HCI: No Stomach for the Battle?
As this NRA Fax Alert states, HCI is now contemplating a name change. We find it most curious that, just a few months ago, they were intent on eliminating any use of similar names on the Internet. Suddenly, within days of being served by our attorneys and within one week of their Trademark Application coming due for opposition, they have determined that their name may not be that important after all! This is an interesting and all too familiar tactic of the gun grabbing bully: when confronted with the Law, sneak out the back door.
We, at Liberty Watch, applaud HCI's contemplated action. Not only will a name change clearly underscore their cowardice in the face of lawful opposition, but it will set their name recognition efforts back twenty years. They may attempt to reinvent their image with a name change, but their tactics and message surely remain as transparent as ever.
Molon Labe
A GUN BAN GROUP BY ANY OTHER NAME
IS STILL A GUN BAN GROUP
Last week, we told you about a new anti-gun outfit operating under the name Americans for Gun Safety. This week, we learned that Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), may be changing its name in what appears to be a desperate attempt to improve its image with mainstream America. According to the February 26 issue of Newsweek, the new name will probably include a reference to Jim and Sarah Brady, who have been the public faces of HCI since the late 1980s. HCI board members privately voted for the name change because, according to insiders, some felt the term "handgun control" was "too far to the political left." This will be the second name change for HCI, which was first formed in 1974 as the National Council to Control Handguns (NCCH).
Of course, regardless of what it is called, HCI will continue to be nothing more than part of the gun ban lobby, although a recent press release attempts to deny this fact. Taking umbrage with an NRA letter that referred to HCI as a "gun ban lobby," HCI President Mike Barnes took a page from the Bill Clinton play book on definitions, and wrote a letter to Members of Congress to "clarify" the issue. Even though HCI is clearly on record as supporting the 1994 ban on certain semi-automatic firearms, and even though, in its original incarnation as NCCH, the organization voiced a desire for an eventual handgun ban through gradual steps, and even though HCI brags about its legal defense of the Washington, D.C., and Morton Grove, Ill. handgun bans, Barnes implied that, because "HCI does not seek to ban all (emphasis added) guns," it should not be called a "gun ban lobby." According to that logic, we shouldn't label someone a criminal unless he commits every crime, as opposed to just some crimes. Sorry, Mike, but as long as your organization continues to support banning many types and classes of guns, it is, by definition, a "gun ban lobby." Or are you also confused with what the meaning of "is" is?
Return to the Home Page of the HCI Website Battle