Letter For Your Representatives On Gun Control

Dear _________________,

I am writing with a simple plea: Use your power to place rational restrictions on firearms available in the United States. No civilian needs an AR-15, the military-style assault rifle that was used in Orlando, San Bernardino and Sandy Hook.

If the argument is the Second Amendment was created to help people protect themselves, then it is clear we have gotten far off track. There is no way unsuspecting people in a club, at work or, especially, in their Kindergarten classroom can defend themselves against a spray of bullets. Yet, that’s exactly what the AR-15 offers: According to ar15.com, the rifle delivers “high-velocity, full and semi auto fire… able to penetrate both sides of a standard Army helmet at 500 meters.” This is unnecessary for sport, unrealistic for personal protection and clearly deadly in the wrong hands.

There is an easy solution, as history has shown: During the 10-year ban on assault weapons from 1994 until 2004, gun deaths dropped by 25 percent. Even NRA supporter George W. Bush conceded it was a logical policy, saying in 2004, “It makes no sense for assault weapons to be around our society.” Then the ban lapsed and our country entered its darkest period of mass shootings in her history — with an average of more than one per day in recent years, according to a recent New York Times report.

I implore you to help reinstate the ban on assault weapons. Doing this isn’t just victimless; it saves an untold number of future victims.

Thank you,

_________________