H.R. 218’s Success Is Just A Tip Of The Iceberg
Cop Right-To-Carry Has Bi-Partisan Support
By James J. Fotis, LEAA's Executive Director
Shield, Summer 1999

As Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham took to the floor that fateful Friday, June 18, 1999, to seek his colleagues’ votes for LEAA’s “Community Protection Act” (H.R. 218), I’ll be the first to admit my adrenaline was pumping as I listened. I felt great pride as the California representative spoke on the House floor, thanking LEAA for the role we played promoting this legislation and explaining that we were the bill’s authors and had carried the banner from the early days.

At last, after so many years and so much effort by many dedicated people, the flagship of LEAA’s legislative mission was before the full House and doing well, very well. Shortly after 10 o’clock in the morning, 372 representatives ­ Democrats and Republicans alike ­ were voting in favor of the Community Protection Act, attaching it to a package of amendments within the controversial Juvenile Justice Bill. We were elated that a full 86 percent of the House would back our provision. Victory, finally? But then by 4 p.m. the rug was pulled out from under us, as the House rejected the larger bill carrying H.R. 218 and other amendments. H.R. 218 went down

Still, as the “yes” votes began to add up that day, I found myself reflecting back eight years ago to the advent of LEAA. Virtually no one knew us. We were the new kids on Congress’ block.

In a sense, the “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” naivete worked in our favor. We tackled issues “old-timers” would dismiss as undoable. More often than not, LEAA took our legislative agenda to areas where no one dared go. That “can do” spirit proved to be precisely the attitude necessary to fulfill our mission to effectively represent law enforcement’s concerns and speak on behalf of street officers.

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Keeping his finger on the pulse of rank and file officers nationwide, LEAA's Executive Director Jim Fotis looks for every opportunity to talk with real cops about their priorities.

LEAA never forgets (I never forget) that equality is always an issue, equality between citizens and law enforcement. That’s why LEAA has testified in every state that has adopted Right-To-Carry in the last six years and continues to promote reciprocity for Right-To-Carry nationally, whether it’s through individual laws or compacts adopted at the state level or through federal legislation. We at LEAA will always be there to support a civilian’s right to self-defense. In fact, we’ve tackled so many important issues.

LEAA was the first organization to uncover the Clinton Administration’s fictitious COPS program, long before USA Today, the New York Post and the Chicago Tribune “exposed” it as a farce ­ finally the DOJ’s Inspector General discovered that the “100,000 new cops” don’t exist. (See Part II of the Clinton COPS program starting on page 26.)

And when we heard about ill-conceived anti-gun measures masquerading as crime-fighting, we called it like we saw it. We were among the first to issue warnings about the Lautenberg Amendment in 1996. Sold to the American public as a quick-fix for domestic violence, we uncovered it as merely a ruse to promote an agenda to disarm the nation’s honest gun owners. Now, as the article on page 18 explains, a federal judge in Texas has found the infamous Lautenberg Amendment to be unconstitutional and LEAA is helping fight the appeals by filing a “friend of the court” brief in support of the judge’s decision.

And, then there’s the dilemma of school violence. The sad tragedy at Columbine High School propelled the media and lawmakers into the newest chapter of the gun-control debate. However, long before most of us had ever heard of Littleton, Colo., LEAA had proposed a “Youth Offender Prevention Act” as model legislation to shortstop violence among juveniles (details about this bill appear on page 22). I might add that this isn’t the first time we’ve discussed this topic in the pages of Shield. Six months ago, we were ahead of the curve when we broached the subject of youth violence in the Fall 1998 issue. In talking to cops across the country, we had become convinced that the best way to circumvent problems with adolescents was to hold them responsible for their actions at an early age, and to force school officials to take violent threats seriously.

Another successful piece of model legislation drafted by LEAA is the “Disarming A Law Enforcement Officer Act.” As you’ll see on page 58, this is a prime example of an effective solution to the dangers peace officers face, and a better alternative to imposing more restrictions on law-abiding citizens.

Of course, our pursuit of justice for law enforcement personnel has led us down some paths that even we could not have predicted. Our efforts to counter the illegal registry of gun owners by Janet Reno’s NICS system and the dangerously misguided proposal for a National ID Card led us straight into the “privacy” issue, which we’re still fighting. You won’t believe how far they want to take this invasion ­ check out the story on page 40.

Ultimately, LEAA’s goal has always been to support our local police and law-abiding gun owners, whether that’s through lobbying H.R. 218, or passing disarming legislation, or uncovering flaws in Clinton’s grant programs. Since the early days, LEAA has been at the forefront of defending the Second Amendment and law enforcement, and now we’re stepping up our efforts by organizing LEAA’s “Support Your Local Police” campaign. This program enters the public education arena and may even delve into litigation assistance via the LEAA Foundation, which is of course in contrast to today’s politically correct trend to persecute cops because of “profiling” and the tired complaint of alleged “brutality.” We’ll stand up for these defenders in blue; we’ve done it before and we’ll continue to do so.

All of this activity not only serves our membership and helps carve LEAA’s initials on the congressional portals, but it has also caught the eye of the media. Rarely does a week go by where we fail to get a request for a media appearance or an interview. In just the last few months, we’ve been on MSNBC panels, featured on ABC News, CourtTV, Fox News, CNN, and been interviewed by print news outlets such as The Washington Times and police trade publications like Law & Order magazine. Perhaps the most surprising request came from MTV in May, which proved to be a great opportunity to reach the younger generations on the issue of guns.

I’ve said it time and again, LEAA has come a long way in eight years. And, we’ll go even further in the next eight with your help. Part of the assistance we’ll be asking of you is your participation later this year when LEAA’s members vote for candidates for our Board of Directors, and at our biannual members’ meeting to be held this fall.

Ultimately, H.R. 218 may have been defeated on June 18, but in actuality this was a great “hidden” victory for us, as 86 percent of Congress validated the work we’re doing as an organization. We’ve said all along that if we could get a straight vote, we knew H.R. 218 would win overwhelming congressional support, and it did. Congress affirmed that the issue we spearheaded, and which has now garnered the support of organizations like FOP and the troopers’ associations (but is still being rejected by the IACP) was worth fighting for. And the fight will continue ­ continue so that the Bill of Rights of the Constitution remains the premier document that protects our privacy, freedom and the American way of life forever.