ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
December 28, 2000
ALERT: Exclusive advance copy for e-mail subscribers
Common Sense
Beware The Barbed Hook of "Gun Control"
By Richard W. Stevens
Editor, The Bill of Rights Sentinel
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
You know how a fish hook works? It has an extremely sharp
hard point and a looped shape so that it penetrates the
fish's mouth quickly and gets a hold of him. To make sure
the fish cannot free itself, the hook has protruding barbs.
With these barbs the hook slides in, but does not slide
back out. A barbed hook goes one way -- deeper in -- and
does not reverse its course.
Victim disarmament ("gun control") laws are barbed hooks.
Once put on the books, it seems they never get pulled out.
Whenever a new "crisis" or other trigger event makes the
news, the anti-self defense lobby kicks in, trying to push
in deeper the "gun control" hooks. Some compromising pro-
gun people call it a victory if the hook goes in only a
little bit more. Yet, the deeper the hook, the less likely
we can regain our freedom.
Trigger Events
Some people believe that if the economy downturns, then
violent and property crimes will increase. Others think
crime will jump as the current generation moves into its
violence-prone teen years. Violent crime rates have dropped
somewhat over the last few years, but the moment they show
any increase, the "gun control" lobby will push for more
victim-disarming laws. Increasing crime rate stats will
provide the trigger event.
Any attack by a foreign terrorist on American soil, and
every multiple killing perpetrated by a criminal will
serve as trigger events, too. Major media will run stories
about gang drive-by shootings and deranged teens who murder
classmates or family members. Each publicized event will
trigger "gun control" crusades to drive the hook deeper.
Lock Down the Trigger Events
For years the media and victim disarmament lobbyists have
converted every multiple murder (by a firearms misuser)
into a moralistic TV special that gets replayed for days
and weeks. Consider the case on December 26, 2000 in
Massachusetts, when a cold-blooded murderer attacked and
killed seven co-workers in a business office. Like the
Xerox workplace attack and many others, the co-worker
victims were not protected by the company and were
unprepared to protect themselves.
The media and anti-self defense lobbyists ask the question,
"how did the killer get his guns?" The better question is:
"why didn't the victims have defensive firearms?"
We must stop apologizing for insisting on the unalienable
rights to self-defense and to keep and bear arms. In some
states, regular citizens can openly carry firearms just
about anywhere without difficulty. Why wasn't even one
of the victims in Massachusetts carrying a sidearm?
Three factors explain personal disarmament:
LAWS: Many states like Massachusetts have laws that heavily
restrict citizens' ability to carry firearms for defense.
See http://www.jpfo.org/dial911anddie.htm
RULES: Many businesses forbid their employees from
possessing defense firearms in the workplace.
FEARS: Many people are irrationally afraid of firearms --
and they are afraid of their peaceful neighbors having
firearms, even for protection.
JPFO strategies reverse those three factors:
Rights: Teach Americans their rights under the Bill of
Rights; develop a zero-tolerance for victim disarmament
laws that violate our rights. Use the Gran'pa Jack
booklets and the Bill of Rights Day materials. See:
http://www.jpfo.org/gpjack3.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/bord.htm
Responsibility: Force business owners and managers to
face their potential liability -- for having disarmed
their employees in the workplace and then failing to
provide adequate protection against violent attacks.
Download the sample "Xerox" letter you can modify and
send to businesses, which shows them why they face
legal liability if they support "gun control" schemes
that endanger their workers. These letters can prevent
corporations from joining the forces that oppose our
rights -- by appealing to their self-interest.
Psychology: Learn the psychology behind the anti-self
defense ("gun control") movement -- download or obtain
copies of Dr. Sarah Thompson's path-breaking analysis,
entitled Raging Against Self-Defense: A Psychiatrist
Examines the Anti-Gun Mentality. Using Dr. Thompson's
insights, you can expose the irrational fears that
underlie "gun control" -- and help people work through
their feelings and understand the positive values of
firearms and self-defense. See:
http://www.jpfo.org/ragingagainstselfdefense.htm
Each of these strategies works to stop the barbed hook
of "gun control" and to prepare America for pulling out
that hook once and for all. These strategies weaken the
"trigger events" by causing Americans to ask the right
questions -- instead of allowing the major media
commentators to howl like coyotes.
Take Action -- use these strategies today. Contact JPFO
at (800) 869-1884, or click on http://www.jpfo.org. Join JPFO
for only $20 annual dues, tax deductible. (Two-year
membership gets quality lapel pin -- free.)
Those links again:
http://www.jpfo.org/dial911anddie.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/gpjack3.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/bord.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/ragingagainstselfdefense.htm
Thank these sponsors for this column:
Fred's -- Military M-14 Stocks & Accessories
Fulton Armory -- Precision M1 Garand, M14, M1 Carbine
& AR15 Weapon Systems
Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc.
JPFO members & supporters
This article will run in a future issue of "Shotgun News"
================================================================
Copyright 2001 JPFO, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce
this alert in full, so long as the following JPFO contact
information is included:
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
PO Box 270143
Hartford, Wisconsin 53027
Phone: 1-262-673-9745
Orders only: 1-800-869-1884 (toll-free!)
