Template Letters

[Mr_White]

All,

We need to get on the offensive. I've written a bunch of template letters - one longer and more complete, the rest short and sweet - that I will be sending to not just my own representatives in congress (they are a lost cause and will just give me the finger) but ALL reps and senators. It's going to take me some time, but over the next few weeks I plan to send ALL my letters to ALL of them. That's over 7000 communications if I can get it all done.

Everyone has my permission to use or modify any of these letters.

Let's make ourselves heard loud, clear, and incessantly.

Please go start similar threads on other forums that don't have this going already. Write your own letters or repost mine. Mobilize others.

Something I could use help with: does anyone have access to a free bulk internet fax service? That is the slickest way to fax ALL the legislators all at once. I used one during the last attempted AWB, but it seems like things may have changed and I am not finding such a service now. Without that, it's going to be a lot tougher to send over 7000 messages to congress. I really want to send 7000 messages to congress about this...

Fax numbers for congressional reps and senators can be found here: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

I'll compile the fax numbers if someone has a bulk internet fax...

[Mr_White]

Dear _______,

I, along with the rest of the nation, am saddened and grief-stricken over the recent mass murder in Connecticut, and wish for these horrific tragedies to be prevented in the future.

But I do not want to punish everyone who didn’t do anything wrong by outlawing any type of firearm or magazine.

Modern semiautomatic rifles are not the problem. Full capacity magazines are not the problem.

The problem is a lack of mental health care.

The problem is a lack of effective defense in the locations these attacks typically occur, such as schools, workplaces, and places of worship. All these locations simultaneously employ lockdown procedures, which confine potential victims in one place for easy access by a homicidal madman, and prohibit the private carriage of firearms for self-defense by trained individuals. Those circumstances only play into the hands of mass murderers.

I wish the school staff in Connecticut had been permitted to be trained and armed. Their valiant efforts to stop the murderer might have been successful if they had an effective means to do so.

Many say that mass murderers would not be able to carry out their repugnant acts without firearms, but that is untrue.

A mad bomber killed over forty, including many elementary school kids, and wounded over fifty, in Bath Township, Michigan in 1927.

In recent years, China has experienced mass murder from knife, cleaver, and hammer attacks in which madmen attack defenseless schoolchildren and altogether have killed almost two dozen and wounded nearly a hundred.

Israel and Switzerland both have very high rates of gun ownership and little or no problems with mass murder.

Germany and Norway, in spite of their restrictive gun laws, still have had mass murders perpetrated with firearms.

The mass murder in Columbine, Colorado occurred during the last ‘assault weapons ban.’

Again, the common threads are contained and defenseless victims.

Japan has an enormously high rate of suicide, but few firearms and very restricted access to them.

A homicidal or suicidal person will find a way to kill. We must stop them, but trying to limit a constitutional right will be fruitless and a fool’s errand, and will only punish the rest of us for what one person did wrong.

The educational system’s unilateral refusal to have the means and will to protect our children borders on the criminal. They need to step up and protect our kids. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away. Teachers and administrators are the only people in position to protect our kids when a mass murderer strikes. The Israelis have learned this lesson and it is serving them well. What will it take for us to quit burying our heads in the sand and learn that lesson and start protecting our kids too?

Many ask, ‘why do civilians need to own modern semiautomatic rifles and full capacity magazines?’ The answer is that civilians need them for the same reasons the police do: when you are in a fight for your life, there is no such thing as a tool that is too effective. Police respond to violent emergencies that originally target civilians. Civilians face the same threats the police are ultimately responding to, and civilians are the ones who face those threats first!

The last few decades in the United States have seen a huge increase in the number of modern semiautomatic rifles, full capacity magazines, and licenses to carry concealed pistols in the hands of private citizens, yet the overall rate of violent crime and has dropped steadily. It is only the repulsive media saturation of violent events that makes things seem otherwise.

For those reasons, I demand real action and not just symbolic legislation that will make no actual difference. Focus on mental health care and on reversing the culture of institutionalized victimhood that has overtaken the educational system.

I will be paying close attention to the actions of legislators and elected political leaders and will make future voting and donation decisions accordingly.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear _______,

The problem isn’t military style rifles or magazines. The problems are lack of mental health care, and lockdown procedures in gun-free zones, which only serve to contain defenseless victims for a mass murderer’s convenience.

