ByKevin J .

Kelley
Staff Reporter
A
I three of Vermont's
congressmen are con-
sidered liberals on
many controversial is-
ues. Sowhydotheyall
opposethe Brady Bill, a gun
control measure backed by
most liberals and even en-
dorsed by former president
RonaldReagan?
It's acontradiction that dis-
appoints Progressives in Ver-
mont and around the nation.
It'salsoafactofpolitical lifein
Vermont that the gun lobby,
though small, is not tobe ig-
nored.
Thebill nowbeforeCongress
is named after Reagan's former
press secretary James Brady,
who was wounded along with
theex-president in a 1981as-
sassination attempt. Brady,
who suffered brain damage
fromthe shooting, has spear-
headedthelobbyingcampaign
forthelegislation, whichwould
establish a nationwide seven-
daywaitingperiodforthepur-
chaseofhandguns.
During that time, state
policecould- but would not
have to- conduct background
checkstodetermine whether a
prospective buyer is a con-
Continued on Page 9
W h o ' s A f r a i d
o f t h e N R A ?
V e r m o n t ' s
C o n g r e s s m e n ,
T h a t ' s W h o
F e a S l
Verm<
the 70
-
L a
Priv
Stat.
R e s F
ByDi
Staff]
Rl mt J1\
\ ! '. R M O N T 1l M F S A P R L 11.1! l l 1- 9
. . . N . R . A .
The pro-gun groups
claim as members only
a relatively small frac-
tion of Vermont's gun
owners, but their influ-
ence. is much greater.
Continued from Page 1
victed fel on, drug addict, fugi-
tive, or has a history of mental
il l ness. A t present, handgun
purchasers are subjected to an
honor system whereby they
must sign an uncorroborated
statement decl aring they do not
fal l into any of those categories.
Gwen F itzgeral d, a spokes-
woman for Brady's l obbying or-
ganization, cal l ed the U. S . pol icy
on private handgun ownership
the most l enient of any indus-
trial ized nation.
T he N ational R ifl e A ssocia- L E A H Y
tion, stil l one of the most power-
ful l egisl ative pressure groups in
the country, is working to defeat
the Brady bil l by offering a
counter- proposal for an instan-
taneous computer check of
prospective handgun buyers.
A dvocates of the Brady bil l cl aim
that such a system coul d not be
impl emented nationwide for
several years.
A showdown on the issue
coul d come soon. T he U. S . House
may vote on the Brady bil l l ater
this month, with Congressman
Bernie S anders perhaps being
cast in a pivotal rol e when the
measure reaches the fl oor. T he
l egisl ation was narrowl y re-
jected in 1988, and the outcome
is expected to be cl ose this time,
as wel l .
P roponents of the seven- day
waiting period face a tougher
battl e in the S enate. T heir task
is not made any easier by the
positions of R epubl ican J ames
J effords and Democrat P atrick
L eahy, both of whom have voted
in the past against the Brady
bil l . S taffers for each of Ver-
mont's U. S . senators say their
boss wil l probabl y again side
with the N R A .
Gwen F itzgeral d of Handgun
Control , Inc. , meanwhil e finds it
"very disappointing" that the en-
tire Vermont congressional del e-
gation opposes the Brady l egis-
l ation. "Your state is very for-
tunate in having a comparative-
l y l ow murder rate," she said.
"But this is a national probl em.
Do we have to wait until it be-
comes a probl em in your own
state?"
T he easy avail abil ity of al l
types of firearms in Vermont
coul d al l ow traffickers to obtain
guns there for use in other
states, F itzgeral d said.
S anders' Defense
S anders' announced opposi-
tion to the Brady proposal seems
especial l y incongruous. T he in-
dependent social ist has said
that, among his House col -
l eagues, he feel s pol itical l y
cl osest to the members of the
Congressional Bl ack Caucus.
A nd onl y one of S anders' 25
bl ack col l eagues is pl edged to
vote against the Brady bil l .
S anders himsel f did not
respond toarequest for an inter-
view on this issue. A nthony P ol -
l ina, the congressman's chief
aide in Vermont, did acknow-
l edge, however, that many P ro-
gressives find S anders' position
on the Brady bil l to be in con-
tradiction with l eftist thinking.
