Columbine Parent Arrested After Protest
Slain Student's Father Is Vocal NRA Opponent, 7NEWS Reports
The father of one of the murdered Columbine students was arrested Wednesday after a staging a protest outside the headquarters of a national gun rights group, 7NEWS reported.
Tom Mauser (pictured, left), father of slain student Daniel Mauser, was arrested outside the National Rifle Association's national headquarters in Fairfax, Va., on a charge of trespassing.
He said that he decided to stage a one-man protest of the gun rights group after two years of writing the NRA letters about his son's death and about the Columbine tragedy but never receiving a response, 7NEWS reported.
The letter asks why the NRA opposed a ban on the type of assault weapon that Columbine Seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold used in the April 20, 1999, massacre. Daniel Mauser and 12 other people were killed before Harris and Klebold took their own lives.
"Have you ever lost a child Mr. Heston?" the letter asked. "If you did you'd understand the pain and emptiness."
The sign Mauser carried outside the NRA read: "My son Daniel died at Columbine High School. He'd expect me to be here today."
The other side read: "Why won't Heston respond to my letter?"
Mauser told reporters that he decided to head to the NRA's camp, carrying a sign with a photo of his son, after speaking in Washington D.C. Wednesday.
Workers at the NRA called police after seeing Mauser pacing the NRA's private driveway and carrying the sign.
Mauser was arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and was released after an
employee of Handgun Control Inc paid his $250 bond.
He will appear in court on August 22.
Mauser has been a driving force for the gun control group Safe Colorado. He lobbied to close Colorado's gun show loophole during last year's election and has been a vocal opponent of the NRA.
An NRA spokesman said that he was not familiar with the letter but acknowledged
that it might have been better for the NRA to respond.
"A kind of courtesy could be expected, yes," he said. He also said the NRA had no problem with Mauser protesting in front of the building so long as he did it on public property.
Tom Mauser (pictured, left), father of slain student Daniel Mauser, was arrested outside the National Rifle Association's national headquarters in Fairfax, Va., on a charge of trespassing.
He said that he decided to stage a one-man protest of the gun rights group after two years of writing the NRA letters about his son's death and about the Columbine tragedy but never receiving a response, 7NEWS reported.
The letter asks why the NRA opposed a ban on the type of assault weapon that Columbine Seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold used in the April 20, 1999, massacre. Daniel Mauser and 12 other people were killed before Harris and Klebold took their own lives.
"Have you ever lost a child Mr. Heston?" the letter asked. "If you did you'd understand the pain and emptiness."
The sign Mauser carried outside the NRA read: "My son Daniel died at Columbine High School. He'd expect me to be here today."
The other side read: "Why won't Heston respond to my letter?"
Mauser told reporters that he decided to head to the NRA's camp, carrying a sign with a photo of his son, after speaking in Washington D.C. Wednesday.
Workers at the NRA called police after seeing Mauser pacing the NRA's private driveway and carrying the sign.
Mauser was arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and was released after an
employee of Handgun Control Inc paid his $250 bond.
He will appear in court on August 22.
Mauser has been a driving force for the gun control group Safe Colorado. He lobbied to close Colorado's gun show loophole during last year's election and has been a vocal opponent of the NRA.
An NRA spokesman said that he was not familiar with the letter but acknowledged
that it might have been better for the NRA to respond.
"A kind of courtesy could be expected, yes," he said. He also said the NRA had no problem with Mauser protesting in front of the building so long as he did it on public property.
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
