From: utah-firearms-owner@xmission.com To: utah-firearms-digest@xmission.com Subject: utah-firearms Digest V2 #5 Reply-To: utah-firearms@xmission.com Errors-To: utah-firearms-owner@xmission.com Precedence: utah-firearms Digest Thursday, 29 August 1996 Volume 02 : Number 005 In this issue: Fwd: NEA and guns [mongoose@INDIRECT.COM: Republican RKBA Plank] Re: [mongoose@INDIRECT.COM: Republican RKBA Plank] [fap@xpresso.seaslug.org: Sign of the Times (fwd)] Re: [mongoose@INDIRECT.COM: Republican RKBA Plank] Lott Editorial in today's (8/28) WSJ Highlights from Clinton's Columbus,OH Police Training Academy Speech Aug 26 Re: Action! Lott CCW stufi to the legislature, gov, and mayors Re: Action! Lott CCW stufi to the legislature, gov, and mayors Re: piml] Letter to ACLU [nvrgivup@vnet.net: STBO SPECIAL MESSAGE!] See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the utah-firearms or utah-firearms-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 10:57:39 -0600 Subject: Fwd: NEA and guns If anyone has any doubts on where the NEA stands wrt to RKBA, let this dispel them. Or, in other words, teachers' union dues at work. The second paragraph contains the meat. - ----BEGIN FORWARDED MESSGE---- The National Education Association has published their 1996-97 Resolutions. Here is their position on guns: ------------------ I-29. Gun-Free Schools and the Regulation of Deadly Weapons The National Education Association believes that all students and educational employees must be allowed to learn and work in an environment free of unathourized guns and other deadly weapons. Severe penalties should be enacted and strenuously enforced for criminal actions involving guns and other deadly weapons, especially in school settings, and for those who profit from the illegal sale, importation, and distribution of these weapons. The Association also believes that strict prescriptive regulations are necessary for the manufacture, importation, distribution, sale and resale of handguns and ammunition magazines. The possession by the private sector of automatic weapons and military-style semiautomatic assault weapons should be illegal, except for historical and collection purposes which must be strictly regulated. A mandatory waiting period for a background check should occur prior to the sale of all firearms. The Association further believes that gun owners should participate in educational programs that stress responsible ownership, including safe use and storage of guns. (82, 96) ---------------------- Contrast the above with last (school) year's resolution (1995-96): I-29. CONTROL OF GUNS AND OTHER DEADLY WEAPONS The National Educataion Association believes that stricter legislation is needed to control guns and other deadly weapons. The Association supports legislation that provides for prescriptive controls on the manufacture, distribution, and sale of handguns, with particular efforts to eliminate easily obtained, low-cost handguns -- commonly described as Saturday Night Specials. The Association further believes that the sale and possession by the private sector of automatic and semiautomatic paramilitary weapons, such as UZI submachine guns and AK-47 assault rifles, should be illegal. The Association believes that severe penalties should be enacted and strenuously enforced for criminal actions involving guns and other deadly weapons, especially in school settings, and for those who profit from the illegal sale and distribution of these weapons. ------------------------- To contact the National Education Association: mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 -------- FAX: 202/822-7206 -------- phone: 202/822-7201 -------- Online (AOL): Keyword: NEA Today -------- E-mail: NEAToday@aol.com ------------------------------------- >> - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" -- Patrick Henry, Philadelphia, 1836. ------------------------------ From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 16:25:44 -0600 Subject: [mongoose@INDIRECT.COM: Republican RKBA Plank] Don't remeber if I passed this along or not. - ----BEGIN FORWARDED MESSGE---- 1996 Republican platform plank on RKBA: ================================================================================ "We defend the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. We will promote training in the safe usage of firearms, especially in programs for women and the elderly. We strongly support Bob Dole's National Instant Check Initiative, which will keep all guns out of the hands of convicted felons. The point-of-purchase instant check has worked well in many states and now it is time to extend this system all across America. We applaud Bob Dole's commitment to have the national instant check system operational by the end of 1997. In one of the strangest actions of his tenure, Bill Clinton abolished Operation Triggerlock, the Republican initiative to jail any felon caught with a gun. We will restore that effort and will set by law minimum mandatory penalties for the use of guns in committing a crime: 5 years for possession, 10 years for brandishing, and 20 for discharge." ================================================================================ The plank is reported by RP RKBA activists as "much watered down" from the one that was originally submitted -- which would not be too surprising, given that Henry Hyde was Platform Committee Chairman. The entire