Minuteman Monthly Issue 22 May 2002 Hello and welcome to the 22nd thought provoking issue of the Minuteman Monthly. SaveTheGuns.com has received more than 82,000 visitors from more than 40 countries around the world. These 82,000 visitors have viewed over 188,000 Web pages at SaveTheGuns.com. April 2002 alone saw 7,310 visitors who viewed 11,404 pages. With one (1) contribution. Since we started, twelve (12) of the 82,000 visitors have made contributions to SaveTheGuns.com, additionally, two (2) online businesses have made contributions. Without the following people and Web sites, we would have had to close up and pull the Web site down. However, because of their generosity and commitment, we are continuing to make a difference. http://www.arquebus.com http://www.blackhawkgear.com Brian Crew Greg Dunn Richard Ervin John Forestal Allen Havens Ed and Meg Hobbs James Johns Carroll Kreis William Magee Randy Sala Matthew Singer Gary Smith A BIG thank you goes out to these individuals and businesses. We are all here to make a difference and since January 2000 when it all started, the gun rights and gun safety movement has been steadily making progress. We have had big wins in our nations court systems. We have had much success in attacking bills as they have come up. The "Million Mom March" has laid off nearly all their employees. Many U.S. States have added their names to the list of "Shall Issue" concealed carry states and there are more States to come. =========================================== Gun Safety Tip Of The Month May's gun safety tip of the month is the most important rule, outside of the three (3) basic gun handling rules. Always be positively certain where the bullet is going to end up before you shoot. This is especially important when shooting in a rural backyard, sandpit or other informal shooting area. Usually at a gun club shooting range, the range is set up so that there is virtually no possibility of a stray bullet getting away from the shooter. However, in many rural settings, there are stone walls, trees, junked cars and lightly covered stones that could present ricochet hazards. Use caution in selecting an area for target shooting and pay close attention to where the bullets will stop. As many of you are aware, most bullets can end up nearly a mile away and under certain circumstances, up to five (5) miles away. =========================================== SaveTheGuns.com Quotes Of The Month "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert Einstein "Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will and his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals." Albert Schweitzer "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." Thomas Jefferson, 1791 =============================== ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Have You Visited CheaperThanDirt.com Yet? CheaperThanDirt.com has the widest selection of ammunition for the lowest prices I have seen. I recently saw a box of 3D Remanufactured Ammunition in .38 Special for just $8.19 plus shipping!!! That is no typo. Just $8.19. Visit Them Now By Clicking The Following Link http://www.qksrv.net/click-1101834-1161489 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This Month's Issue Focus And Re-Focus This month I want to restate what SaveTheGuns.com was created for and focus more on ways that we can accomplish those goals together. When SaveTheGuns.com was originally created back in January 2000, it was a basic gun safety and firearm education based Web site. My first thoughts surrounding this issue I believe are still valid and are more important than ever to re-state and focus upon. That is the hard cold fact that people who support more gun control laws, are those who actually fear firearms because of their total lack of knowledge. Without exception, I have not found a single supporter of more gun control laws who actually knows what they are talking about when it comes to firearm operation and safety. People whose only exposure to firearms was watching those 1970's and 1980's low-budget detective dramas on television, are the ones I originally set out to reach with a clear message. That message was this... * Guns have been a part of human civilization since the 1320's. * Guns are not going away. * Guns cannot make a car explode and jump fifteen feet into the air at will. * Felons and criminals prone to violence will always be able to illegally obtain a firearm, even under a total possession ban. * Mere gun possession does not play any role in influencing human behavior or character. This is a very important distinction. There was a two-bit study done in late sixties that concluded that being within reach of a visible firearm, somehow increased the tendency towards violence. Of course we all know this to be hogwash, but we know firearms pretty well for the most part. Those who have never handled and shot a firearm under closely supervised conditions may actually believe that guns can influence behavior, which of course is patently ludicrous. My thoughts were that if I could get out the truth about lawful gun possession. The anti-gun crowd would have nothing to fall back on. The biggest and most dangerous weapon that is currently being wielded by the anti-gun crowd is the ignorance of America's non-gun owners. When week after week, we see on television the heroic detective blow up the bad guys vehicle after a car chase and the car launches 15 feet into the air, it is no wonder that the average American Non-Gun Owner has an innate fear of firearms. This fear of firearms inevitably leads to a disdain, contempt and even hatred of guns and gun