Handgun Control



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		OCTOBER 28, 1998 3:09 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Handgun Control

		NRA Ads On Florida Gun Show Initiative: Wrong And Misleading; Handgun Control Asks Florida Radio Stations to Refuse Ads

		WASHINGTON - October 28 - Handgun Control, Inc. today called upon radio stations in Florida to pull National Rifle Association (NRA) radio ads now running in Florida that call for voters to oppose Constitutional Revision 12. The NRA’s radio ad, which began running today in several major media markets, alleges that Revision 12 would reduce penalties for illegal gun sales. The proposed constitutional revision, which addresses a loophole in current law, simply gives counties the authority to require a criminal history background check and a waiting period on the purchase of a gun at a gun show. The proposed constitutional amendment was put on the November ballot by the state’s Constitutional Revision Commission, and enjoys support from 60%-70% of Florida’s voters, according to the latest polls. The NRA is reportedly spending more than $400,000 of its more than $2 million campaign war-chest in an effort to defeat the measure. Former Presidential Press Secretary Jim Brady, who has been campaigning actively for the passage of Revision 12, responded angrily to the ads narrated by NRA President Charlton Heston. "Revision 12 reduces criminal penalties? I’ve been involved in politics for more than thirty years. I’ve seen a lot of lies and deceptions, but this has to be one of the biggest whoppers I’ve ever heard," Brady said. "Revision 12 will not reduce any state or federal criminal penalties for illegal gun sales in Florida. To the contrary, it will add new penalties and new requirements that make it harder for criminals to get guns, not easier. Take it from me, giving counties the authority to require background checks and waiting periods on all gun sales occurring at gun shows will save lives." Brady reacted strongly to the personal attacks made in the ad on the supporters of Revision 12. "To suggest that I and all those who back Revision 12, including prosecutors and police, are trying to ‘make life a lot easier for the criminals who terrorize honest citizens,’ is nothing less than a vicious insult. Charlton Heston should be ashamed." "It’s a sad day when ‘Moses’ himself breaks the Eighth Commandment by bearing false witness," Brady said, "and someone is giving Charlton Heston really bad advice. Before he goes out and makes these kinds of statements, he ought to check the facts. He’s not leading Floridians into the promised land, he’s leading them into a wilderness of lies and deceptions. If Heston and the NRA win this battle, criminals like the killer of three Tampa police officers can continue to buy guns, no questions asked, at Florida gun shows." In the attached letter to Florida radio stations, Robert Walker, the President of Handgun Control, Inc., urges stations to pull the ads. "Radio stations," Walker says, "are supposed to operate in the public interest. The courts are clear on this point. If they know that an ad is deceptive or factually wrong, they have an obligation not to run it. And legal authorities in Florida have made it clear: Revision 12 will not reduce state and federal penalties on illegal gun sales. To the contrary, it will add to the legal arsenal that can be used by prosecutors in going after illegal gun dealers." # # # Handgun Control, Inc., chaired by Sarah Brady, is the nation’s largest citizens’ gun control lobbying organization. Based in Washington, DC, HCI works to enact stronger federal, state and local gun control laws, but does not seek to ban handguns. Founded in 1974, HCI has more than 400,000 members nationwide and works with local groups around the country to enact and protect reasonable gun control laws.