Sample
Op-Ed and Letters
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Innocents
Betrayed is not just a film, it's a tool. It's not just to watch once
and file away. When you get a copy, you need to show it to high school
and college students. That should be your highest priority. You also should
to show it to other gun owners who can benefit from seeing the big picture
and understanding the awesome importance of the right to keep and bear
arms.
(And then—for
fun—show the film to anti-gun rights people. See whether they can
defend their ideas in light of these facts.)
You can help
spread the word about Innocents Betrayed and its message in four
other ways:
1. Offer
to lend the film to your newspaper's film reviewer.
2. Offer
to donate the film to your public library.
3. Write
an opinion piece for a newspaper, magazine, newsletter or website.
4. Write
a letter to the editor to oppose an anti-self defense editorial or opinion
piece.
To make each
of these action items easy, we provide sample letters that you can use
verbatim. Just copy them into your word processor, tailor them to meet
the need, and you're ready to go!
(When tailoring
the letters, please remember to avoid adding any demands, insults, or
personal attacks ... as tempting as it might sometimes be. Innocents
Betrayed provides information using non-threatening—but powerfully
convincing—facts, photos and visual techniques. No need to beat
people over the head in our letters and articles because the film does
the persuading. Keeping a professional tone in the these letters and articles
will help people realize that Innocents Betrayed is a serious work
of history and analysis.)
Good luck—and
let us know about your successes!
The Liberty
Crew
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Sample
Response Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
The recent editorial (title/date) calling for more "gun
control" rehashed the usual arguments for gutting the right to self-defense.
Interfering with decent citizens' ability to have and use firearms does
not affect criminals, but it does leave the citizens defenseless against
armed thugs.
These pro-gun control editorials never take responsibility
for the damage their ideas have caused. As shown graphically in the new
documentary, Innocents Betrayed, 170 million men, women and children were
butchered in the 20th Century by their own governments. These killer regimes
could commit mass murder because "gun control" laws had first
disarmed the victims.
After people see Innocents Betrayed, and they witness
what happened here and abroad, they won't be fooled by "gun control"
ideas. I challenge anyone to watch this film and then say that disarming
the citizens is a great idea.
Sincerely,
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Sample
Letter to Librarian
Dear Mr. (or Ms.) _________:
I would like to donate a new video to the library. The
film, Innocents Betrayed, tells the stories of people who gave up their
right to self-defense and became powerless against aggressors. Using actual
photos and footage, Innocents Betrayed shows how the major genocides of
the 20th Century became possible, and how persecution and mass murder
in the U.S. has also occurred where the victims were rendered defenseless.
The film presents a whole new look at the results of an
imbalance of power in society. It has the same quality as anything on
television, but I have never seen this story told. Frankly, I was stunned
by what it shows.
Please let me know what I should do to donate the video
to your library's collection. As I bought it new myself, I would want
the video returned to me if you do not add it to the collection for lending.
It is such a great resource for this seemingly neglected history.
I appreciate the library so much, and I hope that Innocents
Betrayed can be made available to the public. Please contact me at _______________.
Very truly yours,
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Sample
Opinion Piece
What killed the most unarmed men, women and children in
the 20th Century? Not street crime. Not war. Not terrorist attacks. The
biggest killer was government -- government killing its own population.
Professor R.J. Rummel, one of the world's authorities
on genocide, conservatively estimated that governments murdered 170,000,000
people in that century. That amount averages more than the terrorist death
toll of September 11, 2003, every day for 100 years.
Putting a human face on these grisly statistics comes
the new documentary film, Innocents Betrayed. The film shows how genocide
and mass murder could destroy so many lives in nations all over the world.
In every case, the victims were disarmed by ideas and laws that discouraged
private self-defense. When the people lacked the power to resist, then
organized killing could proceed with little difficulty.
Photos, footage, facts and figures in the the film make
a powerful case that civilians should never relinquish their power to
governments, no matter what promises those governments make. From Turkey
to Germany, from Guatemala to Uganda, the film shows the disastrous effects
of civilian disarmament.
The United States cannot claim to be "different"
or immune from these effects. Slavery existed because a whole race of
people was kept unarmed and powerless. Other mass murders, including the
September 11 attack, became possible because the victims were defenseless.
Seeing the horrific effects of civilian disarmament, it
is hard to understand how anyone would want a country that arms its government
agents but disarms its citizens. Those who favor "gun control,"
for example, should explain why they want to discourage private firearms
ownership. All of the "sensible gun laws" operate to make private
firearms ownership more difficult, inconvenient, expensive, embarrassing
or legally risky. "Gun control" advocates never propose expanding
the number of decent people who own firearms.
As the Innocents Betrayed film graphically shows, concentrating
power in the hands of government while reducing the power of the people
sets the stage for unbelieveable human misery. Violent crime remains a
serious problem that harms thousands of people, but victim disarmament
kills millions. The right to armed self-defense is the solution, not the
problem. "Gun control" -- the idea that decent people really
do not need and should not have firearms -- must be rejected as both immoral
and dangerous.
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Sample
Letter to Newspaper or Magazine Film Reviewer
Dear Mr. (or Ms.) _________:
I have just watched the new documentary film Innocents
Betrayed, and I have never seen anything like it. It tells the stories
of people who gave up their right to self-defense and became powerless
against aggressors. Using actual photos and footage, Innocents Betrayed
shows how the major genocides of the 20th Century became possible, and
how persecution and mass murder in the U.S. has also occurred where the
victims were rendered defenseless.
The film presents a whole new look at the results of an
imbalance of power in society. It has the same quality as anything I've
seen on television, but I have never seen this story told. Frankly, I
was stunned by what it shows.
Would you be interested in viewing Innocents Betrayed
to review it? I can lend you my copy. I would wager you have not seen
anything like this, and your thoughts about it might interest your readers.
Very truly yours,