Fax: 1-262-673-9746
Web: http://www.jpfo.org/
================================================================
JPFO ALERTS is provided as a free service to the Internet
Community. If you wish to help support this service, consider
joining JPFO! $20/year (no, you don't have to be Jewish!)
Join for 2 years and receive a free JPFO lapel pin!
To SUBSCRIBE to JPFO Alerts: send a blank e-mail to:
~~~
ALERT FROM CCOPS: CONCERNED CITIZENS OPPOSED TO POLICE STATES
(subscribe and unsubscribe instructions are at end of Alert)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 20, 2000
ALERT: Congress limits civil liberties
Congress limits civil liberties before going home for the
holidays.
By Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute
Congress may adjourn today -- but not before inflicting a
series of blows on civil liberties and federalism. As is
usual for end-of-the-session assaults on civil liberties,
the plan is to speed the new laws through as attachments
to some innocuous law, before most people in Congress have
time to notice. The only real chance for stopping this plan
lies in House and Senate leadership (especially the House)
being flooded with phone calls objecting to yet another
sneak attack on the Bill of Rights.
At issue is H.R. 46, a seemingly harmless bill titled "Public
Safety Medal of Valor." The bill sets up a federal board to
award federal Medals of Valor to policemen, federal agents,
and the like. But Congress, unlike many state legislatures,
does not operate under a constitutional requirement that a
bill's subject matter and title be the same. And it turns
out that there's much more in this bill than just medals
for firefighters. What the bill does is:
Expand federal asset forfeiture.
Expand wiretapping
Provide special additional punishments for people who
use encryption.
Federalize juvenile crimes, which are properly matters
for state governments to address.
The House committee report on the bill, of course, only
discusses medals for police officers -- and not any of the
unrelated material which is being added in the closing hours
of Congress. The unrelated, dangerous, material comes mostly
from the never-passed H.R. 2448.
These new provisions were added to H.R. 46 on October 24,
2000, by the Senate. (See Congressional Record page 10913).
Forfeiture
Section 304 of the "Medal of Valor" bill provides for
"Criminal and Civil Forfeiture for Computer Fraud and Abuse."
Although federal forfeiture laws have been partially reformed,
they are still massively weighted in favor of the government,
and allow the government to seize property from people who
have never been convicted of a crime.
H.R. 46 would expand federal forfeiture law to include various
computer crimes, and allow the forfeiture of any personal
property used "to commit or to facilitate the commission of
such violation." So the federal government could seize every
computer you own, before you have even been charged -- let
alone convicted -- of a computer crime.
Wiretapping
Section 308 of the bill provides federal wiretapping authority
over people suspected of committing various computer crimes --
allowing the interception of "wire, oral, and electronic
communications relating to computer fraud and abuse." So if
the federal government asks for a warrant (and wiretap warrants
are almost never denied), not only could federal agents read
your e-mail (an "electronic communication"), they could also
put listening devices in every room in your house.
If a teenager were suspected of computer hacking (even
hacking which caused no real damage, but which allegedly
posed "a threat to public health"), then H.R. 46 would
allow the government to wiretaps the parents' telephone. The
average telephone wiretap results in the interception of 1,971
conversations, according to the Wiretap Report for 1999
(Published by the administrative office of the United States
Courts).
Current federal wiretap authority stems from the Wiretap Act
of 1968. President Lyndon B. Johnson was very concerned about
the dangers of wiretapping -- perhaps because he personally
had ordered some abusive wiretaps; so the president opposed
proposals to create federal wiretap power. Eventually, he
accepted the Wiretap Act as part of a larger compromise to
allow passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968. Part of the
compromise was that wiretap powers would be invoked only for
certain enumerated and particularly dangerous offenses. These
were crimes involving espionage, treason, violence, or
organized crime.
Unfortunately, in the following three decades, the number
of suspected offenses for which wiretapping is allowed has
quadrupled, to over 100. Among these offenses are making false
statements on student-loan applications or passport applications.
18 U.S.C. sec. 2516(1).
Now, H.R. 46 would expand wiretapping to include a wide variety
of computer crimes, many of which are relatively minor.
Why Wiretaps Are Especially Dangerous
When the Fourth Amendment was written, the Founders expected
that all searches and seizures would be controlled by an
important type of checks and balances. Whenever a person was
searched, he would know about the search; government agents
would enter his home or business, look around, and take
property away. The victim of the search would necessarily
know that he had been searched. He would have every incentive
to use all legal means to ensure that the search was conducted
properly, according to the warrant, and that the warrant
itself was properly issued. After the search, he would be able
to seek various forms of redress, including filing a lawsuit,
if any part of the search had been improper.
Wiretaps, however, destroy this important check that safeguards
the Fourth Amendment. Under current federal law, wiretaps --
unlike every other kind of search -- may be conducted in secret.
18 U.S.C. sec. 2518. The law allows delay of months -- and
sometimes-indefinite delay -- in notifying a person that she
has been subjected to wiretaps. Thus, the most important
element of the Fourth Amendment's checks and balances -- the
desire of the person being searched to protect her privacy --
is eliminated.
Moreover, ordinary search warrants must specifically describe
what will be searched for, and where the search will be
conducted. So if the police are looking for a stolen car,
they will check the garage, but not rummage through a person's
bedroom drawers.
