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Appendix One: Groups and Organizations
Gun Control Groups
1000 16th Street, NW Suite 603 Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: (202) 530-0340 Web site: http://www.gunfree.org The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization founded in 1974 as the National Coalition to Ban Handguns. CSGV is a coalition of national religious, professional, educational, and public health organizations that endorses banning the sale and private possession of handguns in America. Founded in 1979, the Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence is the 501(c)(3) educational arm of the Coalition. The Ed Fund operates the Firearms Litigation Clearinghouse, which maintains a database of depositions and court documents of firearm-related cases.
Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI) was founded in 1974 by Mark Borinsky, who was later joined by Nelson T. "Pete" Shields. Shields founded the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV) in 1983, which is the education, legal advocacy, and research affiliate of HCI. CPHV's national initiatives include prevention programs for parents and youth and legal representation for gun violence victims. In 1985 Sarah Brady, wife of White House Press Secretary James Brady, joined the organization as its primary spokesperson and in 1989 succeeded Shields as chairperson. In 1989 James Brady joined his wife in battling for the HCI flagship bill named in his honor.
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) is a 501(c)(3) educational organization founded in 1988. The VPC: conducts research on the gun industry, firearms violence, and federal regulatory approaches; develops public policy options and offers analysis of violence-reduction proposals; conducts public education activities through the news media and other organizations; educates policymakers and opinion leaders; and, builds working coalitions with organizations not traditionally part of the firearms violence debate.
650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20226 Telephone: (202) 927-7777 Email: postmaster@atfhq.atf.treas.gov Website: http://www.atf.treas.gov The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is a law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Treasury. ATF enforces the federal laws and regulations relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives, and arson by working directly and in cooperation with federal, state, local, and international law enforcement.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), a component of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice, is the United States' primary source for criminal justice statistics. BJS collects, analyzes, publishes, and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. Annually, BJS publishes a document that presents findings of major BJS statistical series, describes BJS data collection programs, and summarizes programs to help states and localities to develop automated information systems.
The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The primary responsibilities of CDC include: detecting and investigating health problems; conducting research to enhance prevention; and, developing and advocating sound public health policies.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice. At present, the FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes. The FBI is also authorized to provide other law enforcement agencies with cooperative services, such as Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Information Center.
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NCHS is the federal government's principal vital and health statistics agency. NCHS data systems include data on vital events as well as information on health status, lifestyle and exposure to unhealthy influences, the onset and diagnosis of illness and disability, and the use of health care. NCHS is located in Hyattsville, Maryland, with offices in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.
9 Perimeter Way, Suite C-950 Atlanta, GA 30339 Telephone: (404) 933-0200 Website: http://www.assc.org The American Shooting Sports Council (ASSC) is the self-described "organized voice of the firearms industry" and was established in 1989 to "take pro-active steps to enhance the industry's ability to do business..., improve the public perception of the industry as a whole, and...provide a viable voice in the hearings preceding debate of statutes affecting the industry." Its slogan is "As Pro-Gun as Our Customers." The statute affecting the industry that resulted in ASSC's formation was a partial federal assault weapons ban sponsored by former Senator Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) in 1989. Believing that none of the traditional pro-gun organizations were effectively defending the manufacturers of such weapons, the ASSC was formed as "the only voice in the Capital that lobbies specifically for our industry." Its promotional material promises that "as a sophisticated registered lobby organization, ASSC monitors legislative trends and proposals at every level of government. We ACT BEFORE legislation is passed or opinions formed. We are Pro-active not Re-active!" Headed by Richard Feldman, a former National Rifle Association state lobbyist, the ASSC claims 17,000 members including manufacturers of firearms and accessories, as well as gun dealers and wholesalers.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization founded in 1974 by conservative activist Alan Gottlieb "to defend the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and to provide aid and information to individuals throughout the Nation seeking to maintain the right to keep and bear arms." The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is the 501(c)(3) educational arm of CCRKBA and was founded by Gottlieb in 1974. Periodicals owned by SAF include Gun Week and Women & Guns magazine.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization formed in 1975 to "preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights" of gun owners. Associated with GOA are: Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund, Gun Owners of California, and The Gun Owners Foundation.
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) was founded in 1989 by Aaron Zelman. The organization works to "expose the propaganda and myths used by all anti-gunners, but particularly by some Jewish anti-gunners." The key to JPFO's argument is the allegation that America's gun control laws are taken literally from the gun control laws of Nazi Germany and that gun control, by definition, leads to genocide.
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is the best known and most powerful organization working against firearm restrictions in America. The NRA is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization with an estimated 2.8 million members that describes itself as "the foremost guardian of the traditional American right to `keep and bear arms.'" The NRA's 1995 revenue totaled $145 million and the organization ended that year with a deficit of $51 million. The NRA's Institute for Legislation Action (ILA) advocates "against federal and state gun legislation to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially with reference to the rights of the individual American citizen to acquire, possess, transport, carry and enjoy the right to use arms." The NRA reported ILA's 1995 budget as more than $12 million. Other related NRA organizations include the NRA Special Contribution Fund, International Shooter Development Fund, American Firearms & Shooting Foundation, Firearms Civil Rights Legal Defense Fund, National Firearms Museum Fund and The NRA Foundation.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is the leading trade association of the firearms industry. The NSSF was formed in 1961 as a non-profit communications and marketing organization that manages a variety of programs designed to promote a better understanding of the shooting sports, as well as encourage participation in the shooting sports. In 1983, the NSSF created the Women's Shooting Sports Foundation (WSSF). In addition to NSSF support, WSSF receives funding from the NRA and such manufacturers as Browning Arms and Winchester. NSSF executive director Bob Delfay is also the executive director of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI). Founded in 1926, SAAMI was originally created to deal with standards and specifications for firearms and ammunition. In the 1990s SAAMI began to "take on an expanded role in legislative and media relations."
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