'Fed Up' With Treatment of Gun Owners (Kerry part of extremist First Monday gun ban group from 2000)

Larry Savage is a reluctant activist. Two years ago, however, Savage had an experience that changed his life. He read the text of the Massachusetts Gun Control Act of 1998 and was shocked at "the audacity of the legislature."

As soon as Savage read that law, which he says he "just happened across while surfing the 'net,'" he went out and became a licensed gun owner and began to work for the repeal of the law. The former gun control supporter had come full circle.

In September 2000, he helped found Citizens for Truth in Politics. This advocacy group which declares itself to be a "group of lawful, responsible gun owners who are fed up with the mistreatment of honest gun owners in the name of 'violence prevention,'" has gone on the offensive in the Commonwealth.

What's so wrong with the Gun Control Act, one might ask, that it caused such a reaction? According to Savage, he was "shocked and amazed," when he read that law and recognized that "honest, law-abiding citizens who owned guns are treated worse by the State of Massachusetts than convicted criminals." He says that the state now "requires that a resident's photograph, fingerprints and all sorts of personal information be entered into the Criminal Records database. They also have to report changes of address to the police and the state. All this is for exercising a constitutional right!"

Savage and a group of like-minded people from all over the state got together in September to form CTP in response to what Savage calls "the publicity stunts the gun control crowd likes to hold." Specifically, the group wanted to counter the "First Monday 2000" events sponsored by the Alliance for Justice and Physicians For Social Responsibility. Almost immediately after staging their first event on October 2, some of the First Monday representatives appeared on Rosie O'Donnell's television show. Savage got an interview with Massachusetts News.

These First Monday events are intended to bring awareness about violence to legislatures and schools across the nation. Savage describes the First Monday events this way: "The politicians come in by the truckload to deplore the handgun violence. They use bogus stats and stir up the crowds. State legislators form the 'Amen Corner.'"

What Savage and CTP want to do is "show up in person and in force at these publicity stunts - not just to protest, but to hold events of our own." This is exactly what they did in Boston on October 2, 2000.

Press Conference on State House Steps
Scheduling a press conference on the State House steps, just a half-hour before the First Monday 2000 event, CTP showed up with many signs as well as pink carnations to pass out. Each carnation had a tag which read, "This carnation represents a person saved by the defensive use of a firearm. This happens over 5000 times each day, often without a shot ever being fired."

The scene was set for confrontation, but only minor verbal skirmishes ensued. Sen. John Kerry, State Sen. Cheryl Jacques and John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence were the major speakers. Signs representing the sentiments of both sides of the issue were everywhere. Rosenthal, according to Savage (who has the entire rally on videotape), was quite annoyed at the competition. In fact, Savage reports, Rosenthal called upon the press to censor its reports. The statement, as captured on tape, went like this: "I have a real hard time with the cowards behind here who try to steal the thunder of victims of gun violence and I hope as we talk about responsibility, the media who is taking pictures of one of our most courageous senators in Washington with a cowardly sign above his head, I hope that photograph never shows up anywhere. And that's the responsibility of the media. With the help of the media, the right message will get out."

Savage believes that the mainstream media will do as they are bid. He says that a "captive media" is one of the reasons the gun control group has been successful. The media act as a filter for them, he declares, adding, "We want to circumvent that filter, by getting out there and letting people know we exist and that we have the truth on our side."

"People have been receptive to our message," Savage declares. He estimates that when his rally moved from the State House to Copley Plaza, "one in three women took a flower." This is an important demographic for CTP. Savage says that the gun control coalition uses "alleged gun violence" as a "gender wedge issue." CTP wants to get the message out that self-defense is a very important women's issue.

Research Is 'Thorough'
One thing Savage takes pride in is the thoroughness of the research his organization uses. "The anti-gun crowd likes to claim that 12 kids every day get killed by guns," he says. But that's a "bogus statistic," he claims. He points out that this research includes 18- and 19-year-olds, people killed during the commission of crimes, and suicides."

The bottom line, Savage says, is, "Firearms are a net benefit to a free society." In a heavily footnoted backgrounder, Savage calls "firearms one of the safest consumer products currently manufactured." More people die annually from motor vehicle accidents (43,200), falls (14,900), poisoning (8,600), and drowning (4,000) than succumb to firearms-related incidents (1,500), his research shows. The statistic he most likes to quote is, "You're 2000 times more likely to use your gun in self-defense than to be subject to a fatal firearms accident."

So the reluctant activist has taken to the streets to carry his message to the people. He's not willing to accept the lies anymore - or the second-class citizen treatment. Citizens for Truth in Politics is in its "membership phase," Savage says, although they already have members from all parts of the state - "from Cape Cod to the Berkshires." They intend to get the word out that firearm safety is the key to curbing violence - not gun control.

I remember First Monday very well. FR has some good archives here. I found the almost whole First Monday Agenda from Feb 2001. I posted 4 out of 7.

Part 1 - How to organize First Monday march

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Kerry spoke at one of their events. Their agenda?
1. Public health approach to gun laws - treat gun makers like "big tobacco".
2. Supports Brady, VPC, and CSGV
3. Says there is no 2nd Amendment right
4. ban "junk guns"
5. AG regulation of guns
6. Ballistic prints and CAP laws
7. NATIONAL LICENSING and REGISTRATION
8. Doctors ask about guns in the home
9. "Safety" features like mag disconnects

Keep in mind that the choice of some on this forum as a future leader of the republican party, Mitt Romney, is as bad as Kerry and Kennedy on the second amendment.

*assachussets has it's very own AWB thanks to that weasel.

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