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I wrote to my Congressman, Mario Diaz-Balart, who represents
the 25th Congressional District in South Florida after the Parkland
massacre. I asked him to declare his
position on gun control and whether he would support more stringent control on
the sale of these weapons and background checks which his party has
consistently avoided. Here is the
response I got and what I wrote back to him:
Dear Mr. Lancit:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the horrific shooting at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. I always appreciate hearing from
constituents back home as it helps me better serve you in the 115th Congress.
On February 14, 2018, our nation experienced an unspeakable
tragedy in Parkland, FL. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this
terrible event, as well as to their families and loved ones. Now is the time to
pause, reflect, and act on measures to prevent such events in the future in a
manner consistent with our rights and values.
While ongoing, the investigation into this shooting has shown many
disturbing details. Beginning in 2008, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office
received eighteen calls regarding the perpetrator, Nikolas Cruz before he
committed this heinous act. Of these calls, multiple ones indicated that he
planned to do a mass shooting at his school. Further, the FBI received a tip
about him in January describing his desire to kill people, access to guns,
erratic behavior, social media posts, and his potential to commit a mass
shooting. Neither the FBI nor the Broward County Sheriff’s Office acted on these
warnings. It is unacceptable that an individual as troubled as Nikolas Cruz had
access to firearms and that warnings regarding his behavior were not properly
acted on.
The federal government has an obligation to protect the lives of
innocent Americans while also protecting individual civil liberties. In the
wake of this tragedy several members of Congress have expressed interest in
introducing legislation in response to the attack. It may interest you to know
that I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 5153, which will provide federal grant
money to school districts who want to install metal detectors. I have also
cosponsored H.R. 4471, NICS Denial Notification Act, which would require gun
sellers to automatically notify state and local law enforcement when a
prohibited individual attempts to purchase a gun. Additionally, I have
cosponsored H.R. 4909 STOP School Violence Act, which provides law enforcement
and school personnel with the tools they need to proactively prevent a threat.
I look forward to discussing with my colleagues these legislative options, and
others, as we consider the current and future role of our federal government in
preventing these atrocious tragedies. Rest assured, I value your input and will
keep your thoughts in mind as Congress debates these issues.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do
so in the future, should you have any other questions or concerns about this or
any other issue. I encourage you to sign up for my e-newsletter by visiting my
website atwww.mariodiazbalart.house.gov to receive regular updates. You can
also click on the links below to follow me on Twitter, visit my Facebook page
or subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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Sincerely,
 
Mario
Diaz-Balart
Member of Congress
And my reply:
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Dear Congressman Balart- Thanks for your reply to my email.
While I applaud your support for the measures you have co-sponsored, and
I agree with your recounting of the missed signals by the Broward County law
enforcement people, it seems like there is more that you can do to be more
pro-active in an effort to make a serious commitment to ending the carnage.
The second amendment states that “A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free state, the people’s right to bear arms
shall not be infringed.” That statement implies that the ‘people' would
form the well regulated militia, (which having just gone through the
Revolutionary War, the government was of no mind to take arms away from the
people.) However, please note the first 4 words of that amendment:
A WELL REGULATED MILITIA. There is nothing well regulated about the
‘militia’ of the people right now, and the result of that is that we have
repeated instances of unregulated gun sales and acquisition resulting in the
kind of tragedy so familiar to us today. Unless we support some common
sense regulation in the form of age limits, thorough background checks, banning
of weapons of war like AR-15 assault rifles and the like, coordination
nationally with law enforcement, and other measures that go beyond “thoughts
and prayers”, we are doomed to suffer from this sickness without relief.
Additionally, I hope you agree that bringing more firearms into
schools is a ridiculous solution that will only lead to more bloodshed.
This is a cultural change that we all must effect. Other free
countries do not have this problem. We do. We should be asking the
question, “Why is it happening here and nowhere else?”
You received $2000 from the NRA last year. Why? For
the life of me I do not understand the people who lead that organization and
their mission to put firearms in the hands of everyone regardless of age,
mental condition, maturity, or signs of aggressive behavior. Trust me,
you can support the second amendment and not take their money. I also
hope you are not one of the whining voices constantly accusing the Democrats of
trying to take away everyone’s rights to bear arms and all their guns.
Those who parrot those ridiculous claims by the NRA have no awareness,
and are unable to think for themselves.
I urge you to carefully consider your taking money from the NRA,
an organization who constantly misleads the public in their efforts to kow-tow
to the gun lobby and gun manufacturers. You seem like an intelligent
enough Republican to know your own mind and not blindly follow the sheep in
your party who can’t think for themselves.
Respectfully,
Laurence A. Lancit
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