Lee.org

In other news… an old friend from Wavexpress wrote to me to sign this petition…

Here’s the petition

By forwarding this message to you sign the petition. You need to put TOM@TOMSPETITION.ORG in the cc field to be counted.

>> Subject: Six Degrees from Columbine: Save the Ban on Assault Weapons
>>
>> Dear Friend:
>> Five years ago my 15-year-old son Daniel Mauser was one of 13 people
>> killed at Columbine High School by two students. One of them used an
>> illegal assault weapon. This summer, AK-47s, UZIs, and TEC-DC9s, will
>> be legal again unless we do something about it. In this day and age,
>> nothing could be more insane.
>>
>> Using an exciting and unprecedented new Internet technology to grow
>> an online petition, join me in my effort to see how many millions of
>> names I can collect to deliver to President Bush. We will change the
>> course of this country and create a lasting legacy for my son.
>> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>> Here is how you can help:
>>
>> Please sign this petition by forwarding this email to your family and
>> friends. Make sure to add my e-mail address TOM@TOMSPETITION.ORG to
>> your list of friends in the same forwarded e-mail (don’t use bcc).
>> This petition uses a new technology that allows you to see how many
>> supporters you can reach through the power of “six degrees of
>> separation.”
>> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>> Sending to TOM@TOMSPETITION.ORG confirms your participation and
>> allows our petition software to map the growing support for our
>> cause. We will immediately send you a link to your personal petition
>> page, where you can see a real time map of your impact on this
>> historic cause.
>>
>> If each of us passes this message on to our friends and family this
>> will be the fastest growing petition on the Internet ever! We will
>> reach millions of people and force president Bush and Congress to
>> extend the assault weapons ban.
>>
>> For more information on how the petition technology maps your
>> support, go to: http://www.tomspetition.org/info
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Tom Mauser

And my response (modified on 6-10-04 from my original email response)

>I don’t usually go in for online petitions but I thought I would in
>this case. It was started by a friend of a friend and is legit.

I completely agree that Columbine was a terrible tragedy. But the ban wouldn’t have reduced the destruction. 3 of the 4 guns used were (and still are) legal for anyone over 18 that can make it into a Wal-Mart. The TEC DC-9 machine gun used was already illegal for the killers to own before the ban. The home-made bombs were illegal as well. The manufacturer of the TEC DC-9 changed the design slightly after the ban (to the “AB-10” model) and can be purchased new with the proper license (of which, the Columbine kids still could not obtain)

I see where you’re coming from. It’s possible that the country-wide anti-gun sentiment that a ban inspires might help shape public attitude about people using guns inappropriately against other people but an “assault weapons ban” is only a tiny step in a direction toward civility, at the great expense in national safety and personal liberty.

Such legislation does not seem beneficial to our country or the kids that live in it. Much more important than attempting to make the “dangerous” guns illegal (an oxymoron if ever I saw one) is public education and community involvement.

Thanks for sending the petition along to me,
Lee