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Gun-control groups on alert after others lose name
Josey1
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Gun-control groups on alert after others lose names
By Julia C. Martinez
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
Monday, July 08, 2002 - Colorado's anti-gun groups are scrambling to make sure their organizations are properly registered with the state after similar groups in Illinois and Minnesota had their identities snatched by pro-gun groups.
This spring the Illinois State Rifle Association discovered that the Council Against Handgun Violence was late in filing its annual report with the state and usurped the name for itself. A similar dalliance in Minnesota resulted in the Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance taking possession of the moniker for Citizens for a Safer Minnesota and its fundraising arm.
The ploy comes in a midterm election year as anti-gun groups in some states gear up to put gun control legislation on the ballot and release scorecards of legislators' voting records on gun legislation. Colorado has no gun legislation on this November's ballot, but gun groups are preparing to rate lawmakers.
Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for Colorado Ceasefire, rushed to check on the status of the coalition's papers after learning of the tactic. She said the actions are part of a nationwide campaign on behalf of pro-gun groups.
"I checked, and we're up to date," said Stone, whose group includes Million Mom March, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Dave Anver, owner of Dave's Guns in Arapahoe County, said such maneuvers could cost anti-gun groups a lot of money because, along with losing their names and tax-exempt status, they lose the right to accept contributions under the old names.
"They're trying to do it in every state. It's an interesting approach," said Anver, noting that the National Rifle Association and other gun groups are involved. "Has Million Mom March updated its status? If not, another group could strip them of their name and tax-exempt status, saying in effect, "You don't exist.' "
The NRA did not return calls seeking comment.
Attorney John Head, co-chairman of Safe Colorado, the group formed in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, scoffed at the actions. "They'll do anything," he said. "As far as I know, we're OK. We're going to protect that name and have Safe Colorado.
"If they try to confuse people, there are a couple of tools I have. I know how to sue people," said Head, whose group successfully sponsored a statewide initiative in 2000 requiring gun buyers at gun shows to undergo a criminal background check.
Head said it would be illegal for a pro-gun group to accept money from people who believe they're giving to the anti-gun group whose trade name has been appropriated.
Head said that Safe Education Fund, the education arm of Safe Colorado, has a report due with the secretary of state's office soon. The reports must be filed every two years, he said.
Sen. Bob Hagedorn, an Aurora Democrat and political science professor who publicly supports the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, got a chuckle from the strategy.
"How very, very clever strategically," Hagedorn said. "What it will do is cause confusion with voters if the (anti-gun groups) have any initiatives on the ballot. According to voting behavior, if people are confused, they vote no."
The attorney for Illinois' new Council Against Handgun Violence, Alison Barkley, has been quoted as saying that taking over another group's name was legal and that the name more accurately describes her group's mission to increase "accessibility of firearms for self-defense."
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E53%7E718370%7E,00.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Julia C. Martinez
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
Monday, July 08, 2002 - Colorado's anti-gun groups are scrambling to make sure their organizations are properly registered with the state after similar groups in Illinois and Minnesota had their identities snatched by pro-gun groups.
This spring the Illinois State Rifle Association discovered that the Council Against Handgun Violence was late in filing its annual report with the state and usurped the name for itself. A similar dalliance in Minnesota resulted in the Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance taking possession of the moniker for Citizens for a Safer Minnesota and its fundraising arm.
The ploy comes in a midterm election year as anti-gun groups in some states gear up to put gun control legislation on the ballot and release scorecards of legislators' voting records on gun legislation. Colorado has no gun legislation on this November's ballot, but gun groups are preparing to rate lawmakers.
Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for Colorado Ceasefire, rushed to check on the status of the coalition's papers after learning of the tactic. She said the actions are part of a nationwide campaign on behalf of pro-gun groups.
"I checked, and we're up to date," said Stone, whose group includes Million Mom March, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Dave Anver, owner of Dave's Guns in Arapahoe County, said such maneuvers could cost anti-gun groups a lot of money because, along with losing their names and tax-exempt status, they lose the right to accept contributions under the old names.
"They're trying to do it in every state. It's an interesting approach," said Anver, noting that the National Rifle Association and other gun groups are involved. "Has Million Mom March updated its status? If not, another group could strip them of their name and tax-exempt status, saying in effect, "You don't exist.' "
The NRA did not return calls seeking comment.
Attorney John Head, co-chairman of Safe Colorado, the group formed in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, scoffed at the actions. "They'll do anything," he said. "As far as I know, we're OK. We're going to protect that name and have Safe Colorado.
"If they try to confuse people, there are a couple of tools I have. I know how to sue people," said Head, whose group successfully sponsored a statewide initiative in 2000 requiring gun buyers at gun shows to undergo a criminal background check.
Head said it would be illegal for a pro-gun group to accept money from people who believe they're giving to the anti-gun group whose trade name has been appropriated.
Head said that Safe Education Fund, the education arm of Safe Colorado, has a report due with the secretary of state's office soon. The reports must be filed every two years, he said.
Sen. Bob Hagedorn, an Aurora Democrat and political science professor who publicly supports the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, got a chuckle from the strategy.
"How very, very clever strategically," Hagedorn said. "What it will do is cause confusion with voters if the (anti-gun groups) have any initiatives on the ballot. According to voting behavior, if people are confused, they vote no."
The attorney for Illinois' new Council Against Handgun Violence, Alison Barkley, has been quoted as saying that taking over another group's name was legal and that the name more accurately describes her group's mission to increase "accessibility of firearms for self-defense."
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E53%7E718370%7E,00.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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