theshephard
Member
Goes without saying he's on our side, pretty stock letter I'm sure, but thought I'd post anyway.
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Thank you for contacting me regarding gun violence and related legislation in the 113th Congress. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.
On December 14, 2012, 20 year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In response to this tragedy, some of my colleagues introduced legislation at the beginning of the 113th Congress related to gun violence. Most of these bills were sponsored by lawmakers who are seeking new restrictions on gun ownership.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) introduced four of the aforementioned bills. H.R. 137 would require people prohibited from buying firearms to be listed in a national database. H.R. 138 would prohibit the possession of large capacity ammunitions clips. H.R. 141 would require criminal background checks on all firearm transactions at gun shows. H.R. 142 would require face-to-face purchases of ammunition, licensing of ammunition dealers, and the reporting of bulk ammo purchases.
In response to the tragedy in Newtown, certain lawmakers may be tempted to propose or support stricter gun control laws. But these proposals will likely fail to address the problem. Laws that further restrict gun rights will be broken by those determined to commit evil, just as criminals and mentally ill individuals often do to our current laws. In fact, as we've learned from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)'s Fast and Furious scandal, in some troubling instances our own federal government has permitted violations of existing gun laws. Furthermore, according to the most current FBI statistics, federal weapons prosecution levels are down 27% from their peak during the Bush Administration. Instead of supporting new gun control measures, the Obama Administration should instead focus on improving enforcement of existing gun laws that a majority of Americans support.
Gallup polls taken after the Newtown tragedy reveal that renewal of the 1994 Gun Ban is opposed by a majority of Americans. I mirror this sentiment and will oppose legislation designed to ban what certain lawmakers term "assault weapons." I will also oppose legislation designed to reduce the amount of ammunition magazines can legally hold. Instead, I believe it must become the focus of Congress to keep mentally ill individuals from harming themselves or others. In a majority of the tragedies this nation has endured, the common theme is that the assailant was mentally ill and behavioral red flags were either ignored or not acted upon until it was too late. As a strong supporter of all law abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights, I am not satisfied with efforts to keep certain types of firearms out of the hands of the mentally unstable. All stakeholders must find a way to keep all firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill.
Effective enforcement of existing gun laws, rather than proposing new laws, should be the primary focus of Congress and the Administration. Our Founders clearly understood the importance of the law abiding citizens' right to own and use a firearm. I remain committed to defending every law-abiding citizen's right to keep and bear arms and will continue to defend the Second Amendment with my votes in Congress and discussions with colleagues.
Once again, thank you for expressing your views on this issue. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to sign up for my e-newsletter at http://donyoung.house.gov/Forms/EmailSignup/ and my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/RepDonYoung. Doing so will allow me to provide you with updates on this and other important issues. If I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
DON YOUNG
Congressman for All Alaska
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Thank you for contacting me regarding gun violence and related legislation in the 113th Congress. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me.
On December 14, 2012, 20 year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In response to this tragedy, some of my colleagues introduced legislation at the beginning of the 113th Congress related to gun violence. Most of these bills were sponsored by lawmakers who are seeking new restrictions on gun ownership.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) introduced four of the aforementioned bills. H.R. 137 would require people prohibited from buying firearms to be listed in a national database. H.R. 138 would prohibit the possession of large capacity ammunitions clips. H.R. 141 would require criminal background checks on all firearm transactions at gun shows. H.R. 142 would require face-to-face purchases of ammunition, licensing of ammunition dealers, and the reporting of bulk ammo purchases.
In response to the tragedy in Newtown, certain lawmakers may be tempted to propose or support stricter gun control laws. But these proposals will likely fail to address the problem. Laws that further restrict gun rights will be broken by those determined to commit evil, just as criminals and mentally ill individuals often do to our current laws. In fact, as we've learned from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)'s Fast and Furious scandal, in some troubling instances our own federal government has permitted violations of existing gun laws. Furthermore, according to the most current FBI statistics, federal weapons prosecution levels are down 27% from their peak during the Bush Administration. Instead of supporting new gun control measures, the Obama Administration should instead focus on improving enforcement of existing gun laws that a majority of Americans support.
Gallup polls taken after the Newtown tragedy reveal that renewal of the 1994 Gun Ban is opposed by a majority of Americans. I mirror this sentiment and will oppose legislation designed to ban what certain lawmakers term "assault weapons." I will also oppose legislation designed to reduce the amount of ammunition magazines can legally hold. Instead, I believe it must become the focus of Congress to keep mentally ill individuals from harming themselves or others. In a majority of the tragedies this nation has endured, the common theme is that the assailant was mentally ill and behavioral red flags were either ignored or not acted upon until it was too late. As a strong supporter of all law abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights, I am not satisfied with efforts to keep certain types of firearms out of the hands of the mentally unstable. All stakeholders must find a way to keep all firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill.
Effective enforcement of existing gun laws, rather than proposing new laws, should be the primary focus of Congress and the Administration. Our Founders clearly understood the importance of the law abiding citizens' right to own and use a firearm. I remain committed to defending every law-abiding citizen's right to keep and bear arms and will continue to defend the Second Amendment with my votes in Congress and discussions with colleagues.
Once again, thank you for expressing your views on this issue. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to sign up for my e-newsletter at http://donyoung.house.gov/Forms/EmailSignup/ and my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/RepDonYoung. Doing so will allow me to provide you with updates on this and other important issues. If I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
DON YOUNG
Congressman for All Alaska
