WILLIAMSON
FOR
U.S. CONGRESS
DEMOCRAT
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 6
“The Future Can Be Ours.”
480-607-9726
Dear Friend,
I agree with Erica Lafferty, daughter of slain Sandy Hook
Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, who, as reported in an NPR
story, speaking outside the NRA convention in Houston in May, 2013, said
that she did not think it is unreasonable for there to be background
checks on gun purchases. As an educator, parent, and candidate for the
U.S. Congress, I support Ms. Lafferty’s efforts.
I favor universal background checks on gun purchases; that is, a
background check should be required, regardless of where that purchase is
made. Thus, if a purchase is going to be made at a gun show, there must be
a background check on the potential purchaser. The same would apply to an
Internet transaction. We register car titles; why shouldn’t the same thing
pertain to gun purchases? Further, only a licensed driver may operate an
automobile because of safety considerations. A car can be a lethal weapon,
just as a gun, if handled recklessly. Witness the severe penalties for
DUI’s in our own state. Guns and gun-buyers–just like automobiles and
licensed drivers–should, in my view, be analogously kept track of for the
sake of our children, our loved ones, our schools, our country, and
innocent human beings at large.
Just as we cannot forget the Holocaust in World War II, we cannot forget
the 20 first-graders and 6 teachers and administrators who died at Sandy
Hook Elementary–another kind of holocaust in our own time–in Newtown,
Connecticut, on December 13, 2013. President Obama called the children who
lost their lives “beautiful little kids.” (“Nation Reels After Gunman
Massacres 20 Children at School in Connecticut,” James Barron, New York
Times, Dec. 14, 2013, www.nytimes.com.)
Background checks on all gun purchases will help to screen out those who
are dangerously mentally ill and hopefully prevent tragedies like that in
Newtown from occurring.
I also support a waiting period of at least one week for gun purchasers.
This will help to prevent not only impulsive acts of violence against
others but curtail suicides as well. Kerry Lewiecki, a 27-year-old, who
had just earned dual degress in law and conflict resolution from the
University of Oregon in early summer of 2010, and was soon to be married,
committed suicide with a gun. Although he had suffered severe pain in his
hands, arms, and back which was not responding well to treatment, overall
he seemed fine. Said his father, Mike, a doctor in Albuquerque, “If it had
not been so easy to buy a gun maybe he would have spoken with someone or
woken up the next morning and heard the birds and felt better.” (“Suicide
Without Warning,” New York Times, March 8, 2013.)
Rep. David Schweikert is a life member of the NRA. I am not a member of
the NRA and never have been. Former President George H.W. Bush dropped his
NRA membership after the NRA leadership behaved in a less than considerate
manner, so I’m in good company.
I’ve never owned a gun, but I respect the responsible use of firearms
recreationally.
If you wish to contribute to my campaign, please go to my website at
williamsonforuscongress.com, and click on “Make a Donation.” Then, by
means of safe and secure PayPal, you may support a candidate who favors
Gun Responsibility. If you wish to make your contribution by check, please
send it to:
WILLIAMSON FOR U.S. CONGRESS
7349 N. Via Paseo Del Sur, Ste. 515-233
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Be sure to include, in accordance with Federal Election Commission
requirements, your name, address, the name of your employer, and your
occupation.
If you wish to volunteer by stuffing envelopes, participating in a phone
bank, or in some other way, please send me an e-mail or call me at the
campaign headquarters phone number above.
I support universal background checks and a waiting period of at least one
week on all gun purchases. Instead of using the term “gun control,” I like
the term Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords have coined: “gun
responsibility.”(www.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org.) We can have a
safer and more secure future by enacting the legislation I have outlined
above.
When elected to the U.S. Congress on November 4th, I will advocate for
such public safety legislation, so that The Future Can Be Ours with
respect to Gun Responsibility. Out of respect for the youngsters who died
at Newtown who play on this earth no more, and out of respect for the
teachers and administrators who laid down their lives for them, and out of
respect for the parents who grieve every day for their “beautiful little
kids” who will never have the chance to grow up–out of respect for those
who are gone and those who mourn their absence–it seems that enacting
such public safety legislation is the least we can do to act responsibly
and show we care.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
John
W. John Williamson
Scottsdale, Arizona