Minuteman Monthly Issue 20 March 2002 SaveTheGuns.com Members and Minuteman Monthly subscribers, here is the 20th issue of the Minuteman Monthly. For those who have recently subscribed, the Minuteman Monthly is the monthly newsletter for SaveTheGuns.com. This is just a reminder of the petition campaign concerning the enforcement of the Second Amendment to United States Attorney General John Ashcroft. The first set of signatures has been sent to the Attorney General to the tune of more than 60,000. Please go to the following page to learn more about it and how you can help. http://www.keepandbeararms.com/petition/ =========================================== =========================================== Please find time to visit my BookShop. There are hundreds of thousands of books to choose from. Please find time to visit one of the following pages http://savetheguns.vstorereading.com/ http://www.savetheguns.com/my_bookshop.htm You may also use the Amazon.com search window on "My BookShop" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Minuteman Monthly Quotes of the Month "Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny, which gave rise to the Second Amendment, will ever be a major danger to our nation, the amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic military-civilian relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country." President John Fitzgerald Kennedy The Talmud, the code of Jewish law, states: "If someone comes to kill you, arise quickly and kill him." ========================================== ========================================== The Minuteman Monthly Gun Safety Tip of the Month I am very surprised at the number of gun owners who are not aware of this gun safety rule. If a gun is found outside, possibly in a wooded area, roadside or playground, the gun should not be touched at all. Even if you are fully aware of all safe gun handling rules, please do not handle the gun. The best thing to do is to try to post a sentry so that nobody touches the gun or goes into the area. Then get a police officer and bring him/her to the place where the gun lies. Touching or handling the gun or remaining in the area could destroy essential evidence that could be used in the prosecution of a criminal. Any gun that has been abandoned outside, was more than likely recently used in a crime. The gun could contain such important evidence such as blood, tissue, DNA and fingerprints. In addition, remaining in the immediate area could compromise such evidence as tire marks, cartridge cases, footprints and minute amounts of thread evidence. Even the precise positioning of the firearm may be important evidence. Only someone fully trained in evidence gathering should be handling this situation. Quite a few gun owning adults say that they would pick up the gun and bring it to the police station. This is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Finding an abandoned firearm outside your home is indeed rare, however, with the rise in violent crime from young teens, there is an increased chance that your children or grandchildren may find a gun outside. Please make sure they know this rule and send them to my "For Kids Only" page linked at the bottom of this newsletter. ========================================== ========================================== Stay Informed The vast majority of Minuteman Monthly Subscribers have asked to be sent occasional timely alerts. These alerts can contain current issues, important meetings and timely alerts for specific U.S. House or Senate bills that are up for consideration. Let me let you in on a secret... I receive alerts from many different sources. I then paw through all those alerts and send out only the most pertinent and urgent ones. If you are interested, you certainly may subscribe to some of these alerts yourself. http://www.nraila.org/volunteer.asp http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm http://www.keepandbeararms.com/ ===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+ My Thoughts On Emerson I have put the entire U.S. vs. Emerson case in the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals online. The entire decision can be read on the following page. http://www.savetheguns.com/emerson.htm By the time you read this, the United States Supreme Court may be reviewing Dr. Emerson's appeal. You see, in order for the United States Supreme Court to hear the Emerson case, the appeal would have to be finalized and submitted before Thursday February 28th. If the Emerson case gets heard by the United States Supreme Court, it has the power to overturn the vast majority of current gun control laws in the United States. My gut feeling is that the Supreme Court will refuse to hear this case. The Emerson case is the single most important case concerning the meaning of the Second Amendment since the Miller case of 1939. The case involves a Dr. Timothy Emerson, a physician from San Angelo, Texas who was wrongly prosecuted for purchasing a handgun while under a restraining order. The Trial Court in Texas sided with Emerson and his attorneys and ruled that the law that banned firearm possession while under a restraining order, violated the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. In the Fifth Circuit, they overturned the lower court ruling saying about the Second Amendment "...that does not mean that those rights may never be made subject to any limited, narrowly tailored exceptions or restrictions,..." This basically means that the Second Amendment rights of an individual may be limited under special circumstances such as a restraining order. However, in its decision, the Fifth Circuit delved into the argument involving the original intention and meaning of the Second Amendment, like almost no other case has in the last 62 years. Most gun control activists have asserted that the Second Amendment's intention was that only active members of a State-run militia have the right to keep and bear arms. Of course, this erroneous notion has no historical basis whatsoever. In its decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the Second Amendment preserves American's "...right to keep and bear arms whether or not they are a member of a select militia or performing active military service or training." In short, the Emerson decision is a mixed bag of sorts for both gun control advocates and pro-gun advocates. They essentially ruled that the Second Amendment can be very narrowly limited under special circumstances, but in a more general sense, that it really does protect the rights of individual law-abiding Citizens to keep and bear arms. If the Emerson case goes to the United States Supreme Court and they agree to hear the case, the eyes of the world will be upon the decision that follows, and so will mine. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please take time this Spring to take a young child out shooting at the range. The children of today are the Second Amendment Warriors of tomorrow. Please take it seriously. And please send a child to my gun safety Web page for kids. http://www.savetheguns.com/for_kids_only.htm Thank you for registering as a Minuteman Monthly Newsletter Recipient. ________________________ If you don't want this newsletter anymore, just send me an E-mail with "Unsubscribe MMM" in the subject line to: info@savetheguns.com Thanks, Marc Owner/Founder www.savetheguns.com