Since this is a special occasion I thought I'd add a cartoon that 
I have been saving for just such and event.

	July is my 20th anniversary as a Second Ammendment advocate.

	On July 4, 1976, I became the first Public Affairs and 
Publications Director for the Foundation.  It was fitting that I began 
this new endeavor on the bicentennial anniversary of our country's 
Declaration of Independence.

	I, like many of you readers, grew up around, and with, guns.  I 
never worried much about having them readily accessible to me.  I have 
been taught how to use them and I had been taught to respect their 
power.  I soon learned that other people felt differently.

	Over the past 20 years the names and faces have changed.  Sarah 
Brady of Handgun Control, Inc. looms large and the Centers for Disease 
Control has become more politicized and open in its anti-gun frenzy.

	I have always believed strongly in the Bill of Rights and found 
the Second Amendment to be an obvious mainstay of our individual liberty.

	Over the past 20 years, I have become more intrigued by the issue 
of gun rights, its historical perspective, its legal ramifications and 
its status as a major civil rights.

	I have edited and now publish the Journal on Firearms and Public 
Policy.  I devour new research materials and follow court decisions closely.

	But there is a saying that the apple does not fall far from the 
tree.  And so here I am.  I have married, have four children, moved 
three times and live my life with my "Diary" always within reach.

	But with a greater intensity and conviction than with which I 
started, I demand to be able to pick from all the options available to me 
in my choice to be an independent woman responsible for my own security 
and the safety of my husband and children.  Ironically, perhaps to some, 
it is the fact that I have small children that has made me more vehement 
in my stand to be able to defend them and myself.  I do not choose to be 
a willing victim or allow them to become ones.  Nor do I want to see that 
choice denied to any other woman or mother.


Julianne Versnel Gottlieb
Publisher


Personal Parting Shots...

There are so many people that
have supported in that I hesi-
tate to name any lest I omit 
some.  To Alan, thank you for
the original faith in me.  To
Peggy, Joe and all in Buffalo
I am so glad we get to work 
together.  To Amy, Merrill,
Alexis and Roo thank you for
all your love and being proud 
that I am your mother.  To 
Angela, Jamie, Van Thai, and 
Susan who always make me look 
great--a huge thanks.

This is also the month that we 
celebrate our Nation's Declaration
of Independence.  I hope that all
of us remember the tremendous in-
tegrity and personal sacrifices 
involved by those who choice to 
fight for liberty--their's and
their descendents.  As always,
please contact me at jhvg@saf.org.