system: You are Jim Henry, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Airguns message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to All about "FWD from PRN:  HCI'S next target        20:48:0004/05/98".

They wrote:
-> Newsgroups: PRN
-> ------------Begin Forwarded Message==================
-> Note this is confirmed as having come from HCI. It details their next
-> line of
-> attack.   Mike P
-> --------
-> Dear Handgun Control 'Member,
->
-> I have marked this letter to you "confidential" because I am
-> requesting that
-> you avoid discussing the contents publicly for the next several
-> weeks.
-> This is because we are about to initiate action that, if successful,
-> will
-> weaken the stranglehold that the gun industry, the NRA, and other gun
-> fanatics have over local and national gun laws.
->
-> And I am urgently requesting you to make an extraordinary gift to
-> help strengthen our cause.
->
-> please let me quickly explain our plans -- and then you will
-> understand why
-> both your generosity and secrecy are required.
->
-> In brief, we believe there is a strong parallel between the gun
-> industry and
-> the tobacco companies!  As you know, citizens at the local and state
-> level
-> rose up in anger and demanded clean .. air in restaurants and offices
-> when
-> Congress failed to take action-
->
-> Here at Handgun Control Inc., it is our regrettable conclusion that
-> this current Congress is not going to take the initiative on gun
-> safety for America.  Legislation is bogged down.  The NRA and other
-> gun industry lobbying groups have multi-million dollar war chests set
-> aside for this election year.
-> Consequently, it will be extremely difficult to pass any significant
-> legislation this year-
->
-> And so, even though we will not let up on our efforts in congress,
-> our focus
-> is going to make a dramatic shift.
->
-> And we want to keep this shift as quiet as possible while we develop
-> our plan-
->
-> In a few weeks, I will be announcing to the nation:
->
-> The Citizens Campaign Against Community Gun Trafficking
->
-> Handgun Control inc.  1SS5 Eye street, NW.  soom iloom Washington,
-> D.C
-> Even the title of this campaign will cause shockwaves
-> to run through the gun industry and the NRA at local and national
-> levels.
->
-> we will be taking a page from the anti-smoking victories, where local
-> ordinances banned smoking in public facilities and eventually forced
-> state
-> and national legislation to protest Americans' right to a smoke-free
-> environment.
->
-> And we'll remember the victories in the anti-drunk-driving movement,
-> as well.
-> M.A.D.D. was formed by a small group of mothers whose children had
-> been killed
-> by drunk drivers -- they gathered supporters and strength at the
-> grassroots
-> level around the country, and before long these mothers started to be
-> taken
-> seriously everywhere, even on capitol Hill.  Now, most states have
-> tougher
-> penalties for drunk drivers and the liquor industry is providing
-> anti.-drunk-
-> driving messages in their advertising.
->
-> In much the same way, we're going to attack the gun industry and the
-> gun pushers at the most basic point --where money is exchanged for
-> guns.
->                The Attack point:    Local Gun Shows!
->
-> Local gun shows make it extremely easy to purchase a gun for private
-> or criminal use.  And that's because most of the guns at the shows
-> are sold by
-> private individuals, not
-> by dealers; --and, therefore, in most states they are not covered by
-> laws
-> requiring background checks or paperwork!
->
-> So you can walk into a gun show, strike up a conversation with the
-> guy hawking the M-l carbine, admire its light kick, repetitive fire,
-> and ability to
-> accept large magazine clips.
->
-> Then you talk to that strange man parading around in his military
-> fatigues,
-> and later you meet him on the street, give him the necessary cash and
-> the
-> firearm is yours.
->
-> All legal in most states, as long as that fellow is not a licensed
-> gun dealer!
->
-> Loophole:      The Second-Hand Market
->
-> Right now, federal laws focus primarily on purchases of handguns from
-> licensed dealers.  And the Brady Handgun violence and prevention Act
-> has stopped many
-> criminals from buying handguns from licensed dealers-
->
-> But most states have no laws preventing one individual from selling a
