There are a number of misconceptions about Jews and, among other issues, their views on guns and politics.
As a life member of both the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, the author is also proud to be a current and early charter member of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (“JPFO”), a group about which many, non-Jews and Jews alike, have never heard.
JPFO describes itself as “America’s most aggressive defender of gun rights.” Founded in 1989, JPFO initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed. JPFO has always welcomed people of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim-disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all.
JPFO is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational civil-rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO’s products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible without compromise on fundamental principles. JPFO has always welcomed people of all religious beliefs (or none) who share a common goal of opposing and reversing potentially deadly victim disarmament policies. You don’t have to be Jewish to join JPFO; you just have to love freedom.
JPFO has vigorously stated that so-called “gun control” is a deadly lie. Firearms registration lists lead governments gone bad straight to gun owners. Licensing and registration of guns have resulted in outright banning and confiscation over the last one hundred years of world history. The bloody results of these mass citizen disarmaments have been horrific.
For more about JPFO, see its website at https://jpfo.org/
A more recently formed group, called “Jews Can Shoot,” describes itself as a civil rights group that honors the memory of the Holocaust to preserve, protect and defend the Second Amendment and was formed for the purpose of education regarding gun laws, gun rights, legal precedent and cause-related advocacy. It also makes available a number of interesting in-your-face advocacy products, including some with the quote from the Babylonian Talmud: “If Someone Comes to Kill You, Rise Up and Kill Him First.” For more information, see its website at https://jewscanshoot.org/
And there are actually some gun clubs around the country that have regular shooting gatherings promoted as “Glocks & Bagels,” an obvious play on the well-known Jewish breakfast of lox and bagels.
Guns are inanimate tools for free people to utilize for self-defense, for food, and for recreation.
Now, on to politics . . .
A common misperception is that all, or substantially all, Jews are left wingers who vote Democrat no matter what. While that perception may have had some validity in the distant past, it is no longer true.
In our present political climate, there are very active groups of Jews aligned with Republicans and President Trump. See, for example, the Republican Jewish Coalition at https://www.rjchq.org/ and Jews Choose Trump at https://jewschoosetrump.com/.
Although the lefties at mainstream media actually sometime try to portray President Trump as antisemitic, that is a patently false narrative, especially considering that one of his children converted to Judaism several years ago (raising Trump’s grandchildren Jewish), and he has been a longtime stout defender of the State of Israel against Islamic terrorism and supporter of its rights of self-defense.
Furthermore, there are quite a number of prominent Jewish commentators on the right such as, for example, Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin.
Finally, some recent polling suggests that President Trump and other Republican candidates in the upcoming general election will receive a larger percentage of Jewish votes than ever before, rejecting the entreaties of self-hating Jews like Chuck Schumer, George Soros and the current significant other of Kamala Harris.
[Supplement to author’s bio: Like many American children, the author’s first experience with firearms was with a single-shot bolt action .22 rifle in camp. Later, in his 3 years of law school in New Orleans (a notoriously tough neighborhood), he carried a Colt .38 Police Positive revolver while working part-time as a private detective. In early 1997, he successfully completed Massad Ayoob’s LFI-1 course entitled “The Judicious Use of Deadly Force.” The author’s current tastes and preferences run to Sig Sauer pistols, many of which are made in New Hampshire (with a S&W J-frame revolver as backup), although Kimber & Colt 1911’s are just fine, too; S&W revolvers in .38 or higher; Steyr Scout rifle in .308 & Springfield M1A in 7.62 NATO; Stoner, Wilson Combat & H&K AR-15’s; and Beretta shotguns in 12 ga. A shoe for every foot, a tool for every use. He is an adherent to Ayoob’s adage that friends do not let friends carry mouse guns, mouse guns being defined as anything smaller than a .38. He is always armed when he leaves his home- he is fortunate enough to live in New Hampshire where true constitutional carry is the law. And he is Jewish.]
