Petition to George W. Bush and the Republican Party

We, the undersigned, have committed ourselves to voting for and supporting George W. Bush for President in November. Many of us are doing so with serious reservations about Mr. Bush's positions on gun control.

In 1968, the federal government enacted the first large-scale gun control
measure in our nation's history. In the ensuing years, violent crime escalated to a level never seen in our society. Clearly, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was an abysmal failure. Rather than admit that gun control has no effect on criminals, many politicians bent to the will of the media and enacted further measures which likewise had no effect on violent crime.

The only persons who have been affected by these gun laws are the law-abiding. We have seen our God-given rights traded for political expediency and have been corralled, controlled and monitored to an extent that would elicit screams from the media if it were any other group but gun owners. We now face political enemies who are calling for the banning of handguns, a ban on private transactions (stealthily referred to as "closing the gun show loophole"), mandatory safety locks, smart gun technology and a host of other inane measures that criminals will greet with howls of laughter.

To put it bluntly, we have had it. Every person has his or her "line in the sand," and ours has been drawn here: no more gun laws. None. Not a trigger lock, not another background check or waiting period, not a ban on cap guns.
Nothing. The Bill of Rights is not a smorgasbord, it is an affirmation of rights granted us by our Creator. Rights cannot be licensed, nor can they be picked away like some feast for crows.

Many of us are independent voters. Many more are card-carrying Republicans who donate time and money to the party and its candidates. We have promised to vote for and support George W. Bush, and we will. But, if President Bush signs even one gun-control measure, not only will we not vote for him for re-election in 2004, we will also not vote for any Republican candidate at any level of government in 2002. Not a Republican senator, congressman, governor or state legislator. Our votes will go to the Constitution Party, the Libertarian Party or any other party that has the fortitude to defend the Constitution, a document that many Republicans seem to have forgotten about in recent years.

There are 80 million gun owners in this country. We are the largest single-issue voting block. Organized, we can Peelect any candidate we want. And we are vigilant.

Don't tread on us.