Wiretaps, in contrast, more closely resemble the Writs of
Assistance, which provoked the American Revolution. When a
wiretap is placed on a phone, the police listen to every
conversation, since they cannot tell in advance whether the
people will talk about a subject related to the wiretap
warrant, or about something else. Technically, the police
are required to stop listening when they are sure that the
conversation is not about the alleged crime involving the
wiretap. But in practice, it is very difficult to ensure
that this requirement is obeyed. Even the most conscientious
police wiretapper cannot help overhearing many innocent
conversations, since he cannot foresee what the parties
will talk about. In recent years, there have been about
two million innocent conservations per year overheard as
a result of federal and state wiretaps, according to the
Wiretap Report.
Unfortunately, while wiretaps are subject to fewer checks
and balances than ordinary searches, they are considerably
more invasive and destructive to security and privacy.
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis explained:
The evil incident to invasion of the privacy of the
telephone is far greater than that involved in tampering
with the mails. Whenever a telephone line is tapped, the
privacy of the persons at both ends of the line is invaded,
and all conversations between them upon any subject, and
although proper, confidential, and privileged, may be
overheard. Moreover, the tapping of one man's telephone
line involves the tapping of the telephone of every other
person whom he may call, or who may call him. As a means
of espionage, writs of assistance and general warrants
are but puny instruments of tyranny and oppression when
compared with wire-tapping. (Olmstead v. United States,
277 U.S. 438 (1928)(Brandeis, J., dissenting))
Earlier this year, the Clinton administration promised that
there would be no more wiretapping bills until privacy
reforms were enacted -- such as a requirement that the police
have probable cause before obtaining cell-phone records which
disclose your location. Nevertheless, H.R. 46 is moving
forward, and contains nothing to improve privacy protection.
Special Punishment for Encryption
Section 310 provides enhanced (more severe) sentencing for
computer criminals who use encryption. But as the ACLU points
out, we don't provide extra punishment for burglars who wear
gloves, or embezzlers who use paper shredders. So why provide
extra punishment simply because a criminal uses encryption?
The obviously answer, the ACLU notes, is because enhanced
punishment "stigmatizes the use of encryption, suggesting
that it is somehow worse to use this method to conceal a
crime than to use other methods."
Federalizing Juvenile Crime
Although Congress nearly passed a mammoth bill in 1999 to
federalize juvenile crime, the issue of juvenile justice
(like most other criminal justice issues) is properly a
matter for states. Section 306 of H.R. 46 would allow
federal courts to hear juvenile delinquency cases involving
alleged teenage computer criminals.
But there's no reason to believe that federal courts are
better than state courts in dealing with 14-year-olds
accused of hacking. Notably, every state has some kind of
juvenile justice program, to provide appropriate treatment
to rehabilitate juveniles. The federal government does not.
Besides, federal courts are already so overwhelmed with
drug cases that there is no reason to burden them further
with juvenile matters that belong in state court.
Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott is watching H.R. 46 closely,
and will make sure that it does not pass with "unanimous
consent." But the bill remains a threat under procedures
which allow suspension of the rules, or as an attachment
to the omnibus spending bill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CCOPS ALERTS Copyright 2000 CCOPS, Inc. Permission is granted to
reproduce this alert in full, so long as the following contact
information is included:
CCOPS: Concerned Citizens Opposed to Police States
P.O. Box 270205
Hartford, WI 53027
Phone: (262) 670-9920
Fax: (262) 670-9921
Web: http://www.ccops.org/
e-mail: webmaster@ccops.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CCOPS ALERTS is provided as a free service to the Internet
Community. If you wish to help support this service, consider
joining CCOPS: $25/year. http://www.ccops.org/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To SUBSCRIBE to CCOPS Alerts, send an e-mail message to this
address:
CCOPS-Alerts-subscribe@topica.com
Then reply to the confirmation message you will shortly receive
back from Topica.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
December 19, 2000
Alert: JPFO Performance Report
Dear JPFO Members & Supporters:
As the Year 2000 closes, it is time to look back at how
much we have accomplished at JPFO -- with your help. JPFO
is not a huge organization, and that is all the more reason
to be proud what we've been able to do. Only JPFO has done
these things to directly advance the cause of liberty and
to protect the right to keep and bear arms:
* Successfully urged citizens to declare and celebrate Bill
of Rights Day, providing videos and materials to make it
work in localities large and small. Official proclamations,
including state and local governments, have been issued in
25 states -- to protect All of the Bill of Rights for All
Citizens. Also, JPFO published translations of the Bill of
Rights in Spanish, French and German, with more languages
coming, so that all nations can learn about our precious
heritage.
* Developed the historical and logical connection between
gun registration, gun confiscation and genocide -- a
connection now practically common knowledge among people
working in the RKBA movement.
* Expanded the award-winning JPFO website to offer more
features and more resources for educating Americans and
defending our Bill of Rights. Thousands of times each
week, people access jpfo.org to get the latest features,
download a document, or search the archives. The JPFO
e-mail Alert system delivers news and views to thousands
of subscribers instantly. Based on e-mail feedback, JPFO
is delivering the freedom message to an international
audience -- and they are using the strategies and
materials, too!
* Published and distributed easy-reading comic style
Gran'pa Jack booklets -- over 700,000 in print -- covering
6 topics (more are coming):
GPJ 1: Gun Control Kills Kids -- graphically explaining
the connection between civilian disarmament and genocide.
