[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6294-S6297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NRA'S FUNDRAISING LETTER

  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, recently, the National Rifle Association 
issued a widely circulated fundraising letter over the signature of 
Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and that letter is full of 
questionable overheated language. I wish to focus on one paragraph in 
particular. The letter states, and I am quoting exactly:

       In Clinton's administration, if you have a badge, you have 
     the Government's go-ahead 
      [[Page S6295]]  to harass, intimidate, and even murder law-
     abiding citizens.

  Now, as if the force of the words ``even murder'' as applied here 
were not repugnant enough, the letter underlines the words ``even 
murder.''
  This assertion that the U.S. law enforcement personnel have been 
authorized by President Clinton ``to harass, intimidate, even murder 
law-abiding citizens'' is without foundation, and it is an offensive 
outrage that should be condemned by members of the NRA and all other 
decent Americans.
  On April 28, I wrote a letter to the president of the NRA, Mr. Tom 
Washington, asking that the statement be retracted. The statement is 
inflammatory; it is inappropriate. I do not think there is a single 
Member of this body who would stand in the Chamber of the Senate and 
speak such words, asserting that our President has authorized law 
enforcement personnel to murder law-abiding citizens. I do not believe 
the overwhelming majority of NRA members would countenance such 
language.
  My letter to Mr. Washington asked, ``Can you honestly justify your 
organization's characterization of law enforcement officials with such 
language, describing them as on a mission sanctioned by the Government 
to murder law-abiding citizens?''
  Madam President, on May 3, I received a reply from Mr. Washington, 
and his letter says:

       While I concede that some of the language in the NRA 
     fundraising letter might have been rhetorically impassioned--
     as is most political direct mail--that in no way disparages 
     the NRA, nor diminishes the seriousness of the alleged 
     federal law enforcement abuses to which the letter refers.

  The letter goes on to relate the history of the NRA's interest in the 
investigation of Federal law enforcement abuse. The letter concludes 
with the statement that ``blaming the rhetoric, whether in a 
fundraising letter or anywhere else in political discourse, serves only 
to silence dissent and aggravate that distrust.''
  Well, Madam President, I have no interest in silencing dissent. I 
never have. There is nothing more American than the conscientious 
expression of dissent. There is no more sacred right guaranteed by our 
Constitution to all Americans than freedom of speech, and I will defend 
the NRA's right to say what it said. The point is that the reply that I 
have received from Mr. Washington did not answer the question that I 
asked. I asked Mr. Washington, ``Can you honestly justify your 
organization's characterization of law enforcement officials with such 
language, describing them as on a mission sanctioned by the Government 
to murder law-abiding citizens?'' The question was not answered.
  I ask unanimous consent, Madam President, that the NRA letter written 
by Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and my letter of April 28 to 
Mr. Washington and Mr. Washington's letter of May 3 to me be printed in 
the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                   Washington, DC, April 28, 1995.
     Mr. Tom Washington,
     President, National Rifle Association,
     Lansing, MI.
       Dear Tom: Over the years we have agreed on some things, 
     like protecting our Great Lakes, and disagreed on others, 
     like the ban on assault weapons. But no matter what positions 
     we have on assault weapons, I hope you will agree that the 
     language of the NRA's recent fundraising letter over the 
     signature of Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre is 
     highly inflammatory and totally inappropriate.
       In one passage, Mr. LaPierre writes, ``In Clinton's 
     administration, if you have a badge, you have the 
     government's go-ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder law-
     abiding citizens.'' Can you honestly justify your 
     organization's characterization of law enforcement officials 
     with such language, describing them as on mission sanctioned 
     by the government to ``murder law-abiding citizens''?
       This is but one example of the inflammatory, hateful 
     rhetoric in this letter. I will defend Mr. LaPierre's right 
     to free speech, but the public also has a right to expect the 
     NRA to retract hateful and inflammatory statements issued in 
     its name. I urge the NRA to retract the LaPierre letter.
       Thank you for giving this request your consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Carl Levin,
     U.S. Senate.
                                                                    ____

