The PROponent Peoples Rights Organization 5 E. Long St., Suite 412; Columbus, OH 43215; (614) 268-0122 Volume 5 August, 1993 Number 8 Two Down! RAY MILLER AND HOWARD METZENBAUM QUITTING... This past month has been an excellent one for gun owners. Senator Howard Metzenbaum has announced that he will not seek re-election in 1994, for the Senate seat he has held for 18 years. Ohio Representative, Ray Miller (D-22 nd Dist.) from Whitehall, quit his job as an elected official. Miller served since 1981 as an ardent anti-gunner. Longtime PRO members remember that Metzenbaum's attacks upon the Constitution are consistent with his communist background. He served as official secretary of the National Lawyers Guild established in 1937 by the Communist Party as its legal front. Metzenbaum was also one of the three founders of the Ohio School of Social Science and later served as its treasurer. The U.S. Attorney General labeled the school a "communist adjunct." He also served as trustee and sponsor of a number of groups with Russell N. Chase, attorney for the Communist Party in Ohio. Living in Ohio meant that all you received from Metzenbaum was form letters, and he went on with whatever he wanted to do, mostly trying to steal your rights. All you got from Miller was nothing. He gained the nickname "You can call me Ray" because he never returned phone calls or letters that were contrary to what he felt. This editor did get the last word in with Miller via a phone call. He answered his own phone on his last day, "Ray." "Mr. Miller, I've tried to talk with you since 1989. You've never written me back, nor returned my calls. I would just like to say Thank God and Greyhound you're gone." Click. Charleta B. Tavares has been named to replace Miller. She is a former aid to Miller, and probably shares his views on firearms. Metzenbaum's son-in-law, Joel Hyatt is probably the front runner for his Senate seat on the Democratic side. Howard seems to like to keep things all in the family. Already his daughter, Sally Metzenbaum has a job in charge of "Regional Operations" for the EPA. For the Republicans, Lt. Governor Michael DeWine has announced his candidacy for the Senate race, as has State Senator Eugene Watts (16th. Dist.) DeWine has been a representative in Washington and then ran against John Glenn in 1992 for the Senate. He lost by a wide margin. As a representative, DeWine was involved in the check kiting scandals. DeWine then caught on the coattails of George Voinovich in his run for the governor's office. Since then he hasn't done much. Although PRO supported him in his race against super gun-grabber Glenn, he is not the best choice for the gun owning public. He says he supports our rights, but votes for restrictive measures every time they come up. And PRO has not forgotten that at the end of his term in Congress he happened to be in Ohio and actually flew back to Washington so he could vote FOR the Brady bill. Senator Watts has been a long time friend of the veteran, gun owners and hunters. He has opposed the Dove Bill and a pre-emption law that he feels is in conflict with the Home Rule provision of the Ohio Constitution, but the Dove Bill is really a minor hunting issue and the political problems with pro-gunners getting their act together on a viable uniformity law is a story too long and involved to cover in the space we have here. Of the two front runners, Senator Watts would be the better man as Ohio's Senator in Congress. HELP! Nothing is going to be as important as what you do this fall to help elect our candidates. The PRO leadership is trying everything we know to get our membership out on the campaign trail. This may sound alarmist, but with 66 anti-gun bills in Congress and attacks from all sides, mowing your lawn this fall instead of spending a Saturday morning passing out campaign literature could well mean that you will soon be living a life in this country quite different from the one you now live. Get over your inertia. Its easy. Consider putting an ugly campaign sign in your yard a duty. It costs you nothing and every bit of advertising helps. And one of the most effective forms of advertising is the "lit drop". This is distributing the campaign flyers that you find in your door. We absolutely MUST get people to help with this. Don't be scared, its easy. You get up Saturday or Sunday morning early and meet at some designated spot. The campaign worker will give you street map with an area colored in and a stack of flyers. Your job is only to put one of these flyers in each door in your area. You should be polite. Don't walk on the grass or use mail boxes (it's illegal) for flyers. Usually, you just stick them in the screen door handle. It is not your job to shake hands or give speeches. If you should meet a resident, just say, "I would like to ask you to vote for (name of candidate)", hand them a flyer, say "Thank you" and go on with your work. When your map is finished you return the leftover flyers and go home. The whole job takes but a couple of hours. PRO has an excellent track record. Often our candidates have not won, but where we covered a given area, our candidates have won in that ward. The key is getting enough people to cover enough wards. WE NEED YOU! As an additional incentive, PRO has set aside $1000 for a $500 and two $250 prizes. Money must be spent at our gun shows. Each hour spent on PRO sponsored activities earns you a raffle ticket toward these prizes. This ain't hay, and we would hate to see this money wasted by having the program not bring in additional helpers. Get it into your mind to volunteer for at least one lit drop or mail stuffing this election. Not only will you be fighting for our rights, but who knows, you might get lucky. ACQUITTAL... A little over a year ago over 100 federal, state, and local officers surrounded the house of Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge. Inside were Weaver's wife, his 14-year old son and three daughters aged 16, 10 and 10 months. Before it was over, Vicki Weaver, 43, was dead. So was his son, Samuel. The deadly standoff, and ensuing deaths began when Weaver failed to show up for a trial over the sale of illegal firearms to an undercover agent. In early July, Weaver and Kevin Harris were acquitted in the slaying of a federal marshall. Weaver was convicted on two minor counts. The verdict came on the 20th day of deliberations, a record for Idaho. The two were charged in the death of Deputy Marshall William Degan during the shootout that started last August 21 and ended September 1, 1992. The shootout began when federal marshals prepared to arrest Weaver for failing to appear at a 1991 trial on a weapons charge of selling two sawed-off shotguns to an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. When