Here is the letter (submitted by Pat Burks):

Something to think about...

"In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953,

about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and

exterminated.

"In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5

million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and

exterminated.

"Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13

million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

"China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million

political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and

exterminated.

"Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000

Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and

exterminated.

"Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000

Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and

exterminated.

"Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one

million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up

and exterminated."

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century

because of gun control: 56 million.

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, ask them "Who do

YOU want to round up and exterminate?" With guns, we are citizens.

Without them, we are subjects.

Something to think about... Don't let the liberal media control your

mind with their propaganda blitz. They want to blame crime on gun ownership

to justify eventual gun confiscation, but their soft on crime law

enforcement and pro-violence and immoral entertainment industry is the real

cause.

Most of the politicians in both parties are controlled by the liberal

establishment. In effect, we have a one party system. They deserve

academy awards.

The Bible says, "A strong man armed protects his home."

(If you value your freedom, Please send this on to all of your

friends.)

I taught history at the college level of years, and without getting into the actual numbers and statistics quoted by the author I feel a little clarification is in order. Perhaps this writer has been listening to too much Rush Limbaugh. Nevertheless, the writer is trying to create the impression of cause and effect where none exists. This is a common propaganda tool, as is trying to elicit fear or panic in the reader. This is clearly an attempt to persuading (frightening) you into taking the writers position on gun control.

There were numerous cases in the Soviet Union where dissents were armed and just shot to death by a well armed and more organized governmental force. Just owning a gun does nothing to protect individual citizens against a government that thinks them a threat. Citizens would have to become extremely organized and establish an outstanding intelligence network to even begin to combat a government that has declared war on a part of its citizenry.

In England, there has been strict gun control for years and there have been no massive exterminations of its citizens. This is also true with the some of the Scandinavian countries. Having gun control or not having it is not a major factor in government oppression. Banning weapons from private control (not the same as just registering guns) may be symptomatic of an oppressive government, but ownership of guns would never prevent, by itself, the persecution of a segment of the citizenry. The growth of an oppressive government is a more complicated process than the writer suggests.

Clearly, our founding fathers didn't trust government and so they gave us the tools to help stem the growth of governmental power. We, the people are guaranteed power by participation in the political process. That power is far greater than the one you may be granted by just waving a gun. If we are diligent we can head off governmental oppression before it becomes a crisis. None of those other countries mentioned, guaranteed that power to its citizens, which goes much farther in explaining what happened in the countries mentioned by the author than merely counting firearms and dead bodies.

Many people like to take historical events out of context to further their own ends. Trust me if the U.S. government decided to crackdown on its citizens, assault rifles would be completely inadequate against laser guided bombs, stealth fighters, and cruise missiles. Only if the citizens rise up in an organized fashion can an oppressive government be overthrown. This can be accomplished with or without large personal arsenals. For instance, the best armed military force in the Middle East, with the exception of Israel, was Iran in the early 1970s, but with very little in the way of sophisticated weaponry the Iranian citizens brought that government to its knees. They did it because the will of the government was completely out of touch with the will of the people. They rose up by the millions and the government fell!

Various types of pro-gun/anti-gun rhetoric have been circulated on the Internet for years. Watch for propaganda like the above chain letter, which revises history to scare you into taking their position on this topic. Anti-gun groups have been guilty of similar tactics to sway people to their side. Just remember to read critically whenever you get something like this, and don't just buy all their facts or explanations without checking it out for yourself.

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