Posted on 10/10/2002 7:25:04 AM PDT by pabianice
Statement by Sarah Brady on the Sniper Shootings
Today, Sarah Brady, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, issued the following statement about the sniper shootings in suburban Maryland and the greater Washington, D.C. area:
"On behalf of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, I want to express our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims of these senseless shootings. Gun violence is always devastating to a community, but it is even more horrifying when such violence strikes for no conceivable reason other than to terrorize.
"As police try to track down and stop this killer, we do know this: sensible gun laws can help law enforcement solve crimes as well as prevent gun violence. The unique markings, called the 'ballistic fingerprint,' that every gun leaves on a fired bullet or shell casing have always been helpful in investigating shootings. We have already seen the usefulness of ballistic tests in definitively linking six of the eight shootings to the same firearm.
"We have also seen the limitations to ballistic fingerprinting laws in their current form. Only two states -- Maryland and New York -- require a record be kept of every new gun's ballistic fingerprint. Both states' laws are relatively new and apply only to handguns, not all long guns, which the weapon in this case almost surely is. These limitations speak to a need for a national ballistics fingerprinting law for all firearms. Doesn't it make sense for us to give law enforcement the tools they need in order to solve such crimes?
"Furthermore, according to police, the shooter could be using one of four possible firearms to carry out this shooting spree. Three of the four are assault rifles. It's important to remember that the federal assault weapons ban expires in September 2004. We do not want to put more military-style weapons capable of such devastation and worse back on our streets.
"The National Rifle Association, which claims to be on the side of law enforcement, fought the assault weapons ban and it fights ballistic fingerprinting laws. Instead of supporting measures that would help police solve crimes and prevent gun violence, it promotes the dangerous notion that 'an armed society is a polite society.' Sadly, far too many Americans every year pay the consequences of the NRA's 'polite society' with their lives."
Please click here and make a generous donation today to prevent more tragedies like these. Together we can create an America free from gun violence, where ALL are safe at home, at school, at work, and in their communities.
Please pass this message along to friends, family members, and colleagues so that they too can take a stand for sensible gun laws.
"Thumbs up to all of you for your generous support! Together, we will build a safer America." - Jim "The BEAR" Brady
October 9, 2002 http://www.bradycampaign.org http://www.bradycenter.org http://www.millionmommarch.org
“The inability to distinguish between what is real and what is imaginary. Psychosis is a term used to describe a severe mental illness. Psychotics are characterized by a variety of symptoms that most people consider abnormal. These include experiencing delusions, such as the notion that one is being persecuted or conspired against. Psychotics may see things which don't actually exist and hearing voices (i.e. God) when no one is around. They often exhibit compulsive, irrational, ritualized behavior, esp. when such behavior serves no purpose or is even harmful or disruptive to those around them. They show no concern for others but may exhibit total self-centered behavior. Includes schizophrenia.”
-- DSM-IV
Maryland watch ping
This is what it takes to rouse the old bat out of her sleep. Like bats and vampires the gun grabbers are drawn to blood
"Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who didn't." - Ben Franklin
We can't let criminals with guns infringe on gun rights for a law-abiding populace.
Never mind that attempting such a system would be a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that would fail miserably.
And Maryland already has such a system. Seems the shooter should have been identified and caught by now.
You wrote: I guess if you think you dont have a right to privacy and as an American citizen who owns firearms that you should be placed on a list and tracked, then its not an infrigement on your rights.
But we are all on lots of lists. drivers licences,crdit cards, social security, etc. Are these all infrigments of rights?
Now, I can see the cost being the major problem, especially if it doesn't work. This makes sense to me. My point though, is that I keep hearing this is a violation of our rights and I am having a hard time seeing how it is any more a violation than the things I mentioned above.
So it's important to renew this ban because...uh, because it's been successful? Then why are we having this conversation? Nice try, Sarah.
I do note that the inevitable has happened and "assault rifle" has been incorrectly and inaccurately conflated with the category "assault weapon." This seemingly pedantic point isn't, at all - it enables the Brady bunch and the government to expand a well-defined and illegal category to include pretty much whatever they want to include. This is what their buddy Clinton effected when he said "I'm going to stretch this just as far as I can," and that he did.
Yes, you are missing 'something'.
Registration, IN ANY FORM, be it ballistic 'fingerprinting' or any other such nonsense will give power to the state to track you. It also means when they 'outlaw by decree' whatever guns you have 'fingerprinted' they will just knock on your door(in lieu of kicking it in) and confiscate them. Can't happen here? Look at California, first a ban on manufacture of military style weapons, then a registration of those in state, then a total outlaw of them, 'criminal by decree'.
If stolen and used in a crime, you will be held accountable, sell it and that sale will be tracked, the cost of the system would be close to $5000 a shell casing, and guess who pays for that?
Yeah, you're missing something..... A LOT.
What they want is for you to have to register with the IFG for the privilege of exercising a constitutional right. I find that to be an infringement on the free exercise of our rights.
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