Guns and Reloading
"A
well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
FINALLY, THE END OF A SAD ERA--CLINTON GUN BAN STRICKEN FROM BOOKS!
Monday,
September 13, 2004
Today,
the Clinton gun
ban expired. The ban`s enactment in 1994 was political chest-thumping and
deceit at its worst. Now that the ban is over, as was the case for decades
prior to and during the life of the ban, criminals still will not legally be
able to possess these firearms. Law-abiding citizens, however, will once again
be free to purchase semi-automatic firearms, regardless of their cosmetic
features, for target shooting, shooting competitions, hunting, collecting, and
most importantly, self-defense. This misguided law, which had no effect on the
actions of criminals, but penalized law-abiding citizens, was built on a
campaign of lies. It was ended through a campaign of education, facts, and
grassroots activism. The sunset of this ban was only made possible through the
tireless efforts of millions of NRA members and tens of millions of American
gun owners over the past 10 years. Beginning in the 1994 elections, the first
congressional elections after the enactment of the ban, right through the 2002
elections, gun owners made tremendous gains at the ballot box, which made this
legislative accomplishment not only a possibility, but, a reality. Despite the
gun banners flimsy reliance on "polls" to justify their position, in
the only polls that mattered over the past 10 years--elections--the American
people spoke, and repudiated the anti-gunners` position. As NRA-ILA Executive
Director Chris W. Cox said, "NRA members and gun owners showed that it is
possible to turn grassroots political activism into legislative reality, and
they should be commended for a decade`s worth of hard work and tireless
dedication. Now is a time to take pause, reflect, and briefly celebrate this
monumental accomplishment. But the celebration will be short lived as we have
much work left in front of us." If, over the past five election cycles, we
failed to add to our pro-gun majorities in Congress, the ban, no doubt, would
have been extended and even expanded. Today`s demise of the Clinton gun ban
should serve as a stark reminder that the 2004 elections will determine the
next chapter that is written on the Second Amendment, and it is critical we
sustain our momentum right through Election Day--Tuesday, November 2. Keep an
eye out for Friday`s Grassroots Alert that will provide you with all the tools
and information you will need to ensure victory for our rights on Election Day
2004. Make no mistake, our fight to protect and preserve the Second Amendment
is far from over. At every opportunity, the Schumers, Clintons, Feinsteins, and
Kerrys of the world will diligently work, this year and beyond, to pass another,
more restrictive gun ban. We can also promise you that dozens of state
legislatures will pick up the gun ban mantle and try and pass state level gun
bans as well. We must remain vigilant on this front. This battle has been won,
but it is only a temporary victory. The war will rage on! We know we can count
on your continued activism as we work to accomplish our mutual goals, and we
thank you for your support over the past 10 years in rightly relegating this
misguided ban to the legislative graveyard!
H.R. 218 IS LAW!
NATIONAL CONCEALED CARRY FOR COPS SIGNED BY
THE PRESIDENT!
H.R. 218, "The Law Enforcement
Officer's Safety Act" is now national law!
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Obey a bad gun law...
and get killed for it!
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May 28, 2003 -- Two
Harlem bodega clerks stood in two separate stores, both staring across the
counter at armed robbers. One clerk used an unlicensed gun to kill his
assailant and is now facing charges. The other didn't - and he's dead.
According to José Fernandez, head of a 7,000-member association of grocery
owners, thousands of bodega employees in the city's high-crime areas are
faced with this terrible choice. "We have to choose between going to
jail for having an illegal weapon or protecting our lives," said
Fernandez. Gun control makes it impossible for law-abiding citizens to defend
themselves against violent criminals who ignore gun laws just as easily as
they ignore laws against murder, rape and robbery. These comments were made
shortly after Mohamed Dramy's bodega store was robbed by violent criminals.
The 40-year old Dramy had just returned from his wedding in his native
country of Gambia.
Unarmed and defenseless in compliance with New York law, Dramy could only stand
helpless as he was shot in the chest and killed. José Acosta, 69, chose a
different option. With his life on the line, Acosta drew a small handgun and
fatally wounded one of three masked holdup men. "Acosta is facing
charges for saving his own life, while someone who complied with the law is
dead and leaves a family crying," said Fernandez, President of the
Washington Heights-based Bodega Association of the United States. "We have to
choose between saving ourselves or going to jail." While is a miserable
pair of options, that is precisely the predicament that gun control
legislation creates. The dead criminal was identified as Luquarn Washington,
a wanted army deserter. In classic denial of responsibility for violent
criminal action, Washington's
father was quoted as saying "He was a victim of this environment. He was
in the wrong place at the wrong time." No, sir, "innocent
bystanders" are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The victims of
criminal attack are in the wrong place at the wrong time. When you don a mask
and enter a store to rob it by force you are committing a crime. Luquarn Washington paid the
price for making the decision to prey on another human being. For millions of
Americans, the fallacy of gun control is obvious. Gun-control laws can only
disarm honest citizens. A gun ban didn't deter Luquarn Washington's gang of thugs from getting
guns and using them in violent criminal attacks. Violent criminals remain
just as dangerous and, in areas where gun control is in effect, criminals
know that their prey has been left defenseless. Gun control increases the probability of violent
crime and decreases the victim's chances of survival for citizens who obey
the law.
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 Armed Citizen Reports
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