Guns and Hate: A Lethal Combination - Brady Campaign · Guns and Hate was written by ... five...
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Transcript of Guns and Hate: A Lethal Combination - Brady Campaign · Guns and Hate was written by ... five...
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is a national non-profit organization workingto reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in America through education, research, and legaladvocacy. The programs of the Brady Center complement the legislative and grassrootsmobilization efforts of its sister organization, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence andits network of Million Mom March Chapters.
Guns and Hate was written by Astrid Dorélien, Michael Miller, and Peter Brody. Thanksto Robyn Long, Becca Knox, Doug Pennington, and Jonathan Lowy for their assistance inpreparing this report.
If you have questions about any part of this report, or would like a copy, please write toLegal Action Project, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 1225 Eye Street, N.W., WashingtonD.C. 20005. The report is also available at www.bradycenter.org and www.gunlawsuits.org.
A Note About the Cover
The photograph on the cover is of the door of the Holocaust Memorial Museum inWashington, D.C., just after the shooting of June 10, 2009. The bullet marks in the doorare from the security guards that returned fire after James von Brunn, a white supremacist,shot and killed Stephen Johns, an African-American security guard.
Photo Credits
“Benjamin Smith,” available at http://eyeonhate.com/pows/pows6.html; Bill Kalina, “Matthew Hale,” N.Y. Times, availableat http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2005/04/06/national/06cnd-hale.1.html; “Won-Joon Yoon,”http://eyeonhate.com/pows/pows6.html; “Buford Furrow,” Seattle Times, available athttp://www.seattlepi.com/local/furrtime17.shtml; “Children Flee in the Aftermath of the JCC Shooting,” PBS, available athttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec99/shooting_8-11.html; Miles Cary, “Jim Adkisson is led away by Police,”Guardian (London), available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/28/usa; “Tennessee Valley UnitarianUniversalist Memorial,” Associated Press, available at http://www.daylife.com/photo/0b9Y60Z15X56K; “Scott Roeder.”Wichita Police Department. Available at http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/06/08/alg_scott_roeder.jpg; “GeorgeTiller” Associated Press. Available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/photos/2009/jun/03/46507/; Olin Wagner.“Reformation Lutheran Church.” Associated Press. Available at http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/nation/suspect-jailed-in-kansas-abortion-doctors-killing-637796.html; ARMY. “William Long.” Associated Press. Available athttp://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_william_long_funeral_060809/; Brian E. Chilson, “Abdulhakim MujhidMuhammad is Taken into Custody,” Associated Press, available athttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31048825/wid/7468326/6.b10984/6.a10984/6.b10984/5??cm=WaterCooler-SC; “RichardPoplawski.” Anti-Defamation League. Available at http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/04995627-06B3-4F1B-9F7E-A0D74CEE98DB,CC90F29A-4498-4885-B5EC-FA6B774DDB3F,frameless.htm; “Richard Poplawski.” Anti-DefamationLeague. Available at http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/04995627-06B3-4F1B-9F7E-A0D74CEE98DB,CC90F29A-4498-4885-B5EC-FA6B774DDB3F,frameless.htm; “Door of the Holocaust Memorial Museum,” Associated Press, available athttp://newshopper.sulekha.com/topic/slideshow/general-news/846659.htm; “James von Brunn,” New York Post, availableat http://www.nypost.com/seven/06112009/news/nationalnews/hate_slay_horror_173654.htm; “Stephen Johns,” UPI,available at http://www.upi.com/news/issueoftheday/2009/06/11/Hero-Stephen-Johns-foiled-Holocaust-Museum-massacre/UPI-74421244735260/; “Nazi Paraphenalia on Display at a Virginia Gun Show,” Brady Campaign File Photo;“Handguns out for Sale at a Gun Show,” Brady Campaign File Photo; “Table of Guns,” Brady Campaign File Photo; KevinDietsch, “Wayne LaPierre Speaks to the National Press Club,” UPI, available athttp://www.upi.com/topic/Wayne_LaPierre/photos/img-3/; Win McNamee. “Shooting at Holocaust Memorial Museum.”Getty Images. Available at http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/88393246/Getty-Images-News; “A memorial for the threeofficers killed by Richard Poplawski.” Post-Gazette. Available at http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20090405brk_rad_North_Shore_memorial_hp500.jpg
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary..........................................................................................................4
Part One: The Deadly Results.......................................................................................6
Neo-Nazi Shooting Spree, Illinois and Indiana ......................................6The Shooter .........................................................................................................................6How Smith Got His Guns ....................................................................................................6Donald Fiessinger’s Firearm Purchases from Old Prairie Trading Post .............................8Shootings ............................................................................................................................9Benjamin Smith’s Victims..................................................................................................10How Common Sense Gun Laws Could Have Stopped Benjamin Smith’s Shooting Spree....12
Jewish Community Center Shootings, California ...............................13
Church Shooting, Tennessee ............................................................................14
Abortion Provider Murdered, Kansas........................................................15
Army Recruiting Station Attacked, Arkansas ........................................16
Mass Police Shooting, Pennsylvania ...........................................................17
Holocaust Memorial Museum Shooting, Washington, D.C. ........19
Part Two: Hate, Guns, and Gun Shows ..................................................................20
The Gun Show Loophole .....................................................................................21
Part Three: The NRA and Extremists......................................................................22
The NRA’s History of Extremist Rhetoric ................................................23
Inflammatory Rhetoric from the NRA and Hate-FilledExtremists ....................................................................................................................24
Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................25
Endnotes ..............................................................................................................................27
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Executive Summary
“They weren’t on the battlefield, but apparently the battlefield’s here.”1 – Daris Long,father of slain Private William Long
“The Founding Fathers understood that the guys with the guns make the rules.”-Wayne LaPierre, CEO of National Rifle Association2
On June 10, 2009, a white supremacist who believed it was “time to kill the Jews”took his gun to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and started shootingimmediately upon entering, leaving a security guard dead.3 Ten years earlier, a whitesupremacist gunman terrorized the Midwest, shooting African-Americans, Asians, andJews throughout Illinois and Indiana, killing former Northwestern University basketballcoach Ricky Byrdsong in Skokie, Illinois, and Indiana University graduate student Won-Joon Yoon in Bloomington, Indiana, and wounding nine more. In another hate-crimespree in 1999, five people were shot at a Los Angeles Jewish Community Center beforethe shooter shot and killed a U.S. postal worker. Other recent extremist shootings havetargeted churchgoers, abortion providers, U.S. soldiers, and police officers.
