Jennifer Freeman

In recent months, a number of writers and commentators have put forth the view that, in view of last November’s election results, the political and legislative battle for the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms is all but won.
 That, however, as the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month for April, Jennifer Freeman, warns, would be a most dangerous and unwarranted assumption for Second Amendment defenders to entertain.
 Jennifer is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Liberty Belles, a grass roots organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the Second Amendment.
 In nominating Ms. Freeman for the CCRKBA Award, John Michael Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said that, “right now it is most important that the gun rights movement enjoy the benefit of the sophisticated perception of the over-all political situation manifested by her and others.  It would be a terrible mistake for the movement to conclude that a little good news presaged the end of the battle to preserve our gun rights.  Hopefully, with articulate and dedicated spokespersons like Jennifer Freeman on the scene, this will not happen, and the American gun rights movement will continue to work effectively to preserve the right to keep and bear arms for ourselves and for future generations.  She  is most deserving of this Award.”
 When the generally respected National Review Online ran an article recently indicating gun control might no longer be a problem, Jennifer worked to correct a possible misperception.  She wrote that, “while we may differ on a variety of issues, we tend to agree that the fight is not really over, particularly when you consider existing local firearm bans, bans on private party purchases, one-a-month limits, proposed anti-gun legislation, and range closures.  Add to that the multi-pronged approach to hold firearm manufacturers and retailers financially responsible for the unlawful acts of criminals with firearms, regardless of whether or not the firearm was stolen from its lawful owner.
 “Also of concern is the ludicrous ‘waiting period’ on firearm purchases which has zero effect on the party who already has one or more firearms at home.  The ‘waiting period’ has simultaneously jeopardized the safety of people who needed a firearm for self-defense but were denied access due to this dangerous law.”
 The daughter of a 20-year Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam during the conflict there, Jennifer grew up in a household where firearms were present, but were handled only by the adults.  “My parents continually reinforced the idea that firearms were for adults,” she told Point Blank, “but children could learn to use them during designated family outings.  There was never a forbidden mystique about guns in my house.  They were simply tools that did not generate any more interest or appeal than a wrench or  drill.”
 Jennifer believes that, “as long as anti-gun organizations and anti-gun politicians remain in business, a shift in the balance of power and the threat of tyrannical gun control remains a legitimate issue worth our attention.  Furthermore, the mainstream media, which is notorious for either not bothering to understand the issue or for just being blatantly anti-gun, remains very much against us.”
 Ms. Freeman purchased her first firearm in 1998 when she was 29.  She was living in Los Angeles at a time when home invasion robberies were being reported in the news on a daily basis.  Several gang members commonly committed these robberies at the same time.  Severe physical harm, including rapes and murder, was the typical result.  “When you take a moment to visualize one or more violent criminals forcing their way into your home,” she says, “you know that calling 9-1-1 is not going to save your life.  I felt that I had a responsibility to plan for my defense, rather than die at the mercy of a home-invasion killer.
 “There was very little representation for women at that time with regard to firearms.  Feminist organizations, claiming to empower women, seemed to be more concerned to attacking the average male than preserving our right to self-defense and self-determination.”
 To combat anti-gun propaganda spewing forth from the likes of the White House Clintons, Rosie O’Donnell and Sarah Sarandon, Jennifer and other ladies formed Liberty Belles to dispel the false myths about firearms and firearm ownership.  The Liberty Belles (www.libertybelles.org), she says, are working to combat “the unhealthy fear of an inanimate object (hoplophobia)…through education and personal empowerment.”