"At least 83,000,000 gun owners behaved peacefully today!"
-- quote by Judge & Prosecutor, William J. Velek (from state of Arkansas)
Hello and welcome to another area of controversy! CR has raised a question or two about the Million Mom March which took place on Mother's Day (2000) in Washington DC and in other cities throughout the country. The main issue was about guns and an attempt to bring about more legislation for more "control" of firearms for the safety and well being of children. The event was publicized as supposedly the "brain child" of Ms. Donna Dees-Thomases and, as expected, it received a concentrated saturation of favorable publicity in the media. Information made known since that "March" causes thinking people to question whether this was really all dreamed up by Ms. Thomases alone due to connections she has with the White House via a sister-in-law and her connections with major TV networks -- but rather it was something bordering on a conspiracy taking place with powerful people involved and a presidential election in November envisioned, with a motivation to try to garner a large number of female votes as the notorious "Zipper-gate" person from Arkansas accomplished in '92 & '96?
Of course, anything that is "anti-gun" in nature is guaranteed to have top priority when it comes to the media culture these days! Two letters were sent by CR on this issue by certified mail to Mrs. Thomases to two different addresses with the hope of reaching her. Also a letter was sent to some media outlets. A web site for the march was set up -- you can go to Million Mom March and get further details. It is plain by now that the "second face" of these people has been uncovered -- they are not really after more laws -- the ultimate goal is a total ban of private ownership. If the president of the United States doesn't hesitate to lie, even in legal proceedings, why should you believe these people who idolize the "Master Prevaricator" who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in DC?
The letters sent by CR raising some legitimate questions are posted below. If there should be some kind of response we will inform you of that in days to come, but don't hold your breath on that -- CR has meddled in an area which is considered taboo to even talk about! The common objection is that he is "confusing the issue!"
Tuesday, April 18, 2000 Mrs. Donna Dees-Thomases
Short Hills, NJDear Mrs. Thomases:
I am not sure this will get to you, but I will attempt to send it to 2 addresses with the hope that at least one of the letters will be read by you personally. My purpose is to appeal for a broadening of your concern for children and their safety which at the present time seems to be limited to violence associated with firearms. I am not doubting your sincerity in this effort. However I, as well as others, wonder why your concern is limited to a focus on firearms as though to suggest that the gun is the primary culprit in violent death in our culture.
First, you made reference to a shooting incident at a JCC in which you saw children being led away by police officers and made the statement, “Those were my kids crossing the street.” You were stressing your identity with these children because they were the same age as yours and yours also go to a JCC. Herein is a request on my part. Would you take some time to look at the children pictured at
page50.html
and then say to yourself, “Those are my children!” And will you add these to your expressed concern at the Million Mom March? You see, you mention that there are 12 children a day that lose their lives violently because of firearms, and this is indeed a tragedy. But there are at least 3,700 or more unborn children that are violently torn to pieces in the womb every day in this nation! Should mothers not be concerned about these, despite the fact that thousands of women choose to refuse motherhood in the name of “constitutional rights” and take a course of action which results in a most violent act that destroys the child that God was in the process of forming in the womb?Second, I see no emphasis on eliminating another element that figures significantly in a number of gun related incidents. That element is the use of beverage alcohol. Unfortunately the CDC statistics do not really detail that, but it is a fact that gun violence and loss of life has at times followed the consumption of beverage alcohol. Just this week in our area there were a number of young people partying in a remote area and a fight broke out. One of the teenagers returned later with a 22 cal rifle and shot 3 others. One is in critical condition and the other two suffered wounds that were not life threatening. The TV station reporting the incident surveyed the area with their camera and then focused on a number of empty beer bottles the youth had thrown on the ground after consuming the contents! Now for a couple of embarrassing questions – will you mothers add this to your protest and wage war on beverage alcohol as you are on guns? But worse, how many mothers participating in the march use beverage alcohol themselves, or have it in their homes, or serve it on “social” occasions? As a pastor I had to deal with more problems that related to beverage alcohol than I ever did with guns. And if you add up the total misery and violence caused by beverage alcohol in terms of deaths, illness, divorce and family break down, child and spousal abuse, property damage, and jobs lost in a year’s time, your gun statistics will again fade into the background, just as they do when compared to numbers of unborn children violently put to death in a year’s time! It is understandable that the gun issue is at the forefront because the media culture is focusing on it, with not so subtle pressure from a hypocritical president to do so. I use that term because Clinton has vetoed the legislation that made an effort to at least ban partial birth abortions and then he turns around and says he is concerned about children! Men who have a basic sense of decency and believe in fundamental Judeo-Christian standards of morality would never trust that man to be alone with their wives or their daughters and consequently have no reason to believe anything he says on any issue facing our culture!
Finally, the choice of Rosie O’Donnell to be involved in the Million Mom March in a high profile way is certainly an unwise move for a number of reasons. First, what does she even know about motherhood to begin with? Yes, she has done an adoption thing, but how much time will she really be spending to rear the children by teaching and example? Or will the hired help do most of that job as it is with increased numbers of those who have wealth these days? But more seriously Ms. O’Donnell is not the best representative of motherhood from another standpoint. She was a big name in a movie entitled “Exit to Eden” which had a rating that listed the following items defining content: AS, L, N, MV, SSC! A number of mothers with a clear sense of right and wrong would neither participate in such a film nor would they want their children viewing it! As mentioned in an enclosed letter on this issue, it is more than a bit of inconsistency that Ms. O’Donnell most willingly accepts a very attractive salary from a network that produces a considerable amount of “entertainment” in which use of guns with graphic violence in slow motion action is featured in prime time programming! In spite of her anti-gun crusade that she is pushing, she hasn’t done much about stopping the programming of her employer which has more than a minor impact on the young when it comes to their own expressions of violence whether by firearms or some other instrument!