These shootings created media shockwaves worldwide, but they should not havebeen surprising to those familiar with the prevalence of hate groups in America and ourloophole-ridden gun laws that make it far too easy for dangerous people to obtain guns.Guns and hate have been a toxic mix in this country for decades, and all signs suggestthe combination is getting more dangerous. Over 900 hate groups currently operate inthe country, up from 602 in 2000.4 A recent report (since withdrawn) by theDepartment of Homeland Security found that “the consequences of a prolongedeconomic downturn,” as well as “the election of the first African American president,”could “create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing extremism and even resultin confrontations between such groups and government authorities.”5
At the same time, political leaders in Washington have failed to enact the lawsneeded to protect Americans from gun-wielding extremists. Benjamin Smith, the whitesupremacist who terrorized Illinois and Indiana a decade ago, was not legally permittedto buy guns because he was the subject of an active domestic violence restraining order,but was able to obtain his guns by exploiting gaping loopholes in our gun laws. Theseloopholes enabled a gun trafficker to acquire over 70 cheap handguns from a corruptgun dealer, and enabled the killer to buy two of those guns without a background check,no questions asked. Ten years later, those loopholes remain, making it just as easy fordangerous people to obtain the means to realize their hate-filled visions. Gun showscontinue to attract members of hate groups, who buy and sell neo-Nazi and extremistliterature and paraphernalia, and, because of the gun show loophole, can buy and sellguns no questions asked, with no background checks and no record of sale required. Itis past time for our leaders in Washington to do what is needed to protect Americans,instead of cowering to the gun lobby.
Adding fuel to this toxic mix is the incendiary rhetoric of the gun lobby. TheNational Rifle Association continues to gin up fears of gun owners with false claims that
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President Obama is intent on taking away their guns. While the gun lobby does notoutwardly advocate violence, it should appreciate that its rhetoric can have far-reachingimplications. It is disturbing, for example, that both the Holocaust Museum killer andthe crazed man who used an assault weapon to murder three Pittsburgh police officersabsorbed and expressed the gun lobby’s message that the government may be after theirguns. Especially after the Supreme Court has held that the Second Amendment protectsthe right of law-abiding citizens to own guns in the home for self-defense, the gun lobbyshould rein in its rhetoric, and speak more truthfully and responsibly.
This report covers a decade of hate-motivated gun crimes, from the BenjaminSmith shootings of July 1999 to the June 2009 Holocaust Museum shooting. The reportis not intended as a comprehensive account of all hate crimes or shootings involvingmembers of hate groups. Rather, through several prominent examples, it shows howloopholes in existing gun laws helped to enable the shooters and how inflammatory gunlobby rhetoric may have contributed to their violent outbursts.
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Part One: The Deadly Results
Neo-Nazi Shooting Spree, Illinois and IndianaJuly 2-4, 1999
The Shooter
Benjamin Smith grew up in thesuburbs of Chicago and emerged as a whitesupremacist while in college, where he passedout racist flyers and pamphlets.6 Smithattended both the University of Illinois andIndiana University. While at IndianaUniversity, Smith’s white supremacistactivities led to his arrest by Bloomington,Indiana Police. Bloomington Police Chief JimKennedy called Smith a “right-wingextremist,” though there was nothingKennedy could legally do to prevent Smith’sdistribution of hate speech.7 According toIndiana University Dean of Students RichardMcKaig, “There’s no question you would callhim a supremacist.”8
Afterleaving
school, Smith moved to Morton, Illinois, near theEast Peoria home base of Matthew Hale.9 Hale’swhite supremacist right-wing hate group, “WorldChurch of the Creator,” advocates “whitesuperiority over ‘mud people’ of other ethnicbackgrounds.”10 Hale described Smith as “apleasant person who believes in his people, thewhite people.”11 Hale was arrested in 2003 forsoliciting the murder of a judge and is now servinga 40-year sentence for the crime.12
How Smith Got His Guns
Though Benjamin Smith was prohibited by law from obtaining firearms becauseof an active domestic violence restraining order against him, loopholes in the lawenabled him to acquire his arsenal. He first went to a federally licensed firearms dealer,but was turned away after a Brady background check discovered the restraining order,which had been obtained by a former girlfriend.13 However, Smith was then able to find
Benjamin Smith, white supremacist killerwho terrorized Indiana and Illinois onJuly 2-4, 1999
Matthew Hale, founder of hategroup that inspired Benjamin Smith
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his guns in the classified advertisements of the Peoria Journal-Star.14 In them, he founda listing placed by a gun trafficker named Donald Fiessinger.15
On June 26, 1999, Smith, who had a shaved head and the phrase “SabbathBreaker” tattooed on his chest, met up with Fiessinger, who sold Smith a handgun.16
Three days later, on June 29, Smith arranged to meet Fiessinger again, and purchasedanother handgun. These two guns were a Phoenix .22 and a Bryco .380, both “SaturdayNight Specials,” cheap, easily concealable handguns popular with criminals. Days later,federal agents raided Fiessinger’s home, and he was arrested for illegal gun trafficking.Fiessinger was able to maintain his illegal gun business by continually buying guns froma reckless licensed firearms dealer, Old Prairie Trading Post.
After the shootings, law enforcement officers affirmed that Old Prairie must haveknown, under these circumstances, that Fiessinger was illegally reselling the guns.Indeed, Old Prairie admitted that it suspected exactly that and could have stoppedselling guns to Fiessinger at any time, but instead chose to take his money and supplyhim with all the guns he could pay for. 17 Thus, Fiessinger was able to amass and sell asmall arsenal, and to supply illegal purchasers without background checks.
A Bryco .380, one of the guns Smith used inhis shooting spree.
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Donald Fiessinger’s Firearm Purchases from Old Prairie Trading Post
Fiessinger bought 72 cheap, low quality handguns (“Saturday Night Specials”)over less than two years from Old Prairie Trading Post, a federally licensed firearmsdealer in Pekin, Illinois.18 No federal or state law prevented Fiessinger from amassingthis inventory, as there are no limits on the number of handguns an individual isallowed to buy. Federal law only requires that when more than one handgun ispurchased from a dealer in five business days, that the dealer send a multiple salereporting form to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”).19
However, the ATF has no authority to stop bulk firearms sales, and because Fiessinger’ssales were staggered with gaps of one week or more, the law did not require this nominalreporting. As Old Prairie’s owner, Robert Hayes, said of his sale of 72 handguns toFiessinger, “Everything I did was fine, according to ATF guidelines.”20 A list of the gunssold to Fiessinger is provided below.
3/11/97 Bryco .380
3/18/97 Bryco .380
3/31/97 Bryco .380
4/17/97 Bryco .380
5/1/97 Bryco .380
5/22/97 Bryco .380
5/29/97 Bryco .380
6/5/97 Bryco .380
6/12/97 Bryco .380
6/19/97 Taurus .357
7/1/97 Bryco .380
7/3/97 Bryco .380
7/14/97 Bryco .380
7/21/97 Bryco .380
7/31/97 Bryco 9mm
8/7/97 Bryco 9mm
9/8/97 Bryco 9mm
9/15/97 Bryco .380
9/25/97 Bryco 9mm
10/2/97 Bryco .380
10/9/97 Bryco9 mm
10/16/97 Bryco .380
10/23/97 Bryco 9mm
10/30/97 Bryco .380
11/6/97 Bryco 9mm
11/13/97 Bryco .380
11/20/97 Bryco 9mm
11/28/97 Bryco .380
12/4/97 Bryco 9mm
12/11/97 Bryco .380
12/18/97 Bryco 9mm
12/26/97 Bryco 9mm
1/2/98 Bryco 9mm
1/8/98 Bryco .380
1/15/98 Bryco .380
1/22/98 Bryco .380
1/29/98 Phoenix .25
3/11/98 Phoenix .25
3/26/98 Bryco .380
4/6/98 Bryco .380
4/13/98 Bryco .380
4/20/98 Phoenix .25
4/27/98 Phoenix .25
5/4/98 Phoenix .25
5/11/98 Bryco .380
5/18/98 Bryco .380
6/1/98 Bryco .380
6/8/98 Bryco .380
6/15/98 Bryco .380
6/22/98 Phoenix .25
6/29/98 Phoenix .25
7/6/98 Phoenix .25
7/13/98 Bryco .380
7/20/98 Bryco 9mm
7/27/98 Bryco 9mm
8/3/98 Bryco 9mm
8/10/98 Bryco 9mm
8/17/98 Bryco .380
8/24/98 Bryco .380
8/31/98 Bryco .380
9/7/98 Bryco .380
9/14/98 Bryco .380
9/21/98 Bryco .380
9/28/98 Bryco .380
10/5/98 Bryco .380
10/12/98 Intratec 9mm
10/19/98 Intratec 9mm
10/26/98 Intratec 9mm
11/2/98 Intratec 9mm
11/9/98 Intratec 9mm
11/16/98 Intratec 9mm
2/12/99 FEG GKK .45
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Shootings
While living in Morton, Illinois, Smith had decided that it was time to launch “aone-man race war.”21 Armed with the two guns he purchased from Fiessinger, Smithtook his 1994 Ford Taurus and started his killing spree on the Friday before the Fourthof July in northern Chicago and its suburbs.
