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UN
PROTEST RALLY SPEECH
Opening Remarks- A little over sixteen months ago my
husband told me I should find the website for this Pro Gun Women's group
he had heard about on the radio. So, during the Internet search the
Million Mom March website popped up. From now on, I will only refer to
them as the MMM-because they were not a million, they were not all Moms
and they did not march, except in front of the TV cameras. Well, I had
heard about them, but didn't know what they were all about, so I started
reading their website. When I saw "…regardless of the
interpretation, the second amendment is irrelevant." That was when
I KNEW their true agenda was NOT protecting children, but rather they
were targeting our Second Amendment rights. Sixteen months ago I
"stepped up to the plate" and became the Pennsylvania State
Coordinator for the Second Amendment Sisters. I am now the National
Press Coordinator/Spokesperson.
Body of Speech-When I started with
SAS I really didn't know all that much about what was going on. My
husband had introduced me to guns. I had my Concealed Carry Permit. I
had no cause to worry about my right to self-defense. But, then I became
educated by more or less a total immersion in the facts. Always, always
look for the facts, never take what anyone presents as "the
facts" to be the truth, always go to the source. I have found out
that the facts overwhelming on are on "our" side. The facts
bear out the truth of what WE are saying.
I love it when I'm debating someone from
the anti-rights groups and I've got them nailed on the facts. They have
no way to counter the facts! Then they resort to, "Well, I know
that what I say is the truth!" I call that their "Don't
Confuse Me With The Facts" defense.
SAS was established in direct response to
the MMM and their Mother's Day Rally in Washington, DC in 2000. The main
focus of SAS those first four months was to hold a counter rally at the
same time as the MMM. SAS is a true grassroots effort-to my knowledge
the first to organize entirely on the Internet! We were "born"
on the Internet, we were organized on the Internet, and we continue to
be an Internet Organization. No one in our organization really met until
just two nights before our Armed Informed Mothers Rally and March in DC
in May 2000. We are not an offshoot of the NRA. We are not associated
with any other organization. We do not get money from any other
organization. We are, at this point in time, an all unpaid volunteer
organization. We get our money from memberships, donations, and
sales of items with our name on it. By the way, we now have an on line
store on our website-check it out! Our website is very easy to remember,
it's www.2asisters.org.
SAS puts a whole new face on the
so-called "gun debate". I say "so-called" because
it's not really about guns; it's really about our right to self-defense.
Boiled down, that's what it's all about, whether or not we, as citizens
of the United States of America, will be able to continue to LEGALLY
defend ourselves from enemies foreign and domestic. I stress LEGALLY
because we have the individual right to keep and bear arms whether or
not it is written down and allowed by a government. I believe that the
basic human right of self-defense is a God given right. For those of you
who question God, then you may see it as a right since the existence of
man, and you know what? You have every right to believe that because we
live in the United States of America, and you still have your 1st
Amendment Rights!
Some governments on this planet today
profess to be supporters of human rights, yet they do not allow their
citizens to have the most basic of human rights, the right to
self-defense. These same governments are now trying to restrict the
right to self-defense of the citizens of the United States of America in
the name of ending the violence and killing. Their tactic is nothing
new; we've seen it all too often here in the United States.
Second Amendment Sisters is "no
compromise" when it comes to the Second Amendment, our basic human
right to self-defense. There is no room to compromise with someone who
is beating you with a baseball bat. There is no room to compromise with
a gun wielding man who has just driven through the front window of the
cafeteria where you are having lunch with your parents. There is no room
to compromise when a naked man with a pitchfork cuts your phone line and
breaks into your home. There is no room to compromise when your ex
breaks into your mother's home, intent on harming both of you. There is
no room to compromise when an ex-boyfriend is stalking your 17-year-old
daughter. There is NO ROOM TO COMPROMISE OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS,
OUR BASIC HUMAN RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE.