owners. This lack of knowledge that leads to a hatred of guns, is all the anti-gun crowd has ever stood upon. The truth about guns, gun owners and the Second Amendment is not on their side. They all stand on their pathetic little soapboxes and profess their hatred and disdain for guns and gun owners alike. And all that stems from the very fact that they don't have a single clue what they're talking about. I thought I could step out into the wide world of the Internet and start changing some minds, by simply telling the truth about guns and lawful gun owners. The truths that I wanted to get across are basic ones that can be easily grasped by even the most simple of minds. * 99.8% of all guns in the United States are not involved in crime in any given year. * Law-abiding gun owners don't commit crime. * Convicted Felons cannot legally obtain firearms under any circumstances. And it is painfully obvious that gun control laws will not stop them. * Convicted felons who are out of prison, commit the vast majority of crime with firearms. That crime is primarily focused upon gang wars and the illegal drug trade. * If I may use the term "gun culture" (though I really don't want to), there are two (2) distinct "gun cultures" that must be separated. 1.) There are the nearly 80 million lawful gun owners who are upstanding, moral and safety conscious. 2.) Secondly there are the illegal drug pushers, immoral and uncivil vicious alley slugs and gang members who use firearms to commit crimes with and spread their horrid brand of mischief throughout the country. The law-abiding gun owners of the United States are damn sick and tired of being lumped together with those nasty violent slugs of our inner cities. ==================================== ==================================== Have You Told A Friend About SaveTheGuns.com? Please spread the word. Post this newsletter in your gun club, forward it to your friends and family members and put it on e-mail listserves, the Use-Net, Bulletin Boards and family Web sites. There is so much you can do to help me without giving me a single penny in contributions. ============================================= ============================================= A Short To Do List What can we do as individual gun owners to turn back the tide of anti-gun sentiment and promote gun safety. I have compiled a list of ten (10) essentials. 1.) Register to vote and vote pro-gun whenever possible. And get other gun owners to do the same, whether or not they feel they can make a difference. 2.) Contact your own elected officials on a regular basis on gun related issues. 3.) Write to newspapers and magazines on the various firearm issues and get yourself published. Legislators read these editorial sections to garner public opinion. 4.) Start an e-mail list of contacts from your local gun club and pool your resources and ideas for things like trips to the State House and various visits to conferences at your State Legislatures. Make sure your gun club gets involved somehow and that it is not simply a place to shoot. 5.) Join a nationwide and a statewide pro-gun group and be active within it. NRA, State NRA-Affiliates, Gun Owners of America, Citizens of America and many others. You can find your NRA State Affiliate from http://www.savetheguns.com/state_firearm_associations.htm 6.) Offer to take someone out shooting who has an anti-gun attitude. I have found that simple and safe exposure to the sport is all that is necessary to counteract years of being subjected to an anti-gun media. 7.) Promote gun safety whenever and wherever possible. Send friends and family to my gun safety pages and feel free to print those pages and hand them out to people. http://www.savetheguns.com/safety_rules.htm http://www.savetheguns.com/for_kids_only.htm http://www.savetheguns.com/kids_test.htm http://www.savetheguns.com/safety_pact.htm 8.) Think about venturing out on your own and starting your own Web page about gun safety and proper education. There are many ways you can even do this for free. 9.) Contact television and radio stations when they broadcast anti-gun sentiment and promote lies about the 80 million lawful gun owners in America. Call them on it and be resolute. 10.) Buy my t-shirts, bumper stickers and books. Make a small contribution, become a member and send this newsletter to a fellow gun owner. ============================================= ============================================= Last Word of the Month One last thing I want to say before I go away for the month is this... Over ninety percent (90%) of America's gun owners have not lifted a single finger to help protect the Second Amendment and defend the rights of gun owners to carry concealed firearms in public places. Less than 7% of America's gun owners are or ever were, members of the National Rifle Association. Literally millions of lawful gun owners did not bother to make it to the voting booths in the last presidential election. If those same indolent, lackadaisical, lazy do-nothings refuse to vote on November 5th of this year, pro-gunners will lose the ability to control key Congressional Committees in both the U.S. House AND the U.S. Senate. ALL IT TAKES FOR THE UNITED STATES TO ADOPT A UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION IS FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATE TO AGREE TO IT. ONE VOTE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, REMEMBER FLORIDA... REGISTER AND VOTE PRO-GUN ON NOVEMBER 5TH ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 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 Richardson Owner/Founder www.savetheguns.com