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RetiredMajor · February 26, 2009, 10:39 AM

An open letter to President Barak Obama
Dear Mr. President,
First and foremost, I wish you good health and Godspeed on the important work you are doing. Thank you for your efforts.
I did not vote for you. But, you have my complete support as you work to repair our economy and keep our nation safe. Nothing would make me happier than for you to prove to me that I should have voted for you. It would cause me no embarrassment to be proven wrong on this matter.
I’m an American citizen and a patriot, having served my country proudly for over twenty-one years, combined of Active Duty Army and National Guard service. I’m a husband and have been married to the same woman for 29 years. I’m the father of four children. I’m an employer and a leader in my company. As such, I have thirty-seven team members for which I am responsible, a responsibility I do not take lightly. I’m an employee, and proud to work for my company. In fact, since the age of seventeen, when I joined the US Army, I have never spent a day where I wasn’t employed or in school, or both. I’m a member of the NRA and am a Certified NRA Instructor. I have no criminal record. I own a dog, and love her dearly.
I have heard rumors that you are not a supporter of the Second Amendment and may work to curtail freedoms that I, and many others, enjoy today. I hope those are just rumors. But, there are reports of people buying up firearms and ammunition of all types to get ahead of any new laws or restrictions that your administration may impose. I hope they are wrong.
Here are my thoughts on the subject. First, guns don’t kill people, people kill people and they do it with all sorts of weapons or their bare hands. I saw a headline the other day that read KILLER GUN WAS CHRISTMAS GIFT. I have never seen a headline that read KILLER KNIFE WAS CHRISTMAS GIFT, or KILLER BLUNT OBJECT WAS CHRISTMAS GIFT, yet those inanimate objects are used as weapons all too often. I’m not making light of death or murder, they are tragedies, to be sure. But those types of headlines speak volumes about the media bias against firearms. Secondly, I’m in favor of laws that keep firearms, and other weapons, out of the hands of criminals. I support laws that have stiffer penalties for crimes committed with any weapon, including firearms.
I do not support measures that restrict law-abiding citizens from owning and enjoying firearms for sport or personal protection. If government enacts restrictive laws, the law-abiding, by definition will obey those laws. Criminals, by definition won’t obey those laws. In effect, the laws only serve to disarm those who are law-abiding and provide a target-rich environment for criminals. Today, forty states allow citizens to carry weapons on their person provided they meet certain criteria. The laws in those states are working well, and in general, crimes of all types have dropped over the last decade. Is there a correlation? It would take an army of scientists and mathematicians to answer that question and even they wouldn’t agree. I can tell you with certainty that while gun ownership and the number of law-abiding citizens carrying firearms has increased, violent crime has decreased.
I know there is a lot of emotion around this subject and I ask you to carefully sort the emotion from the facts. I ask you to support measures that punish criminals, not law-abiding citizens. I ask you to support laws that allow people like me to protect themselves and their loved-ones as opposed to ensuring that I am unarmed and easy prey for criminals. I would submit to you that there are no such places as GUN FREE ZONES. Criminals walk right past those signs. Those are places where law-abiding citizens are unarmed and criminals are free to kill.
I have noticed an aspect of your leadership style that I appreciate. That is, when considering matters of great importance you gather input from a diverse group who consider and debate all sides of the issue. I hope you take this same approach when considering matters related to the Second Amendment.
Again, thank you for your hard work. God bless you and your family as you serve this great nation.

Regards,
A concerned citizen

February 26, 2009, 10:39 AM	#1
RetiredMajor Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2008 Location: Dubuque, Iowa Posts: 456	Open Letter to President Obama An open letter to President Barak Obama Dear Mr. President, First and foremost, I wish you good health and Godspeed on the important work you are doing. Thank you for your efforts. I did not vote for you. But, you have my complete support as you work to repair our economy and keep our nation safe. Nothing would make me happier than for you to prove to me that I should have voted for you. It would cause me no embarrassment to be proven wrong on this matter. I’m an American citizen and a patriot, having served my country proudly for over twenty-one years, combined of Active Duty Army and National Guard service. I’m a husband and have been married to the same woman for 29 years. I’m the father of four children. I’m an employer and a leader in my company. As such, I have thirty-seven team members for which I am responsible, a responsibility I do not take lightly. I’m an employee, and proud to work for my company. In fact, since the age of seventeen, when I joined the US Army, I have never spent a day where I wasn’t employed or in school, or both. I’m a member of the NRA and am a Certified NRA Instructor. I have no criminal record. I own a dog, and love her dearly. I have heard rumors that you are not a supporter of the Second Amendment and may work to curtail freedoms that I, and many others, enjoy today. I hope those are just rumors. But, there are reports of people buying up firearms and ammunition of all types to get ahead of any new laws or restrictions that your administration may impose. I hope they are wrong. Here are my thoughts on the subject. First, guns don’t kill people, people kill people and they do it with all sorts of weapons or their bare hands. I saw a headline the other day that read KILLER GUN WAS CHRISTMAS GIFT. I have never seen a headline that read KILLER KNIFE WAS CHRISTMAS GIFT, or KILLER BLUNT OBJECT WAS CHRISTMAS GIFT, yet those inanimate objects are used as weapons all too often. I’m not making light of death or murder, they are tragedies, to be sure. But those types of headlines speak volumes about the media bias against firearms. Secondly, I’m in favor of laws that keep firearms, and other weapons, out of the hands of criminals. I support laws that have stiffer penalties for crimes committed with any weapon, including firearms. I do not support measures that restrict law-abiding citizens from owning and enjoying firearms for sport or personal protection. If government enacts restrictive laws, the law-abiding, by definition will obey those laws. Criminals, by definition won’t obey those laws. In effect, the laws only serve to disarm those who are law-abiding and provide a target-rich environment for criminals. Today, forty states allow citizens to carry weapons on their person provided they meet certain criteria. The laws in those states are working well, and in general, crimes of all types have dropped over the last decade. Is there a correlation? It would take an army of scientists and mathematicians to answer that question and even they wouldn’t agree. I can tell you with certainty that while gun ownership and the number of law-abiding citizens carrying firearms has increased, violent crime has decreased. I know there is a lot of emotion around this subject and I ask you to carefully sort the emotion from the facts. I ask you to support measures that punish criminals, not law-abiding citizens. I ask you to support laws that allow people like me to protect themselves and their loved-ones as opposed to ensuring that I am unarmed and easy prey for criminals. I would submit to you that there are no such places as GUN FREE ZONES. Criminals walk right past those signs. Those are places where law-abiding citizens are unarmed and criminals are free to kill. I have noticed an aspect of your leadership style that I appreciate. That is, when considering matters of great importance you gather input from a diverse group who consider and debate all sides of the issue. I hope you take this same approach when considering matters related to the Second Amendment. Again, thank you for your hard work. God bless you and your family as you serve this great nation. Regards, A concerned citizen __________________ RetiredMajor, NRA Certified Instructor Every day's a holiday and every meal's a feast! Last edited by RetiredMajor; February 26, 2009 at 11:32 AM.