GPJ 2: Can You Get a Fair Trial In America? -- describing
the rights and duties of juries and how they can help
protect the right to keep and bear arms.
GPJ 3: It's Common Sense To Use Your Bill of Rights ...
Or Lose Them! -- detailing every right in the Bill of
Rights, its origins, its meaning, and how many rights
are being lost today.
GPJ 4: Gun Control Is Racist -- unmasking the racist
roots of "gun control" laws in America ... laws enacted
to control black people, both slave and free. Explosive,
documented facts that gut the claimed moral superiority
of "gun control" schemes.
GPJ 5: How the United Nations Is Killing Your Freedoms
-- exposing how American rights are lost under the UN's
version of "human rights," and how the right to keep and
bear arms has no place in the growing one-world government.
GPJ 6: Will Gun Control Make You Safer? - addressing and
demolishing 21 myths of "gun control" with documented
facts, all in an amusing booklet that fits in your pocket.
Intellectual ammo for all seasons.
* Distributed The Mitzvah, a quick-reading novel about the
freedom philosophy in the hearts and minds of Jews and non-
Jews. No other action book so frankly lays out the lines
of the battle of ideas!
* Distributed the book, Dial 911 and Die, and promoted it
nationwide on dozens of local and national radio talk
shows. Dial 911 and Die shows beyond doubt that the
federal, state and local governments in America basically
owe no legal duty to prevent crime or to protect individual
citizens from criminal attack. This fact destroys the gun
prohibitionist view that "you don't need a gun because the
police will protect you."
* Commissioned Dr. Sarah Thompson's path-breaking
psychiatric analysis of the "anti-gun" mentality. Dr.
Thompson showed what makes many "anti-gun" people so fear
and loathe firearms owners, and how best to communicate
with these people ... and maybe convert some to the truth!
* Penned monthly columns printed in The Shotgun News, the
publication with a huge circulation among firearms owners
and users. Regular JPFO articles broadcast the hard-
hitting, consistent pro-liberty and pro-self defense
message to readers who might not get this straight talk any
other way.
* Promoted innovative multimedia outreach efforts: an eye-
catching (some say shocking) billboard campaign, a targeted
press-release system for high profile national exposure,
two new music compact discs (one anti-gun control rap, one
homegrown American patriotic), the Brasco the Bear coloring
book, and startling new posters bringing home a message
viewers can never forget.
* Continued the campaign by Rabbi Mermelstein, through his
essays and "Ask the Rabbi" internet service, to communicate
the harmony among Judaism, liberty, and the right to keep
and bear arms. Rabbi Mermelstein's column helps people
understand why so many Jews support "gun control" and what
we in the freedom movement can do about it.
* On a holiday note, Rabbi Mermelstein has powerfully shown
that Chanukah is not an annual excuse for a party, but is
the celebration of an heroic military triumph of good over
evil. The Jewish Maccabees could only have driven out
their oppressors by force of arms. It's a lesson for all
nations.
* Spread the word about the new organization, Concerned
Citizens Opposed to Police States (CCOPS). CCOPS is not a
tax-exempt entity, so it can research, expose, and work
against police state policies appearing in legislation.
Nobody else does what JPFO does.
JPFO, America's aggressive civil rights organization,
continuously develops and expands to serve one purpose: to
preserve the fundamental rights of humankind as embodied in
the U.S. Bill of Rights -- and that includes the right to
keep and bear arms. JPFO never compromises on the
fundamentals, and never shrinks from telling the truth ...
even when the truth is unpopular.
Of course, some people don't like JPFO. Some oppose JPFO
because they want to destroy private gun ownership, or
because JPFO takes positions that make them uncomfortable.
Some people attack JPFO for doing the job too forcefully.
Not content merely to repeat the same ideas and methods,
JPFO often moves forward on the cutting edge. Some people
just don't adapt quickly, some are uncertain about new
things. When JPFO began, the gun control -- genocide
connection was practically unheard of. Now, it's common
knowledge. Similarly, the linkage between the 1938 Nazi
Weapons Law and the U.S. Gun Control Act of 1968 was
previously unknown but is now well-known. So many of the
new insights and educational tools that JPFO has developed
struck some people as "strange", "impossible" or
"unworkable" at first, but now have proved popular and
powerful. Still, some people find it hard to accept new
ideas and uncomfortable truths.
When the critics speak, ask yourself: What is their
motivation? What is their reward?
JPFO's performance record is clear and open for all to see.
Nobody does what JPFO does.
And JPFO could not do it ... without you. As the Year 2000
closes, the Liberty Crew at JPFO sincerely thanks you for
your support. We look forward to partnering with you in
the years to come. Our job will not be getting any easier,
so stand with us, won't you?
Aaron Zelman, Executive Director
and The Liberty Crew at JPFO
================================================================
Copyright 2000 JPFO, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce
this alert in full, so long as the following JPFO contact
information is included:
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
PO Box 270143
Hartford, Wisconsin 53027
Phone: 1-262-673-9745
Orders only: 1-800-869-1884 (toll-free!)
Fax: 1-262-673-9746
Web: http://www.jpfo.org/
================================================================
JPFO ALERTS is provided as a free service to the Internet
Community. If you wish to help support this service, consider
joining JPFO! $20/year (no, you don't have to be Jewish!)
