Gun show controversy spreads to B-CC Rescue Squad event

D

dZ

New member
Gun show controversy spreads to B-CC Rescue Squad event
http://www.gazette.net/200102/bethesda/news/39572-1.html
by Myra Mensh Patner
Staff Writer

Jan. 10, 2001

The controversy over gun shows in Montgomery County has spread from the
fairgrounds in Gaithersburg to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.

The squad, located at the corner of Battery Lane and Old Georgetown Road, has
rented its banquet hall to a support group of the National Rifle Association for a
fund-raising event Feb. 24 that will include an auction of a limited-edition rifle, and
handguns and pistols as prizes.

The guns will be on display, but a federally licensed gun dealer from Poolesville will
handle the transactions at his shop, where the guns will be obtained. News of the
event, which has taken place for several years, has sparked surprise and dismay
from Bethesda groups.

Roger LaFlesh, the Potomac man helping organize the NRA event, said the
Mid-Maryland 2001 Friends of the NRA purchased a $5,000 package of guns, gun
accessories and artwork from the NRA to raise money for gun-safety education.

LaFlesh said every NRA friends group auctions the "NRA gun of the Year," which this
year is a limited edition 7mm Remington Magnum. Other guns used for game prizes
will include handguns like a Ruger .22-caliber, and pistols and a black powder rifle,
LaFlesh said.

"We'll give out one gun for each game," LaFlesh said.

Margaret Engel, a longtime Bethesda gun-control activist who spearheaded the drive
for the gun-free zones law passed by the County Council in 1997, sent a letter to the
squad on Jan. 8 asking that guns no longer be awarded or sold at the NRA events.

"This event is so at odds with your lifesaving mission that I am startled by it ... Should
a community service organization that has a sterling reputation for saving lives be the
venue for deadly weapons?" wrote Engel in her letter. "The rescue squad, like a
hospital, is the absolute wrong setting for a gun auction."

News of the rescue squad event has also drawn attention of leaders of Bethesda
groups near the rescue squad.

Lisa Heaton of Bethesda Friends Meeting, a Quaker group, said she will raise the
issue of the NRA event with her group, as will Alyssa Emden, president of Edgemoor
Citizens Association.

Outgoing squad Chief Lewis German said Monday that he was unaware that the NRA
group had rented the banquet hall because rentals operate separately from the
squad even though they raise money for the squad.

"This is the first I've heard of it," German said. "The Rose Room [banquet hall] is a
separate operation. We'll rent that for any legal purpose."

Newly elected squad Chief Edward Sherburne said the squad's board of directors
will meet next week and render a decision.

The 60-year-old, B-CC Rescue Squad is privately operated and takes no public
funds, German said. Its $1 million annual budget is raised entirely by donations,
most of them from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase community, German said.

The situation is reminiscent of the ongoing controversy over gun shows at the
Montgomery Agricultural Center and Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, where Silverado
Promotions has organized gun shows since 1990.

The fairgrounds are privately owned and operated, but in the past two years, has
obtained more than $1 million in public money for renovations. That prompted state
and local politicians to call for an end to the gun shows.

State Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Chevy Chase asked the fairgrounds board to
stop the shows, which it has not done. County Executive Douglas M. Duncan has
asked the City of Gaithersburg to pass a gun-free zone law to end the shows.

A gun show took place at the fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday, and featured
handguns, pistols, rifles, shotguns, assault weapons, gun accessories and books
ranging from wilderness survival to sniper training and murder-for-hire.

To counter the show, the Million Mom March local chapter held a gun violence
teach-in at Johns Hopkins' Shady Grove campus.

The teach-in drew about 50 people and was conceived to replace the confrontation
that took place between the Moms and the Maryland Tyranny Response Team, a
chapter of a Colorado-based group dedicated to disrupting Million Mom March
activities around the country, at the October gun show at the fairgrounds.