First, in Rodgers Park, a Chicago neighborhood, Smith shot and wounded sixOrthodox Jews on their way home from temple.22 Then, minutes later, in the nearbytown of Skokie, Illinois, Smith shot and killed Ricky Byrdsong as he walked with two ofhis children near their home.23 The next day, Smith shot one man in Springfield, Illinois,then drove to Decatur, Illinois and shot Reverend Stephen Anderson as he walked to afamily July 4th weekend gathering. Then Smith drove to Urbana, Illinois, where hewounded an Asian-American student at the University of Illinois, Stephen Kuo. 24
Finally, on the third day of his rampage, Smith went to his old college town ofBloomington, Indiana, and killed Indiana University graduate student Won-Joon Yoonas he walked to church services.25 The string of shootings ended only after police chasedhim down near Salem, Illinois, and—just as they were about to make an arrest—Smith“shot himself below the chin.”26 He died on route to the hospital.27
In total, Smith wounded nine people and killed two, Won-Joon Yoon and RickyByrdsong, whose stories are told below. All eleven of Smith’s victims were either Jewish,African-American, or of Asian decent – all deemed “mud people” in the disturbed, racistideology of the “World Church of the Creator,” of which Smith was a member.28
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The Path of a KillerFrom July 2 to July 4, 1999, BenjaminSmith shot people throughout Illinois andIndiana, in seven locations before he tookhis own life. This map indicates his deadlypath.
A. Rodgers Park, Chicago, IL – SixOrthodox Jews wounded
B. Skokie, IL – Ricky Byrdsong killed.
C. Springfield, IL – One African-Americanman wounded.
D. Decatur, IL – Rev. Stephen Andersonwounded.
E. Urbana, IL – Stephen Kuo wounded
F. Bloomington, IN – Won-Joon Yoonkilled.
G. Salem, IL – Smith takes his own life.
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Benjamin Smith’s Victims
The first man Smith killed was Ricky Byrdsong, a former NorthwesternUniversity basketball coach. Byrdsong had coached the Wildcats between 1993 and1998, and took the perennial Big Ten doormat to the NIT basketball tournament.31
Before that, he coached at the University of Detroit Mercyand was an assistant under Lute Olsen at the Universityof Arizona. Byrdsong had been a basketball star in hisown right before that, playing at Iowa State University.32
After his time at Northwestern, Byrdsong decidedto stay in the Chicago area and took a job at Aon Corp.,an insurance company headquartered in Chicago.33
Byrdsong served as a vice president of the company, andaccording to Aon chairman Pat Ryan, “His leadership andinspirational skills led hundreds of Aon Corp. people toget involved in community work.”34 Byrdsong, whoserved the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston,Illinois, as a deacon, hadalso written a book entitledCoaching Your Kids in theGame of Life.35 The bookwas released the Father’s
Day following his death.36
At the time of his death, Byrdsong was out on a runwith two of his children, Kelley, 10 and Ricky Jr., 8. Thebeautiful summer afternoon was punctuated by gunfirefrom a blue Ford Taurus, an unusual sound in the idyllicsuburb of Skokie. Byrdsong was slain in front of his twochildren, though neither of them were shot.37 As Ricky Jr.recalled, “We saw this car coming, and we heard a bunch ofshots.” As Kelly remembers, “They sounded like fireworks.I saw a blue car turn. The shots were getting closer, and itwas a lot louder. Then I saw a window cracked, and a gunwas pointed out the window. And he just sprayed bullets past us.” Ricky Jr., recollects,“I looked over and my dad was on the ground.”38 In response to Byrdsong’s death, his
Won-Joon Yoon was agraduate student atIndiana University whenhe was senselessly gunneddown.
Byrdsong coaches theNorthwestern Wildcats.
Attacks by far-right extremists constitute a broad threat to American citizens. TheNational Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism reports 332fatalities involving attacks by domestic extremists since 1990, excluding the 168 victimsmurdered by Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing.
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widow, Sherialyn, wrote, “The violent act that took my husband’s life is yet anotherclarion call to our nation. It’s time to wake up, America.”39 Byrdsong is memorialized bythe annual “Race Against Hate” that is held every summer in Evanston, Illinois.Sherialyn continues to speak out against hate and for stronger gun laws.
Later in Smith’s shooting spree, Won-Joon Yoon fell victim to the same racialhatred that resulted in Byrdsong’s death. Yoon was a native of South Korea, and was inthe United States to receive his higher education. Upon completing his master's degreein economics at the University of Southern Illinois, he moved to Bloomington just fiveweeks before the shootings to begin work on his doctoral degree at Indiana University.40
Won Joon Yoon, whose family members were some of the first Christians inSouth Korea, was shot dead as he walked into Korean United Methodist Church. IndianaUniversity now offers a scholarship in Yoon’s memory.41
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How Common Sense Gun Laws Could Have Stopped Benjamin Smith’s Shooting Spree
Benjamin Smith was prohibited from buying guns, yet he was able to obtain hisarsenal through loopholes in our gun laws. Strong, common sense gun legislationcould have prevented Smith from acquiring the means to kill.
• Closing the Private Sale Loopholeo Benjamin Smith attempted to buy a gun from a federally licensed dealer, and
was blocked after failing a Brady background check. However, becauseunlicensed sellers are allowed to sell guns without subjecting purchasers to aBrady criminal background check, Smith was able to exploit this loophole andbuy his guns from Donald Fiessinger, who was not a licensed firearms dealerand thus was not required to perform background checks.
• Limiting Purchases to One Handgun a Montho The gun trafficker who supplied Smith was able to amass the inventory he
illegally sold in part because there was no limit on the amount of guns he couldpurchase. From March 1997 to February 1999, Fiessinger bought 72 handgunsfrom the Old Prairie Trading Post. While federal legislation has been proposedthat would limit handgun purchases to one per month, and a handful of stateshave enacted such laws, there is no restriction on the number of handguns thatindividuals can purchase under federal or Illinois law. Had the law limitedFiessinger to purchasing one handgun a month, it would have been much moredifficult and time-consuming for him to acquire the inventory for his business,and it may have prevented him from illegally trafficking guns to dangerouspersons such as Smith.
