Drizzt
Member
Supervisor doesn't want township money going to NRA class
By ALISON HAWKES
Bucks County Courier Times
Upper Southampton - When Lola Biuckians perused a list of township expenses last week, the Upper Southampton supervisor saw something she didn't like: a $450 fee for two police officers to take a tactical response team course through the National Rifle Association.
The board chairwoman not only objected, she voted against approving a whole month's worth of township expenses at the last board meeting.
"I have a problem with the NRA because I'm opposed to guns and we can't get any meaningful gun legislation because this group is so powerful," Biuckians said last week. "And I don't like the idea of supporting them with taxpayer money."
The rest of the board voted to approve the expenditures - some didn't have a problem with the issue; others simply saw the expense as water under the bridge.
But Biuckians' objection raised an issue that's been discussed among Upper Southampton supervisors - and other elected officials - before.
About eight years ago, the township voted to stop police department membership with the NRA, whose political wing has fought against all restrictions on gun ownership and uses such as child safety locks.
Nevertheless, individual Upper Southampton officers have joined the NRA to find out about training, gun legislation and other issues affecting gun owners and manufacturers.
The department also continues to send officers to NRA courses at the Allentown Police Academy for firearms instructor classes and now an April tactical response team class.
The money used for those courses does not go into the organization's political work, an NRA official said. But to gain certification in those courses, officers have to become members.
Upper Southampton police Chief David Schultz said he sends officers to NRA classes because they are top-notch. Schultz said the NRA tactical response team class was readily available and recommended to him by the Northampton Police Department, which heads up the South Central Emergency Response Team.
Upper Southampton recently joined the cross-county team, which responds to dangerous emergencies, like a barricaded hostage situation or an act of terrorism.
The NRA class will train Upper Southampton officers so they can join the team.
"[The NRA] has a long history of being on the cutting edge of technology," Schultz said. "This isn't about whether you're pro-gun or anti-gun."
Officers in the Bucks County sheriff's office also use the NRA training classes, as do many police departments in the county.
But there's a catch in becoming NRA certified. An officer has to become a $25 member. That means joining the organization in support of its politics.
The NRA admits that the requirement is an effort to boost its membership.
"It's about membership and that's the incentive," said Ron Kirkland, director of the NRA's national law enforcement activist division, in explaining the NRA's policy.
Kirkland is a former Bucks County FBI agent.
The costs for the police courses - normally paid for through taxpayer dollars - do not go into the NRA's political work, Kirkland said. The organization's public safety and law enforcement division is financially independent from its politics.
Upper Southampton requires that officers pay for the memberships.
Though the Fairfax, Va.-based organization has trained hundreds of police officers in Pennsylvania and more than 16,000 nationwide, it hasn't always had smooth relationships with the law enforcement community.
In 1995, former President George Bush resigned from the NRA in protest to a fundraising letter the organization issued calling federal law enforcement agents "jack-booted government thugs" who wear "Nazi bucket helmets and black storm-trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens."
The letter was signed by NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, who's still in office.
"We're trying to live that down," Kirkland said, adding that LaPierre issued a formal apology on the statement. "There's a lot of people in the law enforcement community who have a long memory."
Kirkland said the NRA currently has a good relationship with law enforcement officers.
Schultz said he harbors no ill will toward the organization and said he hasn't had an officer object to the membership requirement for NRA certification.
Though there are other places where he can and does send his officers for training, often the issue becomes one of availability. The NRA also gives perks to certified officers, including a $25,000 life insurance policy. If a legal case arises against an officer where training is an issue, the NRA will send in a witness free of charge.
"The NRA certification carries with it some liablity protection and that's nothing to sneeze at in this day and age," Schultz said.
But Biuckians, who questioned why officers can't go elsewhere for training, said she was not ready to propose a policy change on the matter. She said she needed more information.
She wouldn't necessarily have full support from the other supervisors in a policy change.
Supervisor Walter Stevens said it's up to the chief to decide which training program is best for the officers. Stevens, a former Upper Southampton police chief, said he remembers the department being a NRA affiliate during his time on the force and the group offered valuable information on weaponry and weapons training.
"If it was a political lobby group that we derive no benefits from, I would object," Stevens said. "The schools that you send [officers] to must be worthwhile and benefit the taxpayers and the public. This program does that - it educates them."
