Constructive Criticism Please...Letter to my Representatives

[Darrow75]

Hi All,

I would love to get some constructive criticism on the letter I am working on to send to my representatives regarding gun control. I am ashamed to say that I have never written a senator or congressman before so I would love some input before I finalize this letter and send copies to my representatives. I tried to keep it short and not cover too many points as I thought it would garner more attention but I still think the letter is a bit wordy. It's been a long time since I've written anything other than a business email or forum post so I am feeling a little unsure of myself. Anyway, here is the 1st draft. I really look forward to your thoughts and input. Thanks in advance.


Dear Senator/Congressman [Last Name]

My name is [My Name] and I am a resident of Denver, Colorado. I am writing this letter to express my concerns regarding the call for new gun control measures that are being proposed for the next legislative session. Due to the horrific mass killings that have occurred this past year in Aurora, CO; Oak Creek, WI; and most recently in Newtown, CT; discussions of a new assault weapons ban and other restrictions have been renewed.

While these tragedies are a stark reminder of the worst humanity has to offer, we can not as a society legislate simply based on the worst elements of society. I do not think that further restrictions on the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens would have made any significant difference in these recent shootings. Had semi-automatic weapons not been available to these cowards, they would have found other ways to carry out their evil plans. I believe the fact that these killings were all perpetrated in "Gun Free Zones" is not a coincidence. It shows that these killers purposely chose crowded targets that they knew to be "soft" or unprotected in order to inflict as much damage as possible. Further restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves from criminals that will not follow new laws any more than they will follow the laws currently on the books is a mistake.

That being said, I strongly urge you to vote "No" on any new gun control legislation that is being proposed, especially during this understandably emotional time. Thank you for taking the time read my letter. I am very interested to hear your thoughts on these terrible crimes and what you think we can do to help stop these mass murders on unarmed innocent people.

Sincerely,


[My Name]

EDIT - Corrections made per OldVet as well as a couple of small errors I found myself.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[OldVet]

Other than a few suggested corrections below, that sounds very well thought out.

in Aurora, CO[;] Milwaukee, WI[;] and most recently in Newtown, CT[;]
further restrictions on the 2nd Amendment rights of law[-]abiding citizens
Further restricting the rights of law[-]abiding citizens

[Darrow75]

Other than a few suggested corrections below, that sounds very well thought out.

in Aurora, CO[;] Milwaukee, WI[;] and most recently in Newtown, CT[;]
further restrictions on the 2nd Amendment rights of law[-]abiding citizens
Further restricting the rights of law[-]abiding citizens

Thanks...it's been a while since I've written anything formally and my grammar has suffered. My ex-wife would have hit me over the head with a copy of Strunk & White for that!

[Brad426]

Yep, it's very good.

[Darrow75]

So I sent the above letter or a similar version to my House Representative, both Colorado Senators, Boehnor, Biden and Obama. We'll see if I get any responses or whether my opinion is worth a hill of beans to them. I have a pretty good idea of what my House Rep thinks. It's Dianna DeGette and no I did not vote for her.

[noway2]

I have a pretty good idea of what my House Rep thinks. It's Dianna DeGette and no I did not vote for her.

Even if they don't agree with your position and refuse to vote against any sort of ban, chances are they want to win re-election and you have still made it clear that there some in their district who are paying attention and some who aren't afraid to let their voices be heard.

[1911_Kimber]

I like it... May use it for my reps as well