RE: Letter to a few SEN reps. Murray, Warren, others.

fshalor

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I received generic replies back from a few people... Sent this to all of them who responded in any manner today. Okay, so I may have been on a bit of a tare. I felt I had to do *something*. Printing this and sending a few physical copies too.

<<begin>>

First, thank you for your responses. I am glad that you are trying to pay attention to your constituents. It's important to know that our representative democracy is working.

I wanted to share with you a few bits which are much in my mind these days. I know I am not alone in this position. Family, friends, co-workers down here on Cape Cod all share the same sense of impending doom with respect to our rights.

Second, I'd like to point you to some numbers which are frequently used in law enforcement circles. A sobering fact is that accuracy of trained police personal in stressful situations is about 20%. It's also been shown by several agencies that the average number of 9mm (a common home defense round) "hits" necessary to stop a single dedicated assailant is 3.

Doing simple arithmetic, this implies that with an assumption of 20% accuracy, and the necessary number of hits being 3, the minimum magazine size to stop a single intruder is 15 rounds of 9mm.

As a law abiding citizen, when I moved back to Massachusetts from Florida I had to destroy all of my 15 round magazines, and then spend several hundred dollars on the process of obtaining a legal LCTF-A permit to carry "high capacity" handguns. I then had to spend more money acquiring 10-round magazines to replace the 15 and 17 round magazines most of the country uses. (And Law Enforcement.)

After this process, I am limited to 10 rounds magazines. Notice the issue here? I can train to reload faster, and carry a second magazine. I will do this.

Third, I would like to ask all lawmakers in MA to put themselves in the shoes of the people they serve. In my case I am slightly torn on a daily basis by something which I can only classify as fear.

- I am concerned by the fact that a wing of our government (DHS) has been stockpiling enough small arms ammunition to fight a 30 year ground war while we have been having epic problems balancing our budgets. Just casually look around for evidence of this fact. It's all out there. I am afraid of what their plans are for this ammunition. I'm also keenly aware of how it has effected market prices for ammunition for the weapons I legally own.

- I am concerned that laws are being proposed which, like in New York, legal, law abiding citizens are being turned into criminals.

- I am concerned that lawmakers are not aware that current laws are putting stress on law-followers like myself. I can not begin to explain how much fear I have of being pulled over for a broken tail light.

In circles of law abiding LCTF holders, there is a regular and present danger that any act we take may result in our rights to bear arms to be stripped from us. We can not go to the post office without fear. We can not pick up our kids from school without going through a process, verifying that we are following the law. Making choices about the interpretations of the words.

We are regularly faced with concerning facts; like one which was bought to our attention a few months ago about the Firearms Licensing Officer in Lowell, MA and her interpretation of the law. That particular jurisdiction will not issue LCTF-A's without restriction.

Fourth, a random fact to pass along. What if a legal, law abiding citizen who has a LCTF-A, who has undergone background checks, taken training courses and follows all steps of the law, finds him or herself in the process of a divorce?

In MA, it is commonplace to request that in an hostile divorce, that a restraining order be issued on both parties. If this happens to this person, instantly, their firearms, ammunition, anything relating to their hobby, or their constitutional right, is immediately confiscated by the state.

Next, it is not clear that this person will be deemed "suitable" by any Police Chief in MA again.

My final request; Please take a moment and put yourself in the position of a legal, law abiding citizen who chooses to be "ready" in case of a home invasion, in case of a situation where they have to defend themselves, or just in case they may occasionally enjoy going to the range and practicing the art which helped make this country possible.

I challenge you to read reports from Mass State Police on why they chose AR-15 rifles (with 30 rnd magazines) as their patrol rifle. I challenge you to pass along statistics about the number of AWB banned weapons in the country vs the number of actual crimes committed with these rifles. I challenge you to discuss these statistics with the media and with your fellow lawmakers.

Thank you for your time. I appreciate your efforts on our behalf. I understand that the issues we face as a society are difficult and that you are in a difficult position.
 
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