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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate. If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly. |
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| NOVEMBER 9, 1998 5:53 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Violence Policy Center Bill McGeveran 202-822-8200, ext. 105 |
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| Violence Policy Center Hails Clinton's Call to Regulate Gun Shows | ||||
| WASHINGTON - November 9 - Kristen Rand, author of the 1996 study
"Gun Shows in America: Tupperware(R) Parties for Criminals" and director of
federal policy for the Violence Policy Center, issued the following statement in response
to President Clinton's call for stricter regulation of gun shows: "President Clinton's new focus on gun shows, heralded in his Saturday radio address, is an important development. Thanks to legal loopholes created by the gun lobby, gun shows are Tupperware(R) parties for criminals. The President's leadership can help close those loopholes and meet his goal of 'no background check, no sale.' "The Violence Policy Center's research has shown the dangers of gun shows where criminals, fugitives, and others can buy guns -- no questions asked. Unfortunately, gun show sales are just one of many loopholes in the Brady Law's system of background checks, which applies only to federally licensed firearm dealers. At gun shows, these dealers sell guns side by side with "hobbyists" who are not required to run background checks. Other firearm sales that elude Brady and other gun laws include those at flea markets, through classified advertisements, and through personal sales -- all of them perfectly legal sales which are virtually unrestricted." "It's time to crack down on gun show sales and the other 'secondary sales' that undermine our gun laws. Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) has already introduced one proposal to license gun shows and apply the Brady Law and other gun laws to them. With the President's leadership, we can make great strides toward regulating guns in the same fashion as every other consumer product in America." ------ An executive summary of "Gun Shows In America: Tupperware(R)Parties for Criminals is available on the VPC's Web site: www.vpc.org Journalists who would like to interview Rand or obtain a full copy of the report can call Bill McGeveran, the VPC's communications director, at 202-822-8200, ext. 105. ------ The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational organization that examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and works to decrease firearm-related death and injury. -0- |
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