NOW IS TIME FOR DEEP REFLECTION, NOT DANCING IN BLOOD

--from the SAF

BELLEVUE, WA - Today, as the nation is mourning Monday's horrible loss at Virginia Tech, this should be a time of deep reflection and offering our prayers for the victims and their heartbroken families.

Sadly, noted Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, some groups and individuals are using this terrible crime to further their own political cause: the continued erosion of
firearm civil rights and the abolition of firearm ownership in the United States.

"Almost from the moment the first news broke about this monstrous crime," Gottlieb said, "we at SAF have been forced to respond to staccato attacks from gun control organizations whose goal is to
destroy the Second Amendment. Perhaps we should be astonished, but in fact, we are once again simply disappointed in the morbid exploitation of this event. We are grateful, however, that the media
has given us an opportunity to respond to these attacks. There was a time in the past when that did not happen.

"These groups, that so quickly have tried to politicize Virginia Tech's sorrow and loss, have a well-documented history of shamelessly dancing in the blood of crime victims to advance their agenda," he continued. "Such deplorable behavior should not be forgotten by the American public. Eighty million law-abiding gun owners in this country did not go to Virginia Tech or some other college campus yesterday to unleash carnage. They have harmed no one, and their civil rights should not be erased in response.

"Today, we should all stand together as Americans with broken hearts," Gottlieb added. "Today, we are all Virginia Tech students and alumni. Today, we are all diminished by this great loss.

"There will be plenty of time in the days and weeks ahead to analyze what happened, to try and make some sense of such a senseless act, and to examine what may have gone wrong and learn from it," Gottlieb stated. "For now, let us direct our emotions toward where they will do the most good. Let us offer our prayers and support to the families of the victims, and to the thousands of students whose lives will be forever changed by this despicable, cowardly act."