Minuteman Monthly Newsletter Issue 55 February 2006 I have talked to many law abiding gun owners who believe in the words of the Second Amendment and the goals of pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership and more. However, some of these gun owners are not members of any of these groups. Some gun owners I've talked to are simply that.... just talk. I've said many times that debating, analyzing and speaking out against gun control efforts over a cup of coffee at the gun club, accomplishes absolutely nothing. If we're going to be vocal and active in defending our constitutional rights under the Second Amendment, we MUST be vocal and active in the right places to be effective. Let me let you in on something you might not be aware of. There are about 295 million people in the United States. According to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) there are about 246 million firearms in the United States. It has been estimated by most experts that a little less than half of all households in the United States contain at least one firearm. These statistics mean that over 100 million people have at least some access to a firearm in their home. Yet there are only around 4 million NRA Members and much less than that are really active in protecting their right to keep and bear arms. I'll go out on a limb and say that there's another million or so that aren't members of the NRA, but are still active Second Amendment Warriors. The numbers still make me furious. Only about 5% of gun owners in the United States are doing anything to protect their right to keep and bear arms. FIVE PERCENT!!! And I think that might be slightly overstated!!! Here I am, working on keeping www.SaveTheGuns.com alive, not able to take any income for myself or my family, while most honest gun owners are completely ignoring this ongoing battle to preserve the integrity of the Second Amendment. I certainly don't expect the average gun owner to go create his own pro-gun Web site, but they should at least do something... The least I expect from the average gun owner is that they make at least one call to an elected official or write a single editorial for a newspaper in a year's time. What can you be doing to fight asinine gun control efforts such as the foolish handgun ban in San Francisco or the non-stop barrage of anti-gun bills being pushed by liberal Democrats in every state legislature and both houses of Congress? Wouldn't it be great if 95% of America's gun owners were active and 5% were lazy do-nothings? Instead, just the opposite is true. 95% of America's gun owners are doing NOTHING. That statistic aggravates me. This month's issue of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter has loads of ideas on what you can be doing to protect our cherished rights. ANTI-GUNNERS ARE HOPING YOU REST ON YOUR VICTORIES AND DON'T TURN OUT TO VOTE AND FIGHT. DON'T ENCOURAGE THEM. IT'S NOT TIME TO REST. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ELECTION YEAR. THIS MONTH'S NEWSLETTER IS DESIGNED TO INSPIRE THE READER TOWARD A STRONGER DEDICATION TOWARD PRESERVING OUR RIGHTS AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TOWARD THAT GOAL. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SAVETHEGUNS.COM QUOTES OF THE MONTH "The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend on God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die." -- George Washington (1732-1799) Founding Father, 1st US President, 'Father of the Country' Source: July 2, 1776, in orders sent to his officers explaining the war effort "..It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803), was known as the "Father of the American Revolution." "No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation." -- General Douglas Macarthur (1880-1964) WWII Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific, Supreme United Nations Commander "Hence it is that all armed prophets have conquered, and the unarmed ones have been destroyed." The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli Published in 1515 "If we make peaceful revolution impossible, we make violent revolution inevitable." -- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) 35th US President ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NRA MEMBERSHIP For those of you who are new to www.SaveTheGuns.com and this Minuteman Monthly Newsletter, I want you to be aware that I'm an NRA Membership Recruiter, Certified Firearm Instructor and subcontractor for the NRA as well. I have made a very informative Web page concerning membership in the National Rifle Association, along with a frequently asked questions section and a direct link to the NRA Membership form where you can easily join with a credit card or give an NRA Membership as a gift to a loved one or friend. Please make time to visit. Even if you're a Life NRA Member, you might not be aware of all of your benefits and the history and goals of the National Rifle Association. http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SAVETHEGUNS.COM GUN SAFETY TIP OF THE MONTH I know I gave you all the gun safety rules last month that I could possibly come up with. I think the grand total was actually quite a bit above fifty. Anyway, I've come up with another one, that you probably won't hear elsewhere. Most of you don't know this. Only a handful of you are aware of the fact that my wife and I have a special needs child. His name is Matthew. We love him dearly. He's thirteen years old. He is quite mentally disabled. His neurologist has said that some parts of his brain never developed properly while in the womb. Anyway, my gun safety tip of the month for February is to carefully consider firearm storage methods if you have special family situations such as mine. All my firearms are locked up in a safe. They are really pretty much not accessible to me in an emergency. But that is a choice that I had to make considering my unique situation. If you have a special needs child yourself or just a child or grandchild that's completely out of control, you should very carefully consider your firearm storage methods and be able to live with those decisions. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CONTRIBUTIONS TO SAVETHEGUNS.COM Dear supporters: Voluntary donations to my efforts here are the only thing that is keeping me going. I have almost yanked www.SaveTheGuns.com off the Internet three times in the past six years, because of dwindling contributions and a lack of funds. I resolved back in January of 2000 when I started, that I would not keep this Web site online if it could not support itself. If this individual effort of mine began hurting my family's finances, I would have to bring an end to this effort. In 2005, SaveTheGuns.com made a tiny profit of just $128.34. For those of you who contributed to my efforts in 2005, I thank you very much for making 2005 another successful year. I call it successful because I know I've made a difference. All the children I've helped with school projects concerning firearms, all the first-time gun owners I've helped and all the anti-gun legislators I've harassed, made 2005 a great year. You can contribute by credit card by going here: http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3GXU3PIEM5ST1 Or you can simply write me a check made payable to Marc Richardson. Marc Richardson P.O. Box 424 Shapleigh, ME 04076-0424 Please help me continue to keep www.SaveTheGuns.com online in 2006. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MINUTEMAN MONTHLY AIMING POINT FOR FEBRUARY 2006 What can you do to help preserve the Second Amendment in 2006? If you're among the crowd that thinks membership alone in the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America or Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership is enough, I think you're wrong. Membership in the NRA, GOA and JPFO is not enough. Remember that we have literally a hundred million lawful firearm owners that aren't doing anything, to make up for. I'll try to make this month's aiming point a bit shorter, because last month's was so long winded. Hey, what are you trying to say? Do you really think I'm long-winded??? :-) Anyway, let me list some things that you can be doing in 2006 to help preserve the integrity of the Second Amendment. I'll try to make the list complete, but not ramble on for hours. Aren't you glad I'm not your priest, pastor or rabbi? THE LIST OF THINGS YOU CAN DO IN 2006 **Become a member of the NRA, GOA and JPFO if you're not already. **Do campaign work for a pro-gun candidate for public office. Whether it be a candidate for Congress, or simply a candidate for County Sheriff or whatever. **Contact both of your U.S. Senator's offices and your U.S. House Representatives office at least once a month by either written letter, fax, phone call or e-mail. Once a month isn't too much to ask is it? Most people don't know their elected official's names. I think it would be great if your elected officials knew your name instead!!! How's that for being active? **Think about ideas on how you can influence the way your elected government officials vote on issues that involve lawful firearm ownership. Then follow through on your own suggestions. **Subscribe to legislative alerts from the NRA-ILA, Larry Pratt's GOA and many others. Timely and accurate information on firearm issues is an essential part to activism. http://www.nraila.org/ http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm **Most states have their own NRA Affiliate. Often, these NRA Affiliated Organizations offer legislative alerts, meetings and newsletters of their own. Find yours here: http://www.savetheguns.com/state_nra_groups.htm **Vote. This may seem an obvious one, but it should be said anyway. Living in Massachusetts for thirty eight years, Election Day was an exercise in futility. I'm a libertarian-leaning conservative Republican and getting my way in the People's Republic of Massachusetts was simply impossible, but I still voted anyway. This year Election Day is Tuesday November 7th. **Attend Townhall style meetings with your elected officials. Quite a few congressmen are taking the tremendous and admirable opportunity to speak directly with their constituents in a "townhall style" forum. Take the offered opportunity to make your views known to your elected officials by attending these meetings if they're offered. **Fight back against an anti-gun media. When your newspaper editorializes against the Second Amendment or prints something that's incorrect or disparaging toward gun owners, don't just shake your head and yell about it at the dinner table. Get on the word processor, typewriter or pick up a pen or telephone and challenge them on it. People who don't know the truth will believe what a newspaper says, even though they may well be wrong. **Encourage your gun club to have NRA Membership as part of their by-laws. If your gun club wants NRA Membership applications, just ask me, I'm an NRA Recruiter. **If you're already a committed community activist, call the NRA and request an official NRA Speaker to meet with your community. You can call the NRA-ILA Speaker's Bureau at 1 (800) 392-8683. **Lastly, contribute some money wherever you can. Every pro-gun organization needs money to survive and to be effective. I know many of you are on fixed incomes and that's fine, believe me, I know exactly how it is, not knowing how your next oil delivery will get paid. My own family cannot even contribute to my Web site to help keep me online for another year. I would really like to be making more than twenty five cents per hour for 2006. Can you help? http://www.savetheguns.com/contributions.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION You may forward, post, print, blog, distribute or otherwise use this newsletter for any reasonable purpose as long as you tell people where you got the information contained within it. Thanks, Marc Richardson Owner/Founder www.SaveTheGuns.com "What part of "...shall not be infringed.", don't they understand? To opt-out of further e-mails from www.SaveTheGuns.com simply reply with "Unsubscribe MMM" in the subject line.