                                       National Rifle Association.
       Dear Fellow American: I've worn out a lot of shoe leather 
     walking the halls of Congress. I've met key leaders, I've 
     talked with old allies, I've met with the new Congressmen and 
     many staff members.
       What I'm hearing and seeing concerns me.
       Many of our new Congressmen are ignoring America's 80 
     million gun owners. Some have forgotten what we did to elect 
     them. Others say our demands to restore our Constitutional 
     freedoms are politically out of line.
       Don't get me wrong, not all of them are like this. Senator 
     Phil Gramm, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Congressmen Bill 
     McCollum, Bill Brewster and Harold Volkmer are all coming to 
     our aid. But too many others are not.
       And without a major show of force by America's 80 million 
     gun owners, America will resume its long march down the road 
     to gun bans, destruction of the Constitution and loss of 
     every sacred freedom.
       I want you to know I'm not looking for a fight.
       But when you consider the facts of our current situation, 
     you too, will see we have no other choice.
       FACT #1: The Congress' leading anti-gunners, Senators 
     Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy and Congressmen Charles Schumer 
     and Major Owens all survived their last elections.
       They've pledged to fight to the bitter end for Brady II and 
     its ammo taxes, licensing and registration schemes, gun 
     rationing, bureaucrats with the power to determine if you 
     ``need'' a gun and yes, the repeal of the Second Amendment.
       It doesn't matter to them that the Brady Law is a failure.
       It doesn't matter to them that the Brady Law has become one 
     more tool that government agents are using to deny the 
     Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens.
       It doesn't matter to them that the semi-auto ban gives 
     jack-booted government thugs more power to take away our 
     Constitutional rights, break in our doors, seize our guns, 
     destroy our property, and even injure or kill us.
       Schumer, Feinstein, Kennedy, Owens and the rest of the 
     anti-gunners want more and more gun control.
       It can be something small and subtle like a regulation 
     expanding the disqualification criteria for the Brady Law. 
     They're fighting for anything that makes it harder for you to 
     own a gun.
       The gun banners simply don't like you. They don't trust 
     you. They don't want you to own a gun. And they'll stop at 
     nothing until they've forced you to turn over your guns to 
     the government.
       Fact No. 2: If the anti-gunners fail to achieve their goals 
     in Congress, they have a fall-back position in Bill Clinton, 
     the most anti-gun President in American history.
       In two short years, Bill Clinton launched two successful 
     attacks on the Constitution. He signed two gun control bills 
     into law. He has sworn to veto any repeal of the semi-auto 
     ban and any restoration of our Constitutional rights.
       His Interior and Agriculture Departments have set their 
     sights on closing hunting lands.
       And his Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to 
     take jurisdiction over existing uses of lead. This, of 
     course, includes gun ranges and spent shot.
       What's more, gun owners aren't the only ones Clinton's EPA 
     has set its sights on. They're after fishermen, too. They 
     want to BAN the use of small lead fishing sinkers and, of 
     gravest concern, they want to stop the home casting of these 
     sinkers.
       If fishing sinkers are on the Clinton bureaucrat's list, 
     you know what's next: lead shot, lead bullets, bullet casting 
     and reloading.
       Clinton's State Department is also adding to the attacks on 
     gun owners and our Constitutional freedoms. In December, he 
     signed the Summit of the America's agreements which pledges 
     that the U.S. Government will push for additional gun 
     control.
       Over in the Justice Department, Clinton's Attorney General 
     Janet Reno has signaled her intent to ``squash'' the states' 
     rights movement an deny states their Constitutional power.
       And worst of all,
       Fact No. 3: President Clinton's army of anti-gun government 
     agents continues to intimidate and harass law-abiding 
     citizens.
       In Clinton's administration, if you have a badge, you have 
     the government's go-ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder 
     law-abiding citizens.
       Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge . . . Waco and the Branch 
     Davidians . . . Not too long ago, it was unthinkable for 
     Federal agents wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm 
     trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.
       Not today, not with Clinton.
       Our calls to investigate these outrageous assaults on our 
     Constitutional freedoms are routinely silenced by the anti-
     gun media. But that's no surprise.
       Fact No. 4: They've launched a new wave of brainwashing 
     propaganda. . .
       CBS, ABC, NBC, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and The New York 
     Times have launched another round of phony polls and slanted 
     stories to help the anti-gunners achieve their goals.
       Their latest phony poll shows 70% of America support the 
     ``semi-auto'' assault weapon ban.
        [[Page S6296]] That's simply not true. When it's explained 
     that ``semi-autos'' are used in less than a fraction of one 
     percent of crimes; that the ban only affects the law-abiding; 