platform may be found at http://www.rnc.org/hq/platform96/ - ----END FORWARDED MESSAGE---- - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "What the subcommittee on the Constitution uncovered was clear - and long lost - proof that the Second Amendment to our Constitution was intended as an individual right of the American citizen to keep and carry arms in a peaceful manner, for protection of himself, his family, and his freedoms." -- Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution - Preface, "The Right To Keep And Bear Arms" ------------------------------ From: Sarah Thompson Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 07:04:26 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [mongoose@INDIRECT.COM: Republican RKBA Plank] At 04:25 PM 8/26/96 -0600, you wrote: >1996 Republican platform plank on RKBA: >=========================================================================== ===== >"We defend the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. We will promote >training in the safe usage of firearms, especially in programs for women and >the elderly. We strongly support Bob Dole's National Instant Check Initiative, >which will keep all guns out of the hands of convicted felons. The >point-of-purchase instant check has worked well in many states and now it is >time to extend this system all across America. We applaud Bob Dole's >commitment to have the national instant check system operational by the end of >1997. In one of the strangest actions of his tenure, Bill Clinton abolished >Operation Triggerlock, the Republican initiative to jail any felon caught with >a gun. We will restore that effort and will set by law minimum mandatory >penalties for the use of guns in committing a crime: 5 years for possession, 10 >years for brandishing, and 20 for discharge." >=========================================================================== ===== >The plank is reported by RP RKBA activists as "much watered down" from the one >that was originally submitted -- which would not be too surprising, given that >Henry Hyde was Platform Committee Chairman. The entire platform may be found at > >http://www.rnc.org/hq/platform96/ > > > >----END FORWARDED MESSAGE---- Oh how utterly sickening! How can an insta-check system keep ALL guns out of the hands of criminals when only 7% obtain them from legal sources?? And those added penalties for "using a gun" in committing a crime are obscene! Just what defines "using a gun in the commission of a crime"? If I'm speeding and carrying a gun will that get me 5-10 years of hard time? If I bend over and my T-shirt slides up and my gun becomes partly visible, I'm brandishing. Do I visit the Big House for that too? And if someone murders me, I'm DEAD. I'm no more dead or less dead whether I'm murdered with a gun, or a knife, or a baseball bat, or poison, or a drunk driver. So on what grounds is this penalty just - or justified? This sounds suspiciously like a watered down version of HCI's RKBA bill. Any gun owner who supports Dole is probably mentally incompetent and deserves to have his/her gun taken away! There is only ONE candidate who will assure our Second Amendment rights - Harry Browne. (Admittedly I'm talking single-issue politics here, which is not something I especially approve of, and people may have legitimate reasons for voting for other candidates - but this IS a firearms list!) I think I need more coffee..... Sarah Sarah Thompson, M.D. Harry Browne in '96! PO Box 271231 Vote Libertarian! Salt Lake City, UT 84127-2731 Take back America! righter@aros.net 801-966-7278 voice mail/fax http://www.aros.net/~righter/welcome.html Dedicated to ALL Civil Liberties ------------------------------ From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 10:11:47 -0600 Subject: [fap@xpresso.seaslug.org: Sign of the Times (fwd)] Maybe we should send a copy to blockbuster and some other businesses around the valley? - ----BEGIN FORWARDED MESSGE---- A sign recently spotted in a restaurant in the square in Burnsville. "Concealed Weapons License Holders Welcome. We all have them." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I would bet this restaurant doesn't get held up or have some crazy come in shooting! We couldn't stop grinning from this one. - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. When you give up that force, you are ruined." -- Patrick Henry, speaking to the Virginia convention for the ratification of the constitution on the necessity of the right to keep and bear arms. ------------------------------ From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 10:40:39 -0600 Subject: Re: [mongoose@INDIRECT.COM: Republican RKBA Plank] On Tue, 27 Aug 1996, Sarah Thompson posted: > >And those added penalties for "using a gun" in committing a crime are >obscene! Just >what defines "using a gun in the commission of a crime"? If I'm speeding >and carrying a gun will that get me 5-10 years of hard time? If I bend over >and my T-shirt slides >up and my gun becomes partly visible, I'm brandishing. Do I visit the Big >House for >that too? And if someone murders me, I'm DEAD. I'm no more dead or less >dead whether >I'm murdered with a gun, or a knife, or a baseball bat, or poison, or a >drunk driver. >So on what grounds is this penalty just - or justified? Let us not forget that anytime there is a "real" crime committed with a gun the first things to get