-> weapon
-> to another, as long as the seller is not a licensed gun dealer.
->
-> "The individual purchasing the gun does not have to show
-> identification, does
-> not have to submit to background checks.  And the person selling the
-> gun does
-> not need to keep a written record of the transaction or the buyer's
-> address
-> and social Security number.  Also, quite obviously, there is no
-> waiting period.  All in all, this is the most outrageous loophole in
-> our federal gun
-> laws.
->
-> And gun shows are where criminals do their shopping --where the
-> second-hand
-> gun market really thrives.
->
-> And so, this is why one of our first goals in The Citizens Campaign
-> Against
-> Community Gun Trafficking is going to be to close down the gun shows!
->
-> These gun shows are most often held on public property:
-> civic centers, school gymnasiums, fairgrounds, city and county
-> convention
-> centers.
->
-> And these giant weapons bazaars have developed considerable
-> notoriety, because of such high-profile cases as Oklahoma City bomber
-> Timothy Mcveigh, who was
-> reported to have bought or sold weapons at guns shows. -
->
-> A recent issue of "Shotgun News" -- the "bible" of the gun pushers --
-> advertised over 500 gun shows for the last three months of 1997
-> alone. And
-> this does not include many of the smaller shows and swap meets.
-> I believe that now you can see why our Citizens campaign Against
-> Community
-> Gun Trafficking is going to result in tremendous controversy.
->
-> And I wish that we could keep it secret -- 100% secret until we are
-> ready to launch the campaign.
-> But, unlike the NRA and the right-wing, gun toting fanatics, we do
-> not have a multi-million dollar war chest. we depend upon grassroots
-> support -- from friends like you. And so I wanted to take the
-> calculated risk and share this plan with you, and hope that you will
-> step forward and send a significant
-> gift to express your belief that citizens -- with or without Congress
-> -- can get
-> things done!
->
-> In a few weeks, if you're interested, I will forward to you a
-> 'Citizens Action Kit," detailing exactly what can be done in your
-> local community
-> We intend to bring pressure upon mayors, city councils, school
-> boards, churches, and all property owners to ban the use of any
-> facility for gun shows.
->
-> Already, we are working with Dade county, Florida, mounting an
-> all-out assault on gun shows in that area.  I will be reporting to
-> you about that innovative and successful initiative before long.
-> But, as of now, we are not quite ready to go public with the results.
->
-> But I must quickly bring this letter to a close, after I warn you
-> that this.
-> is going to be a long, hard-fought campaign.
->
-> After all, it took many, many years before the tobacco industry felt
-> the heat
-> of local citizens demanding a smoke-tree environment,
->
-> So we must be patient, firm, determined -- and uncompromising.
-> Our enemies will incorrectly and misleadingly scream about freedom of
-> speech
-> and freedom of assembly.  But in turn, we will quietly remind them
-> that America is involved in a gun war -- that is claiming 35,000
-> lives each year
-> including 9,OOO murdered by handguns.
->
-> And we'll remind them that Americans must responsibly report
-> transactions involving cars, liquor and other products -- why should
-> gun sales be exempt? Every day 14 children, 19 years old and under,
-> are killed by handguns, Much of this mayhem is made possible by the
-> use of public property for gun shows.
-> These statistics are tragic proof that a state of war exists.
->
-> And, as you know, in my case, the statistic became personal
-> heartbreak when my husband Jim was grievously wounded by a bullet
-> intended for president Reagan.
->
-> You and I must make America a safer place to live. Let's do it!
->
-> P.S. I urge you to turn to the enclosed reply slip and write out a
-> check in one of the amounts I've indicated.  Or perhaps you can give
-> more. But please do the best you can.
->
-> I look forward to receiving your support, and I will trust in your
-> silence as we prepare our citizens Campaign Against Community Gun
-> Trafficking.
-> =============End Forwarded Message====================

Write your reply.

assistant: I know it's not airgun specific, but it should be important to all of
us.
Jim