The National Education Association (NEA) has long been known as a shrill proponent of restrictions on our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. This past Monday, NEA President Bob Chase announced that the nation's largest teachers' union had resolved to further its anti-gun agenda by launching a national petition drive to call for restrictions on all law-abiding gun owners. Included on NEA's anti-Second Amendment wish-list -- which it hopes to submit to Congress by Feb. 1, 2001 -- are gun owner licensing, national gun registration, "ballistic fingerprinting" schemes, mandatory storage requirements, and waiting periods. Absent from NEA's proposed petition is any mention of targeting criminals or enforcing existing laws against violent offenders. NEA's attack on law-abiding gun owners, an attack that closely mirrors Presidential Candidate Al Gore's (D) anti-gun campaign platform, was not met with complete approval by those attending NEA's convention in Chicago, however. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia teacher Cindy Gaskins stated, "Rather than calling for gun control, we need to call for parental control and responsibility." David Trim, an English teacher from Mississippi, said, "It seems to me that metal detectors are more useful than gun control in protecting the schools... (and) it would be better to control TV shows and video games and movies that promote violence." The resolution eventually passed, but it was reported that approximately 1/3 of the delegates voted against it. It is unclear how the petitions themselves will be circulated, but we will follow this issue very closely, and keep a careful watch on any attempts by NEA or others to improperly use our nation's public schools to promote a political agenda. If you would like to express your views on NEA's petition, you can
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