     and, that the ban is only one more way to deny Constitutional 
     rights to the law-abiding, support for the ban drops to 30%.
       But the media still uses this 70% statistic to trumpet the 
     call for gun control.
       What scares me the most about this 70% number is that the 
     media has brainwashed 70% of Americans into believing that 
     the government--and not each individual--is responsible for 
     their personal protection.
       Even worse, this 70% number means that there are enough 
     people who can be brainwashed by the media to vote for a 
     repeal of the Second Amendment if it were put to a vote.
       The media, Clinton, the anti-gunners in Congress ... This 
     combination is a powder key that could blow at any moment and 
     it's set squarely underneath the Constitution.
       And what this means is:
       FACT #5: Congress must be forced to restore the 
     Constitution, repeal the gun bans, investigate abuse by 
     government agents and focus the public debate on criminal 
     control, not gun control ...
       ... Or what we're seeing now will only be a momentary patch 
     of sunshine on the road to doom for the Second Amendment and 
     our Constitution.
       There is hope, though. Despite the current situation, I'm 
     encouraged by you and your fellow NRA members.
       Everywhere I go, to every gun show, every NRA-ILA 
     grassroots operation, every Friends of NRA Dinner, even in 
     cabs and airports around the country, I run into NRA members 
     who understand the stakes and stand ready to fight.
       The question I hear from almost every one of these NRA 
     members is the same: ``What can I do next?''
       If you're one of those members, I want to thank you for 
     your courage, your conviction and your spirit. You keep me 
     going. You keep me on the road. You give me strength to lead 
     the battle.
       And if you want to join me in taking the next step, I need 
     you to do these two things today.
       First, I need you to sign the enclosed Petitions to the 
     United States Congress.
       These petitions are addressed to the leaders of the U.S. 
     Congress, Senator Robert Dole and Speaker Newt Gingrich, and 
     your U.S. Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Alfonse M. 
     D'Amato and Congresswoman Sue Kelly.
       Please be sure to sign all five petitions, then fold them 
     and place them in the enclosed, postage-paid envelope 
     addressed to me at NRA Headquarters.
       These petitions spell out, in black and white, our agenda 
     of repeal, reform, investigate and limit government power.
       In the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, we are 
     guaranteed the right to ``petition our Government for a 
     redress of grievances.''
       And that's exactly what we're going to do: redress our 
     grievances in the biggest and most powerful display of 
     political clout and commitment to the Constitution.
       I want to personally deliver your five petitions, and the 
     petitions of all 3.5 million of your fellow NRA members--17.5 
     million petitions in all--to Congress.
       And I want to show the leadership in Congress, and your 
     Senators and Congressmen from New York, that the number one 
     priority in their Contract with America must be defending and 
     restoring our Constitutional freedoms.
       17.5 million Petitions to Congress is the largest ``redress 
     of grievances'' since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights 
     were written.
       So I KNOW Congress will get the message. And I know they'll 
     act on our agenda of Repeal, Reform and Investigate if only 
     you and I speak out.
       Your Petitions to Congress also sends another message--a 
     message not spelled out on the Petitions themselves.
       Each Congressman, on the average, will receive 8,000 
     Petitions from NRA members demanding action. 8,000 messages 
     from angry voters sounds an alarm in every Congressman's 
     head.
       You see, most Congressional elections were won or lost by 
     5,000 votes or less. So, they'll realize that failing to 
     defend the Second Amendment and failing to retake the 
     Constitutional freedoms lost to the anti-gunners, could 
     result in big losses at the next election!
       That's why it's critical you take a few minutes to sign 
     your Petitions to Congress and return them to me as soon as 
     possible.
       These petitions are our D-Day.
       Armed with these petitions and our First Amendment rights, 
     we are going to storm Congress, knock out anti-gunner 
     strongholds and recapture every bit of ground we lost since 
     Bill Clinton took office.
       And if we're successful, these petitions will be the 
     turning point in the history of the Constitution . . . A day 
     when our sacred right to keep and bear arms will be secure 
     for the next generation of law-abiding Americans.
       Second, when you return your signed Petitions to Congress, 
     I need you to make a special contribution to the NRA of $15, 
     $20, $25, $35, $50 or the most generous amount you can 
     afford.
       Most Americans don't realize that our freedoms are slowly 
     slipping away.
       They don't understand that politicians and bureaucrats are 
     chipping away at the American way of life.
       They're destroying business, destroying our economy, 
     destroying property rights, destroying our moral foundation, 
     destroying our schools, destroying our culture . . .
      Destroying our Constitution.
       And the attack, either through legislation or regulation, 
     on the Second Amendment is only the first in a long campaign 
