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To and from "Barry"


Subdeacon Joe

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I got a canned response, wrote back a reply I needed to split into 3.

 

Thought you all might enjoy it. Formatting seems to have suffered pasting it here.

 


 



OK, “Barry,” since when are we on a first name basis? What ever happened to decorum and
dignity? Do you think your attack on the
2nd Amendment will be any more palatable because you used my
Christian name?



Dear Joseph:



 



Thank you for taking the time to
write. I have heard from many Americans regarding firearms policy and gun
violence in our Nation, and I appreciate your perspective. From Aurora to
Newtown to the streets of Chicago, we have seen the devastating effects gun
violence has on our American family. I join countless others in grieving
for all those whose lives have been taken too soon by gun violence.



 



Again,
there is no such thing as “gun violence.”
There is violence, plain and simple.



 



Like the majority of Americans, I
believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms.
In this country, we have a strong tradition of gun ownership that has been
handed down from generation to generation. Hunting and sport shooting are
part of our national heritage. Yet, even as we acknowledge that almost
all gun owners in America are responsible, when we look at the devastation
caused by gun violence—whether in high-profile tragedies or the daily
heartbreak that plagues our cities—we must ask ourselves whether we are doing
enough.



OK, “Barry, that’s nice. We also have even more devastation caused by “car violence” and “bike violence” and even “hammer violence.” I don’t see you attacking those, “Barry.”

 

 

While reducing gun violence is a
complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm should not be a
divisive one. Most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second
Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm
on a massive scale. Most also agree that if we took commonsense steps to
curtail gun violence, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that
occurred in Newtown. We will not be able to stop every violent act, but
if there is even one thing we can do to reduce gun violence—if even one life
can be saved—then we have an obligation to try.



 



 



Yes, “Barry,” we can agree on keeping “an irresponsible, law-breaking few from
inflicting harm on a massive scale.” And
we have laws on the books now to do just that.
But Good Ol’ Joe “Just Blast Away” Biden has admitted publicly that the
federal government doesn’t enforce those laws.
Why do you, “Barry” want to add even more laws that the federal
government will ignore?



 



That is why I asked Vice President
Joe Biden to identify concrete steps we can take to keep our children safe,
help prevent mass shootings, and reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in
this country. He met with over 200 groups representing a broad
cross-section of Americans and heard their best ideas. I have put forward
a specific set of proposals based off of his efforts, and in the days ahead, I
intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality.



 



There is
no “epidemic of gun violence,” “Barry.”
Every day tens of millions of honest gun owner fail to shoot
anybody. And, every day, thousands of honest
gun owners use firearms to fend of predatory thugs. And “Blast Away Joe” is hardly the proper
person to have in charge of looking into gun laws and safe gun practices.



 



My plan gives law enforcement,
schools, mental health professionals, and the public health community some of
the tools they need to help reduce gun violence. These tools include
strengthening the background check system, helping schools hire more resource
officers and counselors and develop emergency preparedness plans, and ensuring
mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of
violence. And I directed the Centers for Disease Control to study the
best ways to reduce gun violence—because it is critical that we understand the
science behind this public health crisis.



 



And, as
I’m sure you know, in 2003 the CDC released a report that said, in essence,
that it had been totally unable to find any causality between stripping honest
citizens of civil rights and reduction in crime or violence. In 2004 the National Academy of Science
released an extensive study saying the same thing.



 



As important as these steps are,
they are not a substitute for action from Congress. To make a real and
lasting difference, members of Congress must also act. As part of my
comprehensive plan, I have called on them to pass some specific proposals right
away. First, it is time to require a universal background check for
anyone trying to buy a gun. Second, Congress should renew the 10-round
limit on magazines and reinstate and strengthen the assault weapons ban.
We should get tougher on those who buy guns with the purpose of selling them to
criminals, and we should impose serious punishments on anyone who helps them do
this.



 



Other
than the universal background check, what you are saying is that the federal
government needs to enforce the laws already on the books. Every real cop, not the politically appointed
chiefs of police, will tell you that magazine capacity bans are worthless. There is not enough time in the two to three
seconds needed for a magazine change for a person under attack to recognize
what is happening and to attack and subdue a thug. About all they would be able to do in that
time is break cover and draw attention to themselves. I’m sure you are aware that almost all of the
heinous attacks have happened in places that are “gun free zones.”



 



These are reasonable, commonsense
measures that have the support of the majority of the American people.
But change will not come unless the American people demand it from their lawmakers.
Now is the time to do the right thing for our children, our communities, and
the country we love. We owe the victims of heartbreaking national
tragedies and the countless unheralded tragedies each year nothing less than
our best effort—to seek consensus in order to save lives and ensure a brighter
future for our children.



 



Thank you, again, for writing.
I encourage you to visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/NowIsTheTime to learn more about my Administration’s approach.



 



Sincerely,



 



Barack Obama



 



I call your attention to West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624
(1943)

“The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the
vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of
majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be
applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free
speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental
rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no
elections.” Seems like the Supreme
Court of the United States is telling the federal government that it has no
power over any of the enumerated civil rights in the Bill of Rights. But, of course, you and the DNC have never much
concerned yourselves with upholding the Constitution, or following the law if
either gets in the way of your agenda.
At least not since Pres. Johnson’s, oh, I guess I should call him
Lyndon, shouldn’t I, since we are all so chummy and all, Great Society
experiment.



 



I seen nothing at all
“reasonable” or “common sense” about attempts to legislate away the protections
of our civil rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. It isn’t about hunting, or target shooting,
or plinking, or collecting. I think the
Happy Warrior put it well when he said, Certainly
one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how
popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms.... The
right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary
government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now appears remote in
America but which historically has proven to be always possible. (Hubert H.
Humphrey) .







Cordially,



MISTER
Joseph Lovell

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