The selection of Harriet Tubman, a slave-born African American abolitionist and gun owner who worked in the Underground Railroad before the Civil War is a good choice for the $20 bill because it underscores the importance of the right to keep and bear arms in American history, the Second Amendment Foundation said.
“Here’s a courageous woman, carrying a handgun in Maryland, helping escaped slaves to freedom, and a devoutly religious person,” observed SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Who better to appear on U.S. currency?”
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Tubman, according to one biography, was a Republican who worked also in the women’s suffrage movement. She helped the Union Army during the Civil War, leading one raid and carrying a rifle. She passed away in 1913.
“Harriet Tubman was a remarkable woman who exercised the right to keep and bear arms frequently,” Gottlieb noted. “Frankly, gun rights activists are delighted that her memory and contributions are being honored with this choice.
“We also understand that Eleanor Roosevelt’s image will appear on the back of the $5 bill,” he added. “It is widely known that Mrs. Roosevelt, while she was First Lady and afterwards into the 1950s when she traveled and promoted civil rights, carried a pearl-handled Smith & Wesson revolver.
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“Ironically,” Gottlieb said, “much of Tubman’s activity occurred in Maryland. Under today’s laws in that state, she would be vigorously prosecuted for carrying a revolver because permits are difficult if not impossible to obtain and she would likely face prison. One wonders what Harriet would think today about the way our laws have evolved.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
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