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Exodus Armed – Responsibility, Safety & Security

Ammoland — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:31:26 +0000

by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Exodus Armed - Responsibility, Safety & Security

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The weekly reading of B’Shalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) tells of the emergence of the Jewish People as a Nation: Pharoah has finally been overwhelmed by the ten plagues Hashem has wrought upon Egypt and the Jewish People depart. No longer slaves, we take our first steps in freedom as our own Nation and People.

Our first steps in freedom are described thus (Exodus 13:18):

“And G-d led the people round about by way of the desert of the Red Sea, and the Children of Israel came up armed from the Land of Egypt.” [1]

Armed? Yes indeed! And it was so significant that we were armed that the Torah makes sure to mention it. Why? Like all slaves, we were disarmed in Egypt. Nothing symbolized our freedom from Egyptian bondage greater than bearing the arms of a free nation, a nation learning to take responsibility for its own well-being — beginning with the responsibility to defend itself.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, Rashi’s commentary explains the verse:

The word ‘chamushim‘ can only mean ‘armed‘. Because G-d caused them to wander in the wilderness, they needed to take arms with them from Egypt, for they did not pass near civilizations where they could acquire arms and supplies but rather had to take everything out from Egypt with them. [2]

Where did the fleeing slaves get arms? From the Egyptians themselves! At the end of last week’s reading, two verses before the Hebrew slaves actually depart from Egypt, they act “according to Moses’ instruction” and asked the Egyptians for “silver, gold, and garments.” After 210 years of slavery, G-d saw to it that the Egyptians would look favorably on them; the Egyptians gave even more than they requested, and they immediately depart (Exodus 13:35-37, with Rashi) — armed, as we are told this week.

Having despoiled Egypt in payment for their long enslavement, the Jews depart having been paid for their and their ancestors’ labor. With their gold and silver, garments, and newly acquired arms of freedom, they depart “triumphantly” — literally, “with a high hand” (14:8), which Rashi understands as “with openly displayed might.”

And indeed, at the end of the weekly reading, our arms and might are put to the test. The nation of Amelek attacks (Exodus 17:8) and the Jewish People go to war. Joshua leads the battle; Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascend to the top of a hill to oversee (17:9-10). When Moses raises his hands to the Heavens, the Jewish people are victorious; when his hands drop, the Amalekites surge. The Mishna (Rosh HaShanah 3:8) explains: when Moses raises his hands, the Jewish People are reminded of G-d, and this strengthens their hands in battle; when they forget G-d, they are defeated.

So it has always been for the Jewish People: we must arm ourselves and take responsibility for our own safety and security, but we must also always remember that G-d is our source of strength.

May we always be blessed with the freedom to self-arm, the discipline to use our arms only in righteousness, and the knowledge that our security comes only from G-d Himself.

1. Translation mine.
2. This is an exposition of Rashi’s comment, not a literal translation thereof.

Shalom,
Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.

The Rabbi’s Archive page.

About:
Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Mission is to destroy “gun control” and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Those are the twin goals of Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all.

JPFO is a non-profit tax-exempt educational civil rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO’s products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible, using bold tactics without compromise on fundamental principles. Visit www.JPFO.org – Copyright JPFO 2011

In Defense of the Catholic Church

Ammoland — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:32:04 +0000

By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
– Bill of Rights, Article 1

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- I’m not a scholar of the United States Constitution, though like most citizens, I certainly have a basic understanding of the meaning and intentions of the Constitution and its Amendments.

And like other patriots and defenders of the Second Amendment, I believe in the sanctity of this document and its integrity.

I’m no authority on Catholicism; with the exception of some comparative religion classes in college, my understanding of Catholic theology, ideology, and practice comes from growing up with a few Catholic friends and participating in interfaith dialogs among students studying for the clergy among various denominations.

But only a complete ignoramus of Catholic belief and Constitutional Law could fail to see hugely disturbing conflicts in a recent development in the executive branch of our federal government.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal (“A Battle the President Can’t Win”, by Peggy Noonan, WSJ 2/3/12):

The president signed off on a Health and Human Services ruling that says under ObamaCare Catholic institutions – including charities, hospitals and schools – will be required by law, for the first time ever, to provide and pay for insurance coverage that includes contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization procedures. If they do not, they will face ruinous fines in the millions of dollars. Or they can always go out of business.
In other words, the Catholic Church was told this week that its institutions can’t be Catholic anymore.

Whether you agree or disagree with the Catholic Church’s positions on abortion, sterilization, and birth control, this draconian maneuver by the Obama administration is simply untenable. This isn’t just about the federal government vs. the Catholic Church. It is about the federal government vs. religious autonomy in America.

Therefore, as a Rabbi, an Orthodox Jew, and an American, I stand with the Catholic Church and its right to freedom of conscience. If President Obama can force Catholics to pay for abortions, then no religious belief is safe in America, and an America in which religious beliefs are not sacrosanct is an America that is unsafe not only for Jews but for all people of conscience — whether people of faith or secularists.

While JPFO’s main focus is on the Second Amendment, we have always stood for all of the Bill of Rights for All of the People. While Second Amendment is the “Guardian” of the Bill of Rights, all of the rights reserved for We the People must stand intact for any of them to have meaning.

With that in mind, I would remind Obama and his ilk that there are moral issues that decent men and women will fight for – with pens and lawsuits at first, with arms if necessary. Freedom of religion and freedom of conscience are foremost among them.

The Second Amendment preserves not only our right to take up arms in self-defense but also our right to defend against a tyrannical government. May it be a right we never need to exercise.

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Shalom,
Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.

The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Tags: Gun & Religion, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

An Open Letter To My Christian Friends

Ammoland — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:20:30 +0000

When Your faith is Threatened, You are Threatened
By Aaron Zelman (1946 – 2010) – Founder and Executive Director of
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO).

An Open Letter To My Christian Friends

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- What’s wrong with this picture?

A Florida city allows a Jewish menorah to be displayed in a public park — but forbids a nativity scene to be placed next to it. [i]

Seventh graders in a California school take an intensive three-week course on Islam — which includes praying to Allah and conducting a mock jihad — but are not allowed to study Christianity in school. [ii]

A library employee is fired for wearing a cross pendant to work, and a teacher’s aide is suspended for a year without pay for doing the same thing. [iii] Yet at the same time, in the name of “tolerance,” workplaces allow Islamic crescents, Wiccan symbols, Stars of David, and other non-Christian religious signs.

Few people would have believed it 10 years ago — or even five — or even two or three years ago. But Christianity is in danger of becoming a scorned and despised religion in the United States.

The tide is being held back for the moment. The Florida city said the nativity scene could be placed at a different (although less prominent) public location, parents sued the California school district for its promotion of a religion, and judges ordered the fired and suspended employees to be re-instated.

Yet all is not well for Christians in America. Similar incidents are reported every day, and many don’t have happy outcomes for followers of Christ. Around the globe, things are worse. We know of at least three genocides within the last hundred years that have specifically targeted Christians. [iv] With militant Islam on the rise, and some 100 million Muslims worldwide supporting jihad against “infidels,” times are dangerous indeed for Christians.

You might imagine Christianity can’t be threatened in the United States because it’s America’s majority faith. But there’s no assurance Christians will remain in the majority. And ironically, part of the reason Christianity is so threatened now is that it is the majority faith. It’s hard to imagine an employer walking up to a Jew and demanding, “Remove that star of David pendant,” or approaching a Muslim and ordering him to take off a tie-tack in the shape of a crescent. The employer would be terrified of being accused of bigotry. But that same employer feels safe demanding removal of Christian symbols because Christianity, as the majority religion, is seen as the “oppressor” of other religions and cultures. (This phenomenon is similar to the way in which white males can be criticized in the workplace more safely than women or minorities.)

Already, the worm of religious bigotry is eating into the heart of the American consciousness — including the Christian consciousness. Not long ago, I spoke with a man who happened to mention he was Christian. Immediately after telling me that, he apologized for his beliefs. I asked why on earth he should be sorry. He began to mumble that Christians were responsible for slavery and oppression and slaughter of native peoples and bigotry toward other religions. In other words, although he was a Christian himself who had never been guilty of any of those evils, he had completely bought into the current cultural prejudice that his religion was inherently cruel and corrupt — something to feel ashamed of.

BIGOTRY AGAINST ONE FAITH IS A TRAGEDY TO ALL
Why should JPFO, as a Jewish group, care whether Christians are suffering discrimination?

We care for many reasons. And so should everyone, regardless of religion or creed.

First, everyone should care because demonizing any religion (or any group for that matter) is dangerous. It’s dangerous not only to the targeted group, but to society in general. Once you set a pattern in which bigotry is acceptable, then bigotry can be turned on any group — to their destruction. Ultimately, you may end up with a society in ruins, as one faction repeatedly turns on another and tears the fabric of a nation apart.

If you are Jewish, you should care because Christian America is the best home our people have found in 2,000 years. Despite all its imperfections, despite the anti-Semitism that some U.S. Christians (and non-believers) have practiced against us, this remains the most tolerant, prosperous, and safest home we could be blessed with.

If you are Christian, you should care because the actions described at the top of this article may be only the beginning. One Holocaust survivor observed, “Auschwitz wasn’t built with bricks. It was built with words.” That’s how it begins. When Christ-haters (or G-d [v] haters) learn they can get away with small deeds of discrimination, they move on to larger ones … and more heinous ones. Actions borne of hatred must be chopped off at the roots. Otherwise hatred proliferates.

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms ownership has made exhaustive studies on the pre-conditions for genocide — and we see the very early stages of genocide rising in this country. In fact, the self-hatred expressed by my Christian acquaintance eerily echoes the negative feelings many Jews (especially Jewish children) adopted toward themselves in the early years of Nazi Germany. They learned that there was something very “wrong”merely with being who they were. Demonization leads to self-doubt. Once any group — religious, racial, or otherwise — begins to doubt its own worth, it’s less likely to fight back against attacks. And its members come to believe (often correctly) that others won’t come to its aid if it does defend itself. [vi]

NO SPECIAL PRIVILEGES FOR ONE RELIGION, BUT FREEDOM FOR ALL RELIGIONS
No group is 100 percent innocent. History shows Muslims turning on Christians and Christians turning on Muslims. Pagan Nazis masquerading behind Christian propaganda slaughtered Jews by the millions. Militant communist atheists have killed passive Buddhists en masse. Muslims and Jews accuse each other of genocide. Animists slaughter Christians, then Muslims slaughter animists.

I’m not intending, in this article, to place any faith above any other. Or to demonize any faith.

But I do say that American Christians are among the best friends Jews have ever had. And Christians and Jews are now “in it together.” Militant Islam hates us both and wants us all dead or converted at sword point. With Islam likely to become the world’s dominant religion, based on birthrate alone, and with 10 percent of Muslims believing in the righteousness of jihad, both Christians and Jews should fear, and prepare. We have no fear of the 90 percent of Muslims who are peaceful and tolerant.

But 10 percent of the one billion Muslims in the world is 100 million people who hate us … and that number is growing.

Since most examples of officially sanctioned religious prejudice in the United States are now directed against Christians, it’s time for us Jews to defend our Christian brothers.

And it’s time for Christians to prepare to defend themselves — intellectually and spiritually for the moment, but perhaps physically in some not-too-distant future.

Someday we Jews may have to stand at the side of our Christian friends in defense of our country, our faiths, and our lives. We should all face this reality and prepare for it. We Jews should stop throwing barriers in the way of self-defense. And Jews and Christians alike should cultivate the mindset and skills for self-defense.

I addressed Jews recently in my article “The Beast Reawakens: A Personal Challenge to All Jews to Defend Themselves.” The practical advice about self-defense in the latter half of that article is useful to anyone of any faith or no faith at all.

For the rest of this article, I will address my Christian friends.
The first defense of your faith and your rights, of course, lies in persuasion. I urge you to do all that you can to educate others about the liberties inherent in all humankind — the freedoms so eloquently and uniquely spelled out in America’s Bill of Rights. JPFO has put the Bill of Rights on our Web site in 15 languages — including not only all the major European languages, but Russian, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic, and Chinese.

The first amendment of that Bill famously says that the U.S. Congress “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”

Many Christ-haters or G-d [v] haters would like to throw that guarantee out forever. Some would replace it with their own non-Judeo-Christian theocracy, while others would prohibit the exercise of all religion in public life, period. We must know our history and show all these people that the free exercise of religion is part of the great tapestry of individual rights that enables millions of diverse human beings to reach their greatest personal potential, free from tyranny, and enables those same millions of diverse human beings to live peaceably together in the world, even when they disagree on many things.

Do not believe that your religion owes any apologies or any concessions to other religions. And understand that they owe none to you. What we all owe each other is an acknowledgement that religious freedom benefits everyone.

This is our most important work of the moment: to build, or restore, a Bill of Rights culture in which all Americans (and hopefully, all the world) can live peaceably and in freedom.

BUT SOME WILL NEVER LISTEN
We must deal with the reality that some of those who hate us will never listen to the beauty and reason of freedom. Therefore, we must also be prepared to defend our lives, our faiths, our religious texts and institutions, and our communities of fellow believers with the most effective tools available against attackers — firearms.

Some Christians (and far too many Jews) believe that pacifism is the most moral course. Many Christians quote Jesus’s famous statement that they should “turn the other cheek” to an evil person. They forget that, in the last hours of his life, Jesus also ordered his disciples, “[H]e who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.” (Luke 22:36)

Think of that: Under the right circumstances, Jesus himself believed that a sword (the fiercest personal weapon of its day) was more important than clothing.

The Old Testament also counsels that it’s moral to kill someone who threatens you. (“If the thief shall be found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.” Exodus 22:2)

(You will find more on the Biblical view of self-defense in “What Does the Bible Say About Gun Control” by Larry Pratt, which is printed as Chapter 18 in the book Death by “Gun Control” by Aaron Zelman and Richard W. Stevens. This book is the basis for the documentary film Innocents Betrayed, which shows in even more poignant terms how bigotry against Christians and others has led to genocide. )

Roman Catholic doctrine echoes Exodus in endorsing not only the right, but the morality of self-defense. Section 2264 of the Catechism says:

Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore, it is legitimate to insist on one’s own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow.

Much of the war against Christians is so far a war of words, or of small injustices like those described in the opening of this article. There is no possible justification for using physical force to defend against such offenses — especially when the justice system is still doing its job.

But violence against Christians has also begun.
After all, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were planned and carried out by men with an implacable hatred for both Judaism and Christianity. Those murderous fanatics and their supporters aimed to destroy both us and our faiths — and the country that shelters us.

You probably couldn’t have effectively defended yourself on that black Tuesday unless you were on one of those planes and physically able to subdue, or kill, the hijackers. But few attacks in the inevitable years of terror will be on the scale of 9-11. Look to Europe now, where attacks against Jews are growing. You’ll get a glimpse of what the future may be for Christians in a world overrun with Islamic fundamentalism.

Typical acts of violence (like those now being committed against European Jews) might include beating priests or nuns, burning churches, shooting into the windows of religious schools, desecrating cemetaries, throwing excrement on worshippers, or even suicide attacks carried out by fanatics who walk into your churches, schools, meeting halls, or neighborhoods.

Against these evil deeds, you can indeed defend yourselves, if you’re well-armed and vigilant.

But you can only defend yourself if you’re physically, emotionally, and intellectually prepared to do so — and if you are able to carry effective tools for defense.

This is where many of my Jewish brethren and your Christian liberal brethren need to get out of your way. We must stop trying to disarm America’s potential victims, in the naïve believe that benevolent government will protect everyone. Courts have ruled repeatedly that the government has absolutely no duty to protect anyone. (Read Dial 911 and Die by Richard W. Stevens or my article “The Beast Reawakens” for a few key examples of those court rulings.)

Rather than assuming that ordinary people are incompetent to defend themselves, our Jewish and Christian leaders should realize that self defense is, by its very nature, a job for ourselves, a job that cannot be delegated to far-away “experts.” Self-defense is also a moral job, and the individual and collective responsibility of moral people.

Christians, Jews, and people of other religions or no religion have enjoyed a blessed safety in America. We’ve forgotten that in most places, and in most modern times, it’s been normal for one religious group to hold political power and to use that power to oppress, or even slaughter, the minority. Don’t merely look at the Holocaust and say it only happened once and “Never Again!”

Look at the many religiously motivated genocides of the 20th century. Look back at the savage religious struggles of the Reformation. The Crusades. The Inquisition. The English civil war. When fanaticism takes over any religion, disaster can strike believers of other religions, or those whose beliefs don’t meet some other standard of perfection. Look also at the nominally peaceful countries where, nevertheless, some religious minority lives under the thumb of a majority, deprived of the right to freely practice its chosen faith.

I’ve said before that America has been a haven for the Jews. Let us not forget that it’s also been a haven for Christians of every variety, from high-church Episcopalians to speaking-in-tongues Pentecostals, from mainstream churches like the Methodists to tiny sects like the Amish, from cloistered Roman Catholic nuns to the very public missions of non-traditional Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

My Christian friends: Appreciate this land that has blessed you with such freedom. But also recognize how rare your freedom of worship has been in history. If fanatics overrun us and force their views upon us, it won’t be any new and unprecedented disaster; it will be a return to a historic norm.

If you want your freedom of worship, if you want your loved ones to continue to live in an exceptional land that enables you to think and believe freely, then preserve the free culture of this land. Show your best appreciation by being ready to defend this rare culture that has encouraged such freedom. For the present, defend freedom by respecting and teaching others about all of the Bill of Rights for all citizens.

When the day comes that you and your faith are violently attacked, be ready. Ready to defend your faith, your family, your community, yourself, and your freedom.

And know that brave armed Jewish brethren are ready to stand beside you on that day.

Notes
i — Travis, Scott. “Palm Beach restricts display of Nativity scene to foot of bridge.” Sun-Sentinel.com. December 24, 2003.
ii — Miles, Rev. Austin. “Public schools embrace Islam — A shocker.” ASSIST News Service. January 10, 2002 . Also see Lynne, Diana. WorldNetDaily.com. “District sued over Islam studies.” WorldNetDaily.com. July 2, 2002.
iii — “Cross-wearing woman sues over suspension.” WorldNetDaily.com. May 10, 2003.
iv — Turkey, 1915-1917 (target: Armenian Christians); East Timor, 1975-1999 (target: Roman Catholics); Sudan, mid-1990s-to-present (targets: Christians and animists).
v — G-d is spelled this way because it is against Jewish tradition to spell or speak the name of the Almighty outside of sacred settings.
vi — For more on the stages of genocide see Miller, Richard Lawrence. Nazi Justiz: Law of the Holocaust. Praeger Publications, 1995. For information on the characteristics of a police state (including demonization of targeted groups), see Wolfe, Claire and Zelman, Aaron. The State vs the People: The Rise of the American Police State. Mazel Freedom Press, 2002.

Tags: Aaron Zelman, Christians, Conservative Values, Gun & Religion, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

Violence Solves A Lot

Ammoland — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:59:13 +0000

By Kirby Ferris

Evil Acts Must Be Countered By A Superior, Violent Force

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- One of the more insidiously deceptive lines of the socialist-liberal agenda is the banal phrase: “Violence doesn’t solve anything.”

