Response from Pat Toomey

[tsafa]

January 11, 2013

Dear xxxxx,
Thank you for contacting me about the killings in Newtown, CT. I appreciate hearing from you.
Like all Americans, I was horrified and sickened to learn about the mass murder in Newtown, CT on December 14, 2012. As you know, Adam Lanza murdered 26 people that day, including educators and young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School and his mother at her house, before committing suicide. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families who were affected.
In response, we need to come together as a nation, carefully reflect on what happened, and have a thoughtful dialogue on how we can improve public safety and protect our children. Of note, this atrocity in Newtown was the direct result of serious mental illness - something we have consistently observed in other mass killings over the years. We therefore need to better protect ourselves from mentally ill individuals who seek to carry out such atrocities. We also need to review and improve how we take care of the mentally ill. I therefore value your input on this issue and look forward to Congress debating which policies should be implemented to improve public safety.
Thank you again for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of assistance.
Sincerely,


Pat Toomey
U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania

This is what I sent him

The purpose of the Second Amendment is to arm people in order to prevent future tyranny. They need the tools to do this.

The term "Well Regulated" in the Second Amendment meant "Well Manned and Equipped " in 1791 as was determined in the 1939 United States v. Miller case after referencing the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. The concept of Government Regulation, as we understand it today, did not exist at the time.

United States v. Miller also determined that the term "Arms" refers to "Ordinary Military Weapons" (not crew operated). American Citizens have the right to Keep and Bear, which means Own and Carry, any weapons that a soldier carries into battle. That includes past, present and future weapons. A Militia consisted of armed volunteers willing to fight with their personal arms and not under government control.

The 2008 Heller v. Washington DC decision reaffirmed that the Right to Bear Arms was an Individual right. The 2010 McDonald v. Chicago decision reaffirmed it yet again and made it clear that it applies to every state, every city and every town in the United States.

To limit the Second Amendment to muskets would be the equivalent of limiting the First Amendment to writings in quill pens.

Liberty is worth the risk of death!

[redeye202]

He rejects your reality, and replaces it with his own.

[Steelblitz]

I like what you wrote. Factual and not emotional.

[bustedmp]

Pretty much the same thing I got from him. No mention of his intentions with either protecting our second amendment rights or jumping on the wagon with the rest of the anti's. At least Casey had enough sack to admit where he stands.

[afdcomposer]

I got the exact same, disappointing response from him. Can't tell if we can count on him or not, which I guess means probably not.

[Fujisawa-sensai]

For all he knows you're an anti-gun person trying to get a quote to use against him, so it's sensible for him to be vague.

[Cyterio]

I got the exact same automated response from Toomey. They should be listening to the people, not listening to their own personal thoughts and feelings. When did these politicians decide that they know whats best for us, regardless of how we feel on the matter? In my email to Toomey, I didn't reference anything in relation to the rampage shootings. I only reminded him of the oath he swore to uphold, protecting and defending our constitution. I reminded him that our constitution is not to be whittled away, it is our concrete law.

[Gewehr]

I emailed and got the same response, which is expected. His staffer told me that he has always been a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and will continue to do so. I asked her to remind him that while listening to his constituents is great, this is not about votes. It's about his oath of office when he swore to uphold and defend the constitution from ALL enemies.

I remained very respectful with her and thanked her for her time. I also referred to her by name to try to make the phone call more memorable.

I did the same with Rep. Murphy's office.

I tried the same with Senator Casey's office, but he had a voicemail service set up. I left a message reminging him of the same things and explained that there are many people watching very clientsely on where our reps stand and we will use any means necessary to sway support in the right direction. I also thanked him for his time, but was a little less sincere.

[ungawa]

There should be no reason to post these responses here. Every member of this forum should have these responses in their inbox already.

I haven't talked to Toomey but his staffers have seemed happy to hear from a pro-2A caller and told me I can count on his support. Not very detailed, could be worse, I'll keep at it.

[tsafa]

I like what you wrote. Factual and not emotional.

Thanks.

Everyone is invited to use any part of it or all of it and post around.

This is the website I used to contact all the PA reps.

http://www.nraila.org/get-involved-l...your-reps.aspx

It is very easy to use. It has a built in email function.