Join for 2 years and receive a free JPFO lapel pin!
http://www.ccops.org
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
December 28, 2000
ALERT: Exclusive advance copy for e-mail subscribers
Common Sense
Beware The Barbed Hook of "Gun Control"
By Richard W. Stevens
Editor, The Bill of Rights Sentinel
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
You know how a fish hook works? It has an extremely sharp
hard point and a looped shape so that it penetrates the
fish's mouth quickly and gets a hold of him. To make sure
the fish cannot free itself, the hook has protruding barbs.
With these barbs the hook slides in, but does not slide
back out. A barbed hook goes one way -- deeper in -- and
does not reverse its course.
Victim disarmament ("gun control") laws are barbed hooks.
Once put on the books, it seems they never get pulled out.
Whenever a new "crisis" or other trigger event makes the
news, the anti-self defense lobby kicks in, trying to push
in deeper the "gun control" hooks. Some compromising pro-
gun people call it a victory if the hook goes in only a
little bit more. Yet, the deeper the hook, the less likely
we can regain our freedom.
Trigger Events
Some people believe that if the economy downturns, then
violent and property crimes will increase. Others think
crime will jump as the current generation moves into its
violence-prone teen years. Violent crime rates have dropped
somewhat over the last few years, but the moment they show
any increase, the "gun control" lobby will push for more
victim-disarming laws. Increasing crime rate stats will
provide the trigger event.
Any attack by a foreign terrorist on American soil, and
every multiple killing perpetrated by a criminal will
serve as trigger events, too. Major media will run stories
about gang drive-by shootings and deranged teens who murder
classmates or family members. Each publicized event will
trigger "gun control" crusades to drive the hook deeper.
Lock Down the Trigger Events
For years the media and victim disarmament lobbyists have
converted every multiple murder (by a firearms misuser)
into a moralistic TV special that gets replayed for days
and weeks. Consider the case on December 26, 2000 in
Massachusetts, when a cold-blooded murderer attacked and
killed seven co-workers in a business office. Like the
Xerox workplace attack and many others, the co-worker
victims were not protected by the company and were
unprepared to protect themselves.
The media and anti-self defense lobbyists ask the question,
"how did the killer get his guns?" The better question is:
"why didn't the victims have defensive firearms?"
We must stop apologizing for insisting on the unalienable
rights to self-defense and to keep and bear arms. In some
states, regular citizens can openly carry firearms just
about anywhere without difficulty. Why wasn't even one
of the victims in Massachusetts carrying a sidearm?
Three factors explain personal disarmament:
LAWS: Many states like Massachusetts have laws that heavily
restrict citizens' ability to carry firearms for defense.
See http://www.jpfo.org/dial911anddie.htm
RULES: Many businesses forbid their employees from
possessing defense firearms in the workplace.
FEARS: Many people are irrationally afraid of firearms --
and they are afraid of their peaceful neighbors having
firearms, even for protection.
JPFO strategies reverse those three factors:
Rights: Teach Americans their rights under the Bill of
Rights; develop a zero-tolerance for victim disarmament
laws that violate our rights. Use the Gran'pa Jack
booklets and the Bill of Rights Day materials. See:
http://www.jpfo.org/gpjack3.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/bord.htm
Responsibility: Force business owners and managers to
face their potential liability -- for having disarmed
their employees in the workplace and then failing to
provide adequate protection against violent attacks.
Download the sample "Xerox" letter you can modify and
send to businesses, which shows them why they face
legal liability if they support "gun control" schemes
that endanger their workers. These letters can prevent
corporations from joining the forces that oppose our
rights -- by appealing to their self-interest.
Psychology: Learn the psychology behind the anti-self
defense ("gun control") movement -- download or obtain
copies of Dr. Sarah Thompson's path-breaking analysis,
entitled Raging Against Self-Defense: A Psychiatrist
Examines the Anti-Gun Mentality. Using Dr. Thompson's
insights, you can expose the irrational fears that
underlie "gun control" -- and help people work through
their feelings and understand the positive values of
firearms and self-defense. See:
http://www.jpfo.org/ragingagainstselfdefense.htm
Each of these strategies works to stop the barbed hook
of "gun control" and to prepare America for pulling out
that hook once and for all. These strategies weaken the
"trigger events" by causing Americans to ask the right
questions -- instead of allowing the major media
commentators to howl like coyotes.
Take Action -- use these strategies today. Contact JPFO
at (800) 869-1884, or click on http://www.jpfo.org. Join JPFO
for only $20 annual dues, tax deductible. (Two-year
membership gets quality lapel pin -- free.)
Those links again:
http://www.jpfo.org/dial911anddie.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/gpjack3.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/bord.htm
http://www.jpfo.org/ragingagainstselfdefense.htm
Thank these sponsors for this column:
Fred's -- Military M-14 Stocks & Accessories
Fulton Armory -- Precision M1 Garand, M14, M1 Carbine
& AR15 Weapon Systems
Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc.
JPFO members & supporters
This article will run in a future issue of "Shotgun News"
================================================================
Copyright 2001 JPFO, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce
this alert in full, so long as the following JPFO contact
information is included:
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
PO Box 270143
Hartford, Wisconsin 53027
Phone: 1-262-673-9745
Orders only: 1-800-869-1884 (toll-free!)
