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A Response from a Representative…

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So as mentioned previously my wife sent a pretty direct letter to our federal representatives.  Patty Murray responded today.

Dear Mrs. TMW:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your thoughts on new gun control legislation. I appreciate having the benefit of your views on this matter.

The views of Washingtonians are very important to my work. I will keep your thoughts in mind, and I encourage you to stay in touch. If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel free to sign up for my weekly updates at http://murray.senate.gov/updates. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely,

Patty Murray
United States Senator

TMW’s comment to me when forwarding it was a perfect descriptor:

She answered with a non answer.  Way to talk around the issue.

Murray however gave a much different response to a friend of mine:

Dear Mr. Willington:

Thank you for writing me regarding the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It was good to hear from you.

As a mother, grandmother, and former preschool teacher I was shocked by the tragedy that unfolded in Newtown. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the victims whose loss is difficult to comprehend.

Unfortunately, this horrific tragedy was another in a long line of gun violence episodes that have ranged from places like Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Aurora to coffee shops in Lakewood to the corner of South Byron Street and McClintock Ave South in Seattle. These episodes have plagued our cities, our schools, and our shared sense of security. This cannot go on. As a society we need to come together to begin a real conversation on all the factors contributing to those horrific instances of gun violence, but we also need to take specific action to bolster our current gun safety laws.

There is no question that we can and should limit access to the assault style weapons of war that are on our streets and that are too often being used to kill innocent people indiscriminately. I have repeatedly voted for an assault weapons ban and will do so again as soon as we can get a bill to the Senate floor.

But preventing tragedies like the one in Newtown will take more than just common-sense gun policies and enforcement. It will also take a renewed commitment to understanding and dealing with the root causes that lead isolated individuals to carry out these atrocities. At this moment, everything needs to be on the table for scrutiny.

Our nation is at a crossroads moment, and we must take the path that protects future generations from re-living these gun violence tragedies over and over again. It will take the courage of people with opposing views but a common purpose sitting down with one another and agreeing that the status quo is unacceptable.

Please be assured I will keep your views in mind as I work with my colleagues and please feel free to share with me your ideas on how to address this crisis. If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel free to sign up for my updates at http://murrav.senate.gov/updates. Thank you for contacting me, and please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator

We haven’t gotten a response from Cantwell regarding her specific letter though here is her response to my letter:

Dear Mr. TMW,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

All Washingtonians – and all Americans – offer our deepest condolences to the families of the 20 children and six school staff members who were killed in this senseless attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with the community of Newtown, as its residents heal from this incomprehensible tragedy.

This horrific attack highlights several issues that must be addressed promptly in order to better protect against such inexplicable violence.    We need to get powerful assault weapons off our streets.  And we need to strengthen services for the mentally ill and their families.

In the past, I supported the original Assault Weapons Ban and the Brady Bill, as well as the Youth Handgun Safety Act of 1993, which prohibits juveniles from possessing or receiving handguns. I look forward to work with my colleagues in the Senate to strengthen responsible legislation to rein in gun violence. We need to work to close the loopholes in existing laws that allow criminals and children to gain access to firearms contrary to the law’s intention. One example is the well-known “gun-show loophole” which allows people to purchase firearms at gun-shows without undergoing the background check required when guns are bought from licensed dealers. Lastly, I believe we must support increased gun-safety and gun-use education.

I support the Second Amendment and the rights of law-abiding Washingtonians who own guns.  I also remain focused on addressing the deeply troubling violence in this country and making our state and our country as safe as possible for all people, including our most vulnerable citizens, our children. I believe both of these goals are important and can be simultaneously accomplished through common-sense gun laws and stricter enforcement of existing laws.

Along with addressing gun violence, making services for the mentally ill and their families more accessible will encourage those suffering from mental illness to seek needed care and support. Mental health care is a critical component of our healthcare system and an individual’s overall health status. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately one in 17 Americans suffers from a seriously debilitating mental illness. I care deeply about mental health care and understand the important role behavioral health services play in the lives of both those who suffer from mental illness and their family and loved ones.

Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

If you live in the state of Washington.  Light up their phones and crank up the heat.  I am liking the idea Robb had, especially since the local gun shows draw from both Idaho and Washington so we’d get a decent set of calls into multiple districts.  Combine that with methods for people to send letters to congress critters it could be quite effective.  Especially if you had people there who could help them personalize them instead of form letters.

