yet another...

[wooly bugger 1]

Those of you who are sick of me by now, skip this thread. Others, feel free to plagiarize.

 

I'll admit, this is more to vent my rage and keep myself sane than it is to change anyone's mind. Still, these three sponsors in particular are below contempt. I do not consider them worthy of membership in our species.

 

Dear Mr. Eustace and Ms. Vanieri-Huttle and Wagner

 

I would like to express my opinions on bills A3727 and A3773, which you have co-sponsored.

 

I was sorry that I did not see any of you at the recent SAFE public hearing in Newark, where a large number of your constituents expressed their opinions. As you will hear from the panel, there was absolutely no support among your constituents for the additional gun control measures you have proposed. The people want to see real action on mental health, drug abuse, and poverty.

 

I ask that you heed the advice of your constituents and focus on the issues that will make a real difference.

 

A3727 would levy an additional 5% tax on sales of guns and ammunition, and A3773 would increase fees for FID cards and pistol permits to purchase.

 

I would like to remind you that we already pay an 11% federal excise tax on guns and ammunition. While I understand that it is always tempting to raise revenue for the state, it seems very cynical to desecrate the memory of 20 young children by opportunistically using their deaths as a pretext for an excellent fund raising initiative. We realize that gun owners are an easily targeted minority now, but these measures are blatant scapegoating, which should be beneath the dignity of our elected officials. If I were the father of one of these children, I would be enraged that you would react to death of my child as contemptuously as you have done.

 

Only a vanishingly small percentage of gun violence in this state occurs with guns and ammunition legally purchased here. Most of the weapons of crime come from other states, where the purchase requirements are much more lax. It is inconceivable that making the shooting sports more expensive for legal gun owners will in any way deter crime. The proposed taxes and fees will pose a significant burden on serious gun owners while posing a trivial barrier to an individual bent on one or more murders. Even if a criminal were to pay the tax on 100 rounds of ammunition, would two or three dollars of extra tax really deter him?

 

It takes courage to change course this late in the process, and it takes even more courage to forego easy and financially beneficial gestures such as those proposed in these bills, in favor of expensive and difficult solutions, such as would be required to keep dangerously psychotic individuals and drug addicts off of the streets. However, we learned at the three public hearings that your constituents are discerning enough to tell the difference and are willing to make the investment in a truly meaningful solution. And they are sensitive enough to be sickened by the crass opportunism represented by these bills. Please listen to the pleas of your constituents, follow their wishes, and preserve the basic notions of human decency which we all share. Your self-respect and legacy depend on it.

 

Sincerely,