To all my representatives, federal and state, republican and democrat. I am mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore! I am sending this letter to all of my elected officials, and posting this to my facebook account in hopes to inspire others to take action as well.
You are MY representative. I, and others like me, put you into your office to represent MY concerns. The NRA may have contributed money to your campaign, but it was MY vote that put you there. I am sick and tired of you paying more care and attention to your big donors than to being MY representative when considering the legislation, I put you in office to enact.
Many of your colleagues say “Now is not the time for action, this close to the tragedy.” I say, If not now, when? This cycle of devastating shootings must result in action. It is far past the time for you to provide more than your “thoughts and prayers” to the situation. Best intentions and all the thoughts and prayers in the world are absolutely meaningless without action to follow through.
Some of your colleagues say we need to deal with the mental issues, not the weapons. Yes, I agree. However, we must also work to restrict access to the weapons for those who suffer from those mental difficulties. The two go hand-in-hand.
Others say those who demand even the most modest controls and regulations on guns are out to eliminate the second amendment. To them, all I have to say is “Political Hogwash!” Nobody is out to end the second amendment. Nobody is out to take away your guns, unless you obtained them illegally, or have used them in some illegal manner. It strikes me as so much hypocrisy when legislators will pursue illegal immigrants and attempt to enact laws to remove them in extreme ways, often at the expense of due process or compassion, will refuse to enact any laws to provide even the least restrictions on guns to protect innocent lives. The second amendment is not in danger. Only the stranglehold the NRA has on our government is in danger.
At this time, I call on YOU, the person I voted into office, and the person I can vote out of office just as easily, to support reasonable restrictions on the possession of guns by those who have demonstrated their inability to control their emotional reactions and are prone to violence. I also call on YOU to support reasonable legislation on the licensing and training for all gun owners. And finally, I call on YOU to support sensible restrictions on the size of magazines available to the public (if you cannot defend yourself, or hunt successfully, without needing 30 or more rounds in your weapon, you probably should not be trusted with that weapon until you get more training anyway.) and the availability of semi-automatic and automatic weapons to the public without more demanding background checks and licensing requirements.
To anyone else who reads this open letter, I ask that you also notify your legislators and demand action from them as well. We need people of action to represent us, not sheep to blindly follow the wishes of their largest donors. We need to reclaim the power of the voting booth. If you simply follow the herd and offer nothing more than your thoughts and prayers, you are equally culpable when the next tragic shooting occurs. Experience has shown us there will be more. We need to take action to at least make it much more difficult for the deranged individuals to carry out their unconscionable schemes. Write your representatives directly. Do more than simply shout your dismay on facebook or twitter. If we continue to do the same thing over and over, and expect different results, that is the definition of insanity. This old saying has ominous meaning for us today. Do we continue to be insane in this matter by our inaction? Or do we step up and strive to make our world a different, and hopefully safer place? You have the power, but you must use it.
Thank you for listening. Now it is your turn. Make your voice heard.