Other governments have compromised their
citizens/subjects basic human right to self-defense. In knee jerk
reactions many countries have disarmed their people, and now they are
dealing with incredible rises in crime, because, guess what? The
criminals haven't disarmed, and they know that chances are pretty good
that their intended victim is not armed! According to the Home Office-
England has only has one quarter of the population of the US, but they
now have 75% more rapes than the US!
The anti-rights groups, you know, the now
essentially non-existent MMM, (they announced they were joining with the
United Nations to become the Billion Mom March-do the math! That's
laughable! We'll just call them the BM's. They also have joined or
rolled into the former Handgun Control Inc, now called the Brady
something or other.). Anyway, the anti-rights groups such as the BM's,
HCI, Pax, Cease-Fire, Silent March etc…all claim that in these
countries where legal self-defense with a gun has been taken away, gun
murders and suicides have dropped. Well, yeah, GUN murders and GUN
suicides have dropped, but the overall murders and suicides have either
remained the same or increased! Let me spell that out for any of the
anti-rights people-THOSE INTENT ON DOING HARM ARE USING OTHER MEANS and
still the end result is the same!
Let me tell you about what can happen
when people have there right to legal self-defense taken away. (As I
said before, they still have the right; it's just that their government
has made it illegal). In late 1937 and on into early 1938 the Rape of
Nanking, or the Nanking Massacre happened. This was during the
Sino-Japanese War; the Japanese had captured Shanghai and were about to
capture Nanking. The Chinese forces retreated from Nanking, leaving the
civilians defenseless, as well as leaving behind nearly 15,000
surrendering Chinese Soldiers. The Japanese exterminated the nearly
15,000 Chinese soldiers. But it is what happened to the women in Nanking
that is even more horrifying. The occupying army systematically
gang-raped and abused every female, no matter the age. This is what
comes from only a government having firearms. More people were killed in
the Nanking Massacre than the American armed forces lost during battle
in ALL of World War II. Some people will say, "Well that was
war!" I will say, "No, that was the massacre of hundreds of
thousands of unarmed men, women, and children." Yes, war is a nasty
business. The Nanking Massacre is merely one of many examples, some in
more modern times, of what can be perpetrated on masses of unarmed
people. Governments take away the most effective tool of self-defense,
in the name of public safety, all the while promising to protect it's
citizens/subjects. Yes, what happened at Nanking is a larger scale
event, but smaller scale events are happening now, around the world.
Governments, for one reason or another cannot protect their people, and
they have taken away all means by which the people can protect
themselves! Is it any wonder that crime is on the rise in disarmed
nations? Is it any wonder that genocide is alive and well on this Earth
today?
The Constitution of the United States is
a contract with the States; the Bill of Rights is a contract with the
people. For those of you who may be a little unclear, the Constitution
was not ratified until there was a promise of a Bill of Rights to
address the rights of the people. The Bill of Rights is the first ten
amendments to the Constitution and were all adopted at one time. The
Bill of Rights is a written promise to the Citizens of the United States
of America that the government will always respect the rights, which we
have as human beings, it does not confer those rights, it respects those
rights.
People are literally dying to get into
the United States of America. Ask yourself, why is this? The United
States enjoys more freedoms than any other country on earth. The United
States has the highest standard of living than any other country on
Earth. On a scale of 1 to 10, compared to any other country, the
United States of America is a 10!
If the citizens are disarmed, the
criminals will then have the advantage. Women, the handicapped, and the
elderly will then become the victims of choice for many criminals.
ANY law or treaty or anything that denies
law-abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms essentially denies
them the right to self-defense. Women in particular, should pay
attention to ANY law that could render them defense-less. Men and women
are different-we are made that way! For the most part men are stronger
than most women. A man could easily kill a woman with his bear hands.
When women are allowed to choose to carry a gun, women have equality.
