Bringing Heat
Kurt Amesbury, J.D.

In response to Sean Oberle's piece Creeping Propaganda, I reviewed the page he complained of and decided to write a note registering my disapproval.

At 9:24, August 13, 2001, I sent the following to the webmaster, with info copies to the President and Vice-President:

Why does http://www.itds.treas.gov/Firearmindustry.htm#links quote from the Violence Policy Center propaganda pages (http://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/firearm.htm)?

While some of the information is correct, a substantial proportion is incorrect anti-gun misinformation. This may have been acceptable under the ethically-bankrupt Clinton administration, but it is time to set the record straight and remove such untrue and pejorative assertions as:

To counteract the sales slump of the 1980s, gun makers
began a marketing campaign aimed at women and youth.
At the same time, they began to redesign and expand
their product lines focusing on firepower (assault
weapons, a new generation of high-powered Saturday
Night Specials, and new ammunition types), and technology
(laser sights and the increased use of plastics).

and

Handguns have also taken a turn for the worse over
the most recent decades. The emergence of the "Saturday
night Special" has cast a shadow over the handgun world.
"Saturday night specials," are handguns which are cheaply
made and sold at low prices to shadier gun dealers.
Many of these handguns will blow up upon multiple firings,
but not before firing five or six deadly shots. They
are also minuscule in size. Making their detection
difficult. Recent gun legislation has been aimed at
the "Saturday night Special" industry.

Taken together, these statements would lead one to conclude that since the 1980s, the gun industry has been creating new "Hi-powered ... cheaply made... handguns" that will "blow up upon multiple firings."

Which is patently absurd.

Please see that the offending web page(s) are corrected to represent fact and not un-American gun-control ideology.

Thank you.

Kurt Amesbury, J.D.

At 10:14, August 13, the webmaster replied:

Please be advised that the Firearms Industry profile previously located on the ITDS web site has been removed.

Donna Henderson ITDS Web Manager

When have you ever known anyone in the government to do anything good in 50 minutes?

There is something to be learned here.

Writing works... especially when you write to the right people. When writing to someone in the government regarding an anti-gun display, action or rule, be sure to info copy the President and Vice-president The word does appear to be sinking in among the lower-level functionaries: This administration is not the same bunch of antigun weasels that we kicked out during the last election. Reporting unConstitutional actions to the highest levels of the administration is bringing heat.

Now I don't know whether the webmaster I contacted was responsible for the antigun crap on the web page in the first place or not. I really don't care. She acted quickly and efficiently to remedy the problem, so there was one other thing that I had to do:

Hi Donna,

Thank you for your prompt, effective and courteous response.

K.

When they do something right always remember to say, "Thank you!"

Kurt Amesbury, J.D.