NOTE: Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) announced yesterday (August 5, 2019) that he and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) are reintroducing bipartisan legislation to expand background checks on gun purchases. Then, today (August 6, 2019) he announced on Fox News that he refuses to support a ban on assault weapons. This announcement prompted me to write the following letter to Senator Toomey.
Dear Sen. Toomey,
I was encouraged when I heard that you and Sen. Manchin were renewing your effort to create background checks on weapons purchases. But now I just read an article that claims you refuse to support a ban on assault-style weapons. You claim that to do so would infringe on the rights of citizens to purchase arms. You use the very weak and incorrect excuse of the Second Amendment to hide behind on this issue. So please tell me where in the Second Amendment assault-style weapons are mentioned!
You are a smart man. I encourage you to consider the rights of gun violence victims who are massacred by people who own and use assault style weapons indiscriminately. We have a war raging in this nation right now. Its called Domestic Terrorism. Thanks to you and your comrades who are owned by the NRA you are supplying weapons to the enemy. In any other war this would be considered TREASON!
I know you love this country and want the best for it. Please come to your senses and introduce a bill in Congress to ban assault style weapons. STOP ARMING THE TERRORISTS! Instead, let's support the rights of the victims and all law-abiding citizens who want to live!
Sincerely
George Douglas Gehr
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I doubt very seriously if I will get any response from the good senator other than a form letter sent to me from one of his aides. I have written numerous letters to Toomey and every time I end up receiving a form letter in response that does little to address the issue that I raised with him. Instead, it typically regurgitates worn out talking points that vaguely responds to my concern but mostly reminds me what a good guy the Senator is.
I have nothing against Pat Toomey. He is not a bad Senator, even if I do not totally agree with his positions. We have had worse. But I do feel strongly about this point I raised in the letter above. We have a war raging within the United States of America. It is not a conventional war, like WWI or WWII. Domestic terrorism resembles guerilla warfare more than conventional war. The enemy is not obvious. He or she does not wear a uniform that clearly identifies who they are. Neither do they march in line under a unique flag with rifles on their shoulders. In almost every case they are U. S. citizens who have become disillusioned by the way things are or they have spent far too much time on the dark web or listening to mindless talking heads from the alt-right. Some of the talking heads are heard on the radio, a few on television, and some are elected officials. But the message is always the same: they are against immigration; they are strongly in favor of unrestricted gun laws; they spew forth hatred and prejudice towards anyone different than themselves.
My point is simple. If we see this as a war – and I believe that is accurate – then we must revisit the whole question of the legality of assault-style weapons. We cannot continue to allow people unhindered access to these killing machines. Background checks are good but not nearly good enough. Far too many mass killings have occurred at the hands of people who had legally obtained these assault-style weapons. They passed the background checks. In nearly every case they would have passed the “red flag” test as well. The sad truth is if these weapons are legally available the “enemy” will find a way to obtain them. Some will argue that the bad guys will get their hands on these weapons even if they are illegal, and that may be true. But without a doubt many will not. And do we not owe it to our law-abiding citizens to make it as difficult as possible for these people to kill others?
To me this is a no brainer. If this were any other war we would never consider selling arms to the enemy so they could use them against us. As I wrote to Senator Toomey, that would be a slam dunk case of treason. We might as well place an ad in the local newspaper inviting terrorists to kill us. We could even tell them where they can find the best deal on an AK47 or whatever they want.
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This is not a position against
hunting.
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This is not a liberal or conservative
issue.
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This is not an infringement on
anyone’s reasonable rights. I say “reasonable”
because I have yet to hear an argument that justifies why anyone needs a
semiautomatic weapon.
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And this is most certainly not
unconstitutional. As proof, we once had
a ban on assault style guns from 1994 until 2004. The ban was endorsed by former Republican Presidents
Ronald Reagan & Gerald Ford, and Democratic President Jimmy Carter. All three sent written endorsements to
Congress urging approval for the ban.
However, when the 10 year term of the original ban expired in 2004
President George W. Bush did nothing to renew it and the Republican Party,
which controlled both Houses of Congress, refused to bring it up for a vote.
Thus, the argument that the Second Amendment prohibits a ban on assault-style weapons is refuted. It does not. The only thing preventing it today is the National Rifle Association and their nearly unlimited financial backing of the Republican Party’s Congressional members. That’s it. Let’s call it what it is.
I wish somehow the question of gun control and assault weapons ban could be put to a binding referendum in a national election. Let the people decide. Since Congress will not even make a decision on it, other than for one or two persons to decide that it will just die in some back room without ever coming to the floor, let the American public take control. If Congress will not do their job and represent the safety of American citizens, then let us forget about them and do it ourselves.
We need some serious changes in how this country operates. The present system has failed. People are dying and the Republicans who control the U. S. Senate have given their approval to the terrorists. More specifically, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority Leader, has renounced his role as a public servant. This is true on so many levels. Why should one person be allowed to decide what can be voted on or even debated and what cannot? McConnell is the ultimate example of failed politics. His refusal to even consider any form of regulation on guns is his legacy, and I hope he pays the political price for his betrayal of the rights of American citizens. That is to say, I hope he is either voted out of office altogether or at a minimum, voted out as Majority Leader.
Our nation will not survive these mass shootings. Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas are only the most recent. They certainly will not be the last. This is going to escalate and destroy us if we do not stop it now.
by George Douglas Gehr
August 7, 2019
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