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Posted on 10/25/2001 3:45:12 PM PDT by FSPress

Jeanne Kidle, a Flint Township mother of four, was taken aback when she received a notice to pick up her new concealed weapon permit.

The letter from the Genesee County clerk's office was accompanied by two fliers from the Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence.

"I thought at first (the group) was nonpartisan," said Kidle, 47, a life member of the National Rifle Association. "But when I read it, I was quite upset."

The fliers included tips for safe gun-handling and warned about the risks of keeping a firearm around the house.

But they also solicited donations to the anti-gun violence group, which helped lead efforts to overturn the state's new concealed weapons law.

Kidle said she was offended that a government agency would promote a private political entity.

"If they were interested in safety, I would think they would want to include things from the NRA and the MCRGO (Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Ownership), she said. "People who get CCWs are more likely to respond to those groups."

The clerk's office stopped sending the fliers with its CCW notices after hearing they offended some people, said Robert H. Coffman, a supervisor in the clerk's office.

One batch of about 130 to 140 letters - a small fraction of the county's 1,800 CCW applications - included the fliers, Coffman said.

Coffman said he had spoken with an official in the prosecutor's office about including gun safety information with the letters. The prosecutor's office obtained the fliers and decided to include them, he said.

Coffman said he believes the leaflets were not intended as a political statement.

"I don't think they noticed there was a solicitation (on the leaflets)," he said.

The nonprofit Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence was formed in 1995 in response to concerns about gun violence, according to the group's Web site. It relies on donations from "citizen activists who wish to promote gun safety and sensible gun laws."

The group played a visible role in a petition drive for a voter referendum to overturn the state's new concealed weapons, which requires the state to issue a permit to anyone who hasn't been convicted of a crime and has no history of mental illness.

One of the leaflets suggests gun owners weigh their need for self-defense against the risks of keeping a firearm in their home. In urban areas, the flier says, a gun in the home is 40 times more likely to be used against a family member as it is for self-defense.

The second flier has tips for storing firearms and ammunition, with information about trigger locks and gun safes. Both fliers ask for "membership contributions of $25 or more."

The fliers created a buzz in the pro-gun community.

Kidle, regional director for Second Amendment Sisters, a women's group aligned with the NRA and the MCRGO, said someone in the clerk's office told her the fliers were sent at the direction of Prosecutor Arthur A. Busch.

Busch has been critical of the new CCW law, saying it was poorly written and removes the discretion of gun boards.

He was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

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