     to destroy the freedoms at the core of American life.
       You can see it in the gun bans, certainly. But you can also 
     see it in closed ranges, closed hunting lands, confiscated 
     collectors' firearms, banned magazines and ammunition taxes.
       You can see it when jack-booted government thugs, wearing 
     black, armed to the teeth, break down a door, open fire with 
     an automatic weapon, and kill or maim law-abiding citizens.
       America's gun owners will only be the first to lose their 
     freedoms.
       If we lose the right to keep and bear arms, then the right 
     to free speech, free practice of religion, and every other 
     freedom in the Bill of Rights are sure to follow.
       I am one American who is not going to sit on the sidelines 
     and watch this happen.
       And if you want to help me stop this destruction of the 
     Constitution, then I hope you can make that special 
     contribution of $15, $20, $25, $35 or $50 to the NRA today.
       With your special contribution, I'll have the financial 
     ammo I need to keep Congress focused on the mission we've 
     assigned them.
       First, with your help, I will expand out petition campaign 
     to involve as many of America's 80 million gun owners as 
     possible.
       If we can double the number of Petitions flooding Congress, 
     we'll double the speed Congress deals with our demands to 
     repeal, reform and investigate. And with double the show of 
     clout, we'll wipe out anti-gunner opposition.
       Second, with your special contribution, I can increase the 
     NRA's public exposure on talk shows, at rallies and shows, in 
     radio and T.V. advertising and through broadcasts like the 
     NRA's Town Meeting that first sounded our alarm in 16 million 
     households, last summer.
       Part of our problem is that far too few Americans 
     understand what's at stake in these battles.
       My ultimate goal is to educate the American people that 
     this issue is not just about guns, not just about hunting, 
     not just about personal protection; this issue is about 
     freedom--your freedom.
       I want to use the power of T.V. and radio to show the 
     American people that, if the NRA fails to restore our Second 
     Amendment freedoms, the attacks will begin on freedom of 
     religion, freedom of speech, freedom from unreasonable search 
     and seizure. . .
       And that unless we take action today, the long slide down 
     the slippery slope will only continue until there's no 
     freedom left in America at all.
       I know you see it. The elbow room you have to hunt, shoot 
     and live life the way you see fit is slowly disappearing.
       And the truth is, NRA members have been hardened by 
     legislative battles. And only NRA members have the courage, 
     the conviction to draw the line in the sand.
       That's why I'm hoping you can take a few moments to sign 
     and date the enclosed petitions and return them to me with 
     your special contribution of $15, $20, $25, $35, $50 or more 
     in the enclosed postage-paid envelope today. Or, you can 
     charge by phone by calling 800-547-4NRA today.
       You know, besides going shooting, I love to go to football 
     games. And every time I go, I always hear my fellow fans talk 
     about the impact of ``the 12th man.''
       The 11 players calling the plays and doing the hitting get 
     a lot of their motivation from the 12th man in the stands. 
     I'm talking about the crowd who cheers wildly when our team 
     is on offense, and drowns out the signals of the opposing 
     team when they're on the defense.
       I need you to be that 12th man.
       I need you to sign your petitions to Congress and return 
     them to me today. That simple act will give our allies the 
     political courage to do what's right, to push ahead with our 
     agenda of Repeal, Reform, and Investigate.
       Likewise, your signed petitions to Congress will confuse 
     and demoralize the anti-gun team and their agenda of bans, 
     taxes, intimidation, harassment and destruction of the 
     Constitution.
       I know I've said what I'm about to say before. But this is 
     a message that resonates with NRA members across the land. 
     It's something I hope you, too, will say whenever you have 
     the occasion to defend our Constitutional freedoms.
       This, the battle we're fighting today, is a battle to 
     retake the most precious, most sacred ground on earth. This 
     is a battle for freedom.
       Please tell me you're ready to take the next step by 
     returning your signed petitions to Congress and special gift 
     to me in the enclosed postage-paid envelope today.
       Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
           Yours in Freedom,
                                                   Wayne LaPierre,
                                         Executive Vice President.
       P.S. As a special thank you for making a special 
     contribution of $25 or more, I'd like to send you a copy of 
     my national best-selling book, Guns, Crime, and Freedom. 
     Guns, Crime, and Freedom is 263 pages of truth 
      [[Page S6297]]  about guns, gun control, gun owners, the 
     anti-gun media and what's happening to our freedoms.
       I hope you'll read it and use it in your own personal 
     campaign in New York to defend the Constitution. Use Guns, 
     Crime, and Freedom to help you keep the pressure on Congress, 
     write letters to the editor and teach other Americans about 
     the battle we're fighting today. Thanks again for your 
     support and friendship.
                                                                    ____

