Clinton Appointee Ignores The Facts -
Initiates BB Gun Recall
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"...[T]he arguments used to
portray the BB guns as 'defective' could be used against a variety of
cartridge firearms..." |
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Mary Sheila Gall
Opposes BB Gun Recall |
On Tuesday, outgoing Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman
Ann Brown, a Clinton appointee who has bragged to the Washington Post
that she "like[s] to be on TV," orchestrated a 2-1 vote by the CPSC to
initiate a mandatory recall process for certain Daisy Powerline BB guns.
The vote came two days before Chairman Brown's resignation became
effective, and was immediately followed by a press conference featuring
Brown and a victim of the alleged design defects.
Dissenting
Commissioner Mary Sheila Gall issued a
lengthy statement in
opposition to the action. Gall, who was nominated earlier this year by
President Bush to succeed Brown but was defeated on a party-line vote
orchestrated by U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), noted...
- a variety
of procedural irregularities,
- inadequate information provided by CPSC
staff,
- outrageous statements given as "fact" (such as the allegation
that a .177 caliber BB at 350 feet per second is more "powerful" than a
.38 Spl.), and that
- ridiculously unsafe behavior contributed to some of
the alleged accidents.
Most importantly, Commissioner Gall noted that
these and related issues have been examined up to a dozen times by CPSC
since 1975, and in each case CPSC has found the BB guns to be
non-defective.
The greatest threat posed by this action is that the arguments used to
portray the BB guns as "defective" could be used against a variety of
cartridge firearms in current or prospective litigation. In fact, Amy
Stilwell, a gun-ban lobby spokesman, commented to Reuters on the CPSC
decision, stating, "We have made no secret that we think there ought to
be consumer oversight of guns.... BB guns could be a step in the right
direction."
At this point, the complaint against Daisy is in the hands of an
administrative law judge, who could take anywhere from six months to a
few years to conduct an investigation before recommending or denying a
recall. Should the judge agree with the CPSC, then Daisy could appeal
back to the full commission for a final vote.
NRA-ILA will continue to
follow this case very closely, and we thank everyone who responded to
last week's call to contact the CPSC to oppose this
politically-motivated recall that shows utter disregard for the facts.
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Full CPSC Statement
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