• Strengthening Law Enforcemento As a result of the gun lobby’s efforts on behalf of the gun industry, federal law
currently restricts law enforcement from cracking down on corrupt gun dealers,weakens ATF and hinders the authorities from enforcing gun laws in ways thatno other law enforcement agencies are limited. As a consequence, corrupt gundealers such as Old Prairie Trading Post are often able to continually supplyguns to traffickers such as Donald Fiessinger for years before they are stopped.For example, federal law limits ATF to one spot inspection of a licensed dealerper year. Federal law also places an extremely high burden on ATF to revokefirearms dealer licenses, often allowing corrupt dealers to continue to supplyguns to traffickers and criminals for years while ATF tries assemble a caseagainst them. Both Old Prairie and Fiessinger were eventually convicted ofviolating federal gun laws, but only after the damage was done.
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Jewish Community Center Shootings, CaliforniaAugust 10, 1999
A month after the infamous Benjamin Smith shootings wrecked havoc in theMidwest, another white supremacist, Buford Furrow, walked into the North ValleyJewish Community Center in Los Angeles, CA, and unleashed more than seventy shotsfrom an Israeli-made semiautomatic Uzi assault weapon. In just moments, Furrow hadwounded a teenage camp counselor, three children, and an elderly receptionist.42 Themost seriously injured was a five-year-old child named BenjaminKadish. Furrow’s rampage did not end there. While making hisgetaway in a hijacked car, Furrow saw another target, JosephIleto, a Filipino-American postman on his rounds. Furrow got outof the car and shot Ileto with a Glock 9-mm pistol. After Furrowopened fire the first time, Ileto attempted to run away, butFurrow fired again and ended Ileto’s life.43 About 24 hours later, acalm and composed Furrow turned himself in, calling hisshooting rampage “a wake-up call to America to kill Jews.”44
Furrow called Ileto a “good target of opportunity” because he was“non-white” and worked for the federal government.45
Furrow was prohibited from buying guns because of his criminal record, havingserved eight months in prison and time in a mental hospital.46 However, he was still ableto obtain his guns. The Glock semiautomatic handgun that Furrow used to kill Ileto wassold by an unlicensed seller at a gun show in Spokane, Washington, near the Idahoenclave of the Aryan Nation, a Neo-Nazi organization.47
In addition to his criminal record,there were additional warning signs thatshowed Furrow was dangerous. Furrow hadshown signs of instability and was placedon medication a year before, after beingreleased from jail on probation for wieldinga knife and threatening to stab a nurse at apsychiatric hospital.48 Furrow lived at homeafter his release and his parents had openlyexpressed concerns over Furrow’s mentalhealth, confiding to friends that they fearedFurrow would “crack.”49 Furrow was also aknown white supremacist. In the early1990s, Furrow joined the neo-Naziorganization the Aryan Nations, and
quickly immersed himself in the organization and its teachings of the ChristianIdentity.50 Furrow even became part of the security detail of the Aryan Nations’founder, Richard Butler, and married the widow of Robert Mathews, the leader of aradical branch of the Aryan Nations killed in a 36-hour gun battle with federal agents in1984. 51
Children flee in the aftermath of the JCCShooting.
Buford Furrow Jr.
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Church Shooting, TennesseeJuly 27, 2008
On July 27, 2008, Jim Adkisson, a 58-year-old unemployed truck driver from theKnoxville, Tennessee area, shot and killed two churchgoers in an attack on a Unitarian
Universalist congregation during a youth performance ofAnnie.52 Though previously subject to a restraining orderplaced after he threatened to “blow the brains” out of histhen wife, Adkisson was able to legally purchase a shotgunafter the order expired in 2001.53 Adkisson used the gun tokill 60-year-old Greg McKendry and 61-year-old LindaKraeger.54
According to a note found by police, Adkissontargeted the church because of its liberal social positionsand his “hatred of the liberal movement . . . [and] liberalsin general, as well as gays.”55 In the front of the church,there is a “Gays Welcome” sign, and a website belonging tothe church claims, “that it has worked for ‘desegregation,racial harmony, fair wages, women’s rights, and gayrights.’”56
An impromptu memorial for the victims outside of Tennessee ValleyUnitarian Universalist Church.
Jim Adkisson is led awayby police after hisshooting spree atTennessee ValleyUnitarian UniversalistChurch.
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Abortion Provider Murdered, KansasMay 31, 2009
Scott Roeder, a far right radical who was once connected to a separatist militiacalled the Montana Freemen, murdered Dr. George Tiller on May 31, 2009. Tiller was
one of the country’s only providers of late-termabortions, a practice Roeder considered to begrounds for “justifiable homicide.”57 While Tillerwas serving as an usher at Reformation LutheranChurch in Wichita, Kansas, Roeder entered thebuilding and gunned Tiller down with an entire
congregationpresent.58
Roeder, motivated byan “eye-for-an-eye”p h i l o s o p h y w i t hregards to what he saw
as the murder of unborn children, was not the first extremistto shoot Tiller.59 In 1993, Tiller was shot in each of his arms,and his clinic was the target of a bombing in 1985.60 ScottRoeder’s brother stated that he “suffered from mental illnessat various times in his life.”61 Nevertheless, he was able to obtain a gun and use it tocommit this hate-driven murder.
Scott Roeder, seen in his mug shot.
Dr. George Tiller
Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas.
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Army Recruiting Station Attacked, ArkansasJune 1, 2009
Hate shootings are not limited to churches or right-wing extremists. On June 1,2009, a terrorist named Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, an American citizen and
native of Tennessee, who was under preliminaryinvestigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force,shot two United States soldiers outside a recruitingstation in Little Rock, Arkansas, killing one, PrivateWilliam Long.62 In the arrest report, Muhammad isquoted as saying that “he was mad at the U.S. militarybecause of what they had done to Muslims in thepast,” and that “he would have killed more soldiershad they been in the parking lot.”63 After policearrested him, a search of his vehicle revealed anassault rifle.64 Numerous killers have armedthemselves with assault weapons, particularly whenthey undertake assaults on mass numbers of people or
where they are likely to have to respond to authorities.65
Muhammad had recently been deported from Yemen to theUnited States for carrying a false Somali passport, but he still hadeasy access to guns.66 At the time of his arrest, Muhammad was alsoin possession of a .22 caliber rifle, a .380-caliber handgun, “morethan 150 rounds of ammunition for the two rifles, and an additional24 rounds for the handgun.”67 Also in the car were “several boxes ofammunition and a red duffle bag containing two homemadesilencers, binoculars, clothing, and medicine,” making it clear thatMuhammad planned to go on a rampage of terror.68
Muhammad was charged with capital murder and 15 countsrelated to terrorism in connection with the shooting, which killedPvt. William Long.69 Long’s father, Daris, told reporters that his sonhad just gotten home from basic training at Fort Benning, and said,“They weren’t on the battlefield, but apparently the battlefield’shere.”70
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The Little Rock Shootings and the Terrorist Watch ListBefore he gunned down an American soldier, Abdulhakim MujahidMuhammad was under FBI investigation for his connection to terrorism. Evenafter 9/11, the NRA has opposed giving federal law enforcement the authorityto stop gun sales to suspected terrorists on a case by case basis.
