What is the story behind Waxman and the fake study that M. Savage

[rainy]

was raging about tonight? I don't listen to MS but, unfortunately my husband does.

[papau]

1. NRA lied - Waxman exposed lie - Lie was idea that current law was adequate

or excessive - and that DeLay's gift to the NRA in the new bill was reasonable.

Hearing on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
April 18, 2002

By Henry A. Waxman


The bill we are considering today, H.R. 2037, is special interest legislation of the worst kind. It would grant extensive immunity from liability to gun manufacturers and gun dealers.

Under current law, gun manufacturers and gun dealers must act responsibly. Like other businesses and individuals, if they act negligently — or if they blatantly disregard the obvious consequences of their actions — they may be held liable.

The proposed bill would eviscerate this protection. The bill says to gun manufacturers and gun dealers: go ahead and ignore common sense, disregard the consequences of your actions, and we will let you off the hook. You are no longer responsible for your actions. This special exemption will endanger our citizens and almost certainly cost lives.

The premise of this legislation is that our nation's gun control laws are adequate to protect public safety. But they are not. They are Swiss cheese.

As a case in point, Mr. Chairman, I am releasing today the results of an undercover investigation by GAO into fake gun dealer licenses. This GAO investigation demonstrates how easy it is to forge a dealer license. GAO agents used an ordinary home computer with off-the-shelf software to print out a fake dealer license. They then used this license to buy a gun from another dealer over the phone.

Because the GAO agents used a fake dealer license, they were able to avoid the criminal background check that applies when guns are sold to individuals. And there was no limit to the number of guns they could have bought.

This GAO report demonstrates conclusively that we cannot rely on our gun laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. We also need to hold dealers responsible for exercising common sense and good judgment.

Consider the case of Sean Twomey and Southern Ohio Guns, which is highlighted in the materials I am releasing. In the largest gun trafficking case in the history of the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Twomey altered a dealer license using an Adobe Photo Shop software program. In less than a year, Southern Ohio Guns sold him 1,187 guns, delivering them directly to his apartment. Mr. Twomey then sold these guns to criminals, minors, and other individuals not entitled to possess them.

During this whole process, the dealer never asked questions or raised any objections. The salesperson who sold all of these guns to Mr. Twomey was interviewed by a local public television station. Here's what she said:

He could have bought 1,000 a day. I wouldn't have cared. I would
have sent it right on to him . . . . I didn't think anything of it.

To date, more than 100 of these guns have been recovered in crimes, including two homicides, two armed robberies, multiple narcotics cases, and an attempted assault on a police officer. According to the Oakland Police Department, the full impact of this case has not yet been realized, and they expect to continue recovering these guns for many years to come.

If this legislation passes, irresponsible dealers like Southern Ohio Guns will be exempt from all civil liability, regardless of how many lives they endanger. This makes absolutely no sense. When we are dealing with a product as dangerous as guns, we need to hold dealers to high standards — not reward them for negligence and reckless indifference.

Mr. Chairman, the GAO study I am releasing today paints a chilling picture. I would like to submit if for the record, along with a letter I sent today to the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting the results of the GAO investigation and providing additional details regarding the Twomey case.