Messing With The Gun Prohibitionists

I like nothing better than to use the gun prohibitionist's own resources to send a pro-gun message to Congress. The Giffords-Kelly organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, is now providing one such opportunity. They have a letter going out asking Congressmen to support the House version of Manchin-Toomey - HR 1565. This bill is sponsored by Rep. Peter King (Rino-NY) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA).

The "suggested" letter from Americans for Responsible Solutions uses the subject line, "Please support King-Thompson (H.R. 1565) to reduce gun violence." Their text is below:

As you know, over 90% of Americans support expanding background checks for gun purchases - Republicans and Democrats, gun owners and everyone else.

There's a bill in the House of Representatives that I believe you should co-sponsor today. H.R. 1565, the Public Safety and Second Amendment Right Protection Act, is a bipartisan bill that would reduce gun violence and protect gun rights by expanding background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. The bill is IDENTICAL to the Manchin-Toomey bill in the Senate that enjoys overwhelming public support.

It already has over 150 co-sponsors, and I hope you'll add your name to theirs today.

As a constituent of yours, I look forward to keeping track of your commitment to this issue.

Here is how I re-wrote their letter. I changed the subject line to read, "Please oppose King-Thompson (HR 1565)." Feel free to use it or make changes as you see fit.

As you know, the claim that over 90% of Americans support expanding background checks for gun purchases is a myth. This hasn't stopped the gun prohibitionists from the White House on down from repeating it as if it were the Gospel truth.

Rep. Peter King and Rep. Mike Thompson have co-sponsored H.R. 1565, the Public Safety and Second Amendment Right Protection Act. The bill is IDENTICAL to the Manchin-Toomey bill in the Senate. Just like that bill, it would have done NOTHING to stop the recent mass murders in Newtown, CT and Aurora, CO. In both cases, the firearms were legally purchased with NICS background checks.

I am asking that you oppose HR 1565. It will do nothing to prevent gun-related crime yet would infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. As Professor David Kopel has pointed out, the so-called "pro-gun" provisions of the bill are a bonanza of gun control.

As a constituent of yours, I look forward to keeping track of your commitment to this issue.

You can link to their tool here. You just need to put in your ZIP+4 and it will pull up your Congressman or woman.

Like I said, I love it when they make it easy for us to use their own resources to get out a pro-gun message. The Brady Campaign and MAIG have gotten smart about these things. Obviously, being newcomers, Americans for Responsible Solutions still has a bit to learn which is just fine by me. I think we need to take advantage of their naivete while we can.

UPDATE:  If you go to the link above, it will automatically load the anti-gun subject line and letter. Make sure you change it before sending or you could inadvertently suggest support for the bill. Thanks to Don in SC for this warning.