Alphecca

I sent Jim Spencer photos of Juniors shooting those hated AR15 assault rifles and mentioned to him the number of matches held every weekend and the safety record of NRA matches. Everyone should write Jim. He's very pleasant! Like reasoning with a ficus tree...he just stands there and drops leaves.

While each may be considered an "evil", IMO one is MUCH more evil than the other.

Contrary to claims in the media, Daniel Mauser was not killed with an "assault weapon."

After his son Daniel was killed in the Columbine High School shooting, Tom Mauser became an activist for gun control.

One of the cornerstones of his agenda is the further regulation of "assault weapons" (in addition to .357 Magnum revolvers). To this end, he has used the "fact" that his son was murdered by someone using an assault weapon; specifically the Tec-DC9. But publicly available evidence suggests that Tom Mauser is wrong about which firearm was used to murder his son.

Basically, everything documented below can be summed up by four facts:

1. Dylan Klebod was armed with a shotgun and Tec-DC9.
Under federal law, the Tec-DC9 is defined as an "assault weapon."
2. Eric Harris was armed with shotgun and Hi-Point carbine.
The Hi-Point carbine is not an "assault weapon."

3. Daniel Masuer was murdered by Eric Harris
4. Tom Mauser (and other activists) claims his son was killed with a Tec-DC9

Mauser told protestors that there are reasonable guns.

"But the time has come to understand that a TEC-9 semiautomatic
like the kind that was used to kill my son is not used to kill deer,"
he said.

Carla Crowder and Deborah Frazier
"8,000 rally against gun violence"
Denver Rocky Mountain News
May 2, 1999
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/0502pro40.shtml

My son was shot by a Tec DC9, a 9 mm, semi-automatic gun with a
30-bullet clip. What practical purpose is there to this gun?
I have never known a hunter to use this type of weapon to shoot
a deer. Have you?

Tom Mauser
letter to Charlton Heston
May 11, 1999
http://www.danielmauser.com/HestonLetter.html

David Winkler, a freshman at CU and the co-founder of SAFE Students,
spoke about his growing frustrations with gun control. He said that
he and a few friends tested the gun-show loophole in June 1999.

"We were able to buy a Tek (sic) nine, 32-round semiautomatic assault
pistol," Winkler said. "We bought it in a half hour. There was no
background check, no ID check. The guy didn't even ask how old we were...
and it was obvious we were teenagers."

Winkler said that the gun was the same type of weapon that killed
Tom Mauser's son Daniel at Columbine High School.

"Guns topic of annual forum."
Colorado Daily
http://www.coloradodaily.com
October 3, 2000. pp. 1 -2

Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed with an assault weapon
in the Littleton, Colorado, killings five years ago Tuesday,
said continuing the ban is common sense.

Associated Press
"Gun victim's dad wore son's shoes to NRA meeting"
April 17, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/04/17/nra.convention.cheney.ap/

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office official report states that Dylan Klebold was armed with the Tec-DC9 and a shotgun, while Eric Harris was armed with the Hi-Point carbine and a shotgun.

Klebold was dressed in cargo pants, a black T-shirt that said “Wrath,”
and a black trench coat. Underneath his coat was an Intratec TEC-DC-9,
9-mm semi-automatic handgun attached to a strap slung over his shoulder.
His cargo pants had large pockets that later allowed him to partially
conceal a Stevens 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun, particularly since
the barrel had been cut down to approximately 23 inches.

Harris, also wearing a black trench coat, wore a white T-shirt
underneath that said, “Natural Selection.” He had a Hi-Point
9-mm carbine rifle on a strap hidden under his coat. Harris pulled
a Savage – Springfield 12-gauge pump shotgun from one of the bags
the gunmen carried to the top of the hill. Again, both its stock
and barrel were cut off, reducing the measurement of the entire
gun to 26 inches.

"How they were equipped that day"
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office report
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/report/columbinereport/pages/equipment_text.htm

The Denver Post also reported that Eric Harris was armed with the Hi-Point carbine.

Eric Harris, one of the Columbine High killers, came to school April 20
with a HiPoint carbine with a 10-round magazine.

