Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Director | Alan M. Gottlieb[1] | |
Revenue (2016) | $127,851[1] | |
---|---|---|
Expenses (2016) | $79,336[1] | |
Employees (2016) | 0[1] | |
Volunteers (2016) | 12[1] | |
Website | www |
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) is a
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership takes the position that an armed citizenry is the population's last line of defense against tyranny by their own government.[4][5] The organization is noted for producing materials (bumper stickers, posters, billboards, booklets, videos, etc.) with messages that equate gun control with totalitarianism, often through the Nazi gun control argument. The most famous of these are the "All in favor of Gun Control raise your right hand" materials, which features a drawing of Adolf Hitler giving a Nazi salute.[6] The organization also attempts to prove that genocide is linked to gun control, by showing that most countries where a genocide has taken place had gun control first.[7]
Members are not required to be
History
In 2010, JPFO Founder Aaron Zelman issued an open letter to NRA Board of Directors member Ted Nugent, titled "The Day I'll join the NRA.[9]"
Zelman died on December 21, 2010, age 64.[10][11]
The JPFO David & Goliath Award, created in 2011, is given to individuals or groups who advocate for firearms ownership. Recipients include: David Codrea and Mike Vanderboegh, the investigative reporters who broke the
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has been highly critical of the
In 2016, JPFO launched the "Don't Inspire Evil Initiative[21]", a proposal that urges journalists "to refrain from gratuitous or repetitious portrayal of mass murderers' names and images."
Modeled after the Doomsday Clock, JPFO's "Gun Confiscation Clock[22]" tracks what JPFO sees as the threat to Americans' right to keep and bear arms.
In 2018, JPFO advisory board member Dov Marhoffer, a
Political positions
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership claims that parts of the text of the
Bernard Harcourt, professor at the University of Chicago Law School, in discussing this fundamental proposition advanced by the JPFO, notes, "[O]n January 13th, 1919, the Reichstag enacted legislation requiring surrender of all guns to the government. This law, as well as the August 7, 1920, Law on the Disarmament of the People passed in light of the Versailles Treaty, remained in effect until 1928, when the German parliament enacted the Law on Firearms and Ammunition (April 12, 1928)—a law which relaxed gun restrictions and put into effect a strict firearm licensing scheme."[26] Harcourt continued, "To be sure, the Nazis were intent on killing Jewish persons and used the gun laws and regulations to further the genocide", but he concluded that the firearms laws were not central to implementing the Holocaust.
Attorney and author Stephen Halbrook, in his law article "Nazi Firearms Law and the Disarming of the German Jews", asserts that German arms laws were extremely lax, and even under the 1920 "Law on the Disarmament of the People", only items such as grenades and machineguns were banned and small arms such as rifles and pistols remained in common use.[27] Valery Polozov, a former advisor to the committee on national security in the Russian Duma, claims in his book "Firearms in Civil Society" that Germany did not in fact have comprehensive gun control legislation up until 1928, which created the legal framework later built upon by the Nazis. Halbrook did clarify in the first sentences of his article that, "Gun control laws are depicted as benign and historically progressive. However, German firearm laws and hysteria created against Jewish firearm owners played a major role in laying the groundwork for the eradication of German Jewry in the Holocaust."[27]
Activities
JPFO publishes for its membership the "Bill of Rights Sentinel,[28]" a quarterly newsletter, with a masthead featuring the motto, "All the Bill of Rights for All Citizens."
JPFO's Rabbinic Directors, providing guidance on Judaism and firearms, include Rabbi R. Mermelstein[29] and Rabbi Dovid Bendory.[30]
JPFO founder Aaron Zelman encouraged Americans to celebrate Bill of Rights Day[2] (December 15).
References
- ^ Guidestar. December 31, 2016.
- ^ a b JPFO "What Is Bill of Rights Day?"
- ^ JPFO: About JPFO Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ISBN 978-0-313-38670-1.
- ^ Horwitz, Joshua and Anderson, Casey. Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea, p. 137 (University of Michigan Press, 2009).
- ^ JPFO online store: Raise Your Right Hand poster Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ JPFO: The Human Cost of "Gun Control" Ideas Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ JPFO: JPFO Membership Information Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ Zelman, Aaron S. (2010). "The Day I'll Join the NRA." JPFO
- ^ National Obituary Archive: Aaron S. Zelman Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ JPFO: In Memorian: Aaron Zelman Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ Sharyl Attkisson (February 12, 2018) "A primer on the 'Fast and Furious' scandal" CBS News
- ^ Ammoland (October 3, 2011) "Mike Vanderboegh & David Codrea Awarded JPFO’s David and Goliath Award" Ammoland Gun Rights News
- ^ Emily Miller (February 8th, 2012) "Emily got her gun!" Washington Times
- ^ Ammoland (September 30, 2013) "JPFO Presents Emily Miller with David & Goliath Award" Ammoland Featured Articles
- ^ Audrey D. Kline (August 21, 2014) "Gun Control in the Third Reich: Disarming the Jews and Enemies of the State" Mises Institute
- ^ Ammoland (October 8. 2018) "Parkland High School Survivor Receives David & Goliath Award" Ammoland Gun Rights News
- ^ JPFO: "Why Does the ADL Support Nazi-Based Laws?" Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ JPFO: "JPFO Facts vs. ADL Lies." Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ Abraham Foxman, ADL, in New York Times opinion piece, May 16, 1995: "N.R.A. Doesn't Represent George Bush or Even Most Members; Jewish Pro-Gun Group." Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ JPFO "Amendment to Journalism Ethics Proposed."
- ^ JPFO "Gun Confiscation Clock Moves Closer to Midnight."
- ^ Dov Marhoffer (July 11, 2018) "‘Never again’ belongs to the Holocaust, not to the movement for gun control" Jewish News
- ^ Dov Marhoffer (July 17, 2018) "Never Again should be reserved for Holocaust" San Diego Jewish World
- ^ JPFO: "Gun Control’s" Nazi Connection Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ Bernard E. Harcourt, April 5, 2004: Hitler and Gun Registration Archived November 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ a b Stephen Halbrook, 17 Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2000: Nazi Firearms Law and the Disarming of the German Jews Retrieved 2012-12-16
- ^ JPFO "Bill of Rights Sentinel Archive."
- ^ Mermelstein, Rabbi R. (April 11, 2001). "Redefining Hypocrisy and Chutzpah." JPFO.
- ^ Bendory, Rabbi Dovid (Archives) "Rabbi Bendory's Archive Page." JPFO
External links
- Official website
- Interview with Jay Simpkin (Research Director at JPFO) on the G. Gordon Liddy Show