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Sen. Durbin Continues Attacks on Law Abiding Gun Owners
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
ISRA: Sen. Durbin Continues Attacks on Law Abiding Gun Owners To: State Desk Contact: Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association, 815-635-3198; Web site: http://www.isra.org CHICAGO, Jan. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following are excerpts from an address delivered on January 7, 2002, by Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) President Richard Pearson to the Central Illinois Gun Policy Roundtable: Good morning. I trust that you all had a safe and joyous holiday. Like most Americans, I share your hope for a peaceful and prosperous new year. Many of you have heard about or seen the disturbing bin Laden videotapes confiscated in Afghanistan. Although the experts may quibble over the exact translation, all will agree that the tapes are the smoking gun linking bin Laden to the extremists who destroyed the World Trade Center. The other day I had the opportunity to view a video that law-abiding gun owners should find every bit as disturbing. Released by Sarah Brady and her Handgun Control Incorporated, the video features a recent press conference appearance by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. Unlike the bin Laden tape, Durbin's words need little translation - his message is clear. The video is another smoking gun linking Durbin directly to the extremists who want to destroy your constitutional right to own firearms. On the video, Durbin demands that Congress pass legislation to close the so-called 'gun show loophole.' Now, we've all heard the gun control movement talk about the 'gun show loophole' before. After the Columbine incident, they claimed that the gun show loophole allowed kids to buy guns without restriction. After the Benjamin Smith affair, they howled about how the gun show loophole allowed racist killers to buy guns without restriction. And post-September 11th we're hearing them assert long and loud that terrorists take advantage of the gun show loophole to arm their forces back home. It seems that every high-profile crime prompts the gun controllers to dust off the gun show loophole argument and make their tired pitch to anyone who will listen. Although gun-grabbers like Durbin would have us believe that they are only interested in strengthening background checks at gun shows, they really have much more up their sleeves. The 'loophole' Durbin and his gun-hating friends want to close is indeed the very fact that gun shows even exist if the first place. And if they are successful in redefining gun shows, registering private firearm sales, and imposing lengthy waiting periods, they will certainly obliterate gun shows from the American landscape. The Durbin campaign against gun shows is part of a larger effort to unravel the fabric of the so-called 'gun culture.' For the most part, gun shows are political events. Gun shows are where gun owners learn about and discuss the issues facing their sport. And, for pro-gun candidates, gun shows are a great place to get some exposure. On that note, when was the last time that any of you saw a Durbin bumper sticker in a gun show parking lot? Durbin's continued attacks on gun shows have absolutely nothing to do with preventing terrorism, and everything to do with eroding the political might of the American gun owner. On another, more ominous note, Durbin then turned his attention to the issue of background check records. On the video, Durbin chides Attorney General Ashcroft for not allowing the FBI to use gun background check records in support of the fight against terrorism. Durbin claims that law enforcement officials need to know who has purchased firearms - just in case they might be terrorists. As we all know, the gun controllers have wanted to institute federal gun registration for many years. Every time they've tried, the door has been slammed in their faces. But any door can be jimmied if you have a big enough crowbar. And the September 11th tragedy is a pretty big crowbar in Dick Durbin's hand. If Durbin is successful in forcing the Justice Department to release background check records, the floodgates will open and each of us will be subject to unbridled abuses of our right to privacy. Sure, today's targets are international terrorists, but tomorrow it might be anybody who falls in political disfavor with the gun control movement. From there, it is a small step to registering every gun in private hands - with the end game being the eventual banning and confiscation of civilian owned firearms. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's an election year. It's evident that Senator Durbin will take every opportunity to use the law-abiding gun owner as the whipping boy in his reelection campaign. He'll paint gun shows as the root of all evil. He'll assert that, once someone has chosen to become a gun owner, they waive their right to privacy. Given the present mood of the nation, those notions will face a hard sell this election year. - - - The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful, and responsible firearm ownership. For nearly a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of 1.5 million law-abiding Illinois firearm owners. http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/temp/0109-128.html