halfmoa
04-10-2007, 06:58 AM
Edit: Sorry guys, I did not realize this was already posted.
The following is a copy of a letter by Jim Zumbo to the Senate on the subject of HR1022
Enjoy,
Jim
Jim Zumbo Letter to the U.S. Senate Opposing a Ban on "Assualt Weapons"
JIM ZUMBO
March 28, 2007
An Open Letter to the United States Senate
Dear Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen:
It recently came to my attention that one of your colleagues,
Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, has chosen to attack firearms owners using
remarks I wrote in mid-February as his launch pad. As you probably
know, Sen. Levin has been making anti-gun speeches every week for the
past eight years because of a promise he made to the Economic Club of
Detroit in May 1999.
Mr. Levin has an agenda, and he should have spoken to me before using
my name in one of his speeches, especially since his remarks were
entered into the Congressional Record. I would like my remarks here
entered into the Congressional Record as well.
Sen. Levin is only one of 16 members of the Senate to vote against
the Vitter Amendment to the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act. This amendment prohibits the confiscation of a
privately-owned firearm during an emergency or major disaster when
possession of that gun is not prohibited under state or federal law.
Eighty-four senators voted for that amendment, inspired by the
egregious confiscation of firearms from the citizens of New Orleans
following Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. Those seizures,
you will recall, led the Second Amendment Foundation and National
Rifle Association to join in a landmark civil rights lawsuit in
federal court that brought the confiscations to an abrupt end.
The taking of private property without warrant or probable cause even
firearms was considered an outrage by millions of American citizens,
and yet Sen. Levin joined 15 of his colleagues in voting against this
measure. It is no small wonder that Sen. Levin gets an F rating from
gun rights organizations. He would have American citizens disarmed
and left defenseless at a time when they need their firearms the m
ost, when social order collapses into anarchy and protecting ones
self and ones family is not simply a right and responsibility, it
becomes a necessity.
That in mind, Sen. Levin must know that almost immediately after I
wrote those remarks, I recanted and apologized to the millions of
Americans who lawfully and responsibly own, compete with and hunt
with semi-automatic rifles. I took a crash course on these firearms
and visited with my good friend Ted Nugent on his ranch in Texas,
where I personally shot an AR-15 and educated myself with these
firearms.
Some of us learn from our mistakes, others keep making them.
Legislation to which Sen. Levin alluded, HR 1022, would renew the ban
on so-called assault weapons, and dangerously expand it to encompass
far more perfectly legal firearms. For the Congress of the United
States to even consider such legislation is an affront to every law-
abiding firearms owner in this country.
This legislation that Sen. Levin a ppears to endorse is written so
broadly as outlaw not only firearms, but accessories, including a
folding stock for a Ruger rifle. As I understand the language of this
bill, it could ultimately take away my timeworn and cherished hunting
rifles and shotguns firearms I hope to one day pass on to my
grandchildren as well as millions of identical and similar firearms
owned by other American citizens.
It is clear to me that the supporters of this legislation dont want
to stop criminals. They want to invent new ones out of people like
me, and many of you, and your constituents, friends, neighbors and
members of your families. They will do anything they can, go to any
extremes they believe necessary, to make it impossible for more and
more American citizens to legally own any firearm.
In his final paragraph, Senator Levin misrepresents what I said. I
never spoke in favor of a general assault weapons ban. Again, I
immediately apologized for my blog statement that was exclusively
directed toward hunting and not gun ownership.
I will not allow my name to be associated with this kind of attack on
the Second Amendment rights of my fellow citizens.
A few weeks ago, in a letter to Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, I promised to
educate my fellow hunters about this insidious legislation even if I
have to visit every hunting camp and climb into every duck blind and
deer stand in this country to get it done.
I will amend that to add that I will bring my effort to Capitol Hill
if necessary, even if I have to knock on every door and camp in every
office of the United States Senate. In promoting this ban, the Hon.
Carl Levin does not speak for me, or anybody I know.
