The Gun Owner’s Action League (GOAL) has published on its website the statistics for gun assaults and homicides in Massachusetts.  Regardless on how you feel about the right to own a gun, the numbers show that tougher gun laws do not make us safer, they make us less safe.  The information below is taken from the Goal.org website:

According to the most up to date reports released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/injury_surveillance/wriss_gunshot_sharp_94_06.pdf  the inconvenient truth is that the 1998 Massachusetts gun laws were not only a tragic failure, they were a deadly one.

** This report only dates back to 1999

*** This report only dates back to 2001

I mention this now because the Governor of Massachusetts is attempting to change the gun laws in the state regarding “Firearm Exhibitions” and the redefining of “Bona Fide Collector”.  The change in these regulations would end the junior shooting program in the state.  This is a letter I received from a participant of that program.

Hello, my name is Sarah; I am 15 years old, I am one of nine kids in my family.   I first got interested in shooting when I went with four of my brothers to a competition in Hopkinton for the Fall Foliage Match.   They hold this competition every November;   I thought it looked very cool and fun.  I remember when my brothers would come home with their medals and with their personal best scores– it was cool to see them accomplish their goals in shooting.
So one day I asked my older brother Caleb if he could ask his coach if I could start shooting with them at the Taunton Rifle & Pistol Club.  I picked up the sport in November 2005.  I was 11 years old when I started.  My brother Caleb is my coach, and he is a certified coach.
I participated in my first match in April 2006.  I came in third in my division; my score was a 355-600.  I was really happy with my score.   After training and going to a few competitions, I went to a match At Reading Rifle Revolver Club.  That is where I met Maureen Trickett.  She coached my brothers in the past and took them and her team to a match in Palmyra, PA, and to Columbus, GA (at Fort Benning) for the USA Nationals, and the Camp Perry matches in Ohio.
Maureen started coaching me, and then made me a part of her team, the Mass Junior Rifle.   After training with her, I got to travel with the team. My first trip was Palmyra, PA, in 2008.  I really didn’t know many on my team, but on this trip I got to know them more, and now my whole team are really good friends of mine.
This January I qualified for the Junior Olympics with a score of 555-600. I came in first overall in small bore, and I was 5 points better than the qualifying score for my division–and it was also my personal best score!  I came in second in Air Rifle with a score of 368-400, which was also my personal best in Air Rifle.   I was really happy achieving one of my goals to make it to the JR Olympics.
In April I got to go to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs with my brother Caleb.  The first day for small bore I shot a 552-600; and the second day I shot a 541-600–a total of 1093-1100, which was my best at a 50meter range.  For air rifle I shot a 369-400 and 368-400, which is my average.  I was happy with my performance, and my goal is to go again next year and to beat my best score.
Our four person team recently went to GA Fort Benning for the Army Marksmanship Air Rifle Championships.  We qualified 7th in the country, and in the end we finished in second in the whole country!  I was very proud of my team and how we performed.
Shooting is a great sport; it gives you a chance to travel the country and even the world.  It can also help you get a scholarship for college.  You also can take it to the Olympic level, and even join the Army Marksmanship Unit.  You also get to meet a lot of people.
If I had never started shooting, I would never have gotten a chance to travel as much as I have, and wouldn’t have met Maureen Trickett, and my team. They are some of the nicest people I have ever known; we all work great together; we are like a family,
Our programs are SAFE.
Our competitions are SAFE.
And most of all, our coaches are SAFE.
Please don’t take our rights away,
Thank you for your time.
Sarah

I know Sarah.  She is a great kid.  I would hate to see her right (and other children’s rights) to learn about gun safety and to shoot competitively taken away.  I admire her spirit of competition and her willingness to keep trying to improve her skills.  The life lessons she has learned in the junior shooting program will serve her well in all areas of her life.