AbdulhakimMujahidMuhammad afterhis arrest.
The late Private William Long
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“I learned that BarackObama opposes my rightto own a handgun for self-defense.” – Kurt Rusch,NRA Spokesman
Fact: According to theAnnenberg Political FactCheck.org, this iscategorically false. Obamaproposes no such ban,though the NRA and itssupporters continue tosuggest that commonsense gun laws are a starton the “slippery slope” toa nationwide, all-encompassing gun ban.
Mass Police Shooting, PennsylvaniaApril 4, 2009
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The most deadly incident of extremist-related gun violence in 2009 occurred inApril in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On April 4, 2009,police were called to a domestic violence incident,and when they arrived, Richard Poplawski, a whitesupremacist, was “lying in wait” for them.73 Whenpolice arrived at the scene, Poplawski, “armed withan assault rifle and two other guns,” ambushedpolice and kept them at bay for hours before agunshot to the leg forced his surrender.74
Poplawskibelieved PresidentBarack Obama wasgoing to institute anationwide gun ban,and had, according tohis mother, been“stockpiling guns andammunition, buying
and selling the weapons online.”75 Poplawski did originallypurchase his guns online, but to complete the sale of aweapon from an out-of-state online seller, the seller mustsend the gun to an in-state gun store, where the recipientcan pick it up after undergoing a Brady backgroundcheck.76 The vendor who received Poplawski’s guns andsubsequently sold them to him was Braverman Arms,located in the nearby town of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.77
Richard Poplawski. The eagletattooed on his chest is a NaziSymbol.
Extremist Attacks on Law EnforcementThe recent murders of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum and three Pittsburghpolice officers are not isolated attacks. Since 1990, 47 law enforcement officers andsecurity guards have been killed in over 35 incidents involving far right extremists.Over 85 percent of the incidents involved guns.
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Poplawski had been discharged from the Marines in 2005, reportedly forassaulting a drill sergeant, and had been subject to a protection-from-abuse order an ex-girlfriend placed against him.78 It is not known if the discharge was dishonorable (theMarines will only say he was discharged for a “psychological order”), which would havedisqualified him from buying guns. Edward Perkovic, a friend of Poplawski’s, wondered,“How did he pass those background checks? Who let him have these guns?”79 Poplawskialso possessed a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,the county that is home to Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg.80
Richard Poplawski and Concealed CarryThe gun lobby claims that individuals with permits to carry concealedweapons are “law-abiding,” and that increasing the number of suchindividuals reduces crime. Yet Richard Poplawski was given a permitdespite his checkered past.
Assault Weapons and Hate
The killer of three Pittsburgh police officers and the killer who attackedthe Little Rock Army recruitment station both possessed military-styleweapons. In 2004, Congress allowed the federal assault weapons ban tolapse, making AK-47s and other military-style weapons legal to sell tocivilians.
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Holocaust Memorial Museum Shooting, Washington, D.C.June 10, 2009
A decade after the Benjamin Smith shootings, another hateful attack againreminded America of what happens when extremists exploit lax gun laws. On June 10,
2009, radical white supremacist James von Brunn shot andkilled security guard Stephen Johns in an attack on the UnitedStates Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.81
Von Brunn, who in 1999 wrote a book entitled Kill the BestGentiles, has a long history of anti-Semitism and animositytowards the government. In 1983, he was “convicted ofattempting to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve Board.He was arrested two years earlieroutside the room where the board wasmeeting, carrying a revolver, knife, andsawed-off shotgun.”82
In connection with the Federal Reserve incident, vonBrunn served six and a half years in prison (he was convicted ofattempted kidnapping and second-degree burglary).83 In the timeleading up to the shooting at the Holocaust Memorial Museum,von Brunn was reportedly getting more and more violent, andwrote that, “It’s time to kill all the Jews.”84
While von Brunn’s extreme right-wing beliefs motivated him to go to theHolocaust museum and start shooting, his felony conviction should have precluded himfrom owning or possessing the gun he used to kill Stephen Johns. It is currently unclearhow von Brunn obtained this weapon, but stronger gun laws and stronger enforcementcould have prevented him from possessing it at the time of the shooting. If he purchasedor was given the gun after his release from prison, the sale or gift of the weapon to himwas illegal. If he received the weapon before he went to prison, it was illegal for him tocontinue to own it after his release. California has enacted gun laws that remedy this,and would have enabled the authorities to take von Brunn’s gun away from him.85
However, even if von Brunn’s gun had been taken from him, he still would have beenable to walk into a gun show and purchase a weapon with cash, no background checks,no paperwork, and no questions asked.
Holocaust MemorialMuseum shooterJames von Brunn
Stephen Johns
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Part Two: Hate, Guns, and Gun Shows
Gun shows all too often provide a dangerous mix of hate-filled extremists, racistparaphernalia that inspires and attracts them, and easy access to all the guns theydesire.
The Holocaust Memorial Museum shooter, James von Brunn, was a frequentvisitor to gun shows and made a living through much of the 1980s and 1990s by
distributing hate materials, such as theLiberty Lobby's racist newspaper TheSpotlight at these events.86 Von Brunnis not unique in his use of gun showsin the furtherance of hate.
In addition to selling firearmsand militaria,1 some gun showattendees buy and sell hate and anti-government propaganda. At some gunshows individuals can purchaseparaphernalia such as Nazi armbandsand German Third Reich and KKKflags, along with other items.87 Bookssuch as The Turner Diaries, whichadvocate the overthrow of the UnitedStates government and the
extermination of all non-whites, are sold in the vicinity of semiautomatic shotguns, .50caliber rifles and auto-loading pistols. 88 Although a special license is required to buymachine guns, at some gun showsvisitors can purchase the parts tobuild a fully automatic machine gunfrom different booths along with ahow-to instruction booklet.89 Inessence, extremists can buy and sellall of the tools necessary to carry outhate crimes—training materialsalong with deadly firearms. Whilethe vast majority of people whofrequent gun shows are not racists orcriminals, one recent book notes that“it is no exaggeration to say thatthese events are a breeding groundfor hate and intolerance as well as aready source of guns for anyone whohas a reason—real or imagined—tofear an FBI background check.”90
1 Military paraphernalia
Nazi paraphernalia forsale at a Virginia gunshow.
Nazi paraphernalia on display at a Virginia gunshow.
Handguns out for sale at a gun show.
