[b]Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
Ronald Reagan[/b]
Write your reps and POTUS
Be respectful.
Here is a link, enter your zip code and it will find your reps so you can email them all at once. You can also print it to mail.
http://www.nraila.org/get-involved-locally/grassroots/write-your-reps.aspx
Here is the body of my letter.
I am a voter, husband, father of three, Marine Corps Veteran and have been a police officer here in Vermont for 21 years. I’ve been a small town police chief for the last five years.
The first thing I did when I heard about the shooting in CT was to go to my local school, I was on duty. I knew that is where I needed to be. Protecting our children is important. I cried often that day and the following week. My heart aches for the lives of the children and their teachers. I have grieved for their loss. I am also angry that they were not allowed to protect themselves. My ten year old son asked me why teachers can’t carry guns to protect them. It’s a damn good question. The answer is not less guns it is guns in the hands of good people like me.
Taking guns away from from law abiding citizens is and always has been the wrong answer. More laws will not protect our children. It’ is already illegal to commit murder. The murder rate and crime rate in areas where lawful gun ownership is restricted or prohibited is higher. Our schools are gun free zones. Fort Hood was a gun free zone as was the theater in Aurora Colorado. this is where sociopaths go, they know they will be unopposed and are not likely to meet armed resistance. Gun free zones do not make us safer. They are dangerous. These recent mass murders were all mentally ill. This is an issue you need to address.
From here down was the form letter:
As your constituent, I strongly urge you to oppose any legislation to ban so-called “assault weapons” and “large” ammunition magazines.
A previous ban on these inanimate objects was in effect from 1994-2004 and
had no discernible effect on violent crime. In fact, a study of the ban
mandated by Congress found: “At best, the assault weapons ban can have
only a limited effect on total gun murders, because the banned weapons and
magazines were never involved in more than a modest fraction of all gun
murders.”
Tens of millions of Americans choose to own semi-automatic firearms with
ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds for the same reason as
law enforcement officers: they are effective for self-defense. One never
knows how many rounds he or she will need for self-defense or defense of
others, or how many criminals may attack. Thus having a firearm that
allows its lawful user to discharge multiple shots can often be the
difference between life and death. In fact, a number of studies have
shown that firearms are used for self-defense hundreds of thousands of
times to 2.5 million times annually. This amounts to guns being used 3-5
times more often for self-defense than to commit a crime.
Rather than expanding previously failed legislation that won’t curb
violence, but will affect law-abiding gun owners, I urge you to support
legislation to enhance school security and improve our nation’s ailing
mental health system.
Please reply to me indicating your position on Sen. Feinstein’s most
recent proposal.
Sincerely,
New link.