the verdict was read, Weaver and Harris were in tears as spectators applauded the outcome. Harris said that he didn't doubt that he would be released and that "I think that the right thing happened." Weaver remains in the custody of federal marshals for his conviction of two minor counts. For those offenses he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. U.S. Attorney Maurice Ellsworth and assistant attorneys Ron Howen and Kim Lindquist refused to comment on the verdicts. They handled the case for the prosecution. Jury Foreman John Harris Weaver said that the prosecution suffered from "a lack of evidence and confusion." "There was really no way to get a clear picture of what happened." "The government didn't make their case. That's really it. We kind of put ourselves on trial. If we were on trial, would we want to be convicted by this kind of evidence?" With the acquittal of Weaver and Harris and the death of the children in Waco, Texas, isn't it about time that we called in the rampaging law enforcement branches of our federal government. With the FBI calling for gun control and licensing of firearms; with the FBI and the BATF participating in the wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians, and with federal marshals involved with illegal attempts to deprive citizens of their liberty it is past time to call for the consolidation of the BATF and the FBI, and to reign in the federal marshals. The Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights reads as follows: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of WAR or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall he be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, NOR BE DEPRIVED OF LIFE, LIBERTY, OR PROPERTY, WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW; NOR SHALL PRIVATE PROPERTY BE TAKEN FOR PUBLIC USE WITHOUT JUST COMPENSATION. In Waco, those children that perished in a ball of fire were denied their right to life by the FBI and the ATF. They never received their right to due process of law. In Ruby Ridge, Weaver lost his wife and son. They lost their right to due process of law to overzealous marshals. How many more Waco's and Weaver incidents are the American public going to put up with before we say enough. This is America. Land of the free. Not really. Unless you join the battle already raging at your doorstep. The same battle that those at Waco lost, and Weaver and Harris have partially won. These same battles have been fought in other places. Places like Silver Spring, Maryland; Colville, Washington and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Silver Springs, plainclothes ATF agents in ski masks burst into the home of Ken Ballew, an Air Force vet and newspaper pressman living in a high-crime neighborhood. Ballew, unaware of what was happening, grabbed an antique pistol to defend himself. He was shot in the head and paralyzed. Nothing illegal was found and ATF refused to pay damages. This happened in June of 1971. In June of 1978, hundreds of lawful gun owners and dealers at a gun show in San Jose were detained for two hours by twenty ATF agents, who photographed them and then forced them to sign a "warning ." As a result, ATF agents were forbidden for years from attending such shows. February of 1992 a Senate subcommittee published a report documenting ATF abuse, chiding the agency for violating federal law against "secret lawmaking" by repeatedly not publishing new regulatory interpretations in the Federal register. "ATF's claims, both of focus upon gun-using criminals and of recent reforms, are empty words," the report said. The home of Del Knudson was raided by a 23-man team in April of 1991. This was in Colville, Washington. His wife was held in one room while their frantic 6-year-old daughter cried for her mother in another room, and their one-year-old daughter was left in a bathtub. An elderly neighbor who offered to watch the children was handcuffed. Some misidentified parts were confiscated--all legal. No charges were filed. In December of 1991, agents raided the house of John Lawmaster in Tulsa, with two television crews in tow. Agents knocked down the front and back doors, broke furniture, pulled down a ceiling, dumped out drawers and closets, broke into locked filing cabinets and left guns and ammunition strewn about the unsecured house. Nothing illegal was found. The ATF refused to pay damages. Lawmaster's case has many parallels with Waco. Agents of the ATF went amuck. They took tv crews with them. Innocent people suffered. As they did in Ruby Ridge. As they did in Colville. As they did in Tulsa. As they did in San Jose. The big question is what is going to happen next? Will they beat in the door of your residence? Will you fight back at armed intruders entering your home wearing black masks? As the stand-off continues, will your friends come to your aid? As you face several hundred agents of a government gone awry, will anyone have the guts to become one of those that stand up to the ATF and other agencies to keep them from destroying your home and life? As law-abiding gun owners, where do we draw the line? A former ATF agent stated, "This bullying has created a dangerous mindset--that the subject will always be intimated by the sight of a federal badge. If one spoils for a fight, it will soon find him. The Waco gunfight comes as no surprise. The only surprise is that it took so long." Given the choice of a peaceable interview and kicking in a door for the pure entertainment, ATF special agents instinctively reach for the battering ram. This is a situation inviting trouble, and as we have already shown, troubles have begun to appear. (Editor's note: The above cited incidents were taken from the August, 1993 issue of the American Spectator, page 34. The final conflagration and incineration of the Branch Davidians occurred on April 19, the 90th birthday of Elliot Ness.) LETTERS... Dear Editor: I want to compliment you and the newsletter staff on your latest PRO newsletter dated May, 1993. It is one of your best. The innocent people who have died in this country (and other countries) goes much deeper than the Weavers, Kahls, Koreshs, etc. Many innocent farmers and others have been burned in their own homes or shot like Dr. Scott in Malibu for their land and personal property. We are not safe living in groups or even living alone. It is time to clean up your own backyard. Turn off the brainwashing television sets. Invest in a shortwave radio. Order newsletters and join legitimate patriot groups. Don't be fooled into supporting dangerous legislation such as HB 1276. My rights are spelled out in the Bible, not on a paper written by the beast (this is not intended to mean Mr. Larry Pratt or others with misguided notions. I am referring