Dear Mr. President,
During your historic run to the White House, you challenged us to act within the urgency of the moment and urged us to be the change that we wished to see in the world. As you most certainly know, we live in a very urgent time in our country. The loss of jobs, the loss of homes, and the instability of the stock market have made times troubling for all Americans. But there is a problem that most people have overlooked. Our children are dying at highly alarming rates, but not due to swine flu or due to other diseases like pneumonia. Our children are being killed by another epidemic-scale disease known as gun violence.
This is a preventable illness, but we are doing all that we can as parents, as community activists, and as faith leaders. We are being the change that you asked us to be. But, Mr. President, we need you to act in the urgency of the moment. There is not a minute to waste. We are now faced with the fact that our children are no longer being killed solely by bullets, but by the unwillingness of others to act on their behalf. It is not enough for us to rely upon the personal responsibility of our citizens. It is also the legislative and executive responsibility of our Government. With that being said, our coalition is asking for three main initiatives from your Administration:
1) Re-instate the Federal Assault Weapon Ban as a permanent law.
2) Call a National Summit to address the national gun violence epidemic, highlighting problems and possible solutions to the problems.
3) Call for a Federal Agency to collect, track and disseminate national data on firearm violence to youth.
We do not have any time to waste. Every three hours in the US, a child is killed by gunfire. We need Federal intervention. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that the ultimate measure of a human being is not where that person stands in times of comfort and convenience, but where that person stands in times of great challenge and controversy. Thank you for your consideration. We need your vision, we need your support, but we also need your action.
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GGuns are nothing more than a tool in a killers hand. I personally own many guns. None of which have ever been used as a weapon of violence, but more as a form of protection. The problem with guns laws and bans are this: they do not prevent the criminals from getting guns they just prevent those not inclined to commit a crime from getting them. In 1996 australia crime with guns rose 39% almost overnight after a gun ban took affect. The problem isn't guns being taken out of the picture if anything the laws need to be loosened. A criminal will think twice before commiting crime if he knows he will have to back it up with his life. But however if the scum knows that guns have been taken from the responsible americans then its all fair game. Just some info that may help with your thoughts on the matter. As a second note my constition (even though our government is doing everything in its power to take away all of our rights) allows me to keep cary and bear arms.
ReplyDelete"Our task of creating a socialist America can only succeed when those who would resist us have been totally disarmed."-- Sara Brady, Chairman, Handgun Control International