How much retrospection is required to understand that Hitler wasn’t stopped by peace marches, negotiations, or “conflict resolution” sessions? It is a horrible, disgusting task, but evil acts, whatever shape they take, must eventually be countered by a superior, violent force.

The liberal doesn’t seem to understand that the threat of counter violence is perhaps the most effective preventative of actual physical conflict. Liberal pacifists in modern times mocked the phrase “peace through strength” as though the pragmatism contained within such an idea were rooted in some atavistic, macho, testosterone-poisoned psychosis that had been propagated by alpha males throughout history.

Can’t the liberal understand that bad people are prevented from committing evil acts by their fear of punishment?

Perhaps at a childhood level, the threat of adult disapproval or the disapproval of one’s schoolyard peers keeps the behavior of the youngster in some kind of conformity to morality. But it doesn’t take long for the criminally-minded teenager to realize that he really doesn’t care what other people think. Crime pays. Evil is profitable. Bullying works. Unless, that is, you are harshly confronted with the realization that your malicious behavior will be rewarded by a beating, a bullet, or a prison cell.

A peaceful, free society, of which America (even with its flaws) is the most outstanding example in all of recorded history, is preserved by the willingness of its people, either singly or as a group, to commit decisive acts of righteous violence to counter evil activity.

Hebrew scholars agree that one of the Ten Commandments has been mistranslated. “Thou shalt not kill” is more accurately translated from the ancient Hebrew as “Thou shalt not murder.” The punishment for murder in ancient Israelite communities was stoning. Murderers were killed by the citizens. They were executed. And stoning was the most effective way to spread the responsibility for the execution through the mass of individuals who were willing to pay the price for living in a peaceful, moral society. Because of its face-to-face horror, the compassionate individual would, one might imagine, actually cast the first stone …to make sure it knocked the murderer immediately unconscious, in much the same way the ethical hunter or fisherman puts his quarry out of its misery as quickly as possible.

The ancient Hebrews forced personal responsibility on each individual via the group act of stoning.

It comes down to individual responsibility. It comes down to the individual being willing to act with righteous force when confronted by certain criminal behaviors. How many of your would idly stand by and watch a man torture a helpless pup? You would first yell at him to stop. If he continued, you might grab at him or throw yourself between him and the bleeding, cringing animal. What if he slaps you aside and continues his barbarity? You look around and see a two-by-four on the ground. How many of you would not take that two-by-four to the man with a clear conscience? Sorry, there are no cell phones around. You can’t call the cops or the Humane Society. You have to act now! What do you do? Are you really going to stand by and watch the travesty, all the time telling yourself that “violence doesn’t solve anything”?

If you would club the animal torturer with a two-by-four, how much quicker should you come to the defense of a human victim? I grew up in the Marxist-Socialist, namby-pamby Bay Area, and I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard some pompous person tell me “I could never kill anyone!” I even said it a few times myself during my naive teens and 20s. It felt so good to utter that unctuous homily. But I don’t feel that way anymore.

I would kill another human being. I would do it to save my own life or the life of an innocent victim. The act would probably make me physically ill. I might have to live with it in my mind for the rest of my life, but I pray I would have the courage, yes, courage, to stop consummate evil with whatever means became necessary.

And it is for this reason that I am a fervent advocate of the right of the law-abiding and sane individual to possess and carry a firearm. The right to self-defense is not only a right guaranteed to us by the Constitution, it is a duty, a command of “Nature and Nature’s G-d” (to quote Jefferson) that each of us must confront if we are to preserve freedom and moral civilization in our communities and nation.

Modern-day “gun control” is not something invented in America by Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Adolph Hitler used firearms and ammunition registration to create the paper trails that facilitated the eventual confiscation of the firearms of his opponents in Nazi Germany. America’s Gun Control Act of 1968 bears such an amazing resemblance to the Nazi German law that every school child should be made aware of the similarity.

Or perhaps we should all think about a very simple fact: slaves can’t own guns.

Perhaps the world isn’t the way we wish it would be. We all might wish that evil men could be persuaded from their vile behavior with bleeding heart entreaties, a kiss on the cheek, or proper toilet training. But it ain’t that way, folks, Pacifism is a sickness, an actual moral perversity, and dangerous when its effects spread to anyone else beside the pacifist. You may choose to walk to the cattle car, but damn you if you let your children be led up the ramp. You must never allow any group or government to steal your right to exercise armed lethal force in a just situation.

One of the greatest instructors in the defensive use of firearms used to say to his graduating classes: “May you never have to use what you have learned here.” And in that spirit I would like to see an American citizenry that is armed to the teeth and as skilled in the use of pistols and rifles as we are in the driving of automobiles. Am I insane? Somehow, looking at the tragic lessons of history, I don’t think so.

NOTE: This is a reprint of an article Kirby Ferris authored for the Coastal Post Newspaper of Main County, CA in 1998; minor updates and edits have been made for JPFO.

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris, collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years of Aaron’s life. Ferris is currently the Research Director of JPFO.

See all of Kirby Ferris’ articles.

Tags: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Kirby Ferris, Self Defense

Moses and Righteous Use of Force

Ammoland — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:20:17 +0000

By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.
Copyright 2012 JPFO

Moses Slaying the Egyptians

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The first weekly reading in the Book of Shmot (Exodus 1:1-6:1) introduces us to the central character who will be the main protagonist through the end of the Torah: Moshe (“Moses” in English).

Moshe is so important in Judaism that to this day we call him “Moshe Rabbeinu” — “our Rabbi and Teacher Moshe” – and indeed his teachings dominate not only the Written Torah but also the Oral Law. But just who is this man that will lead the Jews from slavery and bring us not only the Ten Commandments but also the entire Torah itself?

The Torah tells us few details about his early life; Torah is not intended to teach us history but rather the essential information that we need to understand the spiritual development of the Jewish People, and as such the lack of details of Moshe’s character are not surprising. But this dearth of detail magnifies the significance and importance of what is revealed.

Of his birth, we are told only that he is of the House of Levi. Fearful that their slaves will rebel, the Egyptians have decreed death upon all newborn Jewish boys; Moshe’s mother hides him from the Egyptian tyrants for some three months following his birth. When she can no longer hide him, she places him in a basket and he is found, adopted, and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. We know that he grew up in the Pharaoh’s palace and can guess at what that meant in terms of his education and social status.

A few verses later, we are told that Moshe grew up and “went out to see the suffering of his People.” (Ex. 2:11) Despite his upbringing, Moshe sees the Jews as his people — he identifies with the Jews, not the Egyptians. Rashi tells us of Moshe’ empathy: “[Moshe] directed his eyes and his heart to be distressed over [the Jewish people].” (Rashi’s comment is based on Ex. Rab. 1:27)

We are told of three incidents that follow in the coming six verses:

First, Moshe sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, and the Torah tells us that Moshe sees the Jew as “his brother.” Rashi spells out the detailed background for us. The Hebrew was the husband of Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri, (who will be mentioned in Lev. 24:10), and this Egyptian had forced himself upon her. To complete his destruction of this Jewish family, the Egyptian now beat her husband. Moshe steps in and kills the Egyptian — a righteous punishment in defense of the dignity of Shlomit and her anonymous husband.
The second incident follows the next day, when Moshe sees two Jews arguing so fiercely that one is about to strike the other. He steps in to settle the dispute, but his intervention is rejected by the guilty party who asks him: “Will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Ex. 2:14) Moshe realizes that if the Jews know that he killed the Egyptian, the Egyptians surely know as well. He flees from Pharaoh, in fear for his life. Though we are not told so, we can surmise that the penalty for striking down an Egyptian is death — and that there is no such penalty for killing a Jew.
Moshe flees to Midian where we hear of the third incident. Resting by a well, he sees the seven daughters of Yitro draw water for their sheep. They are attacked by a group of men who steal their water; Moshe intervenes on their behalf, fighting off the group of male shepherds who attacked them, and justice is served. (Ex. 2:15-17)

What do these incidents tell us of the character of Moshe? Indeed, though terse in words, the Torah reveals much.

In these stories, we are told one of Moshe’s defining traits: he identifies with and stands up for the rights of the oppressed. Not only does Moshe defend the weak and powerless, including slaves and women, he identifies with the oppressed on a personal basis. Further, he is an equal-opportunity defender, defending Jew from Egyptian, Jew from Jew, and the Midianite women from non-Jews.

These incidents are apparently all we need to know of Moshe’s character to prepare us for his greatness. We are next given genealogical details – he marries, has children – and then we learn of Moshe’s encounter with G-d at the Burning Bush. He has been chosen by Hashem to free the Jewish slaves.

This same characteristic that defines Moshe’s greatness in his early life, his quest for justice, is one of the many ideals we strive for as Americans. Our all-American fantasy hero, Superman, stands for “truth, justice, and the American way.” We are a country of equality before the Law, founded on the principle that “all Men are created equal.” Our ideals allow the oppressed to seek redress in court where they can expect fair and equal treatment before the Law, and we expect justice for Jew and non-Jew, Egyptian and Midianite. Moshe sees the Jewish slaves as his brethren, but more, he sees them as human beings, not property – human beings created in the Image of G-d.

As such, Moshe doesn’t hesitate to stand up in defense of the innocent — even at the risk of losing his status in Egyptian royalty (which he does), even at the risk of great personal harm when he is outnumbered at the Midianite well, even to the point of using lethal force against the Egyptian who attacked the Hebrew slave.

Moshe embodies a model of law and justice that ideally would be manifest in all our leaders. At the very least, we can seek to emulate his model in our own behavior: defend the rights of the oppressed, protect the innocent from harm, and seek justice and equal treatment before the law. In perfecting these and other manifestations of his character, Moshe will grow into the great law-giver who transmits the Torah, G-d’s Law manifest on Earth.

May we aspire to display his respect for justice and the dignity of others.

Shalom,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.

The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Tags: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Pro Gun Groups, Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Self Defense

Aaron Zelman and the NRA

Ammoland — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:33:41 +0000

Here’s a “blast from the past”.

Aaron Zelman, Ted Nugent and the NRA

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Aaron Zelman was no fan of the NRA. On occasion he was accused of “bashing” “The Gun Lobby”.

It was surprising that almost ten times more communication came our way supporting Aaron’s “zero tolerance” of the National Rifle Association.

There is no question that Aaron’s in-your-face attitude affected the NRA over the years. We’d like to think that it put “The Big Guys” back on a truer course towards freedom. Since Aaron’s passing, the NRA has done the right things with Eric Holder and the despicable “Operation Fast and Furious”, the insidious poison of the U.N. “Small Arms Treaty”, and the drive towards nationwide concealed carry.

[But] their political grading of politicians is still pretty cheesy.

Times have changed. JPFO no longer holds the animosity that Aaron felt so deeply in his bones about the NRA.

However, let’s not let our guard down. Here’s a classic refresher on the difference between JPFO and the NRA. Some ignorant criticism arose from this article from mentally challenged folks who thought it was actually a hit at Ted Nugent.

Aaron Zelman

Ted and Aaron were Brothers in Arms. (Read Ted’s memorial comments about Aaron on the Tribute Page.) Ted never formally answered Aaron’s “open letter”. It was a “between-a-rock-and-a-hard place” situation for Ted. We are sure, however, that Ted got the message delivered upstairs to the big wigs at the NRA.

Were you listening, Wayne?

Yours in Freedom, The Liberty Crew at JPFO

Protecting you by creating solutions to destroy “gun control”

Tags: Aaron Zelman, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, NRA, Ted Nugent

Holy Day Wishes

Ammoland — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:41:35 +0000

By Kenn Blanchard
Host of the Black Man With A Gun Podcast.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- As we entered December, I faced a dilemma. Many of our JPFO members are not Jewish (we don’t ask, but members often write to me and include such information), but it is inappropriate for an Orthodox rabbi to send Christmas greetings.
I approached my dear friend and brother Reverend Kenn Blanchard to write to our membership, and he kindly agreed — and asked that I do the same for the listeners of his Urban Shooter Podcast. Reverend Kenn is a true friend, a man who actualizes in me potential that I didn’t know I had. May we all be blessed with such friends, and with love and peace.
Rabbi Bendory

Holy Day Wishes
Religious holidays like Hanukkah and Christmas aren’t celebrated as holy days very much. I’d like to give you something to consider this season.

We have much to celebrate in spite of the economy, world politics and you-fill-in-the blank issues that plague us. If you are reading this, for example you are doing better than a lot of people.

The celebrations of both Christmas and Hanukkah involve family, lights, and freedom. As it was in ancient times, people are still trying to get others to bow down, or go along, with ideologies that would compromise your freedom. Don’t compromise on your faith or on your principles.

Once that light goes out, there is no hope and no help for you. Mattathais took up a sword and battled his way out of a compromise. A young woman submitted to become “the handmaiden of the Lord.” Both holidays are about dedication, commitment and fulfillment of promises.

How are you going to stand when the winds of change come?

“It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood’ to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.”- Alex Karras

As members of the pro-gun community it is easy to grow weary in well doing. It is easy to get tired of fighting Aunt Laudy and everybody, but stick to what you know is right. Don’t bow down to idols. Keep your lights burning brightly so you can inspire others. Exercise your faith.

This is a season of joy and happiness if you realize that the most important things in life aren’t things. This is a time of family and friends. This is a time to rededicate yourself to what really matters in your life. Celebrate the Light of the World. Celebrate the lights of the menorah. Celebrate life!

Kenn Blanchard - Host of the Black Man With A Gun Podcast.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah

Rev. Kenn Blanchard
Host of the Black Man With A Gun Podcast, speaker and blogger on kennblanchard.com

PS. I am extremely honored and blessed to call as my friend Rabbi Dovid Bendory. I am humbled for the opportunity to contribute this message. It is my prayer that the Lord bless you and your family this holy day season. Shalom Baby, kb

Tags: Black Man with a Gun, Holidays, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Kenn Blanchard, Rabbi Dovid Bendory

A Year Without Aaron Zelman

Ammoland — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:54:44 +0000

A Year Without Aaron Zelman

Aaron S. Zelman Executive Director of JPFO (Passed)

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- A year ago today, the founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Aaron Zelman, passed away.

His sudden absence from our midst sent a shock wave through the true hard core freedom community.

It is appropriate today to review the official tribute JPFO prepared in Aaron’s memory. Please make sure you read the heartfelt comments others sent in to us.

It is also very appropriate to read the interview done with Aaron on the 20th Anniversary of JPFO’s founding. So much about the man’s motivation and great vision is found in this interview.

And finally, please take the time to review the list of JPFO’s projects and accomplishments.

These were just some of the fruits of Aaron Zelman’s labor on our behalf.

He was a lion for freedom. May G-d rest his soul.

Yours in Freedom, The Liberty Crew at JPFO

Protecting you by creating solutions to destroy “gun control”

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Tags: Gun Activists, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Obituary, Pro Gun Groups

A Chanukah Greeting from JPFO’s Rabbi Bendory

Ammoland — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:07:25 +0000

By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- It is said that every Jewish Holiday is the same: “they tried to destroy us; we won; let’s eat!” — and like all humor, there’s a certain amount of truth to this.

Like every Jewish Holiday, Chanukah has its heroes and villains. The villains of Chanukah – the Hellenists -- sought the spiritual destruction of the Jewish people. They outlawed observance of Sabbath and Holidays, forbade circumcision, and placed an idol in the Holy Temple.

Throughout Jewish History, G-d has always intervened to save us — whether from our enemies or from ourselves. What makes Chanukah different?

What makes Chanukah different is not the villains or the triumph but rather the heroes of the story. The Maccabees — a family of Priests – were the generals in the war against the Greek Hellenists. This family of Priests – brothers who had been groomed for the Divine Service since birth – took up arms and lead a rebellion against the Hellenist oppression.

As Jews, we are often uncomfortable with our own strength; we find it much easier to be the underdog “David” than the warrior heroes. We identify more easily the the oppressed Jews of Egypt, miraculously redeemed by open miracles performed at the hand of Moses and Aaron; or with the condemned Jews of Shushan, miraculously rescued by the pleas of Queen Esther and her prophetic uncle Mordechai.

But on Chanukah, the heroes are the Maccabees – warriors through and through. From the Maccabees, we learned that we not only could take up arms in defense of life on the Sabbath but that it was a mitzvah – Divine Commandment – to do so. From the Maccabees, we learned that Divine Service includes not only Temple Rites but Human Rights — the right to worship our G-d. From the Macabees, we learned that in the face of oppression, keeping and bearing arms is the sacred responsibility of a civilization, that shirking such responsibility means giving up all that we hold dear.

During these eight days of Chanukah, may the light of the candles fill your home with joy. May we remember the Maccabees’ spiritual strength in standing up to the mightiest army in the world to fight for what they knew to be true.

And may we be blessed with the Divine Protection that has guided the Jewish people through history.

Shalom,
Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.

The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Tags: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Rabbi Dovid Bendory

JPFO’s Rabbi Bendory In The News & You Won’t Believe Where…

Ammoland — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:08:37 +0000

Violet Blue in San Francisco poses in a still photo from the documentary "A Girl and A Gun." Cathryne Czubek via Bloomberg

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- In a remarkably fair handed presentation, journalist Ken Wells has written an intriguing exposé of the increasing upward trend of handgun ownership in America.

The article’s title is “Buddhist Packing Bond Pistol Shows American Embrace of Guns”. Lots of liberals will read this article, and hopefully think twice about their gun phobia.

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership is well represented in the article. Not only is JPFO’s Rabbinic Director, Rabbi Dovid Bendory, given fair “page time”, but JPFO Member Tammy Pinkston of Oklahoma wades in with a great contribution. There is also a side bar video about Tammy and her women’s self defense training program.

The Brady Buffoons get a chance to blather, but they don’t control the flow of this article by any means. It’s almost as if these pitiful, but dangerous, knee jerkers were included just to give the article “balance”.

But here’s the best part: This article was published in the highly respected online version of the Bloomberg Report. Yes … THAT Bloomberg.

This publication is owned by Michael Bloomberg, NYC Mayor, and rabid anti-gun billionaire!

Did Ken Wells’s article simply slip through the cracks? Or was he told to go out and dig into the actual truth about American gun ownership?

Read the article here – and if you feel so led, send a short email of thanks to Ken Wells for giving our side a fair shake in the debate. Please keep it respectful. This was valuable press for JPFO and American freedom.

Tags: Anti-Gun Media, Bloomberg, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Open Letter to the Arizona Republic Newspaper on Fast & Furious

Ammoland — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:44:47 +0000

By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.
Copyright 2011 JPFO

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- To the Editor: On Sunday, November 27 2011, the Arizona Republic newspaper published a fairly lengthy story about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) gun-running debacle code-named “Operation Fast and Furious”.

Reporter Dennis Wagner obviously put in a lot of leg work and research on the piece.

However, upon closer perusal, what soon became evident was that many details were left out of the article. In many ways, the article appears as though it was written by the press department of the U.S. Justice Department.

The DOJ/BATFE “party line” is parroted so often in the article that it leaves me wondering about editorial bias in what is ostensibly a news piece.