As you will notice on the right hand side, I’ve added a Join the NRA link.  I know some aren’t too happy with the NRA, I’m one of them.  As Sebastian said though, we have the NRA we’re going into this fight with, it’s not going to change and you’re not going to wish up an alternative.  Do what you can, voice your opinion to the NRA, they have a better record of listening than congress, and get active.  If all you do is bitch in the corner about how they don’t represent you, of course they won’t.  You haven’t lifted a finger to guide them in representing you.

I’ve also added a quick box to aid people in contacting their legislators.  Do it if you haven’t already.  There is nothing to loose by doing so and you have everything to gain.  As you can see folks, this is going to be an up hill battle and this is one we can not loose.  A quote worth remembering of which I was reminded of it by a friend of mine:

“Never give in, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never Yield to a force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
― Winston S. Churchill

We must stand and fight.  We must not waiver, we must not flinch.  We must come out on top, our very culture depends on it.

Quote of the Day – Sebastian (1/10/2013)

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If you know someone sitting this one out because they think the anti-gun groups don’t matter, slap them silly. We’re not facing the anti-gun groups, we’re facing the White House and the whole Obama coalition, and if you think that doesn’t matter, just ask Mitt Romney whether he agrees with you.

Sebastian – Why This is Serious

January 10th, 2013

[Like Sebastian I’m nervous.  I keep hearing from more and more people who they’re “voting with their wallet” to indicate their opinion.  Well that’s all well and good but it doesn’t really help where the real fight is.  Currently I’m working on creating a kiosk for the local gun shop so people can contact their representatives right there.

Form letters should be avoided I know, and I will help anyone who asks write a letter.  I have been meaning to post my letter but keep forgetting.  I will however post a copy of TMW’s because honestly it was much better and probably considerably more effective, it’s also what I have a copy of handy.

Honorable xxxxxxxx,

The tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school has sparked new proposed legislation regarding firearms.  Currently many throughout the country are riding on emotion and crying for something, anything, to be done.  Even if ultimately what is done would have no bearing on what happened.

The actions of that lone monster belong to him and him alone.  His actions should not affect the law-abiding gun owners in this country.  The calls for “gun control”, a new “assault weapons ban”, and “magazine ban” stem from an emotional reaction to the tragedy.  The emotional response is placing blame on the law abiding instead of the deranged individual who is actually responsible.

If any new gun control is passed, it will not only affect the able-bodied law-abiding gun owners, but the disabled as well.  As a disabled woman, it is very discriminating to me and others like me.  A new assault weapons ban, as well as a magazine ban, will risk my life as I will have no other effective means to defend myself.

The AR-15 is by far the easiest and most comfortable rifle for me to shoot and operate with my disability which limits function of my dominate hand.  Many of the features being attacked are what make that rifle functional for myself and others who are disabled like me.  Having an adjustable stock merely allows the rifle to properly fit the user.  A pistol grip allows my disabled hand to form a more natural angle and operate the rifle.  The rail system allows me to attach things to aid in supporting the rifle with my functional arm.

Yet legislation being brought to the floor wants to strip me of a tool that allows me to level the playing field with men stronger and fully able-bodied; a tool that actually allows me to enjoy hunting with my husband since I can properly use and employ it.  Currently due to a work related injury to my other hand the AR-15 is the only firearm I can operate safely.

Further my defensive pistol, which is much less comfortable to operate, would be rendered much less useful as well.  Magazine restrictions stand to require me to have to reload and work considerably harder to keep the weapon in the fight.  Instead of focusing on stopping the threat I will have to focus more on worrying about running out of ammo.  This magazine restriction will not stop an able-bodied attacker, it will not even slow them down, it will however slow me down.

Why must I be disarmed and rendered less able because of the actions of a lone mad man?  Why are technological advances that benefit women and the disabled being thrown under the bus?  Why do you support the disenfranchisement of disabled women?

I implore you, respect and defend the rights of gun owners and in so doing respect and defend the rights of disabled women to have a choice in what their most effective means of self-defense is.

Thank you,

TMW

Now this was a targeted letter sent to the two Senators, both of whom support gun control.  We sent this over a week ago, we still haven’t gotten a response from either Senator.  There was a modified version that was sent to the more gun friendly representatives.

