Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I will add that to the letters I'm sending Congressional representatives.
Senator X,
First, I would like to thank you for your previous response to my letter. While we traded form letter for form letter, I appreciate the effort made.
Now that Senator Feinstein has placed the "Assault Weapon" bill into the Senate, it's important to point out a few concerns.
First, Senator Feinstein's reference that the weapons targeted have "doubled in lethality since 1993" is either a blatantly misleading statement or incidentally inaccurate. The rifles of today fire the same rounds that were manufactured prior even to 1993; bullet ballistics are dictated by physics and are not prone to doubling their performance because of the accessories a rifle possesses.
Second, "assault rifles" have been banned from general availability in the United States since 1986 (under Reagan.) Assault rifles are fully automatic or select-fire rifles which can only be obtained by those with significant disposable income and are highly regulated by the BATFE. If you contact that organization, you will see that they regulate and document all ownership of restricted firearms.
Third, Senator Feinstein's proposal exempts members of Congress and both current and former members of law enforcement. Why the exemptions? This in effect establishes a class system of entitlement in terms of firearm ownership. This should be unacceptable to any voting citizen. In our own state of Washington where Seattle police are under significant scrutiny for abuse of citizens, giving them the ability to own firearms that others cannot should raise with you a signfiicant red flag.
Fourth, the firearm list targeted is significantly above and beyond the weapons that have been miscategorized as "assault rifles." Many weapons on the list have caused zero civilian casualties in the United States. This highlights a disingenuous agenda driven by a few vs. a true call to resolve violence per the President's original call for help.
Finally, the 2nd Amendment itself and the misrepresentation of what it was establshed for. Repeatedly there are statements issued by Congress and media outlets that hunting and sporting rifles will not be restricted. The 2nd Amendment was not established to give citizens the right to hunt. The 2nd Amendment was established to give citizens the ability to resist tyranny by an established government. In effect, We The People have a contract with Congress to protect our Amendment rights and this bill does in fact attack the vows you and others have sworn to protect.
Please be mindful of this as We The People are watching this intently.
Cordially,
