Minuteman Monthly Issue 10 (May 2001) Welcome to the 10th illuminating issue of the Minuteman Monthly, which is the newsletter for www.Savetheguns.com/. ***************************************** May's Firearm Safety Tip This month's gun safety tip is to ALWAYS treat every gun as if it is loaded and ready to fire. An excuse often heard following an accidental death is that "...I thought it was unloaded." ALWAYS handle the gun as if it is loaded, even if you know it is empty. If someone treats an unloaded firearm recklessly, that person is clearly opening the door to a potential tragedy. Never allow yourself to remain in the vicinity of someone who is careless with an unloaded gun. There are only two (2) causes of accidental death with a firearm: 1.) Carelessness-- Carelessness is where someone has the knowledge to properly handle firearms, but disregards them and acts negligently. 2.) Ignorance-- Ignorance is simply a lack of knowledge. This can be remedied by visiting my "Safety Rules" page at www.savetheguns.com/safety_rules.htm or my "For Kids Only" page at www.savetheguns.com/for_kids_only.htm If everyone ALWAYS handles firearms as if they are loaded, it would take firearm accidents to a new all-time low. There has been new record lows in accidental deaths due to the mishandling of a loaded gun in 14 of the last 18 years. LET'S KEEP IT UP!!! EDUCATION IS WORKING!!! KEEP SENDING KIDS TO MY "FOR KIDS ONLY" page. **************************************** Sign Up For PayPal Today PayPal is a revolutionary online payment service where a member can attach their personal bank account and/or credit card to a 100% secure online account. Each PayPal account is guaranteed against unlawful use for up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00). www.savetheguns.com is PayPal compatible and is a member of the PayPal Shops Group. Nearly seven million (7,000,000) satisfied PayPal members can't be wrong. Sign up today with this link, it's easy, safe and secure. Guaranteed: https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=markel@tmlp.com Savetheguns.com makes five dollars ($5.00) for each new PayPal member that we sign up!!! Why not sign up today? **************************************** Quote Of The Month "The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops..." Noah Webster, An Examination of The Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia 1787 **************************************** This Month's Issue Issue #10 (May 2001) will focus upon the fact that gun control laws do not work when used to fight violent crime. Let's first take a look at Great Britain and Australia. In Great Britain, the British "Bobbies" were established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel. For the last 170+ years, Britain's police force was relegated to only having their nightsticks and a strong presence. Until these last few years, Britain's public was allowed firearms. Now this has been totally turned around in the opposite direction. Britain's "Bobbies" now patrol in pairs, armed with semi-automatic pistols with more serious armament in their armed-response vehicles which are stocked fully automatic submachine guns. Meanwhile, Britain's populace has been disarmed. Britain's Citizens cannot own pistols anymore. Britain now has among the most restrictive laws regulating firearm ownership on the planet. Britain's Citizens are only allowed to own registered single and double barrel shotguns loaded with birdshot only. Even Britain's Olympic shooting team is not allowed to practice with handguns. Since 1997, when these extremely restrictive laws against private gun ownership were put in place, Great Britain's incidence of gun related crime has risen dramatically. Now according to a Leiden University Study titled The International Crime Victims Survey, fully twenty six percent (26%) of Great Britain's Residents have been victims of violent crime. In this same study, the United States was not even listed in the "Top Ten List" of Citizens victimized by violent crime. ***************************************** Britain's Conclusion? As the famous Arthur Conan Doyle character Sherlock Holmes might say, the answer to this mystery is elementary my dear Watson. The truth is that when England's Parliament banned the ownership of handguns, they unwittingly opened the back door and helped create new "Black Market" sources for handguns that did not previously exist. These newly created sources cater specifically to those who are willing to break the law, to obtain the illegal firearms and use them during unlawful activities. Most anti-gun activists and anti-gun legislators fail to admit that they, themselves are actually helping to create new sources of illegal firearms. Clearly my dear Watson, the criminal mind operates in such a manner where the murderer and the rapist does not pay heed to laws that regulate firearm possession, because they are already involved in perpetrating more heinous crimes upon their fellow man. You see, a violent career criminal will never shy away from purchasing an illegal gun. The same principle is currently driving the supply chain of illegal drugs in America. The "War On Drugs" has been a total failure. This failure is due to the very same principle