Replies from Louisiana Lawmakers (Reply from Senator Landrieu & Congressman Scalise)

[Unarmed Coward]

January 7, 2013



Dear Mr. Benoit:

My prayers and greatest sympathy go out to the families and community of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, and to all families that have been affected by gun violence. On December 14, 2012, twenty-seven innocent lives were taken from us in a heartbreaking tragedy. As the nation grieves over this senseless act of violence, it is more important than ever that we come together to address the issues affecting American communities.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of all Americans to own and possess guns. While preserving the rights of honest gun collectors, sportsmen and owners who possess firearms for traditionally lawful purposes, we must also continue to ensure that we protect innocent unarmed citizens. I am sure you can agree - like any right guaranteed to a free people, the right to bear arms must be exercised responsibly.

Unfortunately, in the past year, we have seen instances where this right has been abused in tragic fashion. The theater shooting in Aurora, CO, the Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, WI, and the school shooting in Newtown, CT, were terrible and unnecessary tragedies. Occurrences such as these remind me of the important role that government plays in upholding statutes that aim to limit such tragedies.

We must do more to target the causes of mental illness and determine the most effective ways to treat it. I support and will continue to strongly advocate for expanded and improved mental health coverage so that the mentally ill can obtain adequate treatment to not only overcome their struggles, but to lead more productive and fulfilling lives.

I also support strict adherence of federally licensed firearms dealers to the requirements laid out in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The NICS determines the eligibility of an individual to purchase a firearm and explicitly prohibits those who have been legally determined to be mentally ill or committed to a mental institution from purchasing any weapons.

Currently, there is no gun control legislation scheduled for a vote. However, I believe that when evaluating future proposals, we must find a balanced way to address the safety of American citizens while ensuring Second Amendment rights granted under the Constitution. Please be assured that I value your input and will keep it in mind as we continue to address this issue in the 113th Congress.

I appreciate hearing from you on this matter, and I trust that you will continue to contact me on matters of mutual concern. Please feel free to visit my website at http://landrieu.senate.gov for more information on my legislative priorities.

With warm regards, I am

Sincerely,



Mary Landrieu
United States Senator

P.S. For a recap of my week in Louisiana and Washington, D.C., be sure to sign up for my weekly eNewsletter by visiting http://go.usa.gov/2sb. And for my latest updates, like my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.

MLL:ah




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January 7, 2013


Dear Mr. Benoit:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut. On December 14, 2012, America was shocked to learn of the horrific massacre that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. As parents of two young children, my wife Jennifer and I are deeply saddened by this horrific tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the twenty young children and six faculty members who were murdered.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that we must do everything we can to prevent tragedies like this from happening. We must prosecute those who take the lives of others to the fullest extent of the law. I am also committed to making sure we have strong laws on the books and that we provide the resources necessary to law enforcement and the judicial system in order to make our communities, including our schools, safer. In addition, we need to do a better job of treating people with mental illnesses so they are properly diagnosed and treated.
I must say that restricting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans will not reduce crime, but rather will only serve to undermine the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves from criminals. You can’t stop bad people from doing bad things by taking away the rights of good people who follow the rules. We all need to work together to promote strong family units and the sanctity of human life. Let us all keep in our prayers these precious lives that were taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Thank you again for contacting me. It is an honor to represent the First Congressional District of Louisiana, and your thoughts and concerns are very important to me. I invite you to visit my website at www.scalise.house.gov for more information. Please do not hesitate to contact my office in the future on issues that are important to you
Sincerely,




Steve Scalise
Member of Congress
SS/gg

 

[Emperor]

What a typical belief system by a clueless ideologue.

Occurrences such as these remind me of the important role that government plays in upholding statutes that aim to limit such tragedies.

These Democrats REALLY are "Useful idiots!"

 

[JNieman]

Has /anyone/ been able to get a reply from Boustany?

 

[dzelenka]

Emperor,

Scalise is clearly on our side. Contrast this quote to Landrieu's:

"I must say that restricting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans will not reduce crime, but rather will only serve to undermine the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves from criminals. You can’t stop bad people from doing bad things by taking away the rights of good people who follow the rules."

If I were certain we had 218 in the House that thought like Steve, I would not be worried.

Dan

 

[Emperor]

Emperor,

Scalise is clearly on our side. Contrast this quote to Landrieu's:

"I must say that restricting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans will not reduce crime, but rather will only serve to undermine the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves from criminals. You can’t stop bad people from doing bad things by taking away the rights of good people who follow the rules."

If I were certain we had 218 in the House that thought like Steve, I would not be worried.

Dan

I know! I was only addressing Landrieu's "Big Government" idiocy! I used to think it was just the way they thought they were supposed to think as "Party Line" robots. Not any more! These Democrat dumb asses REALLY believe they know what's best for everyone through government, at the detriment of American society.

 

[Unarmed Coward]

No Open Political Support

This statement scares me "traditionally lawful purposes". I can not see where this view is applied to the greatest law written on this matter in the 2nd amendment of the Constitution.

