H.R. 800

January 23rd, 2006

A few months ago, I wrote a letter to my local representative regarding the Firearms Manufacturers Protection bill. In a nutshell, the bill gives firearm manufacturers a loophole in providing victims due process. Unfortunately, our pro-gun Congress was only too happy to pass the bill, and it sailed through by a vote of 283 to 144. The majority of the opinions of our legislators were similar to those of Congressman Joe Schwarz, the noble gentleman representing the state of Michigan, who fell back on the Second Amendment with:

The Second Amendment was not written as a mere exercise in constitutional thought. It had a practical purpose: first, to ensure that citizens would have the tools to protect their families and their homes and, second, to ensure that an ARMED militia could be called up to defend the country in emergencies.

Get real. Read the entire pathetic address he gave here

While travelling, I received a reply letter from Rep Carolyn McCarthy that read:

Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 800, the Firearms Manufacturers Protection bill. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

No industry in America has received the extreme and unnecessary leval of legal protection that the gun manfacturers can receive from this bill. The gun industry should be treated the same as all other industries. This legislation would shield gun manufacturers from being taken to court even if they sell guns to criminals, or produce guns that lack reasonable safety features and even discourage them from making their weapons safer. The balance of power would shift from the public if they, or their loved ones, were hurt or killed due to the negligence of the gun industry.

Since the tragic shooting on the Long Island Railroad, gun violence is close to my heart. For me, there is no other choice but to support “common sense” legislation that saves lives. Nothing I have proposed, or supported, prevents a law-abiding citizen to own a gun. I believe the desire to reduce the incidence of children’s gun violence and the ability of felons to get guns is one we all share.

Thanks again for writing. I encourage you to continue to contact me about issues important to you.

-Carolyn McCarthy
Member of Congress

I really didn’t take much away from this reply letter. I want some feedback on what the hell she is doing to protect me, and my kids from gun violence in NY, and throughout the US. So, I will accept her invitation of continued correspondence, and continue writing. I will ask her what she plans on doing to “save lives” and what type of legislative changes she has in the pipeline for future proposals. Maybe I’ll drop her my domain name, and invite her to share her opinions here. What a hoot…

Additional gun control resources:

GunCite
Brady Campaign
Open Society Institute - Gun Control in The United States (PDF)
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Violence Policy Center
Americans for Gun Safety
Firearms Law Center

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