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Why CPSC is Going After BB
Guns by Angel Shamaya October 31, 2001 Reprint in any format far and
wide is freely granted. KeepAndBearArms.com -- The Consumer Product
Safety Commission is suing
Daisy Manufacturing Company "to compel Daisy to notify consumers that the
model 880 and model 856 Powerline Airguns are defective, and present a
substantial risk of death or injury to anyone using the airgun." Daisy openly
admits the fact that their guns -- if misused, against safety warnings --
can cause harm: "Airguns are real guns, not toys. You
or others can be killed or seriously injured if these rules are not followed."
[emphasis theirs] But according to CPSC Commissioner Mary Sheila
Gall, the Commission staff was "unable to replicate phenomenon despite
repeated attempts to do so." If there is a defect, you must be able to buy
that product and reproduce the result of said defect -- CPSC's job, which they
failed to do but are suing anyway. So why is CPSC really going after Daisy -- the
largest manufacturer of BB guns -- if it's not due to a true defect in the
product? An important question, with a painfully obvious
answer: BB GUNS LEAD TO FIREARMS
OWNERSHIP. BB GUNS LEAD TO HUNTING AND
SPORTS SHOOTING. BB GUNS EVEN LEAD TO
CONSTITUTIONAL PATRIOTISM. Think about it. Did YOU own a BB gun,
even a Daisy BB gun? I did. Many gun owners I know did, too.
I probably shot 100 POUNDS of BB's as a kid, all by myself. I also turned
several kids on to the Daisy, and definitely to the sport and all that goes with
it. My Daisy 880 -- one of the models under attack -- was my best friend
for at least a year or two. (I wore it out!) Then I went up to a
Sheriden .20 caliber pellet gun. Then a .22, shotguns, higher caliber
rifles etc. etc. And now I pack heat everywhere I go, can pretty much pick
off anything within a hundred yards with open sights on the fly and much farther
with my scoped rifles or if I take time to place my shot -- and I am a staunch
gun rights activist who stands up for the Second Amendment and the rest of the
Bill of Rights and would rather die than surrender one single flintlock to any
government agent, ever. Get it? The baseless and fraudulent attack on Daisy is
an attack on the American firearms heritage. The baseless and fraudulent attack on Daisy is
an attack on the entryway into hunting, riflery, shotgunning, pistolry and
everything else that comprises the exercising of the Second Amendment. This federal agency and its minions are trying
to remove the first most natural step into the gun culture. Our response needs to be a very loud, sustained
and collective NO! TAKE ACTION Step One: Get Disgusted Make a toll-free call and listen to a recorded
message being "reported" on radio stations at your expense. The
federal government is using your tax dollars to promote a massive
deception about an "accident" that "happened" with a Daisy
BB gun. In short, a kid ambushed another kid with a BB gun and shot
him in the head at close range. Just listen to the story and know that
CPSC is promoting it as if it was an "accident." Here is the
toll-free number, as found on the CPSC
"press release": 1-888-531-9070. After you listen to it, take a quick peek at
Daisy's "Safety Tips" page, which is mirrored in the owners' manuals
that come with their airguns: http://www.daisy.com/safetytips.html. If that doesn't make you mad enough, or if you
really want to get the full scope of this obnoxious abuse of federal power, read
the entire "press release" from CPSC, and pay close attention to the
section below their pictures of the Daisy BB guns. One of their
Commissioners, Mary Sheila Gall, rightly points out everything wrong about the
CPSC's lawsuit. It's a wonderfully clear and articulate analysis and worth
every minute it takes to read. (See http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml02/02029.html.) Highlights from CPSC Commissioner Gall's Stance
Against the CPSC Lawsuit Against Daisy Include: "I. PROCEDURAL IRREGULARITIES
"A. The confidential draft Complaint
was furnished to reporters yesterday, before vote took place today.
"B. Complaint filed immediately after
vote today instead of giving Daisy the customary short time to settle prior
to filing the Complaint. Timetable driven by today's 2:00 PM press
conference.
"C. No expert reports or detailed
financial information about the company were provided to Commission.
"II. MANY ALLEGED DEFECTS ARE GENERIC TO
AIR GUNS
"A. Gravity feed mechanisms
"B. Automatically resetting safeties. "C. Warnings provided to purchasers in
labels and operating manuals. "These issues should be addressed
through voluntary standards, or regulation, not compliance action directed
at one company.
"III. LODGING PROBLEM MAY BE UNIQUE TO
DAISY BUT IS NOT A SUBSTANTIAL PRODUCT HAZARD.
"A. Commission's compliance staff
conducted six separate investigations of Daisy BB guns between l981 and
l999. Commission considered petitions five times between 1975 and 1989 and a
special staff project and report on air gun safety was completed in 1997.
"B. Experience in use reveals 3 deaths
and 47 serious injuries over 30 years and nearly 7.5 million examples.
(Contrast 250 deaths per year associated with the use of bicycles by
children.)
"C. Commission staff unable to
replicate phenomenon despite repeated attempts to do so. Commission has
repeatedly looked at airguns in general and Daisy BB guns in particular and
has not found a defect."
Step Two: Write to CPSC Write to CPSC via email and tell them what you
think about their assault with no valid reason on a company whose product hasn't
been proven to be defective. When you write to CPSC, be sure to copy Daisy
in on the message so they've got some ammo to print and use in their defense,
and so they know you are standing with them. [email protected] Main address for information: [email protected]
(to speak your mind) Regional Divisions: (to speak
your mind about the insanity coming out of the Bethesda, Maryland
headquarters) Eastern: [email protected] Compliance Issues: [email protected]
(to demand to know their standards for judging a product's defects and if
those standards have been met here -- not for opinion, but for proof) Freedom of Information Act Requests:
[email protected] (to demand the evidence
they've got that proves the Daisy models 880 and 856 to be defective) National Injury Information Clearinghouse:
[email protected]
(to request all available data on each accident that clearly and
unequivocally resulted due to a defined and proven product defect) Source: CPSC
Contact Page Step Three: Call CPSC and Complain Be as nice or as less than nice as you
please. I have nothing kind to say to these lying, conniving fools; the
message I left on their after-hours voice mail was harsh bordering on
caustic. Their main line to "report a dangerous product or a
product-related injury" is (800) 638-2772. [When the automated
answering system kicks in, press 1, and then press 300.] That's a good,
toll-free place to start throwing a monkey wrench in their little anti-American
machine. Other numbers include: CPSC CONTACT: Scott Wolfson Headquarters Regional Offices Step Four: Inspire
Others to Act Get some of your lazy gun owner buddies to get
up off of their couches on this one. It's time they started pulling their weight
anyway. Ask them if they owned a Daisy BB gun, or if their kids own one now or
did when they were younger. Ask them what those guns meant to their
upbringing. Impress upon them that the full weight of the federal
government is being brought against the company who provided whatever enjoyment
they or their loved ones have gained as a result of Daisy's fine products.
Be creative, and be aggressive. I received not only a year or two of profound
enjoyment -- daily, from the time I got it -- from my Daisy BB gun, but I also
found my way into the gun culture even though my father didn't care about guns
one bit. That being the case, I think I can spare a few minutes of my
precious time in Daisy's defense. And you? If you didn't own a BB gun and don't care about
BB guns, ponder this: millions of kids do, and millions more will -- before they
find their way into shooting sports and hopefully into defending the Second
Amendment. Are you going to let these gun prohibitionist rats chop our
future liberty advocates off at the doorway? How do you feel about having federally-funded
liars and deceivers attacking BB guns under false and misleading
pretenses? Do you trust their motives? What are you going to do
about it? |
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