Dear Congressman McClintock,
Surely you can make a more intelligent response to the problem of law abiding citizens shooting children in school than the email you recently sent to Ms. Gregoire in Pilot Hill (set out below). More guns and assault rifles and arming every citizen 24/7, apparently including children, will only make death by gunshot more common in the U.S. than it already is. The shooters in Las Vegas, Parkland Florida, and Newton Connecticut were all legal gun owners and law abiding citizens—that is until the moment they opened fire with weapons designed for war. If every rock concert attendee had been armed to the teeth they would not have had a chance against the automatic bump stock fire from above them. Ditto those defending against assault rifle fire in the hallways and classrooms in Florida and Connecticut.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize that having teachers wearing bullet proof vests and carrying AR 15s in each classroom where students are also armed for self-protection, (or to get even with a fellow student or teacher), will make either teachers or students safer. One obvious illustration that being armed does not guarantee a safe outcome is the number of armed police who are killed by bad guys and the number of fully armed American soldiers who have been shot to death by other armed soldiers they were training.
Gun fights in schools, in move theaters, at rock concerts and on the mall are not the answer. Especially, when the shooter starts off with the element of surprise plus a military assault weapon and unllmited ammo.
Calling for more guns on the street is no more the answer to curbing gun violence than putting more opioids on the street to reduce overdose deaths.
WAKE UP AND START THINKING FOR YOURSELF ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT KIDS INSTEAD OF PROTECTING THE NRA.
Jerry Scribner
Greenwood, CA.
On Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 12:51 PM, Congressman Tom McClintock <ca04tmima@mail.
Dear Ms. Gregoire,
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful proposal regarding the safety of children in our schools.
I agree with you that protecting our school children is of the utmost importance. Those best equipped to ensure the safety of children in public school are local communities, school boards, teachers, and most importantly, parents.
Protecting Second Amendment rights is a critical component to maintaining a safe and secure society. Laws that aim to restrict or eliminate the ownership of firearms are often justified by arguing that we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. The problem is that criminals don’t follow laws; as a result, such measures only leave law-abiding citizens disarmed and defenseless against criminals and madmen.
The result of these laws is that in places like Parkland, Florida and Newtown, Connecticut, innocent men, women, and children were denied access to the only means they might have had to protect their lives and the lives of those around them from assailants. I support repealing the federal ban on law-abiding citizens carrying weapons in schools and other public places in order to secure for these individuals the right to defend themselves against attackers.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please don’t hesitate to contact me again regarding any issue that concerns you or your family.
Sincerely,
Tom
