|
Dear Editor:
An open letter to our congressmen and senators:
As a public official and trustee for the town of Hotchkiss I have taken the same oath you have as a congressman or senator.
This is the same oath that my brother in the U.S. Army has taken, the same oath that my brother as a U.S. forest ranger took, and the same oath my father, a veteran of World War II, took on enlistment. It is about this oath and our United States Constitution that I am contacting you about today. I see the Constitution being blatantly violated and infringed upon by HR 45, a bill that is currently in committee in the House of Representatives.
Here is a short summary of HR 45, the Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, Illinois:
The following summary was written by the Congressional Research Service, a well-respected nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress.
Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this act or a state system certified under this act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.
Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the attorney general to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.
Prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions; (2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this act; (3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the attorney general within 72 hours; (4) failing to report to the attorney general an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this act.
Directs the attorney general to: (1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse; (2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and (3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.
Authorizes the attorney general to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.
Imagine applying these restrictions, regulations, and licensing to the freedom of speech, freedom of the press or any other unalienable right.
I am equally concerned about Attorney General Eric Holder's statements regarding reinstating an ineffective and in my view an unconstitutional weapons ban for political gain and other purposes. In Holder's own words, "I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." This is the United States of America not the United States of Mexico, or did I miss something along the way?
May I share with you the oath that we have each taken:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
I can point to and go into further detail if required, that the Constitution is being violated on at least two if its first 10 amendments.
Second Amendment: 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.
Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Please stand with me in the defense of the Constitution of this great nation and oppose HR 45 and any proposed weapons ban. We should enforce our existing laws and punish the criminal not the tax paying and law abiding citizen. The people of Colorado are with you if you stand for liberty, freedom, and the principles that this nation was founded on.
Thank you for representing the citizens of Colorado first and foremost above any party affiliation.
George Brauneis
Hotchkiss
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed