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                 INTERNATIONAL GUN CONTROL UPDATE
     In a related development, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Lloyd Axworthy has declared  that following his nation's
successful bid to ban land mines, they will now turn their
attention to "small arms."  In a speech to the United Nations
General Assembly, Axworthy labeled small arms as the "true
weapons of mass terror...[whose] proliferation undermines the
security and development efforts of many developing countries." 
The United Nations, Axworthy believes, should use the expertise
gained through the land mines treaty to take on this issue. "All
too often," he told the representatives of the member nations,
"it is small arms...that cause the greatest bloodshed today." 
While Axworthy was calling for more international gun control
efforts, gun owners in Australia and Great Britain were busy
surrendering their firearms to government officials. Down under,
Aussies had until midnight September 30 to hand over all their
semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns. The new law also
creates a national registry of guns, and requires gun owners to
justify possession of ANY firearm. In the hope of turning back
the anti-gun tide, gun owners are flocking to the Australian
version of NRA--the Sporting Shooters Association--which reports
as much as a 400% increase in membership in some states.
Meanwhile in Great Britain, the government has begun to collect
all handguns of . 22 calibers and above, and word is that the
Labor government plans to institute a complete ban on all
handguns shortly.
          GOVERNOR WILSON VETOES GUN BAN IN CALIFORNIA 
     Rejecting the elitist contention that riches determine
rights, Gov. Pete Wilson (R) vetoed legislation that would have
banned outright affordable self-defense handguns, and which could
have led to a ban on all handguns. The Governor's veto came after
months of intense lobbying by NRA-ILA and a coalition of other
groups concerned about the rights of law-abiding Californians.
Included in the coalition were the California Rifle & Pistol
Association, the Peace Officers Research Association, and the Law
Enforcement Alliance of America. The measure, sponsored by State
Senator Richard Polanco (D-22), would have required that all
handguns, prior to manufacture or sale in California, undergo
safety testing by a state approved laboratory. As no labs
currently exist to perform this testing, and no funding was
provided in the bill for the labs to be established, this
proposal had the very real potential to ban ALL handguns. "We
congratulate the Governor for a decision that is both safe and
smart," said Tanya Metaksa, NRA-ILA Executive Director. Gov.
Wilson's veto statement noted his  concern about limiting the
access of lower income citizens to affordable personal
protection, a recognition that the fundamental right to
self-defense belongs to all Californians.  
                CLINTON CAJOLES INDUSTRY LEADERS  
     In a Rose Garden ceremony, President Clinton announced an
agreement reached between his administration and members of the
firearms industry  who will provide locking devices with the guns
they sell. In what was a surprising move to many in the
gun-owning community, who have seen first hand the Clinton-Gore
White House's attempts to ban, tax, register, and restrict
firearms, President Clinton was joined in the Rose Garden by
representatives of 15 of the nation's gun manufacturers (and
Richard Feldman, who heads the American Shooting Sports Council,
a gun industry lobby ). Lavishing praise on Feldman and industry
representatives, the President reportedly stated that reducing
children's gun-related accidents is "now my highest law
enforcement priority." Absent from the ceremony was mention of
the primary reasons why fatal firearms accidents among children
are at their lowest point ever: the 50,000 NRA-certified
instructors nationwide who teach safety to nearly one million gun
owners annually, and NRA's award-winning Eddie Eagle Gun Safety
Program, which has reached 10 million school children and has
been adopted by the FBI for its home firearms safety program.
"Because locks are not appropriate for every situation, they are
not appropriate for every purchaser," said NRA-ILA Executive
Director Tanya Metaksa. Bill Clinton says lock the gun. NRA and
law enforcement are saying, "Unlock the MYSTERY behind guns." You
do that, not through gadgets, but through gun safety training.
                             TOP DOC?
     President Clinton has chosen Dr. David Satcher as his
nominee to serve as the next U.S. Surgeon General. The current
director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), Dr. Satcher has overseen the CDC's use of
taxpayer funds to "study" gun violence and  classify it as an
epidemic. Last year, Satcher and the CDC's actions inspired the
U.S. House of Representatives to transfer public funds away from
CDC's gun-related research.  Recently, Dr. Satcher had his first
day of confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. In front of the
Senate's Labor and Human Resources Committee, Satcher had to
respond to inquiries made by pro-Second Amendment Senator Bill
Frist, (R-Tenn.), who, incidentally, is the Senate's lone medical
doctor, regarding the CDC's lobbying efforts in support of gun
control while Satcher was CDC director. Stating that the agency
had never financed or been involved in lobbying for gun control,
Dr. Satcher falsely claimed that, "the people who are upset with
the work of the center seem to be upset because our surveillance
programs show the relationship between firearms and injury."
Problem is, NRA and the American people don't know what their
information shows, for CDC researchers have refused to make the
data from their taxpayer-funded studies available for analysis.
Satcher's nomination has yet to be confirmed, and NRA plans on
continuing to work with our allies in Congress to make sure our
concerns are addressed.
                   HISTORIC FIREARMS AMENDMENT
     The first session of the 105th Congress ended without 
resolution to the problem of  the U.S. State Department denying
firearms import permits for such firearms as M-1s and M-1
Carbines eagerly sought by collectors. In the closing days,
Representative Alan Mollohan (D-W.V.), ranking Member of the
Commerce, State, and Justice Appropriations Subcommittee,
tirelessly worked to insert language into the final bill
requiring the State Department to stop impeding lawful imports of
U.S. origin firearms.  Unfortunately, a workable agreement wasn't
reached, although the final bill does direct the State Department
to report to Congress regarding their non-approval of firearm
import permits. Please continue to contact your Representative
and ask him to urge the State Department to obey the law. Also,
call Congressman Mollohan at (202) 225-4172 to let him know gun
owners appreciate and support his continued efforts on our
behalf. Congressman Hal Rogers (R-Ky) also deserves thanks, as he
too was very supportive throughout the process. 
                    A TALE OF TWO "SARA(H)S" 
     HCI's Sarah Brady is one of four recipients of the Sara Lee
Foundation's "Frontrunner Awards" for 1997. This year's
recipients were acknowledged Nov. 6 in Washington, D.C. The Sara
Lee "Frontrunner Award" was introduced in 1987 and recognizes the
accomplishments of women in today's world. The Sara Lee
Foundation, an offshoot of the Sara Lee Corporation, a global
food and consumer products company that markets a wide variety of
products,  will contribute $50,000 to the non-profit organization
of the winner's choice. Sara Lee will donate Mrs. Brady's
"winnings" to her  Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. Sara Lee
can be reached at: Three First National Plaza, Chicago, IL,
60602-4260, (312) 726-2600 or 1 (800) 654-SARA (phone), (312)
726-3712 (fax).
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