MANHATTAN LIBERTARIAN PARTY

646-387-9591

18 Greenwich Avenue

Box 127

New York, NY 10011

www.ManhattanLP.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Guns for Tots II: Libertarians Celebrate Toy Freedom with "Mermaid Militia"

6/16/03 – The Manhattan Libertarian Party is celebrating their improbable victory over the City Council's spoilsport toy gun ban by bringing their famous "Guns for Tots" philanthropy to the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade this Saturday. Marching in the parade as "the Mermaid Militia," the Libertarians will distribute free water pistols to children and sea creatures of all ages along Surf Avenue in Brooklyn.

"Everyone knows mermaids cherish freedom," declares Jim Lesczynski, spokesman for the Manhattan Libertarian Party. "And how do mermaids safeguard liberty under the sea? With squirt guns, of course!"

The Libertarians poured cold water on the City Council’s proposed toy gun ban, Intro 298, in February by launching their Guns for Tots toy drive outside an East Harlem grade school on the day of the Consumer Affairs Committee hearing on the legislation. Although the intro's sponsors promised it would be passed by the Council no later than March, the unexpected media scrutiny brought on by the Libertarians caused the nanny-state legislation to be laid over by the Committee indefinitely.

"The Manhattan Libertarian Party clearly disrupted what I have no doubt was going to be a well planned out dog-and-pony show," says Jacob Rieper, Legislative Director of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. "They didn't waste time having a long, boring discussion on the issue. They didn't waste time trying to convince the Council, the media, or the public of their righteousness. They went to the source of the problem and stopped a stupid idea from becoming law. That's called victory."

Lesczynski concedes the Libertarians have won a battle, not the war. "Squirt guns are great, but we won't rest until our right to bear real arms has been fully restored. Still, for this summer at least, we can celebrate a small win for fun and freedom. And we can't think of a more appropriate venue than the Mermaid Parade."

Contact: Jim Lesczynski, Media Relations Director, 646-387-7591.

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