In closing I must say that the issues I have raised in this letter will likely be dismissed as not important, not relevant, or too meddling! But that simply is an indicator as to how low we have descended in our culture when it comes to valuing human life. As noted in an area of my web site, we perfectly resemble the lumberjack who is hired to cut large trees measuring 24 inches or more in diameter, but all he does is cut down some saplings measuring 3 or 4 inches in diameter. He fails to see what the priority is when comes to the big timber!
With the hope that you will expand your concern to include the safety and well being of children who cannot speak for themselves, I am
Clayton D. Harriger, Pastor
Gipsy Christian Church in Gipsy, PA
and Elder in Full Connection, Western PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist ChurchEncl: Letter to a number of news media outlets.
NOTE: The above letter will be posted at my web site within a few days of its being sent to you.
Thursday, April 13, 2000 Editor
It appears that those in the news media business are really going to pull out the stops in publicizing the Million Mom March scheduled for Mother’s Day in Washington DC. The purpose of the march has been described as doing an education thing about the dangers guns pose for children along with attempting to press for legislation which will add more laws to the myriad of laws already on the books related to purchase and possession of firearms.
Those who have organized and appeal for support claim to be concerned about the loss of life and injuries due to firearms violence. That prompts a question or two as to how far this concern extends. Do these persons have an identical concern in protesting the violence that destroys at least 3,700 or more unborn children on an average day in these “civilized” United States? At this point in time have they taken any action to protest this type of violence which the major media institutions deliberately choose to ignore? Have they ever taken time to view the carnage in graphic detail? There is no want to graphic descriptions of gun violence which often becomes something akin to a shark feeding frenzy by reporters in the media culture, but graphic details of an unborn child’s demise via abortion procedures are never mentioned much less shown! Why?
Second, will those in the upcoming demonstration do a bit of protesting about the TV and movie industries’ saturated programming which often features gun violence? Sit through an evening of TV “entertainment” or go to a movie and see how many guns are used, and count the shots that are fired. Then count the bullet holes in the victims and how many pints of blood have run all over the place! After that, ask yourself a tough question – “Could this stuff have any influence on people of any age, such as conditioning them to resort to violent acts if they are provoked in some way?”
It is more than a bit nauseating that well known names in the TV and movie industries have jumped on Bill “Ban the Gun” Clinton’s band wagon in recent years and a number of these will certainly give loud vocal support to the Million Mom March. However, is it not a bit strange that these persons are willing to accept large salaries and promote “gun control” while being part of a corporate structure that feeds the American public with a diet of entertainment in which guns used violently are a distinctive and prominent part of that “entertainment?”
When was the last time you saw the “unbiased” media folks report yearly statistics on total deaths due to firearms stacked up along side the total violent deaths of unborn children by means of what some dismiss as merely a “medical procedure?” All this does prove one thing – that hypocrisy is alive and well in today’s culture!
Clayton D. Harriger, Pastor
Gipsy Christian Church, Gipsy PA
Web Site: Circuit Rider's Range at:
www.crrange.com
See also United States Holocaust Gallery at
www.crrange.com/page50.html
A Post Script: Why make an issue out of this? As you may have noted, there are a number of areas here at the Range in which the subject of abortion is mentioned and there are 3 sections devoted entirely to the subject. The reason is simple -- while we in our culture have a lot of activity going which invites the wrath of a holy God upon us at the present time, there is nothing that will do that more quickly than the systematic destruction of the unborn for whom this God has plans! In His revelation to us God does not classify the sacrifice of children as mere sin, it is in another class known as an abomination! Some things do fall into that category and this is one of them! We are indeed a nation of fools of the first magnitude if we believe that we can keep up the pace of destroying the unborn at the rate of 3,700 or more per day and survive as a stable culture! Anyone want to venture how long you think the wrath of God will be withheld if we fail to FULLY repent of our sins and abomination in this nation that hypocritically has stamped the words, "In God We Trust" on coins and currency?
And how about trying this little gem on for size -- "...the Parents Television Council released a new study, 'What a Difference a Decade Makes: A Comparison of Prime Time Sex, Language, and Violence in 1989 and 1999.' The study concludes that sex and violence on primetime TV have increased 300% in ten years. Of course, most of that increase is attributable to coverage of the Phirst Philanderer's dalliances!"Source: The Federalist 07 April 2000 VOL #00-14 Anyone want to take on the TV and movie industries in addition to the gun manufacturers?
In spite of the very biased media, the moms at the Million Mom March did not have the day all to themselves! Some other moms came on the scene too -- they are could be called the "Moms 4 Guns!" and their counter protest was organized by Second Amendment Sisters, Inc. -- One of the signs appearing in the group supporting our Second Amendment rights read as follows:
Maryland Children - 1997
Died drowning - 12
Killed in fire - 16
Killed in cars - 56
Accidental shootings - 2
You may remember the Maryland governor bragging at a news conference about their new legislation requiring trigger locks and how he fumbled around and was unable to unlock the device from the weapon until after a long, long period of time -- enough time for someone to dispatch you violently before you could get your weapon unlocked and ready to fire to defend yourself! Perhaps the governor who professes to be so concerned about safety and well being of citizens should arrange to require locks on automobiles which will prevent children from becoming passengers and thus potential victims in light of the above statistics!
If your blood pressure has risen to a dangerous level after all this and you feel compelled to vent a bit toward someone who would have the audacity to reach out and touch the Million Mom March "sacred cow," just click on Penelope, our letter eating toad, who is charge of our mail room -- she has it all pre-addressed to the Circuit Rider and ready to go!
Back to beginning of A Million Moms Marching!
Copyright 2000, 2001 Clayton D. Harriger
