jlrhiner
US Veteran
As many of you know, I'm a lifelong Union Member who is now retired. I actively worked to support 2nd Amendment issues within the democratic party, giving the perspective of the working men and women that populated my organization.
We all are aware of the situation we are facing, in light of recent events.
This evening I received an email from my Senator, Claire McCaskill, wanting my opinion on standing up to the NRA and common sense gun laws. The following is my reply.
I would like to hear your thoughts on it, and any wrongs I may have included. Don't waste your time commenting on politics, It'll just get the thread shut down.
"Claire,
It was my understanding that the names placed on the “Terror Watch List” AKA the “no Fly List” averaged approximately 35 to 40% inaccuracies. That translates to me that not all of the names placed on those list are terrorists. Therefore, without due-process, American Citizens will be denied a basic right based on the decision of a non-elected bureaucrat, with no means of reconciliation. That is unacceptable to me. It upsets me greatly that my own government via elected representatives such as yourself (who I might add I’ve supported in every election you’ve participated in) would rather discriminate against Law Abiding Americans than focus on the problem.
As a Law Abiding Citizen, Veteran of the U.S. Navy, Life Member of the NRA and yes, a life long Democrat, It is important that you understand that the typical stereotype of a Democratic voter does not exist. The catch phrase, “Common Sense Gun Control”, has become an often bantered rallying cry used by senior members of our party to stir the loins of the faithful. Recently I saw a statistic that claimed 355 mass shootings had happened this year. How could that be? The media would have been in a tizzy! Surprise, surprise! 348 of that number were gang related. What is the agenda behind that? Why are 22 year-old gang members killed in gang related activities (or 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16 year olds for that matter) included in the "children killed by guns" reports?
It has become painfully evident that one group of people are trying to write legislation about something of which they know nothing. At present, there are 20,000 odd gun laws on the books, mostly ignored. Why does the Department of Justice continually fail to prosecute those who violate existing gun laws? But you already know the answer to that.
What I would like to bring to your attention is the fact that you represent a district in the mid-west. Your support base is not made from the Leftist Elite on either coast. We’re working men and women who, for the most part, inhabit rural areas. Responsible firearms ownership is a way of life, passed down from Fathers and Mothers to their Son and Daughters over many generations. In all of my family history of firearms ownership not a single individual has ever committed a crime or murdered anyone. That is the heritage of gun ownership that has been passed down to my grandchildren.
The tragedies of San Bernardino, Sandy Hook Et. Al., are abhorred by every American and every decent human being in the world. But while this was happening, 200+ million guns in the hands of private citizens were not used in crimes. While the previous acts were perpetrated by either those with untreated mental illness, such as Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Jared Loughner and Elliot Rodgers, or terrorists such as Abdul Mujahid Muhammad, Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, Tamerlan & Dsokhar Tsarnaev and Elton Simpson & Nadir Soofi who are sworn to destroy of my Country and my way of life, I and 350 million other Americans, didn’t do anything wrong.
Please reconsider your support of the so-called “Common Sense Gun Laws” touted so loudly in sound bites and video clips. The vast majority of your voter base won’t fall for it anymore. We see that every mass shooting that has happened recently has occurred in an area that prohibits Law Abiding Citizens from carrying legally owned firearms. Every law passed in the last 30 years under the guise of gun control did nothing to stop criminal activities, but put additional restrictions on law-abiding people. If you or your colleagues really want to reduce the number of mass shootings, work towards national reciprocity of CCW licenses. Or better yet, pass a National Right-To-Carry bill and eliminate the so called "Victim Zones" that seen to be favored targets.
If you would like, I would be happy to answer any questions you have on this issue, as it appears to me that whoever is advising you is doing you an injustice.
I am available at ****************,
or by cell at **********.
Thank you for requesting my input.
Respectfully,
James L. “Jim” Rhiner
We all are aware of the situation we are facing, in light of recent events.
This evening I received an email from my Senator, Claire McCaskill, wanting my opinion on standing up to the NRA and common sense gun laws. The following is my reply.
I would like to hear your thoughts on it, and any wrongs I may have included. Don't waste your time commenting on politics, It'll just get the thread shut down.
"Claire,
It was my understanding that the names placed on the “Terror Watch List” AKA the “no Fly List” averaged approximately 35 to 40% inaccuracies. That translates to me that not all of the names placed on those list are terrorists. Therefore, without due-process, American Citizens will be denied a basic right based on the decision of a non-elected bureaucrat, with no means of reconciliation. That is unacceptable to me. It upsets me greatly that my own government via elected representatives such as yourself (who I might add I’ve supported in every election you’ve participated in) would rather discriminate against Law Abiding Americans than focus on the problem.
As a Law Abiding Citizen, Veteran of the U.S. Navy, Life Member of the NRA and yes, a life long Democrat, It is important that you understand that the typical stereotype of a Democratic voter does not exist. The catch phrase, “Common Sense Gun Control”, has become an often bantered rallying cry used by senior members of our party to stir the loins of the faithful. Recently I saw a statistic that claimed 355 mass shootings had happened this year. How could that be? The media would have been in a tizzy! Surprise, surprise! 348 of that number were gang related. What is the agenda behind that? Why are 22 year-old gang members killed in gang related activities (or 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16 year olds for that matter) included in the "children killed by guns" reports?
It has become painfully evident that one group of people are trying to write legislation about something of which they know nothing. At present, there are 20,000 odd gun laws on the books, mostly ignored. Why does the Department of Justice continually fail to prosecute those who violate existing gun laws? But you already know the answer to that.
What I would like to bring to your attention is the fact that you represent a district in the mid-west. Your support base is not made from the Leftist Elite on either coast. We’re working men and women who, for the most part, inhabit rural areas. Responsible firearms ownership is a way of life, passed down from Fathers and Mothers to their Son and Daughters over many generations. In all of my family history of firearms ownership not a single individual has ever committed a crime or murdered anyone. That is the heritage of gun ownership that has been passed down to my grandchildren.
The tragedies of San Bernardino, Sandy Hook Et. Al., are abhorred by every American and every decent human being in the world. But while this was happening, 200+ million guns in the hands of private citizens were not used in crimes. While the previous acts were perpetrated by either those with untreated mental illness, such as Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Jared Loughner and Elliot Rodgers, or terrorists such as Abdul Mujahid Muhammad, Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, Tamerlan & Dsokhar Tsarnaev and Elton Simpson & Nadir Soofi who are sworn to destroy of my Country and my way of life, I and 350 million other Americans, didn’t do anything wrong.
Please reconsider your support of the so-called “Common Sense Gun Laws” touted so loudly in sound bites and video clips. The vast majority of your voter base won’t fall for it anymore. We see that every mass shooting that has happened recently has occurred in an area that prohibits Law Abiding Citizens from carrying legally owned firearms. Every law passed in the last 30 years under the guise of gun control did nothing to stop criminal activities, but put additional restrictions on law-abiding people. If you or your colleagues really want to reduce the number of mass shootings, work towards national reciprocity of CCW licenses. Or better yet, pass a National Right-To-Carry bill and eliminate the so called "Victim Zones" that seen to be favored targets.
If you would like, I would be happy to answer any questions you have on this issue, as it appears to me that whoever is advising you is doing you an injustice.
I am available at ****************,
or by cell at **********.
Thank you for requesting my input.
Respectfully,
James L. “Jim” Rhiner
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