Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc From: [an 25970] at [anon.penet.fi] Subject: Mondale on Guns Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 12:06:14 UTC FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Call Tom Wyld, NRA Public Affairs April 22, 1994 (703-267-3820) OOPS! CLINTON OFFICIAL CONFIRMS PRIVATE GUN OWNERSHIP IN AMERICA DETERS CRIME NRA Chief Lobbyist: "Gun bans don't disarm criminals. They attract them." Washington, D.C. -- Days before the U.S. Congress holds hearings on whether to ban guns, a Clinton Administration official -- former Vice President Walter Mondale -- confirmed that private gun ownership in America deters crime and sends criminals packing. In an April 20 message from the American Embassy in Tokyo, Ambassador Mondale reported that a twenty-member gang moved to Japan after finding criminal activity in this country "too dangerous because of the prevalence of guns in the homes. After two dozen successful burglaries in gun-free Tokyo, they managed to mail over six million dollars worth of stolen cash and jewels" to conspirators in Colombia. "Politicians eager to trash the U.S. Constitution by banning guns had better wake up and smell the Saki," said Mrs. Tanya K. Metaksa, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association of America. "Gun bans being considered next week by the U.S. Congress are the worst sort of practical joke that leaves citizens fooled and lawful gun owners threatened with imprisonment. Only politicians and criminals exit laughing." "Next week, I will introduce to Congressmen a law-abiding American who thwarted crime with one of the very firearms they wish to prohibit," Mrs. Metaksa continued. "And I will also introduce them to a law-abiding woman who, because of a gun ban, faced the prospect of jail time. Her crime? A crime of appearance. She owned a legal gun that looked illegal." "As word spreads among the international criminal community," Mondale's message concluded, "more foreigners (including more Americans) may well come to Japan for the easy pickings." "It's time to stop the charade," Mrs. Metaksa said. "Gun bans don't d isarm criminals. As Ambassador Mondale observed, gun bans attract them." ____________________ Resources for Correspondents: For research on gun ownership as a crime deterrent, consult Point Blank (1991; NY: Aldine de Gruyter) by Gary Kleck, Professor of Criminology, Florida State University. For a critical review of international gun laws, see The Sumarai, The Mountie and the Cowboy (Should America Adopt the Gun Controls of Other Democracies?) (1992; NY: Prometheus Books) by David Kopel. Kopel is with the Independence Institute of Colorado (303-279-6536). Downloaded from GUN-TALK (703-719-6406) A service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action Washington, DC 20036 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to [h--p] at [anon.penet.fi.] Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to [a--m--n] at [anon.penet.fi.]