Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page




	It's not too late, Californians. by Chuck Hoffman choffman@methodengineering.com (June 22, 2001) But we have to act NOW! Handgun Safety Licensing bills, an outgrowth of Shelley's AB 35 and Scott's SB 52, have passed the Assembly and the Senate and are headed to a conference committee. The next stop is Governor Gray Davis's desk. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Send this letter TODAY to Governor Davis at: Governor Gray Davis State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Urge him to veto the compromise Handgun Licensing Safety measure, which was authored by the former Handgun Control Inc. and places undue burdens and restrictions on law-abiding California firearms owners. ---------------------------- Dear Governor Davis, Shortly after taking office, you asked the legislature to withhold additional gun control legislation. I respectfully submit that the members are not honoring your request. The Assembly has passed AB 35 and AB 1219, while the Senate has passed SB 52. All of these measures would place undue burdens on law-abiding California gun owners while doing nothing whatever to reduce crime in the state. Statistics show that most criminals do not acquire their weapons by legal means from gun shows, pawnshops or retail establishments. They get them on the street from other criminals or by so-called "straw" purchases. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, in coordination with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, has recently implemented a program to reduce or eliminate straw purchases and I respectfully submit that this measure should be given an opportunity to prove its effectiveness before any more burdensome regulations are placed on California firearms owners and/or lawful retailers. Causing law-abiding firearms owners to submit to a licensing scheme would be of no benefit in reducing crime or enhancing the safety of Californians. I would ask you, sir, to use your influence to ask the Assembly and Senate to withdraw their ill-timed bills. Failing that, I would ask you to veto AB 35, AB 1219 and SB 52 or any measures resulting from committee conferences based on the preceding. I would suggest that legislators concentrate on measures that will positively reduce crime in California - measures such as Project Exile, a Richmond, VA, initiative that adds additional prison time for a person convicted of the use of a firearm during the commission of a crime. It has been so successful that the US Congress is considering implementing it on a national scale. I ask you, sir, to use your good offices to prevent an unjust burden on California firearms owners and hobbyists. Please dont worsen the legal environment by signing this latest crop of well-intentioned but sorely misguided gun control bills. Sincerely, (your name and address) ----------------------------