this is the letter on the other site. Im sending it to three reps around me.
Dear Representative xxxxxxx,
The purpose of this letter is to urge you to oppose House Bill 764, the Pennsylvania “assault weapons” ban, which was referred to the Committee on Judiciary on March 14, 2005. This bill is frightening in its scope, setting up a system for registering and tracking legally owned firearms and their law-abiding owners.
Like the previous Federal “assault weapons” ban which expired on September 14, 2004, House Bill 764 classifies and bans firearms if they possess certain arbitrarily selected external cosmetic features. Onerous laws such as these severely limit the rights of law-abiding gun owners who use firearms for self-defense, competition shooting, hunting, collecting and other perfectly legal activities. Section 6154(c) even mandates yearly inspections by the State Police! That this notion of police entering and inspecting the homes of law-abiding citizens was actually considered by Pennsylvania legislators is an outrage in itself.
Despite the restrictions imposed on civil rights and lawful activity, there is no evidence the Federal or State-level “assault weapons” bans have reduced crime, protected police or provided any public benefit whatsoever. Despite the ineffectiveness of the Federal ban, Pennsylvania legislators wish enact a similar ban and also impose a draconian registration system that will treat hundreds of thousands – or more – of law-abiding Pennsylvanians like criminals, mandating registration of arbitrarily selected firearms and yearly background checks of the owners.
If enacted, this outrageous proposal will place Pennsylvania’s gun laws among the most restrictive in America, and I implore you to vote against House Bill 764 should it come to a vote. I am eager to learn of your position on this bill as well as your general beliefs on the right to keep and bear arms in Pennsylvania. I thank you in advance for your time and your kind response to this letter.
Sincerely,
