Congressman Larsen,
In response to your statement: "...I continue to hold my position that Congress should reinstate the assault weapons ban and ban high-capacity ammunition clips above 10 rounds per clip. These military-grade weapons serve no legitimate purpose in civilian life...", the Second Amendment was not written to be limited to what you may feel is a 'legitimate purpose in civilian life'.
It was written to allow the populus to be armed, and armed with military-grade weapons, nonetheless. Pure and simple. I can understand that this doesn't sit well with politicians. It probably wasn't ever intended to.
According to the FBI's statistics, a rifle (and this includes rifles of all sorts - not limited to those with high capacity magazines) is a whole lot less likely to be used to kill someone than a bladed instrument, blunt instrument, or bare hands/feet.
If you care to, you may look up the statistics yourself:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8
If you are successful in limiting the amount of firearms, or their capacity, what's next? Warning labels on knives? Not allowing me to buy a meat cleaver (These slaughterhouse-grade cutting implements serve no legitimate purpose in civilian life...) or a framing hammer?
Of course not. Because, knives and baseball bats don't really pose a threat to a government with auto-firing carbines.
So, how about
following the intent of the Second Amendment, as opposed to attempting to eventually circumvent it by a series of iterations of laws designed to dilute it?
Sincerely, William J. Nielsen
PS: modern firearms generally use a removable box
magazine, which holds rounds of ammunition inside; a
clip is a device which bands/holds a number of rounds together, usually to be inserted into either a fixed or removable magazine. I mention it, because, if you're going to be making decisions regarding firearms, I'm sure you'll want to sound well-informed on the subject
--- On Mon, 3/11/13, Congressman Rick Larsen <
[email protected]> wrote:
From: Congressman Rick Larsen <
[email protected]>
Subject: Responding To Your Mail
To: [
address redacted]yahoo.com
Date: Monday, March 11, 2013, 3:40 PM
Dear William :
Thank you for contacting me about steps we can take to prevent gun violence and make our communities safer. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Within the halls of Congress my colleagues and I are taking part in an important debate on the most effective manner of protecting the American people from gun violence. From the attack on Congresswoman Giffords that left six dead to the shootings in Colorado, Wisconsin, Oregon and Connecticut, it is too painfully clear that we must take meaningful action to make our communities safer. The 2008 Skagit County mass shootings that killed six brought this type of tragedy to our home. No single law can prevent the actions of a madman, but that is no excuse to not take action.
I continue to hold my position that Congress should reinstate the assault weapons ban and ban high-capacity ammunition clips above 10 rounds per clip . These military-grade weapons serve no legi timate purpose in civilian life and as such, I have cosponsored legislation that aims to remove these unnecessary weapons from our streets.
We must close the gun show and private sale loopholes and strengthen background check requirements to make sure criminal s and the mentally ill are unable to purchase guns. I am proud to have jo ined my colleague, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York, in sponsoring legislation that would provide for universal background checks to any individual wishing to buy, sell, or transfer a gun. Similarly, I support legislation that strengthens our ability to track the illegal flow of guns that too often fall through the cracks. This is not a matter of tracking gun ownership for those individuals who legally have the right to possess firearms, but is about identifying illegal activity that threatens our collective safety.
Legislation on gun safety is part, but not all of the solution. Mental illness has been shown to be a factor in some of these mass shootings. Mental illnesses are often misunderstood and under-diagnosed. Health providers need to give mental health the same attention that physical health is given. Congress should direct more research into mental illness and provide more funding for effective care of mentally ill patients. The Mental Health First Act, which I am a cosponsor of, seeks to address the short falls that exist in mental health training.
We have not seen the last of violent crimes in our country, but if Congress and the President act, we can make our communities safer and shrink this cycle of violence.
If you are interested in receiving periodic updates about my work in Congress, please sign up for my newsletter by clicking here. I also invite you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Sincerely,
Rick Larsen
United States Representative
Washington State, 2nd District