So you sat back the last couple of years thinking, 'this isn't my fight I don't own any of those guns.' Well, the laws were passed. It brings to mind the famous quotation of the German Lutheran minister Martin Niemoeller after he was freed from Dachau by allied forces after W.W.II. I will paraphrase it to fit our situation now:

    'In the United States they came for the "assault weapons," and I said and did nothing because I did not own one, then they came for the semi-automatic rifle and I said and did nothing because I don't own one. Then they came for the handguns and again I didn't speak up because I don't own one of those either. Then they came for my bolt action hunting rifle and there is no one left that will speak for me.'

    Too far-fetched? I don't think so. A lot of people sat on the sidelines because they did not own one of the proscribed weapons; make no mistake your firearm is next. The evidence is there, first the high profile weapons and then every weapon. Remember the purported HCI fifteen year agenda, elimination of all privately owned firearms.

    In spite of all the testimony and all of the evidence to the contrary as to the feasibility of gun control, the juggernaught is preceding full speed ahead. The supporters of these bills and laws openly admit that they will not curb crime, what do you think their agenda is? John J. Farmer, a liberal syndicated columnist even said, "The gun groupies are right that the assault weapons ban is no cure for crime."[Star Ledger 5/8/94] Sara Brady, the patron saint of gun control, admitted immediately after the passage of the Brady bill, that this wont curb crime, "but wait 'til you see Brady II".

    Rep. Charles Shummer, our newest anti-gun proponent was seen shooting a Tec 9 and "grinned incongruously as he sprayed a burst from a Tec 9"..." there was a first time only photo-op when President Clinton gave his support to the ban while standing at port arms - well almost - with an M16-type rifle [AR-15] , the very weapon he avoided picking up during the Vietnam War." [NY Times 5/8/94]

    The irony of all these anti gun people, fondling and shooting guns, with this bemused look on their collective faces reassures me that they know, deep in their hearts that private ownership of firearms will only stay when we turn them out of office and strip them of their privilege, and they must once again be members of the community that they purport to represent.

    Convinced yet?

    After being attacked by a co-worker with an AK-47 Jacquie Miller of Louisville, Kentucky had this to say in testimony before a House subcommittee: "It completely enrages me that my tragedy is being used against me to deny me and all the law-abiding citizens of this country the right to the firearm of our choosing. I refuse in return to use my tragedy for retribution against innocent people just to make myself feel better for having this misfortune...This is America, not Lithuania or China. Our most cherished possession is our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Let's not sell those down the river or we could one day find ourselves in a boat without a paddle against the criminals who think we're easy pickings."[Wall Street Journal. 5/5/94]. This testimony was given by a woman who was shot four times. I wish that the rest of the gun fraternity had that kind of courage.

    Since the Gun Control Act of 1968 we have had to fight harder for our Second Amendment rights. We fought and won many concessions, the McClure-Volkmer Act was the pinnacle of our efforts to overturn onerous gun laws and we won. What has happened since then? The NRA has grown, membership in local gun clubs has grown, and private ownership of firearms has grown. What went wrong?

    You became complacent!

    For fifteen years plus HCI, and groups like them, have never given up nor were they complacent. They kept hammering away and now have the upper hand. Maybe they listened to Senator Robert Martin [R] when he said to a group of anti gun people at the University of Medicine and Dentistry, I will paraphrase'We should take a page out of the NRA handbook and target people with letters and organize them like they do.' Or how about the 1.2 million dollars that Robert Brennan is bringing to the anti gun fight, through the Dehere Foundation to "assist innocent victims of firearm violence in bringing product liability lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers."[Star Ledger 4/18/94], to redeem his tarnished reputation. No less than our esteemed ex-governor in the same article had this to say, [it is] "an imaginative weapon in the ongoing battle against gun violence in America."

    These people will never put the blame where it belongs, on the criminal. Why? Because they perceive that the general American public is apathetic and in such fear of the criminal's that they can say and do what they want unchallenged. It remains for us to change that perception, we can only do it by committing ourselves, all of us, to get off our duffs, and wallets, and get to work.

    We are now back to square one. We were here once before, in 1968. The difference now is that our fight is even harder. In 1968 we had people ready to take on Congress now it seems that we don't. Traditional "friends" have abandoned us, they have wet their fingers, put them in the air, and did not feel the hurricane force of the gun fraternity. They felt the breeze from the left. Complacency only breeds contempt from our opponents. Rep. Shummer [D. NY] is now a major player, he has made his rep so to speak. Do you think he is now going to sit back and say... 'I've done enough' ?... Not likely. He defeated the NRA... or did he? We are again being underestimated. We have the resources, the man/woman power, and the dollars to turn the tide. What we need is the commitment from our membership and all of the gun owners of America to stand up and say enough is enough. Leave the law-abiding citizen alone and get the criminal.

    If you are ready to give up your Second Amendment right, sit back in your easy chair, watch TV, clean your bolt action hunting rifle, and pay no attention to this article...then... after a while there will be a knock on your door...and it will be your turn.