I just sent this to Gov. Rendells office...

**FromMyColdDeadHands** · May 9th, 2008, 10:57 PM

Gov. Rendell,

I am writing to express my outrage at the politicalization of the murder of Sgt. Lizcbinski. I am frankly in a state of disbelief that yourself and Mayor Nutter would attempt to do so. The REAL issue relating to Sgt. Lizcbinskis murder is NOT the SKS rifle that was used, nor is it "assault weapons" in general. The issue is that ALL of these criminals had extensive criminal histories, including VIOLENT FELONIES. The (in)justice system which allows men like these to even be out of prison is to blame. Not ONE of those individuals would have been able to legally purchase the SKS or ANY of the other guns used in this horrific crime. The paperwork and background checks would instantly have stopped such a sale as well as notified the proper authorities. The issue here is personal responsibility. PEOPLE being responsible for their actions, NOT restricting the RIGHT of law abiding citizens to own ANY small arms which they choose. Statistically the nations and states which have enacted the strictest gun laws have experienced overall higher crime rates (especially in the areas of home invasion robbery and rape, however generally homicides rise as well). Examples of this are Wash. D.C., Great Britain, New Jersey, California and Australia. Take Great Britian for example, they have nearly completely banned the private ownership/possession of firearms, yet since the ban has been in place FIREARMS related crime has RISEN by 40%, before the gun laws were passed LEO in GB did NOT carry firearms, now for the first time in British history the police have to be armed, some success that was. Not to mention the increases in the other aforementioned crimes. Looking at the other extreme, places where there is a large percentage of not only firearms ownership but of those who carry firearms for self defense crime is lower. Simply put it creates a very uncomfortable environment for criminals, they don't wish to face a victim they know has a high likelihood of being armed. A prison survey (I don't recall which facility it was) revealed that an astounding 75% of criminals stated they at one time or another had NOT committed a crime because they had reasonable suspicion that their intended victim was armed.

I am quite sure that you will disagree with me on this issue, but I urge you rather than formulating public policy which restricts the RIGHTS of the law abiding, use your position to encourage people to take responsibility for their own security (SCOTUS already ruled that LEO do NOT have the responsibility to protect the individual so please don't try to tell me thats what the police are for, law enforcement in nearly ALL circumstances arrives after the crime has been committed, after the victim has been created, after it is to late!!!).

A wise man once stated that Gun Control is the political theory that those who are willing to disregard laws relating to homicide, rape, theft, burglary, kidnapping and all other manner of violent and criminal offenses will suddenly become law abiding because the law relates to guns. Gun Control stops crime like Protection from Abuse orders prevent domestic assaults. It simply does NOT work. Lets stop creating public policy based on the emotions of potential voters, rather use your position to explain to these voters what has been PROVEN to work and encourage them to take the appropriate measures.

Its all about personal responsibility, as long as the government discourages such responsibility then we will see the extraordinary crime rates that have become commonplace in our cities.

Thank you for your time,

What do you think???

**PisnNapalm** · May 9th, 2008, 11:03 PM

I think your first paragraph is too long. Try to break it up into 2 or 3 sections. Other than that... Nice rant.

**FromMyColdDeadHands** · May 9th, 2008, 11:44 PM

Yeah I didn't realize it until I saw it posted here. I got the generic reply, if I don't get a more personalized one within the week I will be writing another email and calling the office.