"we must also continue to ensure that we protect innocent unarmed citizens" I am also sure that my view of protecting unarmed citizens doesn't including requiring other innocent armed citizens to become unarmed and in need of protection.

I am also greatly disappointed that no one in political leadership is speaking to the direct reason the 2nd amendment was created. From my research and understanding this was to allow citizens to protect themselves from government. After surviving a revolution the Founding Fathers wanted to insure that if need arose in the future the means were present.

This is spelled out in a quote from one of the authors of the 2nd Amendment, Tench Coxe;

As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow-citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.
— Tench Coxe (1755–1824), writing as "A Pennsylvanian," in "Remarks On The First Part Of The Amendments To The Federal Constitution," in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789, p. 2 col. 1

The National Guard is a select militia, like the Second Amendment was passed to defend against.

"Congress may give us a select militia which will, in fact, be a standing army - or Congress, afraid of a general militia, may say there shall be no militia at all. When a select militia is formed, the people in general may be disarmed."

-John Smilie

 

[Unarmed Coward]

I finally took time to reply to the apparent blanket reply from Senator Landrieu


January 18, 2013


Senator Landrieu,

I agree that Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut was a tragedy and that "gun violence" in America needs to be addressed. However one tragedy cannot be fixed by creating another tragedy. I am a gun owner. I own AR-15 rifles with "high capacity" magazines. I own pistols with magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. I am a law abiding citizen. I am not a threat to society due to owning these variations of guns. Violation and restriction of my Constitutional rights will not fix the problems caused by criminals! Guns are inanimate objects and not capable of violence. The term "gun violence" is a misnomer. You would not state "car violence" to describe a vehicular homicide resulting from drunk driving? You would not call it "building violence" if someone pushes another from a building ledge? No by their nature inanimate object are not living (except for plants) and cannot be violent. The violence comes from the criminals that commit the crimes not the inanimate object. I am fine with coming together to address issues affecting American communities if we identify the cause and you are referencing addressing violent crimes and criminals. If you guise restricting Constitutional rights and placing burden on law abiding citizens due to the actions of criminals then shame on you Senator Landrieu.
The Second Amendment guarantees firearm ownership. While gun collecting, sportsmanship and owning firearms for traditionally lawful purposes are all wonderful experiences they are not the reason for the Second Amendment. It was placed into the Amendments of the Constitution by our forefathers to protect the American people from Tyranny and the inclusion of the Second Amendment was a direct result of the war fought by American Patriots to defeat being controlled by the tyrannical government. If your intentions are to protect unarmed citizens then you will focus on criminals and their actions. You will not guise restricting law abiding citizens Constitutional Rights in the cloak of protecting unarmed citizens and will address the true threat to unarmed citizens, Criminals. Armed law abiding citizens present no threat to other law abiding unarmed citizens. We Senator Landrieu are not the problem. We are exercising our right to bear arms responsibly. If you intention is to make lawful gun owners into Criminals by restricting and violating our Constitutional rights due to the actions of Criminals then shame on Senator Landrieu.
I dare say that in the past year that if you would look at the gun owning population and constituents then you will see that the right to bear arms is widely exercised responsibly in orders of magnitude greater than criminals commit crimes using guns. Again the issue is criminals and crime unless we have digressed back to fighting "car violence" and *building violence". In the wake of these tragedies, many in Washington are calling for increased restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms, arguing that it will help to reduce gun violence. For example, Senator Feinstein (D-CA) has announced plans to reintroduce a ban on assault weapons and to limit magazine capacity. Also, President Obama has signed 23 executive actions and has called on Congress to pass legislation, including background checks for all firearms sales. However, as many supporters of the Second Amendment have pointed out, increased restrictions do little to affect the actions of criminals, who by definition do not abide by the law. Instead, they restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans.
I am a firm believer and ardent supporter of the rights enshrined in the Second Amendment. This constitutional right, and our heritage of using firearms for sporting and self-defense purposes, does not have to be sacrificed to reduce gun-related violence. Instead, we should focus on enforcing the extensive laws already in place and turn our attention to more appropriate measures, such as increasing the safety of our schools and keeping guns out of the hands of those who may be mentally incapable of owning them responsibly.
President Obama challenged the American people to find out where their elected officials stood on the issue of gun control. He stated that we must hold elected officials accountable for their votes and actions in relation to gun control. While my views on the Second Amendment and the statement often ignored "shall not be infringed" differ greatly than my Presidents, I agree with my President's urging of the American voters to require elected officials to clearly state where they stand on the Second Amendment and to hold them accountable
Senator Landrieu your reply did not clearly state where you stood. I ask you, will you seek to limit the Constitutional right of Americans, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed", refusing to admit that the issue is not with an armed Americans but criminals? Will you seek to hold criminals accountable or will you approve laws making current law abiding gun owning American citizens into criminals for obeying the current laws and exercising a constitutional right? As your President urged please clearly state your views so the voters can hold you accountable.

With warm regards, I am
Sincerely,
Kenneth Benoit


Kenneth Benoit
Law Abiding Gun Owning Citizen


P.S. Could you explain why we should trust Eric Holder and President Obama with decisions based on anything to do with guns after exposure of Fast and Furious?