GOA Defending Freedom in the Wake of an American Tragedy
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
gunowners.org
(Friday, April 23, 1999) -- You wish that it didn't have to happen.
But as soon as some deranged killer goes on a rampage with a gun,
the Sarah Bradys and Bill Clintons of the world start crawling over
the bodies of the victims to further their gun control agenda.
Americans are grieving this week with the parents in Littleton,
Colorado. But to those who would try to use this tragedy to foist
more gun control, we must say: "These shootings have occurred at a
time when we've never had more gun control in this country. No law
will ever stop these kinds of thugs from getting guns."
Truly, there is a lot at stake as the media covers and reports on
the Colorado tragedy. Many frivolous lawsuits are being launched
against the manufacturers and sellers of firearms. The future jury
members who sit on those cases could very well be affected by the
media spin that they see and read during the coverage of the
Littleton shooting.
Spokesmen for Gun Owners of America have been busy this week
defending your rights; defending the majority of Americans who will
never use any kind of weapon in a crime. From Fox Cable News to CNN
News, and on countless radio shows around the clock, GOA staff have
debated with Handgun Control, Inc. and others who would try to take
away the guns of law-abiding citizens like yourself. Editorials by
Larry Pratt will be running Monday in USA Today and The New York
Times.
Many of you have been doing your part as well. We have received
numerous examples of the Letters to the Editor which activists have
sent to local newspapers in response to the anti-gun media coverage
this week. All of this helps. Remember, your letter could affect
the thinking of a future jury member that sits on a "gun case." If
you have not written a letter yet, GOA is providing some talking
points below that you can use. Letters should be about 250 words
long. There is too much below for one letter. Pick and choose from
the following:
Gun bans don't work. Where has gun control worked? Washington, D.C.?
Chicago? In the public schools of this country? Congress has enacted
a nation-wide gun ban in every school and yet young thugs still
violate that ban.
Gun control actually endangers the lives of innocent people. If
teachers and school principles were allowed to possess firearms in
their briefcases or in their purses-- or to conceal them under their
jackets-- it would strike fear into the hearts of these juvenile
Rambos. Unfortunately, the nationwide gun ban ensures that these
would-be-Rambos are the only ones with guns at school. Decent
teachers are forced to break the law to defend their students.
One such teacher did in Pearl, Mississippi in 1997. Assistant
Principal Joel Myrick saved the lives of countless students when he
used his own firearm to subdue the gunman that had already killed
two students. Who knows how many lives were saved by Myrick's
courageous act? And likewise, who knows how many lives could have
been saved in Colorado if just one teacher had a gun? If teachers
had a choice other than just hiding under their desks?
Guns save lives-- even in schools. Just look at the nation of
Israel. Editorialist Vin Suprynowicz of the Las Vegas Review
Journal stated this week that, "In Israel, teachers and parents who
serve as school aides go armed at all times on school grounds, with
semi-automatic weapons. Since this policy was put into effect,
terrorist attacks in Israeli schools have dropped to zero. The only
recent exception was the tragic case of a group of schoolchildren
who were murdered by an Arab gunman as they visited the 'Zone of
Peace' on the Jordanian border. The Jordanians specifically
requested that the Israeli teachers and chaperones leave their
weapons behind ... which they did. American schools are, on the
other hand, 'gun free zones.'"
In this country as well, the facts show that guns save lives. Dr.
John Lott of the University of Chicago made it clear that violent
crime has fallen in those jurisdictions that have made it legal to
carry concealed firearms. States which passed concealed carry laws
reduced their murder rate by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults
by 7% and robbery by 3%.
America's "gun culture" is not responsible for the Colorado tragedy.
Even though there was greater access to guns in the 1950s, we did
not have a problem with illegal guns in schools. Thus, at a time
when there was almost no gun control on the books, we had fewer
shootings. The top problems in school were things like chewing gum
or talking in class, and running in the halls.
Today, the problem has actually gotten worse while the number of gun
control laws has increased. The gun culture has always been with
us, it's the other aspects of our culture that have changed over the
last 40 years. As stated by GOA spokesman, John Velleco, in an
online interview with The Washington Post at
discuss.washingtonpost.com
yesterday: "The high court in this land has told us that we can't
display the Ten Commandments on the walls of our schools because
some children might actually follow them. Parents are told they
shouldn't spank their children, or they might be taken away from
them. Children are not taught the difference between right and
wrong, and when children do wrong, very often there are no
consequences that rise to the level of the wrong they commit. . . .
In a few years, the two boys in the Jonesboro, Ark., shooting are
going to be out. What kind of message does this send to the young
people in this country?"
Following England's gun control lead WILL NOT reduce crime in this
country. This is perhaps one of the greatest myths in circulation
today. England had a murder rate that was ALREADY LOW before
enacting its gun control laws. Thus, its restrictive laws cannot be
credited with lowering its crime rates. The truth be known,
England's crime rate has actually risen tremendously since passing
gun control legislation. The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported
last year that England's crime rate is now HIGHER than the rate in
the United States. That's right, most crime rates in England have
now surpassed the rates in the U.S. "You are more likely to be
mugged in England than in the United States," stated the Reuters
news agency in summarizing the DOJ study. The murder rate in the
United States is higher than in England, but according to the DOJ
study, "the difference between the [murder rates in the] two
countries has narrowed over the past 16 years."
Another interesting point is this: the United States' NON-GUN murder
rate is higher than the TOTAL murder rates in the gun control
countries of Canada or Japan. In other words, Americans kill each
other more often with weapons other than guns-- such as with knives,
fists and feet. Thus, it is absurd to claim that the U.S. has more
murders because it has more guns. If one were to "magically" make
every gun disappear in the U.S., the hard fact is that Americans
would still kill each other-- without guns-- more often than the
citizens of Canada or Japan kill each other will ALL types of
weapons.
The problem is not the type of weapon used, but rather, the failure
in America to keep violent criminals off the street.
**************
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