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The Gun Show Loophole
When a prospective buyer attempts to purchase a gun from a federally licensedgun dealer, state or federal law enforcement authorities must complete a Bradybackground check, to determine if the buyer is a criminal or otherwise prohibited frombuying guns.91 However, the Brady Law applies only to sales by licensed gun dealers, notto sales by unlicensed sellers. As a result, criminals know that unlicensed sellers, or so-called "private collectors," can sell guns without background checks at events such asgun shows and flea markets, no questions asked.92
One of the murder weapons used by theJewish Community Center shooter, BufordFurrow, was sold by an unlicensed seller at a gunshow.93 And the Midwest spree killer, BenjaminSmith, obtained his guns from an unlicensedseller without a background check, albeit not at agun show.94
The gun show loophole provides a hugemarket for gun sales completed without Bradybackground checks and places our families andcommunities at risk. An estimated 40 percent ofall gun sales are made without a Bradybackground check.95
Before bombing the federal building inOklahoma City, Timothy McVeigh and hispartners stole $60,000 worth of firearms from agun collector’s ranch, and one of McVeigh’s
partners sold many of the stolen weapons at gun shows.96 Muhammad Navid Asrar, anillegal immigrant and alleged al-Qaeda operative, was convicted of weapons charges andbought weapons from gun shows over the course of seven years in order to supply al-Qaeda.97
Any one of these guns could end upin the hands of a felon with nomeasures in place to prevent orrecord the sale.
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Part Three: The NRA and Extremists
The National Rifle Association and others in the gun lobby have for yearsemployed inflammatory extremist and anti-government rhetoric that bears a chillysimilarity to some of the language of the hate groups followed by spree killer BenjaminSmith, the Holocaust Museum shooter, and other dangerous extremists. PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush famously gave up his NRA membership in response to some of theNRA’s over-the-top language.98
Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President and CEO of the NationalRifle Association
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The NRA’s History of Extremist Rhetoric
The NRA’s CEO, Wayne LaPierre, has likened the federal government to Nazisand storm troopers, and suggested federal law enforcement acts as if it has a license to“murder law-abiding citizens.”99 The NRA should be aware of the ominous connectionbetween its inflammatory rhetoric and violent acts of domestic terrorism. In responseto the ATF’s siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, the NRA accusedthe federal government of using “storm-trooper tactics.”100 In a fundraising letter senton April 13, 1995, LaPierre again riled against the Waco incident, writing: “Jack bootedgovernment thugs [have] more power to take away our Constitutional rights, break inour doors, seize our guns, destroy our property, and even injure or kill us . . . . If youhave a badge, you have the government’s go-ahead to harass, intimidate, even murderlaw-abiding citizens. Not long ago it was unthinkable for federal agents wearing nazi
bucket helmets and black storm trooperuniforms to attack law-abiding citizens. Nottoday, not with Clinton.”101
Six days later, on the second anniversaryof Waco, Timothy McVeigh took action againstthe federal government, bombing the Murrahfederal building in Oklahoma City.102 He wasarrested that day in possession of articles aboutWaco with chillingly similar language as theNRA’s.103 Earlier, when McVeigh had written hiscongressman to complain about gun laws,McVeigh identified the letter with an “I’m theNRA” logo.104 The label fit: during Waco,McVeigh handed out bumper stickers withslogans such as, “Fear the government that fearsyour gun,” and “When guns are outlawed, I willbecome an outlaw,” phrases seemingly out of thegun lobby choir book.105 The killer of the threePittsburgh police officers maintained similarviews.
Indeed, the NRA has viewed the SecondAmendment as providing citizens, in theConstitution, with the means to maintain aninsurrection against the government. As an NRA
official said, the right to bear arms is “literally a loaded gun in the hands of the peopleheld to the heads of government,” enabling “an armed citizenry” “to protect against thetyranny of our own government.”106
An NRA ad protesting the Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
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Inflammatory Rhetoric from the NRA and Hate-Filled Extremists
Quotes by NRA Members Quotes by Extremists“If they dare assault the one freedom thatsecures all freedoms, this National RifleAssociation, millions and millions of membersstrong, you will rise up and stand and we,together, will fight them all.”-Wayne LaPierre, NRA Chief ExecutiveOfficer107
“The Founding Fathers understood that the guyswith the guns make the rules.”-Wayne LaPierre108
“I have been criticized for referring to ourfederal masked men as “ninja” … [L]et usreflect upon the fact that a man who covers hisface shows reason to be ashamed of what he isdoing. A man who takes it upon himself to shedblood while concealing his identity is arevolting person of the warrior ethic. It has longbeen my conviction that a masked man with agun is a target. I see no reason to change thatview.”-Jeff Cooper, former NRA Board Member109
“Apartheid isn’t that cut and dry. All men arenot created equal. The preponderance of SouthAfrica is a different breed of man.”-Ted Nugent, National Rifle Association BoardMember110
“Mainstream America is counting on you todraw your sword and fight for them. Thesepeople have precious little time and resources tobattle misguided Cinderella attitudes, the fringepropaganda of the homosexual coalition, thefeminists who preach that it is a divine duty forwomen to hate men, blacks who raise a militantfist with one hand while they seek preferencewith the other.”-Charlton Heston, Former NRA President111
“If they touch our Second Amendment, wewill definitely fight. Because once our SecondAmendment is gone, and our guns are gone,they will take everything, and they will stripus naked, and they will put us in the Gulag.”-John de Nugent, White Supremacist andConfidante of James von Brunn112
“And remember this… there are 290 millionlocked and loaded firearms in the UnitedStates of America.”-John de Nugent113
"How many of your agents will be sent homein body bags before you hear the pleas of thepeople? Proceed at your own peril!"- Joe Holland, Head of North AmericanFreedom Militia, Letter to MontanaOfficials114
“We don’t believe in your value system. Youmay believe that all men are created equal,but we do not.”-Matthew Hale, White Separatist and Mentorof Benjamin Smith115
“We, the people, have so little input anymore.Today it's government by big business,international finance, and organizedminorities. And I'm here to tell you that it'stime we joined together and break this controland give this country back to our people."-David Duke, Former Grand Wizard of theKKK116
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Conclusion
The connection between hate groups and extremistsand the easy availability of guns can only be ignored at ourperil. Killers like James von Brunn, Richard Poplawski,and Scott Roeder, all following in the hate-filled footstepsof Benjamin Smith, have gained access to guns and killedinnocent civilians, doctors, soldiers, and police. Loopholesthat allow criminals and other dangerous people to obtainand retain guns all too easily – including military-styleassault weapons – remain open, and are exploited byextremists.
According to the Department of Homeland Security,right-wing extremists have capitalized on the economiccrisis and the election of the first African-Americanpresident and are “focusing their efforts to recruit newmembers, mobilize existing supporters, and broaden theirscope and appeal through propaganda.”117 This resurgenceof right-wing extremism makes the easy availability of gunsall the more disconcerting. Although gun control
legislation has succeeded in blocking 1.6 million individual gun purchases, gapingloopholes continue to make it far too easy for dangerous people to get guns. 118 Federallaw allows unlicensed sellers to sell guns without background checks, does not limit thenumber of handguns that traffickers can buy, and restricts law enforcement fromcracking down on corrupt gun dealers. And federal law does not even prevent known orsuspected terrorists from purchasing firearms unless they have already committed acrime. Lone-wolf extremists,armed with pistols, shotguns,rifles, and assault rifles, are“harder to stop, harder to knowabout, [and] much more difficultto defend against” than theaverage large-scale terroristorganization, and are capable ofcausing as many deaths andinspiring as much fear asi n t e r n a t i o n a l t e r r o r i s tnetworks.119
Despite the glaringatrocities committed in recentyears by gun-wielding extremists,the NRA still uses its politicalmight to advocate policies that make it easier to sell guns to dangerous people, and thatplace our families and loved ones at risk. And the gun lobby all too often has engaged ininflammatory and dangerous rhetoric that may fan the flames of hate among extremists.
