May 10, 2001
April May Be Cruelest Month And Clarion for Activists

by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

One of America’s most famous modern poets, T.S. Eliot, coined the often-repeated phrase “April is the cruelest month,” back in the 1920s.

But events many years later now have given that phrase a special new meaning. Those events seem to be clustered at the end of the second third of the month.

The flaming final siege that claimed so many lives at Waco on April 19, 1993, the horrendous bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Office Building in Oklahoma City on the same date in 1995, and the mass murder at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 have all become clarion calls for anti-gun political activism.

In part, the dates of big stories of the past tend to give journalists and commentators a place to lead off new stories and columns with a related theme.

This year, for instance, the Cable News Network (CNN) helped set the stage by reporting that the FBI had issued an advisory to state and local law enforcement to be especially cautious.

“The FBI’s counterterrorism office says it knows of ‘no specific, credible threat’ of violence connected to Thursday’s anniversary of the Branch Davidian fire at Waco, TX, and the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,” CNN reported.

“Nonetheless, the bureau has issued an advisory for law enforcement agencies across the country to be aware that April 19 marks not only those events, but also the anniversary of the 1775 battles between minutemen and British troops at Lexington and Concord, ‘which is meaningful to many of the self-styled “patriots” in the current militia movement.’ ”

Advisory Routine
FBI officials emphasize the message, which was sent on April 13 to state and local officials over the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems, is a routine advisory similar to those sent to officials coast to coast as a precaution before anniversaries, trials, executions, or other events that could potentially provoke a violent response.

Counterterrorism officials openly worried about a domestic terrorism incident on April 19, 1996—one year after the Oklahoma City blast and three years after Waco. But in each of the past five years the anniversary has come and gone without incident, CNN noted.

Chances are you may recall seeing an extra generous showing of police cars on April 19, particularly if you live in a city with government buildings.

CNN added that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) did not send out any special notice to its field offices regarding precautions for the anniversary, but did note it in a calendar of events distributed to its offices around the country.

ATF was the government agency that set off the tragic events at Waco with its bizarre original raid that cost the lives of four of its agents as well as some of the Branch Davidians. The role of government agencies at Waco is what is supposed to have been a precipitating cause of the greatest act of domestic terrorism at Oklahoma City two years later.

This year, of course, the event is of special public interest because of the imminent execution of the man who was convicted of the bombing and the coincidental publication of a book about him.

The anniversary also inspired renewed criticism of the investigations into the Waco events, and especially of the report issued by the Danforth panel, and release of a new video that claims the FLIR tapes do show that the FBI fired on the Branch Davidians on the final day.

But while Waco and Oklahoma City have become sores that people continue to scratch, the mass murder at Columbine annually sounds a trumpet that inspires anti-gun activists to marshal their forces for another assault on legal firearms ownership.

Anti-Gun Press Events
A coalition of gun control lobbyists made press with the wire services in Washington on April 19 by urging Congress to make a renewed effort to push through legislation to close what they continue to call the “gun show loophole.”

Michael Beard, president of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, was on hand for the news conference, claiming that for two years since Columbine, Congress had “stood idly by” and refused to push through such legislation.

The gun control camp used the occasion to repeat most of their hoary old slogans, with Michael Barnes, president of Handgun Control Inc. (HCI), saying, “We want to see the strongest possible legislation come out from the Senate and we will also work with our friends in the House. . . .”

Barnes noted that during the presidential campaign last year, President Bush said he supported instant background checks at gun shows, and Barnes said he hoped the president would sign any legislation that Congress passed.

A study, conducted by Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), alleges that Coloradans failed to achieve a bulletproof solution when they passed a ballot measure last fall requiring background checks at gun shows within their state. AGS spent millions promoting the statewide gun show referendums in Colorado and Oregon. The study argues that Colorado remains vulnerable to crimes committed with guns bought at gun shows.

Not coincidentally, the study sets the stage for an anticipated Senate “compromise” proposal seeking to make background checks at all gun shows a matter of federal law. The plan would impose a waiting period of three business days, but only for three years, after which states can qualify to shorten the waiting period to 24 hours.

The proposal, intended as a substitute for a bill proposed by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) which did not pass the House in an earlier incarnation, is expected to be rolled out soon by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). Holding the coats of the so-called centrist “compromisers” is billionaire Monster.com founder Andrew J. McKelvey and his Americans for Gun Safety, which isn’t centrist at all. McKelvey is a former member of the board of HCI.

Consumer Pitch
Not wanting to be left at the starting gate when the new race for the gun control roses was launched on the anniversary of Columbine, the Consumer Federation of America jumped the gun by a few days and issued a statement saying firearms should be regulated for safety. The group proposed legislation that would make the Treasury Department responsible for gun safety in much the same way the Consumer Product Safety Commission oversees children’s products and other items. Under this proposal, ATF could issue recalls for defective guns, set standards for gun locks, restrict the size of guns to make them harder to conceal and even ban some guns.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) introduced a version of the proposal in 1999, but it never came up for a hearing. Kennedy has since reintroduced the bill.

Attorney General John Ashcroft was also heard from on the anniversary of the Columbine shooting, but he sounded a different note, calling not for more gun laws but for a greater “culture of responsibility” to stem the rising tide of violence in America’s schools.

“The tragedy of violence in our schools is a threat to the future of America,” Ashcroft told a news conference in Kansas City, MO, where he met with business leaders and Justice Department officials.

Taking aim at the entertainment industry as he has done in the past, Ashcroft blamed video games that “train people to shoot” and other mediums for encouraging violence.

Despite questions, Ashcroft—a conservative Republican former senator from Missouri—avoided all references to guns.

“Students have to be responsible by reporting other students and alerting authorities if there are situations that could mature into a situation of violence.” Ashcroft said. “And I think our entertainment industry has to accept responsibility not to glorify and indicate that the way you resolve difficulties is through violence.”