While I am of the mind that letters are going to be rendered obsolete very soon, it can't hurt and I had a few minutes. Fired this off to back up phone calls this morning. Feel free to use it if you haven't got time to draft your own.
Representative Pignatelli,
I'm writing in opposition to Governor Patrick's proposed anti-gun legislation. As you're aware (having a very strong rating from GOAL) this is a hard state to live in for lawful gun owners, and this bill would only make more law abiding citizens into criminals. The propositions are arbitrary, meaningless, and will not prevent even a single criminal from committing a crime. Two points I feel most strongly about need to be made;
1) One gun a month is ludicrous. What's to be done in cases of inheritance? Buying a matched pair of pistols? A new gun owner who would like a home defense gun and a gun to carry for personal protection? Even magazines would be covered under this legislation, meaning that you could buy a gun in January, but not a magazine to use in it until February. Hopefully no one's wives or daughters are accosted in their homes before they can get a magazine for their self defense pistol - it would certainly be a tragedy to read a story in the paper about a 100lb woman trying to fend off a 300lb attacker with her pistol - that wasn't loaded because the Governor feels that it's dangerous to buy a gun and a magazine in the same month. Even putting aside the obviously ignorant notion that controlling what people buy is the government's job, the ramifications even on a small scale are disastrous, the money required for enforcement would be a further burden than taxpayers already labor under, and the whole idea flies in the face of living free.
2) Seven round magazine limits are absurd. This would disqualify nearly every gun in common use, with the exception of some revolvers, single shot bolt action rifles, and a few shotguns. Even the M1 Garand, carried by many of our fathers and grandfathers in WW2, Korea, and even Vietnam - that the government-sponsored Civilian Marksmanship Program sells directly to the door of Americans in every state - would be rendered useless. Being in possession of something other than a musket or a top-break 20ga should not make a law abiding citizen into a felon, and that is the intention of this bill; to make otherwise upstanding and lawful citizens responsible for the tragedies brought upon by lunatics. Modern arms possession is the right of free men, and this bill quite clearly takes aim at all modern arms. It is a de facto ban.
Please be vocal in your opposition to the Governor's plan. This is an uphill battle in our state, and with your pro-2a record myself and your other constituants are in desperate need of your support. Merely voting against the bill is not enough - good men such as yourself need to stand up and shout down this ridiculous, reactionary attempt to penalize the majority due to the actions of the few. Don't let the ignorance flowing down from Beacon Hill defile the rest of us. I implore you to do everything in your power to defeat the anti-gun agenda.
Respectfully yours,
Representative Pignatelli,
I'm writing in opposition to Governor Patrick's proposed anti-gun legislation. As you're aware (having a very strong rating from GOAL) this is a hard state to live in for lawful gun owners, and this bill would only make more law abiding citizens into criminals. The propositions are arbitrary, meaningless, and will not prevent even a single criminal from committing a crime. Two points I feel most strongly about need to be made;
1) One gun a month is ludicrous. What's to be done in cases of inheritance? Buying a matched pair of pistols? A new gun owner who would like a home defense gun and a gun to carry for personal protection? Even magazines would be covered under this legislation, meaning that you could buy a gun in January, but not a magazine to use in it until February. Hopefully no one's wives or daughters are accosted in their homes before they can get a magazine for their self defense pistol - it would certainly be a tragedy to read a story in the paper about a 100lb woman trying to fend off a 300lb attacker with her pistol - that wasn't loaded because the Governor feels that it's dangerous to buy a gun and a magazine in the same month. Even putting aside the obviously ignorant notion that controlling what people buy is the government's job, the ramifications even on a small scale are disastrous, the money required for enforcement would be a further burden than taxpayers already labor under, and the whole idea flies in the face of living free.
2) Seven round magazine limits are absurd. This would disqualify nearly every gun in common use, with the exception of some revolvers, single shot bolt action rifles, and a few shotguns. Even the M1 Garand, carried by many of our fathers and grandfathers in WW2, Korea, and even Vietnam - that the government-sponsored Civilian Marksmanship Program sells directly to the door of Americans in every state - would be rendered useless. Being in possession of something other than a musket or a top-break 20ga should not make a law abiding citizen into a felon, and that is the intention of this bill; to make otherwise upstanding and lawful citizens responsible for the tragedies brought upon by lunatics. Modern arms possession is the right of free men, and this bill quite clearly takes aim at all modern arms. It is a de facto ban.
Please be vocal in your opposition to the Governor's plan. This is an uphill battle in our state, and with your pro-2a record myself and your other constituants are in desperate need of your support. Merely voting against the bill is not enough - good men such as yourself need to stand up and shout down this ridiculous, reactionary attempt to penalize the majority due to the actions of the few. Don't let the ignorance flowing down from Beacon Hill defile the rest of us. I implore you to do everything in your power to defeat the anti-gun agenda.
Respectfully yours,