Police secure the areaafter James von Brunnentered the HolocaustMemorial Museum andkilled Stephen Johns.
A memorial for the three officers killed by RichardPoplawski
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The NRA and others in the gun lobby continue to propagate the “big lie” – thatPresident Obama is intent on taking away the guns of law-abiding gun owners. Thisassertion may be good for maintaining NRA membership dues and ginning up gun sales,but it is an utter fabrication – and the Pittsburgh cop-killer, who apparently parrotedand acted on the NRA’s fear-mongering, showed its potential dark side.
The fact that racist spree killer Benjamin Smith was able to obtain his guns froma trafficker supplied by a corrupt dealer shows the need for stronger gun laws –requiring background checks for all gun sales, limiting bulk handgun sales, and givinglaw enforcement the tools to crack down on corrupt gun dealers. In defense of theiropposition to these common sense proposals, the NRA likes to say that “guns don’t killpeople, people kill people.” However, in the words of New York Times columnist BobHerbert, while we cannot blame the NRA for these specific acts of violence, we “can sureblame it for ignoring the tragic lessons of history and continuing to spray gasoline intoan environment that we have seen explode time and again.”120 Through our weak gunlaws, we are making it easy for people to kill people—with guns.121 Washington must putthe safety of the American people ahead of the desires of the gun lobby, and shouldenact the strong, common sense laws we need to keep dangerous weapons out of thehands of dangerous people.
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Endnotes
1 James Dao and David Johnston, Suspect in Soldier Attack Was Once Detained in Yemen, N.Y. TIMES, June 4,2009, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04recruit.html.2 Tommy De Seno, Straight From CPAC: The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre Rocks the House!, FOX NEWS, Feb. 27, 2009,available at http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/02/27/straight-from-cpac-the-nras-wayne-lapierre-rocks-the-house/.3 Emails Reveal Hate of 88-Year-Old Racist Who Shot Security Guard, BELFAST TELEGRAPH, June 12, 2009,available at http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/emails-reveal-hate-of-88yearold-racist-who-shot-security-guard-14336457.html.4 Mark Potok, Intelligence Report: Hate Groups Up 48% Since 2000, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, March 10,2008, available at, http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2008/03/10/intelligence-report-hate-groups-up-48-since-2000/.;Active Hate Groups, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, available at http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp.5 DEP’T OF HOMELAND SECURITY, RIGHTWING EXTREMISM: CURRENT ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CLIMATE FUELINGRESURGENCE IN RADICALIZATION AND RECRUITMENT 2 (2009).6 David Olinger, How a Killer Got His Guns, DENVER POST, Dec. 21, 1999, available athttp://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.7 Midwest Shooting Spree Ends with Death of Suspect, CNN, July 5, 1999, available athttp://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shootings.02/.8 Id, available at http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shootings.02/.9 Olinger, supra note 6, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.10 Id, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.11 Midwest Shooting Spree Ends with Death of Suspect, supra note 7, available athttp://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shootings.02/.12 Matthew Hale Gets Maximum 40-year Sentence, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, April 7, 2005, available athttp://www.splcenter.org/intel/news/item.jsp?site_area=1&aid=102.13 Olinger, supra note 6, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.14 Id, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.15 Id, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.16 Olinger, supra note 6, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.17 Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Response to Defendant Old Prairie Trading Post’s Motion to Dismiss, Anderson v.Bryco Arms, Inc., 2000 WL 34018331 (Ill. Cir. Ct. 2000) (No 00 L-007476).18 Id, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.19 Restrictions on Multiple Sales or Purchases of Firearms, LEGAL COMMUNITY AGAINST VIOLENCE, Feb. 2009,available at http://www.lcav.org/content/multiple_purchases_sales.pdf.20 Olinger, supra note 6, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.21 Id, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.22 The Trail of the Suspected Drive-By Killer, CNN, July 5, 1999, available athttp://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shooting.timeline/index.html.23 Id, available at http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shooting.timeline/index.html.24 Id, available at http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shooting.timeline/index.html.25 Id, available at http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shooting.timeline/index.html.26 Midwest Shooting Spree Ends with Death of Suspect, supra note 7, available athttp://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shootings.02/.27 Id, available at http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shootings.02/.28 Id, available at http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shootings.02/.29 The Trail of the Suspected Drive-By Killer, supra note 22, available athttp://www.cnn.com/US/9907/05/illinois.shooting.timeline/index.html.30 Press Release, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, Far-Right Attacks onU.S. Law Enforcement and Security Guards (June 11, 2009), available athttp://www.start.umd.edu/start/announcements/announcement.asp?id=140.31 John Kamp, Hail and Farewell: After Murder, Byrdsong Remembered as More Than a Coach, WASHINGTONTIMES, July 11, 1999, at A7.32 Id.
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33 Id.34 Id.35 Id.; Obituary: Ricky Byrdsong, LLOYD’S LIST, July 7, 1999, at 16.36 Id.37 Ex-College Basketball Coach Ricky Byrdsong Killed in White Racist’s Shooting Spree, Mourned, JET, July 26,1999, available at http://findarticles.com/p/articls/mi_m1355/is_8_96/ai_55398754.38 Alex Presha, Ryan Dietz, & Tommy Giglio, “Fly Like the Byrd,” VIDEO, June 15, 2009, available athttp://www.vimeo.com/520486039 Id., available at http://findarticles.com/p/articls/mi_m1355/is_8_96/ai_55398754.40 Sharon Maeda, United Methodist Killed in Bloomington, IN, GBGM NEWS, July 6, 1999, available athttp://gbgm-umc.org/mission/news/umkilled.html.41 Won-Joon Yoon Memorial Scholarship,, http://www.indiana.edu/~gradgrnt/v10n3/yoon.html.42 Frank Gibney Jr. et al., The Kids Got in the Way, TIME, Aug. 23, 1999, available athttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.43 Id., available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.44 Id., available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.45 Barry Meier, Tracing Twisted Path of Pistol Used in California Killing, N. Y. TIMES, August 14, 1999, availableat http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/14/us/tracing-twisted-path-of-pistol-used-in-california-killing.html?pagewanted=all.46 Gibney Jr. supra 42 available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.47 Ileto v. Glock, Inc., 421 F. Supp. 2d 1274, 1280 (C.D. Cal. 2006).48 Id., available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.49 Id., available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.50 Id., available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.51 Id., available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.52 Duncan Mansfield, Jim D. Adkisson Charged in Tennessee Church Shooting That Killed Two, HUFFINGTON POST,July 28, 2008, available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/28/jim-d-adkisson-charged-in_n_115281.html.53 Petition for Restraining Order, Liza Alexander v. Jim David Adkisson (Ch. Ct. Tenn. 2000).54 Mansfield, supra note 52.55 Hayes Hickman, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on Accused Shooter’s Reading List, KNOXVILLENEWS SENTINEL, July 28, 2008, available at http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/church-shooting-police-find-manifesto-suspects-car/.56 Id., available at http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/church-shooting-police-find-manifesto-suspects-car/.57 Maria Sudekum Fisher, Defendant in Dr. Tiller’s Killing Railed Against Abortion, KWCH NEWS, available athttp://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=10452151.58 Id., available at http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=10452151.59 Id., available at http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=10452151.60 Roxana Hegeman, Kan. Abortion Doc Killed in Church; Suspect Held, YAHOO! NEWS, May 31, 2009, availableat http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090531/ap_on_re_us/us_tiller_shooting/.61 Fisher, supra note 57.62 James Dao & David Johnston, Suspect in Soldier Attack Was Once Detained in Yemen, N.Y. TIMES, June 4, 2009,available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04recruit.html.63 Id., available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04recruit.html.64 Shooter, Victims Identified in West LR Shooting, KATV NEWS, June 1, 2009, available athttp://www.katv.com/news/stories/0609/627959.html.65 BRADY CENTER, Assault Weapons: Mass Produced Mayhem (2008), available athttp://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/mass-produced-mayhem.pdf.66 Joseph Abrams, Little Rock Shooting Suspect Joins Growing List of Muslim Converts Accused of Targeting U.S.,FOX NEWS, June 2, 2009, available at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,524799,00.html.67 Dao & Johnston, supra note 62, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04recruit.html.68 Id., available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04recruit.html.69 Shooter, Victims Identified in West LR Shooting, supra note 64, available athttp://www.katv.com/news/stories/0609/627959.html.70 Dao & Johnston, supra note 62, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04recruit.html.
