This is also a first diary from a long time lurker.
We have a new republican congressman (Mark Meadows) in NC-11. I have little hope that he will do anything but tow the party/NRA line, but felt that I had to make my and my wife's thoughts known to him.
Below the fold is the message I sent today............
Congressman Meadows,
I am a constituent and a gun owner. I am also fed up with the status quo regarding firearm regulation in this Country. Our citizens are being shot to death at an increasingly alarming rate. It seems like each act of violence against our people (especially women and children) is an attempt by the latest psychopath to see who can rack up the highest body count and grab the most attention before they check themselves out. This may be a societal phenomenon, but it doesn't help that military style weapons with high capacity magazines are so easy for anyone to acquire.
I certainly do not believe, as the NRA claims, that more people carrying more lethal weapons will make us safer. In fact, I am rather disgusted by the NRA's refusal to even consider that guns (and the ease of which they can be acquired) could be a part of the problem. That organization has had too much control over this issue for far too long. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution was written at a time when the musket was the apex of firearm technology. It was written at a time when the Country did not foresee maintaining a standing army, but envisioned that male citizens should be ready to muster and defend the nation from invaders. The men who framed the Bill of Rights had no way to know how different the society and technology would be 200+ years down the road.
I ask you to please consider the recommendations that President Obama presented today. I do not see this as a tyrannical gun grab (as I am sure many are claiming), but as a sensible response to a problem that has spiraled out of control.
In particular, we need to put an end to the gun show loophole that basically allows anyone to walk in and purchase military style weapons with high capacity clips. Anyone, regardless of their criminal background or mental state, can easily achieve the capability to murder dozens of innocents between reloads. There need to be thorough background checks for any persons trying to purchase any semi-automatic weapon under any conditions. I also believe that limiting the size of clips for semi-auto rifles and pistols could improve the situation. In the cases of Columbine, Aurora and Newton, the killers were able to do the damage they did because they were carrying weapons equipped with high capacity magazines.
Things will not be fixed overnight by legislation of these measures, but we have to do something in the hope that it will make a difference over time.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.