"Bernie's response," P ol l ina
reported, "is that he doesn't just
represent l iberal s and pro~es-
sives. He was sent to Washing-
ton to represent al l Vermont-
ers. " A rguing that many of
S anders' home- state constr-
tuents oppose the Brady bil l ,
P ol l ina added, "It's not inap-
propriate for a congressman to
support a majority position, par-
ticul arl y on something that Ver-
monters have been very cl ear
about. What you see is the entire
congressional del egation re-
sponding to the feel ings of Ver-
monters at a grassroots l evel . "
P ol l ina denied, however, that
S anders is fol l owing the gun
own some type of gun. A sl ightl y
smal l er percentage possesses
handguns, Herachenroder said.
T he membership of the two
pro- gun organizations probabl y
has a disproportionatel y strong
impact on el ections, however.
George M cN eil , an N R A mem-
ber and a Vermont pol itical ec-
tivist,argued that gun issuea are
a key concern to about 10,000
state voters - enough to swing a
cl ose el ection. University ofVer-
mont pol itical scientist Garrison
N el son agreed that the ardent
opponents of gun control can
make abig difference in l ow- tur-
nout el ections.
P roposal s to regul ate the aal e
of handguns do matter a great
deal to Vermont hunters,
Herschenroder said. "Handguns
are definitel y a part of the sport-
ing community," he noted.
"S ome persons who have spent a
l ot of time hunting with rifl es
want a chal l enge, so they might
use a handgun occasional l y. " In
addition, "a l ot of Canadians
come to Vermont to hunt with
handguns," since in Canada
such weapons may l egal l y be
used onl y at a firing range.
S A N D E R S
l obby's l ine, since the con-
gressman differs with the N R A
in advocating some restrictions
on assaul t weapons.
Whil e recognizing that the
U. S . does have a probl em with
criminal viol ence, S anders
bel ieves many pol iticians wil l
use the Brady bil l as a "smoke-
screen," P ol l ina suggested. "Ber~
nie woul d rather work with Con-
gress to devel op a package of
l egisl ation that deal s with the
root causes of crime, such as
economic injustice and the l ack
of job opportunities in many
urban communities," the aide
expl ained. S impl y voting for the
Brady bil l and not addressing
poverty as a cause of viol ence
coul d beseen as"dishonest," P ol -
l ina asserted.
P ol itics
Voting for the bil l al so woul d
be fool ish for a Vermont pol i-
tician. J ust ask the man S anders
beat in his bid for Congress.
F ormer congressman P eter
S mith said he l ost to S anders
l ast N ovember, in part, because
of the efforts of the N R A . A l ong
organized by the N R A , these
spots urged a vote for S anders,
S mith recounted.
A sked whether it is possibl e
for any statewide officehol der in
Vermont to defy the N R A and
survive pol itical l y, S mith re-
pl ied, "A baol utel y, it is. T he vast
majority of Vermont sportsmen
and women are ready for reason-
abl e restraints on weapons. "
T he pro- gun groups cl aim as
members onl y a rel ativel y smal l
fraction of Vermont's gun own-
ers, but their infl uence is much
greater.
T he N ational R ifl e A ssocia-
tion cl aims a Vermont member-
ship of al most 14,000, whil e
S A VE sent its 1990 campaign
mail ings to some 2,700 house-
hol ds. By contrast, about 70,000
Vermonters have hunting l icen-
ses. A nd S teve Herschenrader,
the head of the sportsmen's
group, estimated that 80percent
of al l househol ds in the state
with the S portsmen's A l l iance
for Vermont's Environment, the
N ational R ifl e A ssociation tar-
geted S mith because he
switched his position on assaul t
weapons, favoring aban on some
of these semi- automatic fire-
arms after promising in 1988 not
to support any new gun control
measures.
''What the N R A was buying
with their support for Bernie
S anders was a cl osed mind,"
S mith decl ared in a tel ephone
interview from Washington,
where he now beads a commis-
sion on post- secondary educa-
tion. ''What they want is peopl e
who won't think careful l y about
a probl em. "
S ome Vermont hunting en-
thusiests formed an important
part of the coal ition that el ected
S anders, S mith observed. T he
ex- congressman al so cited the
rol e pl ayed by the N R A 's nation-
al office, which spent some
$20,000 on Vermont T V and
radio ads in the cl osing days of
the 1990 campaign. A l ong with
at l east five statewide mail ings
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