My response to Senator Casey...

[Hokkmike]

Senator Casey has made it clear that he supports the AWB and is also going after semiautomatic hand guns. Probably many of you got the same letter from him. Ironically, to me, he says he supports this (Feinsteins bill) with the full understanding that it will not impact our Second Amendment rights as he sees them.
Here is his letter:

Dear Mr. .............

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about recent proposals related to guns. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.

As you know, on December 14, 2012, an individual in Newtown, Connecticut forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire on teachers and staff in the building. In total, the perpetrator murdered 20 students between the ages of six and seven years old, as well as six adults, many of whom heroically sought to stop the shooter and save the lives of children. Like many Americans, I was deeply affected by the scope and brutality of this act. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

The motives that led to this senseless massacre will likely never fully be comprehended. However, I believe that all public officials have a responsibility to work to prevent such an event from occurring again. This incident reflects a complex problem that requires a comprehensive strategy, including funding for law enforcement officers and the mental health care system. Too many individuals with mental illness are not receiving the services they need and tragically, sometimes a small number of these individuals turn violent. I have supported access to affordable and accessible mental health services for all Americans and I will continue to review proposed solutions to improve our mental health system. As lawmakers consider an appropriate response to this challenging issue, we should consider all of the factors that could prevent such heinous acts.

As you may know, I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. Pennsylvania has a fine hunting and sporting tradition, and I will defend the right to bear arms as it is enshrined in our Constitution. I will continue to back the right to bear arms for purposes of self-defense, recreation, sporting and collection. However, I also believe that the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School highlights very serious dangers posed to public safety by the misuse of certain weapons and technology originally developed for warfare. According to reports, the shooter was able to kill many children and adults very quickly because he possessed a military-style semiautomatic weapon. He also allegedly used magazines containing up to 30 rounds of ammunition and carried hundreds of rounds more. After much reflection and careful study of the issue, I have decided to support a federal assault weapons ban as well as legislation restricting high capacity magazines. In light of what occurred at Sandy Hook, these are two measures that will lessen the chances that this will happen again. Before supporting such a law, I would first and foremost ensure that it did not unduly abridge the right to bear arms as established by the Second Amendment.

Our Nation has already begun a critical dialogue as we examine what steps must be taken to prevent this type of tragedy in the future. On January 17, 2012, President Obama unveiled a package of proposals to reduce gun violence, which included strengthening the system of background checks, reinstating the assault weapon and high-capacity magazines ban, improving school safety and expanding access to mental health services. I look forward to reviewing these proposals in detail and to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address this complex issue.

On January 24, 2013, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California introduced S. 150, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. This legislation would explicitly permit the possession of affected firearms that were owned prior to the bill’s enactment; firearms that are manually operated; firearms used by military, law enforcement and retired law enforcement; and antique weapons. Further, this legislation lists 2,258 hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns that are entirely exempt from the ban.

This legislation would ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of all semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of seven specified military features. S. 150 would further ban semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of certain listed military features, as well as ammunition magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds. The Assault Weapons Ban would also regulate the transfer and storage of permitted, grandfathered weapons and allow local law enforcement to use certain federal funds for voluntary gun buyback programs. The Assault Weapons Ban was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am not a member. Please be assured that should this legislation come before the full Senate for consideration, I will have your views in mind.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator


Here is my answer to him. We (all of you, your friends, family, and whomever you can influence) need to send him enough "answers" to make him reconsider his position.

Dear Senator Casey:

Thank you kindly for your response to my letter and phone call to your office regarding pending legislation relevant to a possible "assault" weapon ban and its ancillary features.

It is obvious that you have though carefully through the matter and reached pretty definite conclusions about the kind of bill you would be willing to support. You have made that clear I appreciate your honesty.

Regretfully I must take issue with the belief that curtailing the rights of honest law abiding citizens would be an effective or even a constitutional approach to dealing problems such as occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

As a teacher in the Pennsylvania Public Schools for 35 years, a high school varsity coach of 37 years, A union local president of 22 years, and a member of several shooting clubs, other social organizations, as well as being an active voter and campaigner, I will not be able to support you in a reelection bid following conclusion of your present term.

I believe you to be a good,honest, decent, and hard working Senator but I cannot consent to nor condone attacks on the Bill of Rights of The Constitution of the United States such as I believe the proposed AWB represents.

I am very sorry to have to take this position. My rights and liberties and those of my fellow citizens are precious to me. I, and my friend and those like me, millions of us, have enjoyed the safe and legal use of so called "assault weapons" for decades without any problems whatsoever. I am hoping to be able to rally many Pennsylvanians to this cause. We will speak with our votes.

I do respect your difference of opinion and wish you well. I would have hoped that we could have least found some middle ground but as I have convictions and must act on them I realize that you must follow your own conscience and vote accordingly on legislation brought before you.

Thank you for your consideration of my letter. Keep well and God bless.

Signed..........

[tarzan]

I also replied to Senator Casey's letter.

