[Ty]

With the remaining people up for president i've decieded to start writing to our elected officals asking them to support or 2A rights and keep any Assault Weapons bans from making it to the president. I just got a nice letter back from Orrin Hatch and thought i'd share.

Thank you for expressing your opposition to the so-called "assualt weapons ban."

I certainly understand your concern regarding this issue. Please know that I have long been a supporter of the Sencond Ammendment and that the Constitution clearly gaurantees the right of Americans to own firearms. Our freedom depends on the limits of legislative action that are set out in the Bill of Rights. Those who commit crimes with guns are not likely to allow gun control laws to stand in their way. Rather, I belive that those who abuse the right of gun owenership should face stiffer penalties and that law enforcement agencies and prosecutors should make prosecition of gun crimes a priority.

I hope you will be reassured to learn that I oppesed the assault weapons ban when the legislation was initially introduged, and I opposed efforts to reinstate it in 2004. Other than their appearance, "assault weapons" are no different from millons of other legitimate fireamrs. I belive that an extension of the ban would further erode the right to keep and bear arms while doing little to deter the commission of crimes with guns.

I am glad to know of your support in the effort to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Thank you, once again, for your letter.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

I'm glad to see that he says that.

I recently wrote to both Sen. Hatch and Sen Bennett asking them to sign the amicus brief by Members of Congress in the case of District of Columbia vs. Heller.

I haven't yet received a reply from Sen Bennett, but here is Sen. Hatch's reply:

Dear Mr. Johnson:

            Thank you for your letter requesting that I add my signature to an amicus brief by Members of Congress in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.

            It may please you to know that I have signed on to the brief because I believe that the ill-advised gun control statutes in our nation’s capital are both unconstitutional and completely ineffective. As you may know, the District of Columbia consistently has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, despite having the most strict gun control laws. Under the status quo, compliance with the existing laws leaves citizens unable to defend themselves while criminals, not surprisingly, carry guns in spite of the legal restrictions. It is my hope that, in deciding Heller, the Supreme Court will overturn these laws and preserve the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

            I have long been a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms. This right is enshrined in the Constitution and, ultimately, our freedom depends on the limits to legislative action that are set out in the Bill of Rights. As the history of Washington, D.C. has shown, restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens does not reduce crime.

            I am glad to know of your support for the effort to protect the rights of gun owners. Thank you, once again, writing.

                                                                        Sincerely,
                                                                        Orrin G. Hatch 
                                                                        United States Senator

Good reply!

 

[Cinhil]

Orrin Hatch has long been a true 2nd amend. advocate. As a delegate I have met him and spoken with him on a variety of issues. He has a good head on his shoulders and regardless of those who oppose him, he does everything he can to defend our rights.
Bennett on the other hand is a real swayer on our rights. He rarely supports 2nd amend. rights and only occasionally gives in to the desires of his constituents. He is mostly out for himself. When he was originally running for office I called his office and was told he was all for gun control. So if he does decide to sign that amicus then it would only be because of a lot, and I mean a lot of pressure from his constituents.

 

[apollosmith]

I just got a nice letter back from Orrin Hatch and thought i'd share.

Wow, 11 spelling errors in a short 4 paragraph letter!

assualt
Sencond
Ammendment
gaurantees
belive
owenership
prosecition
oppesed
introduged
fireamrs
belive

You've got to love the professionalism of our elected officials. You'd think congressional staffers would know how to spell check.

 

[divegeek]

Orrin Hatch has long been a true 2nd amend. advocate. As a delegate I have met him and spoken with him on a variety of issues. He has a good head on his shoulders and regardless of those who oppose him, he does everything he can to defend our rights.

Well, Hatch is good on that one issue, anyway. He falls all over himself to stomp on free speech and to let big media companies control our culture. This is the guy that proposed authorizing copyright owners to destroy the computers of people they suspected of file sharing. I support copyright in general, but it's supposed to be a temporary, limited monopoly to ensure progress, and Hatch wants it to be perpetual, far-reaching and is okay with authorizing private companies to field their own police forces to enforce it.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

Wow, 11 spelling errors in a short 4 paragraph letter!
...

I noticed that and wondered if the letter was copied and pasted or if it was transcribed from from a hardcopy.

 

[apollosmith]

Wow, 11 spelling errors in a short 4 paragraph letter!
...

I noticed that and wondered if the letter was copied and pasted or if it was transcribed from from a hardcopy.

Ah, didn't think of that. Apologies to Ty if that's the case. I used to be a school teacher, so I can't help but catch misspellings. It's a bit of a curse really, even though I'm a fairly lousy speller myself. I don't think I could survive without the built in spell checker in Firefox.

 

[Ty]

Hehe I wrote it out. But in my defense my left arm is kind a messed up right now and I can only type with one hand. :lol:

 

[James]

I haven't yet received a reply from Sen Bennett, but here is Sen. Hatch's reply:

Same thing here.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

I still haven't received a reply from Sen. Bennett, but I see that he did sign on to the Congressional Amicus Brief.

In fact, all of Utah's congress critters have done so (Excellent!!!):

Members Of Congress Who Have Signed The Congressional Amicus Brief

 

[Car Knocker]

It's been my experience that Bennet rarely responds to constituent mail.