I will say I was quite pleased with one of my state representatives.  He actually sent a reply the Saturday after we sent it.  The good news on that one is he’s evidently been hearing from all over his district to head off new gun control.

On that same front, I will say I do have some good news for Sebastian if he’s reading this.  There are many people I know of who also were just consistently on the bench who are now moving to become active in the political fight.  Hopefully we can keep the momentum and keep growing.

If you haven’t contacted your representatives yet, do so now.  -TMM]

Quote of the Day – Michael Z. Williamson (1/9/2013)

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Eventually, we need to move away from the notion that owning and operating a vehicle is a right and entitlement, and limit it to people with a proven, bona fide professional need.  There are plenty of trains and buses for normal people.  This is how most civilized nations are moving and is not a violation of your right to travel.

Michael Z. Williamson – WE NEED TO REGULATE CARS THE WAY WE REGULATE GUNS
January 9th, 2013

[I’m amazed at the number of people I’ve seen screaming about the fact we regulate cars and not guns.  Mr. Williamson does a fantastic job ripping that misconception down piece by piece.  Seriously, go read the whole thing.

In the back of my head I wanted to laugh but couldn’t because I knew of the exact regulations he was referring to, every last one of them.  The other side of this debate though will insist over and over that none of those things actually exist, even if you cite the exact law.  That end quote though I find a perfect closure.  If you think we need to get rid of guns in the name of public safety, motorized vehicles need to go too. -B ]

h/t Robb.

Quote of the Day–Dan Muhlbauer (01/03/2013)

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“We cannot have big guns out here as far as the big guns that are out here, the semi-automatics and all of them,” Muhlbauer said. “Those are not hunting weapons.

…

“Even if you have them, I think we need to start taking them,” Muhlbauer said. “Because if they’re out there, they’re just going to get circulated around to the wrong people. Those guns should not be in the public’s hands. There are just too many guns.”

Iowa State Representative Dan Muhlbauer

December 26, 2012

[First, let me be perfectly clear.  μολὼν λαβέ or molon labe Representative Muhlbauer.  I didn’t go shoot anyone with my firearms and neither did the majority of gun owning Americans so leave my property alone.

If you desperately want my property, I request that you lead the confiscation teams so that those you would attempt to use force of government to steal from can more easily deal with the tyrannical bureaucrat who sent the jack booted thugs to their door.  However like most petty tyrants you won’t actually bleed for your cause, instead you will send others to do your dirty work for you.

I will restate this for those who may have never seen my tripwire post, more specifically the lessons of the 20th century:

Lesson No. 2: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and confiscate your firearms– kill him. The disarmament of law-abiding citizens is the required precursor to genocide.

A word of warning though Mr. Muhlbauer, if any of those you attempt to kill succeed in surviving and escape, my assumption is they are coming for YOU.  A man like that will be on the run already and ultimately have nothing left to lose.  In the process of attempting to steal his property, you threatened his family, invaded his house, and even attempted to kill him.  Think about that sir, you may not be pulling the trigger yourself, but you’re creating the laws to tell others to kill people for you.  You are responsible!

I didn’t put a gun in anyone’s hand, I didn’t pull the trigger, I had absolutely nothing to do with a mentally deranged individual, yet you want to hold me and others like me responsible.  You would disarm us to leave us as defenseless as those children, praying that the police show up in time.  Tell me, did the police show up in time?  Because it took 20 minutes and it was a blood bath that any responsible gun owner could have stopped if they were there, but you sir would disarm them.  You would take their property or imprison or kill them.

That sir is sick and down right despicable.  You claim to be about protecting the children, yet you would have masked men invade homes in the middle of the night heavily armed killing anyone inside who merely looked like they might resist.  Think I’m exaggerating?  Look at your war on drugs and the number of innocent people killed in the wake of that mess.  You would use the force of government to kill otherwise law-abiding citizens for the victim-less crime of merely owning property.

Who is the mass murderer here Mr. Muhlbauer?  Who is attempting to use force to coerce others into behavior you, Mr. Muhlbauer, deem acceptable?

One group wants to merely be left alone, another group blames the first for tragedies the first group had no part in.  Tread wisely Mr. Muhlbauer.  We are not bloodthirsty and we aren’t out to kill or hurt people like you would claim.  We will however defend ourselves and our natural rights, rights that you have no say in.

