HANDGUN CONTROL , INC. 10951 WEST PICO BOULEVARD SUITE 201 LOS ANGELES , CA 90064 (202)898-0792 CONFIDENTIAL! NOT FOR (General DISTRIBUTION! Notes and Minutes of Meeting of Friday, December 17,1993 Rough Draft Proposal for Internal Memo and Five Year Plan CC: Distribution White House Meetings: It was decided to forward the following to the national office for reference. A series of brainstorming meetings will be held at the White House through Winter,1994. All suggestions should be collated and delivered to our policy' team by then. Fund Raisers: A series raisers- should, be organized for local political allies; through the spring of 1994, the details will be outlined in an attached memo. We should have a stronger presence at Anna Eshoo's fund raiser; in early January. Press Releases: A subcommittee on media and public affairs assembled a list of press releases and studies, which can be timed to one released to the media per day, in order to fully maintain the high profile of the gun control issue. We don't want to lose the momentum initiated by the massacre in Long Island, however, many, local- news organizations have been very active, in keeping the gun control issue resolutely in view, without any assistance from us. Be sure to call the various station managers and news services to express your thanks. D-Day is January 1994: This month will be crucial to swaying votes for Sen. Feinstein's Assault Weapon Ban. Once this passes we will see the beginning of a landslide which the NRA thugs will not be able to stop, or their few pawns in Congress be able to filibuster. Thanking our friends... A subcommittee will draft a letter of support to Rep. Charles Schumer and offer additional materials that we have collected for his use in testimony and press conferences. A special press conference was' proposed in order to thank various State politicians for their support for stricter gun control. The subcommittee urge~ HCI members to maintain the current high visibility of the gun control issue an~ remember to praise President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno for their political courage for standing up to the old boy network of the Gun 'Lobby. Spacial praise to Senator Diane Feinstein was mentioned for her courage in standing up to the ever diminishing number of gun-crazy extremists who are actually pushing to make our society a killing field. What is Pending Now and Can Be Law in 1994 *Ban of all clips holding over 6 bullets * Ban on all semi-autos which 'can fire more than 6 bullets without~ ,reloading. * Ban of possession of parts to convert arms into military configuration. * Ban on all pump shotguns capable of being converted to over 5 shots without reloading. *Banning of all machine guns, destructive devices,short shotguns, rifles, assault weapons, Saturday Night Specials and non-sporting ammunition. .*Arsenal Licensing (for possession of-multiple guns and large amounts of ammunition). *Elimination of the Dept. of Civilian Marksmanship, long considered a sacred cow and a dinosaur from the Cold war years. (Thank you President Clinton!!!) *Ban on possession of a firearm within a home located within 1000 feet of a school yard. *Ban on all realistic replicas/toy guns or non-firearms capable of being rendered realistic. *The right of victims of gun violence and to sue manufactures and dealers to be affirmed and perhaps, aided with money from government programs. *Taxes on ammo, dealer licenses, and guns to offset me medical costs to society. AND. . . * The eventual ban of all semi-automatics (regardless of when made or what caliber). What was only a dream ten years ago con be reality as early as this year!!! After the meeting, the following ideas were the result of a brainstorming scssion to guide the focus of gun control initiatives over the next five years. These may not be politically feasible ideas for 1994, but we are confidant that with continued pressure we can achieve most if not all these goals within the next five years. The following list is condensed from our meeting in which we considered the best ideas for public safety expansion. The time is right for action. Five year plan: Licenses: 1. National licensing of all handgun purchases. This is at the top of our list, however, the political climate may be right to initiate this step immediately. Please refer to our memo outlining our idea on how this should be executed. 2. License for rifles and shotguns. We should take our cues from Great Britain. Strict licensing should be mandatory for all firearms, whether handguns of not. 3. State license for ownership of firearms. We want to take a workable idea from Great Britain, whereas, we should require the states to issue strict licences for possession and require the licenses to be signed by at least three public officials-i.e. the police chief, the city attorney, and the mayor, for example, to eliminate ownership by dangerous individuals. It is reasonable to require that all individuals must prove to the signers that they require a firearm. This should be attached to any legislation required (sic) purchasers to show a need for a firearm 4. Reduction of the number of guns to require an arsenal licensee. Right now the proposed arsenal licenses which Senator Feinstein should be pushing for, requires an "arsenal licensee" for those people who feel they need more than 20 guns and 1000 rounds of ammunition. We feel that is too generous, due to the fact that any number of guns constitutes a grave threat to the safety of the community, we suggest strongly that this licensee limit be reduced to possession greater than 5 guns and 250 rounds of ammunition. 