to the evil forces in power.) Pray for those who will indeed suffer through these times. Pray for those in prison unjustly and pray for yourself. Only a few will seek and find the right road, and I hope I will be one. Sincerely, Sonia Crawley (Editor's Note: We wish to thank Sonia for her kind words, and ask that all who read these words to take note. We also ask that you write to the PROponent. We like keeping in touch with our readers.) STOCKPILING... With the recent media use of "stockpiling of weapons" and "a cache of weapons and ammunition" an investigation was undertaken to discover what the various law enforcement agencies considered to be "stockpiling." Telephone calls were made to Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees the FBI. His office did not know what the statements meant. They suggested contacting the ATF. The ATF was contacted, and they said to check with local law enforcement agencies. Letters were sent to Columbus Chief James Jackson and Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes. A written reply from Jackson's office read: Dear Sir: Chief Jackson referred your letter concerning "stockpiling of weapons" to me. The Columbus Division of Police has not been using such a phrase. Since you make reference that you heard the term "stockpiling of weapons", I suggest that you contact the source of that phrase. If I can be of further assistance to you, please contact me at 645-4530. Sincerely, Sergeant Tom Fischer Legal Bureau A similar reply was received from Chief Martin of the Franklin County Sheriff's department. The gist of this investigation is that these terms are media hype and hyperbole. They are not terms that law enforcement agencies use. More media lies and deceit to strip the common man of his right to keep and bear arms. NRA MEETING... [As you may know the PRO membership voted this year to send PRO chairman Richard Hale and PRO former Chairman Dave Stockham to the NRA national convention. In the past PRO has developed many important contacts in the upper regions of the pro-gun movement by sending representatives and clearly the membership continues to think these kind of connections are well worth the money spent. A report on this year's trip by Mr. Hale follows:] NRA National Convention PRO Chairman Richard Hale and past Chairman David Stockham attended the NRA National Convention in Nashville Tennessee. Richard and Dave were very impressed with the NEW NRA's top flight NRA Leadership and by four initiatives: - Grass Roots Activities - Crime Strike - The Eddie Eagle Program - America's Women Refusing to be a Victim The grass roots initiative is lead my & PRO's old friend Neal Knox. A resolution was passed at the general meeting calling for the Board of Directors to endorse and support the concept and formation of local "member's councils" of NRA members. Neal Knox characterizes this as an initiative to listen to and solicit participation from the membership in the field. We know that Neal means what he says because he listened to the PRO members involved in the lawsuit against the Columbus gun ordinance. Neal helped us continue the fight in the face of stiff pressure from the NRA to drop our suit in deference to the Cleveland suit. PRO is pursuing affiliation with the NRA-ILA in order to increase participation in PRO activities and to increase the influence of PRO in the community. Crime Strike is characterized by the statement of Marion Hammer, NRA's Second Vice President, "The criminal justice system in America is broken... The full force of the NRA, through our CrimeStrike program is bent on putting justice back into the system that now fails us." The NRA has formed a new department to work with local activists in putting the pressure on politicians to keep violent criminals in jail. In the words of Steve Twist, former Arizona Deputy Attorney General and current Director of NRA's CrimeStrike. "The campaign is for more police, more prosecutors and tough judges. Punishment should be based on the criminal's crimes, rather than his ability to bargain. Those who refuse to protect us will be exposed." Research shows that about 70% of all violent crimes are committed by just 6% of the violent criminals. Eddie Eagle is a gun safety program that teaches the children, when they find a gun: DO NOT TOUCH - LEAVE THE AREA - TELL AN ADULT. The program is currently reaching 171,000 students a month, But there are still many children who lack the important and potentially life-saving knowledge offered by this innovative program. The program provides teacher guides, posters, coloring books and a video program promoting gun safety. These materials are free to schools and law enforcement agencies. The students in my daughter's fourth grade class at Gables Elementary School went nuts over the video. After showing the video her teacher told me that he had to have more of this material. America's Women- Refusing to be a Victim is characterized by Dr. Suzanna Gratia who was eating lunch with her parents in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen Texas, when a gunman drove his automobile through the glass windows of the restaurant and shot and killed 22 innocent victims. Among those slain were Suzanna's mother and father. " When I heard the shots, my first reaction was to reach for my purse," Suzanna explained, " But when I snapped it open, I realized my revolver was in my car a hundred yards away in the parking lot. The question I get asked the most is if I really could have stopped him," Suzanna said," and that's the most insane question anyone could ask. There's no doubt in my mind that I could have stopped that guy." It's not just women who have been victimized. It's all NRA members and millions of other law-abiding citizens. According to James Baker, executive Director, NRA-ILA, "We will not allow the gun control lobby to blame you and me for the failure of our government to control violent criminals, but more importantly, we will not allow the government to strip you of your fundamental right to self-defense." The anti-gun media says that the NRA is out of touch with its membership. If that is true how do you explain the all-time-high membership number of 3,060,118. According to Wayne LaPierre, NRA's executive vice president, "I guess the media still can't read the handwriting on the wall!". The following resolution was passed unanimously at the membership meeting: "RESOLVED that members of the NRA assembled this 24th day of April 1993 in Nashville, Tennessee, do publicly affirm that the leadership of the NRA is carrying out the wishes of the members, and representing us as we wish to be represented in Congress, the state legislatures, and in the county, city and village councils of this nation and, be it further RESOLVED, that