues swarmed around the Republican National Convention this week, but did not make it
inside.
Despite several Washington news conferences by gun-control proponents last week, a silent rally in downtown Philadelphia with
a display of thousands of shoes to represent gunfire victims, and an ad campaign attacking George W. Bush, GOP delegates say
they are not all that interested in the issue or concerned about its political effect.
The Republican Party platform, which has softened on several points compared to previous years, has not changed when it
comes to guns. It reiterates a defense of "the constitutional right to keep and bear arms" and argues that self-defense is a basic
human right. The answer to violence, it argues, is stronger enforcement of existing laws.
Ferrell Blount(cq), a GOP delegate from Bethel, N.C., couldn't agree more.
"When we convict these people, we need to put them away," he said. "We don't need to pat them on the wrist and say, 'So sorry,
come back later.' "
Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers of Colorado, one of several African Americans speaking to the convention, shared the same view. "We
ought to keep (guns) out of the hands of criminals" while respecting law-abiding citizens, he said.
The right to self-defense is particularly important for women, he added. "I want my wife to have the ability to protect my family
and our children and herself."
Elsewhere this week, gun control has been a hot topic.
Proponents of more regulation -- including President Clinton -- have been holding press conferences, releasing studies, making
statements and airing commercials, hoping to bring attention to Bush's record on gun issues in Texas.
As governor, Bush has generally sided with the National Rifle Association. He has signed bills allowing people to carry
concealed weapons and preventing municipalities from suing gun makers.
In a recent fund-raising letter, Sarah Brady, chairwoman of Handgun Control Inc., the leading gun-control advocacy group,
wrote: ''My friend, if you and I truly want a safer America, we cannot allow George W. Bush to be elected president of the
United States. A political disaster of that magnitude would mean four long years of being on the defensive.''
Proponents of gun control also held a rally Saturday in downtown Philadelphia and set up a display of 18,000 pairs of shoes,
representing people who have died by gunfire.
In addition, Handgun Control is airing commercials in Philadelphia that portray Bush as a pawn of the NRA.
The television ad features a video clip from an NRA meeting earlier this year in which First Vice President Kayne Robinson
says that if Bush gets elected "we'll have . . . a president where we work out of their office."
In response, a voice-over says: "Tell Governor Bush the White House is our house and it shouldn't belong to the NRA."
But GOP delegates say they are not worried.
"Governor Bush has a reasonable approach to gun control. He is working hard to ensure that there's safety in schools. . . . He's
talked about trigger locks. He's not an extremist on guns," said Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington, N.C., an incumbent candidate
for the state Senate.
"Even though the NRA is strongly endorsing Governor Bush, there are some things that he diverges from with their beliefs. . . .
He's going to appeal to anybody who is concerned about gun control so the Democrats really don't have an issue there," he said.
Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., said that "the Democrats will make it an issue, but there are a hundred different issues out there.
Bush's focus is going to be on education, Social Security, and the economy. I am sure those are the big issues."
While Handgun Control plans to spend at least $4 million on political races this year, the NRA plans to spend a record $15
million on state and federal elections this fall.
The firearms industry is also spending some money to attack Democrats who support a series of lawsuits by state and local
governments against gun manufacturers. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the industry's leading trade association, is
airing TV commercials during both major political conventions.
"We're being blamed for crime and violence by this administration and big-city mayors whose greedy lawyers are using your tax
dollars to sue us,'' says the narrator in one of the two 60-second spots, which depict a well-dressed man, presumably a lawyer,
carefully shredding an American flag.
Last year, gun control took the spotlight in Congress after Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
horrified the nation by using high-powered guns to murder 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.
The tragedy and other highly publicized school shootings had a great impact on the public and lawmakers, despite the fact that
gun homicides have dropped over the past few years.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, gun homicides in the United States dropped from 14,740 in 1995 to 10,976 in
1998. Homicides committed by teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 also dropped, from 2,692 in 1995 to 1,433 in 1998.
Gun control proponents argue that the numbers are still staggering and that gun violence will only drop significantly when the
number of firearms is reduced.
A package of gun control proposals that includes stricter background checks at gun shows, requiring child safety locks on guns,
and banning the import of high-capacity ammunition clips has been stuck in the Republican-led Congress for months.
© 2000 Cox News Service