[tired&retired]

The slippery slope has begun.

First demonize the rich.

Second, demonize the gun owners.

Third, demonize the free speech radicals who are speaking out for their rights.

[cuban leaf]

There are two reasons right off the top of the list that they won’t do this.

1. The pro-gun crowd is populated by both conservatives AND liberals. Women’s rights peoople see hand guns as the great liberator.

2. Hitler did it. He made it very difficult for anyone else to do it in western civilization without being compared to Hitler. It increases the difficulty substantially.

There are other reasons, not least of which is the sheer quantity of guns and ammo out there.

[GlockThe Vote]

Living in NYS - does it matter \one bit what I say anymore?

[School of Rational Thought]

I had same thought.

People should be writing their congressmen!

[Mich Patriot]

Can’t trust the politicians, but the message from us needs to be very simply “NO”.

My rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, written by a group of much more intelligent and honorable leaders than what we have now. No matter WHAT they pass, I’m not doing it. My next doctor’s form will likely have profanity on it as well. Just NO.

[deoetdoctrinae]

When the author said "Hunters are historically traitors to the 2nd Amendment...", I felt like sending him to his corner for a timeout.

Otherwise, I agreed with a great deal of what he said. I have written every one of my legislators, advising them that I believe there is an all out assault on the 2nd Amendment, and they need to grow a pair and stand firmly against the onslaught.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Most gun owners, like most of America, are ignorant to world history. Most people don’t know that Kristallnacht, the famous “night of broken glass” in Germany in 1939, was actually a gun roundup. It is considered the beginning of the Holocaust, but what most people leave out is that Hitler published sweeping gun confiscation legislation on November 11, 1938, the day after the famous Nazi rioting."

Indeed, I had not known that, and I have been studying gun issues for many years...though my interest has mostly been in the criminology and gun defense statistics. That latter seems to be a point that is being totally ignored in the current gun debate, and it is probably the strongest argument "our side" has.

[rockrr]

The media, including our “friends” at Fox, Drudge, and other “conservative” outlets, are attempting to sell us the concept that the “assault weapon ban” legislation can’t pass, and this is a lie.

I guess I haven't heard this. What I have heard is that it will literally be a bloody mistake for anyone who passes this kind of invasion of our constitutional rights.

[Rappini]

Gun Owners of America is ahead of you, I have already emailed both of my Senators and Representatives and will advise all of my friends.

[Don Corleone]

Hitler did it. Stalin did it. Mao did it. Chavez did it. Castro did it. etc. etc. etc. Wash rinse. Repeat.

[unixfox]

But there is also a 90% chance that YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED YOUR LEGISLATORS to let them know that you are strongly against any kind of weapon ban, or any increase in our national or state gun laws whatsoever.

There is a reason we don't contact them. THEY NEVER REPSOND. NEVER!

They ignore us and cave on almost every issue. They are worthless in my opinion.

[popdonnelly]

I agree with the author that this legislation can pass.

[Inyo-Mono]

Bookmarked.

[Boogieman]

“You are silent, because you think it is someone else’s job.”

No, I think most gun owners are silent because they know that yelling and screaming about it won’t change anything at this point. It didn’t stop Obamacare, and it probably won’t stop whatever gun control crap they want to pass. The ballot box, jury box, and the soap box have failed, so why should we continue to behave as if we live in a functioning republic?

[Dead Corpse]

Not all of us.

Some of us remember the bailouts we were told would never pass. Some of us remember the Obamacare bill that would never pass. Some of us remember just a week or so ago when the GOP was going to stand firm on the debt limit and the fiscal cliff...

Going to be a rough year.

[andy58-in-nh]

I have contacted my state's congressmen (women, actually) and both senators through multiple sources and petitions.

I would advise all of you to do the same.

It is absolutely vital that all of our voices be heard, loud and clear.

I have received form letters back from a number of them and responded with a personalized letter than I drafted myself. I am going to reproduce it here, in case any of you want to use it, in part or in whole:

 Dear Congressman/woman:

I appreciate your response, but must correct your thinking on several matters about which many of your colleagues are incorrect as a matter of fact and logic.

Background checks are already conducted by every Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer as a matter of current law, and they are conducted as a matter of course during each and every sale of a firearm, new or used by such dealers.

