something to think about.”
Angry words were exchanged between Kinnick and McNiff outside the State House. Later, Kinnick and his attorney, Brady L. Coyne of Boston, were accosted by SAFE members in the Dunkin’ Donuts on Tremont Street. Neither Kinnick nor Coyne would comment on the incident.
It is clear that the Massachusetts gun lobby, which has generally had its way with the legislature in recent years, was dealt a severe blow this morning by Walt Kinnick’s unexpected testimony. The Subcommittee on Public Safety is expected to report on S-162 by the end of the month.
I looked up at Julie. She was grinning. “You’re famous,” she said. “Nice picture, too.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”
“Check the editorial,” she said.
I leafed through the paper and found the page. The lead editorial was titled, “Time to Get Tough on Guns.” It read:
The Second Amendment For Ever supporters have had their way too long. Stubborn, single-minded, hopelessly out of touch with prevailing opinion, SAFE has opposed any and all efforts to regulate the ownership and distribution of guns, including paramilitary assault weapons, in the six New England states.
Backed by powerful allies and a well-stocked war chest, SAFE has intimidated advocates of even the most modest efforts to control gun-related crime. Legislators have bowed and scraped before the SAFE bombast. Time after time we have seen gun-control legislation die in subcommittee, shot down by the high-caliber SAFE arsenal.
Yesterday, the courageous testimony of Walt Kinnick punctured the SAFE bubble, and it will never be the same again. The nation’s most famous hunter, and himself a gun owner, Kinnick issued an appeal that rings true to all who would listen.
Very simply, the time has come for hunters and gun owners to be reasonable. Kinnick told the subcommittee. We agree.
We don’t argue with the right of sportsmen to possess their shotguns and hunting rifles. But assault weapons have only one function: to kill people. They do not belong in the hands of private citizens. It’s time for SAFE to join the rest of us at the brink of the twenty-first century. SAFE must take to heart the testimony of its most respected spokesman, Walt Kinnick. Be reasonable, compromise, or cease to exist.
For someone who just wanted to get away and do some quiet trout fishing, Wally had made quite a splash. If Gene McNiff had been upset after the hearing, I wondered how he fell now.
8
I SPENT MOST OF Tuesday morning on the telephone, and Julie and I had chicken salad sandwiches at my desk for lunch. Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, while I was trying to outline the article I had promised Phil Carstairs out of my guilt for refusing to make a speech to the ABA in Houston, my intercom buzzed. I picked up the phone and said, “Yeah?
“Brady,” said Julie, “there’s a Miz Shaw here to see you.”
“Who?”
“She’s a reporter for the Globe. ”
Julie wanted me to talk to her. Otherwise she wouldn’t have buzzed me. I generally do what Julie wants.
“I’m in right in the middle of something,” I told her. “Why don’t you give her an appointment?”
“She’s on deadline, Brady.”
I sighed. “Okay. Send her in.”
There was a discreet knock on my door, then it opened. Julie held it for Alexandria Shaw. I stood up behind my desk. “Come on in,” I said.
“Thanks for seeing me,” she said. She wore a pale green blouse and tailored black pants. Her wide-set blue-green eyes peered from behind the oversized round glasses that perched crookedly on the tip of her nose. She took the chair beside my desk without invitation. She poked her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. “I know you’re busy. I’ll try to make it quick. Do you mind if I record it?”
Before I could answer she had removed a small tape recorder from her shoulder bag and plunked it onto the top of my desk. When she leaned forward to
Angry words were exchanged between Kinnick and McNiff outside the State House. Later, Kinnick and his attorney, Brady L. Coyne of Boston, were accosted by SAFE members in the Dunkin’ Donuts on Tremont Street. Neither Kinnick nor Coyne would comment on the incident.
It is clear that the Massachusetts gun lobby, which has generally had its way with the legislature in recent years, was dealt a severe blow this morning by Walt Kinnick’s unexpected testimony. The Subcommittee on Public Safety is expected to report on S-162 by the end of the month.
I looked up at Julie. She was grinning. “You’re famous,” she said. “Nice picture, too.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”
“Check the editorial,” she said.
I leafed through the paper and found the page. The lead editorial was titled, “Time to Get Tough on Guns.” It read:
The Second Amendment For Ever supporters have had their way too long. Stubborn, single-minded, hopelessly out of touch with prevailing opinion, SAFE has opposed any and all efforts to regulate the ownership and distribution of guns, including paramilitary assault weapons, in the six New England states.
Backed by powerful allies and a well-stocked war chest, SAFE has intimidated advocates of even the most modest efforts to control gun-related crime. Legislators have bowed and scraped before the SAFE bombast. Time after time we have seen gun-control legislation die in subcommittee, shot down by the high-caliber SAFE arsenal.
Yesterday, the courageous testimony of Walt Kinnick punctured the SAFE bubble, and it will never be the same again. The nation’s most famous hunter, and himself a gun owner, Kinnick issued an appeal that rings true to all who would listen.
Very simply, the time has come for hunters and gun owners to be reasonable. Kinnick told the subcommittee. We agree.
We don’t argue with the right of sportsmen to possess their shotguns and hunting rifles. But assault weapons have only one function: to kill people. They do not belong in the hands of private citizens. It’s time for SAFE to join the rest of us at the brink of the twenty-first century. SAFE must take to heart the testimony of its most respected spokesman, Walt Kinnick. Be reasonable, compromise, or cease to exist.
For someone who just wanted to get away and do some quiet trout fishing, Wally had made quite a splash. If Gene McNiff had been upset after the hearing, I wondered how he fell now.
8
I SPENT MOST OF Tuesday morning on the telephone, and Julie and I had chicken salad sandwiches at my desk for lunch. Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, while I was trying to outline the article I had promised Phil Carstairs out of my guilt for refusing to make a speech to the ABA in Houston, my intercom buzzed. I picked up the phone and said, “Yeah?
“Brady,” said Julie, “there’s a Miz Shaw here to see you.”
“Who?”
“She’s a reporter for the Globe. ”
Julie wanted me to talk to her. Otherwise she wouldn’t have buzzed me. I generally do what Julie wants.
“I’m in right in the middle of something,” I told her. “Why don’t you give her an appointment?”
“She’s on deadline, Brady.”
I sighed. “Okay. Send her in.”
There was a discreet knock on my door, then it opened. Julie held it for Alexandria Shaw. I stood up behind my desk. “Come on in,” I said.
“Thanks for seeing me,” she said. She wore a pale green blouse and tailored black pants. Her wide-set blue-green eyes peered from behind the oversized round glasses that perched crookedly on the tip of her nose. She took the chair beside my desk without invitation. She poked her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose with her forefinger. “I know you’re busy. I’ll try to make it quick. Do you mind if I record it?”
Before I could answer she had removed a small tape recorder from her shoulder bag and plunked it onto the top of my desk. When she leaned forward to
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