5. Arsenal license fees. It is not unreasonable to require a yearly fee for an arsenal license to be at least $300, with a cap of $1000. The money collected ~:an be used to defray me immense medical costs directly attributed to these deadly weapons. 6. Limits on arsenal licensing No arsenal licensing to be permitted in counties with populations of more than 200,000. 7. Requirement of federally approved storage safes for all guns. We should follow Great Britain's lead on this. All licensed gun owners should be required to have a storage safe which meets minimum federally mandated requirements. This step would reduce me tragic accidents which claim the lives of tens of thousands of children a year and make it more difficult for burglars to steal the guns. 8. Inspection license. Another good revenue source would be mandatory inspection licensing of all safes. Each safe would be registered with a specific serial number and the serial numbers and types of weapons stored should be on file with federal and state authorities. Since unannounced inspectors can insure that all declared weapons are being properly stored, all safe licenses should have an additional yearly fee to offset the cost of these spot inspections. Public Safety Regulations. 9. Ban on manufacturing in counties with a population of more man 200,000. Guns are being built all the time and the number of licensed manufacture are too great to justify the threat to public safety. This is a small step to reduce the number of these shops where anything, even machine guns, are being built every day. 10. Banning all military style firearms. the pending national ban on all assault weapons, based on a point system can be expanded to eventually cover any firearms with a remotely military appearance. We feel mat this aggressive appearance appeals to the type of dangerous individuals who are a definite threat to public safety. We hope that this point system can eventually be expanded to high powered air guns and "paint ball" weapons, which can inflict great damage, and with a little effort can be converted to real guns. 11. Banning of any machine gun part or parts which can be used in a machine gun. Banning of periodicals such as "The Shotgun News" particularly cater to individuals which wish to build illegal machine guns. If Senator Feinstein's courageous section of the crime bill is successful in banning all machine guns, except for police and military, then there would be no legitimate need for machine gun parts except to build illegal weapons. 12. Banning the carrying a firearm (sic) anywhere but home or target range or in transit from one to the other. We should institute a federal mandate to the states to strictly regulate the carrying of firearms. 13.Banning replacement parts (mfg, sale, possession~ transfer, installation) except barrel, trigger group. Thousands of people are building illegal weapons every day. We can put a dent in this by banning parts and parts kits, except those items like the barrel and the trigger group, which are most likely to wear out due to use. 14.Elimination of me curio relic (sic) list. A gun is a gun. Even an old gun can kill people. This is a loop hole in federal law which has allowed thousands of dangerous weapons to be distributed unchecked. This regulation, if enacted, would automatically eliminate the need for a curio or relic collector's license. All handguns, rifles, and shotguns would fall under the same category as their modern counterparts. 15.Control of ammunition belonging to certain surplus firearms. Senator Moynihan has already proposed a tax or ban on .22LR,32acp, 25acp, and 9mm ammo, however, it has been pointed out to us that there is an extreme proliferation of high powered surplus rifles (i.e. the Mosin- Nagant series and the Enfield series) in which the wholesale prices are as low as $45-$75. We suggest that to control the proliferation of violence associated with the large numbers of these types of weapons entering this country that we ban the importation of their ammunition,7.64x54R (sic) and .303 surplus ammunition. 16. Eventual ban of handgun possession. This may be closer to reality than many of us think. Handguns are becoming increasingly unpopular and we think that within five years we can enact a total ban on possession at the federal level. 