March 1, 2000

Mea Andrews, Editorial Page Editor

Missoulian

Missoula, Montana

VIA EMAIL

Dear Mea,

Bill Clinton, ever happy to dance in the blood of a dead, innocent child,

crassly used the sad death of a Michigan child to call for unrelated

restrictions on gun shows. He used the readily-provided media attention to

call for restricting the freedoms of everyone who didn’t commit a firearm

crime.

One may hope that Americans perceive the selfish idiocy inherent in this

grandstanding.

Let’s look at some facts. The number of fatal gun accidents involving

children has fallen by over 50% since 1970, even as the number of guns and

the number of children has increased. While the death of any child is

beyond tragic, for each child this age that dies from gunshots, there are 2

that die from bicycle accidents, 10 that die in bathtubs and swimming

pools, and 14 that die in automobile accidents. (National Center for Health

Statistics and National Safety Council).

So, where is the grief, the outrage, the media attention, and the

presidential grandstanding for these dead children? Is a child who dies in

the water less important than a child who is shot? Is a child who dies

riding a bicycle unworthy of concern?

No! Yet, our esteemed President grabs the occasion of a dead child, dead

from an incident no more senseless than a car wreck, to use that child’s

death as an excuse to further strangle the freedoms of the law-abiding

Americans.

Those who would use the death of an innocent child as an opportunity for

media attention, as an excuse to cast blame on honest people who had no

part in the tragedy, and to advance a crass political agenda, are

despicable.

The great wonder is that the media would cover these ravings at all.

Sincerely yours,

Gary S. Marbut, president

Montana Shooting Sports Association

P.O. Box 4924

Missoula, Montana 59806