To the people of Iowa, find a way to run that tyrant out of his job.  Sadly your state doesn’t support recalls like mine does, and yes I’m already looking into what needs to be done to recall a politician.  Anyone who votes yes from the State of Washington for an Assault Weapons Ban or Magazine ban, I will lead the charge to remove from office.  Some officials may think their reelection would be at least 2 years away, not true in some states.

There’s the Soap Box, Ballot Box, and Cartridge Box.  An attempt to remove anyone of the three options for defending ourselves and ensuring the governed can revoke their consent results in the third box being the only option. –B]

Quote of the Day – Robb Allen

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So, take a quick, deep breath. Write, call, show up. But for Browning’s sake, clear  your head, focus your mind, and do not give an inch. We’re in the right, we are the good guys here, and there’s no room to compromise. Let them break against our wall, don’t preemptively open a door or two for them.

Robb Allen – You’re getting sunshine rammed down your throat whether you want it or not
December 20, 2012

[Make no mistake people, we’re in a fight and we must not get complacent.  Just because there are valid points being made about how we will survive doesn’t mean that it’s a done deal.  The points being brought up across the board are good news.  There is a pile of facts that indicates that no, the sky will not fall on us overnight.  We can fight and win, there is no question on this.  The problem is we need to act in a manner to guarantee our victory.

Bug every last gun owner you can, get them to write, call, or even meet in person with their representatives.  This is serious folks, the more active we are up front the less work it will take at the final push.  We need to take the initiative, we need to take control of the conversation.

Getting a bill through will take time and the American public is worse than a dog when it comes to their attention span.  Another squirrel is coming and ultimately this serves as a distraction for law-makers to avoid the more pressing and serious issues of the economy and government spending.  The case laid out by Chris is a decent one as well.

So yes, there is good news on the horizon, much like I talked about last night.  We must fight, we must win, we must brush our opponents into the dust bin of history!  We can seal Joe’s wish in one fell swoop, do not back down, do not cower, do not get angry or upset, merely fight, the deck is not stacked against us like our opponents would have you think. -B]

Quote of the Day – A Girl (12/18/2012)

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When I was mugged I blamed only 2 people. My attacker and myself. I can’t control him, so I looked at myself to figure out what I could do to put myself in a better position for survival should the element I couldn’t control decided to come after me again. I took responsibility. I didn’t blame the cops or the grocery store parking lot or even my parents. They had some influence as did society, but it was me who stood there and did nothing. It was me. I did not come after you or anyone else. I didn’t go to congress and ask for new laws to protect my lack of action. I took action. Law abiding, legal action and I took responsibility for my part in that day. I can tell you none of it felt good. I didn’t feel good after I picked myself up off the ground, I didn’t feel good as I hid in the bathroom and took care of my scraped up arms and back. I didn’t feel good when my so called friends turned their backs on me. I didn’t feel good when my daughter looked me in the eye and told me she didn’t feel safe because I didn’t stop the and guy. It didn’t feel good when I showed up in the park to learn how to defend myself. I felt anything but good. I felt sad and lonely. I felt lost and broken. I felt ashamed and confused. I felt scared and and hopeless. And I fought all of that everyday for over a year in order to take responsibility. In order to feel good again.

A Girl – Feeling Good
December 18, 2012

[First, go read the whole thing, it’s worth it and there were a few other quotes I almost put up first till I hit that one.

Now when I read that my immediate thought was, “No one ever said doing the right thing was the easiest route.”  I did a previous rant in the immediate wake and honestly her post and mine are intertwined together.

Feelings are driving the conversation for a lot of people right now, they want to do something, anything.  As I said before:

They want to be able to look at a physical object and blame it for what as happened.  They want to destroy the physical object and blame it for their grief.

They don’t want to admit that ultimately there was a person behind the gun.  They don’t want to admit no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn’t be able to control him.  They don’t want to admit all the efforts they took in advance to feel good in the wake of things like Columbine and other mass shootings in the end did nothing.  Not only did they do nothing, but the may have made it worse.

To them though that last thought is an impossibility   It is impossible that the actions they took to satisfy their feelings could have been counter productive.  How could they?  Their responses felt right to them in a previous time of emotional tragedy.

People currently forget that 11 years ago a group of men brought this country to its knees with a set of box cutters.  The tool is a tool and nothing more.  It’s use for good and evil rests entirely with the person holding the tool.

