It is early Sunday morning, August 4, 2019. Yesterday families in El Paso Texas and Dayton, Ohio woke up and they had fathers, mothers, kids, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. This morning, at least 30 of those families are grieving because they don’t have those fathers, mothers, kids, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends.
So I am writing to you early on this Sunday morning to ask you to do something to make sure other families, today, tomorrow, the next day don’t have to begin grieving too.
You are an elected leader. Your constituents elected you to take on the many problems our country faces, propose solutions, and enact laws that might begin to address them.
Today, not tomorrow, not the day after, you have to address the problem of gun violence in our country. You have to ban assault weapons, demand background checks for every gun purchaser, and improve mental health care. You must also begin impeachment proceedings to replace a president who denigrates as “vermin” anyone whose heritage is different from his own and encourages violence against innocent people who are immigrants, just as your parents were.
In 1962, Bob Dylan asked a question that I am now asking you. “How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died”? Will 20 people in El Paso do it? Another 9 in Dayton? 3 in Gilroy? Why didn’t 20 kids and 7 of their teachers in Newtown get the message across to you? Or 11 people in Pittsburgh? 17 in Parkland?
How many deaths will it take until you know that too many people have died and you decide you decide to use the power your constituents gave you to do something about it?
We’re waiting for an answer, Congressman Harris.
Linda Cades
Kennedyville
I echo Ms Cades’s words, Dr Harris. Do it today.
Thanks
Thank you for writing this, Linda.
I wish I believed that our representative in Congress were capable of doing what Dr. Cades is asking of him and, it goes without saying, that every other member of Congress, regardless of party affiliation, needs to be on board with all this. There is no reason on earth for ordinary citizens to own assault rifles. Apparently, there are more of these weapons in the hands of private citizens than there are in the military!. And yes, the House of Representatives does need to impeach the president and the Senate needs to live up to its responsibility and carry through and judge this man, who has committed innumerable crimes and misdemeanors, not the least of which, in my opinion, is treason. I join the writer of this letter in demanding that our elected officials finally live up to their responsibility to defend us from domestic terrorists, among them xenophobes and white nationalists. Our president fits into the latter two groups, as noted by Democratic presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke and Bernie Sanders.
Thank you. Mr Harris, take your responsibilities seriously. Do the right thing. Don’t ignore these tragedies like you have ignored all the other mass murders by guns.
I just thank God that he didn’t choose a more deadly tool to carry out this attack, you know like a Truck ( 87 killed in Nice France ) a can of Gasoline ( used to murder 86 at the Happy Land club in NYC) or fertilizer bomb ( 168 killed Oklahoma City)
In the USA all the mass murders with the highest death tolls were not done with guns
So you want to ban the most popular rifle in the USA a gun owned by tens of millions of law abiding Americans , only a tiny tiny percentage of are ever used in any crime. What do you even mean by “ Ban”, you want the police to go kick in doors rounding them up? What’s next coming and getting the pistols after they are used in a mass shooting…why not?
This is all about taking a first step to start the erosion of our rights innumerated under the 2nd amendments. .
You sound like the right person to ask this question of: why does someone want to own and what do they do with this “most popular rifle in the USA”?
I genuinely do not know and would like to understand.
Thank you.
Thank you, Linda. Perfectly stated.
Does anyone not think that Trumps hatred speech does not contribute to these shootings? Look in the mirror Mr Trump. You’ll see the problem.