Following the advice and example of others here...this is a copy of the letter that was sent to Senators Coats and Donnally and also to Representative Rokita:
Senator Dan Coats
United States Senate
493 Russell Office Bldg
Washington, DC, 20510
P: (202) 224-5623
F: (202) 228-1820
RE: Gun Control Legislation
Senator Coats,
First, thank you for your service as a senator of my state. I appreciate all the time and efforts you sacrifice in representing my state.
I am writing to you, as I am sure countless of others have in these recent weeks, to express my concern for what may become sweeping legislation which will directly affect not only myself but the safety and well-being of my family and neighbors.
Without doubt, the horrific tragedies of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, West Nickel Mines Amish School, Aurora movie theater, a Sikh temple and of course Sandy Hook Elementary all deserve not only our heart-felt compassion and prayers, but those incidents also deserve our unwavering attention as to why they ever occurred.
I find it unsettling that due to those incidents this current administration is pursuing legislation which will affect every law-abiding firearm owner in the United States rather than legislation creating laws to severely punish the individuals who commit the atrocities.
I have serious reservations that this administration will listen to the voice of the people rather than pursuing their own agendas which will have no impact on those who commit crimes. I fear the signing of legislation under the auspices of Executive Privilege rather than a vote being cast by those who are appointed to serve in a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
I am a legal law-abiding American citizen and consider myself a patriot to this country. I legally own firearms and never have once ever had an accidental or negligent discharge of any firearm nor committed a crime. I served my country. I have been fingerprinted for HazMat certification and finger printed for my legal license to carry a firearm. I am a certified range officer for the United States Practical Pistol Association. A firearms safety instructor. I am involved in my local church and also involved in my local Main Street organizations and business development in my community.
I believe in following the law and being an upright mature adult and American who loves the first principles this country was founded upon; Principium Imprimus. There are millions of legal law-abiding firearm owners in this great nation who advocate safety, maturity and responsibility and who hold each other accountable for the actions taken with firearms.
I am heart broken and discouraged that this sweeping legislation will impose undue restrictions and laws which will hinder me from enjoying a sporting hobby and a means to protect my family, my neighbors and myself.
Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they can be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?
A recent search on the Federal Bureau of Investigations website detailed that for the last ten years firearm related crimes and murders have decreased each and every year. This is in direct contrast to the misinformation being propagated by those demanding legislation.
Every former president of the United States (with the exception of President Clinton and the current sitting president) has stated during their time in office that the American public has a right to bear arms. And several great presidents deemed it necessary for the American people to be armed in order to be able to withhold any governmental tyranny imposed on them. As I studied the history of this nation’s government, I found it stimulating to see that even our presidents were concerned of the balance between leading the people and being tyrannical towards them. Each and every one of them stated that the best way for the American people to be free was for each to be responsible for themselves and to hold firearms.
Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles all have the strictest gun control laws and yet, they have, by far, the largest number of gun-related crimes and deaths. This is not a new revelation nor is it surprising. Gun legislation has never deterred those from committing crimes.
One of the great founding fathers of this country, Thomas Jefferson, once stated,
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
I am requesting as my representative, that you speak my words and represent my voice in Washington when the legislation comes up for a vote. I vote “NO!” and I, with all sincerity and single-mindedness, encourage you to cast a “NO!” vote.
I still believe in the original intent of the founding documents of this great country. This is the same great country which you now serve. While I may not be able to debate, with any degree of accuracy, the vast judicial interpretations of the founding documents, I can (and will) stand only on what the original founding documents state in plain English. For at the end of the day, it is the only thing the common man has to hold on to which gives him a tangible faith and hope in the ever-lasting freedom he enjoys.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Sincerely,
Michael A. Gonzalez
Senator Dan Coats
United States Senate
493 Russell Office Bldg
Washington, DC, 20510
P: (202) 224-5623
F: (202) 228-1820
RE: Gun Control Legislation
Senator Coats,
First, thank you for your service as a senator of my state. I appreciate all the time and efforts you sacrifice in representing my state.
I am writing to you, as I am sure countless of others have in these recent weeks, to express my concern for what may become sweeping legislation which will directly affect not only myself but the safety and well-being of my family and neighbors.
Without doubt, the horrific tragedies of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, West Nickel Mines Amish School, Aurora movie theater, a Sikh temple and of course Sandy Hook Elementary all deserve not only our heart-felt compassion and prayers, but those incidents also deserve our unwavering attention as to why they ever occurred.
I find it unsettling that due to those incidents this current administration is pursuing legislation which will affect every law-abiding firearm owner in the United States rather than legislation creating laws to severely punish the individuals who commit the atrocities.
I have serious reservations that this administration will listen to the voice of the people rather than pursuing their own agendas which will have no impact on those who commit crimes. I fear the signing of legislation under the auspices of Executive Privilege rather than a vote being cast by those who are appointed to serve in a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
I am a legal law-abiding American citizen and consider myself a patriot to this country. I legally own firearms and never have once ever had an accidental or negligent discharge of any firearm nor committed a crime. I served my country. I have been fingerprinted for HazMat certification and finger printed for my legal license to carry a firearm. I am a certified range officer for the United States Practical Pistol Association. A firearms safety instructor. I am involved in my local church and also involved in my local Main Street organizations and business development in my community.
I believe in following the law and being an upright mature adult and American who loves the first principles this country was founded upon; Principium Imprimus. There are millions of legal law-abiding firearm owners in this great nation who advocate safety, maturity and responsibility and who hold each other accountable for the actions taken with firearms.
I am heart broken and discouraged that this sweeping legislation will impose undue restrictions and laws which will hinder me from enjoying a sporting hobby and a means to protect my family, my neighbors and myself.
Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they can be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?
A recent search on the Federal Bureau of Investigations website detailed that for the last ten years firearm related crimes and murders have decreased each and every year. This is in direct contrast to the misinformation being propagated by those demanding legislation.
Every former president of the United States (with the exception of President Clinton and the current sitting president) has stated during their time in office that the American public has a right to bear arms. And several great presidents deemed it necessary for the American people to be armed in order to be able to withhold any governmental tyranny imposed on them. As I studied the history of this nation’s government, I found it stimulating to see that even our presidents were concerned of the balance between leading the people and being tyrannical towards them. Each and every one of them stated that the best way for the American people to be free was for each to be responsible for themselves and to hold firearms.
Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles all have the strictest gun control laws and yet, they have, by far, the largest number of gun-related crimes and deaths. This is not a new revelation nor is it surprising. Gun legislation has never deterred those from committing crimes.
One of the great founding fathers of this country, Thomas Jefferson, once stated,
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
I am requesting as my representative, that you speak my words and represent my voice in Washington when the legislation comes up for a vote. I vote “NO!” and I, with all sincerity and single-mindedness, encourage you to cast a “NO!” vote.
I still believe in the original intent of the founding documents of this great country. This is the same great country which you now serve. While I may not be able to debate, with any degree of accuracy, the vast judicial interpretations of the founding documents, I can (and will) stand only on what the original founding documents state in plain English. For at the end of the day, it is the only thing the common man has to hold on to which gives him a tangible faith and hope in the ever-lasting freedom he enjoys.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Sincerely,
Michael A. Gonzalez