we members hereby unequivocally reject the attempts of the NRA's enemies to lecture us on what to believe, and we particularly reject their attempts to tell the nation what we think." I urge you affirm your belief in the right to keep and bear arms by joining the NRA and contributing generously to its causes. Richard Hale Chairman, The Peoples Rights Organization WHORES... While at last count no less than 66 of the most "South American" gun control bills the country has ever seen wind their way through Congress towards a vote this year, action in the major media is as usual very predictable. Remember the quote last month by former chief of staff of the New York Times who called himself and other reporters "Intellectual Prostitutes"? Well now as the anti-gun media campaign cranks up for the big push, the media whores begin to have names. Names like Connie Chung and Diane Sawyer and Sam Donaldson. What's that you say? These names don't surprise you? Me neither. However, we do have some great examples of how reporters sell out their country and their profession to keep those huge paychecks coming. We have Diane Sawyer and Sam Donaldson dredging up an old report on ABC's July 1, Primetime Live about kids and guns. Sure its the same old stuff about how kids, even in small towns, are carrying "weapons" to school. What kind of weapons? Well right in front of the cameras one child actually "stabs" at another with a "penknife" and you can see the "weapon". You guessed it, it's a charm knife the kid probably got as some "prize". It had all of a 3/4 inch blade. And you know what a nasty scratch that can give...maybe even rabies. (sob-sob, glub-glub, expressions of fear). So now after we hear the experts telling us how kids bring UZIs to school and showing how kids subvert metal detectors by passing unknown items through school windows ABC goes under cover. (You know about UZIs those fearsome, easily concealable machine guns ... I am sure that the only two professions on the planet who could not tell if a kid had an UZI in his pants are school officials and journalists.) Says Diane Sawyer, "after consultation with Federal Firearms Authorities" they sent their underage undercover "students" off to buy a Ruger Mk II from some 13 year old middle school kid. Notice he charges $150, NOT the $50 the program claims that kids can buy a 9mm (these incompetent news-types called it a ".9") or a sawed-off "gauge" for. We would like to know just which "Federal Firearms Authorities" gave ABC permission to commit these crimes. And look at the crimes we have here. We have ABC hiring kids to buy guns which they not only cannot legally not do, but ABC is placing these minors in situations of extreme jeopardy making ABC guilty of endangerment as well as contributing to the delinquency of minors. And what of the kid selling the gun? The report says nothing. It implies he just goes on doing it and Diane Sawyer doesn't care in the least. Just like the kids in Detroit who keep passing guns around the metal detector and Diane Sawyer doesn't care in the least. Nobody stopped, nobody arrested, nobody reported. She just goes on lying and breaking the law and nobody stops her either. So now Diane confronts the school principal who let her kids go under cover. When told that Diane's undercover kids actually bought a semiautomatic pistol, principal, Dr. Carolyn Bridges looses it (sob-sob, glub-glub, expressions of fear). She sobs when told ABC's kids bought a gun, "It's frightening to me as a person who lives in society." Well, you know what makes me puke? It's shameful poor excuses for school administrators who seem to have acquired the "Dr." in front of their name the same way so many high school grads today acquire their diplomas ... by sitting on their butts and doing and learning nothing. A real leader, who sets an example for children, doesn't loose it when told some kid bought a gun from another kid. A real leader has the hair on the back of their neck go up and wants to know exactly who, what, why, where and when. (However, this information typically seems to be not available from Diane Sawyer.) A real school leader wants to solve problems rather than play politics with someone else's Rights. Have I seen this kind of shameful performance before? Yes I have. When I was in school there was a big push for a tax levy. Parents were being pressured from every side to vote yes. Buses were cut off and all after-school activities canceled whether they took money or not. Of course during the whole episode there was a vast flow of greenbacks out of the school system for such "essentials" as fencing equipment for a coach who didn't even know how to teach the sport. So anyway, there is this big concert the school band is putting on and half way through the principal gets up to give the tax pitch. He tells how all music will be canceled if the levy doesn't pass. (Never mind they just ordered new kettle drums and uniforms in the midst of the financial "crisis".) We hear how little Jane and Johnny won't be able to express themselves with out the music program and when he thinks about the full impact of this he starts to sob and tears well up in his eyes and he sits down. Only one thing: I just happened to be seated behind him. And as soon as eyes are off him, he gets this big (you-know-what)-eating grin and leans over to the school official next to him and says, "Did I lay it on thick enough?" The official nodded affirmatively. I tell you that day was one of the few times I learned something really important in that silly institution. Just in case you happened to miss the point of this ABC propaganda, Diane fills you in by pointing out that with 200 million guns in the country, "that's one for every man woman and child, so you don't have to be in a gang to get one." No, Diane, apparently you don't need to be over 21 either ... if you work for ABC. And just in case you can't figure out just who SHOULD be allowed to have guns, ABC makes sure you understand, "The gun we purchased was handed over to a Federal Agency." Unfortunately, the agency must have been one charged with something like soybean subsidies rather than arresting underage gun runners. __________________________________________________________________ "By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia', the 'security' of the nation, and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms', our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important." April, 1960 (Then) Senator John F. Kennedy __________________________________________________________________ WHORES II... Well if there is one thing that is as predictable as the phases of the moon, it is that when "gun rights control" bills start moving toward a vote in Washington, then some so-called crazy (typically with the help of Prozac) shoots up some public place with a weapon of a type appropriate to the current pending legislation. The shooter then kills himself to insure the investigation into his motives stops at the scene of the crime. The importance of the incidents, whatever their underlying causes is the chance for media streetwalkers to earn their pay. On CBS Connie Chung and her pals, with her gonzo journalism connections shows she could do any Main Street pimp proud. The July 2 CBS evening news covering the San Francisco shoot-up of a high-priced lawyers office with a couple of TEC-9's brought out all the same old media propaganda. Since we are dealing with national media here, facts are scarce, but apparently one John Luigi Ferri took two TEC-9's, a .45 semi-automatic pistol, and a bag full of ammo and went on a shooting rampage. And yes, he reportedly had that same blank "Manchurian candidate" look on his face that has been so common in these cases. I suppose he chose TEC-9s because these huge pistols are so easily concealed. The police called the guns "TEC-9 machine pistols." and CBS and the mayor of San Francisco went on an anti-gun rampage. CBS said, "as for his weapons, all were legal." The mayor called that in itself a "crime." Shocking! "Guns anyone can buy!" There is only one little problem here. Someone is a liar. Full-auto TEC-9's of recent manufacture cannot be purchased by anyone except our beloved military, police, or authorized government agents. [Using your money, of course] Remember Metzenbaum's little "compromise" amendment passed to get some of the 1968 gun law repealed? It banned ownership of modern machine guns. So who is the liar? Did the police call a semi-auto a machine gun or is Connie Chung and the mayor lying when they said the guns were all legal. Maybe they are all liars. After all, gun ownership by a mental case is in no way legal. With all due apologies to the PRO attorneys, I must say however, that these media prostitutes have there work cut out for them trying to build anti-gun sentiment based on this case ... after all, the guy shot up a high-priced lawyers office, for crying out loud. BY THE BOOK... You are alone in your home late at night. You live in a high crime area of town. You are in bed and the home is dark. Someone rings your front door bell. A few minutes later you hear them scrounging around in back of your house. You call the police. You get your gun. CRASH! A big rock comes flying through your rear window. Right behind it a dark figure starts climbing in. You fire. He runs away and is later found hiding under a porch. He gives the police an alias but they find out through his fingerprints that he is a criminal with several aliases wanted for several crimes. Based on these facts the police arrest you for felony self-defense. Ok, students, are you guilty or did you handle this situation properly? Judging from all the talk out there about this situation neither the pro-gun nor the anti-gun side seems to have much of a clue as to what the law is. And there is a lot of talk because our hypothetical situation is not so imaginary. It actually happened to Columbus Police Chief James G. Jackson in his home at about 11:30 pm on Monday, June 28. Of course, since we are talking about a less than popular police chief there are many sides out there grinding axes over this incident, but all gun owners need to understand that our own right to self-defense depends upon keeping this investigation above politics. The editors have heard a lot of pro-gunners bad-mouthing the Chief for reasons in part related to the "Stop the Tears" campaign, Project Ace, and the fact he is black. Let me make clear I am not saying this is a case of racism. What seems to be happening is that pro-gunners have just automatically assumed that because the chief is black, he is cut from the same cloth as many other rabid anti-gun Afro-American leaders including Representatives Ray Miller and Otto Beatty, U.S. Rep. Louis B. Stokes, Jesse Jackson, and numerous black mayors and police chiefs of various large cities. The truth is that Chief Jackson is simply not in the same league with those other black leaders. Chief Jackson has demonstrated over and over that he is a "by the book" kind of guy. Furthermore, the Chief is on record as being more pro-gun than Governor Voinovich (I know that leaves room for improvement but things could be a LOT worse.) Chief Jackson has stated on the record that we don't need any new City, State, or Federal gun laws for him to enforce. The Guv, on the other hand is only on record stating that we don't need any new STATE laws. Also, Chief Jackson did not "invent" the gun turn-in program. It was forced on him by city movers and shakers (probably under the influence of the U.S. Conference of Mayors). Sure he had to go on TV with a big press conference, but I saw it and he was much less than enthusiastic about being there. And another thing. It was the chief who insisted that the "Stop the Tears" program would not be "no questions asked." "By the book" Jackson was not about to take the blame for the city destroying evidence in some crime. He insisted that every gun turned in would be checked carefully to make sure it was legally owned and not stolen. Lastly, the chief has long been on the FOP S-list and even if he agreed with everything Dewey Stokes says, (and he most assuredly does not) that alone would be a valid asset for gun owners. The fact that the PC (politically correct) crowd is ready to rake him over the coals on this incident is yet another indication that Chief is not in their camp. The main PC arguments are that since Chief Jackson came down hard on a couple of Columbus Police officers who fired their guns, it therefore follows that the City should likewise come down on him like a ton of bricks. In one incident officer James Shivers was suspended by Jackson and then fired by the Safety Director on Jackson's recommendation because Shivers shot a civilian who was breaking into his car. Later the Civil Service Commission gave Shivers his job back and the case against him was dropped when the man he shot didn't show in court. Another case involved Officer Daniel Zoretic who shot at a moving car when someone fired a gun at him. Jackson was very unhappy that Zoretic was only suspended for a month instead of fired. The PC arguments seem to be that if Jackson won't let Columbus police shoot up the town with impunity, they should now put him away for firing his gun no matter what the circumstances. But the PRO NRA instructors know a little bit about "the book" and let's see how it applies here. First of all every gun owner should be drilled on the law that in Ohio you MAY NOT use deadly force in defense of property. It doesn't matter how