A handful of Tyranny Response men picketed the teach-in, standing a block away at
the entrance to the Johns Hopkins campus.
 
so is it up to th MD TRT to counter protest for the NRA at this event or will the attending NRA members do something?

dZ
 
Ms Engei's experience with life is quite different than mine. She says:

"This event is so at odds with your lifesaving mission that I am startled by it ... Should
a community service organization that has a sterling reputation for saving lives be the
venue for deadly weapons?" wrote Engel in her letter. "The rescue squad, like a
hospital, is the absolute wrong setting for a gun auction."

Guns have saved my life several times. I consider them to be life saving equipment.
 
Good efforts to all...
The more these TRT groups get noticed, them more they will grow, and the more effect they will have.
 
BCC RESCUE SQUAD UNDER FIRE

http://www.wusatv9.com/9news/index.html

There's controversy involving the Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Some

regular contributors to the volunteer organization are threatening to

withhold their financial support because the squad's facilities may be used

next month for an NRA banquet.

The squad rents out its facilities to raise money since it doesn't receive

funding from taxpayers.  Mid Maryland Friends of the NRA wants to use the

facility.

The problem is, there's a church next door, and Montgomery County bans the

sale and transfer of guns within 100 yards of places of public assembly, such

as churches and county-run recreation centers.



A decision on whether the banquet will proceed is expected to be made at a

meeting Monday.
 
Planned Gun Sale in Montgomery Under Fire
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54931-2001Jan12.html
By Phuong Ly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 13, 2001 ; Page B05

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad officials are considering whether to revoke a contract allowing a group that affiliates itself with the National Rifle Association to rent its banquet facilities for a
fundraiser and firearms auction, after the Montgomery county attorney said yesterday that the event would violate county laws.

Mid-Maryland Friends of the NRA has booked the banquet room for Feb. 24. The rescue squad uses profits from rentals to help fund its operations.

Yesterday, County Attorney Charles W. Thompson Jr. sent a letter to the rescue squad stating that the event, "as planned, is illegal under County law." Montgomery law bans the sale and transfer of
guns within 100 yards of places of public assembly such as churches and county-run recreation centers. The rescue squad hall, at 5020 Battery Lane, abuts a church.

Rescue squad Chief Edward Sherburne said the squad's attorneys are researching the issue, and its board of directors is expected to make a decision at a meeting Monday night. He said the group's
rental was expected to provide a $1,500 profit for the squad, which is privately operated and depends primarily on donations for its $1 million annual budget.

A decision to revoke the group's contract may mean that the squad would have to pay a cancellation fee, Sherburne said.

"We're not debating the merits of the NRA," he said. "We're simply debating what is the best decision for the community in terms of the use of our hall."

A representative of Mid-Maryland Friends could not be reached for comment last night because his telephone number is unlisted. Another representative did not return messages left on his office
phone.

Sherburne said many squad officials were not aware of the event until a reporter from the Bethesda Gazette called Monday. Groups that rent the facility are not allowed to claim that they are endorsed
by the rescue squad, he said.

"We're renting to these people; we do not support them," Sherburne said.

A representative of Mid-Maryland Friends said it might consider showing only pictures of guns at the auction, Sherburne said.

But the county attorney said last night that even so, it would be violating the code if a sale took place. "If indeed they are not auctioning a gun, then certainly, there's no reason to be concerned,"
Thompson said.

"As you know," he wrote in his letter, "there is considerable controversy over such events in Montgomery County, where we are working hard to protect our citizens from gun-related injuries and
deaths."

Gun shows at the county fairgrounds in Gaithersburg came under scrutiny last year when County Council members and state lawmakers questioned whether any place in Montgomery that receives
public money should be open to such shows.

In October, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) urged Gaithersburg officials to outlaw such events. County law that effectively bans gun shows and creates gun-free zones near public places
does not apply to municipalities such as Gaithersburg.

Last Saturday, the Montgomery chapter of the Million Mom March sponsored a gun safety fair a few miles from a gun show at the fairgrounds. The Million Mom event drew about 50 people as well
as several members of Maryland Tyranny Response Team, a group that fights for the rights of gun owners.

© 2001 The Washington Post
 
When you accept government subsidies....

