Three Madison Award Winners
The Second Amendment Foundation is proud to announce three Madison Award winners for pro-gun ownership commentaries on countering emotional pleas for gun control, recognizing women gun owners, and defending the original intent of the Second Amendment. Madison Awards are given in the spirit of James Madison, fourth U.S. President and author of the Second Amendment.
Our first recipient of the Madison Award goes to Mona Charen for her excellent opinion column entitled, "Guns as a Solution?" which appeared in the July 10th edition of the Jewish World Review. Her article blasted the gun control movement for fueling their cause with emotion while ignoring the facts.
She begins by noting that recent school shootings have brought many angry editorials calling for strict gun controls and she also comments on their holier-than-thou attitude. "Gun control advocates really think that they are more peaceable folks than conservatives, more civil and more concerned for children's safety. Proof of their concern is their eagerness to ban handguns," wrote Charen.
She continued by reminding readers that it was the same reasoning that liberals used in their calls for a "nuclear freeze" and even unilateral disarmament while labeling the peace through strength crowd as "warmongers." "In the Cold War context, it turned out that those who adopted a realistic view of the need for nuclear weapons did far more to make the world a safer place than those who indulged the vain conceit that good people oppose nukes."
Charen uses similar strong words against the gun grabbers. "And the facts do not support gun control either." She cited the recent Professor John Lott study on concealed carry laws lowering crime rates and even recounted several lives saved by armed citizens, including an assistant principle who stopped the Pearl, Mississippi school shooting.
She concludes by admitting that, "It's hard to be enthusiastic about a weapon of death, but facts are facts: Guns save lives."
Our second Madison Award goes to Thomas Sowell, for his article "Gun-safety starts with parental responsibility." His commentary appeared in the July 2th edition of the Jewish World Review. His column uncovered the latest attack on law-abiding gun owners by our anti-gun foes after recent school shootings.
Mr. Sowell begins by reminding readers that the gun control advocates, "…have very little interest in punishing the young murderers, and instead are ready to listen to psychobabble excuses."
"The latest ploy in the anti-gun crusade is shifting from emphasis on gun 'control' to emphasis on gun 'safety,'" wrote Sowell. He also pointed out that, "…one kind of safety often comes at the expense of other kinds of safety."
Sowell discounted the anti-gun claim that child-locks would stop these shootings. He correctly reminded readers that these shootings, "…are being done by people old enough to figure out any lock that an adult can figure out."
More great statements are made in his column, including the facts that: "Criminals do not obey laws", "More children die each year in bicycle accidents than gun accidents", and gun ownership and gun carrying have been going up, while violent crime is going down.
In his strongest point, Sowell concluded that, "The truly ugly side of the gun-control crusade is in its typical liberal assumption that ordinary people must by deprived of self-reliance and have the government take care of them instead."
Our third winner of the Madison Award is Michelle Malkin, who is both a gun owner and an editorial columnist for the liberal Seattle Times. Her June 23 column, entitled, "Feminization of Gun Debate Drowns Out Sober Analysis", blasted her employer for focusing on emotional women while ignoring the facts about gun control.
Michelle began by reminding readers that the recent focus on a gun-grabbing woman candidate for Congress ignored the recent trouncing of a gun control Initiative by 71% of the voters. While the candidates attacked gun owners as male, "right-wing gun nuts out of touch with women", Malkin had a different opinion.
"Between 1988 and 1996, gun ownership by women nationwide skyrocketed by over 70 percent. January 1996 data from the Department of Licensing Firearms Unit show that 18.6 percent of all concealed-handgun permit holders (past and present) in Washington are women. That's 118,728 pistol-packing moms, daughters and grandmas from Seattle to Spokane," wrote Malkin.
She continued by reminding readers that these were not all conservatives and Professor John Lott's book found that around, "one in four voters who identify themselves as liberals and almost one in three Democrats own a gun." Malkin also noted that some Hollywood stars such as Cybill Shepherd and Bill Cosby have guns.
Malkin also points out one of the most important facts from the recent Lott study that is almost never mentioned. "According to Lott's research, one additional woman carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for women by about three to four times more than one additional man carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for men."
She concluded that the facts are often drowned out by emotional wailing and Malkin is saddened by this turn of events. "The question is no longer 'Which policy will save the largest number of lives?' but 'Who can shed the most tears?'"
If you locate an editorial or opinion article worthy of a Madison Award, please mail it to: Dave LaCourse · James Madison Awards Committee Chairman · Second Amendment Foundation · 12500 NE 10th Place · Bellevue, WA 98005 or FAX it to (425) 451-3959 with Attn: Dave LaCourse on the cover page.