In the time-worn liberal tactic of “Blame Bush”, the article repeatedly tries to connect “Operation Fast and Furious” with the previous Bush administration’s “Operation Wide Receiver“. Nowhere in the Republic’s article is it mentioned that the Mexican government was a full partner in “Wide Receiver”. In contrast, the Mexicans knew nothing about the debacle known as “Fast and Furious”.
The article repeatedly parrots the BATFE/DOJ party line assertion that “Fast and Furious” was a “rogue” scheme that originated solely in the Phoenix office of the BATFE. The Obama administration – specifically, Eric Holder – supposedly knew nothing about it. If it is true that Holder knew nothing about it, this bespeaks an incompetence that should cost him his job. If he in fact knew about the operation, he should be indicted.
There is a strange mixed message in the article regarding the death of border agent Brian Terry. From the article, it appears as if the two firearms found at the scene were NOT guns that had been allowed to “walk” in “Fast and Furious”. If the guns were not BATFE connected, why was this sad event so powerful in the minds of some BATFE agents that they actually broke ranks and became whistle blowers?
The article makes no mention of the fact that some of the “straw purchasers” of Fast and Furious were actually undercover agents of the BATFE and FBI or that they bought the guns with U.S. taxpayer money. Also conveniently omitted was the fact that the FBI apparently interfered with the “National Criminal Instant Background Check System” (NICS) in order to ALLOW known felons to make the gun buys at Arizona gun stores! Similarly, when store owners reported what they believed to be suspicious sales of multiple rifles purchased by the same party with cash, they were explicitly told by BATFE to allow the suspicious purchases to proceed.

On the positive side, I was pleasantly surprised at how fairly the two bloggers who broke the “Fast and Furious” scandal were treated by reporter Dennis Wagner. It’s good that these two righteous Americans are getting the credit that is due them. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has already bestowed upon them our “David and Goliath Award“. When the history of “Fast and Furious” is finally exposed for the travesty it was, these two gentlemen will make Woodward and Bernstein of Watergate fame look like first-year journalism school hacks.

Let’s not forget that “Fast and Furious” was also a blatant scheme to plant evidence that would validate outrageously dishonest claims regarding the volumes of U.S. retail sourced weapons turning up in Mexico at crime scenes. While the article debunked this “90 percent Myth“, it omitted the legitimate gun trace statistic: 17 percent. And that 17 percent includes guns effectively sent across the border by Fast and Furious.

How low would the number be had our government not joined in?

Also, I’d like to point out an oddity that no one seems to notice. Your article, as have others, nonchalantly mentions US guns “found” at murder scenes in Mexico. Is there some rule of honor in Mexican murders that requires dropping a gun by the victim’s body? If these guns are so precious to the cartels, why don’t the murderers take them when they leave the scene? It oddly appears as if the shooter really didn’t care about the expense of the weapon — that it was more important that it be known which weapon was used in the murder. How convenient that up until “Fast and Furious” was halted, the killers could count on the BATFE to ship a replacement gun to Mexico for them.

Blessings of Shalom,
Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor. The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Tags: Arms Trafficking, ATF, BATFE, Fast & Furious, Gun Trafficking, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Project Gunrunner, Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Straw Purchases, Washington DC

Do We Need New Gun Laws?

Ammoland — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:08:15 +0000

Do We Need New Gun Laws?
By Alan Korwin, JPFO Advisor
Reproduced by kind permission of Alan Korwin, of GunLaws.com, from the original article.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Ask the average gun buff if we need new gun laws and the knee-jerk reaction is, “Not just no, but hell no!”

That’s followed up with, “What part of ‘Shall not be infringed’ don’t you understand? All those gun laws on the books are illegal and should be repealed!”

Let’s just think about that.

You know rights come with limits and responsibilities. Your right to swing your arms ends at the tip of my nose, right? Who would argue a law disarming convicted murderers in prison violates the Second Amendment? You get the point. Some gun laws are just fine. A five year old can’t walk into a gun shop and buy a gun.

Yes, on cool reflection, some gun laws work and are a part of the American concept of ordered liberty. We control bad elements in society and mete out punishment for bad actors and their bad acts. The worse the act is, the harsher the penalty. You want those laws-

Let’s look at our legitimate need for gun laws. Because laws protect the innocent as well as punish the guilty. That’s especially important now the Constitution no longer constrains Congress. Officials do whatever they please, trashing our rights, ignoring their limits, acting like tyrants unrestricted by “a government of limited delegated powers.” You can fight this using new laws, with teeth, to stop those defilers of our magnificent system.

Here’s how you grow teeth. Instead of a law stating (in simple terms), “It’s illegal to take a gun away from an innocent person” (a toothless statement, but oh so typical), you say instead, “Anyone who takes a gun from an innocent person shall go to jail.”

Now the authorities have to watch their butts because there’s a penalty for violating your rights, not just some feckless statement they shouldn’t do it. We win.

“Kosher” Gun Laws

Of all the groups defending the RKBA, the most aggressive is Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, and even those people support “reasonable” gun control, the type I’m talking about. They’ve identified five Kosher Gun Laws (“Kosher” means proper). JPFO suggests all the rest should be tossed in the ocean:

1) If you criminally misuse a gun, your gun rights can be severed.
2) People who are mentally unfit to handle their own affairs may not bear arms.
3) Until the age of 18, your gun rights come from your parents.
4) You are responsible for the outcome of every shot you fire.
5) Because the God-given right of self-defense is inviolate, anyone who, under color of law, denies or attempts to deny your civil right to bear arms, pays a stiff fine and goes to prison.

See the footnotes and more that expand on these basic rules, at www.jpfo.org.

Other Ideas

No one who reads Handgunner [Magazine] should be a spectator in the struggle to preserve freedom. Find out who your local legislators are and start enacting reasonable common sense gun laws with them. That’s how things get done. What laws? You can read the details of these and more “Model Gun Laws” at www.gunlaws.com/ModelLegislation.htm.

Here are some ideas.

Constitutional Carry: The right to discreetly or openly bear arms should not require a government-issued permission slip, taxes, paperwork and an expiration date.
Gun-Free-Zone Liability Act: If you create a dangerous, make believe, so-called “gun-free” zone by simply hanging a sign, you are liable for any harm it causes.
High School Marksmanship Act: An elective class worth one credit is offered toward your high school diploma, earned after you safely discharge a firearm at a target. “Educate kids on the constitutional roots and proper exercise of the right to keep and bear arms.”
Protection of Private Property Act: Any legally owned private property may be kept in or on a private means of transportation at any place the means of transportation may legally be. This removes bans on guns in vehicles (without mentioning guns).

And there’s more.

Defensive Display: Warning an attacker you’re armed is protected by law in Montana and Arizona. Get your state onboard. The warning can be verbal, a motion or reach, or presenting a firearm in a way a person would understand is meant to forestall an assault.
BIDS vs. NICS: If we must have gun-buyer background checks to stop criminals, at least do it without compiling massive records on the innocent. A simple system called BIDS can do this, and at far less cost than NICS.
Limited Immunity for 911 Emergency Reporting: If you have the right to remain silent, and the right to have an attorney present during questioning, why are you encouraged to call 911 after self defense and speak into a police voice recorder, to the people trying to convict you? Yes, America needs more common sense gun laws.

Alan Korwin is the author of nine books on gun law. He runs the GunLaws.com website, and is the manager of the TrainMeAZ.com campaign, which you should check out.

Tags: Alan Korwin, Gun Laws, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

Do Jewish Gun Control Advocates Fuel Anti-Semitism

Ammoland — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:19:23 +0000

Do Jewish ‘Gun Control’ Advocates Fuel Anti-Semitism
By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.
Copyright 2011 JPFO

Do Jewish 'Gun Control' Advocates Fuel Anti-Semitism

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Anti-Jewish rhetoric is increasingly apparent in America. It surfaced recently at some “Occupy” protest locations. Anti-Jewish vandals defaced a New York City neighborhood just a few days ago.

Opinion polls regarding anti-Jewish sentiment mean very little in this regard. Short of a fanatic, who is going to candidly answer a question from a complete stranger asking if they distrust or hate Jews? No, distrust or hatred of Jews is far more likely to be discussed among friends in closed settings.

Remarkably, in the face of the growing overt anti-Jewish sentiment, Jews remain overwhelmingly supportive of so-called “gun control” policies. While exact statistics are hard to come by, we can logically extrapolate from the 78% of Jews who voted for Obama in 2008 to conclude that the overwhelming majority of American Jews support the Democrat agenda, including citizen disarmament, the so-called “gun control” schemes.

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has, for more than twenty years, placed “gun control” in quotes. This innocuous phrase is actually a form of deceptive semantic trickery. “Gun control” ALWAYS means gun registration. Gun registration is a means by which governments know which citizens are armed, and with what types of firearms.

In every major genocide of the last one hundred years (including the Holocaust), the victim group was first officially disarmed. Far too often, “gun control” has historically ended in gun confiscation … followed by the hell of genocide.

The equation is simple: A government-gone-bad cannot disarm the citizenry if it does not know who owns the guns.

This nation (along with the rest of the world) is now entering a destabilized economic situation unmatched by anything since the 1930s. Societal upheaval is a prime breeding ground for intolerance and bigotry. Anger and frustration seek easy targets. What group has historically been on the top of the scapegoat list?

From strictly a Jewish point of view, the grotesquely misguided stance of self disarmament among Jews could someday become suicidal for the individual Jew, or G-d forbid, for American Jews as a whole. See: “No Guns For Jews” and “Gun Control: Gateway to Tyranny“.

Over and over again, Aaron Zelman, the late founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO), would say: “Considering our history, of all the ethic groups on Earth, Jews should be the most dedicated group advocating the right to keep and bear arms.”

From a broader perspective, we find many Christians in America who believe in the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures, revere the Ten Commandments, and have an instinctive affection and respect for the Jewish People. Should the situation arise, many of these devout Christians would step forward as Righteous Gentiles in defense of their “theological brothers.”

But try to imagine how such Gentiles feel about overwhelming Jewish support for gun prohibition. Jews arguing for the disarmament of America’s citizenry must baffle (and even anger) our well-meaning Gentile neighbors.

It is bad enough that so many Jews give up their own right to self-defense … but to also force others to do the same, by promoting the disarmament of our law-abiding, patriotic American brethren who would stand and defend us? This is both illogical and self-destructive on the part of the Jews who cry out for an unarmed populace.

As a demographic group, the millions of Christian fundamentalists in America are among the staunchest supporters of Jews and Israel. (I won’t get into the politics of Israel here. It has been JPFO’s longstanding policy to not stray far from issues related closely to the Second Amendment or the Bill of Rights).

Christian fundamentalists – who are said to “cling to their Bibles and their guns” – tend to be from more rural areas where firearms have been a way of life for generations. Their Biblical beliefs are rooted deeply in the Old Testament. There is a lot of common ground, in a moral and religious sense, that Jews share with Christian fundamentalists.

And yet, here come the liberal Jews, like Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Barbara Boxer and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (among others) pushing the most idiotic and dangerous “gun control” schemes one can imagine.

This is NOT GOOD. The “Jewishness” of “gun control” must be countered. It must be confronted and reversed with immediate urgency.

Pragmatically, Jews may someday need to not only take an armed stance ourselves, but do so supported by our armed non-Jewish brethren. Morally, the Torah teaches that self-defense, even with lethal force when warranted, is a G-d given right and obligation. This is not negotiable. Self defense, and the defense of the innocent, is a COMMAND of G-d A-mighty. See, “No Guns For Jews”.

And yet Jewish proponents of “gun control” have gained a disturbing prominence and momentum. Jewish billionaires Michael Bloomberg and George Soros spend unknown sums of money advancing not only domestic “gun control” schemes, but a global “gun control” blueprint as well.

Jews in favor of the right of self defense and the right to keep and bear arms (and our numbers are significant and thankfully growing) must speak out loudly and frequently against the Bloombergs and the Soroses and the Feinsteins and the Schumers. We must match their millions and their political clout with the volume of our voices, with the lessons of history, and with common sense. We must make it clear that “gun control” is NOT KOSHER.

Twenty one years ago, a visionary American Jew, Aaron Zelman, established JPFO to fight this righteous battle. I ask all my Jewish brothers and sisters to join JPFO and utilize the immense depth of JPFO’s pro-freedom resources to educate themselves regarding these issues. Then use JPFO’s “intellectual ammunition” to emphatically confront your gun phobic Jewish friends, family members and neighbors about the severe dangers that come packaged with “gun control”.

Willfully embraced defenselessness is an affront to our lives, our freedom, and to our G-d.

Blessings of Shalom,
Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor: The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Tags: Gun Banners, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Mayor Bloomberg

Bill of Rights Day Approaches

Ammoland — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:51:50 +0000

Bill of Rights Day Approaches

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Quite often we at JPFO get a letter or phone call or email from someone who really wants to “do something to help”.

We welcome these queries. Thank you.

However, JPFO has so much “intellectual ammunition” available in the fight against “gun control” that our answer is quite often: “Just use our tools!”

Bill of Rights Day is December 15th. Each of you can make at least one other person aware of the day, and of how essential the Bill of Rights has been to American freedom.

How controversial can it be to give a neighbor a “Gran’pa Jack #3″ comic book about the Bill of Rights? Will you be labeled a kook … or a “gun nut”. Most likely not.

Most people simply do not understand that the Second Amendment is the “Guardian” of the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights Day

The way to reach these folk is to:

Remind them of what our Bill of Rights actually says … and is meant to do. Visit the JPFO BoR index page, and find many related items.
Gently point out that we are rapidly loosing our foundational rights.
Calmly and somberly remind them that, G-d forbid, the day may come when we have to physically stand up to a tyrannical government in America. Hence the Second Amendment.

This third point is not new with the “Patriot” or “Militia” movement. We were being warned of it from the very founding of this nation!

So please support JPFO and support your own freedom now. Get your Bill of Rights Day kit, and a Bill of Rights poster. Or buy a hundred “Gran’pa Jack #3” comic books.

Please do your part. Bill of Rights day is a day to remind America of what America is supposed to be: “The shining city on the hill”.

Thank you for all your support.

Yours in Freedom, The Liberty Crew at JPFO

Protecting you by creating solutions to destroy “gun control”

Tags: Bill Of Rights, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

Where are the Billionaires Supporting the Second Amendment?

Ammoland — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:06:07 +0000

Where are the Billionaires Supporting the Second Amendment?
By Kirby Ferris

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- According to Forbes Magazine, there are 397 BILLIONAIRES in America now.

A billion dollars is ONE THOUSAND MILLION DOLLARS. Chew on that for just a moment. Few of us can even fathom the sum.

Go here to see the list: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/

Gun prohibitionist George Soros made #7. The Walton Family (Walmart) made #9, #10, and #11. Yes, Walmart sells rifles and ammo, but is also a major contributor to the lying cabal of authoritarian elitists knows as “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” (MAIG), an organization which is completely controlled by billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC. Bloomberg drops in at #12 on the American billionaire list.

We don’t know who else on the entire list of 397 American billionaires might be as grotesquely entrenched against an armed American citizenry as Soros or Bloomberg, but you can bet there’s plenty of “quiet money” fueling the “gun control” movement in this nation.

For instance: Warren Buffet is pals with Obama. Where do you think Buffet’s sentiments lie?

On the other side, two notorious conservative billionaires jump right out at you from the list: the Koch Brothers. Charles and David Koch share the #4 slot. If these two fellows are supporting efforts to restore the Second Amendment, that’s great. I hope they are writing huge checks. If they, or any other honestly pro-American ultra rich, are not spending big on protecting our right to keep and bear arms, they should be ashamed.

One wonders if these billionaires (left or right leaning) really think that if America falls into tyranny some day, they will be left with their vast holdings in Aspen, or that mansion in Hollywood will really be a very safe place. One wonders if these people get the “big picture”, i.e. the kind of world their children, grand children, and great grand children will grow up in.

But do American billionaires understand something else? A key point is that wealth only truly has a rational, tangible context within personal freedom … both yours and the next guy’s. What many of these American ultra rich don’t seem to get is that their freedom is because they live in a mostly free country.

Some of them might think that they could do it Idi Amin style, simply ignoring the bone crushing poverty and corruption in the rest of the nation. In a list of the nearly four hundred American billionaires, there are probably a couple who are that morally depraved. But the vast majority of billionaires who earned their own money must be more far-sighted than the average bear.

Self made billionaires see trends. They sense the tides changing before they actually do. They seem to be able to smell financial smoke from upwind. Friends, these are not stupid people we are talking about here. You can call them anything in the dictionary, but not stupid. You cannot acquire a BILLION dollars by being stupid.

But you can be a billionaire and lack wisdom. Gaining wisdom includes a few reality checks from our nation’s billionaires.

If this nation became a police state:

You will still be recognized. Your mug shots are in Forbes Magazine and on the internet.
You cannot hide. At any given time, a hundred people you employ know exactly where you are.
The government you may have been bribing and manipulating for decades just decides to take your money. Happens all the time.
Your bodyguards (or private army) might wonder why they settle for a pay check when they can just shoot you and take it all.

No, a wise American billionaire will realize that his or her wealth must live and grow in freedom based soil. That means defending the Bill of Rights. That means funding those people who, for years have proven they have their hearts and minds in the battle, in this case the battle to restore and then preserve the Second Amendment, the very Guardian of the Bill of Rights.

A recent Gallup poll found that FORTY PERCENT of Americans admitted to owning a gun. You know that at least ten percent actually own a gun and thought best to keep the fact private. HALF OF AMERICA owns guns. So, you ultra wealthy out there, give big, make a big deal about it, give to restore the Second Amendment. Because, if the balloon ever does go up, if you’ve stood with us, we’ll stand with you. In the final analysis it’s just enlightened self interest. I’m sure you know what that means.

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris, collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years of Aaron’s life. Ferris is currently the Operations Manager of JPFO.

See all of Kirby Ferris’ articles.

Tags: Fundraiser, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Kirby Ferris, Second Amendment

JPFO Responds To Jewish Democrat Group’s Twisted Accusation

Ammoland — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:12:20 +0000

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Responds To Jewish Democrat Group’s Twisted Accusation
by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.
Copyright 2011 JPFO

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The National Jewish Democratic Council has gratuitously attacked JPFO in a blog posting.

Here’s their attack: (Portions of the NJDC commentary are presented below and are followed by comments from JPFO’s Rabbinic Director.)

NJDC Denounces Depiction of Eric Holder in Nazi Uniform

NJDC — October 12, 2011 – 11:17 am
“The National Jewish Democratic Council denounces the photo shopped images of Attorney General Eric Holder as a Nazi and former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives head Ken Melson as Nuremberg defendant as posted by Mike Vanderboegh—a right wing blogger who has appeared recently on Fox News and was honored in September by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO).”
“Unfortunately, after allowing individuals such as Glenn Beck and Hank Williams, Jr. to use Holocaust rhetoric during their appearances on the air, it is unlikely that Fox News will do the right thing and repudiate Vanderboegh. Indeed, Fox News’ own chief executive compared NPR executives to the Nazis and lashed out at those criticizing the network for allowing such behavior to take place.
That leaves JPFO—a Jewish group that recently awarded Vanderboegh — to act responsibly and make it clear that his behavior is unacceptable.”

