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> Citing terror fears, Sens. Schumer, Lautenberg oppose loosened rocket > hobby rules
>
> By DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writer
> July 29, 2003, 4:58 PM EDT
>
> WASHINGTON -- A bill to loosen federal restrictions for model rocket
> enthusiasts drew fire Tuesday from senators from New York and New
> Jersey, who said the proposal would give terrorists access to
> dangerous explosives.
>
> Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the measure by Sen. Mike
> Enzi, R-Wyo., to change the Homeland Security Act to allow rocket
> enthusiasts to buy black powder and another form of high-powered
> rocket propellant without submitting to a background check. The act
> was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
>
> Standing next to a seven-foot tall rocket, Schumer said the
> legislation effectively would allow would-be terrorists to amass large
> quantities of explosives.
>
> "Sometimes you see things in Congress that make you scratch your head
> in wonderment," said Schumer. "This is one of those days."
>
> He and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said passage of the bill would
> allow terrorists to stockpile the same material used in the 1996
> Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta and a bomb sent by "Unabomber"
> Theodore Kaczynski in 1985.
>
> The Justice Department also has opposed Enzi's bill, saying in a June
> 10 letter the current regulations exempt 90 percent of rocket
> hobbyists and require background checks only for those who use the > largest rockets.
>
> The Homeland Security Act requires the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
> Firearms to monitor the purchase and transfer of any chemical mixture
> or device with the primary function of causing an explosion.
>
> "It's a sad state of affairs when we see a government agency and
> senators go to such lengths to squash efforts to preserve a
> constructive, educational and important hobby enjoyed by millions of
> Americans," Enzi said. "My bill is not a license to build bombs, and
> the senators know it."
>
> Tim Lehr, rocket manager at Al's Hobby Shop in Elmhurst, Ill., said
> the restrictions are killing the rocket hobby business and are an
> unnecessary hassle for hobbyists.
>
> "It's going to put dealers out of business, period," said Lehr. He
> predicted the hobby will die out within five years because no one new
> will pick it up knowing the bureaucratic hurdles of background checks,
> storage requirements and governmental oversight.
>
> Two rocketry groups, the National Association of Rocketry and the
> Tripoli Rocketry Association, accused the senators of equating
> hobbyists with terrorists. In a statement, the associations called the
> issue "a prime example of the government overreacting to something
> that is not a threat."