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Friday, July 27, 2012

Letter to my Senators - "Please, no restrictions based on false information and hysteria"


This is a letter I just sent to my Senators.

Title: Please, no restrictions based on false information and hysteria

Please do not support any efforts to restrict the firearms that were used by the murderer in the Aurora, CO theater.

The weapons he used were not "assault" weapons, military-style, or automatic. While some "assault" weapons were outlawed for a period of time, the weapons he used have never been outlawed, despite misinformation provided by some sources.

Further, while the weapons he used were not "AR-15" rifles, those are also neither assault weapons nor automatic. Some have talked recently about the rapid fire rate of "machine guns," but neither AR-15 style rifles nor the weapons actually present in this massacre were any form of automatic weapon.

Also, even though the shooter had a rifle at the time, which had a large-capacity magazine, his shooting was actually done with a shotgun for which no one is suggesting any restrictions.

In summary:
1 - The weapons present in the recent massacre involved neither an AR-15 nor any type of automatic weapon or machine gun.
2 - The AR-15 weapon often referenced, which was not used in the massacre, is also neither an automatic weapon or machine gun.
3 - The rifle owned by the killer and highly criticized was not even used.

Placing restrictions on Constitutional rights, particularly based on clearly false claims, would be an extreme knee-jerk reaction. It would be akin to outlawing pickup trucks after a drunk driver causes a severe accident with a station wagon.