I was reading my normal morning blog fix today, and I was reminded by Joe Huffman of some statements not so long ago.

This is what we are up against:

I think — you know, we can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles…

Bill Clinton
March 1, 1993

And we should — then every community in the country could then start doing major weapon sweeps and then destroying the weapons, not selling them.

Bill Clinton
October 1, 1993

Banning guns is an idea whose time has come.

U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden
November 18, 1993

Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein
November 18, 1993

We’re here to tell the NRA their nightmare is true!. We’re going to hammer guns on the anvil of relentless legislative strategy! We’re going to beat guns into submission!

U.S. Rep. Charles Schumer
November 30, 1993

If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them, Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in, I would have done it.

Diane Feinstein
February 5, 1995

My family ask me why I get so vociferous when I talk about the Second Amendment and my right to keep and bear arms. This morning I printed these quotes out, so I can let them read it for themselves.

HR 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity act, passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday by a vote of 272 to 154. This bill requires states to recognize the carry permits issued by other states.

Many have expressed surprise that Rep. Rob Woodall, Republican of the Georgia 7th District, voted No, despite being a proponent of the Second Amendment. But Mr. Woodall explained his position clearly on the floor of the House.

At first I thought his position was a cop-out, but I find it a well reasoned and lucid explanation.

Unfortunately, it’s based on fantasy and wishful thinking.

It assumes that all the states enforce and apply the Second Amendment, so we must enforce and apply the Tenth Amendment and allow them to continue to do so. The problem is that all states don’t apply the Second Amendment. In fact, some actively oppose it. The purpose of HR 822 is to enforce the Second Amendment explicitly rather than implicitly.

Just about every Amendment since the 13th has included the phrase “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation” or similar language. Before that, it was understood that Congress would enforce the Constitution with appropriate legislation. That’s the Congress’s job.

All HR 822 does is enforce the Second Amendment with appropriate legislation.

Doing that with the Tenth Amendment is another issue for another time.

Yesterday I posted an open letter to my Congressman, Dr. Phil Gingrey, urging him to vote for HR822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act.

I fully expect him to do so, since he is a co-sponsor.

I did not, however, give much guidance on how you can contact your Member of Congress to urge them to do the same. I assume my readers are capable of using the Interwebz to find such things.

Barring that, the website Congress.org has a nifty app that allows you to enter your zip code and fins out who your elected officials are. Please avail yourself of this service if needed.

++++

As an aside, please don’t let this be the only time you contact your representative. I make it a point to write or email my Congressman and my Senators at least monthly.

Keep your letters and emails short and to the point. Don’t ramble.

++++

I am proud to live where I live. Our Congressmen in the past have included Larry McDonald, Newt Gingrich, and Bob Barr.

But I’m reminded of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gobachev’s rule: “Доверяй, но проверяй.”

Trust, but verify.