NEWS FROM THE SECOND AMENDMENT SISTERS 18484 Preston Road, Suite 102 #141 Dallas, TX 75252 World Wide Web: http://www.SAS-AIM.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For additional information: Kimberly J. Watson, Spokesperson Toll-free Phone: (877) 271-6216 E-Mail: moms4guns@yahoo.com
SECOND AMENDMENT SISTERS READY TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON
DALLAS, TEXAS Second Amendment Sisters, Inc., is pleased to announce that Texas State Representative Suzanna Gratia-Hupp will be the keynote speaker at their Armed Informed Mothers March (A.I.M.M.) on Sunday, May 14, 2000 in Washington DC.
The event will begin at 9 AM at the northwest quadrant of the Washington Monument. In addition to Ms. Hupp, the rally will feature speeches by Larry Klayman, Chairman of Judicial Watch, and women from across the country who represent the 2.5 million people whose lives are saved by guns every year. It will conclude with a march to the Capitol Building.
Representative Suzanna Gratia-Hupp, a leading proponent for the right of citizens to carry concealed weapons, became involved in Second Amendment issues in 1991. She was a patron in a Killeen, Texas restaurant when an armed man entered and began shooting, killing twenty-one people including Ms. Hupps parents. She believes that had she been allowed by law to carry her legally owned sidearm into the restaurant, she would have been able to stop the man because she had a clear shot at him from a distance of less than 5 yards.
Second Amendment Sisters Inc. is a grass-root self-defense and safety-education advocacy group based in Dallas. Its founders are five women from five different states who were tired of the stereotypical portrayals of gun owners and the erosion of personal freedoms.
"We all own firearms or know someone who does. I used one to save my life from an attacker, said Debra Collins, Colorado State Coordinator for SAS. The anti-gun factions constantly say if it saves one life its worth it. Well my firearm saved one life mine - and I promise you my mother thinks it was worth it."
Recent research has shown that in jurisdictions where strict gun control measures are in effect, the result is almost always that GUN CONTROL INCREASES VIOLENT CRIME, by shifting the balance of power to favor criminals and disarming helpless victims. This is why SAS opposes measures such as legislation that would make trigger locks mandatory with every handgun purchase, as well as licensing and registration of guns and gun owners.
We already know that licensing and registration will be counterproductive because the U.S. Supreme Court (Haynes v. U.S., 390 US 85, 1968) has unequivocally ruled that criminals cannot be legally required to register their firearms, and they cannot be convicted for possessing an unregistered firearm. It makes no sense at all to enact laws which can only be used to convict previously law-abiding citizens while criminals get a free pass. It is time to start enforcing the existing violent crime laws, rather than wasting taxpayer money on harassment and punishment of non-violent firearms owners. It is time for the media and the politicians to help people who want to defend themselves against crime, rather than passing laws which only help the criminals. said SAS co-founder Kim Watson.
Second Amendment Sisters supports the extremely successful firearms safety education programs that have been developed by firearms owner groups and have been available to firearms owners for decades. Safety programs sponsored by national and local clubs and organizations have been responsible for a nearly 50% decline in the number of childrens shooting accidents over the last 25 years, despite increases in population and number of guns in circulation.
A six-year study done at Johns Hopkins University found that the majority of children aged 0-14 died as a result of other causes (35.3%). Next were vehicle occupant (17.0%) and drowning (13.4%), while accidental shootings ranked lowest, at 2.9%.
Second Amendment Sisters can be reached toll-free at 877-277-6216 or via their web site at www.sas-aim.org.