Take away a woman's right to self-defense and you have imposed upon all
women a possible death sentence. You would be setting back women's right
hundreds of years. Women would then be at the mercy of any bully.
Granted, rape and murder are illegal, but there are people who still do
it. The most effective means of prevention of rape and murder is when a
woman is carrying a gun. It has been estimated that 550 times each and
everyday in the United States, a woman prevents a rape by use of a
handgun. Think about that, that's WITH women being allowed, for the most
part to carry a gun. How many more rapes will be attempted simply
because the rapist knows that his victim will not be armed?
Waiting periods for guns are killing
women. Women who are being stalked first learn that there is nothing the
police can legally do to stop this, secondly they learn that the police
can not be their bodyguards, police have NO legal obligation to protect
the individual citizen, and finally, they learn, all too late, that a
Protection From Abuse order is merely a piece of paper that allows the
police to charge the subject with an additional violation. Case in
point, just last month a woman who had a PFA and was on the phone with
911 was killed while still on the phone. Did having a PFA or calling 911
save her life? Absolutely not! Women need to be able to protect
themselves and their families. Disarming citizens merely puts women at
greater risk for robbery, assault, rape and even murder. Look at the
women in the countries that are trying to disarm us in the name of
protecting us. Do they enjoy the degree of freedom we do? Do the have
the degree of equality we do?
A woman has to depend upon herself for
protection. The police cannot be there, her father, her brother, her
boyfriend, or husband all cannot always be there to protect her. Are we
willing to trade the right every women should have to self-defense in
exchange for so-called governmental security? Are you willing to subject
your wives, daughters, mothers, and aunts, to the mercy of rapists?
Because that's what it boils down to.
I've run into men who have taken an
anti-gun stance. When I ask them what will they do when someone breaks
into their house, and they are home, I get the same answer time and time
again, " I will let them take whatever they want." There are
two problems with this answer-#1 They are assuming that they are still
in control, when they say, "I will". They are not in control;
the criminal is in total control if you have no means by which to defend
yourself. #2 They are assuming that the only reason the criminal is
there is to take "things". They cannot accept the fact that
the criminal may be there to rape their wife or daughter. If someone
breaks into my house while I am there, I certainly don't plan on sitting
down and discussing things with him. You assume they are there to do
harm to you or your family. They don't belong there and you have a right
to defend yourself and your family, unless the most effective means of
self-defense has been denied to you. This denial of rights has happened
in many large cities throughout the United States. These cities also
happen to now enjoy the highest crime rates in the United States.
Detroit, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York City who account for 20%
of all murders in the United States!
I was recently in Chicago where I had a
rather heated discussion about guns and self-defense with one of my
brothers. Once I confronted him with the facts and figures he asked,
"Where did you get those numbers from?" I answered, "From
the FBI, BATF, the CDC, and the National Health Institute (?)" His
retort was, "Those don't mean anything. I see it in the papers and
on TV everyday!" and then he walked away. It didn't dawn on me
until much later, of course he sees it EVERY DAY, he lives next to
Chicago and Oak Park!
The residents of the City of Chicago are
no longer allowed to defend themselves by the most effective means
available. The same holds true for the Village of Oak Park. I spent my
childhood in Oak Park, Illinois. I loved it there! It was a great place
to grow up. Now, it has disarmed its residents and crime is rampant.
It's not a safe place anymore. The Oak Park I knew in the 60's does not
exist anymore, for many reasons. They say you can never go back, well, I
do occasionally drive through the old neighborhood, but only in daylight
and with all the doors locked, because, you see, I have no legal right
to defend myself by the most effective means possible in Oak Park, IL.
Unfortunately, this is happening in
places across the United States. Even entire states are making it very
difficult for citizens to legally defend themselves. But, let me make
this absolutely clear, it is NOT the majority of the people who are
willing to submit to the clearly anti-self defense interests of the few.
The anti-self-defense groups happen to get more mainstream media
coverage, thus making it APPEAR that the majority of Americans want
these restrictions on our rights. Appearances can be deceiving.
