| WASHINGTON
- March 22 - Sarah Brady, Chair of Handgun Control today condemned Anheuser-Busch, Inc. for
its recent support of Proposition B, a Missouri state-wide referendum which if
passed would give the state one of the weakest concealed-carry laws in the
nation. The April 6 referendum marks the first time in the U.S. that the
controversial issue of carrying concealed weapons has been put to a state-wide
vote; a pro-gun Missouri group is calling the vote ‘the last great gun battle of
the 20th century’ and the gun lobby is pouring money and political
clout into the campaign.
Headquartered in St. Louis, the giant beer and entertainment
conglomerate is the only major Missouri corporation to publicly support
Proposition B, despite opposition from most Missouri law enforcement and health
groups. Missouri newspapers reported that Anheuser-Busch decided to take the
unusual step of publicly backing a lax concealed-carry system to refute
Internet-based rumors that the company was
"pro-gun-control."
"The audacity of this endorsement is just
breathtaking," Mrs. Brady said. "Here we have the world’s largest beer
company telling the citizens of their home state that carrying loaded guns in
drinking establishments is a good thing. Here we have a company that, for all
its talk of the need for individual freedom, is pandering to the gun
lobby."
"What was Anheuser-Busch thinking? Why are they
ignoring their own message – that drinkers should drink responsibly, shooters
should shoot responsibly, and that guns and alcohol should never, never
mix?"
Proposition B would allow Missourians convicted of serious
misdemeanor crimes including stalking, assault and child molestation to carry
concealed weapons. The proposition is so vaguely worded that people with permits
could carry assault pistols, including the Uzi and TEC-9, into daycare centers,
on school grounds and busses – and into bars, sports stadiums, restaurants and
other establishments that serve alcohol. Missouri currently is one of seven
states that do not permit the carrying of concealed weapons, and its crime rate
has declined by 22% in the last five years – more than that of most states which
currently have lax concealed-carry laws.
"Even the NRA tells its members never to consume
alcohol before shooting," Mrs. Brady commented. "Shooting ranges, many
of which are run by NRA instructors, prohibit alcohol on the premises. So
according to their logic, it’s not OK to go to a shooting range with a can of
Budweiser in your pocket, but it’s fine to go into a Kansas City bar with a
loaded handgun. The new Anheuser-Busch advertising slogan should be: Drink now,
shoot later."
Mrs. Brady was joined by Diana Conti, Executive Director of
the Marin Institute, which has focused much of its research on alcohol-related
social problems and on Anheuser-Busch, and by the daughters of Deborah Kitchen,
who was rendered a quadriplegic by a drunken ex-boyfriend who had just purchased
a gun. Although the relationship between alcohol and violence is complex, study
after study has shown that in most violent events, both victims and offenders
were drinking alcohol before the violent incident took place.
"Unlike the gun
lobby, Handgun Control does not call for a boycott of a corporation’s products
because they take a position different from ours," Mrs. Brady said.
"Our many friends in Missouri, including the majority of law enforcement
and health organizations, who oppose Proposition B do so because they know that
Missouri does not need thousands of hidden handguns carried by the wrong people
in the wrong places. What I will do is call on Anheuser-Busch to rethink
its responsibility to the Missouri citizens whose lives and families would be
endangered if Proposition B passes, and take a stand for public safety. No guns
in bars. Guns and alcohol don’t mix."
# # #
Handgun Control, 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.
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