Gov. Malloy, let me get this straight, as our elected servant you propose to outlaw (for upstanding citizens) the Bushmaster AR-15 and other semi-automatic rifles, but would still permit the manufacture of “banned assault weapons” in Connecticut to be shipped and sold to other states.
But why stop there? Don’t you care about these “death machines” being sold to upstanding citizens in other states? Shouldn’t you put more pressure on these firearms companies, who have a long history of manufacturing in Connecticut, to leave? Who needs their tax revenue anyway? By forcing these firearms companies to leave, your conscience will be clear.
Mr. Malloy, your logic is dumbfounding and shameless. So let me see if I have this correct: You are basically telling these companies, “Go ahead and manufacture and ship these firearms out of state; make sure they end up in other states citizens’ hands as well as any criminal’s hands, but not in the law abiding Connecticut citizens’ hands."
One of this nation’s smartest and most revered presidents had this to say about this very issue: “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” - Thomas Jefferson, quoting Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment (1764).
“The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." -Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824.
Put on a good show for the public, Mr. Malloy, because in the end, the show is all you’ve got. I, and thousands upon thousands of others, won’t make the same mistake twice come election time. Last thoughts: Would you rather be a victim or a well-armed adversary?
Stephen and Kathleen Famiglietti
Cheshire