Date: Fri, 24 Feb 1995 15:21:41 -0800 From: Jeff Chan To: firearms-alert Subject: ANTIS: Children's Defense Fund and Friends, 800 # [John, this is fine; next time just post directly. Your subject line could have been more descriptive though. -- Jeff C.] Date: Fri, 24 Feb 1995 15:55:11 -0500 (EST) From: debjohn To: chan@shell.portal.com Subject: ANTI: 1-800-CDF-1200 >From the "Special 10th Anniversary Issue" of _SPIN_ magazine, p.134: THIS IS HOW MANY SAFETY REGULATIONS OUR GOVERNMENT IMPOSES ON THE PRODUCT THAT KILLS OVER 5,000 AMERICAN CHILDREN A YEAR 0 There's not a single federal standard governing the safety of one of the most dangerous products made. It's time for our laws to start protecting children, instead of protecting guns. CEASE FIRE Children's Defense Fund and Friends FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1-800-CDF-1200 I called the number yesterday, and spoke with a nervous young man who offered to send me an "information package." __ To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: ANTI: Children's Defense Fund and Friends, 800 # Date: Thu, 02 Mar 95 11:14:01 -0600 From: Christopher Hoover > Children's Defense Fund and Friends > FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1-800-CDF-1200 > I called the number yesterday, and spoke with a nervous young > man who offered to send me an "information package." I got my package today. The cover letter reads as follows: Children's Defense Fund Dear Friend of Children: Thank you for your interest in the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) Cease Fire! public education campaign. The purpose of Cease Fire! is to educate parents and all adults about about the crisis of gun violence facing American children and the special risks that guns pose to children, especially in the home. A tragic domestic war is being fought on American soil and thousands of children are on the battle casualty list every year. Every two hours a child dies from a gun injury -- the equivalent of a classroomful every two days. Well over 50,000 American children have been killed by guns since 1979 -- roughly the equivalent of the total number of American serviceman killed in battle during the Vietnam War. All Americans must come together to stop the killing of children. There is no single or simple solution to gun violence. But a key first step is to educate ourselves about guns and children and the myth that guns in the home keep families safer. In fact, if you keep a gun in your home, it is 43 times more likely to be used in a suicide, homicide, or an accidental killing than to be used in self-defense. Many gun deaths occur in the home and not on the street and are committed not by strangers but by family members, friends, and acquaintances. The Children's Defense Fund believes putting an end to gun violence by and against children requires our nation and each of us to make a moral commitment to place the protection of children ahead of the protection of guns. It also requires the support of well-informed caring adults in nurturing communities, and ensuring children positive alternatives to the streets and idleness. Those who oppose efforts to take guns out of the hands of children and those who kill children must be challenged to offer better solutions to the tragic loss of thousands of lives every year. The enclosed Cease Fire! brochure describes the tragic toll of gun violence on children and families, dispels some of the commonly held myths about guns, offers ten steps that you can take to stop the war against children, and lists violence prevention resources. I hope you will join me in taking the pledge for children on the back of the brochure. Our mission at the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and provide every child a Head Start, a Healthy Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start [all emphasis theirs]. Please join us in our efforts to help children. If you would like to become further involved in CDF's work, please send to use the tear off portion of the brochure indicating your interests. Together, we can achieve our goal of ensuring every child in America a Safe Start. Sincerely yours, (signed) Marian Wright Edelman President P.S. If you wish to make a financial contribution to the Children's Defense Fund, you can enclose your gift with the tear-off coupon from the brochure. We appreciate your support 25 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 Telephone 202 628 8787 Fax 202 662 3510 I won't reproduce the Cease Fire! brochure here in its entirety, but in it we learn: The Crisis A gun takes the life of a child every two hours -- the equivalent of a classroomful every two days. Homicide is now the third leading cause of death for elementary and middle school children (ages five to 14). Between 1979 and 1991, nearly 50,000 children were killed by firearms -- a total