a message from Angel Shamaya
Founder/Director
http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com

December 20, 2000

There are a great many things I would rather be doing right now than writing this message. And I'd prefer to have invested my last 10 days in other ways. Lord knows we've got enough work to do...

But there are always going to be things one has to do, and this has become such a chore.

Over the last few weeks, some members of the law enforcement segment of the Second Amendment rights community have been attacking my character in a very public way -- concerning my report on a raid by the BATF on a gun shop owner in Mesa, Arizona. These accusations are all the more hurtful and disturbing, coming as they do from pro-rights leaders whom I had come to respect, and with whom I have worked closely over the last year. Some of the things these people are still saying about me -- to this day -- are the most libelous public statements I have ever had spoken against me.

I have been accused of lying and misrepresenting facts in my news report, allegedly in an effort to exaggerate the unConstitutional nature of the raid, and to cast an undeserved aura of disrepute on both the BATF and local Mesa law enforcement. The people who have said these things have also cast undue doubt about my very honor, integrity and intentions among people I work hard to serve.

My accusers are mostly former police officers, and herein lies our difference: They have placed enforcers of unConstitutional laws and a gun confiscation above the Second Amendment, and I say they've got it backwards. And their many and varied accusations against me are nothing more than smokescreens to avoid the tough issue of holding oath-breakers in law enforcement accountable for their treasonous actions.

And the people who have chosen the "ad hominem" approach in addressing their grievances have continued to make a number of vicious false statements about me -- in public.

This being the case, I have no recourse but to present the entire situation to the public for fair scrutiny, lest the only story told be that of those bearing false witness against me.

Though what I have learned has galvanized my commitment to Liberty and brought forth some explosive distinctions, for those of you who know me, responding to my accusers is likely an unnecessary exercise. You know me to be an honest, truthful man whose first cause and focus is the reassertion of our rights under the Constitution of these united States.

For those of you who do not know me, or who have been exposed to this attack on my character and have accepted it as gospel because it originates from men who had once shown themselves to be staunch defenders of our rights... for you I have responded in detail and with poise and dignity -- while standing on my Principles and the Truth.

If you accept my statement that the accusations against me are unfounded, I thank you for your well-placed trust in my honesty and honor.  I urge you to know I'll not invest this much time when the next group of detractors comes along -- and will now return KeepAndBearArms.com to business as usual.

Finally, if others have led you to doubt my honesty or my honor, I understand. But I ask that you open your mind to the possibility that you have not heard the truth from the people you trusted. You can find it here: http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/news/hmmm.asp.