[The full article can be found here. http://tiny.cc/lky5w ]

JPFO’s response:

The NJDC has orchestrated a blatant distraction.

The National Jewish Democratic Council, along with every other left wing anti-gun group, is desperately trying to distract Americans from the felonious scandal known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (BATFE’s) “Fast and Furious“.

Note that the NJDC does not mention why JPFO gave the “David and Goliath Award” to Vanderboegh (and his associate David Codrea). The fact is that Vanderboegh and Codrea unearthed an international political and law enforcement scandal that makes Watergate look like school yard hijinks.

The NJDC insinuates that JPFO is somehow involved with the satirical images that it (NJDC) finds distasteful … or that we even presented an award for the satire. In fact, the award we presented – which predates the satire in question – was for exposing a scandal far darker than any satire anyone could possibly create with photoshop.

For the record, Vanderboegh described in historical detail the reason for his satirical images. Any Holocaust connection is a ludicrous stretch: http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/10/editors-note-correction-and-apology.html

Eric Holder is covering up “Fast and Furious” and he will perhaps be tossed under the bus by his Superior. Vanderboegh likens Holder’s dilemma to Hitler’s orders to Nazi General von Paulus at Stalingrad to fight down to the last man. Vanderboegh compared Eric Holder’s hopeless situation to that of a general in a suicidal battle.

This is “Holocaust rhetoric”?

Or perhaps the comparison has its merits? Holder’s final fate will likely have much to do with what he has on his boss. After all, a finger pointed at the Oval Office might keep Holder out of jail. Could it be that – in Vanderboegh’s words – Eric Holder has been sent on a suicide mission, having been “assigned by Barack Obama to defend the DOJ kessel of the Gunwalker Plot Cover-up to the last man”?

Vanderboegh then compared ex-BATFE Acting Director Kenneth Melson (he finally got “reassigned”, we should remember) to a defendant in a war crimes tribunal. Might this comparison also be appropriate? Maybe the National Jewish Democratic Council should ask the Attorney General of Mexico — or the families of any of the victims murdered by drug runners armed by the BATFE in Fast and Furious – if they would like to see charges filed against Melson or Holder?

Could it be that NJDC simply doesn’t want America to pay attention to what happened in Fast and Furious? Or to what this grotesque operation says about the Obama administration?

Someone very high up gave the order to launch “Fast and Furious”. If Holder knew about it, his order was criminal; if he didn’t, he was criminally negligent in his oversight of BATFE (or of his own DOJ, if the orders originated there). Instead of attacking Vanderboegh for his satire or attempting to besmirch JPFO for awarding Vanderboegh’s history making journalism, why doesn’t the NJDC go after the truth in “Fast and Furious”?

We at JPFO emphatically stand by our award to Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea, and furthermore we hope that both these freedom loving Americans will someday be considered for Pulitzer Prizes for their outstanding investigative work.

We are repulsed by the orchestrated distraction and moral corruption demonstrated by those who support the Obama Administration and its perverse ethics in this matter.

“Fast and Furious” functioned as an evidence planting scheme that would support the Obama administration’s lies regarding the supply of American guns to the Mexican drug cartels.

The lie seemed to be working as the BATFE knowingly planted thousands of guns in the hands of the murderous cartels. As could be expected, those guns surfaced in crime scenes that involved the murders of hundreds of innocents. Were it not for patriots like Mike Vanderboegh, David Codrea, and a small and courageous group of honest BATFE agents (who broke the story to Vanderboegh) this administration would still embrace the evil and bloody manipulations of “Fast and Furious”.

I beseech American Jews to distance themselves from organizations like NJDC that support the “Fast and Furious” regime.

Visit the web site of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (www.jpfo.org). Educate yourselves about the BATFE. And then wake up!

Blessings and Shalom,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Tags: Eric Holder, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Rabbi Dovid Bendory

George Soros, Your Guns & What the NRA Knows

Ammoland — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:42:58 +0000

George Soros, Your Guns & What the NRA Knows
By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- George Soros is a known supporter [and financier] of “gun control”, both here in America and around the globe.

He is also a billionaire … and he is also Jewish. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership therefore has a more than usual interest in this man and his immense and potentially dangerous power.

An UNSUBSTANTIATED rumor is going around the internet of late. The Talmud says that for any lie to be believable, it must be interwoven with truth, and this rumor is no different.

The rumor first claims that “The Freedom Group” owns a significant slice of American gun manufacturing and ammunition manufacturing.

This is TRUE, and it’s public information. No one argues this.

The next declaration contained in the internet rumor is that “The Freedom Group” is owned by an even bigger entity called “Cerberus Capital Management”.

This is also TRUE. Cerberus Capital is an investment fund with stakes in many, many companies. No one knows better than us gun owners that investing in American gun and ammunition manufacturing is a sound business decision.

However, at this point, this internet rumor takes a leap: The rumor claims that anti-gun billionaire George Soros actually controls “Cerberus Capitol Management”, and therefore exercises a stunning amount of control over the American gun industry.

IMPORTANT: We have done some research and found no evidence that this is true.

The NRA has come out even more strongly against this rumor; they put out this “end-of-subject” declaration: http://tiny.cc/u23y3

Now Biblical Law is very clear about this sort of unsubstantiated rumor: “Do not be a gossipmonger among your people,” we are told in Leviticus 19:16. (Interestingly, the other half of this verse commands us to defend the innocent: “Do not stand idly while your brother’s blood is shed. I am the L-rd.”) In Jewish Law, this verse is understood to mean that you cannot believe an unsubstantiated rumor.

But the NRA has gone further than articulate the healthy skepticism that we should all express when we receive anonymous internet e-mails like this one.

The NRA has declared:

“NRA has had contact with officials from Cerberus and Freedom Group for some time. The owners and investors involved are strong supporters of the Second Amendment and are avid hunters and shooters.
In reality, at no time has George Soros ever been a part of the ownership group of Freedom Group or Cerberus, and as a privately traded corporation, there is no possibility that he will be in the future.”

We at Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership would like to ask the NRA to share with JPFO (and with all American gun owners) how they researched the rumor and were then able to so emphatically “debunk” it.

This issue is far too important to remain a “trade secret” within the NRA.

Independent investigators for other pro-gun groups (and the media) can then follow the identical path of investigation the NRA took, and thusly put this inflammatory rumor in the “categorically debunked” file.

George Soros might be a dangerously powerful anti-gunner, but unlike the enemies of freedom, we patriots must nonetheless be factual in our analysis and statements.

The NRA apparently has facts here that would be helpful for all firearms owners to know; I would like to see those facts subject to public scrutiny.

With blessings of Shalom,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Tags: Freedom Group, George Soros, Gun Control Rumors, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, NRA, Rabbi Dovid Bendory

BATFE Out of the Frying Pan… but Where To Next

Ammoland — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:46:25 +0000

BATFE Out of the Frying Pan… but Where To Next?
by Kirby Ferris

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Rumors are surfacing regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s plans to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE).

The blood soaked debacle of BATFE’s “Operation Fast and Furious”, the blatantly felonious scheme of running guns to murderous Mexican drug cartels, may have put the nail in the coffin for what is almost certainly America’s most sordid federal agency.

Since our founding in 1989, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has relentlessly called for the abolition of the BATFE (see: “The Gang” link here). Every warning JPFO could give about the dangers of “gun control”, short of the final act of genocide, was embodied by the despicable behavior of the “jack booted thugs”, the “bucket heads”, the “gun goons”.

Normally, JPFO would be cheering the possibility of disbanding the BATFE from the roof tops. But we now face a particularly disturbing question: “If not the BATFE … then who?”

Some federal agency is going to take over the “stewardship” of the millions and millions of gun owner registration documents that the BATFE now cuddles with the slobbering fetishism of Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings”. You can hear the goose stepping drones right now as they scroll through their computerized databases: “Ahhh … my precious. My precious!”

Do any of you really think that the draconian expansion of “gun control” would lessen under the more efficient FBI or the other agency whispered (according to one report) to be in line for the BATFE’s present authority, the DEA?

Is the DEA less corrupt than the BATFE? There is so much free floating drug cash available in the symbiotic dance called the “War on Drugs” – can palms remain ungreased? Additionally, as revelations unfold, it is becoming clear that DEA was also involved in “Fast and Furious” up to its eyeballs.

Okay, so what about the FBI being put in charge of “gun control” in America?

Let’s not forget who put the icing on the cake at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas. It was the bungling BATFE that got the show rolling with both these atrocities. But it was the FBI that was called in as the “closer”. An FBI sniper put a bullet through Randy Weaver’s wife’s head. It was FBI tanks and/or tear gas canisters that preceeded the inferno and murderous incineration of a church in Waco.

And it was the FBI’s NICS checks that cleared felons as straw purchasers in “Fast and Furious”, so they were complicit at best.

No friends, these aren’t the squeaky clean “G Men” of decades past. Also remember that the FBI upper crustlings are certainly not advocates of an armed citizenry in America. See: FBI Director Mueller’s statements regarding Heller. Mueller is a classic example of the type of authoritarian power tripper that rises to leadership roles in police hierarchies (see: “Seven Varieties of Gun Control Advocate“)

Add to this the vast and still unknown (as in classified) powers granted the FBI by the so-called “Patriot Act”, and you have the makings of a much more sinister “Big Brother” than the cabal of lying, back biting stooges presently in charge over at BATFE.

JPFO’s stance has been, and will remain, the repeal of ALL “gun control” in America. We stand on the principle that the tail must not be allowed to wag the dog. To quote our late founder Aaron Zelman:

“Anyone who is lawfully adjudicated unfit to carry a firearm should not be on the street in the first place. They should be in prison or in a mental institution. We’ve thrown the baby (our personal liberties) out with the bathwater, making us helpless to protect ourselves from armed criminals and lunatics. And who promotes this delusional illogic the most fervently? Politicians and the law enforcement hierarchy.”

However, dealing with things as they presently are, JPFO, along with other pro-gun rights organizations in America, is now facing an unpleasant dilemma: the actual preservation of the BATFE (albeit radically reformed) could be the least of the available evils!

Mind you, JPFO has made no policy decision on this, but we are acutely aware that a stance will demanded of us sooner rather than later.

Pertinent questions must be asked:

Does Congress have the pro-Second Amendment votes to confirm a hard core constitutionalist as the permanent head of BATFE? This of course implies an individual in the Oval Office who would have the moral clarity to nominate such a possible BATFE Director. It will never happen with Obama, unless some incredible political force can be brought to bear. Example: “You give us our chosen nominee for BATFE Director and we’ll let Eric Holder resign without going to jail … and thereby pointing his finger at you, Mr. President.”
Will every single guilty BATFE employee, from the acting Director down to the lowliest field grunt, be criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting in the bloodshed that has resulted from “Fast and Furious”? Not just fired, but arrested and tried in courts of law.
Will BATFE’s entire operating manual be completely overhauled and radical positive changes instituted regarding FFL dealers and the treatment of American citizens?
Will the BATFE’s use of its immense gun ownership database be ruthlessly monitored by an independent third party – or better, destroyed? Will the BATFE’s sharing of gun ownership data with foreign nations be stopped immediately?

With the disgusting revelations of “Fast and Furious” pouring forth it is now not impossible to envision a complete “gutting” of the agency and a ground-up rebuild along constitutional principles.

(Setting aside, of course, the minor detail that any “gun control” law is an infringement upon our unalienable right to self defense as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.)

In JPFO’s opinion (and the opinion of other pro-gun organizations), the NRA has in the past been far too weak-handed with the BATFE. With loud calls for an independent prosecutor in “Fast and Furious”, and demands for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation, Wayne LaPierre and Company seem to be seeing things more correctly these days. Will the NRA apply the ruthless political pressure it is capable of applying to politicians and demand a top-to-bottom “purification” of the BATFE?

The coming months may present a golden window of opportunity for Second Amendment advocates and American freedom. Let’s stay on target.

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris, collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years of Aaron’s life. Ferris is currently the Operations Manager of JPFO.

See all of Kirby Ferris’ articles.

Tags: Arms Trafficking, ATF, BATFE, Fast & Furious, Gun Trafficking, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Kirby Ferris, Project Gunrunner, Straw Purchases, Washington DC

Mike Vanderboegh & David Codrea Awarded JPFO’s David and Goliath Award 2011

Ammoland — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:55:53 +0000

Mike Vanderboegh & David Codrea Awarded JPFO’s David and Goliath Award 2011

Charles Heller, JPFO Executive Director, Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- David Codrea of “Gun Rights Examiner” and Mike Vanderboegh of “Sipsey Street Irregulars“ (both unwavering pro Second Amendment writers with blog sites) have performed a service to America that is far from being fully weighed.

These two “everyday” Americans researched and broke the story about what may likely end up being the most despicable criminal scandal in modern American political history. We’re talking about the blood drenched BATFE debacle called “Fast and Furious”. And it’s not just BATFE involved. Homeland Security is in it up to the armpits. The FBI is in it up to its neck.

“Fast and Furious” was nothing less than a massive evidence planting operation performed by American law enforcement agencies at their highest levels. The likely deeper objective of “Fast and Furious” was not simply crime prevention, but the draconian expansion of “gun control” in this nation.

The U.S. Department of Justice reeks of collusion, and may very well have been the birthplace of this mutant, criminal operation. It could also have been the brainchild of Obama’s “never let a good crisis go to waste” Rahm Emanuel. The stench of the affair does have a very distinct waft of Chicago politics to it.

Larry Pratt of Gunowners of America also deserves a hearty thanks. Larry took Mike V. and Codrea to the people in the U.S. Senate and Congress who could actually do something about this atrocity. The story is long and convoluted, but Mike Vanderboegh and David Codrea, when history is written, will make Watergate’s Woodward and Bernstein look like thumb suckers in diapers.

JPFO salutes these two great Americans with our “David and Goliath Award”. They faced the giant and they are winning! American freedom is winning.

Tags: David Codrea, GOA, GRPC, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Mike Vanderboegh

JPFO’s Executive Director Charles Heller on Armed American Radio

Ammoland — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:26:17 +0000

JPFO’s Executive Director Charles Heller on Armed American Radio

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Charles talks 2A matters with Mark Walters of Armed American Radio – http://armedamericanradio.com , while returning on Monday Sept 26th from the weekend Chicago Gun Rights Policy Conference.

One particular item discussed was concerning Colin Goddard – the “Brady Poster Boy” we featured in a recent alert and handbill – http://jpfo.org/alerts2011/alert20110914.htm .

Despite having survived being shot four times, his response when asked about how someone armed could have greatly reduced the carnage, he said “Guns aren’t the answer”!

For a limited period this 19 minute radio broadcast sound file can be downloaded or played on the JPFO homepage – http://jpfo.org in the right column.

It is also archived on the Talkin’ to America page – http://jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/talkamerica.htm .

Tags: Armed American Radio, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Mark Walters, Shooting Media News

Get A Gun While You Still Can

Ammoland — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:52:21 +0000

Get A Gun While You Still Can
By Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- How can any American – much less any American Jew – view the mob lunacy that recently ravaged London and other cities and not contemplate the possibility of similar chaos on our own shores?

Armed with the knowledge that Londoners would be universally disarmed by England’s “enlightened” “gun control” laws, rioters plundered and pillaged orgiastically while timid citizens cowered in hiding.

This was the same nation that faced Adolph Hitler and the Nazi German war machine with heartrending courage? The video footage of this “new Britain” is horrifying, appalling, and shameful.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Anglo/European style “gun control” is the model that our social engineers, nanny state politicians, liberal elites, and authoritarian high-brows wish upon us. It is their not-so-hidden agenda. Some may try to dissuade us from spotting this agenda by throwing around comforting banalities like “reasonable”, “responsible” and “common sense”, but more and more Americans are learning to ignore their words and watch their actions.

Obama even warned us to watch for such duplicity: “Under the radar” as he described it.

While the grass-roots so-called “gun lobby” applies counter pressure with whatever direction and force we can morally and financially muster, the authoritarian collectivists and cultural Marxists are funded by at least two BILLIONAIRES, George Soros and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

So, with an understanding that America is likely headed towards more, not less, troubled times, and the parallel understanding that a controlling faction of our political and bureaucratic upper crust wants us disarmed, what is the average American citizen to do?

It cannot be more obvious: Buy more guns and more ammunition WHILE YOU STILL CAN.

Its The American Way
No law-abiding American home should be without reliable defensive firearms, whether a pump-action shotgun, handgun, or both. A rifle of some sort is of course a desirable addition to these basics. Learn how to use these firearms and to use them well. Jewish Law requires us to take defensive measures against threats we can expect or anticipate; these are the tools of defense against such threats.

If you are an urban dweller, it isn’t difficult to imagine a “flash mob” of “youths” raging down the street towards your home or business, leaving smashed cars, looted buildings, and bleeding victims in its wake. The “castle doctrine” and “stand your ground” laws of your state – and possibly of your city – will dictate when and how you are legally justified in using deadly force to protect yourself and others. Know these laws in advance as part of your preparatory training.

Jewish Law may allow you to use deadly force to defend any innocent bystander from violence, but Nanny States like New Jersey do not.

You will have to make split-second moral decisions if you see rioters physically attacking your neighbors or fellow business owners.

While the primary objective of armed self defense is to STOP THE ATTACKER, turning back a mob may very well involve more forceful measures. Ask yourself now, before you are in the situation, if you are prepared to take measures against multiple assailants. Can you live with yourself knowing that you left a dozen wounded lying on the pavement? Can you live with yourself knowing that you chose not to do so and instead allowed the mob to attack your neighbor?

In addition to your firearms, remember to keep an adequate supply of ammunition for each of your firearms. A couple hundred rounds of other common calibers, even if you don’t own a matching gun, is not a bad idea. You don’t want your neighbor, your brother in arms, running out of ammo, do you? The Brady Bunch may call that “hoarding” or “stockpiling”, but in Texas it’s just called “a few extra rounds” — “supplies for a rainy day.”

Rabbi Said What?
Why are you hearing this from a rabbi? I’m a man of peace. I relish life and respect the traditional American “live and let live” philosophy. This moral shelter has protected the Jewish people since our first arrival in America centuries ago. But the realization that it is the Second Amendment that protects the First has turned me into a gun owner, a certified firearms instructor, and then a co-leader of America’s most aggressive civil rights organization, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the Jewish People have lived by the pen and died by the sword for millennia. We now live in a country that recognizes the G-d-given right of self-defense; to fail to exercise that right when threatened is to hold G-d’s gift of life in contempt.

I remember the anti-Jewish riots in Crown Heights, just twenty years ago. Could such a rampant outburst happen again? Can anyone deny the possibility?

Jewish community centers, synagogues, and even the Holocaust Museum have been attacked by gun fire; innocents have been killed, injured, and traumatized by violent acts of Jew hatred. I watch these events and understand them both as a Jew and as an American.

Far too many Jews have been on the wrong side of the issue of self-defense, helping to con our nation into “gun control” rather than fighting against it. There are far too many Bloombergs, Schumers, Soros’s, Feinsteins, Foxmans, and others, misguided or ignorant of Jewish history and Jewish Law, and they have been too loud on this issue for too long. I will not be silent in the face of their distortions and lies.

