Dear xxxxxx,
I am the son of a retired law enforcement officer here in Indiana. Like most Americans, he and I are deeply disturbed by the recent mass murder of schoolchildren in Newtown, CT. We are sickened that gun control advocates like Senator Feinestein and members of the media have seized this tragedy and are using it as a misguided opportunity for personal gain and increased ratings.
In the next few days, several members of the House and Senate are expected to introduce different versions of legislations which would effectively ban almost every common firearm in existence. I respectfully ask that you avoid jumping onto the ‘gun control’ bandwagon and vote against ALL of these restrictive measures and educate your colleagues with some facts:
The National Academy of Sciences, a completely non-bias research organization, examined the 1994 gun ban and regional gun bans in depth. They found that none of them have had any effect at reducing gun-related crimes. In fact, in some areas of the country, crimes actually increased while the bans were in effect and decreased once they were lifted.
To date, there has NEVER been a mass shooting within the United States that has happened that wasn’t within a ‘gun free’ zone or an environment where firearms were prohibited. Even law enforcement officials have stressed that these areas are essentially advertised killing fields because criminals know that they will be met with little if any resistance.
The AR-15 style weapons that are currently available for purchase by civilians are not ‘assault rifles’ and - other than in appearance - share very little with their military counterparts. The civilian version is not a select-fire weapon and is incapable of ‘firing hundreds of rounds in seconds’ as the media and some of your colleagues claim. The civilian version shares an entirely different firing system which is designed in a way that it cannot be converted into a fully automatic weapon. This style rifle is no more (or less) dangerous that any other rifle on the market – past or present. Its only crime is it looks like the ‘evil’ military rifle folks see on the news each evening. When, in reality it is far from the same weapon. If we start banning things based on how they look, what’s next… Banning all red cars because they look ‘fast’?
In closing, please keep in mind that any restrictive measures enacted into law will only affect law abiding, legally licensed citizens such as myself. Connecticut, for example, already has some of toughest firearms restrictions in the country. Did any of those laws do anything whatsoever to protect the children or prevent the tragedy? No. If anything, all they did was allow a means for prosecution after the fact.
By very definition, the criminals that commit these terrible crimes are the ones who do not obey the laws we have. Senator, we don’t have a ‘gun’ problem… we have a ‘people’ problem.
Hate to say it people...but I would bet there is similar legislation in ObamaCare...why do you think that every time you go to a new doctor they ask if you have firearms in your home. There will be over 6000 new regulations enacted this year. This to will pass a bit at a time. And over the next 4 years more legislation will pass so that they can confiscate our guns. I will become a criminal because I will refuse to follow this law.
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"
-- Thomas Jefferson,
his country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it."
-- Abraham Lincoln, 4 April 1861
"One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offense to keep arms."
-- Constitutional scholar Joseph Story, 1840
I sent out another massive round of letters this morning myself. I'm beginning to think that Feinstein and her co-horts have to be communists. Maybe CNN stands for Communist News Network!!
I urge EVERY INGO member to write, call, fax and email their state and federal officials. We CANNOT allow our futures and that of our children to be controlled by this crazy woman and her soccer mom followers who've probably never even seen a real firearm... little lone used one!
That HAS to be a generic canned staffer-written response...as I would hope no self-respecting Marine would ever call a magazine a "clip".
Exactly!!! We mus be proactive, Call, email, write, and post your reps, tell them in no uncertain terms that no further encroachment on our rights will be tolerated.Negative, apparently you do not understand basic concepts of negotiating. You never open with your best offer. You open with everything you'd ever dreamed of, and then cut through the BS from there.
The plan here, is to outline everything they want, no matter how crazy it might sound to you or I. They will eventually cut out the items they never planned to get passed anyway, all while looking like champs for being willing to "work across the isle", and what we will end up with is likely similar to the 1994 AWB.
I'm not saying I accept this outcome, because I'm doing everything I can to keep that from happening. What I am saying though, is don't be short-sighted. This is the beginning of a long fight, this isn't their final offer, and they have teams of strategists who are paid for the sole purpose of figuring out the best way to get these things signed into law. The worst thing we can do is discount this bill as unpassable, without giving much effort to the fight.
And who says the tax stamps would stay at $200 per?
...if it follows current NFA rules
Please don't:
1) Assume that your Senators and Congressman will vote no.
2) Assume that other people will write letters.
3) Assume that some sort of "compromise" won't happen.
Contact your Senators and Congressman yourself. Tell them you oppose not just the proposed bill but also any bill that dilutes or restricts your constitutional rights.
Remember:
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
FYI - she's been planning this since before the elections...
Feinstein rumored to be pushing semi-auto ban if Obama reelected - National gun rights | Examiner.com
I do not see her bill passing, or any bill really. I think that by the time that they make their move that the hysteria will have mostly died down.