By Kevin
J .
KelleyStaff Reporter
A
I three of Vermont's
congressmen are con-sidered liberals onmany controversial is-
ues.
So
why dothey alloppose the Brady Bill, a gun
control measure backed
by
most liberals and even en-
dorsed
by
former president
RonaldReagan?It's a contradiction that dis-
appoints Progressives
in
Ver-
mont and around the nation.
It's also a fact ofpolitical lifeinVermont that the gun lobby,though small, is not to be ig-
nored.
ThebillnowbeforeCongress
is named after Reagan's former
press secretary James Brady,
who was wounded along with
the ex-president in a 1981as-
sassination attempt. Brady,
who suffered brain damagefrom the shooting, has spear-headed the lobbyingcampaignforthe legislation, whichwould establish a nationwide seven-day waiting periodforthe pur-chase ofhandguns.During that time, state police could - but would nothave to - conduct background checksto determine whether a
prospective buyer is a con-
Continued on Page 9
W h o 's A fr a ido f th e N R A ?V e r m o n t'sC o n g r e s s m e n ,T h a t's W h o
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the 7
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The pro-gun groupsclaim as members onlya relatively small frac-tion of Vermont's gunowners, but their influ-ence.is much greater.
Continued from Page 1
victed felon, drug addict, fugi-tive, or has a history of mentalillness. At present, handgun
purchasers are subjected to an
honor system whereby they
must sign an uncorroborated
statement declaring they do notfall into any of those categories.Gwen Fitzgerald, a spokes-woman for Brady's lobbying or-ganization, called the U.S. policyon private handgun ownershipthe most lenient of any indus-
trialized nation.
The National Rifle Associa-
L E A H Y
tion, still one of the most power-fullegislative pressure groups inthe country, is working to defeatthe Brady bill by offering acounter-proposal for an instan-taneous computer check of prospective handgun buyers.Advocates of the Brady bill claimthat such a system could not beimplemented nationwide for several years.A showdown on the issuecould come soon. The U.S. Housemay vote on the Brady bill later this month, with CongressmanBernie Sanders perhaps beingcast in a pivotal role when the
measure reaches the floor. Thelegislation was narrowly re-
jected in 1988, and the outcomeis expected to be close this time,as well.Proponents of the seven-day
waiting period face a tougher
battle in the Senate. Their task is not made any easier by the positions of Republican JamesJeffords and Democrat Patrick Leahy, both of whom have voted
in
the past against the Brady bill. Staffers for each of Ver-mont's U.S. senators say their boss will probably again sidewith the NRA.Gwen Fitzgerald of Handgun
Control, Inc., meanwhile finds
it
"very disappointing" that the en-tire Vermont congressional dele-gation opposes the Brady legis-
lation. "Your state is very for-
tunate in having a comparative-ly
low murder rate," she said.
"But this is a national problem.Do we have to wait until it be-comes a problem in your ownstate?"The easy availability of alltypes of firearms in Vermontcould allow traffickers to obtainguns there for use in other states, Fitzgerald said.
Sanders' Defense
Sanders' announced opposi-tion to the Brady proposal seemsespecially incongruous. The in-dependent socialist has said that, among his House col-leagues, he feels politicallyclosest to the members of theCongressional Black Caucus.And only one of Sanders' 25 black colleagues is pledged tovote against the Brady bill.Sanders himself did notrespond
to
a request for an inter-view on this issue. Anthony Pol-lina, the congressman's chief aide in Vermont, did acknow-ledge, however, that many Pro-gressives find Sanders' positionon the Brady bill to be in con-tradiction with leftist thinking.
"Bernie's
response," Pollinareported, "is that he doesn't justrepresent liberals and pro~es-sives. He was sent to Washing-ton to represent all Vermont-ers." Arguing that many of Sanders' home-state constr-tuents oppose the Brady bill,Pollina added, "It's not inap- propriate for a congressman tosupport a majority position, par-ticularly on something that Ver-monters have been very clear about. What you see is the entirecongressional delegation re-sponding to the feelings of Ver-monters at a grassroots level."Pollina denied, however, thatSanders is following the gunown some type of gun. A slightlysmaller percentage possesseshandguns, Herachenroder said.The membership of the two pro-gun organizations probablyhas a disproportionately strongimpact on elections, however.George McNeil, an NRA mem- ber and a Vermont political ec-tivist,argued that gun issuea area key concern to about 10,000state voters - enough to swing aclose election. University ofVer-mont political scientist Garrison Nelson agreed that the ardentopponents of gun control canmake a big difference in low-tur-nout elections.Proposals to regulate the aaleof handguns do matter a greatdeal to Vermont hunters,Herschenroder said. "Handgunsare definitely a part of the sport-ing community," he noted."Some persons who have spent alot of time hunting with rifleswant a challenge, so they mightuse a handgun occasionally." Inaddition,
"a
lot of Canadianscome to Vermont to hunt withhandguns," since in Canadasuch weapons may legally beused only at a firing range. •
S A N D E R S
lobby's line, since the con-gressman differs with the NRAin advocating some restrictionson assault weapons.While recognizing that theU.S. does have a problem withcriminal violence, Sanders believes many politicians willuse the Brady bill as a "smoke-screen," Pollina suggested. "Ber~nie would rather work with Con-gress to develop a package of legislation that deals with theroot causes of crime, such aseconomic injustice and the lack of job opportunities in manyurban communities," the aideexplained. Simply voting for theBrady bill and not addressing poverty
as
a cause of violencecould be seen
as
"dishonest," Pol-lina asserted.
Politics
Voting for the bill also would be foolish for a Vermont poli-tician. Just ask the man Sanders beat in his bid for Congress.Former congressman Peter Smith said he lost to Sanderslast November, in part, becauseof the efforts of the NRA. Alongorganized by the NRA, thesespots urged a vote for Sanders,Smith recounted.Asked whether it is possiblefor any statewide officeholder inVermont to defy the NRA and survive politically, Smith re- plied, "Abaolutely, it is. The vastmajority of Vermont sportsmenand women are ready for reason-able restraints on weapons."The pro-gun groups claim asmembers only a relatively smallfraction of Vermont's gun own-ers, but their influence is muchgreater.The National Rifle Associa-tion claims a Vermont member-ship of almost 14,000, whileSAVE sent its 1990 campaignmailings to some 2,700 house-holds. By contrast, about 70,000Vermonters have hunting licen-ses. And Steve Herschenrader,the head of the sportsmen'sgroup, estimated that 80 percentof all households in the statewith the Sportsmen's Alliancefor Vermont's Environment, the National Rifle Association tar-geted Smith because heswitched his position on assaultweapons, favoring a ban on someof these semi-automatic fire-arms after promising in 1988 notto support any new gun controlmeasures.''What the NRA was buyingwith their support for BernieSanders was a closed mind,"Smith declared in a telephoneinterview from Washington,where he now beads a commis-sion on post-secondary educa-tion. ''What they want is peoplewho won't think carefully abouta problem."Some Vermont hunting en-thusiests formed an important part of the coalition that elected Sanders, Smith observed. Theex-congressman also cited therole played by the NRA's nation-al office, which spent some$20,000 on Vermont TV and radio ads in the closing days of the 1990 campaign. Along withat least five statewide mailings
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