Re: HB 1893 another chance at un-needed controls
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Originally Posted by exceltoexcel
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Good work, you beat me to it (posting the contact pages for them).
I sent my letter to my reps and all involved. it doesn't have to be terribly verbose or witty, a simple, 'if you support this, I will not vote for you' or 'this is gun control, it is unacceptable' will work just as good as an elegant essay that they probably won't even read. However, since I'm kinda on the eccentric side (and some of them probably expect that by now), I sent the following...
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Re: HOUSE BILL No. 1893 Session of 2007
I am at a loss as to what this legislation hopes to accomplish aside from further burdening gun owners and making someone a pile of money due to the fees that are involved with mandatory training requirements. Many states have no testing or training requirement at all, the streets do not run with blood because of all the untrained people who carry firearms. Pennsylvania issues as many or more licenses to carry firearms than most states; yet we have no problems here from untrained people killing others in the streets with negligent discharges or fits of temper and rage. Can any of the politicians that support this bill produce any evidence that anything like this even occurs in Pennsylvania? Surely we would have heard it on the news by now if the problem of untrained LTCF holders involved in negligent shootings were rampant.
According to data on gun deaths from the CDC, states without training requirements see less gun deaths per 100,000 than those with training requirements. The difference is only 0.18 per 100,000, which is small and largely insignificant. If we go forward and look at unintentional firearms deaths per 100,000, we see a difference of 0.01 deaths per 100,000, which is statistically insignificant. The data shown here leads one to the conclusion that there is very little, if any difference between states with and without training requirements for concealed carry. While this information does not directly relate to CCW/CHL/CCP holders (no source is available such data), I would expect it to follow the same general trends.
Now, since we do not see blood in the streets from LTCF holders and rampant negligent shootings where no training is required (certainly not in this state), there is no problem to solve. Since training is a solution, you need a problem; if you have no problem, you need no solution. There is little to no demonstrable reason to require any form of training and additional fees for those that apply for a license to carry a firearm in this commonwealth, and any vote towards that end is a vote for gun control and I will vote against such supporters at every opportunity.
Furthermore, even if there were a problem, someone who will carry a firearm without taking it upon themselves to get educated beforehand won't not much from mandated training anyway. When you had Biology (or whatever) in high school, you were forced to take it, correct? You probably passed, but can you tell me which fish species can climb trees or what Glucagon is and what it does? Without using Google? My point exactly.
Aside from the practical application of the data above, there's a more important point, the difference between a right and a privilege. There should be absolutely zero requirements or hoops to jump through for a free citizen to own or carry a firearm; that’s how a right translates into a free society. If the true concern here is unintentional firearms deaths, then I would submit that the far and wide majority of those occur due to people who don’t own firearms misusing them (such as children who find a gun), not someone who goes through the checks and process for an LTCF. If you want to try and mitigate the possibility of truly negligent deaths with firearms, reinstate the NRA’s Eddie Eagle program in all schools in this commonwealth, children who don’t know to never touch a gun and immediately tell an adult are far more likely to hurt themselves or someone else than an adult LTCF holder.
However, if you were to support or sponsor legislation that required politicians to actually know something about the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions, statistical analysis and the subjects that they try and pass laws on before they can draft or vote on them, I would wholly support you in that endeavor. Far more damage has been done to this commonwealth by ignorant politicians aiming for the greater good or a certain political agenda regardless of merit than by negligent, untrained LTCF holders.
A vote for this is a vote in ignorance against gun owners and a vote against liberty.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxx
A voter in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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..and the condensed version for the contact pages that restrict messages to 2048 characters only:
Quote:
Re: HOUSE BILL No. 1893 Session of 2007
I am at a loss as to what this legislation hopes to accomplish aside from further burdening gun owners and making someone a pile of money due to the fees that are involved with mandatory training requirements. Many states have no testing or training requirement at all, the streets do not run with blood because of all the untrained people who carry firearms. Pennsylvania issues as many or more licenses to carry firearms than most states; yet we have no problems here from untrained people killing others in the streets with negligent discharges or fits of temper and rage. Can any of the politicians that support this bill produce any evidence that anything like this even occurs in Pennsylvania? Surely we would have heard it on the news by now if the problem of untrained LTCF holders involved in negligent shootings were rampant.
Now, since we do not see blood in the streets from LTCF holders and rampant negligent shootings where no training is required (certainly not in this state), there is no problem to solve. Since training is a solution, you need a problem; if you have no problem, you need no solution. There is little to no demonstrable reason to require any form of training and additional fees for those that apply for a license to carry a firearm in this commonwealth, and any vote towards that end is a vote for gun control and I will vote against such supporters at every opportunity.
A vote for this is a vote in ignorance against gun owners and a vote against liberty.
Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxx
A voter in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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P.S. As an aside, TonyF, myself and a few notable others went back and forth on this topic for a bit in an older thread...in case you're interested: http://www.pafoa.org/forum/general-2...re-voting.html
Last edited by NineseveN; November 6th, 2007 at 02:15 PM.
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