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February 11, 2005
My Best Shot
Last night, I gave a lecture to the West Los Angeles Chapter of the National Rifle Association. I was nervous before the speech. I mean, if you bomb at the NRA, what are the consequences? But I gave it my best shot, and I was told that I did a bang-up job. (You can all thank Pearl Saban for the bad puns.)
My topic was Jewish Law and the Right to Bear Arms. I spent several weeks researching the topic. I quoted sources from Torah, Talmud and Midrash. I made sure to consult with several brilliant Rebbeim. My talk lasted thirty-five minutes. In truth, there is so much more I could say on this topic. After spending so much time and effort on the subject matter, it has become clear to me that any Jew who opposes the Second Amendment is ignorant of Halacha, or simply prefers to live in some aggressively utopian dream-world that has little relation to reality.
The closing section of my speech deals with periods in Jewish history where Jews were denied the right to bear arms, and the tragic consequences. I close with this quote:
The Jews have actually succeeded in making a defensive position. Heavy engagements are being fought... this just shows what you can expect from Jews if they lay their hands on weapons.
This was written by propaganda minister Josef Goebbels in his diary regarding the Jewish uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.
I also read an excerpt from my book, The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden. Ariel, the main character, who is about to go into battle to rescue a loved one, says to himself:
The last time my family had been attacked, back in Russia, I ran. I hid, cried and shivered like a frightened animal. No more. This time I was fighting back. The Russian authorities did not allow Jews to own guns; it was against the law. Here in America, everyone is allowed to own a weapon; everyone can defend his life against the inevitable evil that crouches at the door.
Rabbi Shimon Kraft and his wife Elizabeth, owners of 613 The Mitzvah Store attended the lecture and sold my book afterwards. Elizabeth told people that she has been a Second Amendment advocate and a Republican all her life; when other Jews learned of her political beliefs, they looked at her as if she were an alien. But now she senses a signifigant change in the attitudes of the orthodox Jewish community and for this she is grateful. She also feels much less lonely. Elizabeth is urging me to publish my lecture as a Seraphic Press book. Hmmm, maybe.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at February 11, 2005 11:03 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Robert, you forgot to mention that you *hit* your target audience with your speech...because you were all *fired* up about the topic.
You certainly deserve a *21-gun* salute!
Posted by: Pearl at February 11, 2005 01:06 PM
Pearl,
YOU deserve a 21-gun salute for your exquisite pruning, er, punning. Did you ever think of being a crossword puzzle maker?
Posted by: danny bee at February 14, 2005 03:49 AM
When it comes to guns, I really hate the "all or nothing" arguments that dominate both sides. I don't agree with taking everyone's guns away, but I also think that gun ownership should be a lot more regulated than it is. I know, that's an anathema to folks in the NRA who often make the "slippery slope" argument about gun owners lists and the loss of privacy, etc. I have to tell you, I REALLY hate slippery slope logic. Here's how I think guns should be regulated:
1) Keep 90% of the current gun laws in place, but instead of a "national registry" of gun owners, do more to nail the very few irresponsible gun dealers out there. I like the waiting periods and background check stuff, but I'd also like to deny gun ownership to anyone who doesn't have a permanent address. Get a roof over your head before you start packing! It's a joke that in America you have to go through a lot more hoops to buy a car and drive it than get a gun.
2) You get caught doing something stupid with your gun... you lose it forever. That includes getting nailed for drunk driving with a gun in the car, etc. Responsible gun owners don't deserve the bad publicity they get every time some schmoe screws up while he's armed. (Incidentally, this is the same policy we should have for drunk drivers. It's galling that most people who kill other drivers in drunk driving incidents not only avoid serious jail time, but they usually get their licenses back after a while)!
3) Teach more young adults to shoot. Yeah, that's right. Take the "forbidden" mystery out of guns and a lot of people will stop obsessing about having one. I got a lot of opportunities to fire handguns and rifles starting in my early teens, and it was cool for about 10 seconds. Later, I just tried to become a better shot. Finally, I realized I didn't really ever need to own one, but was glad I had tried it. There was also the famous case of the kids who were exposed to a gun in a classroom experiment. The kids who had been taught to shoot or lived with parents who were gun owners knew that it was unsafe to play with the gun and they took better precautions. The kids with parents who were anti-gun started playing with it right away. Off course it wasn't loaded, but they didn't know that.
4) Send the NRA to the slums. I have no hate for NRA members, (the leadership is another story... but I kind of hate all lobbyists, so that has nothing to do with guns), but the leadership worries more about what MIGHT happen if guns are regulated more than what's happening on the streets right now. I think if the NRA started shooting clubs in the inner cities, they'd either do a lot of good, or at least see what they're dealing with.
Posted by: Jake at June 22, 2005 11:07 AM