Another Sample Letter
No, I'm not a Marylander, at least not anymore, and my letter will probably go ignored. I sent it anyway; who knows. Anybody else is free to use this, though you will want to look it over and elide some portions before you send it.
^^^^^^^^^^
Dear <Representative>
Camden, NJ: Antonio Diaz Reyes, 32, rapes three women. His string of serial rapes--brazen, daylight attacks, all--left authorities perplexed. His crime spree was brought to an abrupt end, though, when he attacked small business owner Ngoc Le and his wife. Reyes held a knife to Mrs. Le's throat and threatened to kill her. Le drew his own legally-owned firearm and fired once, removing a dangerous predator from the community he terrorized.
Firearms are used to save American lives approximately 2.5 million times each year--that's an average of once every 13 seconds [1]. Yet many state and local governments forbid their law-abiding citizens from possessing the very tool that could save their lives in a violent situation. Not coincidentally, these governments also frequently preside over the cities with the highest murder rates: DC, Chicago, New York, LA, and so forth. In fact, DC, which has the strictest gun control measures in the nation, was also the 2003 murder capital of the US.
As you may be aware, the State of Ohio recently passed a law allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms for personal defence. Six months after the law went into effect, the Ohio Attorney General released data on the program. In the first six months, 38,476 licenses were issued (38,434 standard licenses and 42 temporary emergency permits). The success rate has been nothing short of astounding: of all of those licenses, only 24 CHLs, or 0.062%, have been revoked in the first six months. Furthermore, several of those revocations were due to the death of the holders. 48 CHLs, or 0.12%, were suspended in that time; many of these suspensions were reinstated after non-firearms-related charges against the license-holder were dropped [2]. These percentages are typical of concealed carry permit holders.
Take, for example, the case of Florida. According to a report by John Lott, “The rarity of these incidents is reflected in Florida statistics: 221,443 licenses were issued between October 1, 1987, and April 30, 1994, but only 18 crimes involving firearms were committed by those with licenses [3].†This represents a crime rate of .0081% within that group, a number so small as to be statistically insignificant. Another common concern, that persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons will erroneously shoot innocent bystanders, has also been shown to be unfounded; in fact, according to a study by criminologist and Constitutional lawyer Don Kates shows that the “errant shoot†rate by civilians is approximately 2%, while the “errant shoot†rate for police officers is more than five times as high, at 11% [4]. The reason for this is simple: while police have to enter a situation with little-to-no information, the private citizen (and would-be victim) is there to watch it unfold, and "rape, robbery and attempted murder are not typically actions rife with ambiguity or subtlety. [5]"
You may be wondering why I, a non-resident, am writing to you. Certainly, I'm not your constituent, and you aren't my representative. Numerous reasons abound. First, I'm nearly finished with my undergraduate work, and I'm trying to decide where to go to graduate school. Maryland has a number of fine universities, and I would consider moving back to Maryland were this legislation to pass. You might notice that I say "back" to Maryland; that's because I've lived there before, which brings me to my second point: I have family and friends in Maryland. Restoring to them the right of self-defence would go a long way toward ensuring their safety. A few of them even live in (or near) your district. I myself lived nearby, in Potomac, for several years.
The third reason, though, and by far the most important, is that self-defence is a basic human right. For years, we've been advised by authorities to submit to those who don't abide by society's rules, and we'll be left unharmed. Unfortunately, that advice has been proved wrong time and again. Just last week, a Columbus, Ohio man had that point driven home--repeatedly--by a group of thugs when they beat him for apparently no reason. I've linked the story below [6], including a photo of the man. I defy you to look into his eyes--the one that's open, anyway--and tell me he didn't have the right to defend himself against that brutal assault. By co-sponsoring this bill, you can show your support for families, and for the basic human right to self-defense. As Oleg Volk so bluntly put it, "[r]apists and muggers prefer unarmed victims. [7]" It's time to stop giving aid and comfort to these enemies of society.
Sincerely,
<me>
[1] Kleck, Gary and Marc Gertz. "Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a Gun." The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, Northwestern University School of Law. Volume 86, Number 1, Fall, 1995
<http://www.a-human-right.com>
[2]
http://www.ohioccw.org/article2649.html
[3] Kleck, Gary and Marc Gertz. ibid.
[4] Will, George. “The Last Word.†Newsweek, 15 November 1993. pg 93-94.
[5] ibid.
[6]
http://ohioccw.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2777
[7]
http://www.a-human-right-com
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