You Didn’t Really Believe Those Promises, Did You?
By Aaron Zelman
After George W. Bush assumed the Presidency in 2001, the NRA exulted
in its direct connection and influence inside the White House. Many Americans
thought that the new President would be a friend to gun owners. When Attorney
General nominee John Ashcroft told the Senate committee that he believed that
the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, gun
owners celebrated. With the “right people” in the White House,
supported by the supposedly pro-gun party controlling one or both houses of
Congress, gun owners rested easy, expecting great things.
Nineteen months before
the next general election: has any federal “gun control” law been
repealed? Have the FBI and BATF discontinued their gun owner tracking
systems? Has anything become more favorable on the federal level for
firearms ownership?
Why So Weak On This
No-Brainer?
In April 2003, the Bush
administration leaked the President’s intention to renew and extend the
1994 “Assault Weapons Ban” that was enacted by the Congress and the
anti-gun Clinton Administration. BOHICA. Elected by a swell of pro-gun voters,
President Bush apparently plans to ride the sleepy inertia of those voters and
renege on his Administration’s gun rights promises.
Contrary to media
myth-mongering, the “assault weapons” issue is not difficult. The
so-called “assault weapons” in question are nothing more than
semi-automatic rifles. They aren't flamethrowers or rocket launchers. They
employ 100-year-old technology. These rifles use cartridges that are not the
most powerful available, and the bullets are not special. National statistics
show that these semi-automatic rifles are rarely used in homicide.
Bottom line: there is no
special fact about “assault weapons” (semi-automatic rifles) that
justifies regulating them or banning them. By telling the truth
fearlessly, clearly and often, the Administration could convince many Americans
that the ban on “assault weapons” is unjustified, silly, and
unconstitutional. The ban actually contains a “sunset” provision
– the ban would be disappear automatically if Congress simply ignores it.
So why is the Bush Administration -- supposedly pro-gun -- suggesting that it
wants the “Assault Weapons Ban” renewed?
There can only be one
answer: Mr. Bush and his advisers do not really believe their own statements
about the right to keep and bear arms. These politicians use the “gun
issue” to draw in voters who desperately want to believe that someone in
power will protect our rights.
The desire to acquire
and hold power motivates such men and women -- not the love of principles,
rights or the Constitution. Even if Mr. Bush personally treasures the Second
Amendment and firearms ownership, he desires power more. There is no other way
to explain his wish to extend the pointless “Assault Weapons Ban.”
Americans, Get Off
Your Knees
Have you trusted the
system of campaigning and contributing and voting and writing letters to
elected officials? Certainly at the federal level, that system has betrayed gun
owners for decades. The political system is broken, it dangles and whips in the
wind of polls and stats and sound bites. Decent citizens meekly begging for
favors from politicians whom they have elected -- it’s pathetic.
Victory can come only by
awakening the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. We have to do it on our
own. Every person we can win, one by one, moves us closer to the
America we want, love and deserve. It’s the highest and best use of our
time, money and effort.
We have developed the
tools for you to use – here are just a few:
-
The Last of the BOHICANS
-- shows how and why the political system consistently dupes and betrays gun
owners. Free at www.jpfo.org/bohica.htm
-
Will “Gun
Control” Make You Safer? -- the illustrated booklet that
demolishes the most common “gun control” myths. $3.00 per copy; $20
for 50 copies.
-
“Gun
Control” Kills Kids! – loveable curmudgeon Gran'pa Jack
delivers the sobering truth about global victim disarmament. $3.00 per copy;
$20 for 50 copies.
-
The State vs. The People
-- fully documents the nature of police states and the rise of police state
policies in America. $19.95 per copy; volume discounts available.
-
Innocents Betrayed
-- after seeing this forthcoming documentary film, no one can remain
“undecided” about the horror of victim disarmament ideas. View a
clip and stay tuned at www.jpfo.org/ib.htm
Take the liberty message
to the country – to one person or a hundred people – but take a
crucial step forward today. Order any of the above materials at our website at
www.jpfo.org or by calling (800) 869-1884. All prices shown above include U.S.
postage paid. Join JPFO – still only $20 annual dues.
Don't sit back and just
"let George do it" – because it looks like George never will.
It's up to us. All of us. Now.