Do something real, not something symbolic. Allow teachers and school administrators to be armed if they will get proper training.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear _________,

I implore you to focus on the availability of mental health care instead of pointless legislation against guns, which will get us nowhere.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear __________,

It is time to wake up and get real. Laws don’t protect anyone. Effective self-defense can. Allow teachers and school administrators to be armed with proper training. Anything less is criminal.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear __________,

Banning guns won’t stop anything. Homicidal maniacs will kill with anything they can: knives, hammers, arson, and bombs, just as they have in China and Bath Township, Michigan.

Get people mental health care and stop demonizing and persecuting the almost 50% of American households who own firearms.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear ________,

Civilians need modern semiautomatic rifles and pistols and full capacity magazines for the same reasons the police do: when facing violent criminal attack and your life is on the line, you need every advantage you can get. Civilians often face the same violent criminals that police do, but before the police have arrived.

Allow properly trained teachers and school administrators to be armed. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear ________,

The demonization and scapegoating of guns and gun owners by the media and opportunistic politicians is despicable and has not escaped my notice. Focus on mental health care. Crazy maniacs are the source of the problem, not the tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners. I vote with my wallet and I always vote at the ballot box.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear ____________,

Military-style rifles are obviously not the problem. Private ownership of those rifles and full capacity magazines, and licenses to carry concealed handguns in public, has all skyrocketed in the last few decades. At the same time, violent crime has steadily dropped. It’s only disingenuous media portrayal that says otherwise.

Get mental health for crazy people. That will make a real difference. Banning guns and clips won’t.

Truly yours,

[Mr_White]

Dear _________,

Focus on the real problems: lack of mental health care and the failed policies of lockdowns and defenseless schools.

Banning guns is symbolic and accomplishes nothing.

Cordially,

[Mr_White]

Dear __________,

Banning guns is pointless and you will lose my vote if you do it. Instead, get crazy people the mental health assistance they need.

Don’t punish me for what someone else did wrong.

Regards,

[Mr_White]

Dear __________,

Restricting guns won’t solve anything. Other countries, as well as our own, experience the horror of mass murder of schoolchildren though knife and hammer attacks (China) and bombings (Bath Township, Michigan.)

It would be more productive to allow teachers and school administrators to be armed and trained to stop a massacre in progress.


Cordially,

[Mr_White]

Dear ________,

The media wants to ignore that fact that there are many more so-called ‘assault weapons’ are in private hands now than twenty years ago, yet violent crime has dropped like a rock during that same time period. The media makes it seem otherwise by shoving (rare) blood and carnage in our faces 24/7. They need to take responsibility for effectively promoting copycat crimes with their endless vulture-like coverage.

Truly,

[Mr_White]

Dear __________,

I demand real action and not symbolic legislation. Outlaw gun free zones and let trained teaches and school administrators to be armed if they choose.

Yours sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear _________,

How many dead kids will it take to realize that the only armed and trained teachers are in a position to protect our most precious loved ones?

Regards,

[Mr_White]

Dear _________,

I am disgusted at the media's and some politicians' opportunistic use of the tragedy in Connecticut to try to restrict the rights of everyone who didn’t do anything wrong.

Our country needs mental health care. Our country needs schools that are effectively defended. We don’t need a bunch of feel-good platitudes that accomplish nothing.

I’ll be paying attention to legislators and political leaders and voting accordingly next election.

Sincerely,

[Mr_White]

Dear _______,

Do not pass any pointless anti-gun rights legislation. If you vote against guns, I will vote against you in the next election and will persuade many others to do the same. I will also be donating my time and money to your opponent's election efforts.

Stand up for the fundamental human right of self-defense.

Peace Out,

[JDM]

Thank you for these posts OAK.

[BaiHu]

Damn fine work Origami!

[wrt81]

Thanks for these. I've already e-mailed my reps but will be sending more.

[Odin Bravo One]

I wrote my letters. But since my livelihood revolves around if a balanced budget can be passed or not, did not focus solely on T2A. I intertwined them enough to make even the wildest conspiracy theorist proud......

