Now this is a U.S. Senator, mind you

[Coot47]

So there was really no "misrepresentation" in his reply to you. I'm guessing you told him your views, and perhaps asked for his. So you got what you asked for, and he didn't mince words. Seriously, what did you expect him to say? That he's come around to our way of thinking?

Sherrod Brown has no interest in debating you, or gun owners as a whole. He isn't going to change his views and beliefs, unless he has some sort of epiphany about guns. So about the only thing you can do is vote him out of office.

I know Sherrod Brown's positions quite well and frankly, I was surprised to even get a reply from his office. And he certainly did not misrepresent his position as much as he did the 'facts' supporting it. I'm well aware he will not change his views, nor will I cease continuing to let him know my strong thoughts on the issue. And if I had the ability to singularly vote him out of office, this discussion would be moot.

 

[Coot47]

People above seem to be behaving
But it has inspired me to coin a new term:

"Ding Bait"

Update:
Alas, I Googled "Ding Bait" and got hits
But not in the context of getting dinged by Moderators

Am I tap dancin' on the edge here? I read the forum guidelines and felt the initial post would conform. I sincerely did not intend to troll or bait any member. My apologies if I have erred, and the moderators can act accordingly. Thanks!

 

[stansdds]

I've elected to copy and paste a response I received from the U.S. Senate regarding gun control legislation. If this wasn't such a pertinent issue, it would be funny. The same, recycled, inaccurate buzz words - 'weapons of war', 'gun show loophole', 'common sense', etc. I would expect this dialog from the news media. How do we expect to have a legitimate debate on gun legislation, when we are forced to wade through such inaccuracies and misrepresentation? I know, I'm preaching to the choir. Here's the text:

Dear Mr. ******

Thank you for getting in touch with me concerning gun safety. I appreciate you sharing your views.

Episodes of mass shootings in America have become far too common. And I refuse to believe that we are helpless in preventing senseless attacks of this nature from occurring again. As legislators, we cannot truly say we are doing what it takes to keep Americans safe until we are willing to pass commonsense laws to keep weapons of war out of the hands of terrorists and violent criminals.

I have always respected the Second Amendment rights of hunters, collectors, and other law-abiding gun owners, and no one is trying to take away their guns. But when Americans are not safe in their schools, movie theatres, and dance halls, it's clear something has to be done to curb gun violence.

I supported the original federal assault weapons ban in 1994, and I voted to renew it after the Sandy Hook tragedy, which took the lives of 20 innocent children and 6 adults. Weapons of war do not belong on our streets. I've supported legislation to close loopholes in our background check system so that people who buy guns on the internet or at gun shows have to go through the same background checks as law-abiding gun owners who buy their guns at stores in Ohio. And I support the bipartisan Fix NICS bill to strengthen our background check system by requiring federal agencies to better report information to the database.

I've also supported legislation to prevent people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns, because if you're too dangerous to get on an airplane, you're too dangerous to buy a deadly weapon.

While legislation will not prevent every shooting, commonsense changes will certainly save lives and reduce the risk of future mass shootings. As firearms related legislation comes before the Senate, I will keep your thoughts in mind.

Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator

Almost identical to the responses I get from my two Senators, Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D). I've received those canned responses so many times that I simply stopped communicating with them. They are not really interested in my views on any given subject, that has been made quite clear.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Check Merriam's, Muss. "Commonsense" as an adjective, the way it is used in both letters, is correct as one word.

Fair enough. I'll confess I did a cursory search for the word before I posted, and that search did not reveal a definition for "commonsense" in the first two pages of results. That leads me to believe that as used, it's uncommon, but I agree, proper . . .

 

[Old TexMex]

"I refuse to believe" that an inanimate object can cause anything. Believing that it can is called animism and that train of thought went out of vogue in the 12th Century. "Evil" and "assault" are thoughts and behaviors, not objects.

"Common sense" requires logic, facts and clear thinking instead of wild-eyed knee-jerk emotionalism. Sadly, common sense is uncommon among politicians and mob-mentality high schoolers (whose brains are mostly not yet fully developed) these days.

If only a fraction of 1% of the U.S. population is deranged enough to commit atrocities, that means that there are thousands of people out there who may in the future translate the bizarre concepts of their twisted minds into action. It is impossible to know in advance how most of them may or may not act, and it's impossible to legislate against them. Laws do not deter law-breakers. The tools they might use could be kitchen knives or pickup trucks, yet banning these tools (or guns) would be patently ridiculous.