equivalent to the number of American battle casualties in the Vietnam War. Juveniles account for an appallingly high and rapidly growing share of homicide offenders as well as victims. The number of arrests for murder and non-negligent manslaughter for adults 11 percent between 1982 and 1991, while the number of juvenile arrests rose 93 percent. There was a 79 percent increase in the number of 10- to 17-year-olds who used firearms to commit murder between 1980 and 1990. A child growing up in America is 15 times as likely to be killed by gunfire as a child growing up in Northern Ireland. THE CRISIS OF CHILDREN being killed by guns and children killing children with guns is a reflection of the violence permeating our whole society. Guns have taken the lives of over 800,000 Americans in the past 25 years. An additional 520,000 Americans died violent deaths by other means during this period. The 1.3 million Americans who killed each other and themselves between 1968 and 1991 is about three times greater than the number of American battle deaths in all of the foreign wars in the twentieth century. Among the reasons the CDF claims this is happening is: ... aggressive marketing and easier access to deadlier and deadlier firearms We are also told the following: GUN MYTHS Myth 1: Having a gun makes you safe. Reality: In fact, having a gun makes you less safe and endangers your loved ones. According to a recent study, a gun in the home increases the likelihood of homicide threefold. A gun in the house is 43 times more likely to be used to commit homicide, suicide, or an accidental killing than it is to be used to kill in self-defense. Myth 2: The Second Amendment protects the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms. Reality: The Second Amendment provides that, ``A well regulated militia (italics) being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.'' Every court that has interpreted this language has found that the Second Amendment is infringed only by regulations that curtail the ability to maintain a well-regulated militia (italics). Myth 3: Most violence is racially motivated. Reality: Actually, 83 percent of White victims are slain by White offender, and 94 percent of Black victims are slain by Black offenders. Myth 4: Guns are sufficiently regulated. Reality: Guns are virtually the only unregulated (italics) consumer product in the United States. While teddy bears, toasters, and other consumer products all are subject to strict safety regulations, guns are subject to no such regulations. Myth 5: Most murders occur in the course of another felony. Reality: Only 22 percent of murders are the result of rape, robbery, or arson. Almost one-third of all murders result from arguments, which account fro the same percentage of firearm murders. Myth 6: Most gun deaths are homicides. Reality: In 1991 more Americans died from firearm suicides (18,526) than from firearm homicides (17,746). Between 1968 and 1991, 377,118 American gun deaths were suicides. Myth 7: Guns don't kill, people kill. Reality: According to the FBI, ``When assaults by the type of weapon are examined, a gun proves to be seven times more deadly than all other weapons combined.'' In 1990 over 500 children and youths under 20 were killed by accidental shootings. Among the ``10 Steps To Stop The War Against Children In America'' are: 1. ... Remove guns from your home and encourage others to do so. 2. IMMEDIATELY URGE the President, Congress, and state and local officials to ensure children's physical security by working for a cease fire in the violent gun war against children and for strong federal, state, and local legislation and regulation to control the manufacture, sale, and possession of non-sporting firearms and ammunition in private hands. All guns should be treated and regulated as the dangerous products they are. Among the ``resources'' listed to help you for GUN VIOLENCE: Coalition to Stop Gun Violence/ The Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence (educational arm) 100 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 202-544-7190 Handgun Control, Inc./ Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (educational arm) 1225 Eye Street, NW #1100 Washington, DC 20005 202-898-0792 Violence Policy Center 1300 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 202-783-4071 You may also check off a box on the tear-off coupon to: Let me know when I need to write letters or call my congressional representatives about important measures for children. There are also a bunch of publications, t-shirts, and posters you can order. The Cease Fire! campaign posters are absolutely amazing agitprop. They are (unfortunately) quite well done. Call for your package *today*. Be advised that it will cost CDF a $1.47 in postage plus the cost of the materials and the phone call. :-) -- Christopher. (ch@lks.csi.com)