And so I recommend as a first step: Get a gun. While you still can. Exercise your Second Amendment rights. Rejoice in the freedom of America.

With blessings of Shalom,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)
Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.
The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Tags: Castle Doctrine, Firearms Training, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Self Defense

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership – Tip of the Pro Gun Movement Spear

Ammoland — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:58:48 +0000

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership – Tip of the Pro Gun Movement Spear

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Since 1989 Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has “walked point” in the battle against “gun control”.

JPFO has gone where no other pro-gun rights organization has gone before. Only JPFO can truly get “in the face” of the liberal Jews who have been at the forefront of the insinuation of “gun control” into our lives. Why? It is simply ridiculous to label JPFO as “anti-Semitic”.

We need to introduce JPFO to more Americans, even if they are not gun owners. And even more so if they are Jewish.

JPFO now has a powerful short video on YouTube, describing briefly what the organization is all about. It features screen grabs of our new web site layout and introduces many of the site’s important features … and JPFO’s vital mission.

All of you have friends, family, and acquaintances for whom an introduction to JPFO could prove both useful and educational. This is especially true if they are “fence sitters” on matters concerning firearms and the Second Amendment.

Many gun owners have lowered their guard of late. They believe that the landmark U.S. Supreme Court victories of Heller vs. District of Columbia and McDonald vs. Chicago once and for all validated, within our judicial system, the right to keep and bear arms.

This is simply not so.

New York remains unswervingly opposed to an armed citizenry. Chicago, under the leadership of Obama’s ex-Head Puppet Master, Rahm Emanuel, is obstructing the McDonald decision with every rotten trick in its gangland play book.

And we are only one Supreme Court Justice appointment away from an overturning of Heller and McDonald. Unlikely? Yes. But look at what is happening in America and the world today! It’s all a new ball game.

Look at how the Obama administration orchestrated the BATFE’s disastrous “Fast and Furious” gun smuggling scam to Mexico. This was done to actually grossly inflate U.S. gun stats south of the border! And now, even after being caught bloody handed, Eric Holder’s Department of Justice continues to actually laud the BATFE, and unbelievably promote the key guilty individuals. On top of this, he has now instituted an illegal “workaround”, and centralized and computerized gun registration mandates outside of any legal Congressional directive and approval.

Frankly, the battle to protect our unalienable right to self defense has reached a darker and more sinister phase. Why? Because so much of the gun prohibition activity is now happening below the surface. And the predominantly anti-gun mainstream media remains silent, aiding and abetting what is, in many ways, literal treason against this nation.

Remember what Obama told Sarah Brady: “Below the radar.”

Below the Radar
It is time for millions of Americans to stand up and defend their G-d given rights against an increasingly gluttonous government and the robotic tyrannical bureaucracies that would strip away those rights.

As our late founder Aaron Zelman was always saying, “If you do not defend your rights, then don’t complain when you lose them.”

Please take the time right now to watch this attention getting JPFO promo video. Pass it along to anyone you know who might be even remotely receptive.

For twenty one years now, JPFO has delivered the “intellectual ammunition” to defeat and destroy the lie that is “gun control“. It has been, and is now, up to you to use this information! Act today!

And if you are not a JPFO member? Join us! You don’t have to be Jewish to join. We have never asked about religious affiliation or belief … and never will. To be a member you must simply cherish your freedom and that of your loved ones.

JPFO exists so that we will never have to face the awful day that we may have to resort to actually using our guns against a tyrannical government. JPFO offers the “prevention”. The “cure” is horrific beyond words.

If you will each do your part, we can win this battle without bloodshed. Can any of you honestly say that it is not worth the effort?

Tags: Gun Activists, Gun Owner Rights, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Pro Gun Groups

BATFE & Department Of Justice Cover Up Now Officially Disgusting

Ammoland — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:18:55 +0000

BATFE & Department Of Justice Cover Up Is Now Officially Disgusting

BATFE & Department Of Justice Cover Up Is Now Officially Disgusting

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- What will it take to get Congress to appoint an Independent Prosecutor to formally get to the bottom of the horrific BATFE debacle called “Project Gun Runner”?

How high did the criminally illegal authorization go?

Americans now sit saddled with an anti-gun administration and its lap dog Congressional shills when this freedom killing administration might be evaporated with a single legal finding from Congress.

Why the delay?!
An Independent Prosecutor’s finding could well blow Attorney General Eric Holder out of the water, get him fired, and perhaps jailed. In exchange for leniency, Holder would very likely point directly to his boss in the White House as Holder was being taken down.

Bingo! Obama and his anti-gun treachery gone … out of our lives.

KEY QUESTION: Why hasn’t every pro-gun rights member of Congress signed on to a call for an Independent Prosecutor?

JPFO suggests you widely disseminate our latest flier. Send a copy to your local news media and your representatives.

This present situation is intolerable. It drags on and on, when an Independent Prosecutor could wrap this all up in a couple of months.

Our nation’s Attorney General is potentially an abetting felon with American blood on his hands (dead border agent Brian Terry).

Additionally, why hasn’t the powerful NRA called in favors with every single “pro-gun” member of Congress? An entire American political party should now be united behind the call for an Independent Prosecutor.

What is going on? And why?

It’s time for Wayne LaPierre to really crack the whip across the backs of the foot draggers in Congress.

Tags: Arms Trafficking, ATF, BATFE, Fast & Furious, Gun Trafficking, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Project Gunrunner, Straw Purchases, Washington DC

Calls for Repeal of Phony Gun-Free School Zones Law

Ammoland — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:33:59 +0000

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Calls for Repeal of Phony Gun-Free School Zones Law
By Alan Korwin, JPFO Advisor

Federal Gun Free School Zones Cleveland 2005

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Under President William Jefferson Clinton gun possession in populated areas of the United States was theoretically banned, with the stroke of a federal pen.

Most Americans have no idea this gutting of the Second Amendment was enacted, and is still in place, threatening them all. The nonsensical 1,000-foot gun ban (an unalienable-rights infringement zone) around every school MUST BE ELIMINATED.

People’s very homes are criminalized if they step outside. Our roads have been turned into felony traps for the unwary.

This little-known feel-good-do-nothing travesty has been selectively enforced over the last two decades. Selective enforcement of a law is pure arbitrary tyranny.

It hangs over everyone’s head like a Sword of Damocles. The so-called “gun-free” school-zones law is a direct personal threat to the freedom of every law-abiding citizen in America. It proposes a felony arrest for every decent person who travels armed, or steps off their own property, in any populated area (see maps below).

This idiotic law does absolutely nothing to protect schools and is the height of hypocrisy and utopian dreaming. There is a growing body of hard evidence that it actually invites psychopathic armed intruders into a defenseless target-rich environment. How many atrocities do you need to see in the phony gun-free zones before you see the light?

Mythical gun-free zones are dangerous, reckless and negligent.

The tiny federal exemption allowing carry in a so-called gun-free school zone, to the 2% of the public that bowed and scraped to get a state-issued firearms carry permit, leaves the other 98% of the public at intolerable risk. State and local versions of make-believe gun-free school zones compound the problem.

JPFO’s stance: It is time to end the dangerous and illegal infringement of non-functional make-believe gun-free zones that empower criminals and defraud the public.

“Gun-Free School-Zones Law” 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) in 1990, reenacted 1995

Look at the maps above and below to see how easy it can be to become a felon! The government has “felonized” gun owners and illegally infringed on our rights.

Federal Gun Free School Zones Phoenix 2005

San Francisco. The immense areas in ‘Frisco’ which might be "No-Go" Gun Free Zones

© Copyright Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership 2011: Maps reproduced by permission of Alan Korwin, of www.GunLaws.com. He has his own site page dealing with Gun-Free school zones and is an AmmoLand Shooting Sports News Contributor.

Tags: Alan Korwin, Gun Free Zones, Gun Owner Rights, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

Flash Mobs – Open Letter To All Urban Residents & Especially Jews

Ammoland — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:48:25 +0000

Flash Mobs – Open Letter To All Urban Residents & Especially Jews
by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- My Friends: The mainstream media is doing its best to belittle a dangerous trend in America today: the “flash mob” of “youths”.

The term “flash mob” originally referred to groups of peaceful citizenry who gathered for what are best called “social experiments” – jovial sing-alongs and dance-alongs and other forms of harmless improvisational theater.

I was personally caught up by several such “flash mobs” in New York City – and smiled at the entertaining street theater.

(YouTube video.)

Times have changed rapidly, and ominously so.

In Wisconsin – home to JPFO’s office – “Witnesses’ accounts claim everything from dozens to hundreds of young black people beating white people as they left State Fair Thursday night.” (WTMJ News).

In Philadelphia, the “mayor talks tough to black teenagers after ‘flash mobs’ … attack people at random on the streets of the city’s tourist and fashionable shopping districts.” (Washington Times). The mayor has now imposed a curfew on the City.

“In Chicago on Memorial Day weekend, roving teens flashed gang signs, knocked cyclists off their bikes and harassed picnickers.” (Washington Times)

We’ve seen similar events in Peoria, IL; Atlanta, GA; Las Vegas, NV; and – close to home for me personally – South Orange, NJ. (Flash Mobs).

And while you won’t see it in the MSM, you can find plenty of blogs that highlight the racial undertones – and overtones – of these flash mobs. Here’s an account of a Peoria eye-witness who says the mob chanted “kill all the white people.” (See Blog).

As most decent people are watching the stock market gyrations and following our federal government’s mismanagement of both monetary and fiscal policy, our nation is entering an unpredictable phase. I’m sorry to say that, based on history, things are going to get worse. Just look at London, England, where four nights of rioting hooligans have resulted in the deployment of an extra 16,000 police officers in an attempt to stop the looting, vandalism, destruction, assaults, and robbery.

My response to “flash mobs”?

GET A GUN.

Get a gun, and learn how to shoot it accurately, under pressure. If you find yourself in a “flash mob,” the police will NOT show up in time to do you a bit of good. These mobs gather in minutes and disburse just as quickly when the first police car arrives. Or worse, they attack the first police officers until backup arrives.

What kind of gun should you get? Start with a quality semi-automatic pistol. A standard magazine of 12 or 15 rounds will come with it, and you can purchase and carry one or two backup magazines on your person or in your car. If your state laws allow it, a loaded shotgun in your car wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Interestingly enough the State of Illinois (Peoria “flash mob”) will not issue concealed weapon permits.

Wisconsin (Milwaukee “flash mob”) has a newly instated concealed carry system, but it hasn’t been in place long enough for many Wisconsinites to get their carry permits.

And in London, all guns are outlawed.

Thank G-d, in America, we still have the Second Amendment.

I’m an Orthodox Jew. It is our people’s custom to dress in a somewhat distinctive manner. Orthodox Jews stand out. I want to ask a very somber question: How do you think one of these mobs of “youths” out looking for victims will react to a car full of Orthodox Jews?

Evil force can only be met by righteous opposing force – effective, superior, righteous opposing force.

One righteous person in Milwaukee, licensed to carry concealed, stepping out of his or her car and shooting one of the “youths” as they were beating the teen victim would have stopped that “flash mob” instantly. This would also have been a legal shooting, as it was done to save an innocent life.

Similarly, I wonder how out of control a “flash mob” of racist “youths” might evolve in gun toting Phoenix, Arizona?

But most Jews in America have chosen to disarm themselves. In these times of growing economic and social unrest, nothing could be more foolish.

To all my Jewish brothers and sisters I say again: GET A GUN. Learn to use it safely and responsibly. And prepare to defend yourself and those you love.

To all my righteous non-Jewish friends I send the same message. This growing evil must be met directly, and with ice cold determination. The police WILL NOT be there on time.

Shalom,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Tags: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Self Defense

Who Is The Fanatic When It Comes to Gun Control?

Ammoland — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:54:50 +0000

Who Is The Fanatic When It Comes to Gun Control?
By Charles Heller
Executive Director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Colin Goddard, the misguided Virginia Tech shooting victim who has turned to the Brady Center to Promote Gun Violence for solace, said in a recent post about the Oslo Shooting: “Unfortunately, I was soon infuriated by the gun fanatics in America who immediately used this massacre to assert that strong gun laws, like Norway’s, don’t work.”

Well, if you look at the case of Anders Behring Breivik, Norway’s ludicrous “gun control” laws don’t and didn’t work.

So, the first question is: Who, Mr. Goddard, is actually the fanatic in this case? Is it common sense self defense advocates, or emotionally convoluted knee-jerk hysterics?

It is a statistical fact that mass shooters nearly always capitulate to armed resistance.

It happened in 2007 with the Arvada Colorado Shooting, when Jeanne Assam confronted and shot a heavily armed attacker. The attacker then shot and killed himself. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Assam
It happened in 2002 at the Appalachian Law School Shooting, when two armed civilians stopped a killer on campus. www.thepriceofliberty.org/04/01/13/lang.htm

Further, when Norwegian Anders Breivik was eventually confronted with deadly force by a SWAT team, he immediately surrendered. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that he would have done any less for a determined armed civilian.

Let me explain why the Brady Center’s poster boy, Mr. Goddard, embraces methods that are fanatical: He advocates for victim disarmament, in the face of irrefutable evidence that said disarmament actually allows for greater harm to innocent people. www.freestudents.blogspot.com/2007/04/when-mass-killers-meet-armed-resistance.html

What he advocates is a decreasing of arms in the civilian population. That’s exactly what gives free reign to evil doers who use guns unlawfully. Is that not the advocacy of a fanatic?

I have met Mr. Goddard at a screening of his “Living For 32″ movie at the University of Arizona in Tucson. A number of us from The Arizona Citizens Defense League attended his event.

Mr. Goddard was in the final room that The Virginia Tech Shooter attacked, and was present when Seung-Hui Cho ended the shooting spree by suicide.

Mr. Goddard described to us all in Tucson how his classmates at Virginia Tech heard the noise of the gun shots, and at first thought it was construction noise. They then heard the noise getting louder, and the teacher opened the door to look, suddenly slamming it shut and telling everyone to get on the floor and dial 911, that there was a man with a gun approaching. Mr. Goddard did so, opened his back pack, retrieved his cell phone, and got through to 911 before he was shot four times by Cho.

Just before the screening of his movie in Tucson, I asked Mr. Goddard: “If there had been a police officer, off duty with his gun sitting next to you, do you think he could have drawn and engaged the shooter with that amount of warning?” (Understand also that Mr. Goddard was an ROTC Cadet, familiar with arms and tactics, and experienced on the M-16 rifle.)

Mr. Goddard’s response to me was, “I have war gamed that over and over in my mind, and I just don’t know.”

It simply has to be said: Mr. Goddard, this is a truly pitiful response.

You seem to be under a hypnotic trance. Do you now actually embrace the lie that holds you hostage?

Think about Mr. Goddard’s reply. He does not know if a police officer could neutralize a deadly threat with about 50 seconds of warning? This from cover, with the assailant coming through a known and restricted entry point?

Or does Mr. Goddard KNOW, deep in his heart, that something actually might have been done to stop Cho? Instead of facing this harsh truth, has he slipped into delusional fanaticism? Is he now so hysterically committed to victim disarmament that he cannot admit that a gun in the hand of a righteous man or woman could have saved innocent lives?

Goddard asserts that the “gun lobby” says that the gun laws in Norway “did not work”?

Well, we at JPFO, a twenty-one-year-old civil rights advocate, and proud of it, point out that the gun laws in Norway worked all too well … in lunatic Anders Breivik’s favor. These deluded laws disarmed the victims, and completely enabled the perpetrator. That is what ALL “gun control” laws do.

Mr. Goddard asserts that the “gun lobby” is, in essence, dancing in the blood of the victims. The truth is that’s exactly what he, and his cohorts and handlers at the Brady Center To Promote Gun Violence, are doing. Just like their victim vulture response to the Giffords shooting in Arizona, it’s to their advantage to do so.

The strategy is called “transference,” a defense mechanism in which the user ascribes to his opponent the exact strategy which he, himself, is using.

Unknowing or unthinking readers, taking those statements – blatant lies -- at face value, will believe them, without questioning the framing bias of the person making the statement.

Crazy is as crazy does: Breivik posing in a compression garment in a photo released six hours before the attacks. The insignia on his left shoulder reads: "Marxist Hunter - Norway - Multiculti traitor hunting permit".

The fact is that Norwegian gun laws completely enabled Breivik’s agenda. Not one armed adult, moderator, or chaperone, was present with a gun to stop the unlawful violence with deadly force. Had the Norwegian socialist utopians not had their way, and there had been just a single armed protector on that island, that murdering monster might have been dead after getting off only one shot.

As it was, Breivik had NINETY MINUTES to work his blood lust. Now the Norwegian authorities have the gall to actually praise the bumbling efforts of the police? This is utterly upside-down thinking that verges on insanity!

Armed self defense works.

It worked in 2008 at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, where a part time student and off duty soldier stopped a mass killing with a handgun. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercaz_HaRav_massacre.
It worked in 1997 in Pearl, Mississippi when Assistant Principal Joel Myrick used a gun at a school to stop a killer. www.davekopel.com/2a/othwr/principal&gun.htm

We would also like to point out that the clamor for background checks has been heard far and wide. Well, Norway’s Anders Breivik had a very thorough one.

So did Jared Loughner, the Tucson madman who shot Congresswoman Giffords and seventeen other people January 8th of this year.
So did Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech attacker who put four bullets in Mr. Goddard.

Do we see a pattern here? Background checks don’t work. Madmen and criminals, no matter what gun laws exist, will ALWAYS be able to arm themselves.

We don’t think that Mr. Goddard of Virginia Tech has evil intentions, just wrongful methods. It is perhaps right to remind ourselves of the terrific trauma he suffered from both his wounds and the event itself. It would be absolutely normal for a thinking person to feel misplaced guilt at the horrific impotence of not being able to do anything in such a ghastly situation.

But how he was “turned” by the Brady Bunch, and made their poster boy, befuddles me. One would think that a man contemplating a military career (ROTC), and familiar with firearms, would have come out of that horror completely enraged at the impotence inflicted upon him by idiotic and dangerous “gun control” laws. As he was taken to the hospital, he must have been screaming to himself: “If I’d only had a gun!”

So there remains but one question, Mr. Goddard: Are you going to allow lawful citizens to shoot violent criminal actors, or are you going to continue to bury dead children, gunned down unchallenged because of “gun control”?

A curious world awaits your answer.

Respectfully,

Charles Heller
Executive Director, JPFO.

Tags: Brady Campaign, Charles Heller, Gun Banners, Gun Control, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

An Open Letter to a Deluded Mayoral Candidate

Ammoland — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:57:01 +0000

An Open Letter to a Deluded Mayoral Candidate
by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Dear Mr. Rolley:

When I first read about Otis Rolley of Baltimore, Maryland, he seemed to be a sterling example of the American dream of personal discipline and success. (http://www.otisrolley.com/about-otis)

His campaign bio is impressive, and it would seem he represents an exemplary case of the laudable actualization of the American ideal of self-determination. A man who grew up in a working class neighborhood of crime-ridden Jersey City, Mr. Rolley overcame, graduated college, and built a career of public service and civic engagement.

I salute you for your accomplishments, Mr. Rolley.

