HATCH REJECTS WHITE HOUSE PRESSURE

NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
(800) 392-8683	Fax: (703) 267-3918	groots@nra.org
Vol. 7, No.10	11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030	3/10/2000

CHAIRMAN HATCH REJECTS WHITE HOUSE PRESSURE

"...[S]ome of the important provisions that have been held hostage on [Clinton's] orders -- such as prosecutorial reforms and new enforcement resources -- might well have addressed the tragedy in Michigan last week..."

-- U.S. Representative/NRA Board Member Bob Barr (R-GA)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

The Clinton-Gore Administration summoned key federal lawmakers to the White House on Tuesday to twist arms and attempt to force an agreement on pending gun control legislation in the "Juvenile Justice" bill. But U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chairs the House-Senate conference committee established to work on reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of juvenile justice legislation, told reporters after the meeting, "We're poles apart on what can or cannot be done."

The Clinton-Gore White House continues to insist that the Lautenberg gun show amendment, passed as part of the Senate's version, remain a part of the juvenile justice package. NRA and pro-gun lawmakers, such as Senator Hatch, however, remain steadfast in opposition to the Lautenberg language, as it would effectively end gun shows as we know them.

Hatch later cautioned that any attempt to convene the conference committee may be unwise unless the firearm-related issues are resolved. "My experience," Hatch said, "is that under these circumstances, [a conference] would polarize this matter even more. I'm not about to put everybody together so people can shout political epithets at each other." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), who also attended the White House meeting, pledged to work further on the bill, but also said that passing anything firearm-related "largely depends on decisions made in the coming weeks by the president and members of his party in the House and Senate."

RNC Chair Jim Nicholon

While Clinton and his anti-gun followers in Congress continue to try to exploit the recent Kayla Rolland tragedy in Michigan to promote an anti-gun version of juvenile justice reform, opposition to such shameless political posturing has come from the pro-gun community, and even from some who support restricting law-abiding citizens from possessing firearms.

First, Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson stated "Once again, as has happened for the last seven years, Americans have had to endure their president's tasteless exploitation of an American tragedy to score political points for himself and Al Gore."
U.S. Representative and NRA Board Member Bob Barr (R-Ga.) wrote in a letter to President Clinton, "Your meeting this morning to ‘encourage' Congress to pass youth violence legislation is one of the most hypocritical political displays I have ever witnessed. As you are fully aware, Congress passed legislation to fight youth violence months ago (see last week's FAX Alert). Sadly, that legislation has been held hostage in Congress by allies following your orders to saddle the package with gun control or block its passage.... [S]ome of the important provisions that have been held hostage on your orders -- such as prosecutorial reforms and new enforcement resources -- might well have addressed the tragedy in Michigan last week."
And the Boston Herald, a newspaper that openly supports what it calls "reasonable regulations on firearms," stated in an editorial on March 5, "Clinton told a TV interviewer this week, ‘If we had passed the child trigger-lock provision and we applied it to all new guns, then at least these guns would not be used by 6-year-olds to kill other 6-year-olds.'" The editorial then chided Clinton that such proposals don't "get us very far. Gun use by 6-year-olds is rare indeed. (Overall, gun violence is at a 30-year low.) The gun used in Michigan had been stolen. Heaven knows how many laws had been violated in its trajectory to the pile of crack-house blankets under which the boy who used the gun found it."

Please continue to contact your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121 and your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, and urge them to vote "NO" on any juvenile justice bill that contains the Senate's version of the Lautenberg gun show amendment or other anti-gun provisions. Remind your lawmakers that there are more than enough laws already on the books to punish criminals who carry or use guns illegally. Urge them to call for enforcing these laws -- NOT punishing law-abiding citizens who obey the law and use firearms responsibly -- and remind them it is impossible for Congress to mandate parental responsibility.

More FAX Alerts About Juvenile Justice Legislation

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