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Boycotting
Toys-R-Us
The Times Square
issue
by Greg Raab
Originally published on this
website June 17, 2000
To: Toys-R-Us
customer.service@webmail.toysrus.com
Dear Sir/Ms.:
Since Toys-R-Us decided to make the
decision not to move into the same building if the NRA put a restaurant in
it, I have decided not to buy anything from Toys-R-Us and I will encourage all
my friends not to as well. I take what you have done as an assault on my
God-given, Constitutionally-recognized rights. Owning, selling and buying guns
are legal. How would you like it if a special interest group decided that toys
were detrimental to all children and tried to ban the manufacture, distribution
and sales of toys? Same principle: it's wrong.
Putting lawful citizens in the same category as criminals is anti-American.
It presumes and assigns guilt. In this country, one is innocent until proven
guilty. We have a Constitution which recognizes the God-given right to keep and
bear arms. It is to protect all of us from an oppressive government, then to
protect our families and homes from criminals. This was well understood by our
Founders; hence the second amendment. If you don't believe it, read the
Federalist Papers. It is quite explicit.
Guns in and unto themselves are not inherently evil. Only those who use them
in crimes are inherently evil. How dare you put the rest of us 83 million lawful
gun owners into the same category as those criminals at Columbine. During the
course of a year, gun owners legally defend themselves some 2 million times and
often without firing a shot. Can't say that for most police departments. Lawful
gun owners save lives, prevent women from being victims and cause crime to go
away. Don't believe it? Look at Switzerland. Every able bodied male is part of a
citizen army and owns their own assault weapons. They do not have our problems.
What you and your kind want is a dictatorial society. Fear the government
that fears the people's guns. Gun control leads to confiscation, which leads to
tyranny, which leads to genocide. History shows this: Just look at Stalin,
Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, and right now in the Sudan.
You and your kind want to make victims out of all of us, which makes you
worse than the politicians promoting gun control laws. Gun control laws will not
stop criminals from getting guns. The Irish Republican Army showed us that. Gun
control laws will make victims out of law-abiding citizens. I, for one, do not
want my wife and daughters to be victims. For women, guns are the very equalizer
they need to protect themselves and their children. Even Rosie O'Donnell
recognizes that a gun can protect her family. A gun allows them to thwart any
criminals trying to physically attack them.
The so-called statistics cited by the likes of you are trumped
up. Here are few correct statistics:
Most Common Reasons for Emergency Room Visits
1. Baseball/softball 404,000
2. Dog bites 334,000
3. Playground 267, 000
4. ATV*s, mopeds 125, 000
5. Volleyball 98, 000
6. In-line skating 76, 000
7. Horseback riding 71, 000
8. Baby walkers 28, 000
9. Skateboards 25, 000
(Note: There is no mention of firearm related activities)
[Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]
Top Causes of Accidental Death (1997)
1. Motor vehicles: 43, 200
2. Falls: 14, 900
3. Poisoning by solids or liquids: 8,600
4. Drowning: 4,000
5. Fires, burns and related deaths: 3,700
6. Suffocation by swallowing object: 3,300
7. Firearms-related: 1,500
8. Poisoning by gases and vapors: 700
9. Other (including medical malpractice): 13,900
[Source: National Safety Council's 1998 Accident Facts]
Fatal Accidents Among Youth (1998)
1. Motor Vehicle 47%
2. Drowning 15%
3. Fires 12%
4. Choking 4%
5. Firearms 2%
[Source: Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov)]
There are more people killed in motor vehicle accidents than are with guns.
Do you want to ban the automobile? How about baseball? Doctors? Now there's an
epidemic: some 700,000 people die each year due malpractice (don't have the
exact citation at hand, but will dig it up if you so desire it.)
The Founders of the Constitution intended each citizen to be armed (cf.
Federalist Papers) to be able to defend against an oppressive government. The
Constitution was intended to restrict the government not the individual. The
people who want gun control are supporting legislation for ultimately gun
confiscation through an oppressive, fascist government. Those of us who still
believe the Constitution is the highest law of the land will fight for our
rights at every forum, every corner, piece of legislation, in the courts and
everywhere necessary. As Founders stated in the Declaration of Independence,
"For the support of this declaration, with the firm reliance on the
protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our
lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor," and so do I.
Greg Raab
See Also: Toys-WERE-US:
Death of a Household Name
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