You now seek election to mayor of Baltimore, a city where you say that “Gun crime is a plague … with literally hundreds of people being shot, and many killed, every year.” Indeed, the FBI crime statistics for 2009 rank Baltimore 5th in violent crime in the country (based on crimes per 1000 residents).

The problem of violent crime in Baltimore will obviously need to be addressed by any serious candidate for mayor.

However, in response to this somber reality, you have now come out with one of the most idiotic “gun control” schemes just about anyone, anywhere, has ever floated: a bullet tax of $1.00 per bullet, a measure you claim will decrease crime in that it will “substantially increase the cost of its’ [sic] commission.” You claim that a bullet tax will work but that “Increasing the cost of guns won’t work because many criminals don’t purchase new guns and they can be borrowed or even rented in some areas.” (http://files.www.otisrolley.com/platform/Safer_Neighborhoods.pdf)

I’m curious, Mr. Rolley, at whom your proposal is aimed. Do you really expect to reduce crime with a bullet tax? Do you think that a murderer purchases his ammunition legally – and thus will incur this tax? Do you think that paying an extra $20 or $50 for a box of ammo will stop such a murderer? Make him reconsider? Are you foolish enough not to recognize that criminals get their ammunition the same way they get their guns? They steal them or buy (and sell) them in an uncontrollable network of other illegal sales.

Otis Rolley Baltimore, Maryland mayoral candidate

Or perhaps, Mr. Rolley, your tax is aimed at further disarming and penalizing Baltimore’s law-abiding citizens. As you know, over 60% of Baltimore’s residents are Black. As in many other cities – including your own hometown Jersey City –these residents are disproportionately poor and live disproportionately in crime-ridden areas. While there are bound to be some criminals among them, the vast majority are no doubt law-abiding working poor who are struggling to make a living and to protect their families from the violence that surrounds them.

An honest, law-abiding, patriotic American parent who wants to prevent the violence of the street from entering his or her home has a variety of choices for personal defense. One of the least expensive and most effective options is the purchase of a firearm.

Another Otis – Otis MacDonald – taught this lesson to the City of Chicago, and the Supreme Court agreed with him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald_v._Chicago

What’s particularly ironic about your proposal is that it will hit hardest at Baltimore’s working poor – those most in need of the tools of self-defense, and those least able to pay your bullet tax.

By the way, Mr. Rolley, ideas like yours have been tried before. In the post-Civil War South, one way of preventing freed slaves from owning firearms was to make them too expensive. This was done by imposing taxes or permit fees and by outlawing so-called “Saturday night specials” – the only inexpensive handguns that the impoverished freed slaves could afford to purchase and use in self-defense. See: “History of regulation attempts” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_night_special

In fact, “gun control” in America has its roots in the racist climate of the post-Civil War South. In many states, it was simply illegal for freed black slaves to own firearms. I assume you would not return your people to those Jim Crow days, to that denigrating level of second-class citizenship. Can’t you see that your bullet tax is a step in exactly this direction?

Mr. Rolley, despite your notable educational achievements and public service to date, you sadly seem to have been duped by the backers of the hidden racist agenda of “gun control.”

Would you like to learn more about the racism that lurks behind this hidden agenda? The civil rights organization under which I serve as Rabbinic Director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO), has produced “No Guns for Negroes,” a film which exposes the racist roots of “gun control” and explains the upside-down thinking of liberal Black politicians and activists who would disarm their own people. You can view this film for free on JPFO’s web site.

As JPFO’s Rabbinic Director, I would also like to offer you some spiritual insight. Your campaign bio declares you and your family Christians who attend Huber Memorial Church in Baltimore. You and I therefore share a deep respect for the Ten Commandments.

One of the key reasons so many Jews and Christians have been so misguided and/or confused on the fundamental, G-d given and unalienable right to self defense is because of a crucial mistranslation of the Sixth Commandment.

The proper translation of the Sixth Commandment is “Thou shalt not murder.” There is a world of moral and ethical difference between killing and murder. Should you want to delve into this issue further, JPFO has also produced “No Guns for Jews”, also available on our web site.

What would I suggest as solutions to Baltimore’s crime problem? First, severe punishment for those convicted of violent crime. Eliminate the murderers, rapists, and muggers from your city’s society. Slap-on-the-wrist law enforcement and revolving-door prison sentences have been a failure for decades.

Next, I would advocate placing many more guns in the hands of honest and law abiding Baltimore citizens. While your advocacy of “gun control” would return Baltimore’s Black citizens to the days of Jim Crow laws, my proposal would instead empower these good and decent citizens of Baltimore to protect themselves.

According to the National Institute of Justice, 58% of convicted felons stated that they feared an armed (intended) victim more than they feared the police. Want to reduce crime in Baltimore? Encourage your law-abiding citizens to arm themselves – and watch the criminals flee, in search of easier prey.

To that end, I would also advocate unlicensed Constitutional Carry in Baltimore. I would encourage the good, law-abiding citizens of your city who choose to do so to carry firearms, whether openly or discreetly. This is already permitted by law in four States in America – Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont, and Arizona. All of them have significantly lower crime rates than Baltimore, and in not one of them has a “Wild West” environment of vigilantism emerged – despite the hysterical cries from the Violence Policy Center and other deceitful advocates of citizen disarmament.

Mr. Rolley, I would also encourage your Baltimore residents to know how to use their defensive arms safely. That means practice, and practice means they need bullets – and imposing a $1 tax on each round will discourage them from this self-empowerment.

I would of course encourage firearms safety training, not hysterical, politically-correct gun phobia, in all of Baltimore’s public schools. Teach kids the sport of marksmanship and they will both gain a deep respect for the seriousness of firearms and understand the honorable and pragmatic reasons for an armed citizenry. They will recognize the world of difference between a murderer and a righteous defender.

I would stand up for the Bill of Rights and not desecrate the “Guardian” of the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment.

In short, Mr. Rolley, don’t be suckered by the liberals who have brainwashed you about “gun control.”

Learn the history of “gun control” and how it has been used as a tool of oppression against your people. Teach your people to empower themselves against the criminals who oppress them.

Then you will be not only Baltimore’s mayor but a true leader and role model for all African-Americans.

Shalom

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
(http://jpfo.org)

Rabbi Bendory is an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.

The Rabbi’s Archive page.

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Tags: Anti Gun Politicians, CCRKBA, Gun Banners, Gun Control, Gun Haters, Gun Politics, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Maryland

Gun Control – And Now For Something Completely Different

Ammoland — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Gun Control – And Now For Something Completely Different
By Charles Heller

It’s Time For Some “Gun Control”

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Since its modern mutation in 1968 (via the “Gun Control Act of 1968), and with an infusion of power to it in 1972 by Treasury Department Order No. 120-1, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has amassed a truly sordid record of “gun control.”

Although it’s website somewhat outlandishly claims a history going back to 1789, BATFE’s modern roots go to its failed attempts at the enforcement of Prohibition (another stupid idea from the federal government).

There’s hardly anything as pathetic as a bloated government agency, in search of a mission. So the “BAT” got their hands on guns and became “BATF”. The “E” came later.

Follow their criminal and bloody escapades from the Ken Ballew raid debacle in 1971, to the deceit that triggered the Randy Weaver travesty in Idaho, to the incitement of violence in the horror at Waco,Texas, to the despicable acts in the John Lawmaster Raid.

The ATF, and later the BATFE, has now distinguished itself as the least disciplined, least accomplished, least effective, and most unethical “law enforcement” agency in U.S. law enforcement history.

Along its way towards the immense and international dung pile they are attempting to dig themselves out of now (“Operation Fast and Furious” aka “Project Gun Runner“), BATFE has also managed to ensnare a number of truly remarkable, creative, and innovative firearms manufacturers, in needless red tape, inconvenience, and useless, unwarranted prosecution. Len Savage came to know their wrath. This is well documented by our organization, JPFO.

Rarely has a year gone by without some perfidy from “The Gang”. These “lesser sins” are seldom covered in the blatantly anti-gun mainstream media.

However, it seems chickens are now coming home to roost. BATFE’s criminal activity in the “Operation Fast And Furious” debacle brings with it implications that involve the administration up to the U.S. Attorney General, and possibly include the sitting President. And we are just learning that it appears that ten million dollars of “stimulus” money was directed towards “Project Gun Runner”!

Generally, we at JPFO view gun control as poison, but not necessarily in this case. We actually think that it is now time for some good, old fashioned DISARMAMENT.

Disarm the BATFE.
It’s time to disarm its agents, and decertify BATFE as a law enforcement agency.

Let’s transform them back into the stamp clerks (suitable for affixing labels on wine and whiskey bottles) that they once were. Then the only harm they can inflict on the body politic would be paper cuts.

To be sure, there are some decent and moral people who work there. Or did, like ATF Senior Special Agent Mr. John Dodson, who was recently fired for telling the truth to Congress about the misdeeds of BATFE in recent testimony.

An ATF response memo to Dodson, about his complaint to superiors before he went public, stated, ”If you don’t think this is fun, you’re in the wrong line of work. Maybe the Maricopa County Jail is hiring detention officers, and you can get paid $30,000 to serve lunch to inmates.”

Meanwhile, this same superior in BATFE was approving the funneling of guns to known cold blooded murderers south of the border. Ironically, when everything shakes down, this particular superior might, himself, be getting served just such a lunch!

Do the folks running BATFE think it’s an just a glitch in an academic exercise when Mexican citizens get murdered by guns BATFE willfully allowed to reach crazed killers? Apparently, these same BATFE drones took it a little more seriously when American law enforcement agents began to fall as a result of the ludicrous and immoral “Gun Runner” policy.

On December 10, 2010, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was gunned down at the U.S. Border, in a shootout. Two of the guns found at that murder scene were found to be from Operation Fast and Furious.

Yes, it’s time to disarm the BATFE.

Let their agents and labs investigate arson, bootleg liquor, and black market smokes, and do some of the fine tool mark examining (in crime gun forensics) those labs are known for. Some of their outside contractors do a great job of instructing in that field. Let them be forensic scientists and liquor stamp distributors. Just don’t let them near any guns!

Take away their badges. Badges are symbols of honor from a country as great as ours. BATFE Agents can carry business cards, like any other overpaid, tax consuming, foot dragging bureaucrat. Let’s convert these morally challenged individuals from jackboots to fur boots, or at least gumshoes without guns.

Charles Heller is the Executive Director of Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Tags: ATF, Charles Heller, Gun Control, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

The Insidious Semantics of ‘Gun Control’

Ammoland — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:43:25 +0000

The Insidious Semantics of ‘Gun Control’
By Kirby Ferris Copyright 2011, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Typical American Gun Owners - According to the Gun Control Experts & Liberal Media

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- “Gun Control” advocates fall into only two categories: the Liars and the Ignorant.

There is no third category.

The Liars invent the lies. The Ignorant believe the lies and repeat them.

Truly fervent “gun control” advocates are quite often mentally ill. Their most common clinical symptoms, projection and denial, are barely below the surface.

Because they often entertain a warped contempt of other human beings, they don’t trust themselves with guns, so they would prohibit firearms to all. They also entertain a primitive superstition about an inanimate object: “Guns are bad! Guns kill people!”

Read what a psychiatrist has to say about this in “Raging Against Self Defense”. This JPFO essay will open your eyes, and give you an insight into the twisted mentality of the likes of victim vulture Sarah Brady or tragedy addict Representative Carolyn McCarthy. Both Brady and McCarthy are hysterical crybaby liars. Their mental illness bubbles just below the surface, actually becoming visible at times.

An altogether different category of liar is the authoritarian sociopath. Billionaire George Soros, Senator Charles Schumer, and billionaire NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg are sociopathic liars. They have no conscience. They would simply rule over all of us. They have no hidden, subconscious agenda like the classic mental and emotional cripple Sarah Brady. These fellows are simply cold, calculating evil liars who know exactly what they are doing. (Just to be “gender neutral”: Senator Dianne Feinstein, the “Queen Bee of Gun Control” seems to have evolved rather easily into the higher ranks of the calculating, sociopathic liars. And a disgusting Australian harridan, Rebecca Peters, has, on George Soros money, taken her perverse, genocide-inviting distortions all the way to the U.N.)

Gun Control Dummies
On the other hand, the Ignorant “gun control” advocates are those, mostly well intentioned, people who have swallowed, and now believe, the lies fed to them by the cunning and malicious Liars.

Armies of deluded pastors, rabbis, and priests fill the ranks of what I call “gun control dummies”. They just don’t know any better. Of course, many of them are emotionally manipulated by their own projection and denial. For an outstanding categorization of the seven major types of “gun control” advocate, you must see Gus Cotey’s masterful essay here.

The main thing that the Liars and the Ignorant share in common is a corruption of the linguistic meaning of firearms related words. They, because they also control the mainstream media to a huge extent, have been able to actually invent terminology, or in many cases change the everyday meaning of words!

It is a stunning accomplishment … were it not in the service of a great evil.

Here are a few of their classic semantic manipulations:

“Gun Control”: This is the “big daddy”, the cornerstone, the very foundation of the gun prohibitionists’ deceptive artifice. The phrase, on first hearing, sounds innocuous. After all, why wouldn’t people carefully “control” their firearms?

However, what “gun control” actually means is:

Gun owner registration. Your name and address connected with a firearm’s registration number. A paper trail (or soon-to-be computer trail) straight to the door of any gun owner.
The taxation or licensing of a Constitutionally guaranteed, inalienable, G-d given right to self defense. When you tax something you “infringe” upon it. Burdensome taxation and licensing fees move firearms ownership out of the hands of the honest and law abiding poor, the very people who, day by day most need the tools of self defense.
A revocable permission, given by a fickle government, to bear arms in your self defense or the defense of the innocent. (Gun ownership “permits” or “carry permits”.) Again, blatant infringement of a Constitutional Right.
And these tactics set in place the absolutely essential mechanisms required to institute gun bans and confiscations. See: JPFO’s “Innocents Betrayed“. If a government-gone-bad doesn’t know who owns the guns, and where the guns are, that government cannot effectively disarm its citizenry.

“Assault Weapon”: This truly sleazy piece of semantic sedition can be laid right at the feet of Josh Sugarmann, Minister of Propaganda for the Violence Policy Center, and also an apparently compulsive liar. Sugarmann INVENTED the phrase, with the help of the liberal anti-gun mainstream media shills. An “assault weapon” is now any semi automatic rifle greater than .22 caliber.

“The semi-automatic weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons — anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun — can only increase that chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.” — Josh Sugarmann, 1988, Violence Policy Center.

And it is working! Notice how, even when a hugely negative story breaks about BATFE’s horrific Mexican gun smuggling debacle, “GunRunner“, only a very few media outlets accurately report the weapons illegally smuggled into Mexico under BATFE supervision as what they actually are: semi automatic rifles;.

Reporters who should know better are still mindlessly repeating Sugarmann’s “assault weapons” word trickery. Sugarmann has truly earned “The Joseph Goebells of Gun Control Award”. He’s one of a kind. A naked, and unashamed, manipulative liar.

Next, we explore some lesser used, but effective anti-gun linguistic tid bits:

“Personal Arsenal”: This is owning anything over two guns. Two guns is “Multiple Weapons”.

A “Weapons Cache”: This seems to be three or more guns. A “Hidden Weapons Cache” means you don’t leave your guns on the kitchen table all day long.

A “Stockpile of Ammunition” is anything over twenty rounds of any caliber. It’s really a “stockpile” if you have several calibers in your “cache”. That makes you a “Survivalist” or a “Militia Member”.

“Sniper Rifle”. This one didn’t have anywhere near the legs of Sugarmann’s “assault weapons” jive. This is meant to be any deer rifle with a scope. As I recall vaguely, it was floated briefly by Teddy Kennedy. But since even the myopic Elmer Fudds in the gun owning community would get angry enough to do something about a “Sniper Rifle Ban”, this trial balloon deflated and is lying limply in the gun prohibitionist’s back drawer for later use.

Oh wait! Actually it’s back! Calls to ban the .50 caliber Barrett bolt action! Now let’s see if they can just bring that caliber size down a bit, eh?

After all, America has more people capable of one inch groups at one hundred yards than any other nation on Earth. Personally, I find this somewhat comforting. Others do not.

“High Capacity Magazine”: Interestingly, nearly every cop in America is packing two or three “high cap” ammunition magazines on their duty belt: One “high cap” mag in their pistol, and one or two in “mag holders” on the other side. Since cops have a greater G-d given right to defend themselves than we “We The Little People”, Sarah Brady and Josh Sugarmann and Mike Bloomberg don’t call cop mags “high capacity”. They’re just called “standard service equipment”.

“Explosives”. Gun powder like you buy at the sporting section in most Wal Marts for reloading. And notice how the BATF really glommed onto “Explosives” and got it added to their title, like Cub Scouts collecting merit badges. Always remember to call them the “BATFE“. These dumb, jack booted jocks with machine guns deserve equal doses of ridicule and contempt. A large number of them also deserve jail time. Just watch. (see ATF’s Fast & Furious Scandal)

“Armor Piercing Ammunition”: Uhhh … like how thick of armor? And why can cops and soldiers have it and “We The Little People” cannot?

“Dum Dum Bullets” aka “hollow points“. The opposite of “Armor Piercing Ammunition“, so they must be okay … right? Wrong. They are ’s actually as bad! Why? Because all ammo, and all guns, are bad! Friends, wake up and smell the skunk. It’s right at your back door.

This is just an incomplete list of the word play of “gun control”. (“Saturday Night Special” was a beauty, but now seemingly out of favor.)

Oh yeah! How about “Reasonable gun control”? I mean who wants to be “unreasonable”?

Let’s try to reach “Common Ground” shall we?

And add to that “Gun Safety“, which, when pronounced by a Sarah Brady or Charles Schumer simply means a ban on guns?

The point being made here is that this will not stop! It’s ALWAYS a lie.

We won the Heller decision. We won the McDonald decision. And now, far too many gun owners have gone back into “doze mode”.

Friends, you simply do not understand Obama and his “under the radar” mentality. Do you actually believe the gun prohibitionists will play fair?

To paraphrase a cliché about politicians: “How do you know a “gun control” advocate is lying? His/her lips are moving.”

And that is THE TRUTH!

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years. Ferris is now the Public Affairs Director of JPFO.

See all of Kirby Ferris’ articles.

Tags: Freedom Haters, Gun Banners, Gun Control, Gun Haters, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Kirby Ferris, Liberal Media

JPFO Announces New Executive Director

Ammoland — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:37:11 +0000

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Announces New Executive Director

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- With the passing of Aaron Zelman, not only did American freedom lose a great warrior, but JPFO lost its Founder and Executive Director.

At the proper time, the search began for a new Executive Director.

That person needed to be deeply educated in the gun rights battle, media savvy, politically savvy, and have solid firearms industry contacts.

There was also no doubt whatsoever that our new organizational leader needed to be one hundred percent “hard core no compromise” regarding the Second Amendment and the morality of self defense — just like JPFO.

We have found that person in Charles Heller of Tucson Arizona. Over the past month or so, as JPFO’s Rabbinic Director, I have worked with Charles on all of our JPFO projects.

