Quote from PLAYBOY magazine, January 2004 “50th Anniversary Issue”, page 66:

“GUN CONTROL. When we began: Playboy tried to distinguish itself from the men’s magazines of the 1950’s that showed hunters thrashing around in the bush. Instead we devoted the magazine to indoor sports. In 1963 few states had gun control laws. The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibited felons, fugitives, drug addicts, monors, the mentally ill and undocumented aliens, among others, from owning guns. It also banned mail-order sales, mandated that all guns have serial numbers and required dealers to keep records of every sale for review by federal agents. At the time we wrote, “We don’t think proposals for firearms control and registration are any more antigun than laws requiring automobile registration are anti-car. To say that crime prevention efforts should be directed not at the weapon but at the criminal who wields it overlooks the fact that the gun is the most effective all-around tool ever devised for individual killing.

Behind the scenes: The Foundation gave a grant in 1976 to the National Council to Control Handguns (later Handgun Control, Inc.) the chief nemesis of the National Rifle Association. In 1981, following the murder of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of President Reagan, the magazine published a public service ad for the group that cited the number of homicides in various countries (the U.S. topped the list with 10,728, and the next closest country, Japan, had 48) above the slogan STOP HANDGUNS BEFORE THEY STOP YOU. Outraged readers asked how we could defend the First Amendment so fervently yet “abandon” the Second.

Where we stand: We continue to support reasonable gun control. Unlike a bullet, words going in one ear and out the other have never killed anyone. In 1993, Congress began requiring that licensed dealers to background checks on potential customers. In 1994 it banned 19 types of assault weapons. Handgun Control, now the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, is currently pushing a law that would limit handgun purchases to one per person per month.”


PLAYBOY magazine column -- January 2004 "50th Anniversary Issue" pa -- 12/9/03

Clone topic.