outlined above. Where there is a brisk demand for a product and that product's availability has been reduced or banned, illegal sources for these things will always spring up. Don't get me wrong here. I am not for the legalization of these harmful and destructive substances. The answer to stopping the traffic of illegal drugs in America is to stop the colossal demand. **************************************** <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Sponsoring the Minuteman Monthly Do you have a business that might benefit from a monthly advertisement in the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter? How about a banner ad? Both banner ads and Minuteman Monthly ads are just $10.00 per month. If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring this newsletter with an ad, just e-mail me at Minuteman_Monthly@savetheguns.com <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> **************************************** A Look At Australia In 1996, the Australian government imposed severe restrictions on the possession of firearms. These restrictions included the confiscation and destruction of lawfully owned firearms. The previous 25 years in Australia showed a steady DECREASE in armed robbery. Since the confiscation and destruction of 640,381 personally owned firearms, gun related crime in Australia has risen precipitously. Homicides are up 3.2 percent Assaults are up 8.6 percent Armed Robbery is up an alarming 44 percent In certain areas of the State of Victoria, armed homicides are up nearly a whopping 300%, three times what they were before the country wide firearm confiscations. There has also been a large increase in home invasion and assaults and robberies of the elderly. Australia's country-wide firearm confiscations are putting their most vulnerable Citizens at tremendous risk. Where can an elderly, handicapped or invalid resident turn? Australian Citizens are looking to their representatives in government for answers as to why violent crime and armed robbery are now the highest in the industrialized world. 3.9 percent of Australian Citizens have been burglarized. 2.1 percent of Australians have had their vehicles stolen. The International Crime Victims Survey notes that overall crime victimization in Australia rose from 27.8 percent of the population in 1988, to 28.6 percent in 1991 to over 30 percent in 1999. Their legislators are at a loss to explain the colossal increase in crime. We can explain it however: "When guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have them." A very simple lesson it seems Australia learned too late. ***************************************** The United States Some States with strict gun control policies and their violent crime rates: California 966.0 per 100,000 Washington D.C. 2661.4 per 100,000 Illinois 996.1 per 100,000 Maryland 986.9 per 100,000 Massachusetts 687.2 per 100,000 New York 841.9 per 100,000 __________________ Average of 1189.9 per 100,000 States with permissive or no gun control laws and their rates: New Hampshire 114.5 per 100,000 North Dakota 84.0 per 100,000 Maine 124.9 per 100,000 Vermont 118.3 per 100,000 _________________ Average of 110.4 per 100,000 Let me compare Washington D.C. where handguns have been banned since the mid 1970's with the violent crime rates in Vermont, where all you need to carry a concealed handgun is a driver's license proving your age. Washington D.C. had an overall violent crime rate of 2661.4 incidents per 100,000 people. Vermont had an overall violent crime rate of 118.3 incidents per 100,000 people. If my math is correct, Washington D.C. had more than 22 times the number of violent crimes per person than Vermont had for the same time period. It is my opinion that a large part of this problem is the fact that "Black Market" sources of handguns are very common in Washington D.C. and the violent criminals of Washington D.C. are emboldened by the fact that law abiding Citizens of Washington D.C. are not armed. ******************************************* Final Statement After all is said, after all the rhetoric, hysteria and emotionalism calms down, the glaring truth remains. That is the hard cold fact that wherever gun control laws are the most restrictive, armed robbery and violent crime in general is most prevalent. This is due to a few factors. 1.) Under restrictive gun control laws, illegal sources of firearms spring up to supply guns to violent criminals. 2.) These illegal sources of firearms specifically cater to those who are ready and willing to break the law to obtain them. 3.) Criminals who are already committing serious offenses against their fellow man, do not concern themselves with breaking gun control laws. By utilizing these illegal sources, they will always have access to firearms. These "Black Market" firearms will always be beyond government's reach. 4.) Criminals are encouraged and emboldened when they believe their intended victims cannot effectively retaliate or will comply with their demands. "I am nothing, truth is everything." Abraham Lincoln ******************************************* Please print, save, forward, cut, copy, paste, post and distribute this newsletter around to your family, friends, gun club, co-workers and acquaintances.