David Olinger
"Hi-Point maker feels mix of pride, pain"
Denver Post
August 1, 1999
http://63.147.65.175/news/shot0801a.htm

Aug. 1 - Dylan Klebold walked into his high school cafeteria carrying
an assault pistol originally designed as a submachine gun for the
white South African government.

Eric Harris wielded a black semiautomatic rifle produced by an
Ohio company whose owner says he just wanted to make guns for
the average working man.

David Olinger
"Following the guns"
Denver Post
August 1, 1999
http://63.147.65.175/news/shot0801.htm

Under the 1994 federal assault weapons ban, the Tec-DC9 is an assault weapon, but the Hi-Point carbine is not, because it does not have a flash hider, threaded barrel, bayonet lug, or folding stock. While the differences are cosmetic, it was the proponents of the ban who decided that the Hi-Point carbine is not an assault weapon. (The same proponents have been complaining that firearms manufacturers who complied with the 1994 law have since been "skirting" or "evading" it by making the changes demanded of them.) As far as I know, this weapon was first made after the 1994 law, so no "high capacity" (ie - great than 10 rounds) magazines are available.

The Sheriff's Office reported that Daniel Mauser was shot by Eric Harris in the library. The report does not say whether Harris used the shotgun or carbine to murder Daniel Mauser, but neither of those firearms are assault weapons, as defined by federal law and the proponents of the 1994 ban.

11:29 - 11:36 a.m.
Diagram 80 - While standing north of table #11,
Harris shoots under table #9 killing Daniel Mauser.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Report
"April 20, 1999 at 11:29 - 11:36 am"
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/report/columbinereport/pages/sketch_0080.htm

I have found no public evidence to support the claim that Daniel Mauser was killed with the Tec-DC9, or any other assault weapon -- as defined in 18 USC 921(a)(30).

While the press had no problem debunking the myth of Cassie Bernall being a Christian martyr, they never investigated the statements made by Tom Mauser in support of his political agenda, even though they've had five years to do so.

Like the Bernalls, Tom Mauser seems to believe that the exploitation of his child's death is serving some higher purpose.

In the agonizing days after Daniel's death, Mauser accepted
his cause, motivated by one passing conversation about gun-control
legislation that scarcely made an impression at the time.

"Two weeks before Daniel was shot, he sat down at the dinner
table one night and said to me, 'Dad, do you know about loopholes
in the Brady Bill?' Just out of the blue," Mauser said.

"It was not something we had ever discussed before. It was not
a subject in his debate class. My only guess is that he did
like to keep up on current events."

The conversation, almost dismissed, became a revelation.

"Once he was killed like that and it involved gun shows and
a loophole in the Brady Bill, that was clearly a sign to me,"

"Private grief and public campaign"
Joe Garner
Denver Rocky Mountain News
April 16, 2000
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/0416maus4.shtml

If Tom Mauser were lobbying for some right-wing cause, say banning abortion, the press would dismiss him as a religious extremist trying to force his beliefs upon the rest of society.

In early November (1999), several of the victims' families came together
under different circumstances to testify at the sentencing hearing
of Mark Manes, the 22-year-old acquaintance of Klebold's and Harris'
who bought Dylan's semiautomatic Tec-9. With their suicide pact,
Harris and Klebold had cheated their victims of a day in court, so
this hearing might be the only chance for the families to describe
in a court of law what they've been through. Representatives from
nine families spoke, and the stories of suffering were so wrenching
that several people had to leave the courtroom and a clerk had to
get three extra boxes of tissues. When Manes was finally escorted
out of the courtroom in handcuffs, sentenced to six years in prison,
the families clapped. It wasn't much, but it was the first sense
of justice they had got since April.

At the hearing, Tom Mauser was the only speaker who did not focus
on the loss of his son. Instead, Mauser talked about guns. "I want
you to consider," he told the courtroom, "that we lose an average
of 13 young lives every day to gunshots. Every day. Every day."