You become a child of the giver, when will we learn, that gov't monies ALWAYS have strings????
Look at the state run, so called public schools..........
They give fed funds, and then they give fed orders.........
We accept fed funds for our state highway's, they tell us the speed limit's................
Their is NO free lunch..............you bargain with the devil, you pay his wages..............:(
 
"We're renting to these people; we do not support them," Sherburne said.

You'd think they were talking about the KKK here, not the NRA. Perhaps the Friends of the NRA should book a private facility next year and sue the MMM'ers if they ever use a public facility.

Dick
 
Squad Won't Rent Hall for Gun Sale

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad will cancel an agreement to rent its banquet facility to a group affiliating itself
with the National Rifle Association for a fundraiser and firearms auction, a rescue squad official said last night.

"We cannot be sure it's legal" to permit the event, said rescue squad Chief Edward Sherburne.

The squad's banquet room was booked for Feb. 24 by Mid-Maryland Friends of the NRA. Last week, Montgomery County's
county attorney wrote the squad, saying that the event as planned was illegal under county law, which prohibits gun sales
near churches.

Rental income from the hall helps support the privately funded squad.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63474-2001Jan15.html
 
http://www.gazette.net/200103/bethesda/news/40328-1.html

Squad cancels weapons auction

by Myra Mensh Patner
Staff Writer

Jan. 17, 2001

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Monday canceled a
controversial banquet and gun auction scheduled for Feb. 24 in its Rose
Room hall.

The squad, at Old Georgetown Road and Battery Lane in Bethesda, had
rented the hall to a local group called Mid-Maryland Friends of the NRA,
which raises money for the National Rifle Association.

The squad canceled the rental after hearing from County Attorney
Charles Thompson that the event appeared to violate the county's 1997
gun-free zones law. In addition, more than three dozen neighbors sent
messages to the squad opposing the event.

"As you may already know, Montgomery County law bans sale or
possession of guns near places of public assembly, which include places
of worship," Thompson wrote in a letter to the squad Friday. "Since
church property abuts that of the BCC Rescue Squad, it appears that the
National Rifle Association event is illegal."

Christ Lutheran Church is next door to the squad on Old Georgetown
Road.

Roger LaFlesh, the Potomac man organizing the event, did not return
calls seeking comment.

Last week, LaFlesh said the event was to include an auction of a limited
edition 7mm Remington Magnum. Other guns planned for game prizes
included handguns, pistols and a black powder rifle.

The NRA issued a statement Tuesday objecting to reports describing the
event as a "gun show," saying it raises money to support firearm safety
and education.

"Numerous items are auctioned at the banquets to raise funds, including
wildlife art, jewelry and a few firearms. Firearm transfers are made in full
compliance with all laws regulating the sale," the statement read.

NRA spokesman John Robbins said volunteers are searching for another
site for the banquet and auction.

Rescue squad Chief Edward Sherburne said the event was to be the fifth
time in three years that the rented the hall. The squad also rented its
banquet hall to the group in March 2000, March 1999, October 1998 and
October 1997, Sherburne said.

He said most officials did not know about the banquets because rental of
the hall is separate from other squad activities. Sherburne said he and
other squad officers learned of the NRA event when contacted Jan. 8 by
The Gazette.

The rescue squad depends on donations to maintain its $1 million annual
budget, most of which come from Bethesda and Chevy Chase residents.

The county attorney will not investigate earlier gun sales at the rescue
squad, even though the March 2000 event was within the one-year
statute of limitations, said Donna Bigler, a county spokeswoman.

"It is our hope the county attorney's letter will head off future events,"
Bigler said.

County Council passed the gun-free zones law in 1997 in response to the
opening of a Bethesda gun shop, the Gentleman Hunter on Fairmont
Avenue.

Though the gun store sits next to a county park known as Veteran's Park,
it was grandfathered in when the council passed the law.

The shop's owner, Art Harris, bowing to community opposition, agreed to
give up his application for a license to sell handguns.

The gun-free zones law carries fines varying from $750 to $1,000 and a
possible six-month jail sentence, Bigler said.

