By Maria Heil,
Contributing Editor

A riddle-What's more dangerous at the NRA Annual Meetings, a gun or a bottle of diet cola? Read on for the answer

Don't Leave Home Without It
As I write this, I am suffering from a badly sunburned forehead and nose. Now, I had my hat with me in my nice, big SAS tote bag, but seeing that it was raining when we arrived for an all-day track invitational, I didn't put it on.

Oh, the rain eventually did stop, but the wind was a little chilly and the sun never really came out. I never even got hot until we packed up the screen tent (for the track team) and the cooler and chairs and hauled them back up the hill on my little portable dolly. It was on the drive home that I realized that my forehead and nose were sunburned!
What's the moral to this story? A hat, like your gun, is not going to be able to protect you unless you wear it! I didn't think the threat of getting sunburned was all that great because it was raining and overcast when we left the house, and it stayed overcast most of the day. Since you'll never really be able to determine the potential threat you may encounter each day, you need to be wearing your protection when you leave the house. Never think that it's not going to happen. Don't get burned like I did, albeit, in a different manor, wear your protection, even though you can't see the threat!

The Next Avenue of Attack...
In spring of this year I appeared on the John Walsh Show. I was on stage with three other women, all supposedly gun-owners. In order of segments, Tiffany (who armed herself after a brutal assault in her own home by an off-duty police officer), Lisa (who armed herself to stop the abuse from her ex-husband), myself (I armed myself to prevent stories such as Tiffany's and Lisa's) and two of my daughters (who have been shooting since they were 5 years oldthey were only on for a short while), and then there was Sylvia (an ex-gangbanger). Sylvia was black and the rest of us appeared to be white, although Lisa is actually Hispanic. During the debate, which we were promised was not going to happen, Sylvia (who changed her story on stage to say that she does NOT own a gun) actually called the three of us, "Rich, white women with guns."

Of course, the show producers edited this out of the version that aired. However, they did not edit out the one man who stood to ask the "white, heat-packing women" a question. This whole Sylvia thing is an ongoing issue, which you can read about on our website www.2asisters.org. But, I am not bringing up Sylvia to point out her ignorance or potential legal problems, I have another reason

Also this spring, I was the featured pro-Second Amendment mother in a one-hour documentary on PBS's "Independent Lens" called "Guns & Mothers". Among the many things said by Frances Davis, the anti-Second Amendment mother, she stated that in the media when a black boy is shot and killed "if" you read about it, it's usually thought of that he was into drugs or doing something illegal. Frances went on in this vein, to say that whenever a white boy is killed, that gets the media coverage and it's billed as such a tragedy because he could have been President some day.

When you consider Ms. Davis' and Sylvia's statements, along with the NAACP law suit against the gun manufacturers for "marketing to blacks," and the statements in the so-called documentary "Bowling for Columbine" this really does make it clear that the next avenue of attack against our rights is going to be based upon the "Race Issue."

Not to brag, but I really think that the anti-rights crowd (a.k.a. gun-grabbers) are now seeing the Female/Mother issue as a lost cause for themselves, thanks mostly to Second Amendment Sisters. Now, this doesn't mean they've given up entirely on building on this avenue; rather, they will only drive down it when they see an opportunity. They are now laying the groundwork for their new avenue of attack, and they are basing it upon the "race issue."

Of course, most of the readers of this magazine already know that this will ultimately be yet another losing issue for the gun grabbers. The director of "Bowling for Columbine" tried to make it look as if Charlton Heston was a racist. He didn't care that Mr. Heston had marched for civil rights when it wasn't a popular thing for those in Hollywood to do so. Sylvia from the John Walsh Show obviously is a racist to have made her statement. None of the three of us up there were rich, nor do we think of ourselves as white gun-owners. The three of us think of ourselves as female gun-owners who do not want to be victims again, or in my case, ever. Race has nothing to do with owning a gun. Frances Davis has the point of view from someone living in a crime-riddled area. Yes, there probably is a bias in the media, but then there is also a bias in the media against guns and the positive aspect to owning a gun.

The Second Amendment does not see race, religion, gender, politics, economic status, sexual orientation or age. It states, "the right of THE PEOPLE" and this includes ALL PEOPLE! For the gun-grabbers to attempt to use the issue of race in this debate merely shows them to be the racists that they are.

Upcoming Events...
In South Dakota there are three scheduled Ladies Shoots: July 20; August 23, and September 28.
Contact Nancy via email at sas_southdakota@yahoo.com or call our main number for more information: 877-271-6216.

In Wyoming, SAS' Ladies Shoots are: July 6; Aug. 9 and Sept. 21. They begin at 9 am and will last about three hours.
For more information, contact Doris via email at wy_coord@2asisters.org.

Also, I am really looking forward to attending this year's Gun Rights Policy Conference September 26, 27 and 28th in Houston, TX. Please join me and other SAS members in attending this always-awesome conference! (See Page 5 for complete information.)

Additionally, please check the SAS website at www.2asisters.org for information on our upcoming rally in Washington, DC, in May 2004. We need people to start organizing buses from most major cities, so please contact us and volunteer today. You will be the one who makes this rally an overwhelming success!

Laastly...
Now, the answer to the riddleof course the diet cola bottle is more dangerous!

It was the only thing that exploded at the convention. Luckily, Peggy Tartaro, the Executive Editor of this magazine, was there as the plastic bottle erupted when I twisted off the cap. Peggy was kind enough to throw herself on the bottle while saying something to the effect of, "Save the spokeswoman!"