Sincerely,
James Zumbo
Cody, Wyoming
The following is a copy of a letter by Jim Zumbo to the Senate on the subject of HR1022
Enjoy,
Jim
Jim Zumbo Letter to the U.S. Senate Opposing a Ban on "Assualt Weapons"
JIM ZUMBO
March 28, 2007
An Open Letter to the United States Senate
Dear Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen:
It recently came to my attention that one of your colleagues,
Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, has chosen to attack firearms owners using
remarks I wrote in mid-February as his launch pad. As you probably
know, Sen. Levin has been making anti-gun speeches every week for the
past eight years because of a promise he made to the Economic Club of
Detroit in May 1999.
Mr. Levin has an agenda, and he should have spoken to me before using
my name in one of his speeches, especially since his remarks were
entered into the Congressional Record. I would like my remarks here
entered into the Congressional Record as well.
Sen. Levin is only one of 16 members of the Senate to vote against
the Vitter Amendment to the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act. This amendment prohibits the confiscation of a
privately-owned firearm during an emergency or major disaster when
possession of that gun is not prohibited under state or federal law.
Eighty-four senators voted for that amendment, inspired by the
egregious confiscation of firearms from the citizens of New Orleans
following Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. Those seizures,
you will recall, led the Second Amendment Foundation and National
Rifle Association to join in a landmark civil rights lawsuit in
federal court that brought the confiscations to an abrupt end.
The taking of private property without warrant or probable cause even
firearms was considered an outrage by millions of American citizens,
and yet Sen. Levin joined 15 of his colleagues in voting against this
measure. It is no small wonder that Sen. Levin gets an F rating from
gun rights organizations. He would have American citizens disarmed
and left defenseless at a time when they need their firearms the m
ost, when social order collapses into anarchy and protecting ones
self and ones family is not simply a right and responsibility, it
becomes a necessity.
That in mind, Sen. Levin must know that almost immediately after I
wrote those remarks, I recanted and apologized to the millions of
Americans who lawfully and responsibly own, compete with and hunt
with semi-automatic rifles. I took a crash course on these firearms
and visited with my good friend Ted Nugent on his ranch in Texas,
where I personally shot an AR-15 and educated myself with these
firearms.
Some of us learn from our mistakes, others keep making them.
Legislation to which Sen. Levin alluded, HR 1022, would renew the ban
on so-called assault weapons, and dangerously expand it to encompass
far more perfectly legal firearms. For the Congress of the United
States to even consider such legislation is an affront to every law-
abiding firearms owner in this country.
This legislation that Sen. Levin a ppears to endorse is written so
broadly as outlaw not only firearms, but accessories, including a
folding stock for a Ruger rifle. As I understand the language of this
bill, it could ultimately take away my timeworn and cherished hunting
rifles and shotguns firearms I hope to one day pass on to my
grandchildren as well as millions of identical and similar firearms
owned by other American citizens.
It is clear to me that the supporters of this legislation dont want
to stop criminals. They want to invent new ones out of people like
me, and many of you, and your constituents, friends, neighbors and
members of your families. They will do anything they can, go to any
extremes they believe necessary, to make it impossible for more and
more American citizens to legally own any firearm.
In his final paragraph, Senator Levin misrepresents what I said. I
never spoke in favor of a general assault weapons ban. Again, I
immediately apologized for my blog statement that was exclusively
directed toward hunting and not gun ownership.
I will not allow my name to be associated with this kind of attack on
the Second Amendment rights of my fellow citizens.
A few weeks ago, in a letter to Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, I promised to
educate my fellow hunters about this insidious legislation even if I
have to visit every hunting camp and climb into every duck blind and
deer stand in this country to get it done.
I will amend that to add that I will bring my effort to Capitol Hill
if necessary, even if I have to knock on every door and camp in every
office of the United States Senate. In promoting this ban, the Hon.
Carl Levin does not speak for me, or anybody I know.
Sincerely,
James Zumbo
Cody, Wyoming