-=Continued from previous post=- 
MARYLAND: On Friday, April 10, the House passed a resolution
recognizing April 20-27, 1998, as Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Week and
encouraging all citizens to support the mission of the Eddie Eagle
Gun Safety Program.  
MASSACHUSETTS: Congratulations to the residents of Springfield!
Your phone calls, faxes, and letters to the City Council encouraged
the 6-3 rejection of Mayor Albano's proposed mandatory trigger lock
ordinance.  Please make one more call to Councilors Foley, Garde,
Puppolo, Rooke, Santaniello and Boyle to thank them for their vote. 
RHODE ISLAND: Gun owners can claim victory in defeating five of the
six bills included in the anti-gun package spearheaded by State
Representative Marsha Carpenter and backed by Governor Almond and
the State Police --but our work is not done yet! On Tuesday, April
21, the full House will consider House Bill 7113.  This bill seeks
to completely change the current application forms used to purchase
firearms, and would give police chiefs and the State Police more
authority and discretion in denying citizens the right to buy a
firearm. Please contact your State Representatives first thing
Monday morning at 401/277-2466 and urge them to vote "NO" on H
7113. 
VIRGINIA: Good News! Recently, the Page County Board of Supervisors
unanimously voted down a proposed ordinance that would require
right to carry permit applicants be fingerprinted.  This adds one
more county to the list that have shot down this unnecessary burden
on law-abiding gun owners to obtain a permit for personal
protection.     
=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org
------------------------------
Topic No. 2
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 19:03:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: NRA Alerts 
To: general-rkba-real.nra
Subject: RELEASE: Right to Carry: Cajun Success!
Message-ID: 
For Immediate Release:                      For More Information:
APRIL 16, 1998                                     (703) 267-1190
                  RIGHT TO CARRY: CAJUN SUCCESS!
   No permit holder has been arrested for or charged with a gun
          crime since the law took effect in April 1996!
"Across America, Right to Carry out-performs its critics," said
Mrs. Tanya K. Metaksa of the National Rifle Association of
America on the second anniversary of the "shall issue" permit law
in Louisiana.   Right to Carry reduces crime, prevents injuries
and saves lives.  Louisiana citizens and law enforcement should
be commended for demonstrating the effectiveness of Right to
Carry." 
The Measure of Success.  In Louisiana and thirty other states
where citizens can obtain a permit to carry a firearm to protect
themselves and their families, the finding has been uniformly
positive.  In Louisiana, no permit holder has been arrested for
or charged with a gun crime since the law took effect in April
1996, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and
Corrections. "The verdict is in," said Mrs. Metaksa, Executive
Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action which
spearheaded the law's passage in 1996.  "As a class of citizens,
Louisiana permit holders out-performed their critics."
The Words of the Governor.  In April of 1996, Right to Carry
became law in Louisiana, and, in April 1998, the state celebrates
two years of success.  Regarding the two-year anniversary,
Louisiana Governor Mike Foster said, "The right to carry gives
law-abiding citizens the right to defend themselves from people
who are toting guns illegally on the streets.  Criminals will
think twice before committing a crime if they know there is a
possibility present that individuals can defend themselves.  It's
working in Louisiana and all the statistics ....show that it's
working elsewhere."
The Political Drama.  As a state senator in 1995, Governor Foster
led the bi-partisan, populist effort to pass Right to Carry
legislation -- only to see it vetoed by then-Governor Edwin
Edwards.  In a miraculous grassroots campaign built in large
measure on Right to Carry popularity, citizens elected Foster
Governor in 1996.  One of his first official acts was to testify
as Governor for the life-saving measure.  In a 1996 special
session, the final measure  passed with overwhelming support.
The First Permit Holder.  E. Peggy Landry of New Orleans was
awarded the first right to carry permit (originally intended for
the Governor).  The Governor suggested that Landry be awarded the
permit after she testified before legislative committees that she
used her firearm to save the lives of three of her friends from a
man brandishing a firearm during a robbery attempt.
Mrs. Metaksa concluded, "The landmark study on Right to Carry by
University of Chicago researchers demonstrates that Right to
Carry is associated with decreases in violent crime.  In the wake
of that study, anti-gun researchers have been left to argue only
about the degree to which Right to Carry reduces crime. 
Louisiana is just another example of the fact that the system is
working.  Without the freedom to protect yourself, there can be
no safety."
                                
             -- the nra: people protecting freedom --
=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org
------------------------------
End of GENERAL-RKBA Digest 353
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