In addition, the notion of a gun show loophole is a false one. Every firearm sold by a licensed dealer at gun shows in New Hampshire and in every other state is, and must be accompanied by the signing of Form 4473.  This form contains name, address, date of birth, government-issued photo ID number, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check transaction number, make/model/serial number of the firearm, and a short federal affidavit stating that the purchaser is eligible to purchase firearms under federal law. Lying on this form is a felony and can be punished by up to five years in prison in addition to fines, even if the transaction is simply denied by the NICS.

Private (interpersonal) sales of legally-owned firearms between individuals have always been excluded from Federal regulation, as a proper respect for property rights and the 2nd Amendment both demand.  Any attempt to regulate such sales would be impracticable without a level of government intrusion inconsistent with any reasonable concept of freedom, and would be impossible to enforce absent a police state atmosphere. And, as is the case with all gun laws, it would negatively impact law-abiding citizens almost exclusively.

High capacity magazines are presently owned by millions of Americans (including myself), and are of enormous utility in providing sufficient protection in the face of a mortal threat, especially one from several sources. Any attempt to ban them would be largely ignored - especially by criminals.  The weapons that make use of such magazines are highly various, ranging from modern sporting rifles (falsely termed "assault weapons" by anti-gun activists, who mistake them for fully-automatic weapons of the kind carried by our military, or else willfully ignore the difference) to many commonly-owned semi-automatic pistols, which millions of us depend on for home security and self-defense every day.  

I urge you to think about these matters in a calm and dispassionate way. Please do not give in to the rank emotionalism that pervades too much of our popular culture with regard to firearms.

As a long-time weapons owner, a concealed-carry permit holder, and as a father too, I am deeply saddened and troubled by what happened in Connecticut last year.  But I also realize that such incidents are exceedingly rare and have actually been declining over time, regardless of media coverage that seems to make people think otherwise.

We do not have a "gun" problem in America - 99.95% of all firearms owners do not use their weapons in criminal activities.

We do, however, have a deep and abiding cultural problem: the glorification of violence in our entertainment industry, including a broader disregard for the value of human life.

We also have a crime problem: too many career criminals are walking the streets owning to inadequate enforcement of existing laws and lax judicial standards for punishment in cases of recidivism. 

We have a personal responsibility problem: too many people in America willfully ignore their duties to themselves, their families and their fellow citizens by engaging in harmful and negligent behavior.  Rampant drug abuse is one example.  Having multiple children without providing support and care for them in a stable family is another.  Not properly securing firearms in the home is sometimes, another.

Finally, we have a public mental health problem: for over forty years, a determined legal movement to de-institutionalize the mentally ill has resulted in city streets that are increasingly unsafe and a lack of proper diagnosis and treatment for those incapable of discerning right and wrong and reality from fantasy.

Let us address the real problems in our society and not take a politically "easy way out" that will in fact only affect the vast majority of decent, upstanding and law-abiding citizens who not coincidentally, stand ready to assist both the law enforcement community and our fellow citizens every single day.

I am proud to be an armed American, as is my birthright. I have 80 million brothers and sisters who feel the same way. Let us grieve for the children lost in Connecticut as we should, but let us find better ways of stopping such awful events without losing our freedom.

Thanks you for your consideration,

(Name)

(Address)

[Travis McGee]

[csmusaret]

[CodeJockey]

Here is the response I received from districts congresscritter. Pathetic, he actually states he violate our second amendment.

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxxxxx:

Thank you for contacting me regarding Second Amendment Rights’ and gun violence. I appreciate learning your views.

Like many Americans, I am concerned about preserving our constitutional rights to own firearms. As you know, the majority of gun owners in America are law-abiding citizens who responsibly maintain firearms for personal protection or personal hobbies.

However, the tragic deaths of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut plus several other mass killings involving deadly firearms suggest a need for policymakers to consider limiting the proliferation of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, completing thorough background check on all gun sales, preventing the trafficking of guns, and working with mental health professionals and law enforcement to keep guns out of the hands of those who may cause us harm. Enacting sensible gun laws that fully considers the time in which we live would place our country on a path to more responsible gun-ownership and decreased gun violence.

As more gun control proposals are put forth, I look forward to working with my Congressional colleagues to thoughtfully consider the measures that take appropriate action.

Very truly yours,

G.K. Butterfield
Member of Congress

[itsahoot]

The Ipad generation doesn’t understand the nature of mankind, and the implicit design of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I have two iPads and iPhone and three Macintosh computers, and I have never voted for a democrat in my life. First election I was allowed to in was 1960.