Differing Voices Join Dialogue on Guns

DENVER — Among those in the crowded ballroom of a downtown Denver hotel Monday were two men whose lives in advocacy had never before brought them together on the same stage: James S. Brady, founder of Handgun Control Inc., and Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Assn. They came together in a fervent effort to raise awareness for Colorado Project Exile, which targets illegal guns and puts the weight of federal prosecution behind firearm violations.

The assemblage of politicians, law enforcement officers, community leaders and advocacy groups convened by Tom Strickland, U.S. attorney for Colorado, was in itself remarkable. The fact that despite their disparate agendas they had gathered in support of a gun control initiative was, according to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, “a stroke of genius.”

Some Not Thrilled With Alliance

To many in Colorado--viewed by some groups around the nation as the current Ground Zero for gun control issues--the shared stage was a hopeful sign that in the wake of last April’s Columbine High School shootings the issue of gun violence would be seriously addressed.

To others, including a small group of vocal NRA members who pledged to tear up their membership cards, the sight of an NRA executive clasping hands with the leader of a group that advocates strict gun control was an unholy alliance not to be tolerated.

Brady, the former White House press secretary who was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, spoke haltingly of the need to control guns so that the number of victims of gun violence could be reduced. “This is a club for which we don’t need new members,” he said.

LaPierre, ignoring boos from the audience, offered effusive praise for Project Exile, which was launched in Richmond, Va., in 1997 and has been adopted by five states and numerous cities. The highly regarded program coordinates the efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement officials and is credited with helping cut Richmond’s homicide rate in half. Authorities also say many drug dealers in Richmond, alerted to the crackdown, no longer carry guns.

“I look at today as creating an atmosphere of peace,” LaPierre said. “This program is the most common-sense program of all. It’s the one program that’s proven that [it] can deliver an immediate and dramatic reduction of the rate of crime delivered with guns. I’m here today because I want violent criminals who touch guns, drug dealers who touch guns, violent juveniles who touch guns to know that the NRA is their worst enemy.”

The NRA, which gave $100,000 to the Richmond project, announced Monday it will donate $25,000 to Colorado’s effort. State officials are concentrating on warning young offenders that they could do time in federal prison for various gun violations. The state’s $1-million ad campaign carries the slogan, “Pack an illegal gun. Pack your bags for prison.”

Actually, in contrast to the symbolic coming-together Monday, elsewhere in Colorado polarization on the gun issue seems to have increased. Recently, a county sheriff was voted out of office after being targeted by gun owners’ groups, local organizers of a march for stricter gun laws have been harassed and the state Legislature has rejected three of five gun control bills before it. The two remaining ones are backed by the NRA.

“Post-Columbine, we should be able to say we have done more,” said Democratic state Rep. Ken Gordon of Denver. “It tells me the NRA is a strong lobby, and people here are still debating.”

“Debate” is a polite word for Colorado’s dialogue on guns, and interest in compromise is elusive. Said protester Mike Carr, a lifetime NRA member, of Colorado Project Exile: “The only thing they are trying to exile is the Bill of Rights.”

Monday’s presentation was disrupted by hecklers in the crowd, but it was notable for the solidarity of the speakers on the stage. Led by Strickland, the group praised the effort to enforce some of the 20,000 gun laws in effect nationally.

“Our beautiful state has been seared with almost unimaginable pain from the murderous rampage at Columbine,” Strickland said. “Other incidents of senseless gun violence both in Colorado and nationally have triggered heated debate. The individuals on this podium and in this audience hold different views on this question. However, they all support the one strategy that enjoys almost universal support: Project Exile.”

Many speakers, though not LaPierre, endorsed President Clinton’s call for a $280-million increase to hire 500 more agents for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and 1,000 new federal, state and local prosecutors.

Emotions in Colorado are running at such a pitch that a recent meeting of supporters of the Million Mom March, a group that advocates stricter gun laws and plans national marches on Mother’s Day, was picketed by about 200 members of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which surrounded the Fort Collins church where the meeting was held and shined spotlights on attendees. The group has been posting Million Mom March leaders’ names and addresses on the Internet and over a local radio station.

“I knew it was a hot topic, but at the same time I never knew the religion that the 2nd Amendment has in this country,” said Amy Sodnicar, who coordinated the meeting.

Accusations of Intimidation Tactics

Sodnicar said gun organization members have attempted to intimidate Million Mom March leaders with a campaign of annoying phone calls and letters. She said she now leaves her pager in her car at night to avoid constant calls.

But Ray Hickman, northern Colorado coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said the Million Mom March aims to disarm Coloradans.

“We are profoundly against the registration and licensing of handguns for the simple reason that that is what will be used for the confiscation of all firearms in the event of the wrong people getting in government,” he said. “The Million Mom March people want to take our guns away. If they don’t like their names out there, that’s too bad.”

The same gun owners’ organization joined others to help oust Larimer County Sheriff Richard Shockley last year and vote in Jim Alderden. Gun issues played a pivotal role in the election in the rural county. Since taking office a year ago, Alderden has issued more than 600 concealed weapon permits. In his eight years in office, Shockley issued only 40.