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President Bush Summons Conservation Leaders to Meeting at
White House
U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance President Bud Pidgeon, along with 19
other top conservation groups from across the country, met today
with President George W. Bush to discuss numerous conservation
issues important to hunters, anglers and trappers. The
meeting lasted for over an hour.
The president talked candidly about the threats facing America's
outdoor heritage while also recognizing sportsmen's important
role in conservation programs across the country.
He also expressed appreciation for the conservation community's
support of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act and the Farm Bill.
"It is certainly refreshing to hear our country's top official
praise sportsmen and sportswomen for their efforts in protecting
wildlife and wildlife programs for future generations,"
said Pidgeon. "It is the first time in recent memory
that a president has received the outdoor community in such as
fashion. This certainly will help reenergized those at
the grassroots level who are fighting daily to protect our outdoor
heritage."
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Opinion-Editorial: Gun rights are at stake
This Opinion-Editorial appeared in USA Today on December 3, 2003
More than two years after the 9/11 atrocities, nobody would consider
thwarting honest legislation aimed at preventing terrorists from
obtaining firearms for further attacks on American citizens.
But there is good reason for Americans to be cautious about blindly
endorsing the proposed Terrorist Apprehension Act, sponsored
by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., a traditional opponent of firearms
civil rights. That bill ostensibly would give law enforcement
greater ability to monitor gun purchases by people on a "terrorist
watch list."
Lautenberg has an additional bill in the shadows, the so-called
Homeland Security Gun Safety Act of 2003. This bill essentially
would circumvent federal firearms law governing background checks
and retention of records on millions of law-abiding citizens.
It would not be surprising to see the issue of terrorism used
as an excuse to enact far-reaching legislation that would infringe
on the firearms civil rights of Americans.
Lautenberg has yet to confer with gun-rights groups on either
bill - a signal that he is less interested in snaring terrorists
than in further eroding our gun rights.
There are other nagging questions about the Terrorist Apprehension
Act, not the least of which is how someone winds up on a "terrorist
watch list." Are these people foreign nationals, or does
the list include U.S. citizens whose only crime, perhaps, is
having an unusual family name, |
ethnic heritage or religious belief? Are
they on the list because of known terrorist activity? Why were
they allowed into the USA in the first place, and why aren't
they deported when found? Why wait until they try to buy a gun?
Unfortunately, the sponsors of this legislation have a well-established
track record of opposition to anyone - not just terrorists -
owning firearms. Some might reasonably argue that a terrorist,
in Lautenberg's narrow view, is anyone who wants to buy a gun
or already owns one.
No one wants to arm a terrorist. However, no American should
be willing to make it easy to trample on the rights of our fellow
citizens in the process of protecting our freedom and liberty.
To do so would let the terrorists win.
Alan Gottlieb is chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right
to Keep and Bear Arms. |
