Gun Control Group Accused of 'Tourist Terrorism'By Susan Jones
A Second Amendment group says a new anti-gun advertising campaign aimed at Florida's tourism industry is shameless and deplorable.
"The Brady Campaign has descended to a new low," said Joe Waldron, executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
"Spreading hysteria is their political stock in trade, but now they are deliberately trying to terrify tourists, including those from other countries. To do that, they're openly suggesting that legally armed, law-abiding Florida residents are emotionally unbalanced to the point that they would gun down tourists."
The Brady Campaign is running ads in several American cities and in the United Kingdom warning Florida-bound tourists that they face a "greater risk of bodily harm" in the state of Florida. Travelers to Florida are urged to "use special caution in arguing with motorists on Florida roads."
"The Brady bunch is essentially telling British subjects not to come here because legally-armed American citizens cannot be trusted and might murder them," CCRKBA said.
Under Florida's new self-defense law, an intruder who breaks into someone's home, occupied vehicle, or office is presumed to have criminal intent, justifying the use of force. The law also removes a person's "duty to retreat" if that person is attacked in any place he or she has a right to be.
Supporters call it the "Stand Your Ground" law, but opponents such as the Brady Campaign call it the "Shoot First" law.
CCRKBA says the Brady Campaign is trying to "vilify" America in the eyes of foreign visitors because its gun control schemes have been increasingly rejected by U.S. voters, the Congress and state legislatures.
"The Brady camp simply cannot bring itself to admit that America is safer because its citizens retain and exercise their firearm civil rights," Waldron said. "Anti-gun fanatics despise the fact that millions of Americans are legally armed, and that their campaign of vitriol couldn't change that.
"But now they are taking their message of hate and social bigotry toward American gun owners to the international level. In the process, they are slandering the reputation of the great state of Florida, and demonizing its residents."
On Monday, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said it would begin distributing "educational materials" at Miami International Airport.
Gun control activists plan to hand out pamphlets, written in English and Spanish, warning that the new law "may lead to the reckless use of guns on the streets of Florida cities."
The flyer suggests specific steps visitors should take: "Avoid unnecessary arguments with local people" and "avoid shouting or threatening gestures if someone appears to be hostile," it says.
Brady Campaign Communications Director Peter Hamm and Million Mom March South Florida Chapter President Dana Quist will be at the Miami airport on Monday to "meet interested journalists," the press release said.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200510\NAT20051003a.html.
*FW Note:If it keeps gun hating Brits out, it
might be a good thing...
