Columbine Anniversary Prompts Gun Control Bill

[dZ]

Columbine Anniversary Prompts Gun Control Bill
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/2001...bine_dc_1.html
By Judith Crosson

DENVER (Reuters) - A day before the second anniversary of the massacre staged by two
teenage gunmen at Columbine High School, a state lawmaker on Thursday proposed raising
the legal age to own a handgun in Colorado from 18 to 21.

``Between 18 and 24 is where most of the gun deaths happen,'' state Sen. Doug Linkhart,
said after he filed his bill in the Colorado state senate three weeks before the end of the
legislative session.

``On this second anniversary it only seems right to once again tackle this issue of reasonable
and sensible gun control,'' said state Rep. Peter Groff, who plans to introduce a similar bill in
the Colorado House.

Since April 20, 1999 when Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, shot up the Littleton,
Colorado school, killing 13 people before shooting themselves to death, calls for more gun
control have resonated throughout the state and the nation.

The two Democratic legislators said they were not trying to use Columbine to further a
political agenda, but mentioned Columbine at their news conference and in a press release.

Timing Of Bill Questioned

While they said they hoped for bipartisan support, the timing did not sit well with
Republican Gov. Bill Owens. ``The governor deplores the politicization and exploitation of
Columbine by today's press conference,'' the governor's spokesman Dick Wadhams said.

He said the governor supported a bill last year, which was narrowly defeated, that would
have mirrored federal law. U.S. law prohibits federally licensed gun dealers from selling or
transferring a handgun to anyone under 21.

``But this bill goes much further,'' Wadhams said because it bans private sales of handguns
to people 18 to 20.

Federal law bans juveniles under 18 from possessing handguns.

Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Rhode Island and
South Carolina ban sales of handguns to anyone under 21, according to Joe Dennison,
director of state legislative action at Handgun Control.

Eleven other U.S. states regulate private sales of handguns, including those to 18-20 year
olds, by requiring a license or a permit or background check.

Dudley Brown, a leader of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners' Association, also called the
bill's announcement the day before the anniversary suspect. ``They want to use Columbine.
They want to use a tragedy,'' he said.

In last year's session Colorado lawmakers passed several gun measures, but the most
controversial requiring checks at gun shows failed, prompting supporters to take the
measure to voters in November where it easily passed.

The Colorado bill proposed on Thursday includes a provision that would allow someone 18
to 20 to own a handgun with parental permission. The bill is not aimed at rifles because
many youths go hunting or in some cases work on family farms or ranches.

[David Scott]

Another politician grandstanding on the backs of dead innocents. Barf.

[johnr]

Use these links to contact a pile of people:


http://www.mrc.org/contact/welcome.html#Major
-Contact info for major media outlets--

http://www.teesdale.com/let1.html
-contact over 25 newspaper editors--

http://www.mailblasterdot.com
-Mailblaster-mass emails--

http://www.conservativeusa.org/megalink.htm -Conservative MegaLinks--

http://congress.nw.dc.us/cgi-bin/media.pl?dir=wa
-**Find your local news/media types--

http://www.newsdirectory.com/
-Search for Newspapers and Magazines by Title: --

http://www.tpc.int/sendfax.html
-to send free fax to your Reps--

http://emedia1.mediainfo.com/emedia/
-Media Links database --

-------------------------------------------------

And....

These sites are mostly RKBA ( right to keep & bear arms ) but some cover broader rights issues. Some have forums, all have good links to other sites--

http://www.keepandbeararms.com -Keepandbeararms--New & Agressive

http://www.eaglesup.com -Eagles Up!--(former home of the Tyranny Response Team)

http://www.guncite.com -Guncite--Lots of references

http://www.gunowners.org -Gunowners

http://www.boortz.com -Boortz--pro 2A radio host

http://www.i2i.org -Independence Institute--Research

http://www.hamblin.com -Ken Hamblin--pro 2A radio hos

http://www.jpfo.org -JPFO--Our Jewish Friends

http://www.nealknox.com -Neal Knox--An oldie in the RKBA fight

http://www.gunfacts.org -Gunfacts--Ammo for the War of Words

http://www.nfanow.com -The National Firearms Association- a Canadian Perspective

http://www.lufa.ca -Canadian Grassroots resistance--

http://www.2ndlawlib.org/ -Legal scholarship on the Second Amendment

http://www.thelsas.org/index.html -The Lawyer's
Second Amendment Society

http://www.trt-co.org -New Home of the TRT!

http://www.sas-aim.org/ -The Second Amendment Sisters

http://www.saf.org -the Second Amendment Foundation

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39b5380776c5.htm -Must Read for all people- State rep Garcia (MI-R) speaks out(gun rights)--

http://www.gunsafe.org/ -Connecticut-based GunSafe-grassroots RKBA-

http://206.112.97.70/forum/a3a6c95524e4d.htm -Empty-Barrel Gun Policies-A legacy of nonsense from Clinton, Blair, and the Left--

Well I think someone should introduce a bill to repeal all gun control laws on the 225th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Only seems right to me.

[johnr]

zook, one idea I keep crusading for is automatic sunsetting of laws & regulations ( with some exceptions ) unless they are re-authorized by a recorded vote of a sitting legislature. That way you could hold acountable people you can vote against in the next election.