[869] in libertarians
Attorney General Reno on homeschooling (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rick Bunker)
Wed Apr 5 14:29:39 1995
From: rbunker@world.std.com (Rick Bunker)
To: rbunker@netaxs.com, libertarians@MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 14:26:09 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 1995 09:31:51 -0500
From: Doris Hohensee <doris@Mainstream.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <home-ed-politics@mainstream.com>
Subject: Attorney General Reno on homeschooling
I'm posting the following quote, taken from US Congressman Hansen's
letter to US Attorney General Janet Reno, included at the end of this
post, to point out who is _not_ a friend-of-homeschooling.
In a 60 minute interview, it has been alleged that Janet Reno
responded as follows:
"A cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the
Second Coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies;
who has a high level of financial giving to a Christian cause;
who home schools for their children; who has accumulated survival
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
foods and has a strong belief in the Second Amendment; and who
distrusts big government. Any of these may qualify (a person
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
as a cultist) but certainly more than one would cause us to
strongly look at this person as a threat, and his family as
being in a risk situtation that qualified for government
interference. Waco was one of those situations that qualified
under our definition of people being at risk that necessitates
government action to save them."
Doris
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Following letter was sent to Janet Reno by Congressman James Hansen, Utah
Feb. 23, 1995
The Honorable Janet Reno
Attorney General of the United States
Main Justice Building
10th and Constitution Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Ms. Reno:
As the Member of Congress representing the First Congressional
District of Utah, I have been approached by literally dozens of
constituents who are deeply concerned regarding statements attributed
to you during a "60 Minutes" broadcast regarding Second Amendment
rights to keep and bear arms. My purpose in writing is to request a
written clarification from you on yourstatements, as well as to obtain
a statement of Department of Justice policy on such matters.
First, it has been alleged by some of my constituents that you made
the following statements during the 60 Minutes interview in response
to a question on what your definition of a responded:
"A cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the Second
Coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who has a high
level of financial giving to a Christian cause; who home schools for
their children; who has accumulated survival foods and has a strong
belief in the Second Amendment; and who distrusts big government. Any
of these may qualify (a person as a cultist) but certainly more than
one would cause us to strongly look at this person as a threat, and
his family as being in a risk situtation that qualified for government
interference. Waco was one of those situations that qualified under
our definition of people being at risk that necessitates government
action to save them."
I would appreciate specific answers to the following questions.
(1) Did you, in fact, make such a statement and does that accurately
reflect your views as the Attorney General of the United States?
(2) If so, how has this manifested itself into official Department
guidelines or policy? Most specifically, is there a policy or ongoing
operation targeting individuals for federal scrutiny based solely on
their fitting one or more of the above mentioned criteria?
Second, my constituents have been contactiong me of late to inform me
that the Department of Justice, in conjunction with law enforcement
agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), are
planning nation-wide raids on the private homes of individuals
primarily in the Western United States in the coming weeks because of
suspected violations of federal gun laws.
During my fourteen years in Congress, I have heard many rumors and
government "conspiracy theories." While I usually take them with a
"grain of salt," I must confess that this specific allegation appears
to be gaining in frequency and consistency. Some individuals for whom
I have great respect and a long association have come forward recently
to give me this information. In fact, one such individual, whom I
consider to be very reliable and credible, told me that he personally
counted 35 agents from the BATF together in Moab, Utah, recently, and
that each agent was equipped with a sidearm.
(3) Is the Department of Justice currently planning to work with the
BATF, the FBI, or any other federal law enforcement agency, to engage
in special raids on the private homes of U.S. citizens because of
suspected federal arms violations?
(4) Does the Department of Justice have knowledge of the BATF's recent
appearance in Noab, Utah, and if so, what were the reasons for 35
armed BATF agents to congregage in such a small town in my State of
Utah?
Please provide me a written response to the above questions as soon as
possible. The information you provide will be most helpful in
assisting me as I consider what appropriate actions or responses I
may undertake in the Congress.
Sincerely yours,
James V. Hansen
Member of Congress
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