Bad people with guns are dangerous. Good people with guns are dangerous only to bad people. Thank God there are a lot of good people with guns right now. May it ever be so.

Help out. Join the NRA, GOA, and/or the CCRKBA. Vote. Be informed, contribute, and act when called upon. If things go south and you have not done these things, you have only yourself to blame.

John

Amen, John.
As I stroll through this life I am always aware that 50% of the population is below average intelligence.
A mathematical certainty.

That politicians and institutional educators are overly weighted toward the below average half is no more than my opinion, but is, however, derived experientially.
Jim

 

[LDM]

Both senators from my state and the house rep from my district are virulent anti-gun democrats. Luckily, the house rep has decided to retire at the end of this term so I can work on getting someone elected with a realistic view of the world and the rights enumerated in the Constitution.

 

[c1ogden]

I'm more disturbed that the staff of two Senators from different states don't know that "common sense" is two words . .

I was just thinking that myself! The level of bull**** in the letters leads me to believe that the senators involved are demo-rats so I'm just guessing that the staff are probably all ESL.

 

[c1ogden]

Amen, John.
As I stroll through this life I am always aware that 50% of the population is below average intelligence.
A mathematical certainty.

That politicians and institutional educators are overly weighted toward the below average half is no more than my opinion, but is, however, derived experientially.
Jim

You are right Jim. My wife and other relatives are teachers and they complain about that all the time. When I was a kid the "special ed" kids were put in separate classes where they got the special treatment they needed. Now they are put in regular classes where they routinely hold everyone else back. Most of them have a full time teacher's aide assigned to them and they have special conditions for taking tests. The teacher has to follow a general plan for everyone else but the "special" kids each have their own Individual Education Plan, requiring the teachers to make up separate plans for each kid. Then they have to teach these kids individually, while also teaching a different plan to the rest of the class. It is not unusual to have one teacher and 2 or more aides in a classroom, with the aides assigned only to one kid. One teacher told me that this means that 15% of the students are responsible for 40-45% of the budget. This is just one of many scams that I see school boards running.

 

[llowry61]

I got the same response. Fully expected it, but I will continue to send my thoughts regularly.

 

[johngalt]

I just heard back from one of my senators - Joe Donnelly (D). He claims to be a strong supporter of the 2nd and has opposed gun bans. He might be, I haven't been keeping track of his votes. But then he says this:

"We also must recognize, however, that individuals with criminal records, serious mental illnesses, or who wish to commit acts of terrorism continue to obtain firearms by exploiting loopholes and deficiencies in current law, and in the process, are endangering the lives of others. Whether a gun owner or not, we all can agree that we can take steps to reduce violent crime without sacrificing the rights of law-abiding gun owners."

He isn't proposing anything, but sounds like he is open to something like expanding background checks. I think right now he is waiting to see which way the wind blows.

 

[gunnails]

I'm more disturbed that the staff of two Senators from different states don't know that "common sense" is two words . .

===================
They have poorsense.

 

[vigil617]

Fair enough. I'll confess I did a cursory search for the word before I posted, and that search did not reveal a definition for "commonsense" in the first two pages of results. That leads me to believe that as used, it's uncommon, but I agree, proper . . .

I confess that I had to look it up, too. I knew I'd seen it before, but I wasn't confident enough in this old memory to depend on it......

 

[brjr51]

So when they take the Oath Of Office and swear to uphold and defend the US Constitution, do they mutter "only the parts I agree with?"

 

[DWalt]

In their world "Common Sense" is something that only they possess, and no one else does. To me, it's the most irritating phrase in the English language, and I always jump all over anyone who uses it.

 

[badge]

Common sense to folks such as that means " Surrender ". Just code speak.

 

[Squarebutt]

One of these days, I'd like to have one of these politicians provide a list of the nations that issue the AR15 to their infantry troops to be used as a "weapon of war." Betting it's a very short list.

 

[M29since14]

"Authentic frontier jibberish" (from Washington DC).

To paraphrase the old saying - Vote with your vote!

 

[nachogrande]

"A US SENATOR"???

or a form letter fielded by a low level aide/intern???

 

[Muss Muggins]

or a form letter fielded by a low level aide/intern???

Knowing what I know about the inner workings of a Congressional Field Office, the elected official would have seen and approved of the form letter response . . .

 

[bmcgilvray]

"If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?"

Frédéric Bastiat "The Law"