Get Tough with Smith & Wesson

Dear Smith & Wesson :

Thank you for your decision to "cooperate" with a known felon and liar in the White House. You have made my decision about which new handgun to purchase much easier.

I was considering a new Smith & Wesson revolver, but thanks to your betrayal I will now give my considerable future business to Browning, Glock, and Taurus - anyone who has enough guts to stand for the good and noble traditions that built your company and that your founders embraced.

What Clinton calls "loopholes" are actually Constitutionally-protected freedoms, and you should know by now what his vision for the future of our country will lead to - a massive public safety disaster as only criminals and police are armed. Where do you think that will leave the rest of us - the good people - the elderly, the women?

I will not buy any more products from Colt or from Smith & Wesson, and I think you should be ashamed to get in bed with Clinton over this. Your founders would be bitterly disappointed!

There are 80 million law-abiding gun owners in this country, and you have just lost the business of quite a few of them. My future purchases will go elsewhere, and I will personally make every effort to contact the other 79,999,999.

You should know better than to abandon your customer base in favor of a corrupt administration ...

Sincerely,

General Letter in defense of the U.S. Constitution

Dear Senator / Representative xxxxxx:

I am writing to you all to ask you to please consider the freedom and liberty of the American people. Please support our rights that are protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Please remember the CONSTRAINTS that the Constitution places on Congress, the Executive, and Judicial branches of our government - even if you believe you are "doing the right thing", you may NOT have the right to do anything. You must trust the States to pass the appropriate legislation.

I am also asking you to vote against anti-gun legislation. Please support the right of the people to defend themselves and this country. Please - NO NEW GUN CONTROL. Firearms in the hands of the people are a DETERRENT to crime. We realize that registration will lead to confiscation - it has been proven in history. Once the good people are disarmed, crime WILL run rampant.

I know that you have traditionally not only voted anti-Second Amendment, but have often lead the charge. I'm asking you to please STOP. This possibly well-meaning, but misguided cause, in the name of "public safety" will only have the opposite effect.

I will remember what actions you take while serving the people in Congress when it's time to vote in the November elections. I have large e-mailing lists, and will keep my family, friends, and a host of like-minded patriots informed on your records. Hopefully, I can give them good news - that you are PROTECTING our freedom, rather than working to DESTROY it.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

(your name)
(your town),(your state)

Get Eddie Eagle in YOUR Schools

The following can be used as a guide for either a letter to the school board, or, even better, a verbal STATEMENT you can make before the school board AND an audience at a school board meeting, PTA meeting, etc...

Dear Board Members and concerned Parents,

We teach our children bicycle safety and how to swim. Why? So they can avoid injury or even death. We love our children dearly - Yet, we allow our children to ride bicycles and to swim, even though there is an element of danger involved. We understand that there are benefits that outweigh the dangers.

We teach our children fire safety. Why? Again, So they can avoid injury or even death. Most of us have fireplaces, matches, or candles in our homes. However, we are wise enough to keep a fire extinguisher handy. Hopefully, we have taken the time to learn how to use it effectively. We've taught our children NOT to play with matches and what to do in the event of a fire. STOP, DROP, and ROLL ... we instruct our children. Good advice. Advice that may be instrumental in saving their lives one day. I think it is safe to say that teaching our children these skills does NOT make them any more likely to start a fire. Rather, it teaches them how to SURVIVE one.

As responsible parents and educators - parents and educators who love our children - we have another responsibility to our children. We MUST teach our children basic firearms safety. Why? So they can avoid injury or even death. STOP, DON'T TOUCH, LEAVE THE AREA, TELL AN ADULT. Again, good advice.

Some of us have firearms in our homes. We own them for many reasons. They are part of our heritage as a free people, they are used for target shooting, they are used in hunting as valuable tools for responsible game management, and they are used as tools for self-protection. Some of us do NOT have firearms in our homes. That does not mean that any of use will never be exposed to firearms and therefore don't need to know basic firearms safety.

In spite of the inherent potential for danger regarding firearms, we own them. 60-65 million Americans own them -- that's out of 204 million adults in this country, 30%, or roughly 1 out of every 3 adults. We also recognize that the benefits of responsible firearms ownership and handling outweigh the dangers. Survey research by criminologist Gary Kleck shows at least 2.5 million protective uses of firearms each year in the U.S., "The best available evidence indicates that guns were used about three to five times as often for defensive purposes as for criminal purposes" ("Targeting Guns," 1997). Most protective uses do not involve discharge of a firearm. In only about 0.1% of protective gun uses are criminals killed, and in only 1% are criminals wounded. A Department of Justice survey found that 40% of felons chose not to commit at least some crimes for fear their victims were armed, and 34% admitted being scared off or shot at by armed victims. (James D. Wright, Peter H. Rossi, "Armed and Considered Dangerous," 1986).

Some might FIGHT firearms safety education. Some might say that teaching children about firearms will make them more likely to 'experiment' with them. It will arouse curiosity, and lead to more accidents. Yet these same people will tell you that we MUST teach our children about "safe sex" - measures that reduce the spread of potentially deadly diseases. They will also tell you that education in these matters DOES NOT lead to an increased propensity for earlier or more frequent experimentation.

