Moms for Gun Safety

by Larry Pratt

Doesn’t Moms for Gun Safety sound like a gun control group? After
all, gun safety is the new disguise for gun control.

Well, Moms for Gun Safety is actually in favor of what its name
suggests. It is a loose knit group of women shooters who are
pushing to get gun safety taught in New Jersey’s government schools.

In Montclair, NJ the Moms are part of a First Amendment lawsuit
seeking redress for the one-sided use of the school, its system of
distributing notices to parents and use of public facilities for
an anti self-defense propaganda session conducted by the town’s
school officials.

The Moms and other plaintiffs are in federal court to force the
school to distribute and promote their firearms safety message in an
equal manner to the support which school officials gave to the
so-called Million Moms (now part of the Brady Center to Stop Gun
Violence).

The Moms’ complaint lists the following abuses committed by
Montclair school officials:

* The backpack distribution system was used to distribute various
flyers addressing issues pertaining to the arrest of two
juveniles on gun charges.

* One of the fliers distributed was an announcement for a
“community forum on gun control” — a forum which excluded all
pro-gun, pro self-defense groups.

* The community forum announcement listed known anti self-defense,
pro-control groups and various government officials.

* In a telephone call from one of the plaintiffs, a school
official expressed his contempt for the plaintiff’s point of
view.

* At the community forum, speakers advocated the anti self-defense
bill and promoted a rally to support the bill. Attendees were
urged to write to their legislators in support of the bill.

The school system’s defense? A secretary mistakenly sent out the
fliers. As a crook said when caught red handed, “Hey, who are you
going to believe — me, or your eyes?” I would say that the eyes
have it.

This reckless regard for the truth helps understand why we have been
witness to so many brainless cases of zero tolerance at schools
where even a drawing of a gun can get a student booted out.
Hopefully more and more parents will realize that not being able to
attend a government school is not a punishment — it is a blessing.

The Montclair school system sought to get the case thrown out, but a
federal judge gave the go ahead to conduct a trial.

We will revisit this issue when the court renders a decision.

In the meantime, you might want to set up an office pool to how many
years it will take school officials to distribute information on gun
safety and to rebut the fallacious claims that were spewed out by
anti self-defense advocates. My guess is that the five-year old
student who brought home the anti-gun propaganda will be in high
school.