The principal, Dawn Hochsprung, gave her life ultimately trying to protect her students.  She was forced, by law, to be unarmed in that encounter.  The aggressor however broke numerous laws and had to actually steal the firearms to carry out his crime.  Think about that for a second, objectively.  We, as a community, trusted that woman, as well as the staff with the care and protection of our children.  We trusted that they would do what is necessary to keep them safe and educate them for the future.  We trust them enough to send our children there for a decent part of their young lives.  Yet we refuse to allow them the choice of carrying a firearm to defend our children should evil come before them.

We refused to allow the people immediately on the scene to respond to the threat posed against the children.  Instead the shooter was given 20 minutes to perpetrate his crimes.  He was given 20 minutes with defenseless victims.  Victims who were in the charge of responsible adults.  Those responsible adults, responsible for the children in their charge, were forcibly disarmed under the law.

The law in this case guaranteed the outcome.  We will never know what the outcome would have been had just one teacher been able to choose to be armed.  We can hypothesize given previous events, such as the Pearl High School incident in 1997.  But we can never actually know, all we can do is wonder.

It’s time to stop passing laws based on irrational emotion and examine a very simple and harsh fact.  When evil finally shows up, how can we react.  We focus too much on stopping evil out right and preventing it from ever happening.  While definitely a worthy goal, it is almost impossible to achieve since you cannot actually control the aggressor.  All you can do is react as quickly as possible and try to minimize damage.   What you can control to achieve that goal is yourself and your response, except in many cases the law has neutered that ability from the victims. -B]

Quote of the Day–11/15/2012

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The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign hands should be curtailed, lest Rome fall.

Cicero, 55 BC 

[So, what’s changed in the last 2067 years that some how makes this republic exempt?

My mom emailed this to me after the previous post on the budget.

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance."

She added the comment we have learned nothing in the last 2067 years.  She’s right.  Those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it.  The problem is though is you have a large segment of the population getting free stuff from the government.  They don’t want that to stop until every last drop is sucked out.

Get ready folks because the fall of the Roman Empire wasn’t exactly a fun ride.  -B  ]

Wounded Warrior Foundation Puts Foot In Mouth…

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So it appears the Wounded Warrior Project went and shoved their foot in their mouth with regards to a large segment of the population which graciously throws money at them.

“WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or firearms companies.“

Screenshot in case they memory hole the end statement.

In case you didn’t read the first link, this includes doing interviews with firearm related talk  radio.  Given that it would also prevent firearm events raising funds for their cause,  including donations of firearms to be raffled to raise funds.

Now they are free to do whatever they would like, just the same I am free to send my funds to groups as I would like.  I will say that refusing to talk on a radio show because they are gun related show isn’t probably the brightest thing to do.  In the grand scheme it certainly feels like a snub, especially when someone is going out of their way to give them free publicity.

So instead from now on when I would normally give to WWP I will instead send it to Soldiers’ Angels.  Honestly this is where I send most of my support anyway.  If you would like to continue donating to the WWP, that is your call and I am not knocking their cause or mission.  I will say I am offended that they would politicize a stance over a fundamental right and use their mission and purpose as a screen.  It appears that I’m not the only one thinking about cutting WWP off from their wallet either.

If the WWP wants to discriminate against gun owners or otherwise snub our overwhelming generosity to those who need it, especially those in uniform, we will find someone else who does want it.  It’s what we do.

I will say that Soldiers’ Angels was at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous this year and the fundraising was directed at them.  Patti Patton-Bader’s youngest son was there as a representative of the group and had a blast shooting steel and even got him interested in USPSA.  We even got him hitting the steel out at 950.

So at least it appears that Soldiers’ Angels has their head on straight and realizes that it doesn’t matter where it comes from, what matters is the mission and the cause.  It pains me that I even have to think about it, but they made the choice not me.  So, if you’d rather not donate to WWP but still want to support wounded troops, Soldiers’ Angels works, quite well I might add.

You don’t just have to donate money, there are many options from sewing to writing letters to support the troops.  Honestly, when you consider it, Soldier’s Angels has the benefit of being much more personal in their approach, especially for the wounded.

I’ve spoken my piece. Wounded Warrior Project will no longer get a cent out of my wallet.  Instead I will send that and more to a project fully focused on the mission of providing support to wounded warriors as well as their brother’s in arms.