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December 19, 2012, 01:52 PM | #1 | |
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Writing to your representatives
We're going to need to do a lot of calling and writing in the near future, IMHO. I offer up the following as a template, to be copied, pasted, modified, as each of you see fit, in writing to your senators and representatives.
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December 19, 2012, 03:11 PM | #2 |
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For those of us in districts that will soon be changing Senators and/or Representatives (both will soon be changing for my district), would you suggest that we write the current office holders, wait until the newly elected ones are sworn in, or both?
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December 19, 2012, 03:29 PM | #3 |
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Depending on who's coming and who's going, both. Write the ones leaving asking them to impart words of wisdom on the subject to those coming in...
Point out that the 1994 AWB cost the democrats the House and the Senate-Washingtonians voted out the first sitting Speaker of the House in over 100 years. Ask the new ones if they think voting for a new AWB is wise, as a signal that our elected officials are not wise enough to prevent mentally unstable from obtaining firearms illegallly, and thus punish a hundred million Americans for having engaged in a legal hobby. That would be the equivalent of: siezing the cellphones and computers of half the people on twitter. Everyone on T-Mobile Seizing the homes of everyone in Caifornia, Texas, Arizon, Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and the territories of Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Is., American Samoa and more, because the levels of sunlight in those states has a hgher chance of causing cancer. |
December 19, 2012, 04:21 PM | #4 |
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I agree that we all need to write to our representatives, the following is the letter I prepared this morning to submit to representatives in my state. Feel free to copy or take some of these ideas and write a letter to send to your representatives. Responsible gun owners need to voice their opinion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Politicians are lining up presenting ideas and recommendations to discriminate against specific members of the U.S. population; legal, responsible, patriotic gun owners. I suggest that if there is a problem to fix, it isn’t a gun problem, it is a crime problem, it is a mental health problem, it is an unemployment problem, and it is anything but a gun problem. Adapting policies that make gun laws stricter are discriminatory and contradict the 2nd Amendment rights of the American people. Stricter gun laws are proven to be ineffective against criminals and people with mental problems, so why do politicians and the media continue to attempt to punish patriotic, law abiding citizens? Stricter gun laws infringe on the 2nd Amendment rights of the American people to bear arms. The 2nd Amendment right to bear arms protects the American people against a tyrannical government. Local, State and Federal government is tightening the grip on the American people more and more each passing day, it is all about control from a tyrannical government. The 2nd Amendment right to bear arms is our last line of defense. If anything, we the people should be fighting for nationwide conceal carry laws, because an armed society is a polite society. We the people should demand that our teachers have the ability to protect our children. We the people should demand that any business that declares their place of business a gun free zone be held accountable financially and morally for crimes committed against citizens who placed their protection in the hands of the business owners who guaranteed their customers safety in their personal gun free zone. When will we the people realize that gun free zones are exactly what predator criminals want so they can commit their heinous crimes without any fear of legal, responsible, patriotic gun owners pointing a gun at them and spoiling their morbid plans to cause pain to others? If strict gun control laws were effective, the crime rates involving guns in Chicago and Washington DC should be a prime example of effective gun laws, unfortunately, it is the complete opposite. The crime rates involving guns in Chicago and Washington DC is out of control, citizens do not go out at night, tourists avoid these cities if possible. Every weekend in Chicago, national headlines typically read 8 dead, 23 wounded. Law abiding citizens obey the law, criminals and the mentally ill ignore gun laws. Look at the government as a parent that wants the children to do well. As the child grows up and becomes an adult, the parent sometimes has to force the child to stand on their own two feet and be responsible for their actions and their safety. Rather than having the government attempt to control every aspect of the American citizens daily lives, expect more, demand that we the people grow up and take care of ourselves. There are teachers who would gladly step forward and volunteer for training to be qualified to conceal carry so they have the ability to protect our children. We the people don’t need every single teacher to be trained to have the ability to protect our children with force, but to have the ability for some of our teachers in every school to be trained to protect our children would be a deterrent for the criminals and mentally ill among us who prey on the unarmed or the weak. It is a proven fact that criminals avoid victims who are or who might be armed and prefer to prey on the defenseless and unarmed. It is also a proven fact that there are large drops in overall violent crime including, murder, rape, and aggravated assault that begin right after conceal carry laws have gone into effect in population areas previously controlled by strict gun laws. People are safer around conceal carry permit holders than among the general public, it is that simple. To discriminate against legal, responsible, patriotic gun owners does not serve the best interests of the American people. If there are any new gun laws, they should enforce responsible gun ownership, encourage conceal carry practices and promote training programs for teachers or any responsible, patriotic, law abiding citizens. We the people of the United States of America are able to provide for our own personal protection when seconds count and the police are minutes away. We the people of the United States of America do not want violence, but we are fully capable when confronted by the mentally ill or criminals who want to harm us. Our 2nd Amendment rights guarantee our right to bear arms and are a symbol of our freedom. The 2nd Amendment is our last defense against government tyranny, please stand with we the people. |
December 19, 2012, 04:39 PM | #5 | |
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I woke up this morning like every other, roll out of bed, turn on the laptop and checked my email but when the very first thing plastered all over the yahoo homepage with "obama takes action on gun control" you can bet I spent the rest of my morning writing every elected official I could think of in my state. mine went a little differently though. all were pretty much the same with the exception of a few key points.