valuable or how important it is to you. Shooting someone for stealing your hubcaps or breaking into your car is just plain against the law. (note that Shivers was indicted on the charge.) Another line from "the book" is "be sure of your target and what is beyond." If someone shoots at you and you aim at that person and shoot back, that is self-defense. But if you just spray the countryside with gunfire, you could very likely be endangering many nearby innocent persons because in your excitement you forgot the rule. Based on the rules, Jackson's positions in these cases are not only correct but prudent. Think of this Mr. Mayor: how easy would it be to undo national media headlines screaming, "Columbus Cop Guns Down Mom and Baby While Returning Fire from Drive-by Shooting!" I think you can see where we are heading with this. Sure, the anti-gunners view any self-defense as just more violence and thus, a crime that should be punished. For example, the mayor of Palatine, Illinois, Rita Mullins, spoke before the US Conference of Mayors, urging passage of the Brady Bill, but then Mullins said she would support automatic penalties for firing a gun EVEN IN SELF-DEFENSE. "I think there have to be consequences even if you are using it to defend yourself," she said. "It is an act of violence." Sure, pro-gunners have been arguing the Jackson case wondering if you can shoot someone for trespassing or throwing rock through your window (no, you can't not even if they are using your pool as in the case of the shooting by gun-grabbing columnist Royko.) But the bottom line is that Chief Jackson handled this break-in almost exactly the way we teach in our Personal Protection classes. He did it "by the book." In our classes we teach that when you become suspicious of a possible break-in you should dial 911 explain your worries and leave the phone off the hook. The Chief did the equivalent of this using his police radio. If someone is rummaging around outside your home you DO NOT shoot him through the door (for ringing your bell), shoot him in your yard (for trespassing), or shoot him through the window (for breaking it with a rock). Chief Jackson did none of these things. You should fire only when you are forced to fire. That point comes when the scumbag begins to break into your house. At that point your life is in danger. Furthermore, in your own house you are under no obligation to retreat. However you ARE under obligation only to use only that force necessary to get the scumbag to break off the attack. Notice that Chief Jackson fired only one shot hitting the alleged perp, Kirk Banks Jr., 24 in the right arm causing him to flee. He did not empty his gun into him. If only each of us could handle things this correctly when under that much pressure. There is only thing the Chief apparently didn't do. We teach that you should begin yelling for the intruder to get out of there saying that you are armed in an effort to get him to leave before he breaks in. However, circumstances often dictate what you should do. You should yell only BEFORE the intruder begins to break in. Once he is climbing in, taking time to say, "Excuse me Mr. Bag, but are you armed?" is the surest way we know to be dead before you finish the sentence. If you cannot yell before he breaks in then you are forced to let your firearm do the talking. Lets also set straight some of the nonsense we see in the anti-gun media. The press is making a big to-do in this case about the intruder being unarmed. Actually in this case since the man ran, if he had a weapon it could have been hidden anywhere. But that makes no difference. In a finding of self-defense the key element is whether or not you could reasonably believe you were in danger of great bodily harm. If someone is ready to break into your place of residence with you in it, there can be little other presumption but what they are ready to do you great bodily harm. Notice that we said "reasonably." Simply being scared out of your wits is not a justification for shooting. Your fear must have a reasonable basis. "Warning shots" and "shooting to kill" are some more things that set off the ignorant press. Warning shots are pure Hollywood. Think about it. It uses up precious ammunition to no effect. This so-called caring and humane way to deal with an intruder actually unleashes wild (and illegal) bullets upon your neighbors or your own family. It also gives the crook precious seconds to spin around and kill you. (He won't give YOU a warning shot, for sure.) And if afterward, some cutesy talking-head poof-chick from TV shoves a microphone in your face and seriously asks if you were "shooting to kill", [I actually saw this] you seriously answer "No, I was shooting to live." Pro-gunners arguing the merits of this case should note that it is not always improper to shoot the intruder if he is not actually inside your house. Consider the case here in town of the Senior Citizen who shot a man crawling along the outside of his house. This was ruled self-defense and justifiable but only because the man had tried about three different ways to break in. But if you had no evidence that he was trying to break in and he was unarmed, you and not he would end up in jail. If this is not clear to you, please contact a lawyer for a legal opinion. The editors are not lawyers, and we do advise that you contact a lawyer to clarify these situations. Finally there is even more evidence that Chief Jackson acted properly. First of all, the man who was caught turned out to be a man wanted for crimes. Secondly, there was some evidence that a picnic table was carried and not dragged to its location under the rear window. This meant that there were probably TWO persons involved making the situation even more deadly. Lastly, as a police officer, the Chief was under much greater obligation to apprehend the perpetrator than you or I would be. There is one more lesson in all this. Even for the Chief of Police, the police department does not provide protection. Even though he had a police radio and did not need to wait for 911 operators to put him though, it was still necessary for him to protect himself. If Chief Jackson had done what the media propagandizes that we all should do; namely sit helplessly, unarmed and dial 911 they might well have been passing out civil service exams down at the station for the new job opened up at the top. Nevertheless, city bureaucrats are driving home a lesson to the Chief in proper behavior on the part of victims by taking his gun pending an internal review of the case. __________________________________________________________________ "It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks...In areas where our people are the constant victims of brutality, and the government seems unable