Dear Ms. Kaplan,
As Election Day draws near, campaigns become more aggressive and candidates challenge each other with an ever-increasing number of accusations and negative comments. However, being from a part of the voter base that is turned off by demagoguery or insults, I prefer to gather real facts to formulate my own judgment of the slate of candidates.
One of the issues in the forefront is a rather broad topic called ‘gun control’ for lack of a better term.
As I hear it expressed by many who are ignorant of firearm technology and shooting in general, their stands might be better be collectively expressed as ‘gun banning’, the outright removal of our Second Amendment rights.
Gun control laws are already enacted and in place, and I fully agree that existing laws, already sufficiently tough, should simply be enforced. There are a few viable amendments to the law that I can agree with:
1. Banning of bump stocks. This device is completely unnecessary to any law-abiding gun owner as it is simply designed to convert a semi-automatic rifle to a pseudo-automatic rifle. No respectable gun owner (yes, I said respectable!) would sacrifice accuracy and safety simply to burn through excessive rounds of expensive ammunition. This is anathema to sane gun ownership.
2. Keeping guns out of the hands of violent offenders – physical abusers, molesters, and the mentally ill (let the courts and the medical teams make those determinations).
3. Gun-free zones have been shown to be a criminal’s chosen area of operation. Just look at Chicago, for example. The murder rate there tops that of the rest of our country-it’s more like a third world country. Yet, in areas where concealed- or open-carry is permitted, the shootings are practically non-existent. Simple fact.
Now that I have taken the time to express my views, I would really appreciate a concise plan of how you would approach that, as you call it, “gun control.”
From all I have read in your press releases and heard at candidate forums, your comments have been mostly generalizations and expressions of your own personal feelings, but I need something more concrete if I am to consider whether you should succeed our present New York State senator from our district.
Surely you have a plan that is acceptable to the voters that is logical and realistic, and you need to present that plan for the voters’ consideration and evaluation.
So far, until quite recently, the campaign was pleasant, but as we know, the last couple of weeks before the election generally bring out the worst in campaigns and candidates, something I am very familiar with having been involved in the process for more than a decade.
Please present your specific steps and the reasoning behind them. That would be most appreciated prior to this critical election. Generalizations and rhetoric don’t work anymore.
Eric Spinner
New Hyde Park