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December 19, 2012, 05:07 PM | #6 |
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Sometimes we are our own worst enemies... There's nothing "unprecedented" about recent violence.
It's not new, it's not unusual, it's not uniquely American and its not gun related. Those are the points we need to get across. |
December 19, 2012, 05:08 PM | #7 |
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Did you cringe at multiple iterations of "tyrannical governement" with visions of a compound in Idaho as well? If you're going to poke the bear, don't ask if you can borrow his stick...
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December 19, 2012, 05:22 PM | #8 |
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Thanks to those of you who posted your letters above. I will borrow elements from each of them as I write to Rep. Welch and Senators Sanders and Leahy of Vermont in the next couple days.
I can't emphasize enough how effective direct and honest communication with your elected representatives can be, and encourage everyone on this board to do so. |
December 19, 2012, 05:35 PM | #9 |
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Phone calls? You don't actually talk to a real congressman, do you? (all mine are congressman, no women) Its usually just a secretary/aide? Or do they have voicemail just for constituents?
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December 19, 2012, 06:45 PM | #10 |
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Keep the letters short and to the point, but DO write them.
Other pertinent factoids possibly worth mention:
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December 19, 2012, 06:55 PM | #11 |
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All very well written letters with great points thanks.
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December 19, 2012, 07:44 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
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A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman |
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December 19, 2012, 08:06 PM | #13 |
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Those letters are good, but there are a couple of problems.
First off, you need to mention your reason for writing within the first two sentences. These things get skimmed, and nobody's going to spend time reading a preamble. Second, it needs to be terse and quick to read. Keep it to five paragraphs or less, and keep those paragraphs short. Third, choose one specific issue and stick with that only. Don't mix CCW with an AWB with mental health. Write a letter on one of those issues.
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December 20, 2012, 11:18 AM | #14 |
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Good info, thanks Tom
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December 22, 2012, 10:55 AM | #15 | |
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Sent emails to my Senators . The following is what I sent.
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December 22, 2012, 07:20 PM | #16 |
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I emailed Senator Schumer (NY D) today. I'll see if he responds, beyond a generic form letter.
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December 22, 2012, 07:32 PM | #17 |
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Have already called and e-mailed both senators and congressman. Will continue doing so.
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December 29, 2012, 01:48 AM | #18 | |
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Hello friends. I am a long time reader, but rarely post. I've drafted my letter and would like to submit it to you all for review. If anyone would like to use or borrow from it, by all means fee free. Thank you for your feedback.
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December 29, 2012, 11:22 AM | #19 |
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Yeah, writing letters to King George in 1770 really did a lot of good didn't it? They're not listening. They don't care what you think. The current situation is exactly the same.
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December 29, 2012, 08:10 PM | #20 |
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This falls under writing to your congressman. If it is not appropriate here please delete it and let me know where I can post it. I feel it needs to be done.
Also there is a letter to the AG of the United States. http://teamlawforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1135 Thanks |
December 30, 2012, 12:06 AM | #21 |
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Sample Letter... cut and paste into this form, it can't be any clearer or easier than this:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/...046526&type=ML "Greetings, Due to the recent events at Sandy Hook elementary school we now face renewed threats to our Constitutional rights. While I understand how painful the loss must be for those touched by this tragedy, blaming firearms or their owners and punishing them is not the answer to the challenges we face as a nation. We already have laws that were violated by a man who was likely psychotic and heavily medicated. This man was stopped by the mandatory background check from purchasing firearms. He then decided to murder his mother and take her legally owned firearms to commit this tragedy. If your true goal is to protect our children, then enact legislation that will do that. Banning firearms that are rarely used in crime (less than 1% of the time) is not going to stop such tragedies, that was proven in 1999 when the Columbine shooting took place under the 1994 ban. Do something meaningful, please. Make committing the insane easier. Put armed security guards in our schools. But do not strip us of our rights and property by passing additional anti-gun laws that have historically had no positive effect on crime in our nation or others. Thank you. " |
December 30, 2012, 10:19 AM | #22 | |
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I looked at Sweet Shooter's link. That looks pretty handy, but I was amused by this:
Quote:
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December 30, 2012, 09:46 PM | #23 | |
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The link is very useful.
I modified Sweet Shooter's message and sent this: Quote:
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December 31, 2012, 09:32 AM | #24 | |
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Quote:
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NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor “Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......” President John F. Kennedy |
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December 31, 2012, 10:40 PM | #25 |
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I use the link above to contact all of my reps and the White House all at once.. I will be honest I have written them a few times. Thanks everyone for the links.
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