[LOKNLOD]

Bump to this thread. I wrote my own and tailored it a little depending on who was getting it but Origamis remove all excuses! I heavily emphasized no AWB or mag capacity bans.
I was up half the night emailing my my states reps, senators, and leaders in both houses. Get out the word, folks. Email, write, call, fax. One of the auto-replies to emails i got last night said it maybe 30 days for them to see it. So no one method is going to "enough".

[Argus]

Keep up the pressure! Here's what I wrote:



I strongly encourage you to oppose any new anti-gun legislation, including bans on so-called high capacity magazines.

As a parent, I was devastated by the murder of defenseless children and educators at Sandy Hook elementary school. But banning modern firearms and punishing their lawful owners will not prevent such tragedies from occurring again, and will serve only to further reduce citizens' ability to defend themselves.

In order to carry out the atrocity at Sandy Hook, the perpetrator murdered his own mother and stole her legally owned firearms. No gun control law would have stopped such a determined criminal.

I urge you to act rationally, rather than based on emotion. Strengthen security in our schools by making it easier for localities to establish an armed security presence. This can be done using sworn law enforcement officers, private security, or by simply allowing teachers and other responsible adults to arm themselves under existing concealed carry laws. If you and our other elected officials warrant having armed security present, surely our children do as well.

Do not deny our right to self defense and strip us of our property by passing more anti-gun laws.

[guymontag]

Great thread OAK!

I read the account of a former congressional aide on another forum, who advised keeping the communications concise and clear. I'd also suggest mixing and matching whenever contacting and re-contacting your representatives. My examples:


As a conservative, I urge you to contest
and call into question any new firearms legislation.

As the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy found, the restriction of
firearms does not reduce the murder rate nor the suicide rate.

Do not erode my second amendment rights, or I will donate any discretionary
resources to your primary opponent in the next election cycle.

Sincerely,
John Q.


I urge you vote against any and all further infringements upon lawful American's citizens' right to own and carry firearms.

Per the FBI Crime Report, not only has the murder rate halved in the past twenty years, the violent crime rate has halved in the past twenty years as well.

New legislation on firearms or their accessories will only waste public resources while infringing upon the people's civil rights.



I urge you to fight any restrictions on firearms or firearms accessories.

In 2007, only 3.03% of homicides were committed utilizing rifles. In 2011, only 2.55% of homicides were committed utilizing rifles. Data courtesy of FBI UCR.

Do not squander my tax dollars, or the tax dollars of my family and friends, to fight statistical anomalies.

A concerned tax-payer and voter,
John Q.

I.E. I prefer a short introduction with a clear statement, one or two facts presented, and a reminder that not only am I a tax payer, I am a voter as well. I like this format as they can easily be transcribed to a post card. I should mention subject titles are usually explicit as well - Protect the 2nd Amendment, Vote Against New Firearms Laws, etc.

[MDS]

Hmm, I thought I'd contributed my template.


Dear Fulano de Tal,

Please vote against any legislation that would restrict firearms or accessories, at least for now. In our grief, we are very likely to make poor decisions on a topic as important as this one. Consider how we would caution a family that has lost a loved one to take some time before making new, drastic, unplanned life choices. I urge you to take that same approach, and in turn to urge your colleagues to join you in prudent restraint for a time as the pain heals. Then we will be more likely to make sound decisions.

I could write more, as I am passionate about the subject, but I won't take more of your time. However, if you could take a moment to outline to me your planned actions in this matter, I would appreciate it. In any case, I and mine will be watching the voting records of all our elected officials in these trying times.

Regards,
Mario D. Santana

[Mr_White]

Bumped for hufnagel.

[hufnagel]

here's what I wrote to mine a bit ago...


Dear Senator ,

I'm writing today to urge you in the strongest possible fashion to denounce and vote against Senate Bill S.150 that has just passed out of committee today.

I consider myself a responsible gun owner, having educated myself in both the operation of my firearms and the laws which govern them. Legislation such as S.150 will do nothing to stop or deter actual crime, and in fact does nothing more than penalize law abiding, tax paying and voting citizens such as myself for the "crime" of exercising a Constitutionally guaranteed right.

I strongly oppose this and any legislation which would further restrict my right, guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to keep and bear arms. I encourage you to step outside of the Democratic party, denounce this bill for what it is, and demonstrate to the people of the state of New Jersey that you intend to uphold the oath you took upon becoming a Senator... "I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

If you would like to discuss this or any other matters please feel free to contact me at any time.

Thank you.