plea bargained away are the gun charges. but if the only "crime" is the one resulting in the gun charge you are stuck. The result is that real criminals rarely ever serve any time for gun crimes while decent citizens who are guilty only of honest mistakes get hit with 5, 10, 0r 20 year mandatory sentences. An article in one of the Phoenix or Tucson papers last year discussed this very problem. A housewife was facing a mandatory charge because the anti-gun DA decided her brandishing of gun (no shots fired) to defend her car was not legally justified. The same DA was apparantly plea bargaining away gun charges on violent, repeat offenders in order to secure quick convictions. Of course since we don't have any anti-gun public officials here in Utah, we should have no problem. ;) > >This sounds suspiciously like a watered down version of HCI's RKBA bill. Either that or NRA's RKBA bill. I just love it when the "premier gun rights organization" in this country lobbies for instant-checks (prior restraint) and gun and bullet bans. I wonder what they will bargain away when the only thing we're left with are bolt action, low power sporting rifles and single shot shotguns--all of which are kept in shooting club lockers. Quick hint, look at our friends across the pond. > >Any gun owner who supports Dole is probably mentally incompetent and >deserves to have >his/her gun taken away! >There is only ONE candidate who will assure our Second >Amendment rights - Harry Browne. (Admittedly I'm talking single-issue >politics here, >which is not something I especially approve of, and people may have >legitimate reasons >for voting for other candidates - but this IS a firearms list!) I don't agree with everything the Libertarians stand for, but I agree with enough that I'll vote for them. They don't even have to win to be a significant influence. Even if they did win, they would at least get the course of the country changed to be more inline with were it should be. I maybe wouldn't want them at the wheel forever, but for the next 4 or 8 years, I think would be a real improvment. - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. When you give up that force, you are ruined." -- Patrick Henry, speaking to the Virginia convention for the ratification of the constitution on the necessity of the right to keep and bear arms. ------------------------------ From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 13:36:35 -0600 Subject: Lott Editorial in today's (8/28) WSJ Prof Lott has an editorial in today's issue of the WSJ (at least in the online version) discussing his study that shows shall-issue laws prevent violent crime. Copyright agreements keep me from posting the article, but it may be worth picking up a copy of the paper. - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "Tell General Howard I know my heart. What he told me before, I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all killed. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men [Ollokot; his brother] is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. I want time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." -- Chief Joseph; Wallowa Nez Perc tribe; October 5, 1877; Montana, near the Canadian border. ------------------------------ From: Sarah Thompson Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 01:45:02 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Highlights from Clinton's Columbus,OH Police Training Academy Speech Aug 26 >To: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor) >From: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor) >Subject: Highlights from Clinton's Columbus,OH Police Training Academy Speech Aug 26 > >[Note from Matthew Gaylor: Clinton's Aug 26th speech in Columbus has raised >an interesting point- He want's to expand the Brady Bill by adding those >convicted of domestic violence to those who can't purchase handguns. Not >mentioning that the 1994 crime act already addresses this issue, Clinton >should have mentioned that Police, as a group, have one of the highest >percentages of restraining orders for spousal abuse of any occupation.] > >From: "Michael Conners" >Subject: Re: Clinton to speak at Columbus Police Training Academy > >Clinton's speech - gun control... > >His main thrust is that hunters still have their guns. > >The new stuff - he thinks the Brady bill works. He wants to expand the >denial to domestic violence cases (misdemeanors), so that if you've been >convicted of domestic violence, you can't get a handgun. > >Wants to ban "cop killer" bullets. > >Wants to ban guns anywhere near schools - (this was overturned earlier this >year and they're still hot about it...). He wants a federal law. > >Tougher penalties for people dealing drugs that possess a gun. > >A cute quote..."I've never seen a deer with a Kevlar vest." > >--- > >No mention of new gun bans, but now he wants to get the "bad" ammunition. >There were numerous allusions to hunters having their guns. I'll say it for >everyone - the Second Amendment is not about duck hunting. > >CPD recruit class was on the podium, no real mention of the regular >uniformed officers. I find that interesting. I don't think that CPD can >order officers to go to a political event. > >----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Monday August 26 12:05 PM EDT > >Clinton Stokes Train Trip with Anti-Crime Initiative > > COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuter) - President Clinton Monday launched a > Democratic Convention-linked barrage of policy initiatives by calling > for a ban on the sale of handguns to people convicted of domestic > violence. > > Clinton unveiled the anti-crime proposal, which was designed to widen > the issue-driven gender gap which gives him an edge over Republican > Bob Dole among women voters, as he started the second leg of 559-mile > train trip to Chicago, where party activists were gathered to > renominate him. > > Using the Columbus Police Academy as a backdrop, Clinton said public > safety should not be a partisan issue but ``an American issue.'' > > ``Under the current law, thousands of people who are wife- beaters or > child abusers...can still buy handguns with potentially deadly > consequences,'' Clinton said. ``I believe strongly in the right of > Americans to own guns. I have used them with great joy myself. > > ``But make no mistake: those who threaten the safety of others do not > deserve our trust,'' he said. > > A White House fact sheet said there were 88,500 incidents of domestic > violence in which a firearm was present in 1994, and that over a > 10-year period ending the same year, 65 law enforcement officers were > killed when they responded to family quarrels. > > Many spousal abusers are not now affected by a ban on the sale of > firearms to convicted felons because many domestic violence cases are > treated as misdemeanors. > > Clinton's proposal would require expansion of the Brady Bill, which > requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases. He also > called for a ban on cop-killer bullets, saying every law enforcement > group backs it and Congress should as well. > > ``If a bullet can slice through a bulletproof vest like a hot knife > through butter, it should be against the law,'' he said. > > Clinton, whistlestopping through small town America with his daughter > Chelsea, 16, while his wife Hillary conducted a separate schedule in > her old hometown, intended to grab headlines with a new proposal every > day of his trip. Tuesday's will concern education, Wednesday's the > environment. > > His focus on crime was designed to tie into the opening session of the > convention, which featured a speech by Sarah Brady, wife of former > White House spokesman James Brady, who inspired the eponymous gun law. > > Brady is wheelchair-bound because of the gunshot wounds he suffered > when John Hinckley, Jr. tried to kill then-President Ronald Reagan in > front of the Washington HIlton Hotel in 1981. > > Clinton, campaigning through five states with 64 of the 270 electoral > votes needed to win the presidency on his way to Chicago, is on the > 559-mile trip to energize grassroots support for his re-election bid. > > He boarded his ``21st Century Express'' for the four-day whistlestop > in Huntington, W.Va., on Sunday and rolled through parts of Kentucky > before reaching Ohio. His train will also roll through Michigan and > Indiana. > > As he has at every previous stop, Clinton slammed the tax cut proposal > at the heart of Dole's campaign. ``We cannot afford to blow a hole in > the deficit again,'' he said. > > Clinton was heckled at the start of his speech by a small group of > demonstrators, but he silenced them by saying they did not want the > American people to know of his record. > > If the public learns the truth, Clinton said, his opponents ``won't > have a chance.'' > _________________________________________________________________ > > >**************************************************************************** >Subscribe to Freematt's Alerts: Pro-Individual Rights Issues >Send a blank message to: freematt@coil.com with the words subscribe FA >on the subject line. List is private and moderated (7-30 messages per week) >Matthew Gaylor,1933 E. Dublin-Granville Rd.,#176, Columbus, OH 43229 >**************************************************************************** Sarah Thompson, M.D. Harry Browne in '96! PO Box 271231 Vote Libertarian! Salt Lake City, UT 84127-2731 Take back America! righter@aros.net 801-966-7278 voice mail/fax http://www.aros.net/~righter/welcome.html Dedicated to ALL Civil Liberties ------------------------------ From: chad@pengar.com (Chad Leigh) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 10:16:56 -0600 Subject: Re: Action! Lott CCW stufi to the legislature, gov, and mayors A couple of weeks ago I posted on an idea to collect money and with that money present copies of the Lott CCW study to the legislature, gov, and some mayors. Several people emailed me in support. I have since learned , thanks to an email from a utah-firearms reader (whose mail I have misplaced and cannot remember his name), that the official printed version is not available until January. I propose that we find out if we can print our own copies for presentation right after the Nov election and then in January get real copies to present. Someone also had the idea to have a pizza party with some of the friendlier legislators and tell them how "we common folk" feel. Feedback? Chad ------------------------------ From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 11:21:59 -0600 Subject: Re: Action! Lott CCW stufi to the legislature, gov, and mayors On Thu, 29 Aug 1996, chad@pengar.com (Chad Leigh) posted: > >I propose that we find out if we can print our own copies