or unwilling to protect them, we should form rifle clubs that can be used to defend our lives and our property in times of emergency...We should be peaceful and law-abiding -- but the time has come for the American Negro to fight back in self-defense whenever and wherever he is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked. If the government thinks I am wrong for saying this, let the government start doing its job." Malcolm X: Speech of March 12, 1964, in ed. G. Breitman, Malcolm X Speaks (New York: Grove Press, 1965). [Editor: I wonder how many blacks in my end of town walking around wearing "X" hats also automatically vote for men like Otto Beatty and Ray Miller not knowing that in doing so they are spitting on everything Malcolm X tried to accomplish for them.] __________________________________________________________________ ANTI-GUN "ASSETS" COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK... As the anti-gun bills get closer to a vote in Congress, we are finding anti-gun "assets" appearing everywhere. I use the term "asset" as it is in the spy-biz to refer to a person in the press or in highly visible organizations who is willing to use their position to promote your particular "spin" on issues to the public. This includes journalists and editors willing to write false, misleading or distorted pieces, and the officers and leaders of major institutions who attempt to throw the weight of their memberships behind a certain viewpoint. We are all pretty familiar with assets in the press in the form of anti-gun columnists and editors. Of course our side does have a few assets as well although generally we do not engage in the distortions of fact to make a case which is so typical of "activism" today. Unfortunately, the anti's seem to have assets in areas we don't. These include not only the usual AARP and U.S. Conference of Mayors, but has now expanded into new and unusual areas. We are all familiar with certain big city police chiefs being the anti-gun camp, but now the Director of the FBI, William Sessions has apparently come out of the closet. He is breaking with a long-standing FBI policy of standing above politics to place the weight of his organization behind the total disarmament of honest Americans and the overthrow of our Constitutional Rights. So once again we see the slick trick of using tax dollars to implement the oppression of the very people providing the money. Sessions sent a six point policy statement to Janet Reno outlining his proposed anti-gun policy. Without waiting for Attorney General Janet Reno to approve it, he sent copies to all 56 field offices to make sure they understood where the director stands on public disarmament. And where the director stands includes developing a list containing the names of every gun owner in America for the FBI. He wants a ban on ANY ammunition capable of penetrating soft body armor. This is, as you remember, just a re-hash of the old Metzenbaum "cop-killer bullet" law which was originally intended to ban most hunting ammunition. He wants to overthrow the Constitution by banning all "assault weapons", although it is not clear if that means all semi-autos or just the ugly ones. He is proposing to take money from all working Americans to pay for firearms that any owners wish to "turn in" to the government to promote "public" safety. And lastly, he proposes to tax the daylights out of dealers, importers, collectors and manufactures to put them all out of business. About the only thing missing is a description of the new and glorious 1000-year American Reich once we accomplish these things. This is an extremely frightening development. James Jay Baker NRA/ILA executive director noted the FBI policy could "lead to a government-driven civil rights disaster with unspeakable implications." And some of you middle-of-the-roader NRA members thought only PRO gets worked up about things like this. Also, this policy coincides with a large push to overturn the Hatch law forbidding political activity by civil servants. You see a paycheck is a wonderful hammer. With the current flood of bureaucrats in our country, it is a tremendous temptation to get that huge army solidly behind a "new" form of government ... solidly behind the control of guns by those in power. One major step would be the recruitment of the FBI in the war to overturn the Bill of Rights. I would say the assault in Waco and the faked evidence in the Weaver case clearly show that at least some in the FBI stand ready to overthrow our present form of government with means that are both violent and/or illegal. Does anyone here remember when it used to be the job of the FBI to arrest persons who advocated the violent overthrow of our form of government? Sure the President fired FBI Director Sessions for political reasons, but we have little assurances that his replacement will not be an equally rabid anti-gun asset. The FBI director is not the only anti-gun asset to surface recently. They are springing up in the medical community as well. Two such assets are George D. Lundberg, MD, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association and C.E. Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General. In an article in JAMA, Violence in America: a public health emergency (JAMA. 1992;267:3075-3076.) They are promoting the twisted concept that gun ownership is some kind of disease, where the symptoms are "violence" and the cause is a "virus" known as firearms. The cure, quite obviously, is to stamp out the virus wherever it is found (except for police, military, government, and all agents of those in power, natch!). Medical assets are visible in government as well. The Centers of Disease Control (CDC) part of the Department of Health and Human Services has likewise been promoting the concept of the "gun disease" which they say has suddenly become so epidemic that it is a "public health" crisis. It should be little surprise that the CDC idea of a "cure" for the gun disease is the same as the FBI's. In fact, they even go further asking for a Chafee-like total ban on all handguns in addition to registration of all gun owners. The scientific basis for the "gun disease" crisis and it's cure is derived from the "quality" data found in Handgun Control Inc.'s pamphlets. We all know that grassroots support for "gun control" is largely imaginary, but here comes the real army. It is a thundering herd of spineless government bureaucrats ready to do the will of their leaders under threat of incurring their wrath. As a former "spineless" government bureaucrat, I know a little of what I speak. Because as a bureaucrat, if you do happen to show a little backbone, if you blow the whistle, or stand up for what is right and moral rather than for "policy" you suddenly find you