This is my response to Marty Richman’s letter of 3/27/ 2018. I have attempted to respond to each portion of his letter;
Who are they and them? Who are the government? The three branches of our government are now GOP controlled. Are you saying it is the civilian employees of the government who are in control and not the Congress, the Executive and the Judicial branches? Is it not a fallacy for the GOP which preaches “conservatism” to accept massive funding from a minority organization which by its program of unlimited access to military style weaponry enables lawlessness?
Does it not seem reasonable to you for the American people to define for once and forever just what the second amendment says? What is a “well-regulated militia”? Do any gun lover and his friends comprise such a unit? Who will “regulate” them? The Government, the NRA, the police, or an unknown body to be formed at a later date, and if so by whom?
If gun owners fear that their weapons will be taken from them by a rogue government is not the current leader of the GOP an admiring friend to various “strongmen” in the world such as Putin and Xi? Does not his past and current policy of hiring and firing of subordinates until he gets one who will do exactly what he says suggest that he would like to be “President for Life” himself? Does not Wayne La Pierre fit the mold of such a person?
Unions were formed to protect the interests of working people. It should be obvious to anyone who works for a living that workers can’t trust owners to take proper care of them. Without the laws and group presence that Unions have been responsible for we would have the same conditions as workers do in Third World countries.
The ACLU was formed to protect the civil, constitutional and god given human rights of all people regardless of place of birth or station in life by ensuring that the laws of the land are firmly in place in every case.
Planned Parenthood was formed to promote healthy families and to provide education that would help people without such access to achieve a stable family life. Most poor people at the time lacked family advice information because of social anathema to such discussion.
The NRA was formed to protect the constitutional rights of gun owners and to educate people in gun safety and “the shooting arts”, if you will (my term only). Since 2005 however gun manufacturers have contributed an estimated 19 to 60 million dollars to the NRA. These companies are referred to on the NRA site as “Our corporate partners”. How much of that money has gone to GOP Congress people in addition to the direct funding they get from the gun companies? Is this practice a democracy-promoting method to protect citizens’ constitutional rights or a cash cow for so called “conservative” politicians?
The guns and cars comparison is specious. Cars are regulated by licensing and manufacturing laws to be as safe as they can be given their nature. Their emissions are regulated, the fuels they burn are regulated, an elaborate and expensive insurance requirement is in place wherein every driver must show proof of coverage before being allowed to purchase or operate a vehicle. Is it necessary to point out that guns, in any final analysis, are intended to kill, not transport? Yet there are no requirements for guns except a few ineffectual permit laws. There is no regulation regarding personal sales between individuals, there is no indemnification requirement for weapons sales outlets and no consistent public policy to regulate who can own and use them.
Everything I’ve stated above can be verified online or in print. The pro-NRA positions can be as easily accessed. I await Mr. Richman’s response and will hope he doesn’t view my information as a personal attack.