Fax: 1-262-673-9746
Web: http://www.jpfo.org/
================================================================
JPFO ALERTS is provided as a free service to the Internet
Community. If you wish to help support this service, consider
joining JPFO! $20/year (no, you don't have to be Jewish!)
Join for 2 years and receive a free JPFO lapel pin!
To SUBSCRIBE to JPFO Alerts: send a blank e-mail to:
~~~
ALERT FROM CCOPS: CONCERNED CITIZENS OPPOSED TO POLICE STATES
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December 20, 2000
ALERT: Congress limits civil liberties
Congress limits civil liberties before going home for the
holidays.
By Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute
Congress may adjourn today -- but not before inflicting a
series of blows on civil liberties and federalism. As is
usual for end-of-the-session assaults on civil liberties,
the plan is to speed the new laws through as attachments
to some innocuous law, before most people in Congress have
time to notice. The only real chance for stopping this plan
lies in House and Senate leadership (especially the House)
being flooded with phone calls objecting to yet another
sneak attack on the Bill of Rights.
At issue is H.R. 46, a seemingly harmless bill titled "Public
Safety Medal of Valor." The bill sets up a federal board to
award federal Medals of Valor to policemen, federal agents,
and the like. But Congress, unlike many state legislatures,
does not operate under a constitutional requirement that a
bill's subject matter and title be the same. And it turns
out that there's much more in this bill than just medals
for firefighters. What the bill does is:
Expand federal asset forfeiture.
Expand wiretapping
Provide special additional punishments for people who
use encryption.
Federalize juvenile crimes, which are properly matters
for state governments to address.
The House committee report on the bill, of course, only
discusses medals for police officers -- and not any of the
unrelated material which is being added in the closing hours
of Congress. The unrelated, dangerous, material comes mostly
from the never-passed H.R. 2448.
These new provisions were added to H.R. 46 on October 24,
2000, by the Senate. (See Congressional Record page 10913).
Forfeiture
Section 304 of the "Medal of Valor" bill provides for
"Criminal and Civil Forfeiture for Computer Fraud and Abuse."
Although federal forfeiture laws have been partially reformed,
they are still massively weighted in favor of the government,
and allow the government to seize property from people who
have never been convicted of a crime.
H.R. 46 would expand federal forfeiture law to include various
computer crimes, and allow the forfeiture of any personal
property used "to commit or to facilitate the commission of
such violation." So the federal government could seize every
computer you own, before you have even been charged -- let
alone convicted -- of a computer crime.
Wiretapping
Section 308 of the bill provides federal wiretapping authority
over people suspected of committing various computer crimes --
allowing the interception of "wire, oral, and electronic
communications relating to computer fraud and abuse." So if
the federal government asks for a warrant (and wiretap warrants
are almost never denied), not only could federal agents read
your e-mail (an "electronic communication"), they could also
put listening devices in every room in your house.
If a teenager were suspected of computer hacking (even
hacking which caused no real damage, but which allegedly
posed "a threat to public health"), then H.R. 46 would
allow the government to wiretaps the parents' telephone. The
average telephone wiretap results in the interception of 1,971
conversations, according to the Wiretap Report for 1999
(Published by the administrative office of the United States
Courts).
Current federal wiretap authority stems from the Wiretap Act
of 1968. President Lyndon B. Johnson was very concerned about
the dangers of wiretapping -- perhaps because he personally
had ordered some abusive wiretaps; so the president opposed
proposals to create federal wiretap power. Eventually, he
accepted the Wiretap Act as part of a larger compromise to
allow passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968. Part of the
compromise was that wiretap powers would be invoked only for
certain enumerated and particularly dangerous offenses. These
were crimes involving espionage, treason, violence, or
organized crime.
Unfortunately, in the following three decades, the number
of suspected offenses for which wiretapping is allowed has
quadrupled, to over 100. Among these offenses are making false
statements on student-loan applications or passport applications.
18 U.S.C. sec. 2516(1).
Now, H.R. 46 would expand wiretapping to include a wide variety
of computer crimes, many of which are relatively minor.
Why Wiretaps Are Especially Dangerous
When the Fourth Amendment was written, the Founders expected
that all searches and seizures would be controlled by an
important type of checks and balances. Whenever a person was
searched, he would know about the search; government agents
would enter his home or business, look around, and take
property away. The victim of the search would necessarily
know that he had been searched. He would have every incentive
to use all legal means to ensure that the search was conducted
properly, according to the warrant, and that the warrant
itself was properly issued. After the search, he would be able
to seek various forms of redress, including filing a lawsuit,
if any part of the search had been improper.
Wiretaps, however, destroy this important check that safeguards
the Fourth Amendment. Under current federal law, wiretaps --
unlike every other kind of search -- may be conducted in secret.
18 U.S.C. sec. 2518. The law allows delay of months -- and
sometimes-indefinite delay -- in notifying a person that she
has been subjected to wiretaps. Thus, the most important
element of the Fourth Amendment's checks and balances -- the
desire of the person being searched to protect her privacy --
is eliminated.
Moreover, ordinary search warrants must specifically describe
what will be searched for, and where the search will be
conducted. So if the police are looking for a stolen car,
they will check the garage, but not rummage through a person's
bedroom drawers.