You have to understand, the media is a
business, and they must make a profit in order to continue. So,
sensational stories get more coverage. If it bleeds, it leads, and
leads, and leads, and leads, ad nauseaum. Stories such as the elderly
neighbor lady who held a male intruder at gunpoint until the police
arrived, never even make it into the local newspaper!
I am a Mom, my husband and I have four
children between the ages of 8 and 13. We think the United States of
America is the best nation on Earth, and we know that only eternal
vigilance will keep it that way. Seventeen months ago I never would have
thought that I would be a National Spokesperson for such a fine and
Patriotic organization, nor speaking here today to all of you. Life is
truly unpredictable!
In these past sixteen months I have had
the honor to meet some of the greatest Patriots of the 21st Century (I
think I stole that term from Charlton Heston). I have met such people as
Juli Bednarzyk, Deb Wasilewski, Mari Thompson, Kim Watson, Dianne Sawyer
(with 2 "n"s in Dianne)-all Founders of the Second Amendment
Sisters, John Lott-author of More Guns Less Crime, I have met Joseph
Tartato and his daughter Peggy-from Second Amendment Foundation, Alan
Gottlieb and his wife JuliAnn-from Citizens Committee for the Right to
Keep and Bear Arms, Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America, Sheriff
Richard Mack-who took the Brady Bill all the way to the Supreme Court
and won, Kenn Blanchard author of Black Man with a Gun, Wayne LaPierre,
James Jay Baker, Susan Howard, Marion Hammer, Tanya Metaksa and others
all from the NRA, Charlton Heston-who told our Dianne Sawyer, "You
guys keep doing what you're doing!" The people who put together
"Concord 2000 and the Rally in the Valley", Poker Face, Aaron
Kait of Jews USA, J.J. Johnson of the Sierra Times, Neal Knox, Paxton
Quigley author of Armed and Female, Senator Larry Craig, Representative
Bob Barr, J. Neil Shulman-author of "Self-Control, not Gun
Control", Rick Mase and Phil Longden of TRT, Jim Clymer and others
from the Constitution Party, and many, many others who are out there
everyday working to keep our Second Amendment Rights, and the Freedoms
it guarantees, in tact.
I have mentioned these names to show you
that it is not just the NRA that is standing up for our right to keep
and bear arms; it is a cross section of America. We don't all have the
same way of going about it, but we are all making a difference.
Differences in how we are doing it, yes, but what brings us all together
is our PASSION to protect our Second Amendment Rights, which, when you
look at it is the key to all our other rights, including the right to
free speech under the First Amendment! The Second Amendment is the
backbone of the Bill of Rights and it's the Bill of Rights, which
supports our Constitution. The people who want to take away our Second
Amendment Rights know this, and so do we!
Okay, now what can you do? Do what you
can! There is always room for you to do more. Look at me, I had no time
to be an activist 17 months ago, I still have no time, but I am doing
it! Write to your Congress-people, write to your State Representatives,
write to your newspapers, call people, volunteer for a Pro Second
Amendment Candidate, become a Candidate, get involved! Ask your friends
if they are registered to vote, if they are not, give them voter
registration forms. Join as many Pro-Second Amendment organizations as
you can afford! You don't have to be Jewish to join Jews for the
Preservation of Firearms Ownership, nor do you have to be a woman to
join the Second Amendment Sisters-which I highly recommend everyone here
today do! If you have extra money, donate it! (Hopefully to SAS-wink,
wink).
Bottom line is, start acting like
Citizens of the United States of America! We are blessed beyond belief
in the country, but blessings need attention, or they will no longer
exist!
I call on each one of you here today,
those within the sound of my voice, and those reading my words to become
Patriots of the 21st Century! You are citizens of the greatest nation on
Earth, be proud and protect it.
Thank you, and "Happy Trails!"
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