HCI Publicly Atacks H.R. 218
Sarah Brady Exploits Law Enforcement
to Fight Cop-Saving Bill

In a Capitol Hill press conference held September 9, 1998, Sarah Brady, chair of Handgun Control Inc., along with three law officers (not very representative of the more than 600,000 cops in the U.S.) "warned of danger as H.R. 218 heads for a floor vote in the House." She stated that "if H.R. 218 becomes law, it will... jeopardize public safety."

Joining Brady at this press conference were U.S. Representative Marty Meehan (D-Mass.); U.S. Representative William Delahunt (D-Mass.); Police Chief Christopher Kelly of Baldwin Borough, Penn.; Constable Bruce Elfant of Austin, Texas; a Connecticut state representative; and Officer Jerry Flynn of Lowell, Mass, representing the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

CHECK THE
H.R. 218
ACTION CENTER
FOR THE LATEST ON THIS IMPORTANT LEGISLATION

Many of LEAA's staff members "crashed" this HCI-sponsored press conference to tell the real story behind H.R. 218, and thankfully, most members of the assembled press listened. LEAA Executive Director Jim Fotis said, "The lives of street cops are hanging in the balance because the nation's leading anti-gun organization, HCI, is opposing cop-saver legislation pending in Congress. HCI's political zeal is blinding them to the importance of police officer safety."

Using members of the law enforcement community, HCI wanted to make it appear as if police officers uniformly oppose H.R. 218 (when LEAA has more than 50 police organizations on record as supporting it). This isn't the first time the position of law enforcement has been misconducted by those opposed to gun ownership to make the public believe cops favor gun control.

It's A Lie In 1994, when the so-called "assault weapons" ban passed through Congress, cops from around the country were compelled by their supervisors to act as if they supported Clinton's crime bill. In one instance, Minnesota officers were ordered to pose in photos with the President to falsely indicate their support for his 1994 so-called crime bill - in uniform and at taxpayers' expense.

But probably the most notable case occurred when a representative of the International Association of Chiefs of Police through an official tele-type message requested that uniformed officers from the Washington, D.C. area be compelled to demonstrate in favor of the "assault weapons" ban on Capitol Hill on the day a critical vote was expected. Subsequently the Arlington, Virginia police chief obtained 10 0fficers to attend. They were instructed to stand on the steps of the Capitol for a photo-op.

Of course, prior to the event, most of these officers didn't know what the event was; most believed it was to kick-off the annual Police Week activities. With hardly any warning and few options of getting out of the assignment, the 10 officers showed up in their Class A uniforms. And if that's not enough, the officers were made to feel even more like pawns in the political process when they were told by a gun-control lobbyist not to speak with any members of the press or with any congressmen. Before long, photos appeared across the nation on the CBS Evening News, in USA Today, and who knows where else, inferring that rank-and-file police officers supported this bad bill.

Soon after, an Arlington officer filed a lawsuit (which was ultimately unsuccessful) against the chief and the county for depriving him of the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The officer did not agree with the essence of the gun-control measure being voted on and wanted to be excused from the assignment, but was ordered to go.

According to Andrew Hays, an LEAA member who was one of the Arlington officers duped into going to the Capitol that day. "This whole episode is a perfect example of how far the gun-control extremists will go to perpetuate the deception that police officers support gun-control legislation."

Additionally, HCI's propaganda says they are working to make Right-To-Carry permits more difficult to obtain. They even report that the Illinois governor "has allowed the Illinois State Police to lead the opposition to the CCW legislation (in that state)." He's allowed someone who works for him? Or is he compelling his officers to oppose such laws, like others have done?

The Duped Media In an August 21, 1998, editorial, The Washington Post bought into the HCI attack on H.R. 218 and the "danger" of honest people carrying firearms for self-defense by calling it a "loose reciprocity plan." The editors asked what possible favor is done "by loosening the laws of states where police and the people whose lives they seek to protect have agreed on certain requirements?" Then they totally ignored the law enforcement support for this concept saving, "Responsive lawmakers should reject it outright and resoundingly."

Of course, LEAA couldn't let this one-sided story be told and we immediately drafted a letter to the Post stating. "This common sense proposal recognizes the public safety benefits that can be gained by having trained law enforcement officers, ready to respond, among the citizens in our communities. But the Post ignores this provision of H.R. 218 and instead attacks a recently added amendment to the bill....Surveys of actual law enforcement officers show that officers would disagree vehemently with your declarations that reciprocity 'serves no constructive purpose.' Further H.R. 218 shows exactly how widespread the support for this legislation is."

We went further to say, "We ask that the Post independently examine the facts of the matter and report the truth to its readers. This is especially important since, on the basis of the inaccuracy involved, you call for the defeat of legislation that will help protect law enforcement officers' lives." After all, it was obvious that the info in the Post's article came directly from HCI-distributed propaganda.

The Status of H.R. 218 H.R. 218 the "Community Protection Act,"is LEAA's flagship legislation and has been introduced in four congressional sessions, by Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) This bill would allow all active-duty and retired law enforcement officers in good standing to carry a concealed firearm across state lines, exempt from state concealed-carry prohibitions.

All along receiving bi-partisan support and finally being endorsed by the national FOP, H.R. 218 has made more progress in the 105th Congress than ever before, and we hope to build on this momentum with an early victory in the new Congress next year. (As this is written, Congress is still in session, but after being quite hopeful a couple of weeks ago about passage of H.R. 218, it appears Congress may remain paralyzed over Clinton's sex scandal and pending impeachment proceedings. As you can imagine, his months of half-truths and denials have interrupted any good, productive work Congress could be doing.)

Nonetheless, during this past summer, the bill cleared the House Subcommittee on Crime and then was approved by the House Judiciary Committee on a unanimous voice vote. Representative Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime, amended H.R. 218 with a provision allowing reciprocity for private citizens in Right-To-Carry states to have their firearms in approximately 30 0ther qualifying states.

HCI says that "H.R. 218, in its original form was a relatively non-controversial measure." They say that now, but in the seven years that LEAA and the police community have been fighting for this bill, and after repeated requests from us to come on-board, HCI never considered endorsing it nor fighting for the passage of this critical legislation.

Moreover, in an August 14 press release condemning H.R. 218 an HCI representative had the audacity to draw a connection with the amended bill and heinous murder of two Capitol Police officers who were apparently gunned down by Russell Weston, Jr. An HCI spokesperson stated, "The passage of this Amendment (H.R. 218) is particularly ironic, coming as it does only a few weeks after an Illinois resident - who had been involuntarily committed to a mental institution in Montana - allegedly brought this gun halfway across the country, ultimately to murder two Capitol Hill police officers."

Well, Sarah, first of all, Illinois doesn't issue Right-To-Carry permits, so he never could have obtained one there. Further, the District of Columbia has strict gun laws whereby no citizen can legally carry a firearm there. But then again, Weston doesn't seem to have been too concerned with what was and was not legal that day. Brady and her HCI cohorts exploit this law enforcement tragedy to assert that any law would prevent such illegal acts by someone bent on violence.

Subsequently, HCI claims that "millions of people roaming the country with concealed handguns would pose a danger." This flies in the face of the solid research unearthed by University of Chicago scholar D. John Lott. (LEAA members can order Dr. Lott's book at a discount price on page 49.)

We're right and we can win this battle. If Clinton's scandal does indeed stalemate the progress of good bills like H.R. 218, LEAA members will need to start the legislative push early in January. We'll need to watch the election results and let our new and/or incumbent representatives and senators know their constituents want real progress on this necessary bill - not just lips service.