Charles Heller New Executive Director of JPFO

Charles and I are of one mind with regard to JPFO’s course and strategies. Charles is a patriot, a true believer in American freedom, and a visionary of America’s great potential. I am proud to be working shoulder to shoulder with him at Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. We stand together in the fight for your freedom!

Please join me in welcoming our new Executive Director, Charles Heller, and offering your blessings of success in his new role – www.jpfo.org/articles-assd02/heller-intro.htm

As always, thank you for your support. Shalom, Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director, JPFO

Tags: Arizona Citizens Defense League, AzCDL, Charles Heller, Gun Activists, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Second Amendment

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership New Website

Ammoland — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:56:22 +0000

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership New Website
America’s Aggressive Civil Rights Organization

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership New Website

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- On Saturday June 18th I uploaded a “new look” JPFO – http://jpfo.org/ , all in order to give you a larger page and also make for more homepage interest, along with better navigation options.

For instance, check down the page to see one of our new interest features, “Gun of The Week”.

At present we have updated many current and “top level” pages. However, the process of updating further will be a long term “work-in-progress”.

Therefore, do not be surprised if when browsing you still find many old style pages – our hard hitting-content is still there.

If you haven’t checked in recently please take a look, and should you have queries or find any significant problems over display or link functions, it would be appreciated if you’d email to JPFO@JPFO.ORG giving useful details, including your browser type and version. Thank you for your support.

Chris Bodine, Webmaster JPFO.

Yours in Freedom, The Liberty Crew at JPFO Protecting you by creating solutions to destroy “gun control”

Tags: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, New Websites, Pro Gun Groups, Shooting Media News

An Open Letter to Sarah Brady

Ammoland — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:50:05 +0000

An Open Letter to Sarah Brady
From Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Dear Mrs Brady: I well remember learning of the tragic shooting of your husband by lunatic “lone gunman” John Hinckley in 1981.

As a rabbi, I have deep sympathy for any family who suffers what you have suffered, and I have tremendous respect for anyone who transforms the sorrow of personal tragedy into an impetus to do good in the world.

I have no doubt that this is what you set out to do when you first established the Brady Center.

I am therefore writing to ask that you help the family of a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was killed in the line of duty, murdered by criminals with guns provided to them by one of the worst rings of gun smugglers in recent memory. According to CBS News, over the past five years or so, this smuggling ring purchased more than 2500 guns via “straw purchases” near the Mexican border – with knowledge and intention that these guns would wind up in the hand of murderous drug cartels south of the border. And yet the Obama Justice Department has stonewalled on investigating this smuggling ring, even refusing to answer Congressional inquiries into the matter.

There have been an unknown number of lives lost to such senseless violence. Why do I ask specifically that you help this family rather than any of the others impacted?

I ask that you contact this family out of concern that the Brady Center has completely lost its moral compass – if it ever had one.

During the last few years, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence has shamelessly coddled up to what is perhaps the most corrupt and unlawful rogue Federal agency in this nation’s recent history. I refer of course to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE), an agency for whom you have lobbied for substantial budget increases. Let me refresh your memory regarding this brilliant gem of federal “law enforcement” and its recent “Project Gunrunner.”

BATFE deployed some 220 agents (not counting inspectors and support personnel) to our Mexican border to stem the smuggling of guns to the Mexican “Drug Cartels”. BATFE’s clever technique? Work with legal gun shops near the border to allow (not intercept) “straw sales” to known gun smugglers – some 2500 or more such sales, according to CBS News.

When responsible gun dealers balked at selling weapons, including AK-47s and .50 caliber sniper rifles, to suspicious people, they were told by BATFE agents to go through with the sales. BATFE then let the guns “walk” from the stores and purchasers across the border into Mexico, supposedly in an effort to track the gun traffickers and shut them down.

There was just one minor problem with this clever little operation: the BATFE lost track of the guns. The guns then made their way into the hands of Mexican criminals and murderers. At least two of these guns were found at the scene of a shootout in which US border agent Brian Terry was killed – guns smuggled to the Mexican drug cartels by the BATFE’s operatives and with the BATFE’s blessings.

Mrs. Brady, your stated goal at the Brady Center is that we have to keep guns out of the hands of people who would commit such crimes.

From your website: “We believe it is too easy for dangerous people to obtain dangerous weapons in this country. There are things we can do. We should make it harder for convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill, and others like them to get guns in the first place.

We can do this by exposing corrupt gun dealers who feed the illegal gun market. Our Brady Center legal staff works to hold those dealers accountable in court and to protect common sense gun laws when they are attacked in court. We work to strengthen law enforcement’s efforts to stop the illegal gun market. We also educate the public about gun violence through grassroots mobilization and outreach to affected communities.”

Since you have not officially come out against the blatant illegality and immorality of BATFE’s “Project Gunrunner”, I can’t help but wonder: what do these clichéd homilies, in reality, mean to you?

Lest the world recognize – as I have – that you are drenched in hypocrisy, I suggest some prompt and serious directional changes in your public policy regarding the BATFE:

The Brady Center says it is “too easy for dangerous people to obtain dangerous weapons.” So therefore I expect that the Brady Center will condemn the BATFE for their foolish (and no doubt unlawful) Gunrunner operation – which has, under color of law, clearly enabled Mexican drug smugglers and murderers access to thousands of weapons. Agreed?
The Brady Center aims to “expose corrupt gun dealers who feed the illegal gun market.” I assume the BATFE Gunrunner program itself qualifies as a “corrupt” means of “feeding the illegal gun market” and that we’ll hear the Brady Center’s condemnation of BATFE imminently?
Finally, the Brady Center can be expected to “educate the public” about the outrageous behavior of BATFE and to “hold [them] accountable in court.” How soon will you be pressing for criminal investigations into BATFE?

BATFE now stands under an unblinking spotlight, revealed in all their authoritarian arrogance. Mrs. Brady, can you sleep at night knowing that your support for this utterly corrupt federal agency has created an illegal supply of guns into Mexico that is being used to murder the innocent and attack our U.S. border control personnel?

Or are you so blinded by your anti-gun campaign that you can’t understand that have lost your moral compass?

Unfortunately, Mrs. Brady, none of us realistically expect you and your people to ever do the right thing regarding the lie you call “gun control”. For three decades you have amply demonstrated that what you want is not about guns, but control. You want to control the lives of the millions of innocent, law-abiding gun owners who defy your foolish calls for self-imposed victim disarmament. You want to control those who recognize that your “gun-free zones” are in fact “disarmed victims here, criminals welcome” zones.

You want to control those who uphold the G-d-given right to self-defense using the best modern defensive tool at our disposal, the handgun. The tactics of the Brady Center may be soaked in sentimentality and theatrical empathy, but its “gun control” strategies actually mimic the ruthless disarmament tactics of the Lenins, Stalins, Hitlers, Maos and Pol Pots of this world.

“Gun control” is a horrific lie. Will you continue the lie? Or will we see you do the right thing and apply your supposed policies to the BATFE?

Sincerely,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Tags: Brady Campaign, Gun Banners, Gun Control, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Sarah Brady

Remembering John Leveron – JPFO Have Lost A Valued Friend

Ammoland — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:55:22 +0000

Remembering John Leveron – JPFO Have Lost A Valued Friend

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- John Leveron – Died May 11th 2011 at age 40.

His obituary can be found here. Look for the name to right of page and then click on guest book to see some comments.

This JPFO life member and firearms enthusiast contacted me just under a year ago, and offered to provide some assistance on various matters, working almost entirely pro bono except for JPFO covering a few intrinsic expenses which were incurred.

For the most part he gave freely of his time for no reward, other than knowing he was helping the JPFO cause.

John was a very talented IT person, who knew more about the depths of the internet than many could imagine. He often said to me “You do the pages and styling, I’ll cover the behind-the-scenes stuff”, and believe me, much as I understand quite a lot of the base level technology, he was nothing less than a total wizard.

John Leveron

Many times we spend an inordinate amount of time chatting on the phone – mostly about technical matters but also just general enjoyable chat between friends with common interests.

His knowledge of the deep aspects of the internet was awesome and he helped construct what we might call a “server grid” for JPFO – a means of covering eventualities such that if one server went down we’d still be covered by others. Also helping set up a method of providing people with a means to use a torrent approach to obtaining large files of “No Guns for Jews”, so as to be able to burn their own DVDs.

Some of what he did and talked about I did not fully grasp and so now I feel a huge vacuum, which is in part and primarily the loss of a valued friend, but also an invaluable source of major technical expertise.

Rest in peace John – you will surely be very much missed and fondly remembered. Thank you.

Chris Bodine, JPFO Webmaster.

Tags: Gun Activists, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Obituary

Rabbi Bendory Has More For Anti-2A Senator Silverstein

Ammoland — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:58:39 +0000

Rabbi Bendory Has More For Anti-2A Senator Silverstein

Rabbi Bendory Has More For Anti-2A Senator Silverstein

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Shalom JPFO Friends and Supporters!

My open letter to IL State Senator Ira Silverstein was noticed by the Senator himself. He promptly called me the day we released the letter.

Thank you to all of you who shared your feelings with him.

Unfortunately, Senator Silverstein has fully bought into the usual liberal victim mentality. He remains in denial concerning the dangerous impact of his stances on gun restrictions, registrations, and citizen disarmament.

In an effort to further his Jewish education, I did send him complementary copies of JPFO’s film “No Guns for Jews” and my recorded lecture on “The Ten Commandments of Self Defense”. He did not commit to watching or listening. You might politely ask him to do so.

Lest the Senator forget the Nazi (and anti-Jewish) origins of the “gun control” policies he favors, JPFO is releasing a handbill to help remind him – http://jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/freebies.htm#latest . Senator, what do the words “Never Again” mean to you?

Feel free to reach out to the Senator to personally ask him for his response – isilverstein@senatedem.ilga.gov

As always, thank you for your support of JPFO’s efforts.

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director JPFO

Tags: Anti Gun Politicians, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

An Open Letter to Illinois State Senator Ira Silverstein

Ammoland — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:46:12 +0000

An Open Letter to Illinois State Senator Ira Silverstein (D)
by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director.

Armed People Fly Their Colors - Disarmed Victims Wear Them

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Dear State Senator Silverstein:

As the Rabbinic Director of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, I was consulted over the controversy you created surrounding the use of a Jewish Star of David in the Illinois based Gun News newsletter. I write to you as a fellow Orthodox Jew.

The graphic on the cover of the newsletter contains a jarring juxtaposition: On the left, a blue-on-white Star of David (with a rifle in the foreground) overlaid with the caption: “ARMED, PEOPLE FLY THEIR COLORS”.

On the right is a cloth yellow star as forced upon Jews prior to, and during, the Holocaust. This image is overlaid with the caption: “DISARMED, VICTIMS WEAR THEM.”

The Chicago Sun Times quotes you as stating: “It offended not only me but a lot of Jewish individuals and non-Jewish individuals who know the history of the Holocaust.”

Senator, I know the history of the Holocaust, but I fail to see what could possibly be wrong with the image. With regard to the left side, the world may not like the image of the self-reliant and proud Israeli Jew flying his colors, but the world must contend with him. The Israeli Jew is armed and will (and does) defend himself. Could it possibly be that you take issue with that?

With regard to the right half of the image, it is a fact of Jewish history that during the Holocaust – as during many prior dark periods in Jewish history – we were systematically disarmed as a people, persecuted, attacked, and murdered, often en masse. Are you espousing unarmed victimhood over armed self defense? Could you possibly be making this inference?

Frankly, I seriously question your motivations in expressing outrage in this matter. What aspect of this image of the Yellow Star are you offended by? Is it that the history of the Jewish people disturbs you? That would be good, and appropriate. The brutal violence heaped upon us by various bigoted and murderous factions throughout history should disturb you. It should disturb all good and moral people.

Is it the image of the Yellow Star itself? It is a disturbing image. I can’t see a Yellow Star anywhere, not even in a museum, without having a visceral emotional response. As you stated in the Sun Times, “Just to see the image is scary.” However, does that mean that we should suppress the image of the Yellow Star and erase our memory of history? Or can only groups that espouse an anti-gun liberal mentality (like the ADL) use the images of the Holocaust?

I assume that you have studied modern Jewish history, and I see that you successfully advanced House Bill 6059 to establish an Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission. Are you aware that the Nazis disarmed Jews prior to Kristallnacht? The Nazis efficiently did so using detailed gun owner registration lists similar to the registration lists that you presently have, and personally advocate, in Illinois. The Yellow Star, “gun control”, and gun confiscation are inextricably connected in the history of Nazi Germany…and therefore inextricably connected to the Holocaust.

Additionally, those same Nazi gun laws that disarmed all German Jews prior to the Holocaust, unconscionably became the foundation of the U.S. Gun Control Act of 1968. Are you aware that Senator Thomas Dodd, the author of the Gun Control Act of 1968, asked the Library of Congress to translate the Nazi Gun Control Laws into English for him? He then incorporated language from these Nazi laws into the draconian federal usurpation of our rights that he authored. Read about “Gateway to Tyranny” and The Gun Control Act of 1968.

As Jews, we are commanded to know and remember our history. As a Jew, I hope that you find these facts of the history of America’s foundational “gun control” scheme deeply troubling.

Additionally, you are no doubt aware that the Jewish people have been at the wrong end of the gun barrel for far too long. America is one of the few countries in the world where Jews are entitled to embrace firearms as the most practical means of our own self-defense. Is your discomfort truly at the image of the Yellow Star? Or is your feigned offense at the image a veil for your contempt for the suggestion that US citizens, both Jew and non-Jew, have a right to defend themselves with firearms, and that this is a G-d-given right affirmed by our Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution? As an elected official, you no doubt swore an oath to uphold and defend that Constitution – not just the parts you like.

Senator, what do the words, “Never Again” actually mean to you? To me those words mean that we must learn the lessons of our Jewish history … and then assertively and realistically prevent repetitions thereof. That means Jews with guns, guns that appear on no government registry. And this emphatically applies to every other law-abiding, moral, and decent American as well.

In a related news item, your like-minded victimhood co-religionists in the Anti-Defamation League say that relating “gun control” schemes to the Holocaust “trivializes” the Holocaust. This assertion is perversely distorted in that quite the opposite is true: disarming Jews and the righteous non-Jews who would come to their defense trivializes the lessons of the Holocaust.

Similarly, voluntarily disarming ourselves and putting blind trust in the fickle good intentions of government protection trivializes the horrific losses of the Holocaust — and all the other government-sanctioned genocides of the last one hundred years. See the JPFO genocide chart, on the page about “Death by Gun Control”

Using the memory of the Holocaust as an anti-gun, anti-self defense propaganda smear desecrates the phrase “Never Again” and insults the memory of the brave Jews and Righteous Gentiles who did fight back against murderous tyranny.

Senator, your misguided “gun control” philosophies are a danger to both American Jews and American freedom.

Your advocacy and support of “gun control” legislation mimics the evil behavior of the enemies of the Jewish people and enemies of freedom: the Ottoman Turks, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, and every other blood stained dictator of the last one hundred years.

I sincerely hope you will reconsider the morality of your positions on these matters. To that end, I have enclosed two complimentary gifts: “The Ten Commandments of Self-Defense” and “No Guns for Jews.” “The Ten Commandments” goes through sources in Jewish Law that not only endorse but require a Jew to defend himself and the innocent. “No Guns for Jews” is a documentary that chronicles the historic use of “gun control” as a means of oppressing the Jewish People.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Rabbinic Director

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Tags: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

Can Gun Owners Prevent a Second Civil War?

Ammoland — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:57:03 +0000

Can Gun Owners Prevent a Second Civil War?
By Kirby Ferris

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- There are three issues that could presently trigger a Civil War in America:

Illegal aliens. A government that refuses to protect our borders, the methodical structure of citizenship, and the rule of law, will only be tolerated for so long. America is reaching a tipping point on this issue.
Abortion. Irreconcilable differences here. This may likely become as potent an issue as slavery was in the 1860s.
The right to keep and bear arms – see “2A Today for The USA”

No other significant present day problems could potentially result in the “brother against brother” tragedy of a Second American Civil War.

Sooner or later, the massive invasion of America by illegal aliens will be confronted, if not by the rule of law then by either armed police officers and soldiers … or armed citizens. There are twenty million or more illegal aliens entrenched in this nation now. How many tens of millions more will it take to reach a tipping point? At what point will law enforcement agencies and/or the military begin to do the job they were sworn to do?

At what point will citizens themselves be forced, by government inactivity, to confront this invasion by force of arms?

Will the liberal politicians actually allow this showdown? Is this actually the sort of crisis opportunism that Obama’s Rahm Immanuel, and other leftist cultural Marxists, relish?

As an American, and a gun owner, would you take to the street to confront this illegal alien invasion? Do you have a personal breaking point on this issue?

I won’t deal with abortion here, except to note that the anti-abortion forces have the same moral intensity and personal commitment that was demonstrated by the slavery abolitionists of the nineteenth century. We saw where that led in America.

However, there is a third possible cause of a Second American Civil War: infringement of the right to keep and bear arms.

Gun Control Death by 1000 Cuts

This nation’s Second Amendment freedoms have too long been burdened with the lethargic, tunnel vision behavior of the gun owners known as “Elmer Fudds”, or, as Aaron Zelman used to call them “quackers”. This is the “good ole’ boy” type who simply doesn’t care about gun registrations, permits, regulations, or even confiscations, as long as he can keep his deer rifle or shotgun and exercise his “sportin’ rights”. This myopic fellow can be bought off for the price of a buck tag or duck license. Even Senator Chuck Schumer is a “Fudd”! “I ain’t gonna take your shotguns away, fellas!”

On the other side of the room from the Fudds is the “Cold Dead Fingers” crowd. A lot of tough talk over in that camp. A lot of arm chair patriotism and rhetorical heat. A lot of “let ‘em try to take my guns!” chest puffing. But somewhere at the core of this quite large group of gun owners is a determined minority that does really mean it.

I would assert that every single one of these very determined armed Americans has some idea, deep in his or her heart, as to what their personal “line in the sand” actually is. When it comes to this amorphous, mostly low profile, group, the hammer is cocked. These folks are getting to be known as the “Three Percenters”.

What the cultural Marxists, elitists, and authoritarians who advocate “gun control” (read “Know Thine Enemy”) don’t seem to be able to grasp is the strange fact that a significant minority of human beings are willing to fight ferociously to preserve their freedoms. This irascible minority has yet to be awakened to action. But they’re sleeping with one eye open.

The attacks on the Second Amendment have, since 1934, been so gradual and incremental that the victim disarmament forces have prevailed to an amazing degree. They hear the loud complaints of gun owners, then make strategic “compromises” with other compromisers, and then, sure as day, there’s another gun regulation, permit process, limitation, restriction, tax burden, or license needed for each of us to exercise an unalienable right that, according to the American Bill of Rights, “shall not be infringed”.

Makes me think of the laughs I got as a kid when, in the Bugs Bunny cartoons, Elmer Fudd’s head turned into a big “SUCKER” when Bugs had tricked him once again. What also comes to mind is Charlie Brown and Lucy with her football, the football, that, to my knowledge, Charlie Brown was never able to kick. Only, unlike the comics, few of us are smiling about this. This could become deadly serious. Because the sneaking vermin cannot be allowed to win.

