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			    GENERAL-RKBA Digest 324
Topics covered in this issue include:
  1) FAXALERT: HCI Suit Could Put Gun Owners in Jail by NRA Alerts 
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Topic No. 1
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 18:44:50 -0500 (EST)
From: NRA Alerts 
To: general-rkba-real.nra
Subject: FAXALERT: HCI Suit Could Put Gun Owners in Jail
Message-ID: 
                        NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
           11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA  22030
Vol. 4, No. 51 *Phone:1-800-392-8683 *Fax:703-267-3918 *GROOTS@NRA.org        
                   
                            12/19/97
              HCI SUIT COULD PUT GUN OWNERS IN JAIL
     Handgun Control Inc. (HCI) on Thursday filed suit against
California Attorney General Dan Lungren challenging his enforcement of
the state's law requiring the registration of certain semi-automatic
firearms.  At issue is whether Californians who failed to register their
guns by March 30, 1992 are in violation of the Roberti-Roos semi-
automatic ban.  HCI claims the March 30 date was a deadline for
registration, while Attorney General Lungren contends that it was only
a target, and was never meant to be a hard cut-off for registration. 
If HCI gets their way, California gun owners who tried to comply in
every way with the law but did not submit their paperwork by March 30,
1992 could face jail time.  
                  NRA PREPARES RESPONSE TO BATF
     In our special Wednesday Fax Alert, we told you how BATF had sent
a survey to a select group of organizations and individuals seeking
their input on the uses of certain imported semi-auotmatic firearms. 
This survey was the result of President Clinton's suspension on the
importation of certain semi-automatic rifles pending a review of their
usefulness for "sporting purposes."  While the original survey was
mailed to only three pro- and three anti-gun groups, NRA-ILA has learned
that in an apparent effort to influence the outcome of this supposedly
impartial study, the Clinton Administration has ordered BATF to send
surveys to an additional 30 anti-gun organizations.  This latest
development makes it that much more important for BATF to receive
responses from a variety of pro-gun individuals and organizations.  NRA
thisweek convened a working group of firearms experts to prepare NRA's
reply to the BATF survey and to help other individuals and groups
respond as well.  Members interested in contacting BATF on this matter
should call NRA-ILA Grassroots next week at 1-800-392-8683 for the
latest information
                  ANTI-GUNNERS TALK; NRA ACTS  
     Sarah Brady and the myriad anti-gun organizations she leads like
to claim they're "doing something" about firearms accidents.  How else
to explain the events of this week when Brady took to the podium at a
Washington press conference to announce the release of yet another
"study" on this subject.  But while press conferences like these will
almost always garner lavish attention from the ever-accommodating media,
they will do nothing to prevent these tragedies, and when the television
cameras and bright lights disappear, so do the so-called gun safety
efforts of these anti-gunners.  Ironically, the organization which
spends the most money promoting firearms safety and has done more to
bring the number of fatal firearms accidents to an all-time low is NRA
-- the favorite target of Brady and her allies.  NRA has trained and
certified 50,000 instructors nationwide, developed the award-winning
Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program, and spent some $100 million in the last
8 years alone on gun safety.  As NRA-ILA Executive Director Tanya
Metaksa aptly noted, "While gun ban advocates conduct press conferences,
NRA conducts tens of thousands of gun safety courses each year.  Our
members constitute a nation of volunteer educators who are saving lives
daily."  For more information on NRA's firearms safety programs, please
call (703) 267-1500.
          AGREEMENT REACHED ON BACKGROUND CHECKS IN OHIO
     Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery and the U.S. Justice
Department struck a deal yesterday to settle their dispute over
conducting background checks on handgun buyers.  In the wake of the
Supreme Court's decision invalidating the background check portion of
the federal Brady Law, Attorney General Montgomery declared the checks
would be voluntary for prospective purchasers.  Under the new
arrangement, background checks on purchasers who decline to consent to
the investigation will be conducted by the Franklin County Sheriff's
Department, which will be paid $5 for each check.  As an incentive,
buyers who agree to have their background checked will be allowed to
pick-up their handguns in 48 hours, while all others will have to wait
5 business days.  According to the Associated Press (12/19/97), the
Justice Department is now trying to reach a similar agreement with
officials in Arkansas, the only state which does not mandate background
checks.
                 VIRGINIA SPECIAL ELECTION UPDATE
     NRA-PVF endorsed candidate Randy Forbes (R) breezed to an easy
victory in the special election to replace Attorney General-elect Mark
Earley in the State Senate.  Senator-elect Forbes took 69 percent of the
vote in defeating Democrat James Wheaton.  Forbes' victory means that
another special election will take place to fill his old seat in the
Virginia House of Delegates.  Governor Allen will most likely set the
date for that election before the General Assembly convenes on January
14. 
                      A LOOK AT THE STATES 
California:  The Sacramento City Council has passed a measure banning the
sale of affordable, self-defense handguns.  The new law will likely take
effect in the middle of next month after Sacramento Police Chief Arturo
Venegas, Jr. decides which firearms will be banned. West Hollywood, the
first city in California  to enact such a ban, has been entangled in a
legal battle with NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Association
for almost two years over the ordinance's violation of the state's
firearm preemption statute.  
Massachusetts:  The Mayor of Springfield has called an "emergency
meeting" of the city council this Monday at 5 p.m. in hopes of pushing
through an ordinance requiring trigger locks on ALL firearms when being
stored in or transported through the city.  All members are encouraged
to attend the meeting and/or contact your councilman at (413) 787-6170
to express your opposition to this measure.
Virginia:  A Fairfax County judge threw out the county's restrictions
on carrying firearms in county-owned buildings as a violation of the
state's preemption law.  The county had sought to bar concealed handgun
permit holders from county government buildings and recreation centers.
 There will be no Grassroots Fax Alert on Friday, December 26.  
      On behalf of the entire NRA-ILA staff, Happy Holidays!
=+=+=+=+
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
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End of GENERAL-RKBA Digest 324
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