The Report of Governor Bill Owens' Columbine Review Commission
Appendix E: "Special Report: The Columbine Tapes"
May 2001
p. 203
http://www.state.co.us/columbine

I have no idea if Tom Mauser is telling the truth about his son's bringing up the "gun show loophole" shortly before his death. It is possible. On November 6, 1998 -- nearly 1/2 year before the Columbine shootings -- President Clinton directed the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General to close the so-called "gun show loophole."

We can, however, take additional steps to strengthen the Brady Law
and help keep our streets safe from gun-carrying criminals. Under
current law, firearms can be -- and an untold number are -- bought
and sold entirely without background checks, at the estimated 5,000
private gun shows that take place across the country. This loophole
makes gun shows prime targets for criminals and gun traffickers, and
we have good reason to believe that firearms sold in this way have been
used in serious crimes. In addition, the failure to maintain records at
gun shows often thwarts needed law enforcement efforts to trace firearms.
Just days ago, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative
designed to facilitate background checks at gun shows. It is now time for
the Federal Government to take appropriate action, on a national level,
to close this loophole in the law.

Therefore, I request that, within 60 days, you recommend to me what
actions our Administration can take -- including proposed legislation
-- to ensure that firearms sales at gun shows are not exempt from Brady
background checks or other provisions of our Federal gun laws.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Gun Shows: Brady Checks and Crime Gun Traces
January 1999
"Exhibit 1: President’s Memorandum Concerning Preventing Firearms Sales to Prohibited Purchasers"
http://www.atf.gov/pub/treas_pub/gun_show.pdf

This was also the subject of President Clinton's weekly radio address of November 7, 1998, and Daniel Mauser may have been aware of this.

The SF Comical states that Officer Espinoza was killed with an assault rifle. This is impossible. Assault rifles have been illegal for 10 years under federal law and 15 years under California. And of course, we all know the law is effective.

As a small side note, the killer of Officer Espinoza will not face the death penalty. The DA does not believe his case warrants it.

http://www.cthulhu.org/
Cthulhu for President! Why settle for a lesser evil?

Dylan Klebold walked into his high school cafeteria carrying an assault pistol originally designed as a submachine gun for the white South African government.

Contrary to claims by the Denver Post, the Tec-9 was designed in the predominantly-white socialist country of Sweden.

TEC-9—The 9mm TEC-9 assault pistol was originally developed by Interdynamics AB of Sweden and produced in the U.S. by F.I.E. of Florida. The original version, the KG-9, was easily converted to full auto and was subsequently reclassified as a machine gun by ATF in 1982. Soon after, the weapon was redesigned to sell as a semi-auto and reclassified the KG-99. Subsequently, a Hong Kong company bought the rights to the weapon from Interdynamics AB and a new company, Intratec USA, was formed in the United States to manufacture the weapon, now dubbed the TEC-9. In November of 1987, Intratec USA reorganized to become Intratec. Twelve and a half inches long, the lightweight TEC-9 comes with a 36-round magazine. The TEC-9M, a smaller version of the weapon, is 10.5 inches long. Both have threaded barrels so that they can accept silencers and barrel extensions. High impact plastic is used for the gun's receiver, magazine well, and pistol grip.[139] Promotional material for the guns describe them as being "high-spirited" and "weapons that are as tough as your toughest customers."[140] The TEC-9 retails for approximately $250

Violence Policy Center
Assault Weapons and Accessories in America
1988
"Appendix I"
http://www.vpc.org/studies/awaap1.htm

Olinger was probably confusing the 9mm Tec-9 pistol with the Street Sweeper 12 gauge shotgun, which must be a common mistake in newsrooms.

Just read your blog from April and noticed your mention of "getting glasses." I read an article a while back discussing this and the author swears by an old trick of having an optometrist build a set of bifocals with the lenses upside down - the reading portion, (don't quit reading this yet), is actually put above the distance portion! Supposedly this really helps with doing the impossible, (even with younger eyes), task of focusing on 2 sights and a target...all at once, by concentrating on the front. It reads better than I can explain it but I have no idea now what gun mag it was in - check around on line and talk with your eye doc. Good luck with aging...it doesn't seem to get better!
Rich
50 in California