Yes, education IS the answer -- and the NRA has been leading the way since 1871. Despite the fact that there are more firearms owned in the USA - roughly 200 million - than ever before, and our population continues to GROW, we have continued the trend of ever decreasing ABSOLUTE NUMBERS of firearms accidents.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that the fatal firearm accident per capita rate fell to an all-time low in 1996. The new rate, 0.4 per 100,000 population, represents an 88% decrease from the all-time high recorded in 1904, and is well below rates for other types of fatal accidents, including those involving motor vehicles (16.3), falls (5.6), poisonings (3.6), drowning (1.3), fires (1.4), choking on an ingested object (1.2) and medical mistakes (1.1).

The annual number of fatal firearm accidents has also fallen to an all-time low (1,134), cut by more than half since 1930, even as the population doubled and the number of firearms owned quadrupled. By comparison, other types of accidents accounted for much larger numbers of fatalities in 1996, including motor vehicles (43,649), falls (14,986), poisonings (9,510), fires (3,741), drowning (3,488), choking on an ingested object (3,206) and medical mistakes (2,919).

There were 138 fatal firearm accidents among children in 1996 -- just 2% of all fatal accidents among children. Other accident types accounted for a greater share of fatalities among children, including motor vehicle (47%), drowning (15%), fires (12%), and choking on ingested object (3.3%). The number of fatal firearm accidents among children in 1996 represents a 75% decrease from the all-time high of 550 in 1975. Over the past 8 years, NRA has spent $100 million on firearm safety and education programs. Eddie Eagle works. Let's help push the accident rate EVEN LOWER.

Thank you.

More Fun With Citigroup

If you get an offer from an 'ANTI' Company, like CitiCorp, for a pre-approved home equity line of credit or some such special offer, consider a letter like these:

Sample 1

                                                street address
                                                town, state zip
                                                18 February 2000

Todd Stiverson
Travelers Bank & Trust, fsb
2607 N. Grandview Blvd, Ste. 100
Waukesha, WI 53188

Dear Mr. Stiverson,

I received an offer today for a $xx,000 home equity line of credit
from Travelers, a division of Citigroup. While I appreciate the offer,
I regret to inform you that I find myself unable to accept it, or to 
conduct any other business with Citigroup or any of its holdings.

It has recently been revealed that Citigroup has been engaging in 
discriminatory business practices in regards to lawful businesses 
in the United States of America. Specifically, those related to legal
weapons, munitions and firearms.

I don't know if this legally qualifies as unlawful restraint of trade. 
I do know that the practice of a company offering goods or services to 
the public engaging in discrimination against any legal business, 
particularly in an area that enjoys specific constitutional protection 
and is responsible for our nations freedom and security, in order to 
attempt to enforce their ideas on society, is simply unacceptable to me.

In view of this, I have elected to take my financial needs to another 
company, one that does not engage in such discrimination. We closed on 
the loan yesterday in the amount of $xx,000. Of course, I feel confident 
that Travelers Bank & Trust doesn't mind losing that business. As I 
lawfully own and use firearms for a variety of purposes, I am clearly not 
the kind of customer your company desires.

However, should Citigroup choose to reconsider and drop this discriminatory
practice in the future, I would be willing to again consider them for my
future financial needs.

Sincerely,


*your name*

Sample 2

                                                street address
                                                town, state zip
                                                18 February 2000

"Dear" Thomas W. Jones, President and CEO:

After reviewing your letter to the Nevada Pistol Academy, I refuse to 
do business with "Citibank" or any other Citicorp business:


Citibank (Nevada) N.A. 
4065 South Jones Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89103 

Tel 702/364-2061 

February 7, 2000 

Nevada Pistol Academy 4610 Blue Diamond Road Las Vegas, NV 89139 

CUSTOMER NOTICE: ACCOUNT CLOSURE Account Number: (removed for privacy) Your
Citibank checking account will be closed ten calendar days from the date of 
this notice. This action is necessary due to Citibank not maintaining accounts 
for businesses that deal in weapons. Deposits to this account will not be 
accepted as of three business days from the date of this notice. Please 
refrain from writing additional checks on this account. Checks presented for 
payment will be honored until your account is closed if sufficient funds are 
available. Any additional funds remaining in your account on the date of 
closure will be sent to you in the form of an official bank check. If you have 
any questions regarding our decision to close your account, please contact our 
24 hour customer service telephone number, 800-756-7047 or Text Tel/TTD 800-
756-0382. 


Again, I WILL NOT do ANY business with Citicorp (credit cards, loans, 
IRAs, checking and savings accounts, insurance, etc..), as you are not loyal 
to the U.S. Constitution and MY and YOUR right to keep and bear arms. I WILL, 
instead, do business with those who do will business with those who "deal 
in weapons". For Citibank to operate in this manner is a violation of 
common and ethical business practices and is discriminatory. It also falls 
into the legal category of unlawful restraint of  trade. I have 
notified my friends and family members of your company's policy as  well. I am 
really outraged!


								Sincerely,

								*your name*

When writing a letter such as this, it is ESSENTIAL that you speak eloquently, politely, and fairly concerning why you've chosen to do business elsewhere. This is the type of response that could make them change their way of thinking. It isn't enough to merely not to do business with them. We must tell them we're not, and why, and in great numbers.