Wiretaps, in contrast, more closely resemble the Writs of
Assistance, which provoked the American Revolution. When a
wiretap is placed on a phone, the police listen to every
conversation, since they cannot tell in advance whether the
people will talk about a subject related to the wiretap
warrant, or about something else. Technically, the police
are required to stop listening when they are sure that the
conversation is not about the alleged crime involving the
wiretap. But in practice, it is very difficult to ensure
that this requirement is obeyed. Even the most conscientious
police wiretapper cannot help overhearing many innocent
conversations, since he cannot foresee what the parties
will talk about. In recent years, there have been about
two million innocent conservations per year overheard as
a result of federal and state wiretaps, according to the
Wiretap Report.
Unfortunately, while wiretaps are subject to fewer checks
and balances than ordinary searches, they are considerably
more invasive and destructive to security and privacy.
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis explained:
The evil incident to invasion of the privacy of the
telephone is far greater than that involved in tampering
with the mails. Whenever a telephone line is tapped, the
privacy of the persons at both ends of the line is invaded,
and all conversations between them upon any subject, and
although proper, confidential, and privileged, may be
overheard. Moreover, the tapping of one man's telephone
line involves the tapping of the telephone of every other
person whom he may call, or who may call him. As a means
of espionage, writs of assistance and general warrants
are but puny instruments of tyranny and oppression when
compared with wire-tapping. (Olmstead v. United States,
277 U.S. 438 (1928)(Brandeis, J., dissenting))
Earlier this year, the Clinton administration promised that
there would be no more wiretapping bills until privacy
reforms were enacted -- such as a requirement that the police
have probable cause before obtaining cell-phone records which
disclose your location. Nevertheless, H.R. 46 is moving
forward, and contains nothing to improve privacy protection.
Special Punishment for Encryption
Section 310 provides enhanced (more severe) sentencing for
computer criminals who use encryption. But as the ACLU points
out, we don't provide extra punishment for burglars who wear
gloves, or embezzlers who use paper shredders. So why provide
extra punishment simply because a criminal uses encryption?
The obviously answer, the ACLU notes, is because enhanced
punishment "stigmatizes the use of encryption, suggesting
that it is somehow worse to use this method to conceal a
crime than to use other methods."
Federalizing Juvenile Crime
Although Congress nearly passed a mammoth bill in 1999 to
federalize juvenile crime, the issue of juvenile justice
(like most other criminal justice issues) is properly a
matter for states. Section 306 of H.R. 46 would allow
federal courts to hear juvenile delinquency cases involving
alleged teenage computer criminals.
But there's no reason to believe that federal courts are
better than state courts in dealing with 14-year-olds
accused of hacking. Notably, every state has some kind of
juvenile justice program, to provide appropriate treatment
to rehabilitate juveniles. The federal government does not.
Besides, federal courts are already so overwhelmed with
drug cases that there is no reason to burden them further
with juvenile matters that belong in state court.
Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott is watching H.R. 46 closely,
and will make sure that it does not pass with "unanimous
consent." But the bill remains a threat under procedures
which allow suspension of the rules, or as an attachment
to the omnibus spending bill.
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CCOPS ALERTS Copyright 2000 CCOPS, Inc. Permission is granted to
reproduce this alert in full, so long as the following contact
information is included:
CCOPS: Concerned Citizens Opposed to Police States
P.O. Box 270205
Hartford, WI 53027
Phone: (262) 670-9920
Fax: (262) 670-9921
Web: http://www.ccops.org/
e-mail: webmaster@ccops.org
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ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
December 19, 2000
Alert: JPFO Performance Report
Dear JPFO Members & Supporters:
As the Year 2000 closes, it is time to look back at how
much we have accomplished at JPFO -- with your help. JPFO
is not a huge organization, and that is all the more reason
to be proud what we've been able to do. Only JPFO has done
these things to directly advance the cause of liberty and
to protect the right to keep and bear arms:
* Successfully urged citizens to declare and celebrate Bill
of Rights Day, providing videos and materials to make it
work in localities large and small. Official proclamations,
including state and local governments, have been issued in
25 states -- to protect All of the Bill of Rights for All
Citizens. Also, JPFO published translations of the Bill of
Rights in Spanish, French and German, with more languages
coming, so that all nations can learn about our precious
heritage.
* Developed the historical and logical connection between
gun registration, gun confiscation and genocide -- a
connection now practically common knowledge among people
working in the RKBA movement.
* Expanded the award-winning JPFO website to offer more
features and more resources for educating Americans and
defending our Bill of Rights. Thousands of times each
week, people access jpfo.org to get the latest features,
download a document, or search the archives. The JPFO
e-mail Alert system delivers news and views to thousands
of subscribers instantly. Based on e-mail feedback, JPFO
is delivering the freedom message to an international
audience -- and they are using the strategies and
materials, too!
* Published and distributed easy-reading comic style
Gran'pa Jack booklets -- over 700,000 in print -- covering
6 topics (more are coming):
GPJ 1: Gun Control Kills Kids -- graphically explaining
the connection between civilian disarmament and genocide.
GPJ 2: Can You Get a Fair Trial In America? -- describing
the rights and duties of juries and how they can help
protect the right to keep and bear arms.
