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This is an advance copy of the column that will appear in the upcoming
Shotgun News.  I ordinarily let the SN columns "age" a bit, but this is
urgent and needs immediate attention and thought.  Please give this wide
circulation among your friends and clubs.
Chris Knox
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NEAL KNOX REPORT
                         The Heston File
                          By NEAL KNOX
     WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 2) -- The Lyndon B. Johnson
Presidential Library in Austin today confirmed that NRA First
Vice President Charlton Heston actively worked with the Johnson
Administration in passing the 1968 Gun Control Act.
     Heston, who is in line to be elected NRA President in June
if elected to the Board in the election now underway, has served
as a public spokesman for NRA for several years.  
     Heston's role in expanding the 1968 Safe Streets Act to
prohibit the interstate sale or transfer of rifles and shotguns
came to light about two weeks ago when the text of two LBJ
Library documents began circulating on the Internet.
     The documents were so historically accurate that they
refreshed memories of the fury of our battle against the Gun
Control Act, but I didn't recall the huge Hollywood effort having
included Heston.  
     I worried that an enemy might have added Heston's name in an
effort to torpedo his NRA fundraising.
     But 13 pages documenting Heston's gun control efforts are in
the LBJ Library, White House Central Files "SP" and "LE," Boxes 5
and 80.  
     On June 12, 1968, White House Deputy Special Counsel Larry
Levinson sent a memo to a speech writer:  "At the President's
suggestion, Jack Valenti has agreed to hold a luncheon in Los
Angeles ... June 17, at which a number of famous movie actors --
particularly those who play cowboys -- will speak out in favor of
the President's gun control legislation.
     "For this luncheon, we need two pithy, one-page statements
which will be read by two of the 'cowboys' (probably Charlton
Heston ...), supporting the President's Gun Control Bill."  
     That same day Levinson sent a telegram to Heston at his
Beverly Hills home with a proposed statement that the Safe
Streets Act "is only a half-way measure.  It covers only handguns
- -- but fails to include shotguns and rifles. ...  As you know, a
mail order rifle was used to assassinate President John F.
Kennedy, and a rifle was used to kill Dr. Martin Luther King."
     On June 18, 1968 Levinson sent a memo to President Johnson:
"Through Jack Valenti's good work, five movie actors will appear
tonight on the Joey Bishop show ... to strongly support your gun
control proposal.  The actors involved are Gregory Peck, Charlton
Heston, Hugh O'Brian [sic], James Stewart and Kirk Douglas.
     "They will read a very tough statement which we prepared
here applauding your action in calling for strict gun curbs."
     Two days later, on June 20, Special Assistant to the
President Joe Califano sent President Johnson a copy of a
statement "which Hugh O'Brien read on the Joey Bishop Show last
Tuesday.  This was a statement subscribed to by Kirk Douglas,
James Stewart, Gregory Peck and Charleton [sic] Heston and has
been widely circulated throughout the country.
     "The statement was prepared by Levinson and Middleton and
was 'slipped' to Hugh O'Brien through Jack Valenti."
     The statement reminded Joey Bishop's audience that "Two
weeks ago, Robert F. Kennedy became one of thousands of Americans
struck down by an assassin's bullet." 
     It added: "The Congress has recently given us some
protection against pistols in the wrong hands.  But that's not
enough ... not nearly enough.  The carnage will not stop until
there is effective control over sale of rifles and shotguns.
     "President John F. Kennedy was murdered by a rifle.
     "Martin Luther King was murdered by a rifle.
     "Medgar Evers was murdered by a rifle."
     On June 18 Hollywood public relations consultant Dick McKay
wrote Califano that "Charlton, Gregory [Peck] and Hugh personally
planted this statement with the bureau chiefs at AP and UPI. 
They were greeted warmly and ... (t)he AP also photographed the
trio."
     Heston's gun control efforts are also found on Page 10 of
the October 1968 American Rifleman.  The head of a Hollywood
anti-gun group had praised Heston as one of "little more than a
handful" of "diehards" which included Warren Beatty, Candice
[sic] Bergen, Marlon Brando, O'Brien and Jill St. John.
     These events put fresh light on Heston's May 6, 1997
statements about some guns being "inappropriate for private
ownership."   We now have a better understanding of what he means
when he talks about bringing NRA into "the mainstream."  
     And now I know why I've never seen a picture of him with
anything other than a flintlock rifle or a double-barrel shotgun.
     Voters now have a clear choice in the election -- Heston's
slate or the Second Amendment patriots he imperiously tells you
to "Vote Against."
                               ---
     For a list of the candidates Neal supports, see his "Knox
Report" in the ballot issue of the March NRA magazines.  Knox
also urges a "Yes" vote on the member-petitioned "Financial
Reporting and Officer Good Conduct" Bylaw amendment.
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