I recently wrote Senator Warner and my congresswoman, Jo Ann Davis. While I got a promt, supportive response from Mrs. Davis vowing to fight H.R. 1022, it took about 2 months to get anything from the dear Senator. I searched THR and it seems I'm getting the same form letter he's been sending out since 2004! See the old thread: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=100203
I was present when they blew up the Embry dam in Fredericksburg, VA a few years back. I was floored when Senator Warner, on the public address system, stood before a Major in the US Army Corps of Engineers and told him
"Salute me, damn it! I sign your paycheck!"
I was shocked and embarassed - and I was waiting to see any coverage of that glaring display of arrogance and disrespect show up in the news. Nope - nothing... I don't care if he's the head of the Armed Services Committee, nothing gives the right to a Senator to do such a thing in public or in private.
Anyway, here's the text of the letter he sent me in response to my request that he not support HR 1022:
May 23, 2007
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX:
Thank you for contacting me to share your views about assault weapons. I appreciate the benefit of your views on this issue.
As you know, the Assault Weapons Ban, signed into law in 1994, placed a ten-year prohibition on the domestic manufacture, transfer, or possession of certain semi-automatic assault weapons and on the transfer and possession of high capacity ammunition clips. The ten-year ban ended on September 13, 2004.
For a number of years, President George W. Bush has indicated that he supports renewing the assault weapons ban for another decade. In past Congresses, I have joined with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in introducing compromise legislation that exactly mirrors what President Bush has requested, namely to provide a straight ten-year extension of the Assault Weapons Ban.
Some in the Senate, myself included, opposed the ban a decade ago, fearing it would do little to reduce crime, and could threaten the Constitutional rights of law abiding gun-owners and hunters. However, a decade of experience has provided us with key facts, and consequently, my opinions on the ban have evolved. In particular, the events of September 11, 2001 have taught us many lessons, among them that terrorism lurks in our own cities and communities. Given the current world situation, it defies logic to let a good law expire, and in so doing, let suicidal terrorists and others simply walk up to a counter and buy these weapons for potential attacks. The fact that the ban makes our neighborhoods safer is one reason why law enforcement officials from all across the Commonwealth of Virginia, and indeed America, have supported this legislation.
Moreover, it is clear that the Assault Weapons Ban has in no way challenged legitimate gun-owners’ rights. Let me state, without hesitation, the vast majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens who responsibly keep their guns. As a gun-owner myself, I have long been a supporter of the Second Amendment. I remember well the day my father gave me my first gun, and I have spent most of my life around guns, both with antiques and in hunting. The Assault Weapons Ban only bans a small percentage of all weapons – those military style assault weapons that have no legitimate hunting purpose and that are just used to create mass destruction.
Please be assured that I understand your views on this legislation. As a gun owner and hunter, and as a United States Senator privileged to represent the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Senate, I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I will continue to support public policies that ensure the responsible and appropriate use of guns while also protecting the constitutional right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.
Again, thank you for contacting me.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/jdr
I was present when they blew up the Embry dam in Fredericksburg, VA a few years back. I was floored when Senator Warner, on the public address system, stood before a Major in the US Army Corps of Engineers and told him
"Salute me, damn it! I sign your paycheck!"
I was shocked and embarassed - and I was waiting to see any coverage of that glaring display of arrogance and disrespect show up in the news. Nope - nothing... I don't care if he's the head of the Armed Services Committee, nothing gives the right to a Senator to do such a thing in public or in private.
Anyway, here's the text of the letter he sent me in response to my request that he not support HR 1022:
May 23, 2007
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX:
Thank you for contacting me to share your views about assault weapons. I appreciate the benefit of your views on this issue.
As you know, the Assault Weapons Ban, signed into law in 1994, placed a ten-year prohibition on the domestic manufacture, transfer, or possession of certain semi-automatic assault weapons and on the transfer and possession of high capacity ammunition clips. The ten-year ban ended on September 13, 2004.
For a number of years, President George W. Bush has indicated that he supports renewing the assault weapons ban for another decade. In past Congresses, I have joined with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in introducing compromise legislation that exactly mirrors what President Bush has requested, namely to provide a straight ten-year extension of the Assault Weapons Ban.
Some in the Senate, myself included, opposed the ban a decade ago, fearing it would do little to reduce crime, and could threaten the Constitutional rights of law abiding gun-owners and hunters. However, a decade of experience has provided us with key facts, and consequently, my opinions on the ban have evolved. In particular, the events of September 11, 2001 have taught us many lessons, among them that terrorism lurks in our own cities and communities. Given the current world situation, it defies logic to let a good law expire, and in so doing, let suicidal terrorists and others simply walk up to a counter and buy these weapons for potential attacks. The fact that the ban makes our neighborhoods safer is one reason why law enforcement officials from all across the Commonwealth of Virginia, and indeed America, have supported this legislation.
Moreover, it is clear that the Assault Weapons Ban has in no way challenged legitimate gun-owners’ rights. Let me state, without hesitation, the vast majority of gun owners are law abiding citizens who responsibly keep their guns. As a gun-owner myself, I have long been a supporter of the Second Amendment. I remember well the day my father gave me my first gun, and I have spent most of my life around guns, both with antiques and in hunting. The Assault Weapons Ban only bans a small percentage of all weapons – those military style assault weapons that have no legitimate hunting purpose and that are just used to create mass destruction.
Please be assured that I understand your views on this legislation. As a gun owner and hunter, and as a United States Senator privileged to represent the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Senate, I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I will continue to support public policies that ensure the responsible and appropriate use of guns while also protecting the constitutional right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.
Again, thank you for contacting me.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/jdr