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-03312003-65866.html
By ALISON HAWKES
Bucks County Courier Times
Upper Southampton - When Lola Biuckians perused a list of township expenses last week, the Upper Southampton supervisor saw something she didn't like: a $450 fee for two police officers to take a tactical response team course through the National Rifle Association.
The board chairwoman not only objected, she voted against approving a whole month's worth of township expenses at the last board meeting.
"I have a problem with the NRA because I'm opposed to guns and we can't get any meaningful gun legislation because this group is so powerful," Biuckians said last week. "And I don't like the idea of supporting them with taxpayer money."
The rest of the board voted to approve the expenditures - some didn't have a problem with the issue; others simply saw the expense as water under the bridge.
But Biuckians' objection raised an issue that's been discussed among Upper Southampton supervisors - and other elected officials - before.
About eight years ago, the township voted to stop police department membership with the NRA, whose political wing has fought against all restrictions on gun ownership and uses such as child safety locks.
Nevertheless, individual Upper Southampton officers have joined the NRA to find out about training, gun legislation and other issues affecting gun owners and manufacturers.
The department also continues to send officers to NRA courses at the Allentown Police Academy for firearms instructor classes and now an April tactical response team class.
The money used for those courses does not go into the organization's political work, an NRA official said. But to gain certification in those courses, officers have to become members.
Upper Southampton police Chief David Schultz said he sends officers to NRA classes because they are top-notch. Schultz said the NRA tactical response team class was readily available and recommended to him by the Northampton Police Department, which heads up the South Central Emergency Response Team.
Upper Southampton recently joined the cross-county team, which responds to dangerous emergencies, like a barricaded hostage situation or an act of terrorism.
The NRA class will train Upper Southampton officers so they can join the team.
"[The NRA] has a long history of being on the cutting edge of technology," Schultz said. "This isn't about whether you're pro-gun or anti-gun."
Officers in the Bucks County sheriff's office also use the NRA training classes, as do many police departments in the county.
But there's a catch in becoming NRA certified. An officer has to become a $25 member. That means joining the organization in support of its politics.
The NRA admits that the requirement is an effort to boost its membership.
"It's about membership and that's the incentive," said Ron Kirkland, director of the NRA's national law enforcement activist division, in explaining the NRA's policy.
Kirkland is a former Bucks County FBI agent.
The costs for the police courses - normally paid for through taxpayer dollars - do not go into the NRA's political work, Kirkland said. The organization's public safety and law enforcement division is financially independent from its politics.
Upper Southampton requires that officers pay for the memberships.
Though the Fairfax, Va.-based organization has trained hundreds of police officers in Pennsylvania and more than 16,000 nationwide, it hasn't always had smooth relationships with the law enforcement community.
In 1995, former President George Bush resigned from the NRA in protest to a fundraising letter the organization issued calling federal law enforcement agents "jack-booted government thugs" who wear "Nazi bucket helmets and black storm-trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens."
The letter was signed by NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, who's still in office.
"We're trying to live that down," Kirkland said, adding that LaPierre issued a formal apology on the statement. "There's a lot of people in the law enforcement community who have a long memory."
Kirkland said the NRA currently has a good relationship with law enforcement officers.
Schultz said he harbors no ill will toward the organization and said he hasn't had an officer object to the membership requirement for NRA certification.
Though there are other places where he can and does send his officers for training, often the issue becomes one of availability. The NRA also gives perks to certified officers, including a $25,000 life insurance policy. If a legal case arises against an officer where training is an issue, the NRA will send in a witness free of charge.
"The NRA certification carries with it some liablity protection and that's nothing to sneeze at in this day and age," Schultz said.
But Biuckians, who questioned why officers can't go elsewhere for training, said she was not ready to propose a policy change on the matter. She said she needed more information.
She wouldn't necessarily have full support from the other supervisors in a policy change.
Supervisor Walter Stevens said it's up to the chief to decide which training program is best for the officers. Stevens, a former Upper Southampton police chief, said he remembers the department being a NRA affiliate during his time on the force and the group offered valuable information on weaponry and weapons training.
"If it was a political lobby group that we derive no benefits from, I would object," Stevens said. "The schools that you send [officers] to must be worthwhile and benefit the taxpayers and the public. This program does that - it educates them."
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-03312003-65866.html
ing