Minuteman Monthly Newsletter Issue 59 June 2006 The young children of today and how they view firearms, gun owners, the Second Amendment and gun control are the future of human freedom. The young people of today, will have to look at gun control legislation tomorrow and decide what to do with it. The future of gun rights, concealed handgun carry and firearm related self defense will be determined by today's young people. They must have unencumbered access to the truth if they are to do the right thing when the time comes for them to lead the way. How will today's children lead the battle to protect the Second Amendment? What are they being taught in school about lawful firearm ownership and the history of our right to keep and bear arms? What are they being taught at home? What are they learning about guns from television and movies? I'll be honest here. I'm frankly worried that we'll lose much of our right to keep and bear arms when today's kids become tomorrow's legislators unless we take action now. I'm writing this issue of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter specifically for today's children. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SAVETHEGUNS.COM QUOTES OF THE MONTH "I am for socialism, disarmament, and, ultimately, for abolishing the state itself... I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and the sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal." Roger Baldwin (1884-1981) Founder American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) "The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions." Daniel Webster (1782-1852), US Senator "A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987) "We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles...that we are unable to think about reality." President William J. Clinton USA Today, March 11, 1993 "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them..." Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788 "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Statesman, Author, Orator and Political Philosopher ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SAVETHEGUNS.COM GUN SAFETY TIP OF THE MONTH Since this is an issue of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter that's written specifically for children under eighteen, this gun safety tip is meant specifically for kids as well. If you are ever in a situation where a young friend or young family member gets a parent's gun to show off, you should simply and calmly walk away from the situation and seek out a trusted adult and tell them about it. Do not stand there and argue with them and do not attempt to take the gun away from them. Do not issue threats to the young person who is in control of the gun either, just walk away and tell a trusted parent or other adult. Firearm accidents between two children happen most often when there is a struggle over a firearm. If you find a firearm outside, at a playground, park, roadside or recreational area, don't touch it. Do not pick it up and bring it to your parents. Do not even bring it to the police station either. It may have been used to commit a crime with and may have important evidence on it and around it. There's a good chance that it may be loaded and ready to fire as well. If you find an unsupervised firearm outside, you should have someone call the local police or sheriff's department and then show them where the gun is. Bringing a member of law enforcement to the gun is a much better choice than bringing the gun to a parent or police officer. If your parents have chosen to have a gun in their home there are a couple of important things for you to know. First, if you want to see and handle the gun, ask your mom or dad first. Do not go and seek out the gun yourself. Your mother or father would probably be happy to show you the gun and allow you to investigate it in a safe and appropriate way. Secondly, if you have a friend come over your house, it's very important that you do not seek out a gun that's in your home so you can "show it off" to them. NEVER seek out a gun in your home to show off to anyone. It is not a toy and no horseplay will be allowed, ever. More than twelve (12) children a month are killed in the United States alone because kids do not obey these simple safety tips that I have outlined above. Do not put your parents and grandparents through the traumatic and disturbing incident of getting shot with a gun by accident. Please listen to me and visit my "For Kids Only" and "Safety Rules" pages online for more information. http://www.savetheguns.com/for_kids_only.htm http://www.savetheguns.com/safety_rules.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ JUNIOR NRA MEMBERSHIPS If we fail to involve our children and grandchildren and make sure that they're aware of the truth, the anti-gun leanings of public school, the media and the entertainment industry will certainly make sure that they believe lies, myths, half truths and misconceptions about guns. One of the very best ways to involve children and teach them the truth is to get them a Junior Membership to the National Rifle Association of America. If we don't teach them the truth, the anti-gun crowd will certainly teach them lies. It's all up to us. The future of our right to keep and bear arms lies solely with our kids. It's your move. How will you affect the future of gun rights? Sign up a child today for a Junior NRA Membership. The NRA's Insights Magazine is written specifically for young people. It's not enough for just you to be an NRA Member. Involve your kids now, or the anti-gun crowd will try to sway their loyalties. Give a Junior NRA Membership to a child today: http://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NRA Regional Reports http://www.nrapublications.org/regionals/Index.asp Use this Web page for Gun Show Listings, Shooting Events, Training Opportunities and more. Through this Web page, you can involve yourself in your local "Friends of the NRA" Banquets as well. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SHOP ONLINE WITH MY AFFILIATES Father's Day is Sunday June 18th. It's less than three weeks away! Oh my! Don't worry. There's still time to place an order. What says Happy Father's Day any better than a box of ammunition, a good sturdy quality knife or a great DVD on the subject of self defense. See my "Online Store" pages and my "Affiliate Links" page for your handy shopping links. http://www.savetheguns.com/online_store.htm http://www.savetheguns.com/affiliate_links.htm Take time to check out my link to CheaperThanDirt.com for your Father's Day ideas. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MINUTEMAN MONTHLY AIMING POINT FOR JUNE 2006 I've always had a soft spot for kids. I have twenty nine (29) nieces and nephews, plus two boys of my own, makes thirty one kids in the family. Gun safety rules, proper gun handling, safe firearm and ammunition storage play a role in each of our families. But that's not where we stop. We teach our children the truth about guns and their history, how they work and what guns can do and what they can't do. I'm very afraid that children today are not getting the messages that yesterday's children got concerning guns and gun owners. Today, it would be a rare thing indeed if children in school were taught the truth on these issues. The truth is what children need the most when addressing such a controversial and hotly debated issue. My aim is to give children the truth as best I know it, through the Internet, on the firearm issue. One of the very best things you can do to ensure that your children and grandchildren get a proper and truthful education on the gun issue is to enroll them as a Junior Member in the National Rifle Association. With their membership, they get a subscription to Insights magazine, a membership card embossed with their name, an NRA patch and a coupon book, which has savings on such things as air guns, safety glasses and other related products. Insights magazine is a great publication. I