17.Banning of any ammo that fits military guns (post 1945). With the proliferation of high powered weapons, including semi-automatics and automatics from World War II, we suggest following the lead of Mexico, by prohibiting the sale, manufacture, possession or transfer of any caliber fitting a military firearm in service with a recognized military force after 1945. Ammunitions and explosives 18. Banning of any quantity of smokeless powder or black powder which would constitute more than the equivalent of 100 rounds of ammunition. With the bombing the World Trade Center, it has been made clear that we must control the amount of explosive materials in public hands. It is arguable that no (sic) has any real need to have so much dangerous material on hand. 19. Ban on the possession of explosive powders of more than 1 kilogram at any one time. Gun nuts are notorious for circumventing the intent of the law, so we can reinforce the above proposed regulation with this additional notation. This additional language can be useful in preventing "bomb-maker" hobbyists and other dangerous individuals. 20. Banning of high powered ammo or wounding ammo. In addition to the banning of military calibers, there is a plethora of dangerous rounds which are too high powered for sporting use. This includes the highest calibers of pistol and rifle ammunition (of note are the monster calibers for rifles and pistols, like the .50 caliber Desert Eagle Bullet). We should not forget the lessons learned with the insidious Black Talon Ammo. hollow points, Glaser killing rounds and other types of ammunition designed (sic) specifically for maiming should be prohibited. 21.A national license for ammunition. This is an idea whose time has come. We should look at a federal license for purchasing of ammunition of all kinds. A special form should be forwarded to a new federal office to track those who are purchasing too much ammunition. Remember that a gun is useless without ammuni- tion. 22.Banning or strict licensing of all re-loading components. Ammunition regulation law can be regularly by passed by home loaders, creating an underground cottage industry of ammo manufacture. Possession or purchase of re-loading materials and machines should be restricted and those who wish to use specially loaded ammunition can go to a federally licensed re-load. 23.National registration of ammunition or ammo buyers. Fees collected from the national licenses should go towards a nation- wide database of ammo buyers, with a possible background check to eliminate the purchase of dangerous ammo by felons or mental patients. 24.Requirements of special storage safe for ammunition and licensing. Like the storage safe for guns, there should be a national requirement for special safes to store ammo. These safes should be tamper proof and fireproof and be registered themselves so that on the spot inspections can be held. Again, the costs for these inspections can be absorbed by the license fees. Gun Ranges 25.Restricting gun ranges to counties with populations less than 200,000. The obvious threat to public safety of shooting ranges and stray bullets has been lost in many states and counties. We can initiate a federal mandate or incentives to get states to prohibit any kind of shooting range within a county with a population of more than 200,000. 26.Special licensing of ranges. Those ranges which conform to the previous requirements should get special licensing above and beyond that which is required now. Additional (sic) each existing or new shooting range must get in writing the permission of all property owners within a radius of seven miles. 27.Special range tax to visitors. Additional revenue can be a surtax on ranges, requiring the collection of a minimum of $85.00 per visit per person. This can be in addition to required membership fees, upon which the state and local government get a sizable portion, to help which the state and local governments get a sizable portion, to help defray the immense cost of gun violence. 28.Waiting period for rentals on pistol ranges. It has been suggested in the past that felons can ~acquire pistols and other automatic weapons without a background check by renting a gun on a target range. Deranged individuals are basically being given a license to 'practice hunting humans' at these so called 'sport- ing ranges'. We think that a national waiting period for gun rentals is yet another idea whose time has come. 29.Banning gun shows. Illegal transfers and the sales of assault weapons and submachine guns is a common event at those so called gun shows. A huge dent can be made in the illegal trafficking of weapons by banning these shows altogether. 30. Banning of military re-enactments. the questionable "Historical" value of these events has escaped public scrutiny for too long. Many of these so called historical events are mere excuses for gun nuts to blast the countryside with automatic weapons. What is to keep them from loading live bullets and having those stray bullets kill innocent children? What lives in the future will be lost due to this paramilitary training going on right under our noses? We propose the prohibition of Survivalist/ paramilitary, World War I and World War Il and Civil War re-enact- ments on federal land, and hope to encourage the states to prohibit them from state and county lands as well. 31.Making unlawful the assembly of more then 4 armed individuals who are not peace officers (sic) of military. Since most hunting parties consist of four, we recognize the need to eliminate the currently legal assembly of shooters for paramilitary training on private lands. This is just one good suggestion for our elimination of me "gun culture" from the mainstream. 