www.saf.org/viewpr.asp?id=139
org STOP SUICIDES, CLOSE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, GUN RIGHTS GROUP SUGGESTS For Immediate Release: 2/4/2005 BELLEVUE, WA The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today called upon the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to take an important step for public safety and close the Golden Gate Bridge, which has been a popular suicid e platform for more than 65 years. Several city supervisors want to ban handguns in San Francisco on the mer e presumption that such a law would prevent crimes, accidents and suicid es, said SAF Founder Alan M Gottlieb. Well, it is an absolute certainty that closing the bridge would prevent suicides, and perhaps many accide nts, as well. And just for the sake of argument, one seriously might que stion whether any of the more than 1,300 fatal falls from the bridge sin ce 1937 were cleverly-concealed homicides. As gun rights groups and activists, including many gay gun owners, began putting momentum to their efforts to defeat a gun ban initiative, Gottli eb turned his attention to the bridge and its horrendous body count. USA Today reported that suicides have tarnished the bridges reputation. The newspaper recounted how the San Francisco news media created a macabre c ircus atmosphere in the 1970s and again the 1990s as the body count appr oached 500 and then 1,000 victims, respectively. Social do-gooders have gone on the warpath repeatedly against firearms fo r the most tenuous of reasons, Gottlieb stated. The Golden Gate Bridge i s a proven killer, and media fascination with jumpers is sickening. Anyone can simply wal k out there and jump, or be pushed. There are no barriers, no waiting in line, and there is nobody assigned to the bridge who can check the ment al and emotional history of bridge visitors. Its far easier to walk out on the bridge and jump to your death than it is to purchase a firearm in California. At least when a person buys a gun, he or she must complete a background check and endure a waiting period. Unlike a gun, you cant even use the bridge to d efend yourself against a criminal. The only way to prevent future tragedies, Gottlieb said, is to close the bridge. Its up to the Board of S upervisors to act, and they should do it immediately. If it saves just o ne life, closing the Golden Gate Bridge is the right thing to do. The Second Amendment Foundation is the nations oldest and largest tax-exe mpt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on t he Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firear ms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 membe rs and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform t he public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously fund ed successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a law suit against the cities suing gun makers & an amicus brief & fund for th e Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.
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