Saturday, January 26, 2013

Another Example Of A Letter To Send


One of the administrators at The AK Forum, KrinkFreak,  has been posting a series of letters to send to Congress. The letter below is the sixth in the series. I look it as a comprehensive, everything and the kitchen sink, sort of letter. This is the sort of letter you might send if you want to hit all the bills. However, you could cut it apart and make it multiple letters by only referring to a couple of letters at a time.
Dear Elected Official,

I am writing to express my concerns with the recent onslaught of Gun Control legislation introduced in the House and Senate chambers. The legislation introduced by some lawmakers seriously infringes on my rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, I would like to address:

H.R. 21, NRA Members’ Gun Safety Act of 2013, Sponsor: Rep. James Moran, D-VA. This would require background checks for every gun purchase, require background checks on gun shop employees, bar those on the terrorist watch list from buying firearms, require gun owners to report to police when their guns are lost or stolen, and establish minimum standards for concealed carry permits.
* This is nothing more than a legislation “blitz” effort by the anti-gun legislators to sway public opinion against law-abiding gunowners and to infringe upon the Second Amendment. These requirements are already addressed in existing laws. Enforce the existing laws, don’t waste time creating new ones.

H.R. 65, Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2013, Sponsor: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. This would raise the age of Handgun Eligibility to 21 and prohibit youth from possessing semi-automatic weapons.
* Handgun Eligibility is already 21 years of age. Also, youths already cannot legally own/purchase semi-automatic weapons, etc. when under the age of 18. Enforce the existing laws, don’t waste time creating new ones.

H.R. 133, Citizens Protection Act, Sponsor: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. This would repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, which makes illegal the possession of a gun on school grounds or within 1,000 feet of a school.
* This legislation is one of the few coming out Congress that makes sense. Repealing this law would allow school teachers and administrators the ability to legally carry firearms to protect students from criminal and mentally ill persons that want to harm our children.

H.R. 321, Firearm Safety and Public Health Research Act of 2013, Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. This would amend the continuing resolution to add money for research into gun violence.
* Will this taxpayer money be used to research why video games depicting gun violence, blood, gore, etc. are specifically targeted towards are children? Will this taxpayer money be used to research why Hollywood glorifies gun violence, blood, gore, etc. in the movies specifically targeted towards the American people?

H.R. 141, The Gun Show Loophole Closing Act, Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y. This would require criminal background checks on all firearm transactions at gun shows.
* Is the Federal Government going to fund/provide free FBI NICS Background Checks for law-abiding citizens to utilize when legally selling their firearm to another individual? Or is this another example of the Federal Government forcing the America people to purchase something as in the case of the Affordable Care Act?

H.R. 137, Fix Gun Checks Act of 2013, Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y. This would require background checks for every gun sale, make sure that those barred from buying firearms are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
* FBI NICS checks are already required for the legal purchase of firearms at gun stores that have Federal Firearms Licenses. Are you going to finally address the issue of requiring the Mental Health Care agencies and law enforcement agencies to identify persons with mental disorders, as well as persons that are the subject of Protection Orders and convictions of Domestic Violence to be identified in the NICS database? If so, I applaud the effort.

S. 22, A Bill to Establish Background Checks Procedures for Gun Shows, Sponsor: Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. This would ensure that those who buy guns at gun shows undergo background checks.
* Is the Federal Government going to fund/provide free FBI NICS Background Checks for law-abiding citizens to utilize when legally selling their firearm to another individual? Or is this another example of the Federal Government forcing the America people to purchase something as in the case of the Affordable Care Act?

S.150, Assault Weapons Ban of 2013, Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA. This bill would stop the sale, manufacture and importation of 158 specifically named military-style firearms and ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It would also ban an additional group of assault weapons that accept detachable ammunition magazines and have at least one military characteristic.
* This is nothing more than an assault on law-abiding American citizen’s right to own guns under the Second Amendment. Senator Feinstein's measure would exempt weapons used by government officials, law enforcement and retired law enforcement personnel. Is this a precursor to effectively disarming the American people and paving the way for wholesale government tyranny?

In summary, as a law-abiding American citizen I am deeply concerned and fearful of what our elected officials are trying to legislate in Congress. I recommend that all elected officials read and refresh their memory on the content of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights. I encourage you to focus your legislative efforts on addressing the problems plaguing the mental health system, not the Second Amendment.

As my elected official, as a law-abiding citizen, I expect your support in protecting my Second Amendment rights. If you cannot support me, I cannot support you in future elections.

Respectfully,

YOUR NAME
Here are a couple of the links where you can find the names and addresses of your state's US Senators. First, by state, from the US Senate's webpage. Click on the senator's name to be linked to their home page. From there you can find their fax numbers. Second, the NRA-ILA has a "write your reps" address locator. It can be found here. Either way, write them, call them, AND fax them.

As I said, I will be posting more letters. I have a handful that have been sent to me by readers and I need to get those up. If you have a letter that you like, please send it to me at jpr9954 AT gmail DOT com.

3 comments:

  1. John,

    I read a primer on contacting and dealing with elected representatives a long time ago (so long, I can't remember what publication it was) that basically boiled down to the fact that reps didn't care about the issue, just whether or not you'll vote for them.

    To me, it's a waste of breath to explain why a bill is bad or good; the elected rep is only concerned with the result of his vote - will it make it more or less likely that he gets re-elected?

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  2. And don't misunderstand my pessimism, what you're doing is, indeed, helpfull.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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