are fired or your career hopelessly stalled while you are subject to volley after volley of bad reviews and false charges. In short, bureaucrats who don't "fall in line" don't last long. That is how they can be welded into a real anti-gun army. NRA CLASSES... The next Personal Protection with Pistol classes will be held from August 23 through August 26, 1993. Four nights of intensive training in personal protection at home and on the street. How to avoid criminal attack and what to do if you need to use a firearm to defend yourself. Classes are held at the League of Ohio Sportsmen, 3953 Indianola Ave., just south of Cook Rd. Cost is just $25.00, and is taught by NRA Certified Instructors. Our instructors teach the NRA course, and do not deviate from their recommended teaching guidelines. The classes will begin at 7 pm each evening and last til 10 pm. Call Ron Herman at 846-0597 to sign up for the class. CITY CHARTER... Several long awaited changes may be coming for the residents of Columbus. Our current charter was adopted in 1914 and was last fully reviewed in 1981. Council member Matt Habash, chairman of the committee to review recommendations from a citizens commission, said that they were trying to decide what and when to put changes on the ballot. "My guess is that it will be two or three. Putting too many issues on at once could be confusing." Right. Charter changes include: expanding council from seven members and having elections from districts or at-large; requiring anyone appointed to council to fill a vacancy to run in the next scheduled election; speeding up routine business deals by creating a third type of legislation that would take effect in 14 days, and adopting a two-year instead of a one-year budget. The only known charter change to be put on the ballot for the fall election is that appointed council members must run in the next election. Thank you. PRO-CENTRAL... Several people have asked what is PRO-Central? PRO-Central is an affiliate organization of PRO. It is located in Lancaster, Ohio. They are a group of hard working, pro-second amendment supporters that contacted PRO about starting a group in their area. We gave them our by-laws, articles of incorporation and our name. They added the Central. If you live in the Lancaster area and want to join a viable organization, PRO-Central is tailored for you. FAIR... The officers of PRO wish to thank Richard Hale, Pat Johnson, Daniel McBride, Dennis Walker, Mike Duve and Scott Metheney for volunteering their time to work at this years Franklin County Fair. It was hot in our little corner of the Dillinger building, but it was fun. A lot of literature was distributed. Bumper stickers and hats were sold, and politicians stopped by to converse with the booth workers. Plus many item were picked up for future raffles. A special thanks to all those that worked the fair this year. CANDIDATES NIGHT... Mark your calendars for the August,17 PRO meeting. This PRO meeting will be one of our candidates nights where we invite political candidates in the up-coming election to speak and be questioned by our membership. The August meeting will be for Republican candidates. It will be your chance to find out where the various candidates stand on the issues. In the past, PRO members have impressed the candidates by the tough and probing questions they have asked. We hope at least a few candidates from the Democratic Party will consider our offer, but so far we have received no reply to two (polite) letters. We already had Municipal Judge candidate Teresa Liston and pro-gun City Council candidate Amy Salerno speak at our July meeting. We will have a report on what they said in the next issue. UNIFORMITY SUPPORT... In a completely different direction Summit County Council, near Akron, has adopted a resolution that supports a proposed state law that would give the state exclusive right to make gun laws and would wipe out any municipal or county gun laws on the books. This effort was led by Councilman John M. Bolek (R-1, Northfield). Bolek said that the state pre-emption law was needed for uniformity, pointing out that gun laws differ from city to city and from one region to another. The resolution was passed 7 to 4. If you have the necessary votes on your city council, this would be an interesting resolution to bring forward in your own local government. OHIO GAME FAIR... We need volunteers for the Ohio Game Fair, to be held September 9th through the 12th. This will be at the Boy Scout's Camp Lazarus, just north of Columbus. People are needed from the 8th for set-up till the 12th when we close and pack-up. Tickets at the gate are $5.00. If you send $4.00 and a SASE, you can purchase the tickets for one dollar off. PRO will be raffling off a semi-automatic shotgun at the Ohio Game Fair which includes all aspects of hunting from decoys to dogs; from camping equipment to sporting clays and gun smiths, and dealers. Come to the Ohio Game Fair and stock up on supplies before the fall hunting season and get in on all the different raffles. CIRCLEVILLE GUN SHOW... August 28-29. These are the dates for the PRO-Central show in Circleville at the Pickaway County Fairgrounds. Times are 9-5 on Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday. See you there! 3RD ANNUAL SPORTING CLAYS... Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 17, the date of the Third Annual PRO-NRA sporting clays fundraiser. This will be a fun day. Don't worry if you are a beginner, there will be classifications that fit your skill level. There will be a full page announcement with maps and all details in the next two issues of the PROponent. Proceeds benefit PRO. _________________________________________________________________ The PROponent is published by: Peoples Rights Organization; 5 E. Long St., Suite 412; Columbus, OH 43215; Tel (614) 268-0122 Fax (614) 275-0092 EMAIL: 73427.1615@compuserve.com Richard Hale, Chairman; Ron Herman, Vice Chairman Dennis Walker, Secretary; Bill Johnson, Treasurer Editors: Dennis Walker and Frank Jacoby Contributions, either written or financial are gladly accepted. Anyone wishing to reprint all or part of an article from the PROponent may do so. Please mention the PROponent and the issue that the article was in, and send a copy of the publication to our PRO office. (We like to know what your organization is doing too.) Also, PRO will exchange newsletters with any pro-gun, pro-rights, pro-hunting, etc. group to further grass-roots communication. Put us on your newsletter mailing list and we will put your club on ours. PRO general meetings are held the third Tuesday of every month at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, W. Broad St. Columbus, Ohio. _________________________________________________________________