Letter to my Congressmen about S.A. 2575 - Libs knee-jerk response to Aurora shooting
Hello, folks. I wrote the following letter to my Congressmen, urging them to oppose S.A 2575, a measure tacked on to the Cybersecurity Bill by Feinstein and other bleeders. That measure would make it illegal to posses a magazine which held more than 10 rounds.
Please feel free to copy it and send it to your own Congressmen, after modifying it to suit your own background, of course.
Dear Congressman X:
Like many here in Colorado, I was appalled by the Aurora shooting. As a retired military veteran, however, I was equally appalled to read about S.A. 2575, which would make it illegal for me to carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition in defense of myself and my loved ones.
I am appalled because S.R. 2575 is illegal, unethical, and counterproductive to our free society. In fact, it makes shootings like the one in Aurora more likely to happen, as well as more likely to result in greater losses of life.
As a graduate of Virginia Tech, I have a vested interest in this issue. I was deeply moved by that massacre, and thought, "if only I had been there, I could have curbed at least some of the loss of life."
"How?" you might ask. Simple: I carry a firearm everywhere I go, and am well-trained in its use.
As a military officer, I also took the same oath of office as you, Congressman. It reads, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."
Our Second Amendment became a part of our Constitution when the Bill of Rights was passed. It specifically states: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
I may be retired, but my oath never expires. It requires me to protect and defend our Constitution, and S.A. 2575 is a threat to our Constitutional rights and freedoms. Those who propose or support S.A. 2575 are the domestic enemies about which our Founding Fathers spoke. One cannot support S.A. 2575 without directly violating one's oath of office.
Furthermore, this line of effort is counter-productive. Reducing the number of rounds in a magazine makes it increasingly unlikely that an honest, law-abiding citizen will be able to stop a shooter such as James Holmes, clad as he was in body armor.
I'd like to share with you some facts and myths about "high capacity" firearms:
Myth: High capacity guns lead to more deadly shootings
Fact: Much of this myth comes from the fact that the general availability of high-capacity handguns briefly preceded the rise in the crack cocaine trade, which brought a new kind of violence in local drug wars.408
Fact: The number of shots fired by criminals has not changed significantly even with the increased capacity of handguns and other firearms. Indeed, the number of shots from revolvers (all with a 6-8 round capacity) and semi-automatics were about the same – 2.04 vs. 2.53.409 In a crime or gun battle, there is seldom time or need to shoot more.
Fact: Fatal criminal shootings declined from 4.3% to 3.3% from 1974 through 1995, when ownership of semi-automatics and large capacity handguns were rising at their fastest rate.410 Fatal shootings of police officers declined sharply from 1988 through 1993.411
Fact: Drug dealers tend to be “more deliberate in their efforts to kill their victims by shooting them multiple times.”412
Footnotes:
408 Targeting Guns, Gary Kleck, 1997.
409 Urban firearm deaths: A five-year perspective, Michael McGonigal, John Cole, William Schwab, Donald Kauder, Michael Rotondo, Peter Angood, Journal of Trauma, 1993.
410 FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1966-1995.
411 Firearm injury from crime, Marianne Zawitz, 1996, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
412 Epidemiological changes in gunshot wounds in Washington D.C, Webster, Champion, Gainer and Sykes, Archives of Surgery, 1992.
Source: Gun Facts 6.1 by Guy Smith.
In light of the above facts, and based on my 23 years of experience carrying a firearm, I urge you, Congressman, to oppose S.A. 2575 and any similar legislation. They do NOT work, and are counterproductive to both our safety and security.
Reducing the ability of honest, law-abiding citizens to defend themselves as necessary is NOT a viable solution. It is a knee-jerk reaction at best, and a mindless, counter-productive violation of our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
