Document k9b3JdD9zdmyL6zG5DG8BbyqV

?, *9fjr-"r';f/*r-7,r >vl**agy---` firiMB wm TTxTV* 3JC3&-*FrT*---J*'iZ: LIA15983 filfajaiiiiiiB mu i mmiiinmwi . ... -------- ----- -.-I-- -*^ SHOOTINS SPORTS NATIONAL SHOOTING SPOUTS FOUNDATION, INC 1075 Pod Rood * Riverside, Connecticut 06879 Code. 203 6374618 April *8, 1965 LEAD AMMUNITION AND THE SHOOTING SPORTS * by Charles Dickey, Director National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc., Riverside, Conn. The use of lead by the arsis and ammunition Industry has shown o steady Increase. Host of the consumption has been by sportsmen. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, the ammunltlon Industry used 45.8 thousand short tons of lead In 1961; It went to 47.8 In 1962; It further Increased to 49.9 In 1963; and In 1964 It Jumped to 56.5 thousand short tons. Last year was a good sales year for the majority of comoanles, both In sporting arms and ammunition. General reports for the first part of 1965 Indicate that sales for the year nay pass 1964. There are a number of reasons for the Increased consumption of ammunition. In the past 20 years In America the number of hunters has doubled. In the last decade there has been a boom In reloading by Individuals and clubs; the devoted shooter, who uses e greet many rounds, can shoot cheaper by reloadlnn. A prosperous society, with mc-e leisure time, has meant an Increase In the number of skeet and trap shooters. More and more sportsmen clubs have built ranges for rifle and pistol shooting. Private enterprise. In the form of shooting preserves, has resulted In more than 2,200 private and commercial areas being opened; 46 states now allow preserves to operate with seasons of from five to nine months. There has been a general mass exodus from the metropolitan complexes for weekends and vacations outdoors. A percentage of these people enjoy a variety of shooting. There has also been an Increase In competitive shooting- over 2,700 shooters entered the Grand American trap shoot at Vandalla, Ohio, last year. There are few participant sports anywhere in the world that attract this many competitors. Because of Improved wildlife management techniques, many wildlife species are more abundant than ever before. There are more deer la America than when the white man came. The mourning dove Is now the number one game bird in America; nearly 20 million are harvested each year with no damage to the breedlna flock. Many species, such as elk and antelope, have made dramatic comebacks. In fact, no game species t in America Is In danger of being over-harvested. `Presented at tne annual meeting of the Lead Industries Association Inc. at Drake Hotel, Chicago, April 28. mrnmmm HHm yr-riv t **'~r-rr+Tg`V'-:r'-^,-:w~` -- HP HR Hmpypjj LIA15984 i} i * t- '> What art some of the problem fad no the shootlno Industry today? The hunter, especially In high-population states, may have trouble finding open land on which to hunt. Part of this Is being overcoat by the purchase of lands by state game departments; this Is paid for by the hunter through his purchase of licenses and tags. The federal government has several program. Including land acquisition, that will provide more hunting space. All of these programs were Instigated by sportsmen who recognized the problee of open space years ago. i There are not enough shooting ranges near the Metropolitan centers. Many national organizations, private enterprise and clubs are working to solve this problen. A place to hunt and shoot In Anerlca Is a definite problee facing the American sportsman but not an Insolucble one. The major problem faclnq the world of recreational shooting Is the continual harassment of sportsmen by politicians who enter bills to restrict the ownership and use of snorting firearms and ammunition. So far this year, more than 300 bills have been entered In state legis latures and Congress which would hamper the law-abiding sportsman. !II ' No one questions the fact that there Is a crime nroblem In America. The shooting Industry, above everyone else, realizes that the criminal misuse cf firearms Is a regretable and deplorable situation. But the fact that a criminal uses a firearm to commit a crime has no connection with the more than 20 million responsible citizens who enjoy recreational i. shooting. i Some politicians, who would like to abolish firearms ownership, try to link criminals and sportsmen In a web of quilt because of the i association of firearms. There are now about 20,000 federal, state, i county and city laws and ordinances on firearms already on the books. i Vet some lawmakers do not think this Is enough. r for years, sportsmen and the shcotlnq Industry have asked that laws be rewritten and aimed at the criminal misuse of firearms. We have also asked that the courts be stricter In enforcing laws now on the books. The f.B.I. recently reoorted that nearly AO percent of all crimes committed were by persons with a previous criminal record. During the past four years there were 16P policemen killed by firearms. Seventy nine percent of the oeople Involved In these homicides had criminal records. A large percentage were out on parole. Why do the sociologists ! and criminologists turn these hardened criminals lose to orey on socletyT * "j The shooting Industry Is In favor of mandatory penalties for persona who use a firearm In the commission of a crime; the mandatory sentence would be In addition to the time required by law for that particular crime. If new laws are needed, the Industry believes that the best approach Is that the laws be aimed at criminal misuse without any Infringement on the rlqhts of law-abldlnq citizens. Such bills are now entered In the lealslatures of California, Texas and Illinois, f.ep. Robert Casey has a similar bill In Conqress now, H.R. 66*2. Some politicians have entered bills In Conqress and the states which would eventually lead to the abolishment of all recreational shooting. While perhaps honestly trylnq to oet at criminals, they have r encompassed the sportsmen. These bills do not use the term `abolishment* "S*'" LI A 15985 JJ'f-V ' -r ............................ .,, ........,, . , , , , jm ifiiUitadiiiHKsIdii I but that Is what would happen. It Is easy to wrao the sportsmen In >o much rad tape that It Is almost Imoosslble for him to own and use firearm. Philadelphia recently passed an anti-firearms bill so restrictive that a non-resident cannot even drive through the city with a .410 shotgun locked In his trunk. To obtain a Demit for a target rifle, an applicant must be subjected to the same treatment as a criminal; he Is fingerprinted, mugged, and Investigated. It takes weeks of fighting red tape for the most respected citizen to obtain a firearm permit. Although most crimes committed with firearms are handguns or concealables, the Philadelphia ordinance Inrludes sporting rifles and shotguns as well. The hunter today Is subjected to city, county, state and federal firearms laws. In addition, he must know the firearms laws of his state game department and those of the U.S. Pish and Wildlife Service. The hunter Is almost compelled to be a lawyer to keen from Inadvertently violating some law. Yet lawmakers are crying for more laws. If the American hunter Is harassed much more, he will gult recreational shootln rather than submit to this deluge of regulations and bureaucratic red tape. The dedicated shooter In America fears registration of firearms. He knows that the history of registration the world over has lead to confiscation. He knows from a score of countries that registration eventually leads to abolishment of ownership and use of firearms. The shooter knows that If registration Is voted Into law the police will be In charge of administration. He has thousands of historical reasons to fear police control. When police are qlven registration powers they become judges and not enforcers of laws. Peglstratlen means that the police would have the authority to say who could and could not own a sporting firearm. If there Is the merest shadow of doubt about an applicant, the natural tendency Is for the police to say "no." How far do the antl-flrearms neonle want to qc? In the Massachusetts Legislature last year a bill was entered which would have reaulred that each hunter store his firearm at the courthouse. Whenever he wished to hunt he would go to the courthouse, fill out a form stating where he would be hunting and when he would be back, and he would then be 'loaned* his own gun. Fortunately this bill did not oass. The worst bill now before Congress Is S.1592, entered by Senator Dodd, of Connecticut, as an administration bill. Without mentioning the word "registration," this bill would give the Secretary of the Treasury complete powers of registration. It would strn all mail-order sales of firearms to consumers. Senator Dodd has succeeded In making "mail-order" a dirty word, despite the fact that many eld-llr.e respectable houses such as Sears, Montgomery Ward and Abercrombie and Fitch ship sporting firearms In compliance with all lews. This bill. If oassed, would completely put out of business more than *00f: * that make custom firearms, receivers and conversions. By Increasing the dealer's license fee 100 t1mes--not 100 percent-- more than 8,COO small dealers would be forced to quit handlinq firearms and ammunition. r -- *> mm ,,> P mMwwmmm LIA15986 emtiSmMai Minim Y| .ii^Mhm.bmafrwa 4. It would be difficult for gun owner to shin til* firearm ter -------rtoiln, to ship to another state for huntlnq, or to carry Ms gen Into Mexico or Canada for huntlnq. No nerson could Import a firearm If the Secretary of the Treasury thouqht It would be contrary to tbe public Interest. There are no adequate provisions for the 750,000 L people who collect ffrearas. An Individual who alqht reload his owe ammunition and sell part of It to a friend would have to buy a 11,000license, for 70 oages, S.159? harasses the responsible aanufecturer. dealer and sportsman. But It never aets to the heart of the suenosed reason for the b1U--crtme prevention. It Is not aimed at criminal misuse of firearms but uses the powers of Interstate commerce as yet another bureaucratic centralization of more oower In Washington. Co-signers of S.1592 are Senators Joseph Tydlnas, Maryland; Vance Hartke, Indiana; and Robert Kennedy, New York. Hearings on the bill will start the week of May 17 before the Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency of the Judiciary Committee. Senator Dodd will preside es chairman over the hearings on his own bill. People who have no Interest In recreational sheotlnq will show lltt or no concern for S.1592. Vet this bill. If oassed, will be e further penetration Into the bleeding side cf ^merlcin freedom. It will be another federal envelopment of states rlqhts. It will be another victory for those who believe every transaction of American business must bo controlled by Washington. The soortlng arms and ammunition Industry Is In a strange position. It contributes greatly to the economy and recreation of the nation but some lawmakers want to abolish the Industry. Hunters In America-oour 11.5 billion Into the economy each year, much of It In depressed areas. Sportsmen, who have been leaders 1m Il conservation for decades, sunoort the state game departments which ore t charged by law to care for al1 wildlife. Hunters spend over 1150 million a year on the management of wildlife. The shootlnq Industry supports thousands of workers all over America. More than 20 million honest citizens participate In recreational shooting. ! The shooting Industry had a orod sales year In 1964 and 1965 could be better--1f the Industry and snortsmen do not get legislated out of business. The Industry and sportsmen are fortunate In having many legislators ft who are wise and true friends. We will need the help of all our friends If we are to survive against the onslaughts of those who bellevt that I more laws automatically solve any problem--those who are devoted to on all-consuming government. i. 90- r mi j^pjMuwwiiiuuiapij^u i^ w