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January 25, 2013, 12:43 PM | #1 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: November 15, 2007
Location: Outside KC, MO
Posts: 10,128
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Response from Senator Claire McCaskill, and my counter response
I am not sure if this reply was to my direct email to the Senator's office, or to my linked signature from Ruger website petition, but here is what she had to say:
Quote:
Here is my response. Sorry, it's kind of long, but... Quote:
Edit: Aaaargh.... proofread, proofread, proofread.... I meant "live or die," not "live or day." For those of you who write your reps, please proofread better than I did. Similarly, it should have been "and the pilot pushes" in the paragraph about engine failure. I must have bumped a hotkey that deleted as I was typing.... Second Edit: I would have caught this in a printed form. Snail mail does have some advantages over email.... Last edited by MLeake; January 25, 2013 at 12:48 PM. |
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January 25, 2013, 12:48 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: November 17, 2000
Posts: 20,064
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Great letter - truly but (sigh):
1. She won't see it. The intern will clock it as gun nut in the tallies. 2. Her response is the typical - hunter, appropriate gun dodge to fool the naive into thinking they are not after almost all guns. 3. Yes, you can keep your shotgun (thanks - Hairplug Joe) - a double barrel is all you need. Plus you can shoot cute birdies out of the sky! The only thing that counts is campaign donations and the ballot. She has her marching orders and she is just following orders. The response was written by college intern central in DC.
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NRA, TSRA, IDPA, NTI, Polite Soc. - Aux Armes, Citoyens |
January 25, 2013, 12:50 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: November 15, 2007
Location: Outside KC, MO
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Well, looks like I got a Mulligan. Just received an auto-response saying, "This email is not monitored, please use the contact website at...."
SO I can edit my errors, and resubmit to the monitored area. |
January 25, 2013, 12:56 PM | #4 |
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Join Date: November 15, 2007
Location: Outside KC, MO
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Glenn,
I suspect you are correct. I am getting ready to head back to the sandbox, or I would call her office and try to actually speak directly with her. I don't know that it would do much good, but I'd give it a shot if I had more time. Other Missourians might call her, though. Per the auto-response, her office number is 202-224-6154, during regular business hours. |
January 25, 2013, 01:23 PM | #5 |
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Join Date: October 9, 1998
Location: Ohio USA
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Dear Mr. XXXXX:
Thank you for expressing your concerns over gun control and access to mental health care. When our children and families are no longer safe at our schools, in our malls, and in our movie theaters, we as a country must take action. The shocking numbers of public shootings throughout the country last year, culminating in Newtown, Connecticut, demand that we engage in a serious national discussion. Many people have expressed concerns about holes in our mental health care system that contributes to violence. Though people with mental illness are not at an increased risk of behaving violently in general, there is a subset of individuals with mental illness who are at risk of violent behavior of the kinds we have seen in public gathering places. Over the last few years, Congress has passed laws to improve the mental health system so individuals in need of psychiatric evaluation, treatment, and support do not fall through the cracks. Several components of these laws have yet to be fully implemented. In a bipartisan effort to ensure that mental and behavioral health services are covered by insurance in a manner equivalent to medical and surgical services. Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008 This law prohibits insurance companies from arbitrarily limiting the number of hospital days or outpatient treatment sessions a patient is granted, as well as prohibiting higher copayments or deductibles for subscribers who seek psychological services. Such practices by insurance companies were both wrong and counterproductive. This legislation will help the 54 million Americans with mental illness gain access to appropriate and affordable treatment. My Senate colleagues and I have been working with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure this law is fully implemented. Additionally, I and several of my colleagues sent a letter to President Obama asking him and HHS to fully implement the law. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is also working to improve access to mental and behavioral health services. Individuals in Ohio who have been denied insurance coverage due to a pre-existing mental health condition can now access the new Ohio High-Risk Insurance pool. For more information on the high risk pool or to sign-up for coverage, please visit http://www.insurance.ohio.gov/Docume...skPoolFAQs.pdf The ACA immediately eliminated pre-existing coverage exclusions for children. Kids will no longer be denied coverage — or have services excluded from coverage — as a result of pre-existing conditions. Additionally, parents of young adults can now maintain coverage for their children until age 26. Serious mental illness is often first noticed in the late teens or early twenties, when the brain is changing rapidly and when pressures to perform are great. It is crucial that young adults with existing or emerging mental illnesses not experience lapses in coverage at this time of high risk. Beginning in 2014, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to individuals with mental illness and insurers cannot use mental illness as a reason to raise premiums. HHS also established an essential benefits package — a set of health care service categories that must be covered by most plans — that will take effect in 2014. Mental health and substance abuse disorder services will be part of this package. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the ACA represent tremendous strides forward for mental health coverage and access. However, we must also re-examine our mental health safety net, which has faced unrelenting budget cuts, reducing access for some our most vulnerable citizens. Finally, we must work to reduce the stigma attached to mental health treatment, and find ways to support families who are concerned about the mental health status of their loved ones. It is essential that families know about the mental health resources available to them, and that they understand they have allies and other resources to which they can turn. Education about signs of mental illness, how to obtain a mental health screening, and how to access treatment services are simple but key ingredients to a successful national plan for managing mental health crises. Should any legislation concerning gun control and access to mental and behavioral health care come before the Senate, I will keep your thoughts in mind. Thank you also for sharing your thoughts on background checks for firearms owners. I continue to receive numerous constituent letters voicing opinions on this issue. Gun shows have become a way for criminals and gun traffickers to purchase weapons without a background check and without a record of purchase. Gun sellers at these shows are not always registered the same way as owners of gun shops. This enables people to sell guns to criminals or the mentally unstable without any record being created for law enforcement. The International Association of Chiefs of Police supports improving and expanding the background check process to ensure that registration and background check is conducted for every gun sale. Gun control is a complex issue and we must work together to uphold our Constitution while at the same time ensuring that our communities are safe. We can and must act to ensure tragedies like this never happen again. Should any legislation come before the Senate for a vote, I will keep your views in mind. Thank you again for getting in touch with me. Sincerely, Sherrod Brown United States Senator I'm 50/50 on the response. Brown is so far left he's past Marx. FWIW - the International Chiefs of Police he mentions are the same miserable bastards that fought CCW in Ohio tooth and nail. |
January 25, 2013, 01:26 PM | #6 |
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I do find it interesting that patrol officers and detectives seem to have very different opinions on the subject than do the chief's associations.
I know a lot of cops. Most of them are not in favor of gun control, but in harsher judicial treatment of repeat violent offenders. The exceptions to this would be cops I have met who are from certain larger cities, where guns are viewed differently after a few decades of brainwashing. |
January 25, 2013, 01:34 PM | #7 |
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Location: Ohio USA
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Most of the cops I know are stand up people.
The Chiefs OTOH ..... On the "good news front"... I got this from the Governor. " Dear XXXXX: Like all Americans, I was horrified as the tragedies of Friday, December 14th unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut. The deplorable act of violence that took the lives of innocent children and adults is beyond reason, and I pray that, in time, the families of the victims and the people of that community are able to find peace. As you no doubt recall, we were all reminded of the evil that exists in our world when six students were shot, three fatally, at Chardon High School in Geauga County on February 27th, 2012. In the aftermath, the heroic stories of the first responders, teachers and staff who acted swiftly and selflessly to protect others showed true courage. Since that tragic event, and in the wake of the recent tragedy in Newtown, the absolute necessity for school officials, parents, students and first responders to be trained and practiced in responding to these unthinkable crimes is of utmost importance. Various state and local agencies, including the Ohio Office of Homeland Security and the Ohio Department of Education, have worked collaboratively to implement, review and drill response plans. Moreover, these occasions of violence and heartache should give us all pause to think about how we treat each other, and the value we as a society place upon every life. With regard to calls for legislation in response to these events, it is my belief that we will be best served by enforcing those laws that currently exist. And, in the weeks and months that follow, we should learn as much as possible about how this happened, and what steps we can take, including mental health awareness and school safety protocols, to guard against the senseless loss of innocent life ever again. I appreciate your taking the time to write. Please join me and my family in continuing to keep the communities of Chardon and Newtown, and all innocent victims of violence, in our prayers. Thank you" Too bad he's not the one in the Senate.... Last edited by Hal; January 25, 2013 at 01:41 PM. |
January 25, 2013, 02:00 PM | #8 |
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Join Date: November 15, 2008
Posts: 332
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I call Mccaskill's office about twice a week and give my views. She was just voted back in for another six years. She probably feels relatively safe about this being old news in six years.
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