Sedona AZ (July 10, 2016) – The July 18 monthly voter education program of the League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley will feature Larry Gould, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University and Executive Director of the Western Social Science Association.
Dr. Gould’s presentation, “A Citizens Army or Armed Citizens? The Second Amendment from Madison to LaPierre” will include an overview of the first 10 amendments and how they came to be and then a detailed look at the Second Amendment and why it came into being. What were Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton thinking when they included the words, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” ?
The Second Amendment, adopted in December 15, 1791, as part of the first ten amendments contained in the Bill of Rights, is still probably the most controversial of all the amendments. According to Barbara Litrell, President of the LWVGVV, “With the headlines on escalating gun violence, it’s important for everyone to have an understanding of the amendment and the laws and to ask our candidates about their positions on issues related to gun violence. With all Arizona legislature seats up for election, it’s a good year to find out where candidates stand.”
The meeting is free and open to the public and will take place twice, from 9-10:30 at Yavapai College, 4215 Arts Village Dr., Sedona and from 12-1:30PM at Yavapai College, Clarkdale at 601 W. Black Hills Dr.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization dedicated to public service in the field of government. It is a national organization — open to both men and women — whose purpose is to encourage political responsibility through informed and active participation in government. The League influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League never supports or opposes political parties or candidates for elective offices.
However, the League does take positions on issues and has a position on Gun Control as adopted by the 1990 LWV Convention and amended by the 1994 and 1998 Conventions. The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the proliferation of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons in the United States is a major health and safety threat to its citizens. The League supports strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of these weapons by private citizens. The League supports regulating firearms for consumer safety. The League supports licensing procedures for gun ownership by private citizens to include a waiting period for background checks, personal identity verification, gun safety education and annual license renewal. The license fee should be adequate to bear the cost of education and verification. The League supports a ban on “Saturday night special,” enforcement of strict penalties for the improper possession of and crimes committed with handguns and assault weapons, and allocation of resources to better regulate and monitor gun dealers.
For more information contact Barbara Litrell 649-0135 or blitrell@aol.com.
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6 Comments
There are countries where the wishes of Mrs. Litrell and her “league” can have their way, fortunately this is not one of those countries.
When the criminals comply with EXISTING LAWS, then you can have a conversation. Until you get them to do that, you are wasting people’s time. Why is that not in the “league’s” statement? How many people get to die to make your “league” feel good about itself.
PEOPLE are not going to put themselves at risk for your pleasure. Nor are they going to stand by while a government systematically chips away our freedoms by allowing a bunch of unelected bureaucrats that make regulations that congress has not approved.
blitrell@aol.com:
Dear Barbara Littrel, President of the LWVGVV
For years I’ve tried to understand your never-ending unfathomable naivete about the nature of federal statism and government. You seem to have no concept whatsoever of the total incapability of local, state and federal governments, amongst all the western nations, to control the purchase, use and distribution of anything, by legislation and law enforcement, for which there is a WORLDWIDE BLACK MARKET supported by international banking finance, international distribution networks, international clandestine shipping and transport, international bank laundering of illicit cash-flows, international bribing of customs officials, and an international manufacturing/processing industry with international cross-licensing agreements hidden in various national defense budgets.
WORSE YET, the most powerful industry on the face of the earth, namely, the illicit drug cartels, have largely merged with the international gun-runners into a single monolithic industry that no national government, or even the EU or United Nations can disassemble. This international black market operating in military grade weapons has penetrated every state in the United States. The black market sells nothing through licensed gun dealerships. Do you understand the word “NOTHING?” WHEREVER personal use weapons ownership is limited by government action, the black market for guns merely fills the void caused my misguided legislation. Did you learn nothing from the utter failure of prohibition and the war on drugs? If you really want to learn about the farce and fallacy of gun control legislation, and I doubt that you do, then read J. Rick Normand’s article, which attracted over 100 comments, at the following link:
https://sedonaeye.com/the-farce-and-fallacy-of-gun-control-laws/
Thankfully Arizona has the best gun laws in the nation. As a female who was a victim of a home invasion, I can say a gun saved my life! An unarmed woman is no match for a man, especially a violent one armed with any type of weapon or even his own bare hands. Most women are ill equipped to protect themselves, especially at 4 am when an intruder breaks into her home and she is in bed.
The homicide rate in the UK did not go down when guns were banned, the people who did not have access to guns simply switched to bludgeoning others to death and the homicide rate stayed the same! Why didn’t the homicide rate go down? People kill people, guns do not kill people and guns don;t make people violent?
Gun control works, just ask the Native Americans how they fared when they peacefully gave up their guns.
The biggest city in the U.S. with the fewest gun laws and one of the highest firearm ownership rates, also enjoys one of the lowest murder rates.
Go ahead. Take your time. Let that sink in.
Don’t (want) to believe me? Here are the stats:
There were 113 murders in Phoenix in 2015, a 2.5 percent reduction from 2014 and the lowest raw number since 1988.
The city of Phoenix has 1.51 million residents, placing it sixth in size among American cities.
In 2015, Arizona enjoyed two different number one rankings: the best state for gun owners (bequeathed by Guns and Ammo magazine) and the best state for criminals to get access to guns (awarded by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence).
Meanwhile, the president’s adopted hometown of Chicago — with a population of 2.71 million — recorded 468 murders last year. Basically, Chicago, with a population that is not even double the size of Phoenix, had more than quadruple the number of murders.
Chicago had more homicides than any other city in 2015, according to the Chicago Tribune at the same time they also “enjoyed” some of the tightest regulations on gun ownership anywhere.
In reality only urban America has a violence problem or a gun problem, not most of suburban America where law abiding citizens own guns without incidence. I suggest we look at those who commit the crimes and why, not the weapon. If you want to exam weapons exam why gun ownership decreases crime right here in Arizona? I know this is painful for emotional types who want to get riled up about gun control and people being shot in the inner cities, taking away guns or restricting them will do nothing to solve the problem, as others have already pointed out here.
all ive got to say is theres a comma in the saying a well regulated militia and
the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.
its not part of the first statement. its totally separate from the first statement and not part of the first like many anti gun people like to use it
To Kristin Monday,
You tell ’em girl. Thank God we have real women like you in Sedona. Unfortunately, now we have to watch B. Litrell try to politicize the once venerable and unbiased League of Women Voters on the gun-control issue in the same way she tried to ram the NM issue down the unwilling throats of 80000 V.V. residents. I would be willing to bet that Ms. Litrell has never taken a women’s self-defense course in her life, but somehow she knows all about how to stop violence. I just heard that an Islamic terrorist mowed down and killed over 80 people in Nice, France with a truck. Should we know start a movement towards truck sales control? In Israel and France, terrorists kill masses of people with bombs, not guns. In other sub-Asian countries they poison people’s water supply. You are right Kristin Monday, guns are harmless until the wrong people use them. However, the bad guys will always find a way to get them irrespective of any laws limiting or banning their sales. But still the gun-control crowd would rather see us on our knees begging a terrorist to spare our lives rather than on our feet defending ourselves. And, yes I carry…in my purse. I will defend myself to the best of my ability.
this group seems to ignore the fact that gun violence is down 30 percent