for presentation >right after the Nov election and then in January get real copies to >present. > >Someone also had the idea to have a pizza party with some of the friendlier >legislators and tell them how "we common folk" feel. > >Feedback? >Chad I think this is a great idea--on both counts. What can I do to help? - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" -- Patrick Henry, Philadelphia, 1836. ------------------------------ From: scott.bergeson@ucs.org (SCOTT BERGESON) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 10:07:00 -0700 Subject: Re: piml] Letter to ACLU *****Forward***** Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 22:46:59 -0700 From: Robert Ireland To: The PIML mailing list This is a copy of a letter I emailed the ACLU this evening (8-28-96) in response to their statement that the Unorganized Militia is their next target. Ohio ACLU Exec. Director Christine Link commented on WTVN 610 AM radio (Columbus, OH), on Tuesday August 27th that the ACLU's target group next year will be the Unorganized Militia. Ms. Link commented that the ACLU plans to expose the militia as a "hate group". If this is true, I respectfully request an explanation of just what is going on. I am a militia supporter, and activist, and also a dues paying member of the ACLU. The Unorganized militia stands for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We do not tolerate racists or expouse hate. We do demand that the government obey the Constitution and all amendments, including the 2nd Amendment, the 4th Amendment, the 9th Amendment, and the 10th Amendment, as well as all the other Amendments. The ACLUs announced campaign against the Unorganized Militia would appear to be in direct opposition to their stated mission of protecting the citizen's Constitutional Rights. Or does the ACLU feel it should decide which Constitutional Rights should be defended, and which should be ignored? As a supporter of the ACLU, I hope that this is not the case. If it is the case I ask that my name be removed from your list of members. Further, if this is really the case I will do everything in my power to get other ACLU members to withdraw from your organization, and advise anyone considering joining the ACLU to save their money to contribute to an organization that doesn't practice a hypocritical approach to the Constitution of the United States, and The Bill of Rights. As I write articles for my local paper, and am also the controller of the Government House conferences on our local community BBS I am not without a substantial audience. Yours, - -- Robert Ireland aircav@zapcom.net "Liberty is not free, it must be fought for every day." You may contact Ms. Link at: ACLU Ohio Executive Director: Christine Link 1266 West 6th Street, 2nd Floor Cleveland, OH 44113 Phone: (216) 781-6276 ------------------------------ From: chardy@es.com (Charles Hardy) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:32:53 -0600 Subject: [nvrgivup@vnet.net: STBO SPECIAL MESSAGE!] Forwarded for your information - ----BEGIN FORWARDED MESSGE---- CONTACTING THE COMMISSION The Commission on Presidential Debates will be making its decision in the next few weeks, and it is up to us to make sure that they know how many of us want to see Harry Browne included in the 1996 debates. While compiling signatures is a good way show our support,and is the main emphasis of the STBO campaign, letters, FAXes, and phone calls from individual people are also very important. Please take a moment to write a brief letter to the Commission, and send it as soon as you can. Some sample letters are included below, but letters in your own words (particularly handwritten ones) will have the greatest impact. One or two paragraphs is all it takes. To reach the Commission, send your letter to: The Commission on Presidential Debates 601 Thirteenth St., NW Suite 310S Washington, DC 20005 Also send your letter to their email addresses: [ Please do not send JUST email -- Actual letters really are important! ] debates96@usa.pipeline.com presdeb@falcon.cc.ukans.edu If you're feeling personable, you can also call them at: [ The receptionist is friendly, and will only ask you for your name and city. It takes under a minute. ] 202-872-1020 Once you've sent a letter to the Commission, and called them, another thing you can do is contact each member of the Commission individually by US mail, FAX, and email as follows: Professor Diana Carlin DebateWatch '96 P.O. Box 3467 Lawrence, KS 66046-0467 (Note: Carlin is especially important, as she is on the committee which makes recomendations to the Commissuion) Sen. Paul Coverdell 200 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-1004 FAX: 202-228-3783 email: senator_coverdell@coverdell.senate.gov John C. Danforth 249 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Antonia Hernandez President, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund 634 South Spring Street, 11th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90014 FAX: 213-629-8016 Rep. John Lewis 229 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-1005 Newton N. Minow The Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-1008 Rep. Barbara Vucanovich 414 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SAMPLE LETTER #1: Dear Commission: I'm writing to urge the Commission to seize this opportunity to include a Libertarian perspective in the 1996 