HANDGUN CONTROL ONE MILLION STRONG . . . working to keep handguns out of the wrong hands. A Quick Guide to Arguing with the Gun Zealots When you argue with the anti-gun control forces remember to press these key issues: Strategic points to remember for public speaking: * Today's criminals and gangbangers outgun our cops. * Our children are being threatened, murdered and cut down in the street. * There is no sporting purpose for a semi-automatic firearm * The 2nd Amendment does not protect the right to own military or semi automatic arms. * With tens of millions of people owning guns, the potential for lawlessness and gun massacres increases ten fold each year. * The current crime wave can touch any community, and social strata. * Handguns have no purposes other than killing people. * Households with guns are 43 times more likely to have their guns used against a family member than those households without guns. * Self defense is no legitimate reason for owning a gun (see Above Point) * The vast majority of crime guns are bought legally. * Most Gun dealers sell thousands of guns illegally to gangs and criminals every day. Repeat these facts over and over and eventually the public will begin to see the light. They cannot casually dismiss these devastating facts any more. They will be remembering our arguments long after the echoes of the NRA's arguments have vanished. Remember that they are defending the right to murder in our country. This alone makes them look brutish and neanderthal. Offer our people another alternative. An alternative to violence and machismo. It is becoming less and less politically correct to own a gun. Ultimately society as a whole will look upon gun owners with dread and disdain. Other Pressing Points: * Military Assault weapons The confusion by the general public between semi-automatic weapons can work in our favor. Constantly dropping the words - submachine gun, fully automatic, machine gun, military weapon, high tech killing machine are good debater's tricks to instill a sense of dread over these weapons. Ultimately people will learn to dread these weapons just like chemical warfare weapons and toxic waste dumps. * Semi Automatic Weapons Remember that there is no place for any kind of semi auto weapon in a safe society regardless of how it looks, since many so called sport rifles can be easily converted to a military configuration. Thus all semi automatic weapons are capable of being called 'assault weapons'. Never let up on this fact. * Endangerment of Children: It is difficult for the Gun groups to counter arguments which call attention to the endangerment of children. Making the opposition look callous creates an image of brutality and indifference to the audience. Keep this point in the fore front of any public argument. * Enough is enough: Americans are sick and tired of the violence that is infecting our society. Press fourth this point and other points of a related nature. It is time for action, to take back our streets from crime. If we don't take action now, this crimewave will engulf America. Again be sure to press the point that the Gun Lobby opposes action to counter this crime wave. * Assault Weapons - the Choice of criminals: Assault weapons are the weapons of choice for gangs, mentally deficient individuals, and criminals across the board. The Gun Lobby argues that anyone at any time should have the right to buy and own these weapons of mass destruction. * Too Many Guns in the U.S.: There are over 200 million guns in America today. One for every man, woman and child in the United States. Push the fact that each one of these killing machines poses a grave threat to our population. * Assault Ammunition - Military Firepower = Death The ammunition for military arms are more powerful and more devastating than normal ammunition. This type of ammo if not banned, should have the delivery systems (aka assault weapons) banned at least. Points of Victory in the past ten years: * Defeating the NRA's attempt to gut the ban on interstate handgun sales. * Defeating the NRA's protection of Cop Killer Bullets. * Defeating the NRA's protection of Plastic, Undetectable handguns. * Winning a ban on Saturday Night Specials in Maryland. * Winning bans on Assault Weapons in states and cities throughout the U.S. Also remember to make good use of HCI's prepared 10 and 20 minute sample speeches. HCI's offices will make more speeches available in the future. These speeches can be modified to fit a variety of circumstances. -- The Fraud of the Second Amendment and the Gun Lobby's Big Lie: The Following is our current flyer on the NRA's Fraud concerning the meaning and interpretation of the Second Amendment. Remember to read the arguments about the Second Amendment and our fact cheets on Children & Guns, Firearms & Youth Suicide and our upcoming Fact Sheet on the Myth of using a Gun in Self Defense. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the S.T.A.R. program and push not only for its implementation but also of new materials which address the Gun Lobby's Myth about the Second Amendment. "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." [emblem of golden eagle with THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO shield, grasping arrows & THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION a branch] The Second Amendment: Fraud and Fact Four Basic Reasons Why The Second Amendment Permits Gun Control [original is in two columns, with "FRAUD" on left and "FACT" on right] [FRAUD] 1. The Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees each individual the unlimited right to own and use guns for hunting, self-protection, target shooting or other individual pursuits. [FACT] 1. Although the gun lobby, let by the National Rifle Association, literally spends millions of dollars each year promoting this false claim, the truth is the federal courts have unanimously held that the right to keep and bear arms is limited to participation in an organized militia... that the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right of individuals to own and to carry arms. [FRAUD] 2. Because the Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to bear arms, the government cannot forbid Americans to own firearms, such as handguns, or even assault weapons. [FACT] 2. No federal court in history has ever overturned a gun control law on Second Amendment grounds. To the contrary, the courts have held that this amendment does not prohibit Congress from regulating the interstate sale of weapons, nor does it prevent the states from regulating the use and sale of firearms as they see fit. [FRAUD] 3. Because it contains the phrase, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms," the Second Amendment obviously was meant to confer an individual right to own and use firearms. [FACT] 3. During colonial days, Americans held a great distrust of standing armies and, in order to get the Constitution ratified, the framers had to include a Bill of Rights provision to protect state militias from federal encroachment. Thus, "of the people" refers to the right of the people to participate in organized state militias, free from interference by the federal government. [FRAUD] 4. A "well-regulated militia" refers to those persons who live within the boundaries of any given state, and that's why each citizen of a state retains a fundamental "right to keep and bear arms". [FACT] 4. The term "well-regulated militia" has been consistently viewed by the federal courts as the active, organized militia of each state. Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court has twice held that the National Guard is the modern day equivalent of a state militia. Of course, the National Guard does not use privately owned firearms at all. [ends]