I would like to respond to Tim Davis’ article titled “America’s bloodless war rages on.”

In this article he refers to the “Great Gun Giveaway” sponsored by the U.S. government under the 1996 Defense Authority Act.

He states this act authorizes the government to give away millions of dollars in guns, ammunition, and property.

This is not true according to my information.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 1996 has changed the status of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and the Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship effective October 1, 1996.

The National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP) was replaced by the corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety.

This corporation will be a non-governmental, tax exempt organization governed by a board of directors. No federally appropriated funds may be used by the corporation to conduct operations. All funds must be generated by the corporation through authorized sales and fees charged.

The law authorizes the corporation to continue to sell any surplus caliber .30 (excluding the M14 rifle which is fully automatic) as well as caliber .22 rimfire rifles. These sales may be to individuals or clubs and associations which are affiliated with the CMP.

The corporation is also authorized to sell surplus caliber .30 and caliber .22 rimfire ammunition to qualified individuals and affiliated organizations.

All funds collected by the Corporation shall be used only to conduct functions of the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The CMP is authorized to provide support and encouragement to clubs and state associations with emphasis on strong junior programs (4H, boy and girl scouts, YMCA, etc.).

The corporation is authorized to provide rifles, ammunition, targets and other supplies to affiliated organizations in support of these programs.

These rifles may be either loaned, sold or leased to these clubs. Ammunition will be authorized based on participation in an organizations activities. The CMP will continue to support marksmanship activities oriented toward the youth of America. Marksmanship and firearms safety are every shooter’s responsibility.

What better gift is there than a concerned adult who will give something of such solid value to help a youngster?

Maybe the reason that nobody is “bitching” about this so-called hand-out is that the program is self sufficient and will use no federal allocations.

Tim Davis presented the program as a million-dollar government gun “giveaway” with the NRA as the beneficiary. The truth is that nothing is given away at all, rather, closely-screened shooters must buy the surplus firearms from the corporation.

Tim Davis appears to have relied solely on propaganda provided by anti-gunners in Congress and groups like Handgun Control Inc. that are so opposed to firearms ownership that they would rather see these fine rifles destroyed (at taxpayer expense) rather than sold.

Michael Ricklefs

Sophomore

Mechanical Engineering