Put pressure on the House to bury new gun control proposals

Dear Mr. Boehner,

I am a ******* ********* Police Officer and I am writing to you to ask you to stop any and all anti-Second Amendment gun control legislation being proposed by President Obama and any other Federal legislator, including the implementation and operational funding of the 23 executive orders that President Obama has issued today, January 16th, 2013.

As you are doubtless aware, President Obama has asked Congress to produce and then bring to the floor of the United States House of Representatives for approval numerous anti-Second Amendment initiatives such as the re-enactment of a strengthened, and now to be permanent, version of the failed 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, limits on ammunition purchasing and possession, limits on standard capacity handgun, shotgun, and rifle magazines. These, and numerous other initiatives being proposed by President Obama and other anti-Second Amendment legislators in both houses, would serve only to punish the law-abiding American gun owner and weaken further the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms while failing to implement the solutions needed to secure our precious children as they sit in presently unprotected in their classrooms- that is, the presence of competent, professional, armed security personnel in our schools.

Increasing or renewing anti-gun legislation is simply not the answer. Criminals will always obtain guns whether they are “banned” from their possession or not and as was the case on Friday, December 14th, 2012, they will go so far as to violate other laws to obtain them, including murder, burglary and theft, when and where they are not readily accessible. President Obama’s short-sighted legislative initiatives do nothing to address the real problem and provide only ineffective, “feel-good” responses while severely restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans who were just as shocked and saddened by the loss of 26 innocents that horrible December day.

Mr. Boehner, I stand with the vast majority of those in my chosen profession in respectfully asking that you stand strong for the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans by stopping the anti-Second Amendment legislation proposed by President Obama and all other anti-Second Amendment legislators working in concert with him and that you defund immediately any and all executive orders issued by President Obama.

Respecfully,

481

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Mr. Speaker,

As the news media saturates the airwaves with cries insisting that we "Do Something" about gun violence in America, some of your colleagues will no doubt sponsor legislation that seeks to restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens in the name of reducing gun crime. This legislation, like most reactionary legislation, will be ill-conceived and would achieve, if enacted, exactly none of the results that its proponents claim to seek. Studies of the effect of the 1994 "Assault Weapons Ban" bear that out. Proposals such as restrictions on the capacity of ammunition magazines and restrictions on private sales of firearms, even if well-intentioned, would be simply impossible to enforce and will ultimately affect only those who are already inclined towards lawfulness.

My representative, Todd Rokita (R.-Ind.), has stated his intention to "pursue each and every constitutionally-available means to stop new gun control measures from taking effect" and to "help lead the conversation in the halls of Congress, where such debates ought to be held, on what should be done to protect our communities and our Constitution." Please work with Rep. Rokita and others like him to defeat any proposed legislation that seeks to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess, for example, semi-automatic firearms that are used in less than 0.1% of all violent crimes.

At the same time, please encourage your colleagues who propose such legislation to support the more widespread use of the tools already at the disposal of federal law-enforcement officials. Demand the prosecution of individuals who attempt to purchase firearms illegally. Currently, less than one per cent (1%) of those who are denied a firearm as a result of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, are subsequently prosecuted for the offense of attempting to obtain a firearm illegally. Are we to suppose that the other 99% subsequently gave up in their attempt to acquire a firearm? Or is it more likely that many of them later simply obtained a firearm illegally? Likewise, your colleagues should support nationwide funding for federal programs such as Project Exile in Richmond, Virginia and FACE 5 in Atlanta, Georgia, which have already been shown to have a direct effect on criminal behavior.

I do not envy you your task of standing up to the emotional and heated arguments to come. There is little question that the defeat of this reactionary legislation will be unpopular with many. However, that is the hallmark of important legislation, isn't it? In the end, reason must prevail. Please enlist the support of Rep. Rokita and other outspoken supporters of our constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights to assist you in these challenges.

Sincerely,

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