Neal Knox Report

Gun Law Frenzy

By Neal Knox

     WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 22) -- President Clinton today called
for "immediate" passage of the gun provisions in the Senate-passed
Juvenile Delinquency bill.

     S. 254, which passed the Senate 73-25, calls for background
checks on all buyers at gun shows, show operators to be registered
with BATF, FFL dealers to sell trigger locks with all handguns,
prohibition of importation on over-10-round magazines, and
prohibiting transfer to or possession by juveniles of either high-
capacity magazines or "semi-automatic assault weapons" -- among
other provisions.

     The White House is trying to get the bill through the House
this week.  Speaker Dennis Hastert has given his blessing to much
of the bill.  Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde said he expects the
bill to be enacted within "a couple of weeks."

     If it ever existed, Congress' "pro-gun majority" collapsed
following the Columbine High School killings and mixed signals from
NRA, the gun industry and pro-gunners in Congress.

     This fiasco started when NRA hunkered down after the Columbine
massacre, declining all press queries -- "refusing to defend
itself" as one reporter put it -- and shutting down most of the
annual meeting in Denver.  Anti-gunners gleefully "interpreted"
those actions as an admission that lawful gun owners were
responsible.

     During his Denver speech, Executive Vice President Wayne
LaPierre laid the groundwork for the Senate's gun show amendment by
saying:  "We will consider instant checks at gun shows when, and
only when, this Administration stops demanding new gun taxes and
stops illegally compiling the records of millions of lawful gun
buyers."

     That is precisely what the "compromise" Sen. Frank Lautenberg
amendment provides -- though in a form far more restrictive than
the NRA leadership contemplated, with records of approved buyers
now legally kept for 90 days rather than the 180 days FBI had
intended to keep them.

     Majority Leader Trent Lott, reportedly ignoring a caution from
Sen. Larry Craig, allowed the long-delayed Juvenile Justice bill --
providing stiffer punishment for violent juveniles -- to come to
the floor without restrictions on the number or type of amendments.

     Some believed Bill Clinton would sign such a bill only if it
included "reasonable gun laws," particularly gun show background
checks, gun storage requirements, bans on ownership by juvenile
felons and other provisions which LaPierre seemed ready to accept
during his nationally televised May 1 Denver speech.

     Shortly after debate began May 12 on S. 254, the Senate tabled
the original Lautenberg amendment 51-45.  It differed from the
eventually-passed "compromise" Lautenberg amendment mainly by a
broader definition of what constituted a "gun show," licensing and
far greater requirement on gun show operators, requiring all non-
dealer sales to be reported to BATF, and without restrictions on
FBI's record-keeping of gunowners.

     The Senate quickly passed the original Hatch-Craig amendment
53-45.  It authorized a voluntary special 3-day license for private
sellers at gunshows, which potentially increased the number of
background checks, but didn't require them on all private sales.

     It allowed FBI only 24 hours to complete an "Instant Check" --
instead of the usual three days -- to assure that sales could be
completed during a gun show.  Democrats screamed about that and
other "loopholes" so often that Sen. Craig eventually declared they
"consider the Second Amendment a loophole."

     However, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Craig apologized the next day
for misstating some provisions of their proposal.  Under pressure
from Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and four other "moderates," they
sponsored a "correcting" amendment which mandated background checks
on all gun show sales.

     It passed by 48-47 on May 14.

     But that and later concessions weren't enough.   Lautenberg
offered his "compromise" amendment which imposed more BATF controls
over the shows, required private transactions to go through
dealers, and allowed FBI to maintain records on law-abiding
purchasers -- theoretically for 90 days.

     It passed 51-50 with Vice President Gore casting the tie-
breaking vote.

     The Feinstein ban on magazine imports and their possession by
juveniles -- which some argue could affect adult possession --
passed 59-39.

     The Hatch-Kohl "trigger lock" amendment, which passed 78-20,
doesn't require security devices to be used, but has a provision
exempting people who lock their guns from civil liability for
misuse by a third party.

     As Sen. Bob Smith (N.H.) said, a court could construe it to
allow owners of unlocked guns to be sued for someone else's crimes.

     Regardless how quickly and how much of the Senate bill becomes
law, the White House and anti-gun Democrats are already planning
another wave of gun law proposals.
                               ---
     Details of the Senate amendments and votes will be in
the Hard Corps Report now being prepared.  To receive a copy and
future issues send your contribution to Firearms Coalition, 7771
Sudley Rd. No. 44, Manassas, VA 20109._