Minuteman Monthly Issue 12 (July 2001) Celebrating one (1) year of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter. The past year has been an interesting one indeed. We had the most hotly contested U.S. Presidential Race in history. We have fought unceasingly against restrictive and useless gun control laws. We fought for and won a United States Attorney General who takes the original intention of the Second Amendment seriously. We have had many victories at the State level, as well as in Congress. But, now is not the time to rest. The anti-gun Democrats have taken control of some of the most important Congressional Committee Seats. The anti-gun Democrats have vowed to win over the United States House of Representatives in 2002, as well as retain control of the United States Senate. We must stay strong. We must remain united. We must keep informed. We must continue our vigilance against a biased media. We have to get more gun owners involved. *********************************** I don't want to sound like a grumpy whiner, but our expenses are twice our income. At the current rate, www.SaveTheGuns.com will be history in less than a year. Savetheguns.com could cover ALL OUR EXPENSES with just a seven cent ($0.07) contribution per visitor. www.savetheguns.com/buy_my_stuff.htm www.savetheguns.com/contributions.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Safety Tip Of The Month Wear eye and ear protection as appropriate. A hot piece of metal or powder in your eye is not a great idea. ALWAYS wear those silly looking glasses or you may be sorry. If you want to be able to hear your grandchildren, you should have ear plugs or ear muffs and use them according to the instructions. Many men feel that wearing proper eye and ear protection is for wimps. There is no truth in that notion whatsoever. I personally know retired military personnel who never used proper ear protection and today, they cannot hear everything their grandchildren say to them. When I was just a young pup of 18, I went shooting without my safety glasses. After a few magazines of .22 rimfires, I got a HOT piece of burning powder in my eye. Not a very comfortable experience. Protect your eyes and your ears. ************************************** ************************************** Have a safe and happy July 4th!!! Take someone out shooting this 4th!!! Then send them to www.savetheguns.com ************************************** ************************************** Quote Of The Month July's Quote Of The Month goes back to June's Issue of the Minuteman Monthly, concerning the anti-gun bias in the media. "Investigate the NRA with renewed vigor. Print names of those who take NRA funds. Support all causes the NRA opposes. The Times-Herald is right. The work a day guy doesn't envision total confiscation, but many with the real power to sway public opinion and effect change in America do." T. Winship, Editor - Boston Globe, in Editor and Publisher Magazine, April 24, 1993, pg. 24 And some people say the media isn't biased....... HA!!!! ************************************** In This Month's Issue July's issue of the newsletter for www.SaveTheGuns.com will touch on women and self-defense. There is a colossal amount of information involved on this subject. I could not possibly begin to explore every facet of self-defense for women. So what I will try to do is to give some solid information on a few issues and point you toward links which explore this issue much deeper than I could. Please keep in mind, that a woman is NEVER, EVER at fault for being raped or attacked. However, there are numerous things one can do to protect oneself. ************************************** Common Sense Safety Measures Countless authors have written fine books about women and self-defense. Many of these authors offer common sense tips on how to keep yourself far out of harm's way. I will try to list a few of them. * Try your hardest not to be alone after dark, outside your home. This of course, is the most common situation in which women are attacked. The human predator will go out of his way to find an easy target. Being alone, after dark makes it easiest for the predator to gain the upper hand quickly. Just like the lion looks for an antelope or zebra that has strayed from the herd and seems unaware or sickly, a human predator will also search out a target that seems like less effort to overtake. * Studies have shown that habitual rapists will look for certain things in a woman before an attack. some of those being: * A ponytail or hair done up in a bun that can be easily grabbed. * A woman who is alone. * A woman who seems unaware of her surroundings. * A woman who is constantly staring at the ground, moving slowly, nonchalantly and without purpose. * A woman who looks unprepared. * And a woman who is wearing clothing that could be more or less removed easily. ************************************** Some Tips * Walk and carry yourself with confidence. * Be totally aware of your surroundings. * Keep your eyes up. Keep looking to your sides and behind you, as you walk. Who cares if you look paranoid. Awareness and confidence in a woman is like wearing rapist repellent. * I believe that there is such a thing as "women's intuition". If you have a bad feeling about someone or some place, go with your gut instincts and