[Contender]

GUN CONTROL GROUP MISSES MARK WITH ATTACK ON RANGES
May 11, 2001, USA: Calling shooting ranges unregulated "bad neighbors" and "dangerous toxic waste sites," a national gun control organization has fired a mis-aimed assault on the shooting range industry. The Violence Policy Center (VPC) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) last week issued an error-filled report, "Poisonous Pastime: The Health Risks of Shooting Ranges and Lead to Children, Families and the Environment," that claims lead ammunition and ranges "threaten public health" and accuses the industry of "hiding the problem from the general public." The report urges local activists to challenge a range's operation using "all applicable laws and regulations" including zoning and noise ordinances. The report also advocates that no person under 18 be allowed on a range. "What this report totally ignores," according to Rick Patterson of NSSF's National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR), "are the cooperative efforts on the part of the industry and state and federal agencies to successfully and responsibly manage the various aspects of the range environment. It ignores the science of lead mobility, ignores the existence of current governmental regulations and the industry's compliance, and ignores the safety record of target shooting facilities." Working with state and federal environmental agencies, the industry has developed a best management practices manual for ranges that is being used in 70 countries around the world and has been adopted by several branches of the U.S. armed forces. "The work we have accomplished in recent years completely refutes the allegations in this report," Patterson said. According to George Meyer of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 office in New York, "lead ammunition is fine as long as you use it responsibly."

 

[Leanwolf]

The communistnazis never, ever, disengage, do they?

L.W.

 

[draculasbrother]

During the last three years, we lost most of our outdoor rifle and pistol ranges in south western British Columbia to just this type of attach. The antis even closed down the ranges that were open to the police to use, at no cost, as their principal firearms training ranges.

 

[Bill Lester]

I was the founder of the shooting club at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 and two years later shortly after graduation the excellent indoor range on campus was closed for just such nonsense. The President at the time and I made all manner of effort to get it reopened. We even had one of the nation's leading experts on lead cleanup, poisoning, and range safety come in via the NRA. Against the entrenched bastion of liberalism known as university administration we stood zero chance. They even admitted in a back-handed fashion that lead poisoning wasn't their primary concern, but the idea there were so many people using guns on university property was "disturbing." I suppose a membership of 200+ wanting to learn firearm safety and marksmanship would be disturbing to the likes of them.