Presidential debates. Libertarian Presidential candidate Harry Browne is an accomplished writer, and is a skilled speaker and debater. His strongly pro-liberty stance on all issues often stands in stark contrast to those of the other candidates, and would make an ideal catalyst for interesting debate. His presence would give the other candidates an excellent opportunity to stand their ground, and clearly state their beliefs before the American public. Though the Libertarian Party is actually larger than Perot's Reform Party, Harry Browne and running-mate Jo Jorgensen do not have huge personal fortunes at their disposal, and cannot simply spend millions on television advertising to raise their numbers in the polls. Also, they have turned down the offer of hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal campaign funds because, as a matter of principle, they do not believe political campaigns should be funded at taxpayer expense. However, even though their message has not been thoroughly publicized their ideas have proved interesting enough to draw the attention of many prominent members of the print, radio, and television media. Among those who now openly support the inclusion of Harry Browne and Jo Jorgensen in the 1996 debates are such figures as David Broder, Hugh Downs, Gil Gross, Coleman McCarthy, Bill Press, Mary Matalin, Rush Limbaugh, and even Ross Perot. Again, I urge you to seize this opportunity to bring a different point of view to the American public, and make the 1996 Presidential Debates something worth watching. Thanks for your time, - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SAMPLE LETTER #2: Dear Commission: I'm writing to urge the Commission to seize the opportunity to include a vibrant female perspective in the Vice-Presidential debates. Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen is a woman of many accomplishments. She is a mother, an entrepreneur, a small business owner, a compelling speaker, and an excellent role model for American women. Americans deserve this opportunity to hear her point of view on the issues. ( For more information about Jo, see her web page at <http://www.HarryBrowne96.org/jo/>. ) Though the Libertarian Party is actually larger than Perot's Reform Party, Jo Jorgensen and running-mate Harry Browne do not have huge personal fortunes at their disposal, and cannot simply spend millions on television advertising to raise their numbers in the polls. Also, they have turned down the offer of hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal campaign funds because, as a matter of principle, they do not believe political campaigns should be funded at taxpayer expense. However, even though their message has not been thoroughly publicized their ideas have proved interesting enough to draw the attention of many prominent members of the print, radio, and television media. Among those who now openly support the inclusion of Harry Browne and Jo Jorgensen in the 1996 debates are such figures as David Broder, Hugh Downs, Gil Gross, Coleman McCarthy, Bill Press, Mary Matalin, Rush Limbaugh, and even Ross Perot. Again, I urge you to seize this opportunity to bring a new perspective to the American public, and make the 1996 debates something worth watching. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SAMPLE LETTER #3 (suggestion by Erin Donelle) Dear Commission: I truly hope that you will be including Harry Browne in the publicly held Presidential Debates this year. Without this established and highly viable candidate's participation, the 'debates' would simply be redundant. Indeed, there would be no debate. I am sure that President Clinton and Bob Dole are uneasy at the thought of debating someone like Harry Browne, but I think it healthy and only fair to the voters that they do so. Harry Browne has garnered tremendous support by all groups able to hear him voice his principles and his stand on the issues facing voters. The American public deserves to hear his point of view. The purpose of the debates is to provide a forum where the public can easily contrast candidates views on the issues. But is it really a debate if certain credible candidates are excluded? Please don't miss out on this opportunity to present a legitimate debate to the public. Also, without Harry Browne the debates would look just the same as they did in 1992, with two of the three players exactly as before. If the debates are dull, people will not hesitate to change the channel. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ----END FORWARDED MESSAGE---- - -- Charles C. Hardy | If my employer has an opinion on (801)588-7200 | these topics, I'm sure I'm not | the one he would have express it. Would YOU be willing to give up your favorite federal program if it meant never paying another dime in federal income taxes? Check out or call 800-682-1776. "If a gun bill will pass because of the politics of the situation, you must see to it that its burdens are imposed upon a man because of a criminal background and not because he is an ordinary citizen and perhaps poor." -- Gen. James H. Doolittle ------------------------------ End of utah-firearms Digest V2 #5 ********************************* To subscribe to utah-firearms Digest, send the command: subscribe utah-firearms-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@xmission.com". 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