leave the area quickly and safely. * Once you get into your vehicle, lock the doors. Many attacks occur when the assailant simply opens the door and gets in. * Have your car keys in hand, with the door key between your thumb and index finger, ready to go into your door lock before you approach your vehicle. Fumbling in your pocketbook or purse for keys, is like wearing a blinking neon sign to a rapist, that says: Look at me--I can't find my keys--I am not aware of my surroundings--I did not think ahead, etc. etc. * Carry a loud whistle with you. Not that a whistle will scare off a would-be rapist, but it will certainly attract unwanted attention to your location. * Never, never, never I repeat NEVER allow yourself to be forced into a vehicle. If you enter a rapist's vehicle or let him into yours, it could be one of the last times you make a decision for yourself. Even if you are being held at gunpoint. Most attackers don't want to shoot you, but they want to control you and get you into the vehicle, so they can drive you to some pre-determined destination to have you under their control in a more secluded setting. Don't get into that car!!! I have many other tips and info on self-defense, on my "Self-Defense" page. www.savetheguns.com/self_defense.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You can also go HERE and check out Amazon.com's self-defense books. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *************************************** *************************************** Have you considered a Savetheguns.com bumper sticker? They are $2.25 each plus .60 cents shipping per order. You can order as many as you like for .60 cents shipping. A single sticker would be just $2.85. You can even use your PayPal account!!! www.savetheguns.com/bumper_stickers.htm *************************************** *************************************** Great Ladies Self-Defense and Gun Links www.wagc.com/ Women Against Gun Control www.womenshooters.com/ Women And Guns www.nrahq.com/safety/rtbav/ NRA's Refuse To Be A Victim Program www.lizmichael.com/ You might not agree with all her opinions, but she is interesting just the same. www.defend-net.com/paxton/ Paxton Quigley's Home Page. A great read. www.mothersarms.org/ Mother's Arms. Protecting what's ours. www.aware.org/ Arming Women Against Rape and Endangerment. www.sas-aim.org/ Second Amendment Sisters *************************************** *************************************** More Self-Defense And Guns Tips * Always remember that a firearm is only a device that launches a small piece of metal at very high speed, in a relatively straight line. It will not keep you safe, simply by having one. * "Harden" your home!!! If you lock yourself out of your house, can you get back in? How easy was it? How easy would it be for someone who breaks into homes regularly? Consider your entry points. How are your doors? Windows? Cellar entrances? * Can you legally carry aerosol incapacitants? Pepper spray, CS Gas, CN Gas, which one is right for you? If you choose pepper spray, it should be in at least a 10% concentration. Is Mace a better choice? In laypersons terms, CN is "tear gas" and CS is "choking gas". In any case, you should take a course offered by many police departments on carrying aerosol incapacitants. I never advise anyone to carry aerosol incapacitants without first taking a course. Generally, there are a couple of tips I can give you. 1.) Concentrate your aerosol's aiming point on the assailant's chin. Not the eyes. The reason being, you are more than likely drawing from waist level and are likely to overshoot the eyes and get the spray in the assailant's hair which does no good. The aiming point should be the chin. If you take a course, in which nobody gets sprayed themselves, the course is probably no good. You should expect to get sprayed at least a little bit in a course. If you have the unfortunate circumstance in which you are forced to use the spray, use it with enough blast to incapacitate the assailant, then leave the area immediately and make a report to the police. NEVER USE THE SPRAY, PULL UP A SEAT AND WAIT FOR THE POLICE TO ARRIVE. THE AEROSOL INCAPACITANT IS ONLY A VERY TEMPORARY FIX THAT IS USED TO ALLOW YOU TIME TO ESCAPE. 2.) NEVER use the spray inside a vehicle. You will be incapacitated, right along with your assailant. 3.) Be aware that there are expiration dates on the canisters. 4.) Bringing an aerosol incapacitant on a plane flight might not be a good idea, as the pressure change involved in flight, might cause the unit to leak. ********************************************* ********************************************* According to a competent nationally recognized researcher, women are two and a half (2 1/2) times safer, resisting an attacker with a gun than by giving full compliance or resisting the attack without one. Please see the Ladies Self-Defense Links above for much more information. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please realize that I did not have the time or space to fully explore this issue. Please visit the links listed above and tell them that you were sent by www.SaveTheGuns.com Please print, cut, copy, paste, quote, forward, post and pass around this newsletter. Send your family and friends to www.savetheguns.com/minuteman_monthly.htm to sign up.