Letter to the editor

[rangermonroe]

How about some input before I send?

Feel free to plagiarize, reproduce and shamelessly cut/paste and call you own.

So, this is how it starts.

Less than eight weeks after ‘taking power’, Rep. Cynthia McCarthy (D-NY) decides that the time has come to prohibit Americans from owning certain weapons based on how they look… again.

In 1994 we tried this in the name of ‘crime prevention’ and for ten years, the gun manufacturers complied, removing the cosmetic features of the firearms to comply with the law as it was written. The average American was inconvenienced and criminals were unaffected.

The FBI noted that the Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) was ineffective. In 2004, the federal ban expired, but several states (NY among them) adopted their own version that still remains in place.

For some reason Rep. Cynthia McCarthy, seems to think that what is good for New York is good for the rest of the country.

But this time she wants to go further, she wants to ban my hunting rifle.

Specifically named as an assault weapon is the Ruger Mini-14, a rifle that is specifically suited for hunting.

Any one with common sense can see that banning something based on an arbitrary set of criteria is doomed to failure. It is akin to banning red cars to combat traffic fatalities. Not to mention, that we have tried this before and it didn’t work. I remember a definition that said trying the same thing expecting different results is insanity.

So, ask yourself before the sound-bites start flying, “Why are they doing this?”

 

[Eghad]

Someone might want to remind Rep McCarthy what happened after the gun ban in 1994 was passed and her party was voted out of power. I think Bill Clinton could explain it to her..lol.

 

[NukemJim]

In addition to the FBI you might want to consider using the CDC

The following laws were evaluated: bans on specified firearms or ammunition, restrictions on firearm acquisition, waiting periods for firearm acquisition, firearm registration and licensing of firearm owners, "shall issue" concealed weapon carry laws, child access prevention laws, zero tolerance laws for firearms in schools, and combinations of firearms laws. The Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws or combinations of laws reviewed on violent outcomes.

Taken from

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5214a2.htm

or from the NAS

For example, despite a large body of research, the committee found no credible evidence that the passage of right-to-carry laws decreases or increases violent crime, and there is almost no empirical evidence that the more than 80 prevention programs focused on gun-related violence have had any effect on children’s behavior, knowledge, attitudes, or beliefs about firearms.

Taken from

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10881&page=2

Being able to cite 3 different goverment agencies sometimes helps.

NukemJim