                                                    National Rifle


                                       Association of America,

                                         Fairfax, VA, May 3, 1995.
     Hon. Carl Levin,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Levin: While I concede that some of the 
     language in the NRA fundraising letter you refer to might 
     have been rhetorically impassioned--as is most political 
     direct mail--that in no way disparages the NRA, nor 
     diminishes the seriousness of the alleged federal law 
     enforcement abuses to which the letter refers. And it is 
     certainly in no way related to the terrorist bombing in 
     Oklahoma City.
       You asked if we can ``honestly justify'' rhetoric decrying 
     such abuses of federal power. That's what we want to find 
     out. In January 1994, the American Civil Liberties Union, the 
     National Rifle Association and others wrote to President 
     Clinton, petitioning him to appoint a commission to 
     investigate 25 documented cases of alleged federal law 
     enforcement abuse. Our request was ignored. So again in 
     January 1995, the ACLU, NRA and others petitioned the 
     President. All we ask is a full, fair and open examination 
     the facts--a request that, so far, has been denied.
       This isn't just some petty gripe against the enforcement of 
     anti-gun laws by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 
     On the contrary, the inquiry we requested was to focus on all 
     53 federal law enforcement agencies, and on charges ranging 
     from the denial of basic civil rights, to the confiscation 
     and destruction of property, to the improper use of deadly 
     force against unarmed civilians.
       I agree, senator, that the partisan posturing and political 
     exploitation of the Oklahoma City tragedy is reprehensible 
     and should stop. But before you condemn NRA's criticism of 
     federal law enforcement abuses as ``totally inappropriate,'' 
     I urge you to help us find out if it really is.
       Let's get all the facts out on the table regarding these 
     cases. If the accusations against federal law enforcement are 
     baseless, let's expose them as such and vindicate the 
     officers accused. If, on the other hand, particular officers 
     are operating outside the rule of law, let's find them, 
     remove them and prosecute them for the good of the whole. 
     Whatever the case, let's put the grievances to rest once and 
     for all.
       Doing so, I believe, could help reverse the public's 
     documented and growing distrust of federal power. Blaming the 
     rhetoric--whether in a fundraising letter or anywhere else in 
     political discourse--serves only to silence dissent and 
     aggravate that distrust.
           Sincerely yours,