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71 NRA Opposes Bill Banning Terror Watch List Suspects from Buying Guns, FOX NEWS, May 4, 2007, available athttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270142,00.html.72 Press Release, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, Far-Right Attacks onU.S. Law Enforcement and Security Guards (June 11, 2009), available athttp://www.start.umd.edu/start/announcements/announcement.asp?id=140.73 Richard Poplawski: Pittsburgh Gunman Wearing Bulletproof Vest Kills Three Police Officers, CHI. TRIB., Apr. 4,2009, available at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-pittsburgh-pa-090404-ht,0,5709623.story.74 Id., available at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-pittsburgh-pa-090404-ht,0,5709623.story.75 Friends, Family Talk About Pittsburgh Suspect in Police Officers’ Triple-Killing, WATE PITTSBURGH, Apr. 4,2009, available at http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/19096134/detail.html.76 Jon Schmitz, Poplawski Bought Guns Through Shop in Wilkinsburg, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, Apr. 7, 2009,available at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961071-53.stm; Richard Poplawski Accused of Killing 3Pittsburgh Police Officers, WATE PITTSBURGH, May 7, 2009, available athttp://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/print/19396728/detail.html.77 Schmitz, supra note 76, available at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961071-53.stm.78 Id. available at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961071-53.stm.79 Id., available at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961071-53.stm.80 Id., available at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961071-53.stm.81 Guard Dies After Museum Shooting: Authorities Say They’re Investigating a White Supremacist as a Suspect,MSNBC, June 10, 2009, available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31208188/.82 Id., available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31208188/.83 Holocaust Museum Shooting Suspect Has History of Anger, Racism, FOX NEWS, June 11, 2009, available athttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525718,00.html.84 Emails Reveal Hate of 88-Year-Old Racist Who Shot Security Guard, supra note 3, available athttp://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/emails-reveal-hate-of-88yearold-racist-who-shot-security-guard-14336457.html.85 DENNIS HENIGAN, LETHAL LOGIC 54 (2009).86 Darryl Fears and Mark Fisher, D.C. Suspect’s Long History of Hate, WASHINGTON POST, June 11, 2009,available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/10/AR2009061003495_2.html?sid=ST2009061101157.87 Violence Policy Center, Fact Sheet, Gun Shows in America: Tupperware Parties for Criminals, available athttp://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/gunshow.htm.88 JOSHUA HORWITZ & CASEY ANDERSON, GUNS, DEMOCRACY, AND THE INSURRECTIONIST IDEA, 51-52 (2009).89 Id. at 51.90 Id. at 54.91 BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE, EXTEND BRADY CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS TO GUNSALES AT GUN SHOWS, available at http://www.bradycampaign.org/pdf/faq/background-checks.pdf.92 Id., available at http://www.bradycampaign.org/pdf/faq/background-checks.pdf.93 Gibney Jr. supra 42 available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991784-1,00.html.94 Olinger, supra note 6, available at http://extras.denverpost.com/news/guns1221a.htm#top.95 BRADY CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE, NO CHECK NO GUN 5 (2009).96 EXTEND BRADY CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS TO GUN SALES AT GUN SHOWS,supra note 91, available athttp://www.bradycampaign.org/pdf/faq/background-checks.pdf.97 Id., available at http://www.bradycampaign.org/pdf/faq/background-checks.pdf.98 Marc Lacey, N.R.A. Stands By Criticism of President, N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 20, 2000, available athttp://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/20/us/nra-stands-by-criticism-of-president.html.99 Henigan supra note 85, at 142.100 Id.101 Id.102 Id.103 Id.104 Id. at 142-143.105 Id. at 143.106 Id.107 HORWITZ & ANDERSON, supra note 88, at 21 (emphasis added).
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108 Tommy De Seno, Straight From CPAC: The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre Rocks the House!, FOX NEWS, Feb. 27,2009, available at http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/02/27/straight-from-cpac-the-nras-wayne-lapierre-rocks-the-house/.109 Violence Policy Center, Oklahoma Bombing Inevitable Result of Growing Extremism of American Gun Lobby,Apr. 21, 1995, available at http://www.vpc.org/press/9504okin.htm.110 Interview With Ted Nugent, DETROIT FREE PRESS MAGAZINE (July 15, 1990).111 Brady Center, Charlton Heston, available at http://www.nraleaders.com/charlton-heston.html.112 John de Nugent, John de Nugent for President, Oct. 12, 2008, available athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=FR&hl=fr&v=PMHo4mf2CAM (emphasis added).113 Id., available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=FR&hl=fr&v=PMHo4mf2CAM.114 Anti-Defamation League, Militia Follies, available at http://www.adl.org/mwd/follies.asp.115 Interview by John Kasich with Matt Hale, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkl1J98sK5c.116 David Duke, Speech at State of Washington Populist Party Nominating Convention, July 23, 1988, available athttp://www.publiceye.org/racism/David_Duke/Duke88speech.html (excerpts).117 DEP’T OF HOMELAND SECURITY, RIGHTWING EXTREMISM: CURRENT ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CLIMATEFUELING RESURGENCE IN RADICALIZATION AND RECRUITMENT 2 (2009).118 Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Overview of Federal and State Gun Laws, available athttp://www.bradycampaign.org/issues/gunlaws/bradylaw/.119 Possible ‘Lone Wolf’ Attackers Worry Police, MSNBC, Aug. 9, 2005, available athttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8888865.120 Bob Herbert, A Threat We Can’t Ignore, N.Y. TIMES, June 19, 2009, available athttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/opinion/20herbert.html?scp=2&sq=herbert&st=cse.121 Bill Moyers & Michael Winship, Why Have We Stopped Talking About Guns?, PBS, June 12, 2009, available athttp://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/06/bill_moyers_michael_winship_wh.html.
