Statement of Sam Caldwell

Religious Society of Friends, Providence Meeting (Media, PA)

Your honor, my name is Sam Caldwell. I would like to testify about what motivated me to join a non-violent public witness in front of Colosimo's gun shop on January 16. I am 61 years old. I am a business owner and a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). I served as General Secretary (chief executive) of The Religious Society of Friends in a four state area from 1982-1990. My wife and I have 7 children and 4 grandchildren. I have never been arrested before.

I did not go to Mr. Colosimo's gun shop with the intent of being arrested or causing public inconvenience. I went there as a deeply concerned citizen with the sole purpose of communicating the extreme urgency of the gun violence situation in Philadelphia and to do whatever I could to help prevent further loss of life.

For years now, I have watched with horror as hundreds of men, women, children and even police officers have been gunned down every year in Philadelphia. I have watched as a virtual tide of illegal firearms has flowed into our streets, fueled by illegal gun trafficking and the well-documented complicity of gun dealers like Mr. Colosimo. I have watched the news reports of young boys shot in the back of the head at close range in broad daylight by teenagers packing illegal firearms, of police officers gunned down by hardened criminals with assault weapons, of innocent children killed in gang-related cross fires. I have watched as mothers, fathers, spouses and family members of victims have poured out their grief and pleaded for help. I have watched as deranged individuals with easy access to weapons murder dozens of innocent people in shooting sprees on college campuses and in public buildings. I have watched as the N.R.A. has bullied and intimidated lawmakers into refusing to pass even modest gun legislation-favored by a vast majority of citizens in poll after poll and strongly supported by law enforcement officials-such as limiting handgun purchases to one gun a month, a ban on the sale of assault weapons, and mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms. I have watched as self-described Christians urge us all to arm ourselves in self-defense, citing the sanctity of the Second Amendment and never once mentioning the clear injunctions of Jesus against violence of any kind. I have watched as the City of Philadelphia presented convincing evidence last April that Mr. Colosimo was responsible for 691 (22%) of the 3075 crime gun traced to Philadelphia gun dealers by the ATF during one study period (see Defendants' Proffer of Evidence, NRA vs. City of Philadelphia, No. 001472, April, 2008.) I have watched as Mr. Colosimo, despite appeals by religious leaders, refused to sign a Ten Point Code of Conduct that even Walmart, the biggest gun dealer in the U.S., agreed to sign.

I watched all these things and I finally realized that I could no longer stand by in good conscience while more lives were lost. I realized that this outrageous evil, this parade of death, would continue--fueled by gun dealers like Mr. Colosimo--unless people of good conscience got involved.

So, I stood in front of Mr. Colosimo's gun shop to make my concerns known and to help prevent further loss of life. My action was both a justified and necessary response to a credible threat to human life. Every day, more people are dying. This is a crisis that cannot wait any longer for justice to catch up with the truth. I hope and pray that Mr.Colosimo and other gun dealers in Philadelphia and elsewhere will change their minds soon and help us to prevent further unnecessary loss of life and suffering by signing the Code of Conduct and by supporting reasonable gun legislation. And, your Honor, I hope that you will acquit us of the charges that have been brought against us. Thank you

NOTE: Sam Caldwell's testimony was not presented at trial because the charges against him were dropped because of failure of the Prosecution to properly identify him as one of the arrestees.