have been very impressed with it. You can very easily get your child or grandchild an NRA Junior Membership as a gift by going here: http://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GUN SAFETY RULES BLITZ 2006 continues... On January 1, 2006, I began a drive to get out the gun safety message to as many people as I could for this year. I called it "Gun Safety Rules Blitz 2006". I focused on it for the January issue of this newsletter and featured it in my blogs as well. In it, I categorized all the gun safety rules I could possibly come up with and made it the focal point of the effort. I promoted more than fifty (50) gun safety rules and tips, when many gun safety related pages and articles stop at about ten or twelve. You can read more about "Gun Safety Rules Blitz 2006" at my blogs and by viewing the January 2006 Minuteman Monthly Newsletter: http://savetheguns.blogspot.com/2005/12/gun-safety-rules-blitz-2006.html http://www.townhall.com/blogs/soapbox/SaveTheGuns.com/story/2006/02/17/186914.html http://www.savetheguns.com/Text%20Files/MMM54.txt Please spread the word about "Gun Safety Rules Blitz 2006" The year is nearly half over and many more children ages 0 to 19 will die from an unintended firearm discharge if you don't act and help spread the word. My hope is that 2006 will set a record for having the lowest number of accident firearm related deaths. Only through your help can this goal be accomplished. I'm only one man and I'm counting on you, the reader to help me save lives for the remaining half of 2006. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT (for kids) Hi kids! Did you know what the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights says? It says: "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." This means that our government is not allowed to trespass upon, breach or violate our pre-existing right to own and carry firearms. I say pre-existing right, because the right to own and carry firearms existed long before the United States was born. It was part of English Common Law and the concept of having an armed citizenry protecting the liberties and safety of the people was an Anglo-Saxon tradition that went back more than eight hundred (800) years at that time. It's also important for you to know that the Bill of Rights does not grant us our rights by the government. That's very important for you to understand. The Bill of Rights rather recognizes certain rights of the people that are part of being a free country and then it self-limits government's own ability to act on or diminish those rights. Our Founding Fathers always wanted the American people to be able to defend their freedom from all enemies, both foreign enemies and domestic enemies. They were well aware that the very nature of government is to always seek more power and authority. The Founding Fathers wanted to prevent the government from taking freedom away from the people. Of course the best way to ensure this, was to guarantee that the government could never disarm the people. Let me give you four quotes from the Founding Fathers to better explain these concepts: "I hope, therefore, a bill of rights will be formed to guard the people against the Federal government as they are already guarded against their State governments, in most instances." Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1788. ME 7:98 "The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." Samuel Adams of Massachusetts -- U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788 "A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." George Washington "The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms has justly been considered the palladium of the liberties of the republic, since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers, and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them." Joseph Story, United States Supreme Court Justice, 1833 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ YOU'RE THE FUTURE OF HUMAN FREEDOM You, today's young person, are the very future of human freedom in the world. Your generation will be challenged with the approaching monster of attempts at world government. Even now, the United Nations has it's eyes upon our level of personal freedom in the United States. In the next few weeks the United Nations will hold their 2006 Small Arms Review Conference on June 26th to July 7th. Even upon July 4th, our own Independence Day, the United Nations is holding a conference to disarm citizens of the United States. We the sovereign people of the United States absolutely and tenaciously refuse to be governed by a filthy and corrupt world organization. How will the young person of today address these same threats to human freedom and liberty in the future? http://www.un.org/events/smallarms2006/index.html You will have to decide how important freedom is to you and your children. You will have to decide how important it is to be able to defend yourselves from violent criminals. You will have to decide how much of, if any, of our nation's sovereignty you're willing to give up to the United Nations or some other emerging global government. Likewise, it is you who will have to stand firm upon protecting your own personal sovereignty that's protected by our Bill of Rights. I encourage you to not give up a single ounce of our freedoms. I encourage you to not be complacent or content to let others fight for you. You must take a stand for human freedom yourself. Do not assume that our own government always has our best interests in mind. I encourage you not to be satisfied with our level of freedom and individual sovereignty. You should always strive to improve these things. Much of our freedom, personal liberty and independence has been lost simply because of inaction and a lack of interest by most Americans. My hope is that your generation will do a better job than mine at preserving these ideals. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797) I urge you to get involved, even today, to help preserve freedom, liberty, independence and justice in the world. I urge you to stay informed, stay united, keep active and maintain an ever watchful eye upon history. Look closely at what America's Founding Fathers said, wrote and thought. Investigate the ideas of the Founding Fathers, read their writings and their letters to one another. One of my biggest frustrations with public school is that the words and deeds of the Founding Fathers and the real history of the birth of the United States have been largely covered up. You can bet your last dollar that the quotations from the Founding Fathers that clearly speak against gun control, will not be heard in school. I encourage the young people of today to learn more about the truth concerning American history. Find out what the Founding Fathers really meant when they wrote the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution. Young people of today will be tomorrow's teachers, legislators, soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Young people of today will be tomorrow's college professors, lawyers, judges, National Guard and Coast Guard. The future actions or inaction of today's children, will layout the plan, foundation and course of the United States and the progress of human freedom throughout the planet. It's absolutely essential that today's adults strive to give them the tools and knowledge they need to make the right decisions in the future. The march of freedom, individual liberty and justice in the world depends solely upon the children of today. Let us dedicate ourselves to giving them the truth. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ As usual, you may post, blog, editorialize, forward, print, circulate and use this newsletter in any way you deem fit, as long as you mention that you got it from www.SaveTheGuns.com Thanks, Marc Richardson Owner/Founder www.SaveTheGuns.com "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them..." 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