32.Begin to curb hunting on all public lands. Blood sports are an anathema to a civilized society, however, it has been a political reality that the hunters and their ilk have too strong of a strangle hold on Congress. We feel that the impending defeat of high tech assault "killing machines" will open the door to other restrictions. With the diminishing number of hunters, we feel that perhaps in five years we can open up much more of our country, to campers and hikers, and eliminate the threat to families out camping, by looking at much more restriction as to what parcels of land will allow hunting. This will not infringe on sportsman's right (sic) to hunt on private land. 33.Making gun owners records and photos matter of public record. We would have to assemble a legal team, in order to investigate the balance of the right to privacy and the right to safeguard the public. We fully endorse the photographing and fingerprinting of all gun owners, however, these records arc usually relegated to law enforcement use only. We think mat it would be a good idea to make these records public, so that the communities can have the knowledge of who poses a danger to their community before disaster strikes. We realize that this proposal would probably be controversial, thus a long public affairs campaign would have to be initiated in order to build public support and ease the transition of such an idea. We feel that this idea has merit, and can be justified via the past publication of the names of water wasters during drought, customer for prostitution, and deadbeat parents who arc delinquent on child support. 34.Random police checks for weapons (like sobriety checkpoints). This idea was floated before in California in 1989, where some thought it would be a great deterrent to gang crime for police to do sweeps for gang weapons. Right now this idea may have some resistance, however, the political climate can become right to initiate these random vehicle stop and checks at all level and in all types of neighborhoods. If we continue to maintain the pressure we can make this an reality. Next Fifteen Years With all that is going, on, who knows what is possible in the next fifteen years? With murders in the streets, and the public fed up, and the once mighty thugs of the Gun Lobby whimpering in impotence we have an opportunity to change the face of America for the better! Previously we thought that it would take at least a century to eliminate dangerous weapons and guns from the public hands, but now witl1 allies in the White House and Congress, we can accelerate this trend, and make the barbaric NRA extinct! ! Here are some ideas to consider for the long term. Banning of Military Accouterments Essential to the Neanderthal gun culture are the typical military clothing, camouflage, pouches, and gear, boots, and other combat gear. They euphemistically refer to this as 'militaria'. Elimination of the future sale of these items u ill cripple the culture of violence u ell into the 21 st century. Stricter Guidelines for Violence in Television and the Movies We should look at the possibility of victims of violence initiated by copying an act on television and the movie or video screen, suing the makers of such shows for compensation to their suffering. If the industry cannot regulate itself, we may have to eventually look at an independent branch of government, to determine which seems cause more harm than good to public and regulate the numbers of violent acts portrayed. The Total Elimination of Arms from Society We cannot survive into The 21st century unless we remember the need to expand our wave to new thinking to the total disarmament of America. With much of the public disarmed we can become more like Great Britain, where we can also eliminate the l1eed for much of our police to be armed. This would take a long time, however, a concerted public relations campaign can pressure local law enforcement to give up their arms, when the time comes. Weapons, would be still available to special units like SWAT or the military. Control of Dangerous Literature (Bomb Making, Machine-gun Conversions, etc.) Too much irresponsible material is purportedly covered by the 1 st amendment, however, the time will come when our nation has to agree that some literature does not belong in a safe society, like instruction manuals on how to kill, or how to make homemade explosives, or nuclear bombs. We must realize that there can be such as thing as too much freedom where such literature poses a serious threat to the public safety. 1994 sounds the death knell of the bully tactics of the NRA and the culture of violence in America! We are pressing on all fronts and much of this can become reality sooner than we expect. With the loss of power and clout of the NRA and their various smaller crony organization crumbling to dust, we can eliminate a 200 year old license to murder into history, and enter the 21 st century a safer place for our children's children.