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan has asked county municipalities to
pass a similar gun-free zones law that would outlaw gun shows that have
taken place for a decade at the Montgomery County fairgrounds in
Gaithersburg.
 
The demonization of firerms, firearms owners, and the NRA, continues, by the communistnazis.

Just as Hitler and Goebbels demonized the Jews, turning turning them into "vermin," so the communistnazis demonize us. What do you do with "vermin"? Exterminate them.

The Locomotives Continue Racing Toward Each Other. J.B.
 
In addition, more than three dozen neighbors sent
messages to the squad opposing the event.
Click to expand...

that would be the entire population of the Bethesda MMM

mayhaps we concerned Americans could contact the squad...

http://www.bccrs.org/



(301) 652-0077
(301) 656-6523 Fax
(301) 657-5557 New Member Information / Join The Squad

Address

5020 Battery Lane
Bethesda MD 20814

Email

Admin contact at: admin.office@bccrs.org
 
I've been a supporter of the B-CC rescue squad for quite a few years now, ever since I lived in that area just after I moved to DC.

Well, this year, instead of my yearly donation, they getting a letter saying that their donation has been given to NRA.

I've not yet received a response, I doubt that I will.
 
The shop's owner, Art Harris, bowing to community opposition, agreed to
give up his application for a license to sell handguns.
Click to expand...

Yup, admit you're selling a "bad, evil thing." That's the way to stand up for your rights......

but then, maybe he had to do it for financial reasons, or to avoid future harassment from the local government. But I doubt it.
 
The county attorney will not investigate earlier gun sales at the rescue
squad, even though the March 2000 event was within the one-year
statute of limitations, said Donna Bigler, a county spokeswoman.

Maybe we should insist that they do investigate & fine them
thus turning the spotlight on a bad law

Sec. 57-7A.  Firearms in or near places of public assembly.

(a)A person must not sell, transfer, possess, or transport a handgun, rifle, or shotgun, or
ammunition for these firearms, in or within 100 yards of a place of public assembly.

(b)This section does not:

(1)prohibit the teaching of firearms safety or other educational or sporting use in the
areas described in subsection (a);

(2)apply to a law enforcement officer, or a security guard licensed to carry the firearm;

(3)apply to the possession of a firearm or ammunition in the person’s own home;

(4)apply to the possession of one firearm, and ammunition for the firearm, at a business
by either the owner or one authorized employee of the business;

(5)apply to the possession of a handgun by a person who has received a permit to carry
the handgun under State law; or

(6)apply to separate ammunition or an unloaded firearm:

(A)transported in an enclosed case or in a locked firearms rack on a motor vehicle;
or

(B)being surrendered in connection with a gun turn-in or similar program
approved by a law enforcement agency.

(c)Notwithstanding subsection (a), a gun shop owned and operated by a firearms dealer
licensed under Maryland or federal law on January 1, 1997, may conduct regular, continuous
operations after that date in the same permanent location under the same ownership if the gun
shop:

(1)does not expand its inventory (the number of guns or rounds of ammunition displayed
or stored at the gun shop at one time) or square footage by more than 10 percent, or expand the
type of guns (handgun, rifle, or shotgun) or ammunition offered for sale since January 1, 1997;

(2)has secure locks on all doors and windows;

(3)physically secures all ammunition and each firearm in the gun shop (such as in a
locked box or case, in a locked rack, or with a trigger lock);

(4)has adequate security lighting;

(5)has a functioning alarm system connected to a central station that notifies the police;
and

(6)has liability insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000. (1997 L.M.C., ch. 14, §§1, 2;
1998 L.M.C., ch. 2, §§1, 2.)

Sec. 57-9. Penalty.

Any  violation of this Chapter or a condition of an approval certificate issued under this Chapter is a
Class A violation to which the maximum penalties for a class A violation apply. Any violation of Section
57-5A is a Class A civil violation. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 109-9; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; CY 1991
L.M.C., ch. 21, § 1; 1997 L.M.C., ch. 16.)
Click to expand...

dZ
 
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