                                         Thomas L. Washington,

                                                        President,
                            National Rifle Association of America.

  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I will defend LaPierre's, Mr. 
Washington's, and the NRA's right to free speech, but I continue to 
hope that the membership of the NRA and the American public will demand 
that this patently false statement that the President has authorized 
the murder of law-abiding citizens be retracted. There is a crucial 
difference between what someone has a right to say and what it is right 
to say. This statement in the NRA letter is wrong. It deserves to be 
condemned, and it should be withdrawn.
  Madam President, I believe I have an allotted amount of morning 
business time, and if so I would yield 3 minutes to my friend from 
Rhode Island.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island is recognized 
for 3 minutes.
  Mr. CHAFEE. I thank the Chair. I thank the distinguished senior 
Senator from Michigan for giving me a few minutes.
  Madam President, I believe the tactics used by Mr. LaPierre in his 
recent fundraising letter for the National Rifle Association are just 
plain wrong. This letter does not contribute to any informed debate. 
Instead, it is inaccurate and irrational. It borders on the hysterical. 
And this kind of hysteria only encourages paranoia, which we certainly 
do not need at this time in our Nation.
  Madam President, I know that the Senator from Michigan has touched on 
some of the quotes from the letter, but I would just like to mention a 
few that stand out. Here is one paragraph from the letter:

       It doesn't matter to them that the semi-auto ban gives 
     jack-booted government thugs more power to take away our 
     Constitutional rights, break in our doors, seize our guns, 
     destroy our property, and even injure or kill us.

  This is another paragraph:

       In Clinton's administration, if you have a badge, you have 
     the government's go-ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder 
     law-abiding citizens. Not too long ago, it was unthinkable 
     for Federal agents wearing nazi bucket helmets and black 
     storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.

  And another:

       They've launched a new wave of brainwashing propaganda 
     aimed at further destroying our Constitutional freedoms.

  And on it goes, Madam President.
  Now, Madam President, the apocalypse described in this fundraising 
letter is not familiar to me. The Government described in these pages 
is not familiar to me. This is not a description of reality. It is a 
description of terror designed for one purpose: to provoke a visceral 
reaction against the U.S. Government--and at the end of the day, to 
raise money.
  There are many powerful and ugly words used in this letter. They are 
insulting to American law enforcement and to American citizens. Why 
does Mr. LaPierre use them? I suppose in order to tap into the rage 
that some feel against the U.S. Government, to feed that rage, and to 
use that rage to gain donations.
  In various interviews, Mr. LaPierre has acknowledged the NRA letter 
went too far. I believe it behooves him and the leadership of the NRA 
to apologize to the men and women in Federal law enforcement and to the 
American people for this letter's rhetoric, and to refrain from this 
kind of inflammatory prose in the future.
  I thank the distinguished Senator from Michigan for giving me a few 
minutes.
  Mr. LEVIN. I thank the Senator from Rhode Island for his comments on 
this letter.
  Madam President, on another matter, we have a bill pending before us 
which I would like to briefly address as part of my time.


                          ____________________