What must be obvious to any truly concerned American gun owner is that we absolutely must take EVERY action afforded us to prevent a Second American Civil War. This means that gun owners must become far more personally involved. Gun owners have to really grow fangs and learn to “snarl” in a societal and political sense.

Wake up! You are the “gun lobby” these insidious liars and manipulators complain about! Remind them of that in every lawful way that you can.

Do you want to remain completely anonymous, but still help? A blank postal money order sent to GOA, SAF or JPFO works just fine, thanks.

We have to learn how to warn these gun prohibitionists off with unrelenting determination. When we gain a political victory or legal victory like the Heller or McDonald cases, we must be willing to dig into our own pockets and financially support those who truly won those victories, so that they may drive forward and win another, and another, with relentless momentum.

Political activism doesn’t need to cost much at all, especially in this day and age of email and unlimited phone calling plans. If you can’t afford to donate money to a Second Amendment organization, write the letters, send the emails, and make the phone calls in support of our gun rights. Talk to your gun owner friends and neighbors. Don’t let them remain Fudds or Quackers!

Or, when you hear “They ain’t gonna get my guns!”, ask that person how he or she is going to stop them. Don’t let this kind of chest puffing go unquestioned. Ask the arm chair warrior what he or she is doing now, today, to PREVENT that horror. If the question makes them uncomfortable it should! It won’t be Chuck Norris, Sly Stallone or Arnold coming through with minor flesh wounds, friends. A Second American Civil War will not be played out on a Hollywood set. You won’t be able to get up and leave the theater.

We need to prevent that war before it happens. How can we best do so? By preserving our right to keep and bear arms.

Contribute to JPFO today and help us to protect that right. So called “gun control” must be completely destroyed. We must restore the pre-1934 state of affairs to America. Join JPFO today.

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years. Ferris is now the Public Affairs Director of JPFO.

Tags: Gun Activists, Gun Control, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Kirby Ferris, Three Percenters

High Cap Mag Freedom – The Sixth Reason

Ammoland — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:51:54 +0000

High Cap Mag Freedom – The Sixth Reason
It was obvious and understood that the citizens’ standard would at least be equal to the standard of a common soldier.
By Kirby Ferris

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- After having formally launched JPFO’s “High Capacity Freedom” campaign (aka “High Cap Freedom”), JPFO’s Rabbi Dovid Bendory listed five reasons why you would WANT (not “need”) a high capacity ammunition magazine.

We purposely held back at that time the crucial “Sixth Reason”. It has “stand alone” significance, and is probably the most important reason for an armed citizenry to “keep and bear” significant weaponry and ammunition capacity.

It has been called the “elephant in the room” of American gun rights. Few in the Second Amendment movement are comfortable contemplating this critical issue. The matter is simple: “We the People”, as a coast to coast and border to border conglomerate, must retain the armed might to, FAILING ALL OTHER RECOURSE, overthrow our own government. It is a gut wrenching and heartbreaking option, but an option that must be potently retained for the sake of our liberty and the liberty of our descendants.

The Declaration of Independence spells out this unalienable right to revolt, and lists some of the basic reasons for which it might be exercised. Despite what the liars of the ADL and Southern Poverty Law Center might blather, this concept is not something new that has sprouted from the minds of “seditionists” and “insurrectionists” (their new code words for determined American gun owners).

The Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights for predominantly this purpose, to warn off tyrants. The States are to remain free. State Militias were to deter the intrusive potential of a national standing army. Defense against foreign invasion was a secondary, not the primary, motivation for penning 2A.

The Founders had an instinctive distrust of government, and especially a centralized Federal government that might someday drift towards the tyranny of a monarchy. At the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights this distrust had become deep and profound. America had just cast off the authoritarian rule of England and was in absolutely no mind to allow such tyranny and despotism to rise again … from whatever quarter.

To realistically achieve this “détente” or “balance of power” with the Federal government and the heavy handed bureaucracies under its control, the American citizenry must now have, as much as ever, some semblance of parity in regards to weaponry.

The Founders’ distrust of government has proven true on an international scale. Governments gone bad have been far too frequent, most horrifically in the last hundred years of world history. The death toll of citizens disarmed and then murdered by their own governments, or factions supported by those governments, is simply appalling. See:”Innocents Betrayed”

The Second Amendment, unarguably meant to establish and maintain a widely armed citizenry, is the guardian against home grown tyranny. It is the only true guarantee that the power resides with the people, regardless of the moral fiber of the politicians in power. Elections are only effective if they remain honest. The somber truth is that freedom’s “bottom line” remains the “bullet box”, not the ballot box. Were it not so, but it is.

This is why the Second Amendment made no limitation on the type of personal firearms it covered. It was obvious and understood that the citizens’ standard would at least be equal to the standard of a common soldier.

Our soldiers can pack 30 round ammunition magazines with their AR15s. Why shouldn’t we? Parity of weaponry was the standard in 1791, when the Bill of Rights was penned, and it remained the standard for more than 140 of our nation’s first years.

The irony of this modern debate over so-called “assault weapons” and “high capacity ammunition magazines” is accentuated by the fact that, up until 1934, American citizens could lawfully own unregistered machine guns! Again, that’s more than 140 years of American history wherein the citizen could arm him or herself on equal to a foot soldier. How come, all of a sudden, this historical parity, this absolutely logical “balance of power”, is in question today?

The answer?

Because the elitists and authoritarians who lust to rule over us want the citizenry, “We the Little People”, completely disarmed. They want a neutered flock of disarmed and obedient subjects, a state of affairs similar to that of Britain, France, Germany or Japan.

But what are the elites in America stuck with now? As citizens, en masse, our combined might comprises at least EIGHTY MILLION GUN OWNERS.

This somber reality remains an armed deterrent, a deep and rumbling reminder to the police forces and military forces that, at present, still loyally serve us.

No, nuclear weapons and other “WMDs” would not be part of the parity equation. This is a flippant red herring bandied about by the shills of the victim disarmament crowd. A Second American Revolution would not take place on battle fields. It would take place door to door, block to block, rock to rock, and tree to tree.

No treasonous cop or treasonous soldier would feel safe anywhere. There are THREE HUNDRED MILLION privately owned firearms out here. And billions of rounds of ammunition. No other nation’s citizenry presents that quiet and steady warning to its government. No other nation’s citizenry (except perhaps Switzerland) has so many civilians capable of one-inch groups at one hundred yards.

To attempt to counteract this obvious state of affairs, there has arisen a faction of the liberal wing arrayed against gun ownership that embraces the psychological warfare tactic, the “roll over and die” mind set.

This is the “resistance is futile” crowd. These moral weaklings mock the idea that a free man or woman might step up to defend their freedom and the freedom of their loved ones. Many of these types are unreachable with either fact or logic.

However, here is the fundamental reality of the situation:

The combined armed forces of the United States amounts to about 1.4 million soldiers. All the police forces of this nation combined amounts to about 800,000 police officers. Call this combined figure 2.2 million armed individuals who could forcibly inflict a tyrannical government’s will upon the citizenry … if they “followed orders” without question.

In reality, many or most of these loyal men and women would not go along with a despotic turn of events. So let’s, in a worst case scenario, assume that there are 500,000 of the “just following orders” types in our police forces and military forces. This amount is purposely inflated. More accurate guesses of the potential for treason in the armed forces and police are at about the five percent level. To verify this estimate, ask any loyal cop or soldier their opinion on how it would pan out.

Therefore, if (at the very most) 500,000 traitors showed their true colors, they would go to work each day with EIGHTY MILLION American gun owners watching their every move.

They would be outnumbered by 160 to 1. Think about it. It’s not a good job description.

This is why the elitists and the authoritarians in our government and burgeoning bureaucracies want the (their?) cops and soldiers to have high capacity ammo mags … but not you. The Schumers and Bloombergs (and a disgusting line up of big city police chiefs) yelp all day long about “protecting our police”, but conveniently forget the fact that few American gun owners want the cops hindered by magazine limitations or rifle function limitations. We simply demand the same for ourselves.

So, the next time someone skirts the issue of the “elephant in the room”, quietly and somberly remind that person what the Second Amendment really intends.

Now, in conjunction with JPFO’s “High Cap Freedom” campaign, keep buying those “high capacity” magazines for your pistols and rifles.

Let’s get millions upon millions of them into citizens’ hands. A magazine ban is coming, either now, or when the inevitable “Loughner II” occurs.

Since 1968, modern “gun control” legislation has depended upon the acts of “crazed lone gunmen” to achieve its insidious goals. There will unfortunately be another “crazed lone gunman”. Whether propitious or programmed, an act of lunatic mayhem would seem as inevitable as the next earthquake.

Prepare now. Exercise your “High Cap Freedom” while you still can.

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years. Ferris is now the Public Affairs Director of JPFO.

See all of Kirby Ferris’ articles.

Tags: Ammunition Bans, High Capacity Magazines, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Self Defense

Pro Gun Proponent Ralph Conner To Be Honored

Ammoland — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:36:18 +0000

Pro Gun Proponent Ralph Conner To Be Honored
The Heartland Institute invites you to a memorial luncheon April 20, 2011 in honor of Ralph Conner.

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Ralph Conner, who passed away in 2010, held various positions with the Village of Maywood, just west of Chicago, including director of planning and development, building commissioner, enterprise zone administrator, and mayor.

He subsequently worked for The Heartland Institute as a school reform community organizer and then as local legislation manager.

Ralph was one of Chicago’s most outspoken critics of gun control and the war on drugs. He was also a popular advocate for land-value taxation, school choice, and government reform. He founded and directed the Chicago chapter of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE).

Pro Gun Proponent Ralph Conner To Be Honored

This luncheon, the first in honor of Ralph Conner’s memory, will feature presentations by Charles L. Butler, a talk show host on WVON radio; Robert H. Meier, JPFO.org Interim Executive Director and a leader in opposing gun control legislation nationwide; and Colleen Lawson, a plaintiff in the landmark McDonald v. Chicago case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago’s gun control laws. They will talk a little about Ralph, and more about the issues that he was so passionately devoted to.

Please join family, friends, and former colleagues of Ralph on April 20, 2011, at the University Club’s Millennium Room North, located at 76 E. Monroe Street, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Admission for non-family members is $25.

For more information or to reserve your place, please contact Tonya Houston at thouston@heartland.org ,or 312/377-4000.

Tags: Gun Activists, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO, Obituary, Volunteers

High Capacity Gun Magazines – Life Is Too Precious To Risk Running Out Of Bullets

Ammoland — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:14:26 +0000

High Capacity Gun Magazines – Life Is Too Precious To Risk Running Out Of Bullets
Five Reasons Why You Should Want High Capacity Gun Magazines
by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Rabbi Bendory Minutes before lunatic Jared Loughner began his mayhem in Arizona, the issue of a Federal high capacity ammunition magazine ban was a complete political non-starter.

Obama didn’t go near it when he had Democratic majorities and he certainly wouldn’t have tried it after the election rout of 2010.

High cap bans were simply not possible. Add to this the pro-self defense victories in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Heller and McDonald decisions, and the door to magazine bans seemed both locked and barred … perhaps even welded shut for good.

And then came Jared Loughner. And the gun grabbing vultures circled and landed. We now face a replay of the hysteria that brought us the so-called “Assault Weapons” Ban (and the included magazine bans) of the Clinton years. The act of a single madman has struck a blow against the Second Amendment that all the gun grabbers combined have been unable to strike.

Please think long and hard on this irrational state of affairs.

Today, the most common plaintive question you hear from the victim disarmament crowd is: “Why would anyone need a high capacity ammunition magazine?” Note that the emphasis is always on the word “need”.

So-called “gun control” has always used semantic deception. What the gun confiscators want to do is apply “needs” to situations that more accurately require “wants”.

No one “needs” a seat belt. After all, 99.999 percent of your driving time you don’t “need” a seatbelt. You only “need” a seat belt during an automobile crash. Do you want a seatbelt? Of course! No one would even debate this issue.

To a greater or lesser degree, the same goes for property insurance, fire extinguishers, spare tires, life jackets, and first aid kits, to name just a few things.

So with this in mind, here are five good reasons that you should WANT a high capacity magazine.

1. Multiple assailants. Whether on the street or during a home invasion, violent criminals often move in pairs or packs. Realize that you will never shoot as well as your score at the range when you are under the unbelievable stress of a life-or-death encounter. Which would you prefer to have in your magazine in such an event? Ten rounds? Or fifteen or seventeen? Or perhaps even 30?

2. Private citizens always face the threat before the police arrive. Private citizens were on the front line at Tucson, Columbine, and Virginia Tech. Why limit our effectiveness?

You should logically want whatever cops choose to carry. How many cops choose a ten round magazine? If politicians want to hinder us “little people” with a ten round limit, they should also hamper the police with the same limit. Let’s see how far that flies.

In nearly every instance it is not a cop on the “front line” of a violent situation. It is private citizens who must face the “lone gunman” until (and sometimes even after) the police arrive. See Dial 911 and Die. Is the life of a policeman more important than yours?

3. Civil disturbances. Watch the Reginald Denny beating video some time. Review the looting insanity of Hurricane Katrina. You’ve got a crazed mob of ten, twenty, or fifty people headed in your direction. Are ten rounds enough? Might you want fifteen, or seventeen, or even thirty?

Oh, and while you’re at it, perhaps bring from memory those Los Angeles Korean store owners standing guard on the roofs of their businesses with semi-auto AKs during the Rodney King riots. No one messed with those stores, did they?

4. Because it is your most fundamental right as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and, more importantly, as given by G-d A-lmighty: the right to the righteous defense of yourself and the innocent. “Shall not be infringed” simply means what it says. When politicians infringe on magazine capacity, they infringe on the Second Amendment. You should want a high cap mag because you can have one!

This is America, not a socialist nanny state or tin pot Third World dictatorship. The saying “use it or lose it” is never so relevant as when applied to our Bill of Rights. See “2A Today for the USA”

5. Your assailants may well be armed with high cap magazines themselves. No ban will affect these criminals; it will actually encourage them. Do you really think the gang bangers care about federal laws? Again, ask the local cop why he or she won’t “downgrade” to a ten round mag to go along with this feel-good idiocy. Ask the pols why they don’t think the cops should do so.

These are just a few of the reasons for WANTING (not “needing”) a high cap magazine. In the spirit of JPFO’s recently launched “High Cap Freedom” campaign, go out and buy one or more high capacity mags for your pistol or rifle today.

Always remember, the present drive towards a ban might fail, but all it will take is “Loughner II” (another convenient “crazed lone gunman”) to drive the hysteria machine to victory for the gun grabbers. Get your high cap magazines before any ban can take place.

“Because your life is too precious to risk running out of bullets.”

Rabbi Dovid Bendory

Rabbinic Director

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

Tags: High Capacity Magazines, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO

High Capacity Magazine Freedom Campaign

Ammoland — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:08:36 +0000

JPFO Launches “High Capacity Magazine Freedom Campaign”
by Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director,
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

High Capacity Magazine Freedom Campaign

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- JPFO today launches “The High Capacity Freedom Campaign”.

First, some background to highlight the hypocrisy and stupidity of a high-capacity magazine ban.

Imagine you bought a Glock 17 9mm pistol a year ago. Your purchase was legal and included two 17-round magazines. Now along come Obama and other “common sense” gun-grabbers with a ban on “high capacity” magazines.

The result?

Based on the so-called “Assault Weapons” Ban of 1994, a federal mandate declares that after a certain date, the manufacture, sale, or re-sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than ten rounds is now illegal. Such manufacture, sale or re-sale will be a felony. This is how AWB1 (and high-cap ban) were enacted.

Of course, there will be the usual exceptions for law enforcement and military purposes. But Joe or Jane Citizen will find themselves felons for selling their 17-round mag. Depending on how effective the gun haters are, Joe and Jane may even become felons for not turning in or registering their magazines.

Next imagine that you, with your year-old Glock, are somehow found in possession of a 17-round magazine. When it comes to guns in this country, the government says we’re all guilty until proven innocent.

How are you going to prove that you didn’t buy one of those high cap magazines AFTER the ban was instated? Do you have your receipt from the gun shop? Did you save your receipt from that mail order house that sold you a couple of spare magazines before the ban started? Even if you are innocent, this is going to cost you. You’ll be a front page star in the local paper, and your attorney will earn enough to send another kid to college for a year.

Remember, a “high cap” magazine ban was an integral part of the 1994 anti-gun law. Some States like California and New Jersey still enforce the high cap ban, albeit with oddly differing definitions of “high cap.”

In California, “high capacity” means more than 10 rounds, unless it’s a .22 “tube” magazine, which is exempt, or if you possessed it before the ban, in which case it’s grandfathered. In New Jersey, “high capacity” means 15 rounds, though such a magazine is illegal even if you possessed it prior to the ban and even if you have no gun to put it into. (in NJ If you own a high cap magazine, it is against the law to sell it, destroy it, posses it or turn it in, a complete catch 22 that makes you a felon)

Apparently in New Jersey, with 15 rounds you’ll be able to protect yourself and family from the cocaine addict gang that breaks into your home, but in California, 10 rounds will do the job.

Meanwhile, the police can continue to carry their 17-round magazines. That’s another part of “common sense” gun control, right?

Question: Who is more likely to be on the front lines at the next Columbine or Virginia Tech, the police with their large magazines, or you and me with our 10-round limit? How many rounds do you want when you are on the front line? Is the policeman’s life more valuable than yours and mine?

Friends, as a Jew, I have a deeply ingrained distrust of any government that promises it will “protect me.” The history of the Twentieth Century teaches us that “gun control” registration schemes lead to political decisions to allow some populations to protect themselves while others are disarmed. Gun control is inexorably tied to malevolent citizen disarmament. See: “INNOCENTS BETRAYED”

JPFO’s answer to all of this? The “High Capacity Freedom Campaign” – “High Cap Freedom” for short.

What is High Cap Freedom?

JPFO now asks EVERY responsible American gun owner to, as soon as possible, purchase at least one high capacity magazine. Even if you don’t own a firearm that requires magazines, buy at least one “high cap” mag for a commonly owned pistol or rifle. (It may even be one of the fastest-appreciating investments you ever make!)

Why? Because we want the production of all those millions and millions of magazines in the “pipeline” before any ban can take effect.

The surge of orders from “High Cap Freedom” will quickly flood the manufacturers. You may not be able to get an original factory mag, but soon reputable accessory manufacturers will begin making them 24/7, and we’ll see new manufacturers enter the market. The result? More magazine choices, at better prices, for all of us. More accessory choices – and millions more existing high cap magazines in circulation before a ban can take effect.

Help JPFO launch “High Cap Freedom”. Go down to your gun shop and buy a “high cap” mag immediately! Get on the phone or your computer and place your order with an accessory mail order house right now!

Welcome to “High Cap Freedom”, Phase One.

There’s more to come… JPFO will soon reveal our greater strategy.

Get busy! “ Freedom is not a spectator sport.”

Rabbi Dovid Bendory
Rabbinic Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
www.jpfo.org

Tags: Ammunition Bans, Ammunition Magazines, Gun Buyers, High Capacity Magazines, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, JPFO