From: veal@utkvm1.utk.edu (David L. Veal)
Subject: Guns Permits and NRA Perceptions (Re: Media bias)
Keywords: bias
Organization: University of Tennessee Division of Continuing Education
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 23:14:11 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.131129.7738@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich) writes:

>In article <1992Jul21.113056.6761@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich) writes:
>>#-                            I am the NRA              Steven R. Fordyce
>>
>>      What can one expect? Someone for the unlimited right of known
>>criminals to possess guns. For myself, I would favor a uniform system
>>of gun permits with the permits revoked for those with a record of
>>violent crime.

>       I'm sorry I went overboard here. I apologize for seemingly
>suggesting that SRF is pro-crime. I wished to imply that he was taking
>a stance that would make it difficult to do anything about certain
>kinds of crime.

>       I guess I was simply annoyed at the NRA's stance of no gun
>restrictions whatsoever. 

     While I'm not a member of the NRA, I think this incorrect assumption 
should be addressed.  The NRA does not support "no gun restrictions 
whatsoever."  During the last round of gun-control sceaming on Capital Hill, 
the NRA helped draft the Staggers Bill in response to the Brady Bill.  The 
Staggers Bill *required* a background check, while the Brady Bill did not.


>If one is willing to live with having to get
>a driver's license in order to drive a car, then I don't see why we
>can't have some system of gun permits. 

     You misunderstand both what gun permits would mean and what driver's 
licenses are.  You don't need a driver's license to either own a gun or 
to drive one on public property.  (This is by *far* the most common 
situation with gun owners.)
 
     You only need a license, and a vehicle registration, if you plan to use 
your vehicle on public property.  Further, minors, felons, and mental 
patients can own cars, but not guns.

     A system *like that used for cars* would be widely accepted by gun 
owners.  However, this has *never* been proposed.  *All* such proposals have 
been universally *far, far* more stringent than those which applies to cars, 
because most people don't realize exactly *what* the laws on automobiles 
entail.

>I'm sure that with suitable
>gun-permit system, it may actually be more straightforward for those
>with a clear record to purchase guns than under some systems.


     Undoubtably.  However, the NRA has suffered from an amazingly well 
coordinated propoganda campaign, which I think you have witnessed.  (And 
this goes with the original subject line of media bias...)
 
     For instance, the NRA has caught a lot of flack over the 
"cop killer" bullets.  Not only did the "cop-killer" bullet *never* kill *
any* police officer (it was, in fact, designed and exclusively sold to 
police), but when the Congress drafted legislation to prevent the sale of 
the KTW "cop killer" bullet, the original bills would have banned *any* 
ammunition which could penetrate a police officer's light armor vest.
 
     This would have effectively banned most pistol ammo and all hunting 
ammo.  The NRA had no choice but to oppose the bill, eventually helping 
draft the bill that *did* restrict the selling of the KTW bullet to the 
police and the military.  The NRA helped them get *exactly* what they said 
they wanted in the first place, and as a result got some of the worst press 
they ever had.

     This is typical.
 
     Please, if you don't like guns, fine.  If you don't like the NRA, fine.
But *make sure* you know what they stand for before you decide you don't 
like them for it!

>/Loren

===========================================================================
|David Veal  PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu  University of Tennessee             |  
|                                     Division of Continuing Education    |
| Statistics are any data which can be twisted to support your posititon  | 
===========================================================================

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