GPJ 3: It's Common Sense To Use Your Bill of Rights ...
Or Lose Them! -- detailing every right in the Bill of
Rights, its origins, its meaning, and how many rights
are being lost today.
GPJ 4: Gun Control Is Racist -- unmasking the racist
roots of "gun control" laws in America ... laws enacted
to control black people, both slave and free. Explosive,
documented facts that gut the claimed moral superiority
of "gun control" schemes.
GPJ 5: How the United Nations Is Killing Your Freedoms
-- exposing how American rights are lost under the UN's
version of "human rights," and how the right to keep and
bear arms has no place in the growing one-world government.
GPJ 6: Will Gun Control Make You Safer? - addressing and
demolishing 21 myths of "gun control" with documented
facts, all in an amusing booklet that fits in your pocket.
Intellectual ammo for all seasons.
* Distributed The Mitzvah, a quick-reading novel about the
freedom philosophy in the hearts and minds of Jews and non-
Jews. No other action book so frankly lays out the lines
of the battle of ideas!
* Distributed the book, Dial 911 and Die, and promoted it
nationwide on dozens of local and national radio talk
shows. Dial 911 and Die shows beyond doubt that the
federal, state and local governments in America basically
owe no legal duty to prevent crime or to protect individual
citizens from criminal attack. This fact destroys the gun
prohibitionist view that "you don't need a gun because the
police will protect you."
* Commissioned Dr. Sarah Thompson's path-breaking
psychiatric analysis of the "anti-gun" mentality. Dr.
Thompson showed what makes many "anti-gun" people so fear
and loathe firearms owners, and how best to communicate
with these people ... and maybe convert some to the truth!
* Penned monthly columns printed in The Shotgun News, the
publication with a huge circulation among firearms owners
and users. Regular JPFO articles broadcast the hard-
hitting, consistent pro-liberty and pro-self defense
message to readers who might not get this straight talk any
other way.
* Promoted innovative multimedia outreach efforts: an eye-
catching (some say shocking) billboard campaign, a targeted
press-release system for high profile national exposure,
two new music compact discs (one anti-gun control rap, one
homegrown American patriotic), the Brasco the Bear coloring
book, and startling new posters bringing home a message
viewers can never forget.
* Continued the campaign by Rabbi Mermelstein, through his
essays and "Ask the Rabbi" internet service, to communicate
the harmony among Judaism, liberty, and the right to keep
and bear arms. Rabbi Mermelstein's column helps people
understand why so many Jews support "gun control" and what
we in the freedom movement can do about it.
* On a holiday note, Rabbi Mermelstein has powerfully shown
that Chanukah is not an annual excuse for a party, but is
the celebration of an heroic military triumph of good over
evil. The Jewish Maccabees could only have driven out
their oppressors by force of arms. It's a lesson for all
nations.
* Spread the word about the new organization, Concerned
Citizens Opposed to Police States (CCOPS). CCOPS is not a
tax-exempt entity, so it can research, expose, and work
against police state policies appearing in legislation.
Nobody else does what JPFO does.
JPFO, America's aggressive civil rights organization,
continuously develops and expands to serve one purpose: to
preserve the fundamental rights of humankind as embodied in
the U.S. Bill of Rights -- and that includes the right to
keep and bear arms. JPFO never compromises on the
fundamentals, and never shrinks from telling the truth ...
even when the truth is unpopular.
Of course, some people don't like JPFO. Some oppose JPFO
because they want to destroy private gun ownership, or
because JPFO takes positions that make them uncomfortable.
Some people attack JPFO for doing the job too forcefully.
Not content merely to repeat the same ideas and methods,
JPFO often moves forward on the cutting edge. Some people
just don't adapt quickly, some are uncertain about new
things. When JPFO began, the gun control -- genocide
connection was practically unheard of. Now, it's common
knowledge. Similarly, the linkage between the 1938 Nazi
Weapons Law and the U.S. Gun Control Act of 1968 was
previously unknown but is now well-known. So many of the
new insights and educational tools that JPFO has developed
struck some people as "strange", "impossible" or
"unworkable" at first, but now have proved popular and
powerful. Still, some people find it hard to accept new
ideas and uncomfortable truths.
When the critics speak, ask yourself: What is their
motivation? What is their reward?
JPFO's performance record is clear and open for all to see.
Nobody does what JPFO does.
And JPFO could not do it ... without you. As the Year 2000
closes, the Liberty Crew at JPFO sincerely thanks you for
your support. We look forward to partnering with you in
the years to come. Our job will not be getting any easier,
so stand with us, won't you?
Aaron Zelman, Executive Director
and The Liberty Crew at JPFO
================================================================
Copyright 2000 JPFO, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce
this alert in full, so long as the following JPFO contact
information is included:
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
PO Box 270143
Hartford, Wisconsin 53027
Phone: 1-262-673-9745
Orders only: 1-800-869-1884 (toll-free!)
Fax: 1-262-673-9746
Web: http://www.jpfo.org/
================================================================
JPFO ALERTS is provided as a free service to the Internet
Community. If you wish to help support this service, consider
joining JPFO! $20/year (no, you don't have to be Jewish!)
Join for 2 years and receive a free JPFO lapel pin!
http://www.ccops.org