Senator Casey,

Thank you for writing to me about your feelings and intentions on the assault rifle and high capacity magazine Bill. Although I believe your intentions are honorable, I totally disagree with your reasoning. In my opinion banning certain firearms and making new laws is not going to do anything--a shotgun loaded with buckshot to legal capacity could do as much if not more damage to a room full of people. It's not the tool, it is the controller of the tool that directs the action taken. I hope that you will reconsider and not support the assault weapons ban.

Sincerely,

----- - -----------

[Hokkmike]

I also replied to Senator Casey's letter.

Senator Casey,

Thank you for writing to me about your feelings and intentions on the assault rifle and high capacity magazine Bill. Although I believe your intentions are honorable, I totally disagree with your reasoning. In my opinion banning certain firearms and making new laws is not going to do anything--a shotgun loaded with buckshot to legal capacity could do as much if not more damage to a room full of people. It's not the tool, it is the controller of the tool that directs the action taken. I hope that you will reconsider and not support the assault weapons ban.

Sincerely,

----- - -----------

Sweet and to the point. Well done.

[saleen322]

I don't expect any changes but responding made me feel better.

Dear Senator Casey:
Thank you for your response about the proposed firearms and magazine bans. Unfortunately you are on the wrong side of this issue. In what is now typical Washington fashion, this legislation is crafted to address a straw man object of "what" instead of the actual "who" and that approach always fails. I am one of the over two million citizens in Pennsylvania who live in what the FBI uniform crime report categorizes as cities under 50,000 or rural counties. In these areas you can buy any legal weapon, including what is now trendy in Washington to refer to as an Assault Weapon in about 20 minutes. In this area that has ready access to all firearms, according to the FBI report, we had a murder rate in 2011 of fewer than 2 per 100,000. It is now your intent to change this by force of law so that we can adopt more or less the system that you are more familiar with as is used in Washington, DC that had a murder rate about 9 times greater than rural Pennsylvania at 17.5 per 100,000. While guns are rare in DC, few homes in my area do not have multiple firearms. In life and death situations where seconds count, our average 911 response is in the 20-30 minute range. We are conditioned to the mindset of self reliance with the government response as very much desired but that is not our only option. As I am certain a call in Washington, DC gets a quicker 911 response, the statistics tell us how well that is working out. What you and your colleagues need to be doing is passing laws that impose longer, mandatory sentences for criminals as 10% of the criminals commit 90% of the crimes. Keep them in prison and our families are safer. Senator, as this gun control legislation you are actively supporting will make my family and I more at risk of violent crime, I will actively support any political opponent who shares my concern for my family’s safety instead of passing laws that usurp our constitutional rights and puts my loved ones at greater risk for the benefit of a flashy political talking point. Thank you for your time.

[Pilot321]

I got the same auto-generated, canned response after the third letter/email I sent him. He just wants us to give up. No way Jose.

[Swiss7.5]

Casey must be told he WILL lose votes. I will write ( anyone have his FAX number handy- Funny...his contact page on his site is not loading? Hopefully because he's getting flooded!) I, like Hokkmike, will mention I am a union member. Maybe he will realize union votes will not be a guarantee if there is there is a vote for the AWB!

As you may know, I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. Pennsylvania has a fine hunting and sporting tradition, and I will defend the right to bear arms as it is enshrined in our Constitution. I will continue to back the right to bear arms for purposes of self-defense, recreation, sporting and collection. However, I also believe that the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School highlights very serious dangers posed to public safety by the misuse of certain weapons and technology originally developed for warfare. According to reports, the shooter was able to kill many children and adults very quickly because he possessed a military-style semiautomatic weapon. He also allegedly used magazines containing up to 30 rounds of ammunition and carried hundreds of rounds more. After much reflection and careful study of the issue, I have decided to support a federal assault weapons ban as well as legislation restricting high capacity magazines. In light of what occurred at Sandy Hook, these are two measures that will lessen the chances that this will happen again. Before supporting such a law, I would first and foremost ensure that it did not unduly abridge the right to bear arms as established by the Second Amendment.

[Chainsaw]

..and here is mine....

---------------------------

Senator Casey,

I've read your response regarding gun issues.

If you vote, in any way, to limit the ability of law abiding citizens to keep and bear the arms of their choice I will knock on a thousand doors to make sure you are never elected to public office again.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXX
-------------------------------

The bad news(?) is that I'm underemployed enough to follow through.



.

[NewBomb]

I wrote back to him last night as well. I was polite but stern and expressed my displeasure that his last campaign mislead constituents to believe he was pro Second Amendment. I also noted that you can't be a proponent of our Constitutional rights and support the AWB legislation. It can't be both ways. Lastly I reminded him of how I intend to vote when his seat is up for election again and urged him to reconsider his stance on Feinstein's bill.

We're going to have to fire this clown when this term is up.

[cephas]

Got his email. Wrote back and suggested he change "As you may know, I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment" to As many of you know I am an alleged supporter of the Second Amendment.
Asked him politely to reconsider his position.

[retlaw]

What do you think about a recall petition to send a stronger response?