WOMEN & GUNS:

PARTING SHOTS . . .



	November 5, 1996 will be remembered as a crucial day for all

gun owners and civil libertarians.



	This year's elections are where law-abiding adults can

exercise one of our nation's most cherished rights; the right ot vote.



	Voting, like the Second Amendment, is one of our linchpin

rights which bind and protect all of our other rights.  Together, the

right to vote and the ability to defend our rights through the Second

Amendment prevent elected officials from eroding the rest of our

rights.  



	Whether you care about the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth,

and/or Tenth Amendments, this year's election will decide if each of

our rights is going to be protected or damaged.



	Our rights are in danger from all levels of government and the

price of keeping our freedom is eternal vigilance.



	I wish that every gun owner would realize how crucial it is to

vote in all elections, and to vote wisely.



	Your vote counts on the federal, state and local levels!



	There are over 65 million gun owners in this country, enough 

voters to determine the outcome of nearly every election to be held

for any political office--from President to city council, from Senator

to school board member.  We must protect all our rights from all

levels of government.



	this year, we will elect our nation's President to a four year 

term.  This individual will lobby Congress for legislation, direct 

federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau

of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and pass policy through executive

orders. 



	The next President will likely appoint four new United States 

Supreme Court Justices.  Nearly half of the nation's highest court

will be chosen in the next four years, and these justices will then

interpret our Constitution based on their personal ideology.  Since

Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life, our president votes

this year will have ramifications well into the 21st century.



	All members of Congress and one-third of the U.S. Senate are

also up for election.  Our votes are critical in these elections.

Remember, the so-called "assault weapon" and magazine ban passed the

House in 1994 by only one vote, and the pro-gun Senators failed to

filibuster the whole crime bill by only a few votes.  After the

November 1994 elections, the reconstruction House easily voted to

repeal the ineffective gun and magazine ban.



	What do you want the next Congress to do for you?  Do you fear 

what they might do to you?  That's why we must vote!  But our 

responsibility does not stop with the federal elections.  In the last 

three years, more than a dozen states have either adopted "shall

issue" concealed carry legislation or improved their existing 

statutes.  Several other states narrowly defeated similar measures

and will try again next year.  One state, Idaho, enacted reciprocity

for concealed carry licenses.  In addition, several states have

passed state preemption, a law designed to protect gun owners from a

crazy-quilt of local ordinances.



	This year's election will determine if the concealed carry and 

state preemption issues continue to advance or are reversed.  By 

voting, you can help advance these issues.



	Local races also affect our rights.  Some Sheriffs can issue

or deny concealed carry licenses and local municipalities can pass pro

or anti-gun ordinances or resolutions.



	During the effort to repeal the so-called "assault weapon" and 

magazine ban in Congress, city councils were passing resolutions

urging the House to keep the ban.  From Bellevue, Washington to

Houston, Texas, local anti-gun politicians lobbied our federal

officials.



	The outcome of elections affect our rights for years and

decades to come at all levels of government.  To participate, we

merely need to go to the polls and exercise one of our most important

rights.



	The right ot vote is sacred to me.  Women didn't even have

this right until after the Nineteenth Amendment was declared ratified

on August 26, 1920.  This Amendment states plainly that, "The right

of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or

abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

Why should we set aside this right?



	My oldest daughter will join me by voting this year, but only 

because of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which was adopted on July 5,

1971, conferred her right to vote at the age of 18.  I wish more of

our young people would register and vote to keep America free.



	I encourage our employees to leave early on election day

and stop on their way home at their polling places.



	There is an old saying that if you don't vote you can't

complain. And if you don't care enough to vote your rights, yu have

not right to whine as our rights are eroded.  Nobody should ignore

their right and responsibility to vote when all our other rights are

in peril.



	Our rights are too important to give up by staying home.  

Vote on November 5th and make it count.





Julianne Versnel Gottlieb

Publisher



Personal Parting Shots ... Copious

thanks to Dave for his ghosting and 

tireless work on our Internet site;

www.saf.org.  Love to all the esses

and to AMG who is always right!