Contact CPSC About Daisy Recall

CLINTON APPOINTEE TAKES DANGEROUS PARTING SHOT

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Ann Brown, one of the remaining holdovers from the Clinton Administration, has chosen to step down from her position, but not before attempting a last-minute attack on air rifles. Brown, who was vice president of the anti-gun Consumer Federation of America (CFA) for almost 15 years before Clinton appointed her head of CPSC, has targeted certain Daisy air rifles for a potential recall. The suggestion of a recall was apparently prompted when a Pennsylvania teenager "accidentally" pointed what he thought was an unloaded air rifle at a friend and pulled the trigger. The gun was not unloaded, however, and the friend was permanently disabled.

Of course, Brown`s notion that air rifles should be recalled because certain individuals are recklessly careless when handling them is as dangerous as it is ludicrous. Furthermore, while Chairman Brown claims the scope of her proposed recall would target "only" 9 million air rifles, her "defect" claim is so broad that it could not only affect virtually every air rifle, but it could also be used in future reckless lawsuits against firearm manufacturers—exactly what some consider to be the true goal of Brown`s effort. And the fact that Brown has scheduled the vote on this matter for next Tuesday, October 30, should not be lost on anyone, as she is scheduled to step down from her position as Chairman the following day. Could this be her last-ditch attempt at securing an anti-gun legacy?

Please be sure to contact the CPSC commissioners as soon as possible, and urge them to reject the recall of air guns on October 30. Remind them that Daisy air rifles have been investigated several times over the past 20 years, and each time the CPSC has found these products to be nondefective. It is blatantly unfair to tell a company for 20 years their product is nondefective, and then suggest that there might be a recall of the very guns that the agency has determined to be nondefective. Also remind the commissioners that the CPSC should not get involved with gun design matters, an area for which the CPSC is not qualified. In addition, any decisions about the design of air guns could necessarily affect how firearms are designed—an area that Congress has determined should be completely outside the purview of the CPSC.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington, D.C. 20207-0001
Phone: (301) 504-0990
Fax: (301) 504-0124 & (301) 504-0025
E-mail: info@cpsc.gov

Chairman Ann Brown
Phone: (301) 504-0213
E-mail: abrown@cpsc.gov

Commissioner Mary Sheila Gall
Phone: (301) 504-0530
E-mail: mgall@cpsc.gov

Commissioner Thomas Moore
Phone: (301) 504-0290
E-mail: tmoore@cpsc.gov