JANUARY 2005

Collateral Damage:
January 31, 2005
It goes without saying that California is a breeding ground for anti-gun legislation and litigation. But if you do not live there, what do you care? It doesn't affect you. Or does it? In fact, what happens in California does affect you, as well as the rest of the nation. The frivolous laws and lawsuits in California spread across the nation like a virus, mutating along the way to cure any defects or objections that are necessary to promote their passage. But even when the law does not spread, even when the law stays in California, it can cause national and international firearms businesses to suffer irreparable damage by affecting the manufactures, distributors and dealers ability to promote their products. Such is the case now with .50 caliber BMG rifles. [More.]

Washington State Senate Judiciary Hearings Exposes Gun Divide:
January 30, 2005
Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, herded seven gun bills through his Judiciary Committee. One bill was Sen. Darlene Fairley's, D-Lake Forest Park, who wants to ban firearms from the Legislative Building at the Capitol and to ban the sales of .50-caliber rifles. That hearing exposed a deep cultural divide in this state. On one side of the chasm are those who generally view firearms only as weapons and regard the possession of firearms as an unnecessary risk to public safety when there is law enforcement to ensure public safety. On the other side are those who view firearms as tools not only for hunting and sport, but also for self-protection because they can't always depend on the police to protect them. [More.]

Ronnie Barrett Named Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce 2004 Business Person of the Year.
January 29, 2005
A congregation of around 450 core members of Rutherford County's business community gathered Friday night to pay homage to some of their most prominent and productive members at the annual Chamber of Commerce banquet.The main event of the night was the naming of the 2004 Business Person of the Year and 2004 Business Legend. Chamber Chairman Ron Nichols announced Ronnie Barrett, founder and president of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc., as Business Person of the Year. Barrett invented, produces and markets .50-caliber sniper rifles, an enterprise that has proven to be extremely profitable and has brought him international attention. [More.]

FCI Response to 60 Minutes
January 10, 2005
Judging from the response we are receiving at FCI from those of you who watched the '60 Minutes' program on the 50 caliber rifle last night, it is clear we all feel as if we've been had one more time. Ronnie Barrett did the very best he could do with portraying our sport to be what it actually is, but 60 minutes had control of the spin and they were able to get their message across at our expense. [More.]

Ronnie Barrett, Owner of Barrett Firearms, Inc., Speaks Out On 60 Minutes:
January 9, 2005
Ronnie Barrett, owner and President appeared on CBS's 60 Minutes on January 9, 2005 to discuss the creation and evolution of the fifty caliber rifle. This 60 Minutes "story" was clearly a hit piece aimed at demonizing fifty caliber rifles in their effort to gain support for a nation wide ban. While CBS offered antigunner Tom Diaz the opportunity to respond to Barrett's comments, Barrett was not afforded the same opportunity. [Watch the video] or [Read the Transcript.]

National Academy of Sciences And Justice Deptment Reports Find No Benefits To Restricting Ownership of Firearms
January 1, 2005
While anti-gunners consider it an article of faith that government restrictions on firearms reduces violence and crime, two new U.S. studies could find no evidence to support such a conclusion. The National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report, Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review, based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, a survey of 80 different gun-control laws and some of its own independent study. In short, the panel could find no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or even accidents with guns. The U.S. DOJ made similar findings.Both of these studies come in the wake of a Center for Disease Control Study, which also found no evidence supporting gun control laws. [More.]