June 26, 2004
The following is an excerpt from an email sent by a woman
who was looking to volunteer for Second Amendment Sisters, which struck a chord
with SAS-NJ Coordinator Marilyn Lapidus.
...I am an avid supporter of the right to
bear arms and particularly interested in helping more women get into the field.
I hedge on statements that defend the right to carry firearms "at all times -
anywhere" (courthouses and bars, for example, are good places to not allow guns,
I think, and am willing to consider other restrictions). "A woman has the right
to use her weapon in self defense without fear of prosecution"...well...perhaps
not without fear of prosecution. I think anyone who uses their firearm in
self-defense must expect to be prosecuted -- but expect to win in their defense.
(If you've ever heard Massad Ayoob talk about this, you know what I mean.) I
believe that guns and ammunition should be bought and sold in firearms shops,
trade shows, and private homes, but not on the public street. -- "S"
Dear "S":
The right to defend yourself should NEVER be
infringed, courthouses and bars included, in my opinion. Restrictions always
come from a well meaning stand of "preventing" problems, such as drinking in a
bar for instance. It's been my experience that you cannot legislate sense or
morality. With power comes responsibility. If you carry a firearm, you need to
exercise the responsibility to act safely. Having a glass of wine doesn't turn
someone into a violent raving lunatic. If it does, you shouldn't be drinking -
whether you carry a firearm or not - period. Banning guns from being carried
into a bar WILL NOT stop a criminal from doing so, and then what you've
accomplished is disarming of law abiding citizens, while still having criminals
carrying -yes, even in bars.
"Anyone who uses a firearm in self-defense must expect to be INVESTIGATED,
yes....prosecuted" - I disagree with. It shouldn't have to bankrupt me to shoot
someone in defense of my life, and currently in NJ, you'd be spending upwards of
$100,000. to do just that. I don't happen to have that kind of cash, unless that
lottery ticket kicks in this week. :-)
Investigations should cost you nothing, or minimally some legal counseling.
Forensics being what it is these days, they can tell through an investigation
exactly what happened, and make a determination without having to prosecute.
As far as I know, the only people selling guns on the street are selling them
illegally. If you have an answer as to how to stop crime from happening, there
are important people who would like to speak to you. After 25 years of a "Drug
War" in this country, you can still go to most any high school and score just
about any drug you want. Back to legislating sense and morality.
It would be wonderful if all it took was to pass a law to make everyone safer,
happier, kinder and more intelligent. Unfortunately, the real world doesn't work
like that. In the real world, crime pays big bucks for little work over a short
period of time. As a mother of teenage boys, I can tell you that you can only do
your best to instill the concepts of work ethic and morals, and then pray that
it takes....there are NO GUARANTEES in life. So far mine still seem to be
adhering to those concepts, Thank G-d. Passing laws that cannot change criminal
behavior and are unenforceable is a waste of time and energy, and usually an
infringement of individual rights.
Perhaps rather than focusing on punishing people ahead of time for crimes they
MIGHT commit (gun control laws for example), we concentrate on REALLY punishing
those who do actually commit crimes. No more plea bargains for murderers, for
instance. WHY does Charles Manson still rate a parole hearing? Why is he still
breathing, more to the
point? Does anyone argue that he is in any way sane?
I admit to being an aggressive advocate for RKBA. As a Jewish woman who
remembers history, it behooves me to do so. Look what is happening in England in
such a short period of time by disarming the citizens there. Not to beat a dead
horse, but would you as a mother or wife have allowed your children or husband
or yourself to be marched into ovens if
you had a firearm? A small group of Polish Jews didn't...because they had guns.
The first requirement of annihilation is disarmament. Tyranny doesn't happen
instantly...it happens in little incremental steps over many years, and before
you realize it, you're a victim. Throw a frog into boiling water, it jumps out.
Place a frog in water and turn up the heat... by the time he's boiled it's too
late to do anything about it. We are all on the verge of becoming boiled frogs,
and it's our job to stop that!
The best we can hope for, in my opinion, is to do our best to defend ourselves
and our families with the most efficient tools available. I also add to that by
being a firearm instructor and teaching people how to safely handle firearms. I
also, as part of SAS, advocate for the elimination of laws which prevent me from
defending myself. The "RepubliK of NJ" at this time does not allow it's citizens
to defend their lives outside of their homes. With my SASters' help, I hope to
change that.
In Liberty,
Marilyn Lapidus
NJ State Coordinator, Second Amendment Sisters
Email