NRA President Speaks on Gun Ownership
Rebecca Agule
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: News
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On Thursday April 5, 2007, the Harvard Law School Forum hosted National Rifle Association President Sandra Froman in a discussion entitled, "The Right to Keep and Bear Arms - What is the State of Second Amendment Law".
About thirty students were in attendance to hear Froman, a 1974 graduate of the Law School and the second female president of the NRA, speak. As the audience filtered into Langdell South, they shared stories of personal experiences with guns, some even showing pictures on their computers. Those in attendance seemed mostly supportive of Froman, initially evidenced by their descriptions of individual gun collections, and later by their questions and comments.
The Forum's Vice President for Publicity, Benjamin Gould, made short opening remarks, first dedicating the evening to the memory of Law School students killed in World War II, then noting that Froman, "publicly promotes NRA as a civil rights organization." Gould also carefully provided the caveat that, "the opinions expressed by the Forum's invited guests do not represent the views of the Forum"
Froman began by recounting the history of Second Amendment jurisprudence, calling it one of the least developed areas of case law. "It is just 27 words," she said. But sometimes "just a single word, or sometimes the lack of a single word, can make all the difference."
The early 1900's saw modest attempts at gun control, but it was not until the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., that strong anti-gun sentiment began to grow.
When asked what incited her interest in gun ownership, Froman admitted to having been complacent about her own rights. "I was practicing law in LA, fat dumb and happy, trying to make partner in my law firm when someone tried to break into my house, and I realized that no one was going to protect me but me," she said.
She continued, "If you don't know what your rights are, you don't have any."
About thirty students were in attendance to hear Froman, a 1974 graduate of the Law School and the second female president of the NRA, speak. As the audience filtered into Langdell South, they shared stories of personal experiences with guns, some even showing pictures on their computers. Those in attendance seemed mostly supportive of Froman, initially evidenced by their descriptions of individual gun collections, and later by their questions and comments.
The Forum's Vice President for Publicity, Benjamin Gould, made short opening remarks, first dedicating the evening to the memory of Law School students killed in World War II, then noting that Froman, "publicly promotes NRA as a civil rights organization." Gould also carefully provided the caveat that, "the opinions expressed by the Forum's invited guests do not represent the views of the Forum"
Froman began by recounting the history of Second Amendment jurisprudence, calling it one of the least developed areas of case law. "It is just 27 words," she said. But sometimes "just a single word, or sometimes the lack of a single word, can make all the difference."
The early 1900's saw modest attempts at gun control, but it was not until the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., that strong anti-gun sentiment began to grow.
When asked what incited her interest in gun ownership, Froman admitted to having been complacent about her own rights. "I was practicing law in LA, fat dumb and happy, trying to make partner in my law firm when someone tried to break into my house, and I realized that no one was going to protect me but me," she said.
She continued, "If you don't know what your rights are, you don't have any."
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Kevin Mackey
posted 4/14/07 @ 11:35 PM EST
The best words I can find were spoken by someone wiser than I. "those who would trade freedom for the illusion of peace or security deserve none of them. (Continued…)
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